The Lord’s assessment of Jehoiakim’s reign continues as he compares his reign to that of his father, King Josiah.
The Lord asks the question of Jehoiakim, Do you think you are a king because you compete in cedar?
In other words, does Jehoiakim believe that his success as king will be measured by how impressive his palace is? Did not your father eat and drink and do justice and righteousness? Then it was well.
Josiah, Jehoiakim’s father, enjoyed the privileges of being king. He ate and drank, but the measure of his reign was not how opulent his life was, but that he judged the cause of the poor and needy, then it was well.
Josiah’s reign was a successful one in the Lord’s eyes because he ruled in a way that was faithful to the covenant. More importantly, Josiah ruled in a way that showed a king who knew (yada) the Lord. His rule displayed a personal and intimate relationship with the Lord that expressed itself in heartfelt covenant obedience. In contrast to this, Jehoiakim’s eyes and heart
were focused only on dishonest gain, the shedding of innocent blood and oppression and violence of his own people in the pursuit of this gain. Referring to his eyes and heart speaks of both an inner and an outer reality. Jehoiakim saw what he wanted and pursued it with all his heart in a ruthless and single-minded way.1 Jehoiakim was nothing like his father as will be shown more fully later in the book (Jeremiah 26:20–23; Jeremiah 36:1–32).
15 Do you think you are a king because you compete in cedar? Did not your father eat and drink and do justice and righteousness? Then it was well with him.