Then the denunciation passes into biting sarcasm:-- "Art thou indeed a king, Because thou strivest to excel in cedar?"[80] Poor imitations of Nebuchadnezzar's magnificent structures could not conceal the impotence and dependence of the Jewish king. The pretentiousness of Jehoiakim's buildings challenged a comparison which only reminded men that he was a mere puppet, with its strings pulled now by Egypt and now by Babylon. At best he was only reigning on sufferance. Jeremiah contrasts Jehoiakim's government both as to justice and dignity with that of Josiah:-- "Did not thy father eat and drink?"[81] (He was no ascetic, but, like the Son of Man, lived a full, natural, human life.) "And do judgment and justice? Then did he prosper. He judged the cause of the poor and needy, Then was there prosperity. Is not this to know Me? Jehovah hath spoken it." Probably Jehoiakim claimed by some external observance, or through some subservient priest or prophet, to "know Jehovah"; and Jeremiah repudiates the claim. Josiah had reigned in the period when the decay of Assyria left Judah dominant in Palestine, until Egypt or Chaldea could find time to gather up the outlying fragments of the shattered empire. The wisdom and justice of the Jewish king had used this breathing space for the advantage and happiness of his people; and during part of his reign Josiah's power seems to have been as extensive as that of any of his predecessors on the throne of Judah. And yet, according to current theology, Jeremiah's appeal to the prosperity of Josiah as a proof of God's approbation was a startling anomaly. Josiah had been defeated and slain at Megiddo in the prime of his manhood, at the age of thirty-nine. None but the most independent and enlightened spirits could believe that the Reformer's premature death, at the moment when his policy had resulted in national disaster, was not an emphatic declaration of Divine displeasure. Jeremiah's contrary belief might be explained and justified. Some such justification is suggested by the prophet's utterance concerning Jehoahaz: "Weep not for the dead, neither bemoan him: but weep sore for him that goeth away." Josiah had reigned with real authority, he died when independence was no longer possible; and therein he was happier and more honourable than his successors, who held a vassal throne by the uncertain tenure of time-serving duplicity, and were for the most part carried into captivity. "The righteous was taken away from the evil to come."[82] The warlike spirit of classical antiquity and of Teutonic chivalry welcomed a glorious death upon the field of battle:-- "And how can man die better Than facing fearful odds, For the ashes of his fathers, And the temples of his Gods?"