Released to a Seat of Honor

Jehoiachin is noted in 2 Kings 24 as a man who did evil in the sight of the LORD, according to all that his father Jehoiakim had done. He enjoyed three months of reigning in Jerusalem before he went out to Nebuchadnezzar and surrendered. He avoided the fate of Zedekiah, his uncle, who witnessed his own children be slaughtered and then had his eyes put out. So for the next 36 years he was a prisoner of Babylon.  But then something happened that he did not expect.

King Nebuchadnezzar had reigned as King of Kings over Babylon and much of the known world of the Middle East for 42 years. He was strong and wealthy. He had captured Jerusalem and many other capitals to add to his empire. He spent time grazing in a field of madness before God gave back his senses so that he recognized the One True God. He built a city that would be one of the wonders of the ancient world, with hanging gardens all around and the Euphrates running through it. and then on October 7, 562 BC, the mighty King of King died like a mere man. His son Amel-Marduk (Evil Merodach) became king in his place.

One of the first official acts of Amel-Marduk was to set Jehoiachin free. A tablet was found in Babylon near the ruins of the Ishtar Gate which documented the rations for prisoners and skilled laborers in Babylon. Several of the tablets list the rations allotted to Jehoiachin and his sons - 10 sila of oil on one, 2.5 sila to his sons on another. These note that Jehoiachin was King of Judah and had five sons who were also taken captive. He received more rations that other kings listed in the tablets, showing he was being treated favorably even before Amel-Marduk set him free. This preferable treatment is likely due to his surrender to Nebuchadnezzar, and maybe even the presence of Daniel as an advisor to the King of Babylon. The tablets note that the king of Judah had five sons, but he is noted in the Bible as having seven sons, so he would have had two more after his release.

In the 37th year of the captivity, in the 12th month, on the 25th day of that month, Amel Marduk sent a decree to release Jehoiachin king of Judah from prison. A few days later, on the 27th day of the 12th month, he was officially released from his bondage. He was a free man once again, after a very long imprisonment. He went and lived in a village called Al-Yahuda near Sippar, according to the Talmud. 

Jehoiachin means "YHWH Will Establish". And it was the God of Israel Himself who upheld Jehoiachin while he was in prison. YHWH gave him many sons to continue the kingly lineage of David with. The King of Babylon gave him an allowance for the rest of his life and he ate with the Kings of Babylon until he died. He shows up in the genealogy of Jesus Christ. Jeremiah prophesied that he would have no sons to reign on the throne, and history reveals just that - his sons did not sit on the throne of David. The royal line continued, but no more kings were crowned to sit on the throne. Zerubbabel, grandson of Jehoiachin, led the first group of Jews who returned from the Babylonian Captivity in the first year of King Cyrus of Persia. He was appointed governor of the Yehud Medinata (Jewish Territory) by Cyrus. 

God is sovereign over the affairs of man. He lifts kings up and brings them low. He raises up empires and scatters them. He has appointed the boundaries of our life and the places we will go. Through all of this calamity which He subjected His people to, He was preparing the world for the coming Messiah - Jesus Christ. He used kings who did not know Him to do it. He moved heaven and earth, controlling the times and seasons, to bring it all to His appointed end. And He is still doing that today. God is not passively waiting for the right opportunity to return. He is arranging the players to bring this world to its appointed end - the return of Jesus to destroy the wicked and reign as King of Kings while this world enjoys a peace it has known only in the Garden of Eden before the curse of sin fell on it.