Immerse: Kingdoms Full Volume - Flipbook - Page 280
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IMMERSE
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KINGDOMS
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of Pedaiah from Rumah. He did what was evil in the Lord’s sight, just as
his ancestors had done.
During Jehoiakim’s reign, King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon invaded the
land of Judah. Jehoiakim surrendered and paid him tribute for three years
but then rebelled. Then the Lord sent bands of Babylonian, Aramean,
Moabite, and Ammonite raiders against Judah to destroy it, just as the
Lord had promised through his prophets. These disasters happened to
Judah because of the Lord’s command. He had decided to banish Judah
from his presence because of the many sins of Manasseh, who had filled
Jerusalem with innocent blood. The Lord would not forgive this.
The rest of the events in Jehoiakim’s reign and all his deeds are recorded
in The Book of the History of the Kings of Judah. When Jehoiakim died, his
son Jehoiachin became the next king.
The king of Egypt did not venture out of his country after that, for the
king of Babylon captured the entire area formerly claimed by Egypt—
from the Brook of Egypt to the Euphrates River.
Jehoiachin was eighteen years old when he became king, and he reigned
in Jerusalem three months. His mother was Nehushta, the daughter of El
nathan from Jerusalem. Jehoiachin did what was evil in the Lord’s sight,
just as his father had done.
During Jehoiachin’s reign, the officers of King Nebuchadnezzar of Bab
ylon came up against Jerusalem and besieged it. Nebuchadnezzar himself
arrived at the city during the siege. Then King Jehoiachin, along with the
queen mother, his advisers, his commanders, and his officials, surrendered
to the Babylonians.
In the eighth year of Nebuchadnezzar’s reign, he took Jehoiachin
prisoner. As the Lord had said beforehand, Nebuchadnezzar carried
away all the treasures from the Lord’s Temple and the royal palace. He
stripped away all the gold objects that King Solomon of Israel had placed
in the Temple. King Nebuchadnezzar took all of Jerusalem captive, including all the commanders and the best of the soldiers, craftsmen, and
artisans—10,000 in all. Only the poorest people were left in the land.
Nebuchadnezzar led King Jehoiachin away as a captive to Babylon,
along with the queen mother, his wives and officials, and all Jerusalem’s
elite. He also exiled 7,000 of the best troops and 1,000 craftsmen and artisans, all of whom were strong and fit for war. Then the king of Babylon