2 Kings 24:3
Surely at the commandment of the LORD came this upon Judah, to remove them out of his sight, for the sins of Manasseh, according to all that he did; Surely at the commandment of the LORD came this upon Judah, to remove them out of his sight, for the sins of Manasseh, according to all that he did;
Surely at the Lord's command Judah was removed out of His sight into exile in Babylon for the sins of Manasseh. This came when Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came against Jerusalem in the reign of Jehoiakim king of Judah, took the city, and carried away captives to Babylon, among them Daniel and his three companions. It was the judgment for Manasseh's wicked course, especially the innocent blood with which he filled Jerusalem, which God would not pardon though later reforms under Josiah sought to turn the people back. With that removal Gentile rule over Jerusalem and the church of God commenced, in the captivity and ruin of the kingdom and the continual subjection afterward to the arbitrary rule of the Gentile nations by whom the sanctuary and the host have been trodden under foot.
Historical Setting and Events
The verse belongs to the history of Judah after the ten tribes had been swept away, during the period that continues through the Babylonian captivity. Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came against Jerusalem in the reign of Jehoiakim king of Judah, took the city, and carried away some of the chief men to Babylon, among whom were Daniel and his three companions. The setting is when Jehoiakim renounced his allegiance to Babylon, and though he submitted when the Egyptians failed to help him, Nebuchadnezzar punished his rebellion with death and treated his body with indignity.
Jehoiachin's brief reign ended when Babylon's king dethroned him, while Judah was occupied by Nebuchadnezzar's army and Jerusalem was under siege. The verse falls within Nebuchadnezzar's taking of Jerusalem and the captivity of many of God's people, followed by Zedekiah's rebellion and the final capture of the Jewish nation, after which a small company under Gedaliah remained in the land. After repeated rebellions Jerusalem was besieged and taken, the temple and city were destroyed, and the people were carried away to Babylon.
Nebuchadnezzar carried out the third captivity in 586 B.C., when Jerusalem was completely destroyed. Zedekiah was taken captive to Babylon, and Judah's kingship and independent rule came to an end. "Out of his sight" means exile to Babylon.
Divine Judgment and Significance
Judah's captivity came by the Lord's command because of its sins, for Judah followed Israel's course of departure from God into idolatry until captivity resulted. Judah's removal from God's sight came by the Lord's command because of Manasseh's sins. That removal belongs to the downfall in which Jehoiachin's brief reign ended when Babylon's king dethroned him, while Judah was occupied by Nebuchadnezzar's army and Jerusalem was under siege. It belongs also to the account in which Zedekiah was taken captive to Babylon and Judah's kingship and independent rule came to an end, identifying the removal as judgment for its sins, including the sins of Manasseh.
Judah's removal into captivity was the Lord's judgment for Manasseh's sins, coming after the reigns of devoted kings including Josiah, whose reforms could not stop the people's downward course and worship of other gods. Manasseh's wicked course, especially the innocent blood he shed and filled Jerusalem with, brought judgment that continued to fall on Judah long after his own capture and exile to Babylon. God would not pardon the nation, and its later captivity was for its transgression.
Gentile rule over Jerusalem and the church of God commenced in Jehoiakim's reign, when at the commandment of the Lord Judah was removed out of His sight for the sins of Manasseh. The indignation is the captivity and utter ruin of the kingdom of Judah and the removal of the people of Jerusalem to Babylon out of His sight, where out of His sight means exile to Babylon. It includes also the continual subjection afterward of the church of God to the arbitrary rule of the Gentile nations under yokes and bonds by whom the sanctuary and the host have been trodden under foot.