The Great Deportation - 2 Kings 24:6, 24:8-9; 2 Chronicles 36:8-9; Jeremiah 22:24-30; 2 Kings 24:10-16; 2 Chronicles 36:10; Daniel 1:1-2; Reign of Zedekiah - 2 Kings 24:17-20; 2 Chronicles 36:10-16; Jeremiah 37:1-2, 52:1-3
He [Nebuchadnezzar] carried into exile all Jerusalem: all the officers and fighting men, and all the craftsmen and artisans -- a total of ten thousand. Only the poorest people of the land were left. 2 Kings 24:14
When Judah undergoes the second wave of deportation and captivity to Babylon, the Bible says Nebuchadnezzar removed the "leading men of the land." The poor remain. Was this a show of the special love and grace God has for the poor? Did they thrive no longer leaving in economic subjection to the "leading men"? Or did they miss the leadership skills of those who'd been taken into captivity? Probably a bit of both. I wonder what their society consisted of, what culture they developed, how they organized themselves now gutted of their government? Did they mourn their losses or look at it as a chance to begin anew? And what would they do when the captives return in 70 years? Would they be reluctant to give up their new found freedoms and self governance?
A Kingdom of the Poor. The remnant of Judah in Jerusalem. Is this a metaphor for us given we wait for the return of our king? Lord knows.
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