[Bible Tales] Newsletter – A king's mother

Published: Fri, 06/01/18

Hi ,

Welcome to another Bible Tales Newsletter with an article about a king and his mother in the time of Jeremiah.

The weekly eBook serial of Terror on Every Side! Volume 4 – The Darkness Deepens is almost halfway through, and now the audiobook serial will begin soon. See below for more information on how to subscribe to this inspiring story of a prophet's perseverance, read so warmly and expressively by Chris Morgan.

A king's mother

"Royal Crown with no background" by chad78 (openclipart https://openclipart.org/detail/270126/crown)

When Jeremiah collected the loincloth that he had buried near the Euphrates (see post "Jeremiah: priest or prophet?"), God gave him a message to deliver which included a reference to “the king and the queen mother” (Jeremiah 13:18). We are not told who this refers to, so are there any other hints that can help us to work out who they were?

King Jeconiah (also called Jehoiachin) was either 8 or, more probably, 18 years old when he became king (see post "Jehoiakim’s death"). We are told that he was an evil king.[1]

His father was King Jehoiakim, who was also evil.[2]

His mother’s name was Nehushta the daughter of Elnathan of Jerusalem.[3] We have no indication of whether she was righteous or evil. Jeconiah’s father Josiah may have had something to do with the choosing of a wife for his son and may have chosen someone he thought would be righteous, but we really don’t know.

Passages that definitely mention her are:

2 Kings 24:12 where Jeconiah surrendered to Nebuchadnezzar along with his mother and others.
Jeremiah 22:26 in which we are told that Jeconiah (called ‘Coniah’ in this passage (verse 24 & verse 28)) and his mother were to be thrown into another country where they would die.
Jeremiah 29:2 which tells of a letter which was sent to those in captivity after Jeconiah, his mother and others were taken into captivity.

Given this collection of passages referring to his mother – a greater collection than for any other king – it seems reasonable to conclude that she was more important to her son than most other queen mothers. As a result, I would guess that she had more influence over his decisions than the mothers of most kings. She may well have contributed to his being described as evil, however she may also have contributed to his surrender to King Nebuchadnezzar – which was a wise thing to do.

After finding these frequent mentions of Jeconiah and his mother together, we can look again at Jeremiah 13:18 to ask who the king and the queen mother were. They were both to take a lowly seat because they had lost their crowns. We cannot be sure that this applies to King Jehoiachin and his mother, but having three other passages that talk about him and his mother together make it more likely to refer to him than to any of the other kings in Jeremiah’s time who have no passages which specifically connect them with their mothers in this way.

Does anyone know what “Nehushta” means as a name in Hebrew? Could its meaning be important for any reason?

Notes

[1] 2 Kings 24:9; 2 Chronicles 36:9
[2] 2 Kings 23:37; 2 Chronicles 36:5
[3] 2 Kings 24:8

Audiobook serial starts soon

Terror on Every Side! Volume 4 – The Darkness Deepens: Audio Serial

At 9am (Australian Eastern Standard Time (AEST: GMT+10)) on Monday 11 June 2018, the first chapter of the audiobook of Volume 4 – The Darkness Deepens will be sent to subscribers by email.

Chapter 1 "Besieged" is read delightfully by Chris Morgan and begins the next phase of Jeremiah's work as a prophet for God. If you subscribe to this serial, you will receive a new chapter each week at 9am on Monday morning until the 16 chapters are complete.

Subscribe to this weekly audiobook serial and you will be inspired by the unrelenting determination of Jeremiah to do God's will despite the difficulties and terrors that surrounded him. Listen each week as Chris Morgan brings to life the story of man who struggled against apathy and evil because he cared so deeply for his God and his nation.

Subscribers will also be offered special deals when the time comes for the completed audiobook to be released to the public. Why do we do this? Because we use the process of serialisation to help fine tune the recording: we request all subscribers to report any flaws or misreadings which they notice. This helps us to make sure that any errors are fixed before the audiobook is finally released.

To download a sample from the first chapter, click here. For more information or to subscribe, see the Bible Tales Online sales page here. Note that some of you have already subscribed to this serial and I will be emailing you shortly to confirm your subscription.

If you want to know more about the story you will hear through this serial, keep reading below.

The story...

The brief reign of Jeconiah begins with the ignominious death of his father – dragged and dumped beyond the gates of Jerusalem – and ends when he is put in chains and taken to Babylon as a captive along with thousands of others. His conqueror, King Nebuchadnezzar, appoints Jeconiah’s uncle Zedekiah as king, but Zedekiah is weak and easily swayed. Jeremiah continues to provide godly guidance, but powerful forces are working against him, and the king’s good intentions are often overridden by foolish advice.

Volume 3 told how darkness began at last to fall on the kingdom of Judah, and Volume 4 continues the story as the darkness deepens and the end approaches. First, there is the sudden death of Jehoiakim as the Babylonian army attacks Jerusalem:

For three months and ten days, the body of Jehoiakim lay beyond the gates of Jerusalem and between two armies, an increasingly shapeless bundle of cloth…

Then as the siege continues, there are attacks from without and terror within:

Jerusalem was a city filled with fear. The greatest army in the world was camped outside the walls and everyone inside wondered if this would be the day when an overwhelming, irresistible attack would be launched. No-one I spoke to had any confidence that the siege could be endured until the Chaldeans finally gave up. Rather, all were filled with fear and with uncertainty about what would happen to them when the city fell.

Relive the terrible times of siege and defeat through the weekly audiobook serialisation of Terror on Every Side! Volume 4 – The Darkness Deepens. Yet this is not the end. In God’s patience, there is still time for repentance, still time for obedience.

God willing, our next newsletter will be the second half of our micro-tale about Joseph of Aramathea.

May the Lord bless you and keep you all this week.

Mark Morgan