2 Kings 24:8-20
"8 Jehoiachin was eighteen years old when he became king, and he reigned three months in Jerusalem. His mother's name was Nehushta the daughter of Elnathan of Jerusalem. 9 And he did what was evil in the sight of the Lord, according to all that his father had done.
10 At that time the servants of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came up to Jerusalem, and the city was besieged. 11 And Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came to the city while his servants were besieging it, 12 and Jehoiachin the king of Judah gave himself up to the king of Babylon, himself and his mother and his servants and his officials and his palace officials. The king of Babylon took him prisoner in the eighth year of his reign 13 and carried off all the treasures of the house of the Lord and the treasures of the king's house, and cut in pieces all the vessels of gold in the temple of the Lord, which Solomon king of Israel had made, as the Lord had foretold.14 He carried away all Jerusalem and all the officials and all the mighty men of valor, 10,000 captives, and all the craftsmen and the smiths. None remained, except the poorest people of the land. 15 And he carried away Jehoiachin to Babylon. The king's mother, the king's wives, his officials, and the chief men of the land he took into captivity from Jerusalem to Babylon.16 And the king of Babylon brought captive to Babylon all the men of valor, 7,000, and the craftsmen and the metal workers, 1,000, all of them strong and fit for war. 17 And the king of Babylon made Mattaniah, Jehoiachin's uncle, king in his place, and changed his name to Zedekiah.
18 Zedekiah was twenty-one years old when he became king, and he reigned eleven years in Jerusalem. His mother's name was Hamutal the daughter of Jeremiah of Libnah. 19 And he did what was evil in the sight of the Lord, according to all that Jehoiakim had done. 20 For because of the anger of the Lord it came to the point in Jerusalem and Judah that he cast them out from his presence.
And Zedekiah rebelled against the king of Babylon."
The reign of Jehoiachin marks the beginning of the captivity of Judah. This took place in two stages one in 597 BC and the other eleven years later, in 586 BC, in the reign of Zedekiah. If we bear in mind that Jehoiachin reigned only three months it will become clear that he could have offered little or no resistance to Nebuchadnezzar when he laid siege to Jerusalem, but took the line of least resistance, hoping perhaps for some clemency from his conqueror. The closing verses of 2 Kings 25 tell us how, under a successor of Nebuchadnezzar's, he fared very well and it may be that he astutely weighed up the possibilities of preferential treatment and decided to capitulate without a fight. At all events, the cream of Jerusalem's nobility was deported along with him to Babylon, and his uncle Mattaniah, another son of Josiah, was enthroned by Nebuchadnezzar in his place. Mattaniah, re-named Zedekiah, was made of sterner stuff than his nephew, as we shall see, and rebelled against Babylon's yoke at the first opportunity, but to no avail, for judgment was appointed for the abandoned kingdom, and his revolt simply hastened the rod of divine anger (20). Neither Jehoiachin's pusillanimity nor Zedekiah's stubborn resistance could serve to change the relentless course of events since neither would turn to God. Is there a lesson here for our day? Some say, 'Ban the Bomb', others say, 'On with the tests', but will either expedient have much effect when the crying - and neglected - need is to turn to God?