Jeremiah 22:10-12 – Forget the past, use the present to build for the future

Shallum that the subject of the prophecy in Jeremiah 22:10-12.  A brief history of the event that led to him becoming king, then being deposed and taken captive in Egypt would help to make sense of this prophecy.

King Josiah was a good king who died a tragic death. He was shot by an arrow from an Assyrian while on the way to Carchemish to confront Pharoah Neco. His servants then had him brought to Jerusalem where he died and was buried. Second Chronicles 36:1 tells us that when he died, the people took Jehoahaz and made him king in his father’s place. Shallum was the other name for Jehoahaz. Second Kings 23:32 had this to say about him. “He did evil in the sight of the Lord, in accordance with all that his forefathers had done.” This was perhaps the cause for why he only had a short reign of three months. After his dealing at Carchemish, Pharoah Neco deposed Shallum as king of Judah, placed his brother Eliakim on the throne, and had Shallum taken prisoner to Egypt.

In Jeremiah 22:10, the people were urged not to mourn for his father Josiah who had died tragically but to mourn for Shallum instead. He would only have a short reign and would die as a captive in a foreign land. Jeremiah prophesied that he would be led away from Jerusalem to a foreign land. And that he would never see his native land again. This came to pass for Shallum died as a captive in Egypt and never saw Judah and Jerusalem again.  

The call of God through Jeremiah seems to suggest that there was no point in mourning for Josiah. Godly as he was, his regime had passed. They should instead deal with the present. They should mourn for the wicked Shallum who would be taken captive to Egypt and would die eventually. The lesson for us from these verses is to deal with the present and not dwell in the past.  No matter how wonderful our experience of the past may be we need to deal with and take care of the present. It is our present that will determine our future outcome. Settle our past with the Lord, walk uprightly now in the present and our future will be strengthened. Like Paul, we must forget the past but reach for what lies ahead. We must press on towards the goal ode the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. Seize every present opportunity in the present to build a glorious future in Christ.