Jehoiachin was taken captive to Babylon by Nebuchadnezzar and went into exile for some 36 years or so. Then in the 37th year, his fortune changed. He found favor with Evil-merodach, the son of Nebuchadnezzar, who succeeded his father on the throne. the fortune of Jehoiachin changed for the better. He was released from prison by the new monarch who showed him kindness. He was treated and spoken to him kindly. Evil-merodach even gave him a higher position that kings of other nations whom his father had taken as captives alongside Jehoiachin. Verse 29 tells us that Jehoiachin’s prison clothes were changed, and he allotted a place to dine with Evil-merodach regularly all the days of his life. The king even apportioned a daily allowance to Jehoiachin for each day of his life.
Why
did Evi-merodach show Jehoiachin such kindness? No reason was given for this
change. A sanctified guess would be that he was showing amnesty to the captive kings
to celebrate his inauguration as the new king of Babylon, in place of his
father. This favor shown by this new monarch must have given also provided hope
to the people in captivity. This could be a foretaste to the people concerning God’s
promise of their release from captivity. In Jeremiah 30:3, the prophet proclaimed
saying, “‘For behold, the days are coming,’ says the LORD, ‘that I will bring back from captivity My people Israel and
Judah,’ says the LORD. ‘And I will cause them to return to the land
that I gave to their fathers, and they shall possess it.’”
For
us, this is a lesson of hope in God for us who put our trust in Him. Psalm 30:5
assures us that “For His anger is
but for a moment, His favor is for a lifetime; weeping may last for the night, but a shout of joy comes in the morning.”
There is great hope in God. No matter how much tribulation we may be undergoing,
in trusting God, we will have a positive outcome. So the encouragement of Hebrews 10:35-36 is “Therefore, do not throw away your confidence, which has a
great reward. For you have need of endurance, so
that when you have done the will of God, you may receive what was promised.”
So let us learn to stay confident in our
God!
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