The Pulpit Commentary — 2 Kings — Section 434

of foroes, is, fro~ t~e Divine poi1;>-t of yie~, a scene full of meaning, interest, and pnrpose. The reJect1on of Judah 11 aga.m m these verses connected with the sin ol Manasseh, only, however, as before shown, because people and rulers made these sine their own, and would not depart from them. Hinthenism wae age.in rampant (of. Ezek. viii.), and Jehoiakim, like Manasseh, was shedding "innocent blood" (Jer. xxii. 17). Scripture knows no fatalism beyond that which springs from the incorrigibleness of a people wedded to their sins. Neither is there any sin which, if sincerely repented of, God will not pardon, though its temporal e1fects may still have to be endured. But there ~ the awful possibility o! getting_ beyond pardon through our own obduracy. Both sides of the truth a.re seen m Jeremiah-on the one hand exhortations to repent- ance, with assurances of forgiveness (Jer. xviii. 7-10; xxvi. 1-3; xxxv.16); and on the other declarations that the time for pardon was past (Jer. vii. 13-16, 27, 28; xi. 11-14; xv. 1; xviii. 11, 12; xxxvi. 16, 17, etc.). It was not because the fathers had eaten sour grapes that the children's teeth were set on edge (Ezek. xvili. 2); but the children had walked in the fathers' ways. ill. JEBOIAKIM's SON. 1. Jihoiakim's end. Like so many other wicked kings Jehoio.kim ea.me to a miserable end, for there is no reason to doubt that Jeremiah'; prophecy was fulfilled regarding him, "He shall be buried with the burial of an ass, drawn and cast forth beyond the gates of Jerusalem" (Jer. xxii. 18, 19). The circum- stances are unknown. 2. Jehoiachin's character. Jehoiachin succeeded to the throne of hie father, but, like Jehoahaz, he only held it for three months. Of him, too, the record is borne that he "did evil." He is, perhaps, the "young lion" of Ezek. xix. 5-9, whom the nations took in their net, and brought to the King of Babylon. There seem kl have been some elements of nobleness in his nature, and, after a long captivity, he became the friend and companion of the Babylonian king who succeeded Nebuchadnezzar (eh. xxv. 27-30).-J. 0. Vers. 10-20.-The first general captivity. Some captives had been taken to Babylon on occasion of Nebuchadnezzar's first advance against Jeruse.lem (Dan. i. 1, 2). The full storm of predicted judgment was now, however, to descend. What prophets had so long foretold amidst the scoffing and incredulity of their godless contemporaries was now at length to be a.ccomplished. The fin.a.I tragedy falls into two pa.rts, of which the first is before us. I. JEBOIACHIN JU.KES SURRENDER. 1. The city besieged. 'l'he attacks of the Chal- dce.ns, Syrians, Moe.bites, etc., mentioned in ver. 2, had served an immediate purpose in weakening the strength and exhausting the resources of Judah. The great king, whose fame was already equalling that of a Sargon or a Sennacherib, was now able to send his main army against the city, and soon after appeared upon the scene in person. Again, as in the days of Hezekiah, the city was closely invested; but this time there wa.s no Isa.ia.h to hurl back scorn for scorn, and assure the trembling king of the com- plete discomfiture of the enemy. Neither was there a king of Hezekiah's stamp to lay the bla.sphemous messages of the invader before the Lord, and entreat his interposition (eh. xi.x. 14-19). It was another kind of message Jeremiah the prophet had to bear to king and people. The day for mercy was past; and in default of a general repent- ance, which we.e not to be expected. there remained nothing but "a certain fearful looking for of judgment a.nd fiery indignation " (Heb. x. 27). The day of final reckoning surely comes for every sinner. It had come for Israel a hundred and twenty years before; it was now come for Israel's sister Judah. 2. Jehoiachin's voluntary sw-- render. Seeing resistance to be hopeless, Jehoiachin did what, on the most favourable interpretation of his conduct, was a noble thing. The city could not hold out; but if he and the other members of the royal house went and made voluntary surrender of themselves to Nebuchadnezzar, the worst horrors might be spa.red. Thie, indeed, was what Jeremiah always counselled. Jehoiachin accordingly went forth, with Nehushta hie mother, a.nd his servants, princes, and officers, and delivered themselves up to the Babylonian king. He might feel, with the lepers of Samaria, "If they save us alive, we shall live; and if thlJy kill us, we shall but die" (eh. vii. 4). Or he may have been actuated by the nobler impulse to save the people, and may have thought, " It is expedient for us, that one man should die for the people, and that the whole nation perish not" (John ;i.i. 60), His submission did avert the worst from the nation. His OH, XXIV. 1-20,) THE SECOND BOOK OF THE KINGS. 485