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"And it came to pass in the seven and thirtieth year of the captivity of Jehoiachin king of
Judah, in the twelfth month, on the seven and twentieth day of the month, that Evilmerodach king
of Babylon in the year that he began to reign did lift up the head of Jehoiachin king of Judah out of
prison; And he spake kindly to him, and set his throne above the throne of the kings that were with
him in Babylon; And changed his prison garments: and he did eat bread continually before him all
the days of his life" (2 Kings 25:27-29).
It has been said that a picture is worth a thousand words. Someone else said that a pound of
illustration is worth a ton of explanation. There must be some merit to these statements for God has
filled the pages of the Bible with what may be called word pictures. Such have the ability to flash
a mental picture in our minds at the mere mention of some word. Evidently our Lord Jesus Christ
valued such methods of teaching for He frequently used illustrations which are called parables. One
example is that of building a house on a rock or on the sand. While many people may not have
actually constructed their place of residence, most people have seen the process and know how
essential it is to build on a solid foundation. Building on the sand automatically associates failure
to the endeavor, while building on the rock gave confidence in the whole building. This lesson was
divinely designed to set Christ before us as the "Rock of Ages" and the foundation upon which to
build our Christian lives (Matthew 7:24-27). Since our Lord used parables and illustrations so
effectively, it seems wisdom that we all endeavor to do so. While the passage before us now is not
a picture painted by an artist on canvas, it is designed to paint a picture of grace in our minds.
Perhaps the best place to begin our study is by an explanation of the names of the characters
who are described in the passage now under consideration. Basically there are only two main
characters in the lesson and they are Jehoiachin, king of Judah; and Evil-merodach, king of Babylon.
Other kings are mentioned in passing but none of them are referred to by name. Other people are also
involved, such as those who carried out the commands of the king, but neither are their names given.
So we shall look at the two that are named and the meaning and significance of their names. The first
one who is mentioned was the king of Judah named Jehoiachin. He was the son of a man named
Jehoiachim. It is easy to distinguish between father and son if you follow one simple rule. Keep in
mind that "m" precedes "n" in the alphabet and that the names are identical except for the last letter
which is “m” for the father and “n” for the son. Jehoiashin became the king of Judah at a time when
it was defenseless and unable to offer resistance to the army of Nebuchadnezzar who had beseiged
it. Jehoiachin had been king for only a mere 3 month and 10 days when Nebuchadnezzar came
against them and in a short time he surrendered. He and his queen mother, along with their servants
and officers, were carried off to Babylon where they were put in prison for 37 years.
Now the second king comes into view. He is known as Evil-merodach and he succeeded
Nebuchadnezzar after his death. When Evil-merodach took the reigns of the mighty Babylonian
empire, one of the first things he did was to set Jehoiachin free. We have no way of knowing if there
were others who received like treatment or if he was the only prisoner king. In any regard,
Evil-merodach set Jehoiachin free and graciously provided for his needs in a most generous way,
which is described for us in detail in our scripture passage.
Having set Jehoiachin free from prison, Evil-merodach also established again his throne, gave
him good clothes to wear and a daily provision of food for as long as Jehoiachin lived. Now if that
is not a beautiful picture of grace, I fail to understand the purpose of God sharing this passage with
us. If grace is not depicted, then I must have failed to understand grace.
Yet, if we want a greater insight into grace as it is portrayed in this passage, we need to now
do some exploring of the meaning of their names. Most Bible names have very informative
meanings. Therefore it is very important for us to now understand both the setting or situation and
the names of those involved. The name Jehoiachin means Jehovah (God) has appointed. So
Jehoiachin represents those that are appointed by God. In the Bible the word appointed has a number
of meanings but the second is to choose. This can be understood from 2 Samuel 15:15, which reads,
"And the king's servants said unto the king, Behold, thy servants are ready to do whatsoever my lord
the king shall appoint (choose)." Whatever the king chooses to do, they were willing and ready to
obey. Based upon this definition of appoint, we may understand that Jehoaichin is symbolic of all
whom God has appointed or chosen in His eternal covenant of grace.
Now consider the meaning of the name Evil-merodach. On the surface it seems to describe
an evil person, but by his actions which are described in the scripture passage, we do not see him in
that light. As we look deeper, we discover that the prefix Evil as used in his name does not mean
sinful, crooked or bad; but actually meant "the man of." Ancient prefixes gave added meaning to the
name which followed. One that perhaps we are more familiar with is Bar-Jonah, which was the name
of a man we know also as Peter. Peter was called Simon Bar-Jonah in Matthew 16:17. After Peter
had boldly asserted that Jesus is the Son of God, Jesus said, "Blessed art thou, Bar-Jonah: for flesh
and blood bath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven." The Bar-Jonah meant
Son of Jonah as stated in John 21:15, 16 & 17. So the prefix Bar means "son of." The same is seen
in regard to blind Bartimaeus in Mark 10:46. Even so the prefix of Evil meant - the man of and
Evil-merodach is the man of Merodach.
Now what about the rest of the name Merodach? According to my references it meant bold.
But it was interesting for me to discover that Merodach was also the name of a god. It was not at all
uncommon for ancient peoples to regard their rulers as gods or extensions and offsprings of them.
The Babylonians called their idol “god of war” by the name of Merodach. Listen to Jeremiah 50:2,
which says, "Declare ye among the nations, and publish, and set up a standard; publish and conceal
not: say, Babylon is taken, Bel is confounded, Merodach is broken in pieces." As we put together
the pieces of this name it appears to have meant "the man-of a god." While no one can ever be
compared to Jesus, the name Evil-merodach seems now to call our attention to Him for Jesus was
God in a body of flesh. Jesus is the God-man or the Son of God. On this earth, Jesus was a man, for
Paul was inspired to write, "For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man
Christ Jesus" (I Timothy 2:5). While it is true that He "was made in the likeness of men" (Philippians
2:7), it is equally true that "in him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily" (Colossians 2:9).
Paul wrote again to say, "And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was
manifest in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen of angels, preached into the Gentiles, believed on
in the world, received up into glory" (1 Timothy 3:16). Perhaps we can now understand why the
angel called Jesus "Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us" (Matthew 1:23). Jesus is
therefore the God-man and Evil-merodach seems to have pointed our mind toward Him.
Yet there is more to associate the two together. I was amazed to discover that Evil-merodach
reigned only a short period of three years (562-560 B.C.), which seems to correspond to the three
year ministry of our Lord Jesus. Here is another point of similarity, Evil-merodach was murdered
by a man named Neriglissan, who wanted his throne. Even so, our Lord was killed by one who
wanted his throne - satan. Mens hearts may have hated Him and men's hands nailed Him to the tree,
but satan was the instigator of it all. Our Lord was not executed, for He had committed no crime; He
was murdered, which is what happens when the innocent are killed unjustly.
With all those similarities, there is still more to be seen in our scripture passage. I want us
now to look at some points of comparison between the actions of Evil-merodach and those of our
Lord, as we consider this picture of grace.
(1) First emancipation is to be seen in the lesson. Emancipation is a sovereign setting free
the prisoners of another. We were all the prisoners of satan, sin and death; but Jesus set us free
because He is the sovereign of all the universe. This was beautifully prophesied of when the psalmist
said, "The Lord looseth the prisoners" (Psalm 146:7). Again we read of Jesus in the prophetic words
of Isaiah when he wrote, "The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me; because the Lord hath anointed
me to preach good tidings unto the meek; he hath sent me to bind up the broken hearted, to proclaim
liberty to the captives and the opening of the prison to them that are bound" (Isaiah 61:1). In Luke
4:21, Jesus made it indisputably clear that the prophecy was of Him. He set us free and "Our soul
is escaped as a bird out of the snare of the fowlers: The snare is broken, and we are escaped" (Psalm
146:7). We are free in the fullest sense of the word. "If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye
shall be free indeed" (John 8:36). Jesus has set us free from the penalty of sin by His death on the
cross. This was done in the past, now He makes us free from the power of sin (Romans 6:14) and
one glorious day in the future, He will return and we shall be made free from the presence of sin.
Just as Evil-merodach set free the prisoner of Nebuchadnezzar, Jehoiachin; even so Jesus
Christ has set free the prisoners of satan. As Jehoichin represented those appointed or chosen by
Jehovah; even so the elect of God, chosen in Christ before the foundation of the world (Ephesians
1:4) are set free by Jesus as the God-man. We are free and ever shall be, free now to serve Him as
our Lord and Saviour (1 Peter 2:16).
The second lesson is set forth by the fact that Evil-merodach spoke kindly to Jehoiachin. Not
only did he set him free, but he also showed him kindness. I lean toward the idea that his words of
kindness were the conversation by which he told Jehoiachin that his throne was set up again.
Something very similiar has happened to us, for we have received the kind words of Jesus through
the message of the word of God. He has spoken to our hearts to tell us that we have a throne, for we
are kings also. Peter describes the saved as "a royal priesthood" (1 Peter 2:9); which means that we
are not only priests with access to God, but we are also kings who are to rule well under God. After
John stated the fact that Jesus cleansed us from sin by His blood; he said, "and hath made us kings
and priests unto God and his Father; to him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen."
(Revelation 1:6). God has entrusted to us the position of kings and set up a throne that we may reign
over the domain of our lives and bodies. If we reverence Him and yield to His sovereign authority
over us, then we shall reign in such a manner as to bring glory to Him. Ancient rulers sometimes
returned captive kings to their lands, to rule their people, but usually under the umbrella of their
greater power. Even so, we have been set up above other kings and kingdoms of the world, for we
are part of the kingdom of God.
(3) The third lesson to be considered is stated in verse 29. The first part of the verse informs
us that his prison garments were taken away and he was given fresh clothes to wear. We cannot
begin to imagine the filth of ancient prisons. nor the stink that was captured in the dirty old clothes
that were worn by prisoners. It must have been tremendously refreshing to have them replaced by
fresh, new apparel. In our natural state of depravity and sin, we were more dirty and stinking to God
than Jehoiachin would have been to us. Isaiah described mans natural condition in sin saying, "But
we were all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousness are as filthy rags; and we do all fade as a
leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away" (Isaiah 64:6). It sounds to me like we
were wearing dirty prison rags before grace touched us. Like Joshua, we too stood before the Lord,
clothed with filthy garments. As God took away his filthy garments, He caused his iniquity to pass
and clothed him with a fresh change of raiment (Zechariah 3:1-4). God has done the same for us by
His amazing grace. Notice that He did not offer him the garments, for salvation is not offered
conditional upon the sinners accepting. In salvation God changes the garments for us, taking our sins
and giving them to Jesus, then putting on us a robe of righteousness which was imparted to us from
Christ (Isaiah 61:10). Evil-merodach changed the prison garments for Jehoiachin and Jesus has
changed us. Oh, praise His holy name!
(4) The fourth and final point to be made is the fact that Evil-merodach provided food for
Jehoiachin. While I am rather certain that a well balanced diet of a variety of foods were provided,
the scriptures mention only bread. Yet in the Old Testament it basically meant sustenance which
likely involved all foods needed to sustain life. When Jesus said that man shall not live by bread
alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God (Matthew 4:4); I understand Him to
be saying that we need more than mere natural food, we also need the spiritual food of the word of
God. Jesus taught us to pray, "Give us this day our daily bread (Matthew 6:11) which meant to ask
for our necessary or sufficient food.
Since bread is the food mentioned, I cannot help but feel that it was designed to draw our
minds to Jesus. He said of Himself, "I am that bread of life" (John 6:48). Again He said, "This is that
bread which came down from heaven: not as your fathers did eat manna, and are dead; he that eateth
of this bread shall life forever" (John 6:58). Therefore Jesus is the nourishment which our soul needs
and those who by grace are made partakers of Him, shall live forever with Him in heaven.
Because Jehoiachin received a daily allowance for as long as he lived, we are able to
conclude that Jesus not only saved us, but keeps us always, so that we can never be lost again. Jude
declared that Jesus is able to keep us from falling and to one day present us faultless before His
presence (Jude 24). Therefore we may share the confidence which Paul expressed, saying, "Being
confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the
day of Jesus Christ" (Philippians 1:6).
None of us can fully understand the prison life of those ancient times for it is so drastically
different from prisons today. They were deprived not only of freedom, but usually of any kindness
and were without adequate clothes or food. As horrible as the experience of Jehoiachin might have
been, it was nothing compared to the eternal sufferings we would have endured, were it not for the
deliverance our God-man (Jesus) has given us. Thank God for His Son and praise be to Jesus for the
things He has done. He has loved us and saved us, let us love and serve Him, as our most gracious
God. May the picture of grace found in the Old Testament, stir deeply the very souls of us New
Testament saints, moving us to be doers of the word (James 1:22). Let us do more and more deeds
that will bring glory to His name, as we rejoice in that which He has done for our eternal glory.
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