Jehovah​—A Lover of Justice

THE Most High loves justice and righteousness. (Ps. 33:5) His servant Elihu declared: “As for the Almighty, we have not found him out; he is exalted in power, and justice and abundance of righteousness he will not belittle.”​—Job 37:23.

Because of having the highest regard for justice, Jehovah God does not overlook oppression. Oppressors cannot escape the outworking of God’s unchangeable law: “Whatever a man is sowing, this he will also reap.” (Gal. 6:7) At times Jehovah has maneuvered matters in such a way that practicers of injustice experienced calamity. So that they would know for a certainty that the judgment was from him, the Almighty announced it beforehand through his prophets.

That was the case with Eliakim of the seventh century B.C.E. His father, King Josiah, died in battle while trying to stop the Egyptian armies under Pharaoh Nechoh from passing through Samaria on the way to fight the Babylonian conqueror of Assyria. The people of Judah then made Eliakim’s younger brother, Jehoahaz, king. About three months later Pharaoh Nechoh took Jehoahaz as a captive to Egypt and made twenty-five-year-old Eliakim king, changing his name to Jehoiakim. Besides this, Nechoh imposed a heavy fine on the kingdom of Judah. Jehoiakim exacted this from his subjects by taxation.​—2 Ki. 23:34-36; 2 Chron. 36:1-5.

Instead of at least giving some consideration to the heavy burden under which his subjects were laboring, Jehoiakim made plans to build a new, luxurious palace. Doubtless to keep down the cost, he oppressively withheld the workers’ wages. Jehoiakim’s high-handed action did not escape the notice of Jehovah God. He sent Jeremiah the prophet to the house of the king. The record of this is found in Jeremiah chapter 22.

Though Jehoiakim deserved to be punished, mercifully Jehovah God provided the king with an opportunity to correct matters. Jeremiah was instructed to say: “This is what Jehovah has said: ‘Render justice and righteousness, and deliver the one that is being robbed out of the hand of the defrauder; and do not maltreat any alien resident, fatherless boy or widow. Do them no violence. And do not shed any innocent blood in this place. For if you will by all means perform this word, there will also certainly come in through the gates of this house the kings sitting for David upon his throne, riding in chariots and on horses, he with his servants and his people.’” (Jer. 22:3, 4) So, by changing his course of action, Jehoiakim could contribute toward the continuance of rulership by men in the royal house of David.

“But,” the prophetic word to Jehoiakim continued, “‘if you will not obey these words, by myself I do swear,’ is the utterance of Jehovah, ‘that this house will become a mere devastated place.’ For this is what Jehovah has said concerning the house of the king of Judah, ‘You are as Gilead to me, the head of Lebanon. Assuredly I shall make you a wilderness; as for the cities, not one will be inhabited.’”​—Jer. 22:5, 6.

By pursuing a disobedient course, Jehoiakim was, therefore, sure to bring ruin to himself as well as to his kingdom. To Jehovah God, the “house of the king of Judah,” evidently the palace complex, was ‘like Gilead,’ “the head of Lebanon.” Situated on a height, the palace had a lofty and magnificent location. It was like mountainous Lebanon, with its proud cedars. Besides, cedarwood was used extensively in the construction of royal edifices. (1 Ki. 7:2-12) Jehoiakim himself had used cedar paneling for his palace. So the palace area was like a magnificent forest of cedar buildings​—like heavily wooded Gilead and Lebanon. Yet that magnificent palace complex was to come to nothingness. In fact, all the cities of Judah were to become a desolate waste. Did it happen? Did Jehoiakim’s injustices catch up with him?

Yes, the Chaldeans came against Jerusalem. As for Jehoiakim, the prophetic word was: “With the burial of a he-ass he will be buried, with a dragging about and a throwing away, out beyond the gates of Jerusalem.” (Jer. 22:19) Ancient tradition (recorded by the first-century Jewish historian Josephus) has it that Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon, killed Jehoiakim and commanded that his dead body be thrown outside Jerusalem’s walls. Whether this tradition is correct or not, Jehoiakim did not survive the Babylonian siege. He did not receive a decent burial. His corpse lay unattended outside the gates of Jerusalem, exposed to the heat by day and the cold at night. His son Jehoiachin ruled for about three months after his death; he finally capitulated to the siege and was himself taken into Babylonian exile.​—2 Ki. 24:11, 12.

Thereafter Jehoiachin’s uncle, Zedekiah, ruled from Jerusalem as a vassal of Babylonian King Nebuchadnezzar. Eventually, Zedekiah revolted, and the Babylonian armies came back to Jerusalem. (2 Ki. 24:20; 25:1) As had been foretold, Jerusalem and the entire land of Judah were desolated. Archaeological findings confirm the fulfillment of the prophetic word through Jeremiah. Says W. F. Albright in The Bible After Twenty Years of Archaeology: “Excavation and surface exploration in Judah have proved that the towns of Judah were not only completely destroyed by the Chaldeans in their two invasions, but were not reoccupied for generations​—often never again in history.”​—P. 546.

So the shameful record of injustice caught up with Jehoiakim and his subjects. Fulfilled were the words: “O you who are dwelling in Lebanon [designating Jerusalem, with its lofty location and cedarwood buildings] being nested in the cedars, how you will certainly sigh when there come to you birth pangs, the labor pains like those of a woman giving birth!” (Jer. 22:23) From a very lofty position the inhabitants of Jerusalem were indeed brought low. Their beautiful capital city was destroyed and many of the survivors were taken into Babylonian exile.

Truly Jehovah God had not overlooked the injustices that had been committed in the kingdom of Judah. He being a God of unchanging moral standards, we can rest assured that he will not indefinitely tolerate the lawlessness of today. In fact, Bible prophecy points to our time as the “last days” for the ungodly world. (2 Tim. 3:1-5) So we need to exercise care not to follow the practices of this world and become disapproved from the standpoint of Jehovah, the God who loves justice.