Good out of Evil, Part 2

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27 In the thirty-seventh year of the exile of Jehoiachin king of Judah, in the year Awel-Marduk became king of Babylon, he released Jehoiachin king of Judah from prison. He did this on the twenty-seventh day of the twelfth month. 28 He spoke kindly to him and gave him a seat of honor higher than those of the other kings who were with him in Babylon. 29 So Jehoiachin put aside his prison clothes and for the rest of his life ate regularly at the king’s table. 30 Day by day the king gave Jehoiachin a regular allowance as long as he lived.
— 2 Kings 25:27-30

Sometimes it’s not so easy to determine if some episode in the Bible is to be taken positively or negatively. We are told that he did evil in the eyes of the Lord (2 Kings 24:9). He reigned as king for only three months, and then he surrendered to Nebuchadnezzar without a fight. His life was spared, but he was a prisoner for thirty-six years. He would have been about fifty-four or fifty-five when Awel-Marduk released him from prison.

And even though he was treated as royalty and ate at the king’s table, he was still a prisoner in Babylon. Where was he supposed to go? He was a king without a kingdom.

But we should remember that Jehoiachin lived in the days of the prophet Jeremiah. And Jeremiah’s message to the exiles in Babylon was to settle down and live life as best as they could, even as exiles. God had a plan to bless them and to restore a remnant in the promised land.

Given that, Jehoiachin’s release from prison is presented as a signal of hope. God would remain faithful to His promise to King David to establish his throne forever. And so in that way, Jehoiachin’s redemption, even though he did evil in the eyes of the Lord, offers a beacon of hope that points to Christ.

Father, we have all done evil in Your eyes. Yet, it is because of Your faithfulness that we have any hope at all. You have redeemed us, and my hope is always in You. In Jesus’s name. Amen.