Bible Study Notes 10/21/2025
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(Much gratitude is given to Dr. Carol Kaminski for her Old Testament Survey course at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary and the study materials that accompany and inform this teaching.)
Jehoahaz (609 BC)
2 Kgs. 23:30-34, 2 Chr. 36:1-4, and Jer. 22:11-17
Josiah died in 609 BC and the people anoint Josiah’s fourth-born, 23-y/o son, Jehoahaz, as king (1 Chr. 3:15).
His birth name is Shallum, but his throne name is Jehoahaz.
Jehoahaz does “evil in the sight of the LORD” (2 Kgs. 23:32).
The prophet Jeremiah ministers at this time and tells Judah to weep over Jehoahaz, for he will be led away as a captive and die; thus he will never return to Jerusalem (Jer. 22:11-12).
- Reigns for 3 months, because Pharaoh Neco attacks Jerusalem, deposes Jehoahaz, and imprisons him at Riblah.
- Neco imposes a fine on the land, and Jehoahaz is then taken to Egypt where he dies.
The Prophet Joel
Joel is a southern prophet prophesying prior to the 586 BC destruction of Jerusalem so he speaks during the final days prior to the end of the so. kingdom.
He likely prophesied before one of the Babylonian attacks (605 BC, 597 BC, or 586 BC).
Joel sees the attack as a plague of locusts invading Jerusalem, eating all its crops and devastating the land (Joel 1:4).
- This could be a literal plague of locusts, but the language is also being used as a metaphor for an army invading Jerusalem (Joel 1:6-7; 2:1-11, 25)
- The prophet is describing God’s judgment, referring to it as the “day of the LORD,” which is near and coming soon (Joel 1:15; 2:1, 11).
- The army comes against Jerusalem from the north, which is probably a reference to the Babylonian army (Joel 2:20; cf. Jer. 1-14; 4:6; 10:22).
- In the face of this judgment, Joel implores Judah to return to the LORD, reminding them of God’s gracious character: READ Joel 2:12-14).
Joel calls Judah to return to the LORD in repentance (as did Hosea), knowing God is gracious and merciful.
- BUT Judah will not return to the LORD, just as Israel did not return to the LORD (see Jer. 5:3; 8:5).
Repentance is absolutely central to god’s plan of salvation (Matt. 3:2, 11; Mark 1:4, 15; Luke 15:7, 24:47; Acts 2:38; 3:19; 5:31; 17:30; 26:20).
Joel announces that a time of restoration will take place, but only AFTER the judgment.
- At that time, God will restore what the locusts have eaten (Joel 2:21-27).
- God will reverse the curses pertaining to the exile and turn them into blessings; no longer will His people fear, but they will rejoice (Joel 2:21-23).
- God’s righteous judgment and gracious salvation will cause his people to know that “I am the LORD your God and there is none else” (Joel 2:27).
- This restoration will be characterized by the pouring out of God’s Spirit, as Joel says: READ Joel 2:28-29).
- In the OT, God’s Spirit comes upon certain leaders and prophets who are set apart for his service (Num. 11:16-30; Judg. 6:34; 1 Sam. 10:6; 16:13), but in this prophecy, Joel is announcing that God will pour out his Spirit on all people.
Many years later, the Holy Spirit descends upon a group of believers who are gathered together at Pentecost, waiting in Jerusalem for what the Father had promised (Acts 1:4-8; 2:1-36).
- Peter explains that the coming of God’s Spirit takes place in fulfillment of Joel’s prophecy, citing Joel 2:28-32).
- This confirms that the “last days” Joel had seen from afar have arrived (Acts 2:17), and so the people are to repent and be baptized for the forgiveness of sins.
- Peter announces that they will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit (Acts 2:38).
- In accordance with Joel’s prophecy, God’s Spirit is poured out, not only on Jews but on “all flesh,” which includes Gentiles (Acts 10:43-48; 11:1-18).
- Jews and Gentiles are incorporated into the worldwide family of Abraham (Gal. 3:14; 4:28-29).
Joel doesn’t see this happen in his lifetime, but he did see a future period when God will judge the nations, which he refers to as the “day of the LORD” (Joel 3:12-14), yet God’s people will be secure (Joel 3:16-21).
The Prophet Habakkuk
Habakkuk is a 7th C BC so. prophet who lives during the last few years of the so. kingdom.
He lived in a time period before the Babylonian attack of 605 BC.
Habakkuk questions God concerning the injustice that he sees in Judah, noting that “the law is paralyzed” and “justice never goes forth” (Hab. 1:4).
- God tells H that He is going to send the Chaldeans (another name for the Babylonians) to judge Judah (Hab. 1:5-11).
- H cannot understand why God would use a wicked nation like the Babylonians to correct and judge Judah, God’s people (Hab. 1:12-17).
- God tells H to trust Him! That the wicked will be punished and the righteous are to live by faith (Hab. 2:4).
The book of Habakkuk concludes with the prophet’s recognition that judgment is surely coming (Hab. 3:1-16).
H trembles within, asking God to remember mercy, even in judgment – the prophet waits, but does so in faith as he trusts God. READ Hab. 3:17-18.
We are reminded again that God’s people are not to trust in idols, foreign powers, chariots, the size of an army, their own wisdom, or ANYTHING ELSE, but in God alone.
Several hundred years later, the Apostle Paul quotes Hab. 2:4 (“the righteous shall live by faith”) when affirming the centrality of faith for the people of God.
- He tells us in Romans 1:16-17 READ
- Righteousness is not by works of the law, but by faith (Rom. 3:20; Gal. 2:16; 2:11-12).
- READ Heb. 11:1-2
Jehoiakim (609-598 BC)
2 Kgs. 23:34-24:6; 2 Chr. 36:4-8 (minimal info is provided about this king)
We saw that Pharaoh Neco removed Jehoahaz from the throne and places his older brother, Eliakim (Josiah’s second-born son, 1 Chr. 3:15), on the throne and changes his name to Jehoiakim (2 Chr. 36:4).
In Jehoiakim’s 11 year reign, he is a vassal king because he is a servant of the more powerful sovereign, Pharaoh Neco.
- His status as a vassal king is powerfully evident in the heavy annual taxes of one hundred talents of silver and one talent of gold that are imposed upon him by Pharaoh (2 Chr. 36:3) and Jehoiakim shows his allegiance to Neco by giving him gold and silver as tribute (2 Kgs. 23:35)..
- Additionally, J “did what was evil in the sight of the LORD, according to all that his fathers had done” (2 Kgs. 23:37; 2 Chr. 36:5).
Jeremiah records several key events that take place during his reign, which helps us learn more about Judah and King Jehoiakim; Jeremiah mentions him over 20 times in the book of Jeremiah (see esp. Jer. 22; 24-28; 35-37).
The Prophet Jeremiah
Jeremiah is a 7th C BC southern prophet and prophesies during the last 40 years of the so. kingdom prior to its fall in 586 BC.
His ministry begins in the 13th year of King Josiah’s reign (627 BC) and continues until the exile in 586 BC and beyond (Jer. 1:1-3).
Jeremiah ministers during the reigns of the last five kings of Judah: Josiah, Jehoahaz, Jehoiakim, Jehoiachin, and Zedekiah.
Jeremiah’s chapters are not in chronological order (e.g., chapter 24 occurs in 597 BC and chapter 25 happens in 605 BC).
- A king’s reign will give you the time period being addressed.
God calls Jeremiah in his youth, setting him apart from the womb to be a prophet to the nations.
- Like many prophets, Jeremiah believes he is unworthy to serve as God’s messenger to the world.
- Yet Yahweh tells him not to fear: “Do not say, ‘I am only a youth’; for to all to whom I send you, you shall go, and whatever I command you, you shall speak” (Jer. 1:7).
- “Then the LORD put out his hand and touched my mouth. And the LORD said to me, ‘Behold, I have put my words in your mouth’” (Jer. 1:9).
Throughout his ministry, Jeremiah is largely rejected and suffers physically and experiences the inner agony of proclaiming God’s word to a disobedient people as he preaches both judgment and future hope.
- God tells him that he has been appointed “to pluck up and to break down, to destroy and to overthrow, to build and to plant” (Jer. 1:10).
- The recurring image in Jeremiah is the “heart,” which he uses more than fifty times.
Jeremiah Exposes the Sins of Judah
The first half of Jeremiah (1-20) speaks of the sins of Judah; Yahweh establishes his case against his covenant-breaking people through the prophet; the inhabitants of Jerusalem have forsaken their God; they have offered sacrifices to other gods and worshiped the works of their own hands (Jer. 1:16).
Remember that 100 years earlier Isaiah addressed Judah’s idolatry and that God’s people had become “blind and deaf” – they haven’t changed, as idolatry is still entrenched in their heart.
- God’s people in the south worship the Canaanite god Baal (Jer. 2:23), the same god that the north worshiped in the days of Ahab (1 Kgs. 16:31-33).
- They worship gods made from trees and stone (Jer. 2:27); they worship the host of heaven (Jer. 8:2); they sacrifice their children to foreign gods (Jer. 7:31); Judah plays the whore after other gods, just as the north did (Jer. 3:6-10).
- Judah’s idolatrous practices are even worse than Israel’s sins: “faithless Israel has shown herself more righteous than treacherous Judah” (Jer. 3:11).
- NONETHELESS! God still implores “faithless Israel” and “treacherous Judah” to return to him (Jer. 3:11-25).
- They refuse correction and refuse to repent, so the destruction of Jerusalem will soon be approaching: the enemy will come from the north to invade the city; the Babylonian army will be cruel and show no mercy; terror will be on every side.
- Judah is to lament and roll in ashes, mourning as for an only son, for suddenly the destroyer will come upon them (Jer. 5-6).
Jeremiah Preaches at the Temple Gate
God tells Jeremiah to proclaim his word to Judah in the gate of the temple (Jer. 7) where J announces that if God’s people turn from their wicked ways and practice justice, then God will let them dwell in Jerusalem.
J addresses some of the abominations that are taking place in the city, which include stealing, murder, adultery, swearing falsely, making offerings to Baal, following after other gods, and worshiping the queen of heaven (Jer. 7:9, 18) – all prohibited by God in his law given at Sinai (Ex. 20:3, 5, 13-16).
- Jerusalem is filled with lying priests and prophets, who are deceiving the people by telling them not to take their sin seriously, assuming that God will never bring judgment against his own house (Jer. 7:4).
- Yahweh reminds them that he destroyed his dwelling at Shiloh because of the disobedience of his people (Jer. 7:14).
God declares: READ Jer. 23-26.
- God’s people have refused to listen to God since the time they came out of Egypt!
- J says of Judah: “This is the nation that did not obey the voice of the LORD their God, and did not accept discipline” (Jer. 7:28).
- Judgment is coming upon Judah, for God’s people are choosing death rather than life (Jer. 8:3; cf. Deut. 30:19).
- The death that Adam chose in Eden when he disobeyed God’s command (Gen. 2:17) is now being chosen by Judah, as they, too, refuse to obey God’s voice – thus, Adam is in them.
J states that all of God’s people have transgressed against him (Jer. 2:29), and that means everyone: “from the least to the greatest everyone is greedy for unjust gain; from prophet to priest, everyone deals falsely’ (Jer. 8:10).
J states that “they are all adulterers, a company of treacherous men . . . every brother is a deceiver, and every neighbor goes about as a slanderer. Everyone deceives his neighbor, and no one speaks the truth” (Jer. 9:2-5).
- At one point, God commands J to “run to and fro through the streets of Jerusalem” to see if he can find one man who does justice and seeks truth, that God will pardon Jerusalem if he is able to find just ONE righteous person, but the prophet searches among both poor and great, but, remarkably, he is unable to find such a person (Jer. 5:1-9)..
- This void of anyone in humanity being just and truthful falls in line with the Apostle Paul asserting: “None is righteous, no, not one; no one understands; no one seeks for God. All have turned aside; together they have become worthless; no one does good, not even one” (Rom. 3:10-12, with Paul quoting Ps. 14: 1-3).
- Paul concludes that “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Rom 3:23; cf. Rom. 3:9-23; 5:12).
- Jeremiah shows a similar view of God’s people, for he is unable to find one who does justice and seeks God.
When Jeremiah surveys the sinfulness of his people, he exclaims: “Oh, that my head were waters and my eyes a fountain of tears, that I might weep day and night” (Jer. 9:1).