Study Desk

Everything else Josiah did while he was king, from the beginning to the end of his rule, is written in the book, The History of the Kings of Israel and Judah. The book tells about the way he served God faithfully by obeying the law of the Lord .

Jehoiakim was 25 years old when he became the new king of Judah. He was king in Jerusalem for eleven years. Jehoiakim did not obey God. He did what the Lord his God considered evil.

Nebuchadnezzar took some of the things from the Lord 's Temple. He carried them to Babylon and put them in his own house.

Everything else Jehoiakim did, the terrible sins he did, and everything he was guilty of doing, are written in the book, The History of the Kings of Israel and Judah. Jehoiakim's son Jehoiachin became the new king in his place.

Zedekiah did what the Lord his God considered evil. Jeremiah the prophet told him messages from the Lord . But Zedekiah did not humble himself and obey what Jeremiah said.

Zedekiah turned against King Nebuchadnezzar. In the past Nebuchadnezzar forced Zedekiah to make a promise to be faithful to him. Zedekiah used God's name and promised to be faithful to Nebuchadnezzar. But Zedekiah was stubborn and would not change his life. He refused to obey the Lord , the God of Israel.

The Lord , the God of their ancestors, sent prophets again and again to warn his people. He did this because he felt sorry for them and for his Temple. He didn't want to destroy them or his Temple.

But they made fun of God's prophets and refused to listen to them. They hated God's messages. Finally, the Lord could not hold his anger any longer. He became angry with his people and there was nothing that could be done to stop it.

Nebuchadnezzar and his army burned the Temple. They broke down Jerusalem's wall and burned all the houses that belonged to the king and his officials. They took or destroyed every valuable thing in Jerusalem.

During the first year that Cyrus was king of Persia, the Lord caused Cyrus to make a special announcement. He did this so that what the Lord promised through Jeremiah the prophet would really happen. Cyrus sent messengers to every place in his kingdom. They carried this message:

This is what King Cyrus of Persia says: The Lord , the God of heaven, made me king over the whole earth. He gave me the responsibility of building a Temple for him in Jerusalem. Now, all of you who are his people are free to go to Jerusalem. And may the Lord your God be with you.

During the first year that Cyrus was king of Persia, the Lord caused him to make an announcement. It was written down, and Cyrus ordered that it be read throughout his kingdom. This was done so that what the Lord had told Jeremiah years before would now happen. This was the announcement:

Also, King Cyrus brought out the things that belonged in the Lord 's Temple that Nebuchadnezzar had taken away from Jerusalem. He had put them in his temple where he kept his false gods.

King Cyrus of Persia told Mithredath, the man who keeps his money, to bring those things out. So Mithredath brought them out to Sheshbazzar, the leader of Judah.

These were the men who supervised the work of building the Lord 's Temple: Jeshua and his sons, Kadmiel and his sons (the descendants of Judah), the sons of Henadad and their brothers, the Levites.

They sang songs of praise and thanksgiving, taking turns in singing each part. They sang, "The Lord is good. His faithful love will last forever." Then all the people cheered—they gave a loud shout and praised the Lord because the foundation of the Lord 's Temple had been laid.

But God was watching over the Jewish leaders. The builders didn't have to stop working until a report could be sent to King Darius. They continued working until the king sent his answer back.

And Cyrus brought out from his false god's temple in Babylon the gold and silver things that were taken from God's Temple in the past. Nebuchadnezzar took them from the Temple in Jerusalem and brought them to his false god's temple in Babylon. Then King Cyrus gave those gold and silver things to Sheshbazzar." Cyrus chose Sheshbazzar to be governor.

So King Darius sent this message to his officials: To Tattenai, governor of the area west of the Euphrates River, to Shethar Bozenai, and to all the officials living in that province. I order you to stay away from Jerusalem.

God put his name there in Jerusalem. May God defeat any king or other person who tries to change this order. If anyone tries to destroy this Temple in Jerusalem, may God destroy that person. I, Darius, have ordered it. This order must be obeyed quickly and completely.