"Weep not for him who is dead, nor wail for him; weep rather for him who is gone, for he shall not return, and never again shall he see the land of his birth. For thus saith the Lord, concerning Shallum (Jehoahaz), the son of Josiah, who was king instead of Josiah his father, who went forth from this place: 'He shall not return thither again, but in the place whither they have led him away captive he shall die, and this land shall not see him again.'"
Soon after Jehoiakim came to the throne, word came from Egypt that Jehoahaz had died. It was then that Jeremiah, who with Shaphan and Hilkiah had quietly aided the king in his policy of reform, but had retired to his home in Anathoth when these reforms began to bear fruit, heard again the call to go out and prophesy to the people of Judah. Danger was threatening from the throne and this danger brought Jeremiah out of his seclusion, to the fore again.
CHAPTER VIII.
The Shadow of a King.
Pharaoh Necho's ambitions were short-lived.
The child's-play conquest of Judah was not to be repeated in dealing with the conquerors of Nineveh.
Nebuchadrezzar really had no thought of extending the sway of his reborn Babylonia to Egypt; but he would not countenance for a moment Necho's encroachment upon Assyrian territory.
In dividing up the Assyrian Empire, Cyaxerxes was perfectly satisfied with the absolute independence of Media and such Assyrian possessions as adjoined his country. The rest, to the west and south, including ancient Syria and Judah, was apportioned to his son-in-law. There was no quarrel about the division.
Syria and Judah being his, Nebuchadrezzar swore by all his gods that
Necho should be made to suffer for his audacity.
Necho encamped at Riblah, after the victory over Josiah. Riblah, situated in the broad valley between the Lebanon and Hermon ranges, was destined to be the scene of several tragedies in Judean history. It was here that Necho awaited the outcome of the struggle at Nineveh.