Useful Bible Studies > 2 Kings Commentary > chapter 25
That night, King Zedekiah tried to escape. His plan was to leave Jerusalem quickly with his whole army. Babylon’s soldiers had surrounded the city – but they would not expect to have to fight so many soldiers from Jerusalem at once. Zedekiah went with them through a minor gate in the city’s walls. That gate was near the king’s palace and probably, nobody had used it for the last two years.
When Zedekiah escaped from the city, he went towards the Jordan river. That was the same route by which David escaped from Absalom in 2 Samuel chapters 15 to 17. It is about 20 miles (30 kilometres) from Jerusalem to the Jordan. Jerusalem is in the hills, and the Jordan is the deepest valley in the world. So, the path constantly goes down, and it is possible to march quickly. Zedekiah’s soldiers would reach the Jordan that same night. They could see clearly by the light of the moon.
When David escaped by that route, Hushai warned him strongly not to rest on the west side of the Jordan river (2 Samuel 17:16). If his enemies were following him, it would be easy for them to attack and to kill him there. Instead, he and everyone with him must cross the river at once. Then they could find safe places in the vast country on the east side of the river.
As soon as Zedekiah left Jerusalem, Babylon’s army began to chase after him. Zedekiah’s soldiers did not really care about him; they wanted to save their own lives. They realised that Babylon’s soldiers only wanted to catch Zedekiah – so, the soldiers from Jerusalem scattered in every direction. In the end, Zedekiah had nobody to defend him – and he was still on the west side of the Jordan river. So, it was easy then for Babylon’s soldiers to take him as their prisoner.
Next part: The king of Babylon's cruelty to Zedekiah (2 Kings 25:6-7)
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