The Fall of Judah

2 Kings 24-25

            The immediate cause of the fall of Judah and Jerusalem was power politics. The kings of Judah just couldn’t stay out of the affairs of nations. Now, to be fair, they were in the middle of everything. Egypt was south of Israel; Babylon and Assyria were north; Israel was always caught between great powers. In that situation, what are you going to do? You’re going to pick a side and hope for the best. Then there was the problem of vassalage: promising to serve a foreign king who’s about to destroy your nation is a good idea, but it’s never very popular at home, and you throw off that yoke as soon as it seems wise. So, things are crumbling fast for Judah.

            The real cause, though, was idolatry. The fall of Judah is not described like the fall of Samaria in chapter 17. There, the author went to lengths to show how Samaria’s fall was the direct result of her idolatry. Here the focus is on the extent of the destruction. Maybe the author soft peddles the idolatry because he’s talking about the line of David, and there were a lot more good kings than there ever where in Samaria. Also, the Lord needs a remnant, a portion of Israel through whom His promise can carry on, so we note that the book ends on a upbeat note: Jehoiachin moves from prisoner to honored guest, preparing us for the return from exile. But, before we can celebrate Israel’s return from exile, we’ll read the whole story again in the books of Chronicles!