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Zedekiah, Judah’s Last King
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may serve Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon; and they shall serve
him.”’”
“Then Jeremiah the prophet said to Hananiah the prophet, ‘Hear
now, Hananiah, the Lord has not sent you, but you make this people
trust in a lie. Therefore thus says the Lord: ... “This year you
shall die, because you have taught rebellion against the Lord.”’ So
Hanaiah the prophet died the same year in the seventh month.”
Verses
13-17
. The false prophet had wickedly declared himself to be the
Lord’s messenger, and he died as a result.
The unrest caused by the false prophets brought Zedekiah under
suspicion of treason, and only by quick action on his part was he
permitted to continue reigning as a vassal. The king accompanied a
prince on a mission to Babylon.
Jeremiah 51:59
. During this visit
to the Chaldean court, Zedekiah renewed his oath of allegiance to
Nebuchadnezzar.
Through Daniel and other Hebrew captives, the Babylonian
monarch had become acquainted with the power and supreme au-
thority of the true God; and when Zedekiah once more solemnly
promised to remain loyal, Nebuchadnezzar required him to swear
to this in the name of the Lord God of Israel. If Zedekiah had re-
spected this renewal of his covenant oath, his loyalty would have
had a profound influence on many who were watching those who
claimed to honor the God of the Hebrews. But the Bible records that
Zedekiah “rebelled against King Nebuchadnezzar, who had made
him swear an oath by God; but he stiffened his neck and hardened
his heart against turning to the Lord God of Israel.”
2 Chronicles
36:13
.
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Ezekiel Shown Abominations in the Temple
While Jeremiah continued to bear testimony in the land of Judah,
God raised up the prophet Ezekiel among the captives in Babylon to
warn and to comfort the exiles. Ezekiel made plain how foolish it
was to trust the predictions of an early return to Jerusalem. God also
instructed him to use a variety of symbols to predict the siege and
destruction of Jerusalem.
In the sixth year of Zedekiah’s reign, the Lord revealed to Ezekiel
some of the abominations being practiced in Jerusalem, even within