But the captain of the guard left of the poor of the land to be vinedressers and husbandmen.
The verse stands in the third great section of the history told in the books of Kings, the history of the remaining kingdom of Judah after the ten tribes were swept away, in 2 Kings 18-25. The two books of Kings form one whole, counted as one book in the Hebrew canon, relating the history of the kings from the accession of Solomon to the Babylonian captivity. It belongs to the close of that history, which records the wicked and weak reigns of the kings of Judah, with the reformation under the good king Josiah as the one bright chapter.
It belongs to the fuller story of Zedekiah's downfall told in 2 Kings 24 and 25. Zedekiah was the last king of the chosen people, blinded by Nebuchadnezzar and taken to Babylon where he died in captivity, after which Judah never again had independent government but lived only as a province subservient to the great kingdoms that ruled the world. It records the final taking of Jerusalem by Nebuchadnezzar under Zedekiah in B.C. 588. After a siege of nearly two years in which the inhabitants suffered all the horrors of famine, the king and garrison were captured while attempting to escape, his sons were slain before his face, his eyes were put out, and he was taken to Babylon. The city and temple were utterly destroyed, and nearly all the people of the city and country were taken captive to Babylon, while a few poor people were left to work the land as farmers, husbandmen, and vinedressers.
Before that final fall, when Jehoiachin the king of Judah went out to the king of Babylon with his mother and servants and princes and officers, Nebuchadnezzar took the treasures of the house of the Lord and all the golden vessels of the temple and carried captive to Babylon the king with his family and all the mighty of the land and the craftsmen and smiths, leaving only the poorest sort of people in the land. The verse shows the completion of that captivity after Nebuzar-adan, captain of the guard under the king of Babylon, came to Jerusalem on the seventh day of the fifth month, burned the house of the Lord and the king's house and all the houses of Jerusalem and every great man's house, broke down the walls, and carried the remnant and the vessels of gold and silver and brass to Babylon. He carried also the two great brass pillars of Solomon and the brazen sea and the bases, whose brass was without weight, leaving only a few of the very poor of the land to be vinedressers and husbandmen. Over them the king of Babylon set Gedaliah the son of Ahikam as governor until he was murdered and all that remained fled to Egypt for fear of the Chaldees, so the land lay desolate to fulfill the word of the Lord by Jeremiah until it had enjoyed her Sabbaths for threescore and ten years.
It belongs to the closing history of the kingdom of Judah, which records the laying waste of Jerusalem, the despoiling of the temple, the slaying of the captives at Riblah, the capture of Zedekiah the last king, the appointment of Gedaliah as governor and his murder through treachery, the going of the remnant to Egypt against the counsel of Jeremiah, and the kind treatment shown to Jehoiachin by the king of Babylon. It belongs to the closing account of the kings of Judah of the taking of Jerusalem by Nebuchadnezzar, the rebellion of Zedekiah and the final capture of the Jewish nation, and the carrying into captivity of many of the children of God, while a little company under Gedaliah was left in the land. In Babylon's conquest the kingdom was overthrown and the people were taken captive or scattered, yet some of the poor people were spared captivity and left in the land to work as vinedressers and farmers. It thus shows both the devastation of Judah and the preservation of a remnant amid the overthrow.
The survival of those poor people left in the land serves as a type of the loyal remnant who escape the final destruction and remain faithful to God. The captivity and final destruction of Jerusalem is typical of events to transpire either under the gospel or at the close of this dispensation. Like other prophecies relating to God's ancient people, it has a double fulfillment with a sudden transition from type to antitype, so what belongs to the type must be carefully distinguished from what belongs to the antitype. Remarks about God's ancient people were molded to also represent events under the gospel, giving those living in the Christian dispensation a special interest in what applied primarily and typically to the Jews.
The verse stands in the third great section of the history told in the books of Kings, the history of the remaining kingdom of Judah after the ten tribes were swept away, in 2 Kings 18-25. The two books of Kings form one whole, counted as one book in the Hebrew canon, relating the history of the kings from the accession of Solomon to the Babylonian captivity. It belongs to the close of that history, which records the wicked and weak reigns of the kings of Judah, with the reformation under the good king Josiah as the one bright chapter.
It belongs to the fuller story of Zedekiah's downfall told in 2 Kings 24 and 25. Zedekiah was the last king of the chosen people, blinded by Nebuchadnezzar and taken to Babylon where he died in captivity, after which Judah never again had independent government but lived only as a province subservient to the great kingdoms that ruled the world. It records the final taking of Jerusalem by Nebuchadnezzar under Zedekiah in B.C. 588. After a siege of nearly two years in which the inhabitants suffered all the horrors of famine, the king and garrison were captured while attempting to escape, his sons were slain before his face, his eyes were put out, and he was taken to Babylon. The city and temple were utterly destroyed, and nearly all the people of the city and country were taken captive to Babylon, while a few poor people were left to work the land as farmers, husbandmen, and vinedressers.
Before that final fall, when Jehoiachin the king of Judah went out to the king of Babylon with his mother and servants and princes and officers, Nebuchadnezzar took the treasures of the house of the Lord and all the golden vessels of the temple and carried captive to Babylon the king with his family and all the mighty of the land and the craftsmen and smiths, leaving only the poorest sort of people in the land. The verse shows the completion of that captivity after Nebuzar-adan, captain of the guard under the king of Babylon, came to Jerusalem on the seventh day of the fifth month, burned the house of the Lord and the king's house and all the houses of Jerusalem and every great man's house, broke down the walls, and carried the remnant and the vessels of gold and silver and brass to Babylon. He carried also the two great brass pillars of Solomon and the brazen sea and the bases, whose brass was without weight, leaving only a few of the very poor of the land to be vinedressers and husbandmen. Over them the king of Babylon set Gedaliah the son of Ahikam as governor until he was murdered and all that remained fled to Egypt for fear of the Chaldees, so the land lay desolate to fulfill the word of the Lord by Jeremiah until it had enjoyed her Sabbaths for threescore and ten years.
It belongs to the closing history of the kingdom of Judah, which records the laying waste of Jerusalem, the despoiling of the temple, the slaying of the captives at Riblah, the capture of Zedekiah the last king, the appointment of Gedaliah as governor and his murder through treachery, the going of the remnant to Egypt against the counsel of Jeremiah, and the kind treatment shown to Jehoiachin by the king of Babylon. It belongs to the closing account of the kings of Judah of the taking of Jerusalem by Nebuchadnezzar, the rebellion of Zedekiah and the final capture of the Jewish nation, and the carrying into captivity of many of the children of God, while a little company under Gedaliah was left in the land. In Babylon's conquest the kingdom was overthrown and the people were taken captive or scattered, yet some of the poor people were spared captivity and left in the land to work as vinedressers and farmers. It thus shows both the devastation of Judah and the preservation of a remnant amid the overthrow.
The survival of those poor people left in the land serves as a type of the loyal remnant who escape the final destruction and remain faithful to God. The captivity and final destruction of Jerusalem is typical of events to transpire either under the gospel or at the close of this dispensation. Like other prophecies relating to God's ancient people, it has a double fulfillment with a sudden transition from type to antitype, so what belongs to the type must be carefully distinguished from what belongs to the antitype. Remarks about God's ancient people were molded to also represent events under the gospel, giving those living in the Christian dispensation a special interest in what applied primarily and typically to the Jews.