Chapter 22

So what is it that Jehoiachim has done that has God so upset?

I wasn’t sure, so I googled it. Turns out that Jehoiachim was involved in some dodgy dealings, especially having his brother taken out of the way so that he could have the throne.

So we’re talking a fairly nasty dude here, and God isn’t turning the blind eye.

In fact, this passage is basically a dissertation on how God will apply justice, not only to the people involved in the incident itself, but to those in charge, to leaders.

There is little else that can be said about this passage – it uses a lot of flowery language to say the one basic point – that God is in no way going to let leaders have special treatment. In fact, they are facing harsher punishment than the people under their command. They should have known better, and it is to their great shame that they did not lead the people of Israel to follow God, but instead taught them to go against Him.

We can apply this, even though most of us (all of us reading this?) are not ever going to be kings or queens. The fact is that we’re all going to be leaders at some point or another, and it is important for us to understand that a leader is responsible for those under their care.

Leaders have so much more to lose than others. Yes, leadership is a noble role, and it’s one that we certainly shouldn’t shirk. But we need to go into leadership with our eyes open. As well as the rights of leadership we need to remember the responsibility.

In this case, Josiah HAD lead well, but his sons less so. So God pronounces the judgement on them.

Ask yourself one simple question: If you were one of the leaders of Israel at that time, would you be one of the ones God would criticize?