36:1 The people of the land took Jehoahaz son of Josiah and made him king in his father’s place in Jerusalem.
Jehoahaz was the son of good King Josiah. He became he next king of Judah. Jeremiah was prophesying during his reign.
36:2 Jehoahaz was twenty-three years old when he became king, and he reigned three months in Jerusalem.
Jehoahaz was part of the Davidic messianic seed line. He only ruled for three months.
36:3 The king of Egypt prevented him from ruling in Jerusalem and imposed on the land a special tax of one hundred talents of silver and a talent of gold.
Egypt defeated Judah and removed Jehoahaz as king.
36:4 The king of Egypt made Jehoahaz’s brother Eliakim king over Judah and Jerusalem, and changed his name to Jehoiakim. Necho seized his brother Jehoahaz and took him to Egypt.
Eliakim was another son of the good King Josiah. Jehoahaz was imprisoned in Egypt. Egypt made Eliakim his puppet-king of Judah. Pharaoh Necho changed his name, meaning that Pharaoh had ownership over the King of Judah. The Davidic line was still intact, but underneath Egyptian authority.
36:5 Jehoiakim was twenty-five years old when he became king, and he reigned for eleven years in Jerusalem. He did evil in the sight of the Lord his God.
Jehoiakim was not like his father Josiah. He was evil. This may have been why Pharaoh Necho wanted to place him on the throne of Judah as a puppet-king. Jeremiah and possibly Habakkuk were prophets to Judah during this time period
36:6 King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon attacked him, bound him with bronze chains, and carried him away to Babylon.
The prophets warned Judah to repent of her idolatry or be taken captive by Babylon. The people ignored the prophets, claiming that God would never allow Jerusalem to be taken, because God’s temple was in this city.
Nebuchadnezzar invaded Judah three different times. The first invasion occurred in 605 B.C. King Jehoiakim was taken as a prisoner to Babylon. The royal family was taken as well. Daniel and his three friends were part of the royal family, so they were taken at this time. Daniel began prophesying to the royal family in Babylon.
36:7 Nebuchadnezzar took some of the items in the Lord’s temple to Babylon and put them in his palace there.
These utensils would later cause problem’s for Nebuchadnezzar’s grandson.
36:8 The rest of the events of Jehoiakim’s reign, including the horrible sins he committed and his shortcomings, are recorded in the Scroll of the Kings of Israel and Judah. His son Jehoiachin replaced him as king.
This book is no longer in existence. Jehoiachim was another son of the good King Josiah.
36:9 Jehoiachin was eighteen years old when he became king, and he reigned three months and ten days in Jerusalem. He did evil in the sight of the Lord.
Jehoiachin was not like his father Josiah. He was another evil king. This may have been the reason why Babylon wanted him on the throne as a puppet-king.
36:10 At the beginning of the year King Nebuchadnezzar ordered him to be brought to Babylon, along with the valuable items in the Lord’s temple. In his place he made his relative Zedekiah king over Judah and Jerusalem.
This was Nebuchadnezzar’s second invasion. Ezekiel was taken captive to Babylon at this time (597 B.C.). The skilled workmen of Israel were also deported to the canals of Babylon. They refused to sing their Levitical songs (which were famous all over the ancient world) in a foreign land. Ezekiel prophesied to the captives during this time.
Jeremiah also prophesied during this reign, but to a different audience. Jeremiah prophesied to the poor who were left in Jerusalem.
Jehoiachin was later released from Babylonian imprisonment in the 37th year of his captivity and was placed on a royal pension in Babylon for the remainder of his life. Daniel may have been involved in this transition in order to protect the Davidic messianic seed line. This historical incident is now confirmed in the Neo-Babylonian texts.
36:11 Zedekiah was twenty-one years old when he became king, and he ruled for eleven years in Jerusalem.
Zedekiah means “My righteousness is Jehovah.” He was the uncle of Jehoiachin. During his reign, Ezekiel was commissioned to become a priest at the Babylonian canals. Jeremiah wrote Lamentations. Lamentations was a funeral song for Judah.
36:12 He did evil in the sight of the Lord his God. He did not humble himself before Jeremiah the prophet, the Lord’s spokesman.
Zedekiah was an evil king who refused to listen to the prophet Jeremiah.
36:13 He also rebelled against King Nebuchadnezzar, who had made him vow allegiance in the name of God. He was stubborn and obstinate, and refused to return to the Lord God of Israel.
Zedekiah was warned by Jeremiah not to rebel against Nebuchadnezzar, because the Babylon Captivity came from God.
36:14 All the leaders of the priests and people became more unfaithful and committed the same horrible sins practiced by the nations. They defiled the Lord’s temple which he had consecrated in Jerusalem.
Instead of becoming priests to all of the nations, Judah had become just as evil and pagan as the Gentile nations.
36:15 The Lord God of their ancestors continually warned them through his messengers, for he felt compassion for his people and his dwelling place.
The prophets continually warned Judah to turn from her satanic idolatry.
36:16 But they mocked God’s messengers, despised his warnings, and ridiculed his prophets. Finally the Lord got very angry at his people and there was no one who could prevent his judgment.
The prophets warned Judah to stay out of the satanic cults, but the people of Judah mocked the prophets of God. This is very similar to modern atheists, evolutionists, and homosexuals who continually mock pastors who faithfully teach the Word of God.
36:17 He brought against them the king of the Babylonians, who slaughtered their young men in their temple. He did not spare young men or women, or even the old and aging. God handed everyone over to him.
This was Nebuchadnezzar’s third and final invasion of Jerusalem. The Israelites never thought that Jehovah would allow his temple and capital city to be destroyed, so they mocked the prophets.
36:18 He carried away to Babylon all the items in God’s temple, whether large or small, as well as what was in the treasuries of the Lord’s temple and in the treasuries of the king and his officials.
All of the temple treasures were taken to Babylon, but there was no mention of the Ark of the Covenant. God did not allow the ark to be desecrated again, so he translated it directly to the heavenly temple. According to Revelation 11:19, the Apostle John will see the tabernacle 500 years later in the distant future of the last days.
36:19 They burned down the Lord’s temple and tore down the wall of Jerusalem. They burned all its fortified buildings and destroyed all its valuable items.
The temple was burnt down to the ground.
36:20 He deported to Babylon all who escaped the sword. They served him and his sons until the Persian kingdom rose to power.
The poor Jewish people who survived the temple destruction were deported to Babylon. They were slaves in Babylon for seventy years. Media-Persia will later defeat Babylon and allow the Jews to return to her land.
36:21 This took place to fulfill the Lord’s message delivered through Jeremiah. The land experienced its sabbatical years; it remained desolate for seventy years, as prophesied.
According to the Mosaic Law, the land was to be given rest every seven years. Since this Law had not been followed for the last 490 years, Jeremiah predicted that Israel would be enslaved in Babylon for seventy years. This punishment was one year for each Sabbath that Israel did not keep.
36:22 In the first year of the reign of King Cyrus of Persia, in fulfillment of the promise he delivered through Jeremiah, the Lord moved King Cyrus of Persia to issue a written decree throughout his kingdom.
The last two verses of 2 Chronicles are essentially the same as the first three verses of the Book of Ezra. This is why many scholars believe that Ezra was the author of 1-2 Chronicles and Ezra.
36:23 It read: “This is what King Cyrus of Persia says: ‘The Lord God of the heavens has given to me all the kingdoms of the earth. He has appointed me to build for him a temple in Jerusalem in Judah. May the Lord your God energize you who belong to his people, so you may be able to go back there!”
The Book of 2 Chronicles ended on a positive note. Jehovah raised up a Persian king to allow Abraham’s offspring to return to the Land to rebuild the temple. The Davidic dynasty would continue by the passing of a law by a Gentile pagan king. This messianic line will eventually lead to the birth of the Messiah and the second coming of the Lord Jesus Christ as the incarnate God and King of Israel.