Missed Opportunity: “The Late Jump” – 2 Kings 23:34-24:5; Jeremiah 22:1-23

The pilot was holding on until the last possible moment, as the plane barreled toward the cliff in front of them. His mission was to drop the men in the forest as close to the enemy outpost as possible. Even though he risked his life, he knew his mission. Finally the men jumped from the plane and into the night. The pilot fixed the direction of the plane and then jumped. As his chute opened, he saw the flash of light above his head, and heard the thunderous roar of the plane’s destruction – he got out just in time. Even at the last moment, it was still possible to get to safety – if he made it to the door.

Key Principle: Even when it looks like it is too late, God will keep a door open to reach you. Don’t delay, because the door will eventually close!

The Situation – Six Events unfolded that set up our lesson (2 Kings 23:34-24:5):

This is like the “and now the news..” section. In order to hear Jeremiah’s voice and understand the people and their hearts, you must know something of their times! Feel with me what the believer that wanted to follow God was feeling…

1. Unexpected Big Change of Administration: Josiah’s untimely death in his ill-advised affront to Pharaoh Neco led to the people placing Josiah’s son on the throne at age 23.

31 Jehoahaz (“Yah has seized”) was twenty-three years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem three months. His mother’s name was Hamutal (“maker of dew”) daughter of Jeremiah (“Yah will rise”); she was from Libnah.

Things had been going well for the believers under King Josiah. They saw a man of integrity on the throne, and watched as the defilement of the Kingdom was cleaned up. Morality, propriety, and justice were restored. Suddenly, he was gone – and there was no good heir apparent. His oldest son was deemed unsuitable by the key families involved in the decision making. A younger son was chosen, but came in under a cloud. Why had his brother been passed over? Senate committees were calling for an independent counsel, and Jerusalem was in a stir. Something was “gefilte fishy” here.

2. Disappointment by God’s Followers: Jehoahaz took after the evil kings of Judah, not his father Josiah.

32 He did evil in the eyes of the Lord, just as his fathers had done.

As if chosen by some corrupt committee, this new guy came to the throne as a young and untested upstart that thought he could rule on the throne of King David. He wasn’t there long, but he insured he wouldn’t be missed!

3.  A Public Shaming by the World: Pharaoh Neco took the young Jehoahaz captive in the Egyptian camp in Syria , and charged the people a graduated tax to pay for his imprisonment, a familiar practice in the ancient world. He was likely behind some foolish harassment to Pharaoh Neco’s supply lines – causing Neco to have him arrested and brought before him in the battle camp in Syria. The believers may have felt a moment of vindication and hope, but it was short lived when they got their Egyptian installed new king. Would the older son of Josiah be a better king? Pause for a moment of blind hope. In the end it was HIGHER TAXES and another pagan king- but this time a stooge!

33 Pharaoh Neco put him in chains at Riblah in the land of Hamath (the Egyptian camp on the Orontes River) so that he might not reign in Jerusalem, and he imposed on Judah a levy of a hundred talents of silver and a talent of gold. 34 Pharaoh Neco made Eliakim son of Josiah king in place of his father Josiah and changed Eliakim’s name to Jehoiakim. But he took Jehoahaz and carried him off to Egypt, and there he died. 35 Jehoiakim paid Pharaoh Neco the silver and gold he demanded. In order to do so, he taxed the land and exacted the silver and gold from the people of the land according to their assessments. Jehoiakim King of Judah.

4. Cronyism – A Foreign Puppet on the Throne: The Pharaoh placed on Judah’s throne an older brother of Jehoahaz (who was probably passed over because of his pro Egyptian stand). His name was Eliakim (El will raise or establish) and was changed to Jehoiakim (Yah will raise or establish), (perhaps because of the confusion of the name with an Egyptian god’s appellation). Believers had to be disgusted. Now the Pharaoh of Egypt NAMES our king, taking responsibility for our little Judah. How nice! The new guy is a bad as the old one, and he works for a pig eating pagan!

36 Jehoiakim was twenty-five years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem eleven years. His mother’s name was Zebidah (giving one – like the name of the house of “Zebedee” later in the Gospels) daughter of Pedaiah (Yah has ransomed); she was from Rumah (or perhaps Ramah). 37 And he did evil in the eyes of the Lord, just as his fathers had done.

5. From Bad to Worse: The war did not fare well for Pharaoh Neco in the end, as he tried to join Egypt to the Assyrians to keep the Babylonians contained. Nebuchadnezzar II attacked the combined armies at Carchemesh on the Euphrates River, and eventually dislodged the Egyptians. Nice, what is going to happen to our “pro-Egypt stooge” now? He will follow the rules for a short time, and then plunge us into a series of foolish wars.

24:1 During Jehoiakim’s reign, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon invaded the land, and Jehoiakim became his vassal for three years. But then he changed his mind and rebelled against Nebuchadnezzar.

6. Troubles from every direction: Jehoiakim was brought under the Babylonian rule, but eventually rebelled, leading the neighboring nations to pummel and plunder under the sponsorship of the new dominant world power. The writer explains why God allowed this to happen. Here we are, bad rulers, high taxes and plundering from every direction. We are sick of it all, and praying for relief!

24:2 The Lord sent Babylonian,a Aramean, Moabite and Ammonite raiders against him. He sent them to destroy Judah, in accordance with the word of the Lord proclaimed by his servants the prophets. 3 Surely these things happened to Judah according to the Lord’s command, in order to remove them from his presence because of the sins of Manasseh and all he had done, 4 including the shedding of innocent blood. For he had filled Jerusalem with innocent blood, and the Lord was not willing to forgive.5 As for the other events of Jehoiakim’s reign, and all he did, are they not written in the book of the annals of the kings of Judah? 6 Jehoiakim rested with his fathers. And Jehoiachin his son succeeded him as king.

You get the picture. Some of the pundits on the PIG network were saying, “This is gone over the edge!” The rival network JNN (Jewish Network News) was still broadcasting the benefits of new found paganism and hoping a new government program would solve the crisis. The believers were beat down, and God let t
hem know He was paying attention. He brought Jeremiah’s voice as a clarion call to the king and the beleaguered people. The message was startling! After years of defection – bad king on bad king – God offered rescue. He wasn’t done with them.

We pick up our reading in Jeremiah 22:11-23:

Forget where you have been. It won’t help you now.

Jeremiah 22:11 “For this is what the Lord says about Shallum son of Josiah, who succeeded his father as king of Judah but has gone from this place: “He will never return. 12 He will die in the place where they have led him captive; he will not see this land again.”

Now, let Me talk to the NEW GUY. Jehoiakim, listen to Me. I have some things you need to consider carefully..

First, if you CHEAT PEOPLE to get personal luxuries – you are marked for destruction.

13 “Woe to him who builds his house without righteousness And his upper rooms without justice,Who uses his neighbor’s services without pay and does not give him his wages,

Second, if you FOCUS ON EXTRAVAGANCE instead of justice and righteousness – you will be done for!

14 Who says, ‘I will build myself a roomy house with spacious upper rooms, And cut out its windows, Paneling it with cedar and painting it bright red.’

Third, if you try to FIGHT FOR ECONOMIC JUSTICE rather than for righteousness and morality – forget your future!

15 “Do you become a king because you are competing in cedar?

Fourth, if you DISTANCE YOURSELF FROM YOUR GODLY HERITAGE and its blessings – you will suffer a terrible end!

15b “Did not your father eat and drink And do justice and righteousness? Then it was well with him. 16 “He pled the cause of the afflicted and needy; Then it was well. Is not that what it means to know Me?” Declares the LORD.

Just an ironic word from our own history here…“The highest glory of the American Revolution was this: it connected in one indissoluble bond the principles of civil government with the principles of Christianity.” John Quincy Adams quotes (American 6th US President (1825-29), eldest son of John Adams, 2nd US president. 1767-1848).

Fifth, if you TURN AGAINST MY WORD AND MY PEOPLE, killing and plotting against them – I will take your government from you!

17 “But your eyes and your heart are intent only upon your own dishonest gain, and on shedding innocent blood, and on practicing oppression and extortion.”

Lest this sound like a theoretical shedding of blood and not a specific complicity in the wrongs of his day, Jeremiah records in 26:20-23 that Jehoiakim had another prophet of God arrested and killed because of his prophetic words. Jehoiakim’s men dragged Uriah back from Egypt to get him. They killed him, and then did not allow his family to have his body.

We live in days where we can sympathize with some of the mystery of their day… Most of you probably know who George Carlin, the comedian, is. But there are times when he gets serious. And in one of his serious moments he wrote something he called, “The Paradox of Our Time.” Listen to a part of it:

The paradox of our time in history is that we have taller buildings but shorter tempers….We have bigger houses but smaller families, more conveniences but less time… We have more degrees but less sense, more knowledge but less judgment, more experts, & yet even more problems….We’ve learned how to make a living, but not how to make a life… We spend too recklessly, drive too fast, get too angry, read too little, watch TV too much, & pray too seldom… We have multiplied our possessions, but reduced our values…We’ve conquered the atom, but not our prejudice…We talk too much, love too seldom, & hate too often…We’ve cleaned up the air, but polluted our souls. (Adapted from Steve Shepherd on SermonCentral illutrations)

The four gods of our age – fortune, fame, power and pleasure are sacrificed to and for constantly. Yet, those who forsake God’s truth will end with NONE of them!

FAME DESTROYED: You will be removed and only bitterly remembered. Soon after they will say, “Jehoiakim who?”

18 Therefore thus says the LORD in regard to Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah, “They will not lament for him: ‘Alas, my brother!’ or, ‘Alas, sister!’ They will not lament for him: ‘Alas for the master!’ or, ‘Alas for his splendor!’ 19 “He will be buried with a donkey’s burial, Dragged off and thrown out beyond the gates of Jerusalem.

The way to get remembered is NOT to stray from the Lord. He knows how to reward in this life and in the next. Those who forsake His way will not, in the end, enjoy the blessings of a good name.

FORTUNE CRUSHED: All your financial allies and prosperity ties will go down with you.

20 “Go up to Lebanon and cry out, and lift up your voice in Bashan; Cry out also from Abarim, For all your lovers have been crushed. 21 “I spoke to you in your prosperity; But you said, ‘I will not listen!’ This has been your practice from your youth, That you have not obeyed My voice. 22 “The wind will sweep away all your shepherds, And your lovers will go into captivity; Then you will surely be ashamed and humiliated because of all your wickedness.

POWER and PLEASURE RUINED: Some will tell you it is coming, but when the troubles come they will be swift and severe!

23 “You who dwell in Lebanon, nested in the cedars, How you will groan when pangs come upon you, Pain like a woman in childbirth!

With all that bad news, I skipped the beginning of this prophecy. It is astounding in light of all that was going on! The prophet Jeremiah’s plea to Jehoiakim was this… turn to God, and even after all you have done, I will still heal your leadership and you will be My king over this people, with your sons after you…

Jeremiah 22:3-4 “Thus says the LORD, “Do justice and righteousness, and deliver the one who has been robbed from the power of his oppressor. Also do not mistreat or do violence to the stranger, the orphan, or the widow; and do not shed innocent blood in this place. 4 “For if you men will indeed perform this thing, then kings will enter the gates of this house, sitting in David’s place on his throne, riding in chariots and on horses, even the king himself and his servants and his people.”

How remarkable, that after all they had done to the Lord and His blessings, yet He was willing to bring them back to Himself! How can such grace be explained? Even when it looks like it is too late, God will keep a door open to reach you. Don’t delay, because the door will eventually close!