Jehoiakim had reigned for only three months when he was exiled to Babylon, but his successor, Zedekiah, ruled for eleven years. He pretended to submit to Babylon while at the same time courting Egypt and listening to the pro-Egypt leaders in the government of Judah (Ezek. 17:11–18). Zedekiah took an oath in the name of the Lord that he would be faithful to the king of Babylon (2 Chron. 36:13; Ezek. 17:11–14). He maintained diplomatic contact with Babylon (Jer. 29:3) and even visited the court of Nebuchadnezzar (Jer. 51:59), but he also sent envoys to Egypt to seek the help of Pharaoh Hophra.
In 605, during the reign of Jehoiakim, the Babylonians had deported some of Judah’s best young men to Babylon to be trained for official duty, among them Daniel and his three friends (Dan. 1:1–2). The second deportation was in 597 (2 Kings 24:10–16) when over ten thousand people were sent to Babylon. But Zedekiah still favored getting help from Egypt, and in 588, the political situation seemed just right for Zedekiah to revolt against Babylon (2 Kings 24:20; 2 Chron. 36:13). Nebuchadnezzar responded by marching his army to Jerusalem, but when the Egyptian army moved to help King Zedekiah, the Babylonians withdrew temporarily to face Egypt. Nebuchadnezzar knew it was unwise to fight a war on two fronts. God sent Jeremiah to warn Zedekiah that Nebuchadnezzar would return (Jer. 37), but Zedekiah’s faith was in Egypt, not in the Lord (Ezek. 17:11–21). Zedekiah even called an “international conference” involving Edom, Moab, Ammon, Tyre, and Sidon (Jer. 27), hoping that these nations would work together to keep Babylon at bay. However, Nebu-chadnezzar stopped Egypt and then returned to Jerusalem and the punishment of Zedekiah.
The siege of Jerusalem began on January 15, 588, and continued until July 18, 586, when the famine was so severe the people were cooking and eating their own children (Lam. 4:9–10). The invaders broke through the walls and took the city, looting and destroying the houses and finally burning the city and the temple on August 14, 586. The prophet Jeremiah had counseled Zedekiah and his officers to surrender to Nebuchadnezzar and thus save the city and the temple (Jer. 21; 38:1–6, 14–28), but they refused to obey God’s word and had Jeremiah arrested as a traitor! The officers put him under court guard and even dropped him into an abandoned cistern where he would have died had he not been rescued (Jer. 38:1–13). The hypocritical and weak Zedekiah told Jeremiah to ask the Lord what he should do (Jer. 21), but the king refused to accept the prophet’s answer. Zedekiah asked Jeremiah to pray for him (Jer. 37:1–3), but the king was a proud man who refused to humble himself and pray for himself (2 Chron. 36:12–13; 2 Chron. 7:14).
When the Babylonian soldiers finally entered the city, King Zedekiah fled with his family and officers, but they were intercepted in the plains of Jericho and taken into custody. Jeremiah’s prophecy had come true (Jer. 34:1–7; see also chapters 39 and 52). Zedekiah faced Nebuchadnezzar at his headquarters at Riblah where he was found guilty of rebellion and sentenced to be exiled to Babylon. But first, to give the king one last tormenting memory, the Babylonians killed his sons before his eyes—and then gouged out his eyes! Ezekiel in Babylon also prophesied that the king would attempt to escape and be captured and taken to Babylon, but he would not see the city (Ezek. 12:1–13). How could Zedekiah see the king of Babylon (Jer. 34:3) but not see the city of Babylon? The answer was: after he had seen the king, Zedekiah was blinded by his enemies.
After removing everything valuable from the city and the temple, on August 14, 586, the Babylonians finished breaking down the walls of the city and set fire to Jerusalem and the temple. The Babylonian officers captured the religious leaders of the city as well as the king’s staff, the people who had opposed Jeremiah and given the king poor counsel, and had them slain before Nebuchadnezzar at Riblah. The priests had polluted God’s house with idols and encouraged the people to break the covenant of God (2 Chron. 36:14; see Lam. 4: and Ezek. 8—9). The leaders of the nation had refused to listen to God’s servants, so God sent judgment (2 Chron. 36:15–16). There was “no remedy” and the day of judgment had arrived. Only the poor people remained in the land (24:14; 25:12; Jer. 39:10; 40:7; 52:16) to take care of what was left of the vineyards and farms.
King Zedekiah lived in Babylon until his death and, in fulfillment of the Lord’s promise through Jeremiah (Jer. 34:4–5), was given a state funeral. He certainly didn’t deserve such an honor, but the Lord did it for the sake of David, the founder of the dynasty.