2 Kings 25:22-28
Gedaliah Made Governor of Judah (Jeremiah 40:5—41:18)
22 Then he made Gedaliah the son of Ahikam, the son of Shaphan, governor over the people who remained in the land of Judah, whom Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon had left. 23 Now when all the captains of the armies, they and their men, heard that the king of Babylon had made Gedaliah governor, they came to Gedaliah at Mizpah—Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, Johanan the son of Careah, Seraiah the son of Tanhumeth the Netophathite, and Jaazaniah the son of a Maachathite, they and their men. 24 And Gedaliah took an oath before them and their men, and said to them, “Do not be afraid of the servants of the Chaldeans. Dwell in the land and serve the king of Babylon, and it shall be well with you.”
25 But it happened in the seventh month that Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, the son of Elishama, of the royal family, came with ten men and struck and killed Gedaliah, the Jews, as well as the Chaldeans who were with him at Mizpah. 26 And all the people, small and great, and the captains of the armies, arose and went to Egypt; for they were afraid of the Chaldeans.
Jehoiachin Released from Prison (Jeremiah 52:31–34)
27 Now it came to pass in the thirty-seventh year of the captivity of Jehoiachin king of Judah, in the twelfth month, on the twenty-seventh day of the month, that Evil-Merodach king of Babylon, in the year that he began to reign, released Jehoiachin king of Judah from prison. 28 He spoke kindly to him, and gave him a more prominent seat than those of the kings who were with him in Babylon.
The end of the kings in this book is seen in captivity to Babylon. Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon had set Gedaliah as governor over the remnant of Judah. This governor told the people to submit to Babylonian rule to have peace in the land (Jeremiah 21:9, 10, 40:9), but a conspiracy formed contrary to God’s word and will and he was assassinated. The rebellion led to the perpetrators running away to Egypt in fear and then the captive Judean king Jehoiachin was released from prison to dine with the new king of Babylon and was treated well, a foretaste of a future restoration of Jerusalem in Judah to come. We find that sometimes sin leads to a judgment and exile of captivity as a consequence, yet there is still hope of a remnant being restored to grace. The end of some evil kings may yet lead to a chance to be redeemed as ultimately seen in the coming of the King of kings to redeem we the remnant out of all nations to serve and worship Him. This is captivity in hope.
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