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2 Chronicles Chapter 36 (ESV)
5 Jehoiakim was twenty-five years old when he began to reign, and he reigned eleven years in Jerusalem. He did what was evil in the sight of the Lord his God. 6 Against him came up Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon and bound him in chains to take him to Babylon. 7 Nebuchadnezzar also carried part of the vessels of the house of the Lord to Babylon and put them in his palace in Babylon. 8 Now the rest of the acts of Jehoiakim, and the abominations that he did, and what was found against him, behold, they are written in the Book of the Kings of Israel and Judah. And Jehoiachin his son reigned in his place.
9 Jehoiachin was eighteen years old when he became king, and he reigned three months and ten days in Jerusalem. He did what was evil in the sight of the Lord. 10 In the spring of the year King Nebuchadnezzar sent and brought him to Babylon, with the precious vessels of the house of the Lord, and made his brother Zedekiah king over Judah and Jerusalem.
11 Zedekiah was twenty-one years old when he began to reign, and he reigned eleven years in Jerusalem. 12 He did what was evil in the sight of the Lord his God. He did not humble himself before Jeremiah the prophet, who spoke from the mouth of the Lord…
17 Therefore he brought up against them the king of the Chaldeans, who killed their young men with the sword in the house of their sanctuary and had no compassion on young man or virgin, old man or aged. He gave them all into his hand. 18 And all the vessels of the house of God, great and small, and the treasures of the house of the Lord, and the treasures of the king and of his princes, all these he brought to Babylon…
21 to fulfill the word of the Lord by the mouth of Jeremiah, until the land had enjoyed its Sabbaths. All the days that it lay desolate it kept Sabbath, to fulfill seventy years.
REFLECTION:
- The destruction of Judah was not without signs. God admonished Judah repeatedly that He would continue to have mercy on His people if they abandoned evil. Ultimately, as recorded in this chapter, the kings and the people of Judah did not abandon evil and the situation was to a point beyond redemption. People will incur disaster if they repeatedly sin and not repent. Therefore you must be careful not to hide your sin but to thoroughly confess and repent before God. Otherwise, God will give His judgment instead of His mercy at the point beyond redemption.
- The exile of Judah was a judgment according to the laws already set by God. Lev. 26:27-45 recorded an astonishing prophecy about the exile of the Israelites saying God will pull them out of their land because they disobey Him. They ignored God’s laws with one that says they should let their land rest and lie fallow every seventh year (cf. Exod. 23:10-11). During the seventy years of exile of the Israelites, the land had enjoyed its Sabbaths and made up the years that they did not follow this law. We know that God will keep His promise, not only the promise of blessing but also the promise of judgment. Reflect on God’s holiness and righteousness. If people purposely hide their sins and not confess, God will punish these sins.
PRAYER:
Humbly come before God and praise God for his holiness and righteousness. Reflect if you have any hidden sins that you don’t want to confess. Ask God to give you courage to thoroughly confess you sins though it may be very difficult for you. Ask God to forgive you and give you greater courage to repent with actions that your life will be refined by God.
HYMN:
Refiner’s Fire – www.youtube.com/watch?v=6lBhvTAfmIk
