Useful Bible Studies > 2 Kings Commentary > chapter 25
When Babylon’s king appointed Gedaliah to rule Judah, there was at last the real hope of peace there. The people knew Gedaliah to be a good man. He had given a serious promise that the king of Babylon would deal well with them.
That hope ended suddenly just two months later, when one of Judah’s commanders, called Ishmael, killed Gedaliah. Ishmael belonged to Judah’s royal family, but he carried out this murder on behalf of the king of Ammon (Jeremiah 40:14). The king of Ammon probably did not want the king of Babylon to establish his authority over Judah. Ammon was on the east side of Judah, and there had been frequent wars between Israel and Ammon in the past.
Ishmael escaped into Ammon, but the remaining people in Judah became very afraid. They expected that the king of Babylon would blame them for Gedaliah’s death. So, they thought that he would send his soldiers back into Judah to punish them.
For that reason, they decided to escape into Egypt. However, they wanted God to approve of their plan. So first, they went to Jeremiah the prophet (holy man), and they asked him to inquire of God on their behalf.
God told them that they should remain in Judah. If they did, then God would look after them there. However if they went into Egypt, they would suffer great troubles there. Few or none of them would ever return to Judah. In Egypt, Judah’s people would not even escape from Babylon’s king, because God was handing over Egypt to him.
The people heard this message from God, but they refused to obey it. So they went into Egypt.
Jeremiah chapters 40 to 44 give many more details about these events.
Next part: After 37 years, Babylon's king frees Jehoiachin (2 Kings 25:27-30)
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