2 Kings 24:18-20·~1 min
Zedekiah Reigns in Judah
Zedekiah becomes king and reigns eleven years in Jerusalem, yet he does evil like Jehoiakim. The chapter closes by saying that all this happens because of the LORD’s anger, until Judah is banished from His presence.
Z18edekiah was twenty-one years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem eleven years. His mother’s name was Hamutal daughter of Jeremiah; she was from Libnah. 19And Zedekiah did evil in the sight of the LORD, just as Jehoiakim had done. 20For because of the anger of the LORD, all this happened in Jerusalem and Judah, until He finally banished them from His presence.
Section summaryZedekiah begins his reign with the usual royal notice, but the moral judgment does not change: he too does evil before the LORD. The section closes by gathering the whole chapter under one cause, saying Judah’s ruin comes from the LORD’s anger until He casts them from His presence.
Role in the chapterThis closing section gives Judah’s last king in brief and returns the reader to the deepest cause of exile. It prepares the way for the final destruction that is still to come.