מלכים ב, פרק כ״ד, פסוק כ׳

The fall of Jerusalem and the exile of Judah were not merely the unfortunate results of failed political strategies. Rather, they were the final stages of a divine plan set in motion to execute a sealed decree. God's intense anger toward Jerusalem and Judah was a direct response to the continuous sins and evil actions of the people. The spiritual fate of that generation had already been sealed [מלבי״ם, רלב״ג]. Even the survivors who remained in the city continued to live under God's wrath because of their ongoing transgressions [רד״ק]. Ultimately, this divine anger reached such an overwhelming level that God resolved to cast the inhabitants out of His presence, driving them away into exile [מצודת דוד, ביאור שטיינזלץ].

To bring this severe judgment to pass, a geopolitical crisis was orchestrated. King Zedekiah's decision to rebel against the king of Babylon was not an isolated political miscalculation. The primary approach among commentators is that God Himself planted the desire within Zedekiah's heart to revolt and to rely on military aid from Egypt [ביאור שטיינזלץ]. This rebellion was designed to provide the Babylonian king with the perfect pretext to march on Jerusalem, destroy the city, and force the people into exile, thereby fulfilling the preordained decree [רש״י, מצודת דוד, רד״ק, אברבנאל]. Had Zedekiah not chosen to rebel, the city would have been spared and the people would have remained in their land, exactly as the prophet Jeremiah had repeatedly warned the king [רלב״ג, אברבנאל].

This unfolding historical and divine process is subtly reflected in the very names of the final kings of Judah. Jehoahaz's name reflects how the nation held fast to the ways of sin. During the reign of Jehoiakim, God established His harsh decree. Jehoiachin then prepared the groundwork for the impending destruction and exile. Finally, through Zedekiah, God executed true justice, delivering the final and appropriate punishment for the nation's sins [אברבנאל].