2 Kings 25 Summary - 5 Minute Bible Study

2 Kings 25 Short Summary:

2 Kings 25 records the fate of Judah after years of disobedience to God. God allowed the Babylonian Empire, under the command of Nebuchadnezzar, to destroy Jerusalem and strip the Temple of almost everything that made it significant. Zedekiah and the people of Judah were taken captive to Babylon, where they would remain for several decades of God-ordained exile.

2 Kings 25 Extended Summary

WHEN:

• Zedekiah reigned from 597-586 B.C.

• Jerusalem was destroyed in 586 B.C.

CHARACTERS:

• Nebuchadnezzar – King of Babylon.

• Jehoiachin – He became king after Jehoiakim. He only reigned for 3 months. He was taken as a captive to Babylon.

• Zedekiah (Mattaniah) – Nebuchadnezzar made Zedekiah king after he besieged Jerusalem in 597 B.C.

• Evil-merodach – Son of Nebuchadnezzar. He released Jehoiachin from prison in Babylon.

WHERE:

• The kings of Judah ruled from Jerusalem.

• The capital of the Babylonian Empire was Babylon, a city positioned on the Euphrates River.

• After fleeing Jerusalem, Zedekiah was captured near Jericho (east of Jerusalem).

OUTLINE:

• JERUSALEM IS DESTROYED AND MORE OF JUDAH IS EXILED TO BABYLON (25:1-21):

  • In Zedekiah’s 9th year as king, after rebelling against Babylon, Nebuchadnezzar attacked Jerusalem.

  • The siege lasted until Zedekiah’s 11th year. The siege caused great misery in the city, and no one had any food to eat.

  • Eventually the city was breached and the everyone tried to escape.

  • Zedekiah made it out of the city, but he was captured in the plains of Jericho.

  • As punishment for his rebellion, Zedekiah’s sons were killed in front of him and then the Babylonians blinded him.

  • In Nebuchadnezzar’s 19th year, his servants burned Jerusalem. They tore down the wall of Jerusalem and carried captives away to Babylon.

  • The Temple was burned, and all the bronze, silver, and gold within the Temple was taken, including the large bronze pillars that sat outside the Holy Place.

  • Nebuchadnezzar killed the High Priest, the second priest, and any government or military officials he found in the city.

  • “So Judah was taken into exile out of its land” (25:21).

• GEDALIAH IS MADE GOVERNOR OF JUDAH (25:22-26):

  • Nebuchadnezzar did not exile the extremely poor people of Judah, so he appointed a man named Gedaliah to be their governor.

  • Gedaliah told the people they did not need to fear so long as they served Babylon.

  • But a man named Ishmael and his band of 10 men assassinated Gedaliah.

  • This led to many in Judah fleeing to live in Egypt because they feared Babylonian retribution.

• JEHOIACHIN GETS OUT OF PRISON IN BABYLON (25:27-30):

  • 37 years into his Babylonian imprisonment, Jehoiachin, the former king of Judah, was released from prison by Evil-merodach.

  • Evil-merodach elevated him in his kingdom and Jehoiachin often ate at the king’s table.  

UNDERSTANDING THE BIBLE:

• Do you remember back during the days of the prophet Samuel, when the people of Israel asked Samuel to give them a king? How did that work out for them? Was it really a king they needed?

• They rejected God as their king in exchange for a human king.

• As we’ve followed the story of Judah and Israel over the last several centuries, we’ve learned that their kings were pretty lousy, and they led their nations into shame.

• As we read through the rest of the Old Testament, we’ll await a better king, someone who can fix these broken governments and someone who is resistant to the immorality that corrupted so many of the kings we’ve discussed.

• Spoiler: That king is Jesus.

• The people rejected God as their king and messed up their nations. God (Jesus) is going to return to His people to show them God is the only One capable of saving them.