And he did that which was evil in the sight of the LORD, according to all that his fathers had done.
Jehoahaz, the son of Josiah, did what was evil in the sight of the Lord, following the pattern of all that his fathers and ancestors had done. Those who held the other reading took the verse as saying that Jehoiakim did what was evil in the Lord's sight, following the example of his fathers. It belongs to the history of Judah as the remaining kingdom after the ten tribes had been swept away, within the account of the kings from Solomon's accession to the Babylonian captivity. It belongs to Judah's record of rulers turning from God to idolatry and continuing in departure from God, which brought calamity on themselves and their people and ended in captivity and fall.
It stands in the setting of Josiah's reign and reformation, when images and houses used for idolatrous worship in Judah were destroyed, including those connected with worship of the sun, moon, and stars. The son of Josiah returned to the evil ways of his fathers after the great reformation under Josiah, and Josiah's reforms failed to reverse the people's downward course. His evil course cost Jerusalem its independence and its place among the nations, making it tributary to Egypt so that a foreign king appointed its ruler.
Egypt deposed and removed Jehoahaz, and Pharaoh-Necho made his brother Eliakim king in his place and renamed him Jehoiakim. As a son of Josiah he succeeded his father as king of Judah and was ruling when Nebuchadnezzar's army came against Jerusalem. His conduct marked the beginning of a downward course that continued in evil and brought Babylonian domination and captivity, showing that ceremonialism leads to bondage.
Jehoahaz, the son of Josiah, did what was evil in the sight of the Lord, following the pattern of all that his fathers and ancestors had done. Those who held the other reading took the verse as saying that Jehoiakim did what was evil in the Lord's sight, following the example of his fathers. It belongs to the history of Judah as the remaining kingdom after the ten tribes had been swept away, within the account of the kings from Solomon's accession to the Babylonian captivity. It belongs to Judah's record of rulers turning from God to idolatry and continuing in departure from God, which brought calamity on themselves and their people and ended in captivity and fall.
It stands in the setting of Josiah's reign and reformation, when images and houses used for idolatrous worship in Judah were destroyed, including those connected with worship of the sun, moon, and stars. The son of Josiah returned to the evil ways of his fathers after the great reformation under Josiah, and Josiah's reforms failed to reverse the people's downward course. His evil course cost Jerusalem its independence and its place among the nations, making it tributary to Egypt so that a foreign king appointed its ruler.
Egypt deposed and removed Jehoahaz, and Pharaoh-Necho made his brother Eliakim king in his place and renamed him Jehoiakim. As a son of Josiah he succeeded his father as king of Judah and was ruling when Nebuchadnezzar's army came against Jerusalem. His conduct marked the beginning of a downward course that continued in evil and brought Babylonian domination and captivity, showing that ceremonialism leads to bondage.