2 Chronicles 36:1-4

2 Chronicles 36:1-4

[1] Then the people  of the land  took  Jehoahaz  the son  of Josiah,  and made him king  in his father's  stead in Jerusalem.  [2] Jehoahaz  was twenty  and three  years  old  when he began to reign,  three  months  in Jerusalem.  [3] And the king  of Egypt  put him down  at Jerusalem,  and condemned  the land  in an hundred  talents  of silver  and a talent  of gold.  [4] And the king  of Egypt  made Eliakim  his brother  king  over Judah  and Jerusalem,  and turned  his name  to Jehoiakim.  And Necho  took  Jehoahaz  his brother,  and carried  him to Egypt. 

What does 2 Chronicles 36:1-4 Mean?

Contextual Meaning

In these few verses, the will of the king of Egypt contrasts with the will of Judah"s people. Whereas the people still held out hope that a descendant of David would lead them to the great glories predicted for David"s greatest Son (e.g, Psalm 2), such was not to be the case any time soon. Other superpowers now dominated Judah"s affairs. God had given His people over into their hands in discipline (cf. Deuteronomy 28:32-57). This king of Judah, rather than lifting the Davidic dynasty to its greatest glories, ended his life as a prisoner in Egypt, the original prison-house of Israel.