The Kings Of Israel And Judah. Day 126, Jehoahaz King Of Judah, Part One

As we closed yesterday's study we found King Josiah perishing of the wounds he sustained in battle with the troops of Pharaoh Necho. Necho II (also known as Nechau or Neco) was the successor to his father, Necho I, who had been a staunch ally of King Ashurbanipal of Assyria. After Ashurbanipal's death, the nation of Assyria began to go into decline. Babylon, which had been formerly conquered by Assyria, was expanding its empire and pushing back against Assyrian domination. Necho II, like his father, was loyal to Assyria, which is why he marched out to assist the current king, Ashuruballit. Ashuruballit had fled the now-destroyed Assyrian capital of Nineveh to rule in exile from Carchemish. But he was not safe there either, for the Babylonians began attacking Carchemish as well.

In yesterday's passage Pharaoh Necho II was on his way to give military aid at Carchemish when Josiah and his army came out to oppose him because Josiah's great-grandfather, Hezekiah, had made an alliance with Babylon and the kings of Judah had remained loyal to the Babylonians since that day. Necho warned Josiah to leave him alone, declaring that he was on a mission from God. He said that if Josiah got in his way he would lose his life.

We discussed whether or not Necho really did receive his marching orders from God or whether he was using the name of Israel's God in order to persuade Josiah to back down. The text from yesterday indicated that the Lord was at least behind the warning for Josiah to back down so he wouldn't lose his life, but Josiah pressed the attack and was mortally wounded in battle. He was rushed back to Jerusalem but perished upon his arrival there. Had he listened to Necho's warning, not engaging the Egyptian king's troops in battle, I believe it would have delayed the fall of Judah for a time. The Lord had told Josiah that the nation would fall but He also promised him that it would not happen during his lifetime. As long as the godly Josiah was on the throne of Judah, the nation remained secure. But now he is dead and his son Jehoahaz will be declared king by the people. Though Jehoahaz was raised by a godly man, he is a very wicked man. 

"And the people of the land took Jehoahaz son of Josiah and made him king in Jerusalem in place of his father." (2 Chronicles 26:1) Jehoahaz's given name at birth appears to have been "Shallum" according to the genealogy of the kings provided in 1 Chronicles 3 and according to Jeremiah 22:11, so the name of "Jehoahaz" must have been his throne name. The author of 1 Chronicles makes it clear that he was not Josiah's eldest son but was in fact his fourth-born son. Why, then, did the people choose him to succeed Josiah? 

The Bible gives us no clue as to the people's reason for proclaiming him king. Bible scholars and historians speculate that either he had made himself far more popular and visible to the public than his three elder brothers or that his political views lined up with those of Josiah more than did the views of his brothers. I'd like to propose a third theory which is that Josiah may have made it known that it was his preference for Shallum to succeed him. This would have made Shallum the crown prince of Judah in spite of not being the firstborn. Although it was common in most ancient cultures for the eldest son to succeed his father, this was not an official law in most nations. It was usually up to the father's discretion to choose which son he wanted to succeed him. If Shallum was Josiah's preferred successor, we must ask ourselves why, considering he is not a godly young man. But Josiah wouldn't be the first king of the Bible to show favoritism to a son who doesn't share his love for the Lord.

Whatever the reasoning behind proclaiming Shallum (now Jehoahaz) as king, his reign will be extremely short. "Jehoahaz was twenty-three years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem three months. His mother's name was Hamutal daughter of Jeremiah; she was from Libnah." (2 Kings 23:31) The Jeremiah mentioned here is not the prophet Jeremiah, for the prophet Jeremiah was from Anathoth. For further proof that Jehoahaz's mother was not the daughter of Jeremiah, Jeremiah never married (see Jeremiah 16:1-4). Jeremiah was not likely to have fathered any children outside the bonds of holy matrimony so even if we didn't know he was from Anathoth and not from Libnah, he cannot be the father of Jehoahaz's mother.

Something has gone very wrong with Jehoahaz, spiritually speaking, and we do not know why. "He did evil in the eyes of the Lord, just as his predecessors had done." (2 Kings 23:32) Some of Jehoahaz's predecessors were idolaters. His grandfather, King Amon, was a very idolatrous man. His great-grandfather, Manasseh, was also a very idolatrous man until the final years of his life. Jehoahaz reverts back to the ways of these men instead of following the ways of his godly father.

We do not know why Jehoahaz goes astray like this but we probably all know people who did their best to raise their children to love the Lord and yet they have a grown child who despises the Lord and who enjoys living in sin. It's the duty of godly mothers and fathers to teach their children about the Lord and to demonstrate godly living in front of their children. But no one can control the heart and mind of another person. A child might have to live by godly rules while living in their parents' household but if that child has no desire to know the Lord then he or she may reject Him at adulthood. I feel certain Josiah did his best to bring his children up in the right way. The Bible makes it clear that he set a wonderful example for the people of Judah to follow. I do not think Josiah is to blame for how Jehoahaz turned out. 

The wicked Jehoahaz won't sit on the throne of Judah for long. In our next study session we will read of the political/military conditions that are going to lead to him being taken captive by the king of Egypt.