2Ki 25:1-12  “But the captain of the guard left of the poor of the land to be vinedressers and husbandmen”

[Study Aired May 18, 2023]

2Ki 25:1  And it came to pass in the ninth year of his reign, in the tenth month, in the tenth day of the month, that Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came, he, and all his host, against Jerusalem, and pitched against it; and they built forts against it round about. 
2Ki 25:2  And the city was besieged unto the eleventh year of king Zedekiah. 
2Ki 25:3  And on the ninth day of the fourth month the famine prevailed in the city, and there was no bread for the people of the land. 
2Ki 25:4  And the city was broken up, and all the men of war fled by night by the way of the gate between two walls, which is by the king’s garden: (now the Chaldees were against the city round about:) and the king went the way toward the plain.
2Ki 25:5  And the army of the Chaldees pursued after the king, and overtook him in the plains of Jericho: and all his army were scattered from him. 
2Ki 25:6  So they took the king, and brought him up to the king of Babylon to Riblah; and they gave judgment upon him. 
2Ki 25:7  And they slew the sons of Zedekiah before his eyes, and put out the eyes of Zedekiah, and bound him with fetters of brass, and carried him to Babylon.
2Ki 25:8  And in the fifth month, on the seventh day of the month, which is the nineteenth year of king Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, came Nebuzaradan, captain of the guard, a servant of the king of Babylon, unto Jerusalem:
2Ki 25:9  And he burnt the house of the LORD, and the king’s house, and all the houses of Jerusalem, and every great man’s house burnt he with fire.
2Ki 25:10  And all the army of the Chaldees, that were with the captain of the guard, brake down the walls of Jerusalem round about. 
2Ki 25:11  Now the rest of the people that were left in the city, and the fugitives that fell away to the king of Babylon, with the remnant of the multitude, did Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard carry away. 
2Ki 25:12  But the captain of the guard left of the poor of the land to be vinedressers and husbandmen.

Zedekiah represents the man of perdition within us who must be destroyed by the brightness of Christ’s coming (2Th 2:8). He also represents the kingdoms of this world which will become the kingdoms of our Lord and of His Christ who first have those kingdoms within us judged and ruled over by Christ (Rev 11:15).

2Th 2:8  And then shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming:

Rev 11:15  And the seventh angel sounded; and there were great voices in heaven, saying, The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ; and he shall reign for ever and ever.

Zedekiah’s rebellion against the king 0f Babylon (2Ki 24:20) was the catalyst God used to bring Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, up against Jerusalem. Burning every man’s house with fire (“the king’s house, and all the houses of Jerusalem, and every great man’s house burnt he with fire“) is a foreshadow of how every man’s work will be tested with fire (“If any man’s work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss: but he himself shall be saved; yet so as by fire.“) in the second resurrection (2Ki 25:9, 1Co 3:15), and it is also true that if we don’t suffer loss, it will be because God had determined from the foundation of the world (Eph 1:4) that we would be those who would abide and endure until the end through Christ, who gives us the power to endure in the day of adversity so that we can attain to that blessed and holy first resurrection (1Co 3:14, Pro 24:10, Rom 8:18).

1Co 3:14  If any man’s work abide which he hath built thereupon, he shall receive a reward (Rev 20:6). 
1Co 3:15  If any man’s work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss: but he himself shall be saved; yet so as by fire.

Pro 24:10  If thou faint in the day of adversity, thy strength is small. 
Pro 24:11  If thou forbear to deliver them that are drawn unto death, and those that are ready to be slain; 

God’s elect, who are the weak of the world (1Co 1:26) and the poor in spirit of the world (Mat 5:3), are typified in this section of Kings as those who were shown mercy during this severe attack from the King of Babylon (Rom 11:11-12), via the captain of the guard whose name was “Nebuzaradan” whose name means “Nebo has given seed.” We’re told, “But the captain of the guard left of the poor of the land to be vinedressers and husbandmen,” Those vinedressers and husbandman [the elect of God, the remnant that are left] understand today that God has made a way to take all this death and destruction about which we are reading and turn it into something glorious, seeing all humanity will be redeemed in time (2Sa 14:14, 1Co 15:22). The seed Nebuzaradan gives is the death of the old man that must go into captivity and in time be shown that God has made a way to redeem all of the fallen. So God’s elect are not only the vinedressers and husbandman but also those “fugitives that fell away to the king of Babylon, with the remnant of the multitude” in their appointed time (Eph 2:2) and were carried away into captivity in Babylon themselves. If God is working with us in this age, then we will be preserved by way of His judgments that will free us from Babylonian captivity in time to become skilled “vinedressers and husbandman“,  words that represent the body of Christ who are one with Christ, the true vine, and God the Father who is likened unto a husbandman (2Sa 14:14, Joh 14:20, Joh 15:1-2, Joh 17:3).

2Sa 14:14  For we must needs die, and are as water spilt on the ground, which cannot be gathered up again; neither doth God respect any person: yet doth he devise means [Gal 3:16, Joh 12:24-25 by the one seed of Christ], that his banished be not expelled from him [the rest of the world that remains in captivity until now without Christ’s spirit within (Rom 8:9, 2Co 3:17)]. 

Gal 3:16  Now to Abraham and his seed were the promises made. He saith not, And to seeds, as of many; but as of one, And to thy seed, which is Christ.

Joh 12:24  Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone: but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit.
Joh 12:25  He that loveth his life shall lose it; and he that hateth his life in this world shall keep it unto life eternal. [Rom 9:13 ,  Mal 1:2-3]

Joh 14:20  At that day ye shall know that I am in my Father, and ye in me, and I in you.

Joh 15:1  I am the true vine, and my Father is the husbandman. [“vinedressers and husbandmen” (Joh 17:3)]
Joh 15:2  Every branch in me that beareth not fruit he taketh away: and every branch that beareth fruit, he purgeth it, that it may bring forth more fruit. [Act 14:22]

Our flesh does not want to acknowledge the truth that we need to be tried and tested in order to bring forth fruit in this life and go unto perfection on the third day, “and every branch that beareth fruit, he purgeth it, that it may bring forth more fruit” (Luk 13:32), and yet these scriptures (1Co 3:11-14, 1Co 3:15) reveal that “Every man’s work shall be made manifest: for the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire; and the fire shall try every man’s work of what sort it is.” There are only two sorts of works being discussed in this verse – those who are not given to endure the fire and those who are (Joh 15:2).

In this particular study we will see a witness of how there are two groups that need to be judged, each man in his own order, and how God’s blessed remnant who are judged in this life (1Pe 4:17) are typified by those on whom God showed mercy as His workmanship who are “the poor of the land to be vinedressers and husbandmen” (Rom 11:31-32). In order to become those vinedressers and husbandmen, we must receive the counsel of God and understand who we ought to always fear, becoming like a teachable child (Rev 3:18, Luk 12:5, Rom 13:4, Mat 18:3).

Rom 11:31  Even so have these also now not believed, that through your mercy they also may obtain mercy.
Rom 11:32  For God hath concluded them all in unbelief, that he might have mercy upon all.

Rev 3:18  I counsel thee to buy of me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich; and white raiment, that thou mayest be clothed, and that the shame of thy nakedness do not appear; and anoint thine eyes with eyesalve, that thou mayest see.

In order to overcome, it must be granted us to hear the voice of the true Shepherd (Rev 3:19-21) and as a result be able to hear the voice of the true Shepherd in the body of Christ, being persuaded of our leaders whom God has ordained for our good (Heb 13:17, 2Co 1:24, 1Jn 1:3-4).

Rev 3:19  As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten: [Heb 12:6] be zealous therefore, and repent.
Rev 3:20  Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me.
Rev 3:21  To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my throne, even as I also overcame, [how Christ overcame (1Jn 4:17, Heb 5:8)] and am set down with my Father in his throne.
Rev 3:22  He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches.

Heb 13:17  Obey^G3982 them that have the rule over you^G2233[^G71“to lead“], and submit yourselves: for they watch for your souls, as they that must give account, that they may do it with joy, and not with grief: for that is unprofitable for you.

2Co 1:24  Not for that we have dominion over your faith, but are helpers of your joy: for by faith ye stand.

1Jn 1:3  That which we have seen and heard declare we unto you, that ye also may have fellowship with us: and truly our fellowship is with the Father, and with his Son Jesus Christ [Joh 17:3, Eph 5:30].
1Jn 1:4  And these things write we unto you, that your joy may be full.

Mar 14:42  Rise up, let us go^G71; lo, he that betrayeth me is at hand [Rom 8:14-15, Psa 23:3-4].

Rom 8:14  For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God. 
Rom 8:15  For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father. 

Psa 23:3  He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name’s sake.
Psa 23:4  Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.

2Ki 25:1  And it came to pass in the ninth year of his reign, in the tenth month, in the tenth day of the month, that Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came, he, and all his host, against Jerusalem, and pitched against it; and they built forts against it round about. 
2Ki 25:2  And the city was besieged unto the eleventh year of king Zedekiah. 
2Ki 25:3  And on the ninth day of the fourth month the famine prevailed in the city, and there was no bread for the people of the land.

It is in the “ninth year of his reign” that Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon with all his host, came up against Jerusalem. This event signifies the judgment that comes upon the world within us that God accomplishes via the king of Babylon, who typifies Satan who is God’s sword (Psa 17:13). The city being besieged “unto the eleventh year of king Zedekiah” reminds us that in order to come to that point where our foundation is upon the rock, Jesus Christ [12], we must transition through judgment from eleven [“The Ruin and Disintegration of the Perfection of the Flesh”] to twelve, the number of foundations. The eleventh year of Zedekiah’s rule coinciding with Nebuchadnezzar’s ninth year of reign signifies judgment that is against all flesh; flesh that is witnessed against by the numbers associated with the time this happened “in the tenth month, in the tenth day of the month.” The city is besieged on the eleventh year and then in the “ninth day of the fourth month” the famine prevails as a type of Babylon that comes to see there is no stay of bread or water [the whole or “the fourth month“] in her (Isa 3:1). That famine is what brings us to our wits’ end so we ‘come out of her my people’ if God is working with us to that end (Luk 15:17, Joh 6:44). 

Luk 15:17  And when he came to himself, he said, How many hired servants of my father’s have bread enough and to spare, and I perish with hunger!

Joh 6:44  No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him: and I will raise him up at the last day.

All of Nebuchadnezzar’s host pitched against Jerusalem and built forts against it round about, representing how our own iniquities will chasten us (Isa 59:2) and how we will be bound by our own sin which will be judged (Joh 8:36). The famine of the word prevailing in our lives is typified by there being “no bread for the people of the land” and is a form of judgment that brings us to our wits’ end as we are brought to see our wretched condition and need for spiritual nourishment, the word of God that is the true bread from heaven which quickens us (Luk 15:17-19, Joh 6:63).

Isa 59:2  But your iniquities have separated between you and your God, and your sins have hid his face from you, that he will not hear. 

Joh 8:36  If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed.

Luk 15:17  And when he came to himself, he said, How many hired servants of my father’s have bread enough and to spare, and I perish with hunger!
Luk 15:18  I will arise and go to my father, and will say unto him, Father, I have sinned against heaven, and before thee,
Luk 15:19  And am no more worthy to be called thy son: make me as one of thy hired servants.

Joh 6:63  It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life.

2Ki 25:4  And the city was broken up, and all the men of war fled by night by the way of the gate between two walls, which is by the king’s garden: (now the Chaldees were against the city round about:) and the king went the way toward the plain.
2Ki 25:5  And the army of the Chaldees pursued after the king, and overtook him in the plains of Jericho: and all his army were scattered from him. 
2Ki 25:6  So they took the king, and brought him up to the king of Babylon to Riblah; and they gave judgment upon him.

The city being “broken up” is symbolic of our coming into judgment as those things that need to be torn down in our lives start to unfold (Heb 12:27-29, Joh 2:19). 

Heb 12:27  And this word, Yet once more, signifieth the removing of those things that are shaken, as of things that are made, that those things which cannot be shaken may remain. 
Heb 12:28  Wherefore we receiving a kingdom which cannot be moved, let us have grace, whereby we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear:
Heb 12:29  For our God is a consuming fire. 

Joh 2:19  Jesus answered and said unto them, Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.

Adam and Eve were in the true King’s garden (Rev 2:7) when they were found guilty and driven out of Eden. When Zedekiah was driven out of Jerusalem he also left a place that symbolized where salvation could be found, Jerusalem (Jerusalem above – Gal 4:26). Adam and Eve were driven out into the wilderness, and Zedekiah fled into the plain that symbolizes the wilderness of his day where he would be pursued by “the army of the Chaldees” who would overtake him in “the plains of Jericho“^H3405. Jericho means “its moon” and represents Babylon where we initially think we have found the Sun of righteousness (Mal 4:2, Mat 21:44) when in fact we are still dealing with the lesser light of Babylon that is only a shadow of the truth, like the brightness of the moon is only a reflection of the source of light which is coming from the sun (1Co 15:41). If we are being judged in this life, we are called out of Babylon, but of course we must first go into it as Zedekiah was about to experience encountering Nebuchadnezzar in Riblah, “to the king of Babylon to Riblah^H7247; and they gave judgment upon him.” It is in Riblah that our old man is judged so severely in a place that means “fertility”, telling us that this judgment will in time bring forth the righteousness that comes when God’s judgments are in the earth (Isa 26:9).

H7247riblâh BDB Definition:
Riblah = “fertility”
1) a place on the eastern boundary of Israel
2) a town in the land of Hamath on the great road between Babylon and Palestine
Part of Speech: noun proper locative
A Related Word by BDB/Strong’s Number: from an unused root meaning to be fruitful

1Co 15:41  There is one glory of the sun, and another glory of the moon, and another glory of the stars: for one star differeth from another star in glory.

Isa 26:9  With my soul have I desired thee in the night; yea, with my spirit within me will I seek thee early: for when thy judgments are in the earth, the inhabitants of the world will learn righteousness.

2Ki 25:7  And they slew the sons of Zedekiah before his eyes, and put out the eyes of Zedekiah, and bound him with fetters of brass, and carried him to Babylon.

Having your sons slain before your eyes is symbolic of having false doctrines destroyed before you in this instance, as our children represent the spiritual fruit of our life whether good or bad (Mat 13:38). Zedekiah is us, and he is being severely tried in the fire to see his physical children killed before him, and then have his own eyes put out. Having his eyes put out is again an extremely painful and debilitating event. However, it also represents our need to no longer see through our carnal eyes, which can only happen when we are judged and then acknowledge our blindness (Joh 9:41). We all must go into Babylon to come out of her, and when we go into Babylon we are bound to the law which is symbolized by “fetters of brass.” We are just as bound to that altar at first as we will be, Lord willing, to the altar that represents the cross of Christ (Psa 118:27, Heb 13:10).

Mat 13:38  The field is the world; the good seed are the children of the kingdom; but the tares are the children of the wicked one;

Joh 9:41  Jesus said unto them, If ye were blind, ye should have no sin: but now ye say, We see; therefore your sin remaineth.

Psa 118:27  God is the LORD, which hath shewed us light: bind the sacrifice with cords, even unto the horns of the altar. 

Heb 13:10  We have an altar, whereof they have no right to eat which serve the tabernacle.

2Ki 25:8  And in the fifth month, on the seventh day of the month, which is the nineteenth year of king Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, came Nebuzaradan, captain of the guard, a servant of the king of Babylon, unto Jerusalem: 
2Ki 25:9  And he burnt the house of the LORD, and the king’s house, and all the houses of Jerusalem, and every great man’s house burnt he with fire. 
2Ki 25:10  And all the army of the Chaldees, that were with the captain of the guard, brake down the walls of Jerusalem round about.

These verses (2Ki 25:8-10) of scripture talk about the thoroughness of God’s judgment upon all flesh, as well as the order in which that judgment unfolds (1Co 3:13-15). 

1Co 3:13  Every man’s work shall be made manifest: for the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire; and the fire shall try every man’s work of what sort it is.
1Co 3:14  If any man’s work abide which he hath built thereupon, he shall receive a reward.
1Co 3:15  If any man’s work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss: but he himself shall be saved; yet so as by fire. 

It is the subject of grace through faith we are talking about, so it is “in the fifth month” and it is on the “nineteenth year of king Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon” that “Nebuzaradan, captain of the guard, a servant of the king of Babylon, [came] unto Jerusalem.” The day of the Lord is expressed with the number one, and the nine represents judgment in regard to Nebuchadnezzar’s “nineteenth” year of reign. Then we learn of Nebuzaradan who is king Nebuchadnezzar’s servant or captain of the guard fulfilling the king’s purpose, which is a shadow of how God, represented by Nebuchadnezzar in this instance, commands Satan (Job 2:5-6, Eph 5:30) who is typified by Nebuzaradan to do his bidding of burning “the house of the LORD, and the king’s house, and all the houses of Jerusalem, and every great man’s house burnt he with fire” which reminds us of this verse that we previously looked at (1Co 3:15).

Job 2:5  But put forth thine hand now, and touch his bone and his flesh, and he will curse thee to thy face.
Job 2:6  And the LORD said unto Satan, Behold, he is in thine hand; but save his life.

1Co 3:15  If any man’s work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss: but he himself shall be saved; yet so as by fire.

When God sends His messenger to accomplish something to His glory, it is done according to the counsel of His own will (Eph 1:11). He has entire armies He can use (Mat 26:53) to set out to accomplish that purpose of humbling a nation, reminding us how the Lord can humble us for our good. “And all the army of the Chaldees, that were with the captain of the guard, brake down the walls of Jerusalem round about.“

Mat 26:53  Thinkest thou that I cannot now pray to my Father, and he shall presently give me more than twelve legions of angels?

2Ki 25:11  Now the rest of the people that were left in the city, and the fugitives that fell away to the king of Babylon, with the remnant of the multitude, did Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard carry away. 
2Ki 25:12  But the captain of the guard left of the poor of the land to be vinedressers and husbandmen.

These last two verses we’ll look at demonstrate for us the way God has ordained judgment as He separates “the fugitives that fell away to the king of Babylon, with the remnant of the multitude, did Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard carry away” from “the poor of the land to be vinedressers and husbandmen” who were left of “the captain of the guard” as a type of the elect.

This seemingly innocuous verse has a very important message for God’s elect that shows us events connected to our judgment in the Lord that brings us to be in a position of being “vinedressers and husbandmen“, which is being done in our lives so that the rest who are taken away into captivity, “the fugitives that fell away to the king of Babylon, with the remnant of the multitude, did Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard carry away“, can one day be shown the mercy God has shown to us so that all will be saved (Rom 11:22-33). 

Rom 11:20  Well; because of unbelief they were broken off, and thou standest by faith. Be not highminded, but fear: 
Rom 11:21  For if God spared not the natural branches, take heed lest he also spare not thee. 
Rom 11:22  Behold therefore the goodness and severity of God: on them which fell, severity; but toward thee, goodness, if thou continue in his goodness: otherwise thou also shalt be cut off.
Rom 11:23  And they also, if they abide not still in unbelief, shall be graffed in: for God is able to graff them in again.
Rom 11:24  For if thou wert cut out of the olive tree which is wild by nature, and wert graffed contrary to nature into a good olive tree: how much more shall these, which be the natural branches, be graffed into their own olive tree?
Rom 11:25  For I would not, brethren, that ye should be ignorant of this mystery, lest ye should be wise in your own conceits; that blindness in part is happened to Israel, until the fulness of the Gentiles be come in.
Rom 11:26  And so all Israel shall be saved: as it is written, There shall come out of Sion the Deliverer, and shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob:
Rom 11:27  For this is my covenant unto them, when I shall take away their sins.
Rom 11:28  As concerning the gospel, they are enemies for your sakes: but as touching the election, they are beloved for the fathers’ sakes.
Rom 11:29  For the gifts and calling of God are without repentance.
Rom 11:30  For as ye in times past have not believed God, yet have now obtained mercy through their unbelief:
Rom 11:31  Even so have these also now not believed, that through your mercy they also may obtain mercy.
Rom 11:32  For God hath concluded them all in unbelief, that he might have mercy upon all.
Rom 11:33  O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! how unsearchable are his judgments, and his ways past finding out!

God’s elect are represented by both these groups, the “vinedressers and husbandmen” and “the remnant of the multitude,” as we must go into captivity. “Now the rest of the people that were left in the city, and the fugitives that fell away to the king of Babylon, with the remnant of the multitude, did Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard carry away“, and by God’s gift of grace through faith (Eph 2:8) we come out of that captivity to become the “vinedressers and husbandmen” God has called us to be. God’s judgments are unsearchable and his ways are past finding out, and yet God’s elect who endure to the end will be blessed to have the purified mind of Christ that will be able to come up on mount Zion to judge the mount of Esau (Oba 1:21, 1Co 6:3).

Oba 1:21  And saviours shall come up on mount Zion to judge the mount of Esau; and the kingdom shall be the LORD’S. 

1Co 6:3  Know ye not that we shall judge angels? how much more things that pertain to this life?