# Jeremiah 22 đ: Judgment on Judah's Kings
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> [!info] Table of Contents
> [[#đ Scripture Text (NET)]]
> [[#đ Verse-by-Verse Commentary]]
> [[#đ¤ Interesting Facts / Historical and Cultural Insights]]
> [[#đ§ Chapter Summary]]
> [[#âď¸ Christ in This Chapter]]
> [[#đ Key Principles / đ Life Application]]
> [[#đŹ Discussion Questions]]
> [[#âď¸ Key Verses to Remember]]
> [[#đ Related Passages/Cross Reference]]
> [[#đ Devotional Reflection]]
> [[#đ Internal Notes]]
## đ Scripture Text (NET)
(The NET Bible: New English Translation. Biblical Studies Press, 2005)
[[#Verse 01.]]The Lord told me, âGo down to the palace of the king of Judah. Give him a message from me there.Â
[[#Verse 02.]] Say: âListen, O king of Judah who follows in Davidâs succession. You, your officials, and your subjects who pass through the gates of this palace must listen to the Lordâs message.Â
[[#Verse 03.]] The Lord says, âDo what is just and right. Deliver those who have been robbed from those who oppress them. Do not exploit or mistreat resident foreigners who live in your land, children who have no fathers, or widows. Do not kill innocent people in this land.Â
[[#Verse 04.]] If you are careful to obey these commands, then the kings who follow in Davidâs succession and ride in chariots or on horses will continue to come through the gates of this palace, as will their officials and their subjects.Â
[[#Verse 05.]] But, if you do not obey these commands, I solemnly swear that this palace will become a pile of rubble. I, the Lord, affirm it!ââ
[[#Verse 06.]] âFor the Lord says concerning the palace of the king of Judah, ââThis place looks like a veritable forest of Gilead to me. It is like the wooded heights of Lebanon in my eyes. But I swear that I will make it like a wilderness whose towns have all been deserted.
[[#Verse 07.]]Â I will send men against it to destroy it
with their axes and hatchets.
They will hack up its fine cedar panels and columns
and throw them into the fire.
[[#Verse 08.]] ââPeople from other nations will pass by this city. They will ask one another, âWhy has the Lord done such a thing to this great city?âÂ
[[#Verse 09.]] The answer will come back, âIt is because they broke their covenant with the Lord their God and worshiped and served other gods.â
### Judgment on Jehoahaz
[[#Verse 10.]]Â ââDo not weep for the king who was killed.
Do not grieve for him.
But weep mournfully for the king who has gone into exile.
For he will never return to see his native land again.
[[#Verse 11.]] ââFor the Lord has spoken about Shallum son of Josiah, who succeeded his father as king of Judah but was carried off into exile. He has said, âHe will never return to this land.Â
[[#Verse 12.]]Â For he will die in the country where they took him as a captive. He will never see this land again.â
### Judgment on Jehoiakim
[[#Verse 13.]] ââSure to be judged is the king who builds his palace using injustice
and treats people unfairly while adding its upper rooms.
He makes his countrymen work for him for nothing.
He does not pay them for their labor.
[[#Verse 14.]]Â He says, âI will build myself a large palace
with spacious upper rooms.â
He cuts windows in its walls,
panels it with cedar, and paints its rooms red.
[[#Verse 15.]]Â Does it make you any more of a king
that you outstrip everyone else in building with cedar?
Just think about your father.
He was content that he had food and drink.
He did what was just and right.
So things went well with him.
[[#Verse 16.]]Â He upheld the cause of the poor and needy.
So things went well for Judah.â
The Lord says,
âThat is a good example of what it means to know me.
[[#Verse 17.]]Â But you are always thinking and looking
for ways to increase your wealth by dishonest means.
Your eyes and your heart are set
on killing some innocent person
and committing fraud and oppression.ââ
[[#Verse 18.]] So the Lord has this to say about Josiahâs son, King Jehoiakim of Judah:
âPeople will not mourn for him, saying,
âThis makes me sad, my brother!
This makes me sad, my sister!â
They will not mourn for him, saying,
âPoor, poor lord! Poor, poor majesty!â
[[#Verse 19.]]Â He will be left unburied just like a dead donkey.
His body will be dragged off and thrown outside the gates of Jerusalem.
### Warning to Jerusalem
[[#Verse 20.]] âPeople of Jerusalem, go up to Lebanon and cry out in mourning.
Go to the land of Bashan and cry out loudly.
Cry out in mourning from the mountains of Moab.
For your allies have all been defeated.
[[#Verse 21.]]Â While you were feeling secure I gave you warning.
But you said, âI refuse to listen to you.â
That is the way you have acted from your earliest history onward.
Indeed, you have never paid attention to me.
[[#Verse 22.]]Â My judgment will carry off all your leaders like a storm wind!
Your allies will go into captivity.
Then you will certainly be disgraced and put to shame
because of all the wickedness you have done.
[[#Verse 23.]]Â You may feel as secure as a bird
nesting in the cedars of Lebanon.
But O how you will groan when the pains of judgment come on you.
They will be like those of a woman giving birth to a baby.â
### Jeconiah Will Be Permanently Exiled
[[#Verse 24.]] The Lord says, âAs surely as I am the living God, you, Jeconiah, king of Judah, son of Jehoiakim, will not be the earthly representative of my authority. Indeed, I will take that right away from you.Â
[[#Verse 25.]] I will hand you over to those who want to take your life and of whom you are afraid. I will hand you over to King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon and his Babylonian soldiers.Â
[[#Verse 26.]] I will force you and your mother who gave you birth into exile. You will be exiled to a country where neither of you were born, and you will both die there.Â
[[#Verse 27.]]Â You will never come back to this land that you will long to return to!
[[#Verse 28.]]Â âThis man, Jeconiah, will be like a broken pot someone threw away.
He will be like a clay vessel that no one wants.
Why will he and his children be forced into exile?
Why will they be thrown out into a country they know nothing about?
[[#Verse 29.]]Â O Land, land, land of Judah!
Listen to the Lordâs message.
[[#Verse 30.]] The Lord says,
âEnroll this man in the register as though he were childless.
Enroll him as a man who will not enjoy success during his lifetime.
For none of his sons will succeed in occupying the throne of David
or ever succeed in ruling over Judah.â
## đ Verse-by-Verse Commentary
###### Overall.
###### Verse 01.
###### Verse 02.
###### Verse 03.
###### Verse 04.
###### Verse 05.
###### Verse 06.
###### Verse 07.
###### Verse 08.
###### Verse 09.
###### Verse 10.
###### Verse 11.
###### Verse 12.
###### Verse 13.
###### Verse 14.
###### Verse 15.
###### Verse 16.
###### Verse 17.
###### Verse 18.
###### Verse 19.
###### Verse 20.
###### Verse 21.
###### Verse 22.
###### Verse 23.
###### Verse 24.
###### Verse 25.
###### Verse 26.
###### Verse 27.
###### Verse 28.
###### Verse 29.
###### Verse 30.
## đ¤ Interesting Facts / Historical and Cultural Insights
1. Shallum (22:11) is King Jehoahaz, son of Josiah, who reigned only three months before Pharaoh Neco took him to Egypt (2 Kings 23:31-34).
2. Shallum died in Egypt and never saw his homeland again (22:12).
3. Jehoiakim used forced, unpaid labor to build his palace (22:13).
4. His palace had large upper rooms, wide windows, cedar paneling, and red paint (22:14), which was costly.
5. God contrasts Jehoiakim with his father Josiah, who did justice and righteousness (22:15-16).
6. Jeremiah said Jehoiakim would have "the burial of a donkey," dragged and thrown outside Jerusalem's gates (22:19).
7. Coniah (22:24) is another name for Jehoiachin, also called Jeconiah.
8. A signet ring was used to seal official documents and represented the authority of its owner.
9. Babylonian ration tablets found in Babylon list rations given to "Yaukin, king of Judah," generally identified as Jehoiachin.
10. Jehoiachin had sons (1 Chronicles 3:17), but none of them ruled from David's throne (22:30). Jeconiah still appears in Jesus' legal genealogy through Joseph (Matthew 1:12).
## đ§ Chapter Summary
> [!note] đą Still growing. This section is on its way.
## âď¸ Christ in This Chapter
Christ is the true King who does justice and defends the poor (22:15-16). Unlike Jehoiakim, who built his palace through injustice (22:13), Jesus came not to be served but to serve and give His life (Mark 10:45).
## đ Key Principles / đ Life Application
> [!note] đą Still growing. This section is on its way.
## đŹ Discussion Questions
1. God says doing justice for the poor and needy is what it means to know Him (22:16). How does caring for others reveal whether we truly know God?
2. Jehoiakim built a lavish palace while refusing to pay his workers (22:13-14). Where might we be building comfort at someone else's expense?
3. God would remove even a signet ring from His hand (22:24). What does this teach about privilege without obedience?
## âď¸ Key Verses to Remember
- đ verse 3: Do what is just and right, and rescue the one who has been robbed.
- đ verse 13: Woe to him who builds his house through unrighteousness and does not pay his workers.
- đ verse 16: Josiah defended the poor and needy. Is that not what it means to know Me?
## đ Related Passages/Cross Reference
- đ [[Mark 10#Verse 45.|Mark 10:45]] - Jesus came to serve.
- đ [[Matthew 01#Verse 11.|Matthew 1:11-12]] - Jeconiah in the genealogy of Jesus.
- đ [[Haggai 02#Verse 23.|Haggai 2:23]] - God will make Zerubbabel like a signet ring.
- đ [[James 05#Verse 04.|James 5:4]] - The wages withheld from workers cry out.
- đ [[Proverbs 31#Verse 08.|Proverbs 31:8-9]] - Speak up for the poor and needy.
## đ Devotional Reflection
đ SOAP: [[Jeremiah 22 - SOAP|Always Do Whatâs Right (For Your Own Sake)]]
## đ Internal Notes