2nd Kings Chapter 24 verse 20 Holy Bible

Pulpit Commentary

Pulpit CommentaryVerse 20. - For through the anger of the Lord it came to pus in Jerusalem and Judah. It was "through the anger of the Lord" at the persistent impenitence of the people, that that came to pass which actually came to pass - the rejection of the nation by God and the casting of it out of his presence. In his anger he suffered the appointment of another perverse and faithless monarch, who made no attempt at a reformation of religion, and allowed him to run his evil course unchecked, and to embroil himself with his suzerain, and to bring destruction upon his nation. God's anger, long provoked (2 Kings 21:10-15; 2 Kings 23:26, 27; 2 Kings 24:3, 4), lay at the root of the whole series of events, not causing men's sins, but allowing them to go on until the cup of their iniquities was full, and the time had arrived for vengeance. Until he had east them out from his presence (comp. 2 Kings 17:18, 20; 2 Kings 23:27; 2 Kings 24:3). To be "cast out of God's presence" is to lose his protecting care, to be separated off from him, to be left defenseless against our enemies. When Israel was once finally cast off, its fate was sealed; there was no further hope for it; the end was come. That Zedekiah rebelled against the King of Babylon; rather, And Zedekiah rebelled, etc. The sentence is a detached one, and would, perhaps, better commence 2 Kings 25. than terminate, as it does, 2 Kings 24. Zedekiah, when he received his investiture at the hands of Nebuchadnezzar (ver. 17), took a solemn oath of allegiance and fidelity (2 Chronicles 36:13; Ezekiel 17:13) to him and to his successors; but almost immediately afterwards he began to intrigue with Egypt, sent a contingent of troops to help Psamatik II. in his wars (Wiediemann, 'Geschichte AEgyptens,' p. 159), and thus sought to pave the way for an Egyptian alliance, on the strength of which he might venture upon a revolt. It was probably owing to the suspicions which these acts aroused that, in the fourth year of his reign, B.C. 594, he had to visit Babylon (Jeremiah 51:59), where, no doubt, he renewed his engagements and assured the Babylonian monarch of his fidelity. But these proceedings were nothing but a blind. On the accession of Hophra (Apries) to the throne of Egypt in B.C. 591, Zedekiah renewed his application to the Egyptian court, openly sending ambassadors (Ezekiel 17:15), with a request for infantry and cavalry. Thus was his rebellion complete, his "oath despised," and his "covenant broken" (Ezekiel 17:15, 16). The war with Babylon, and the siege of Jerusalem, were the natural consequences.

Ellicott's Commentary

Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers(20) For through . . . in Jerusalem.--Literally, for upon the anger of Jehovah it befel Jerusalem. That which fell upon Jerusalem and Judah like a ruinous disaster was the evil doing of Zedekiah, mentioned in 2Kings 24:19. That such a prince as Zedekiah was raised to the throne was itself a token of Divine displeasure, for his character was such as to hasten the final catastrophe.Until he had cast them out.--See Note on 2Kings 17:23.That Zedekiah rebelled.--Rather, and Zedelciah rebelled. There should be a full stop after "presence." Zedekiah expected help from Pharaoh Hophra (Apries), king of Egypt, to whom he sent ambassadors (Ezekiel 17:15; comp. Jeremiah 37:5; Jeremiah 44:30.) Moreover the neighbouring peoples of Edom, Ammon, and Moab, as well as Tyre and Zidon, were eager to throw off the Babylonian yoke, and had proposed a general rising to Zedekiah (Jeremiah 27:3 seq.) The high hopes which were inspired by the negotiations may be inferred from the prophecy of Hananiah (Jeremiah 28). Jeremiah opposed the project of revolt to the utmost of his power; and the event proved that he was right. In the early part of his reign Zedekiah had tried to procure the return of the exiles carried away in the last reign (Jeremiah 29:3); and in his fourth year he visited Babylon himself, perhaps with the same object, and to satisfy Nebuchadnezzar of his fidelity (Jeremiah 51:59). The date of his open revolt cannot be fixed. . . .