BIBLE PEOPLE | ZEDEKIAH, KING OF JUDAH

1. Bible People

a) The Bible is an historic record of real people and places. 

b) Here is a brief biography of such a person during Bible times.

2. Zedekiah, King of Judah

a) Zedekiah - the king of Judah - was a son of King Josiah and Hamutal, and uncle to King Jehoiachin. He was appointed King of Judah, after King Jehoiachin was exiled by King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon. He reigned eleven years, but it was an evil reign (596-586 BC). The idea of a king appointed by a foreign ruler was not accepted by the people who continued to regard Jehoiachin as their legitimate king (Jeremiah 37:1).

b) King Zedekiah refused to accept the counsel of Jeremiah the prophet, who gave him messages of the Lord. He rebelled against King Nebuchadnezzar, even though he had taken an oath of loyalty. (2 Chronicles 36:12-13). King Nebuchadnezzar then laid siege to Jerusalem in the ninth year of the reign of King Zedekiah, and continued to the eleventh year. The food had run out, and Zedekiah tried to escape, but was captured in the plains of Jericho.

c) He was then taken to Riblah, where he was tried and sentenced before the King of Babylon. He was forced to watch as his sons were killed before his eyes, then his eyes were put out and he was taken to Babylon (2 Kings 25:6-7). General Nebuzaradan of Babylon then burned down the Temple and the palace, and tore down the walls of Jerusalem. The story of Zedekiah is found in 2 Kings 24:17-20, 25, and 2 Chronicles 36:11-13. The name Zedekiah means "Yah is my righteousness." 

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