In Another Battle



 In a battle with Necho, king of Egypt, Josiah was mortally wounded. "Then the people of the land took Jehoahaz, the son of Josiah, and made him king in his father's stead in Jerusalem." After a reign of only three months, he was put down by the king of Egypt, and Eliakim made king in his stead.  Eliakim was an older brother of Jehoahaz. 

The king of Egypt changed his name to Jehoiakim. During his evil reign, Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, came up against him and made him prisoner, with the intention of taking him to Babylon; but afterward released him, and allowed him to reign ON condition that he would be loyal to the king of Babylon, and be faithful in paying tribute. At this time, Nebuchadnezzar took part of the vessels of the house of God, and also the chief among the people, including some "of the king's seed and of the princes," and carried them away to Babylon. Among the captives was the youthful Daniel, who afterward became such a noted prophet.

At this time, about 606 years before Christ, began the seventy years of Jewish captivity, foretold by Jeremiah.  Jehoiakim was a very wicked king, and shed much innocent blood in Jerusalem. The Lord sent him many warnings and severe reproofs through the prophets Urijah and Jeremiah; but instead of receiving the reproofs and heeding the warnings, he took the life of Urijah, and would have slain Jeremiah, had not the Lord protected him, When one of the prophecies written by Jeremiah was read before the king, he snatched the roll from the scribe when it was only partly read, and threw it into the fire.

In the eleventh year of his reign, Jehoiakim rebelled against the king of Babylon; and as a consequence, lost not only his kingdom, but his life. Nebuchadnezzar then raised Jehoiachin to the throne, but in a little more than three months, deposed him, and put Zedekiah in his place. At this time the Babylonians took away "all the treasures of the house of the Lord, and the treasures of the king's house, and cut in pieces all the vessels of gold which Solomon king of Israel had made."  It is supposed by some that the whole 

number of Jewish people taken captive to Babylon at this time, was not less than forty thousand; but Josephus makes the number much smaller. The sacred historian says that "he carried away all Jerusalem, and all the princes, and all the mighty men of valor," as well as all the craftsmen, and all the smiths, and all that were skilled in war, leaving in the land none but the poorest class of people. Yet even in their captivity the Lord did not forsake his people, but spoke to them by the mouth of the young prophet Ezekiel, while Jeremiah remained in Jerusalem to declare the word of the Lord to the wicked Zedekiah, and his still more unprincipled adviser?.

"Zedekiah was one and twenty years old when he began to reign, and reigned eleven 

years in Jerusalem. And he did that which was evil in the sight of the Lord his God, and humbled not himself before Jeremiah the prophet speaking from the mouth of the Lord."

The sufferings of this faithful prophet are almost without a parallel in the history of mankind. His life and writings should be studied by every one.