19:5-9
Jehoahaz was succeeded by Jehoiakim, but Ezekiel moves straight on to Jehoiachin. The names all seem pretty similar to us, reminds me of North Korea and all its Kims! Jehoiakim reigned for eleven years, and, of course, he did evil in the eyes of the Lord. He also excelled in taxing the people in order to pay tribute to Egypt (2 Kings 23:36,37). Having served Egypt, he then served Nebuchadnezzar (2 Kings 24:1). Anyway, he was followed by Jehoiachin (2 Kings 24:8,9). He also refined for a mere three months, Jehoiakim managed eleven years of misrule, but also managed to evil in the sight of the Lord. He also inherited the fruit of Jehoiakim's misrule. He was exiled to Babylon in 597 BC.
19:10-14
The final section relates to Zedekiah. The surrounding sections in Ezekiel indicate a date of 591 or 592 BC. This is before Zedekiah rebelled against Babylon, so this section is prophetic in the foretelling of the future sense. There some who seem to consider God incapable of foretelling the future, so see this as a later addition to the text. Also, while the section does relate to Zedekiah, it also applies to Israel in general. Indeed, this seems the more appropriate application. Israel had a good foundation, she was blessed by the Lord, but because of her disobedience it was “plucked up in fury” and “cast down to the ground”. So it was planted in the wilderness and had no strength left.
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