Question 1

Who are the kings mentioned in this passage and what happened in their reigns?

Accepted Answer

The passage names four final kings of Judah. Jehoahaz, son of Josiah, was chosen by the people but ruled only three months before the king of Egypt removed him and took him to Egypt. The Egyptian king set his brother Eliakim on the throne and renamed him Jehoiakim, who ruled eleven years and did evil in God’s sight, leading to Babylon’s attack. Jehoiachin, Jehoiakim’s son, reigned just over three months before being taken to Babylon. Zedekiah then ruled eleven years, refused God’s word through Jeremiah, rebelled against Babylon, and brought ruin on the nation.

Question 2

Why did God allow Babylon to destroy Jerusalem and the temple?

Accepted Answer

God allowed Babylon to destroy Jerusalem because the people, including their leaders and priests, kept turning to the practices of the nations around them. They polluted the temple with idolatry and broke God’s covenant. God had sent many prophets, getting up early, so to speak, to warn them and call them back, but they mocked, despised, and abused His messengers. After long patience, there was “no remedy,” so God handed them over to the king of the Chaldeans as a just judgment for ongoing, stubborn sin.

Question 3

What does it mean that the people mocked God’s messengers and there was no remedy?

Accepted Answer

Mocking God’s messengers means they made fun of the prophets, rejected what they said, and even harmed them instead of listening. They treated God’s words as worthless. “No remedy” shows there came a point where they would no longer turn back, and the warnings no longer had any effect. God had been very patient and compassionate, sending prophet after prophet, but their constant refusal hardened them. At that stage, judgment was no longer held back, and the coming disaster would not be healed or turned aside.

Question 4

What does it mean that the land enjoyed her sabbaths for seventy years?

Accepted Answer

The phrase about the land enjoying her sabbaths points to the rest the land was supposed to have every seventh year, when fields were not to be worked. For many years the people had ignored this command. When they were taken away to Babylon, the land finally lay empty and uncultivated. Those seventy years of desolation are pictured as the land at last getting the rest God had ordered. It shows that God takes His commands seriously and that even creation is included in His plans for obedience and rest.

Question 5

How does this passage show both God’s judgment and His compassion?

Accepted Answer

Judgment is clear in the fall of the kings, the invasion of Babylon, the killing in the sanctuary, the burning of the temple, and the long exile. These are described as coming from the Lord because of deep, repeated sin. At the same time, the passage shows compassion. Before judgment, God continually sent prophets out of love for His people and His dwelling place. After the seventy years, God stirred the spirit of Cyrus, king of Persia, to send the people back and rebuild the house of God in Jerusalem, keeping His word of restoration.

Question 6

Who was Cyrus in this passage, and why is he important?

Accepted Answer

Cyrus was the king of Persia who rose after Babylon fell. In this passage, he is important because God moves his heart to act. In his first year as ruler, he makes a public decree across his empire, saying that the Lord, the God of heaven, has given him his kingdoms and charged him to build a house in Jerusalem. He invites God’s people to go up and rebuild. This shows that God can use a foreign ruler to carry out His plans and to complete the promise spoken earlier through His prophet.

Question 7

Why did Zedekiah’s refusal to humble himself before Jeremiah matter so much?

Accepted Answer

Zedekiah’s problem was not only that he was politically stubborn but that he would not bow to God’s word. Jeremiah spoke “from the mouth of the Lord,” yet Zedekiah hardened his heart and stiffened his neck instead of repenting. He even broke an oath he had sworn by God to the king of Babylon. His personal pride and rebellion helped lead the nation further into sin and finally into disaster. His story shows how a leader’s response to God’s word can affect many others for harm.

Question 8

What does this passage teach about God’s view of worship and His house?

Accepted Answer

The passage shows that God cares deeply about how He is worshiped. The people copied the abominations of the nations around them, and even the priests led in this, polluting the house that God had set apart in Jerusalem. Because they brought idols and defilement into His temple, He allowed that very house to be burned, its treasures taken, and its walls broken down. This shows that an outward building, even a beautiful temple, does not protect people if they use it while ignoring God’s commands and filling it with sin.

Question 9

How can a modern reader apply the message of this passage?

Accepted Answer

A modern reader can see how serious it is to ignore God’s steady warnings and kindness. The people in this passage did not fall in one day; they hardened themselves over time, mocked correction, and trusted in outward religion while their hearts chased other gods. This calls us to listen when God corrects us through Scripture and faithful voices, to take sin seriously, and to turn back quickly rather than pushing Him away. It also encourages trust that even when God disciplines, He has not forgotten His promises and can restore.

2 Chronicles 36:1

Then the people of the land took Jehoahaz the son of Josiah, and made him king in his father’s stead in Jerusalem.

Jehoahaz Succeeds Josiah

Jehoiakim Reigns in Judah

Jehoiachin Reigns in Judah

Zedekiah Reigns in Judah

The Fall of Jerusalem

The Proclamation of Cyrus

Jehoahaz Succeeds Josiah

Cross References

2 Chronicles 36:1

Then the people of the land took Jehoahaz the son of Josiah, and made him king in his father’s stead in Jerusalem.

Share Options

All Verses

Verse + Context

Current Verse

Jehoahaz Succeeds Josiah

Jehoiakim Reigns in Judah

Jehoiachin Reigns in Judah

Zedekiah Reigns in Judah

The Fall of Jerusalem

The Proclamation of Cyrus

Jehoahaz Succeeds Josiah

Cross References