ground down by oppression, and many of them bondmen; now they had liberty, land, the choice of fields and vineyards, and the advantage of keeping to themselves the fruits of their labour. II. G1rnALIA.B'B MURDER, AND THE FLIGHT UNTO EGYPT. What the people might have come to under Gedalio.h'd benevolent rule, time was not given to show. It soon became fatally evident that the people were incapable of making the best of their situntioa, and of working heartily nnd loyally together for the general good. Among the leaders there was a want of faith, of patriotism, of principle; among the people the sense of nationality was utterly broken. This hopeless want of cohesion and absence of higher sentiment was shown : 1. In the murder of Gedaliah. Turbulent spirits were among the captains, who had no concern but for their own advantage, and were utterly unscrupulous as to the means they took to gain. it. Intrigue, treachery, and violence were more congenial to them than the restraints of settled government. One of these captains, Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, wa.s of the seed royal, and naturally resented the elevation of a commoner like Gcdaliah to the position of governor. Instigated by Baalis King of the Ammonites, he formed a plot for Gedaliah's assassination, and with the help of ten men he secretly carried it out, slaying not only the unsuspicious governor, but all the Jews and Cha.ldea.ns and men of war that were with him at Mizpah (cf. Jer. :x:l. 13-16; xli. 1-3). Ishmael gained nothing by hiij treachery, for he was immediately afterwards pursued, and his captives ta.ken from him (Jer. xii. 11-18). What a. picture of the wickedness of the human heart is given in his dastardly deed, and in the manner of its accomplishment! Ishma.el's moving principle was envy, the source of so much crime. To gratify a. base grudge against one whom he regardeJ as his rival, he was willing to be.-:ome the tool of a.n enemy of his people, to lirca.k rncred pledges, to repay kindness with murder, and to plunge the a.ffairs of a. community that needed nothing so much as peace into irretrievable confusion. "From whence come \\a.rs and fightings among you?" etc. (Ja.s. iv. 1, 2). 2. The flight into Egypt. The narrative here only tells that, for fear of the vengeance of the Chaldeans, "a.II the people, both small and great, and the captains of the a.rrnies, arose, and came to Egypt." From Jeremiah, however, we learn, that first the leaders con- sulted the prophet as to what they should do, promising faithfully to abide by his directions; that, he counselled them from the Lord to abide where they were, and not go down to Egypt; and that then they turned against him-" all the proud men"- and said, "Thou spea.kest falsely: the Lord our God bath not sent thee to say, Go not into Egypt to sojourn there" (Jer. xlii.; xliii. 1-7). They then took their own way, and compelled Jeremiah and all the people to go with them. Here the same unchastened, wayward, stubborn spirit reveals itself which had been the cause of all their troubles. Had they obeyed Jeremiah, they were assured that it would be well with them ; while, if they went down to Egypt, it was foretold that the sword and famine, which they feared, would overtake them (Jer. xlii. 16), as from the recently disinterted ruins at 'l'a.hpanhes we know it actually did. But through this self-willed action of their own, God's Word was fulfilled, and the land of Judah swept clean of its remaining iuhabitants.-J. 0.
Vers. 27-30.-Jehoiachin's restoration. We have here- I. A LONG 0APTIVITY. "In the thirty-seventh year of the reign of Jehoiachin King of Judah." 1. Weary years. Thirty-seven years was a long time to spend in prison. 'J'he king was but eighteen years of age when he was ta.ken away, so that ~10w he would he fifty-five. Existence must have seemed hopeless, yet he went on endnnng. He was sufferin"' even more for his fathers' sins, and for the nation's sins, than for hi~ own. Life is s,;eet, and hard to part with, and the love of it is nowhere more strongly seen than when men go on clinging to it under conditions which might, if anything could SU"'"'est the question, "Is life worth living?" J ehoiachin must have ha<l a stout 'hea~t to enrlure so Ion"'. 2. .A change of rulers. Nebuchadnezzar at length died, and his son Evil-Merodach ~scended the throne. Possibly this prince may have formed a friendship with Jehoiachin in prison, and this may have_contributed to snstain t~e captive king's hopes. A change of government usually brmgs many other changes 1n its train. II. A GLIMPSE OF SUNSnINE AT THE CLOSE. 1. .At the close of Jchoiachin's life. 604 THE SEOOND BOOK OF 'rHE KINGS, [on. xxv. 1-3ll.
The new ruler treated Jeboiachin as a human being, a friend, and a king. (1) He took \Jim out of prison, changing the policy of harshness for one of kindness. (2) He set riis throne above the throne of the kings that were with him in Babylon. It was a shadowy honour; but is any earthly throne more than a shadow ? Evil-Merodach himself kept bis for only two years, and was then murdered. (3) He gave him suitable provision. The ignominy of prison garments was changed for honourable clothing; the scarcity and hard fare of the dungeon was altered for the royal bounty of the king's own table. Jehoiachin, in short, bad now everything but freedom. But how much does that mean ! He was still an exile. .All he enjoyed was but an alleviation of captivity. 2. .At the clo$e of the book. It is not without purpose that the Book of Kings closes with this glimpse of brightness. The story it has had to tell has been a sad one-a story of disappointment, failure, rejection, exile. But there is unshaken faith, even amidst the gloom, that God's counsel will stand, and that he bath not cast off his people whom he foreknew (Rom. xi. 2). Jeremiah had predicted the exile, but he bad also predicted restoration after ssventy years (Jer. xxv. 11, 12; :n.i.x. 10). 'l'hat period had but half elapsed, but this kindness shown to Jehoiachin seemed prophetic of the end, and is inserted to sustain faith and hope in the minds of the exiles. The history of the world, like the history in this book, will close in peaca and bright.Ilea under Christ's reign.--.T. 0. HOMILETICAL INDEX
THE SECOND BOOK OF THE KINGS.