2 Chronicles 36
1Then the people of the land took Jehoahaz the son of Josiah, and made him king in his father's stead in Jerusalem.
2Jehoahaz was twenty and three years old when he began to reign, and he reigned three months in Jerusalem.
3And the king of Egypt put him down at Jerusalem, and condemned the land in an hundred talents of silver and a talent of gold.
4And the king of Egypt made Eliakim his brother king over Judah and Jerusalem, and turned his name to Jehoiakim. And Necho took Jehoahaz his brother, and carried him to Egypt.
5Jehoiakim was twenty and five years old when he began to reign, and he reigned eleven years in Jerusalem: and he did that which was evil in the sight of the LORD his God.
6Against him came up Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, and bound him in fetters, to carry him to Babylon.
7Nebuchadnezzar also carried of the vessels of the house of the LORD to Babylon, and put them in his temple at Babylon.
8Now the rest of the acts of Jehoiakim, and his abominations which he did, and that which was found in him, behold, they are written in the book of the kings of Israel and Judah: and Jehoiachin his son reigned in his stead.
9Jehoiachin was eight years old when he began to reign, and he reigned three months and ten days in Jerusalem: and he did that which was evil in the sight of the LORD.
10And when the year was expired, king Nebuchadnezzar sent, and brought him to Babylon, with the goodly vessels of the house of the LORD, and made Zedekiah his brother king over Judah and Jerusalem.
11Zedekiah was one and twenty years old when he began to reign, and reigned eleven years in Jerusalem.
12And he did that which was evil in the sight of the LORD his God, and humbled not himself before Jeremiah the prophet speaking from the mouth of the LORD.
13And he also rebelled against king Nebuchadnezzar, who had made him swear by God: but he stiffened his neck, and hardened his heart from turning unto the LORD God of Israel.
14Moreover all the chief of the priests, and the people, transgressed very much after all the abominations of the heathen; and polluted the house of the LORD which he had hallowed in Jerusalem.
15And the LORD God of their fathers sent to them by his messengers, rising up betimes, and sending; because he had compassion on his people, and on his dwelling place:
16But they mocked the messengers of God, and despised his words, and misused his prophets, until the wrath of the LORD arose against his people, till there was no remedy.
17Therefore he brought upon them the king of the Chaldees, who slew their young men with the sword in the house of their sanctuary, and had no compassion upon young man or maiden, old man, or him that stooped for age: he gave them all into his hand.
18And 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.
19And they burnt the house of God, and brake down the wall of Jerusalem, and burnt all the palaces thereof with fire, and destroyed all the goodly vessels thereof.
20And them that had escaped from the sword carried he away to Babylon; where they were servants to him and his sons until the reign of the kingdom of Persia:
21To fulfil the word of the LORD by the mouth of Jeremiah, until the land had enjoyed her sabbaths: for as long as she lay desolate she kept sabbath, to fulfil threescore and ten years.
22Now in the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, that the word of the LORD spoken by the mouth of Jeremiah might be accomplished, the LORD stirred up the spirit of Cyrus king of Persia, that he made a proclamation throughout all his kingdom, and put it also in writing, saying,
23Thus saith Cyrus king of Persia, All the kingdoms of the earth hath the LORD God of heaven given me; and he hath charged me to build him an house in Jerusalem, which is in Judah. Who is there among you of all his people? The LORD his God be with him, and let him go up.
COMMENTARY by Dr. Dave Burnette
Written By: God through Inspiration
Penned By: Ezra
Date Penned: (430 BC)
Overview: A History of God's Chosen People (c 1-36)
Theme: The Kingdom of Judah (c 10-36)
Message: Jehoahaz Rules Judah (1-23)
2 Chronicles 36 Commentary
(36:6) Nebuchadnezzar Becomes King - Nebuchadnezzar was the son of the founder of the new Babylonian Empire. In 605 BC, the year he became king, Nebuchadnezzar won the battle of Charchemish. That loss crushed Assyria (see the note on 35:20).
(36:16) Sin Demands a Price - God repeatedly warned the people of Judah about their sin and continually restored them to his favor, only to have them turn away. Eventually the situation was beyond remedy. Beware of harboring sin in your heart. The day will come when remedy is no longer possible and God's judgment replaces his mercy. Sin often repeated but never repented of invites disaster.
(36:21) God Keeps His Promises - Leviticus 26:27-45 strikingly predicts this captivity, telling how God's people would be torn from their land for disobeying him. One of the laws they had ignored stated that one year in every seven the land should lie fallow, resting from producing crops (Exodus 23:10-11). The 70-year captivity allowed the land to rest, making up for all the years the Israelites had not observed this law. We know that God keeps all his promises--not only his promises of blessing, but also his promises of judgment.
(36:22-23) The Return of the Exiles - Cyrus made this proclamation 48 years after the temple was destroyed (36:18-19), the year after he conquered Babylon. The book of Ezra tells the story of this proclamation and the return of the exiles to Judah.
(36:22-23) Nebuchadnezzar Destroyed the Temple - Second Chronicles focuses on the rise and fall of the worship of God as symbolized by the Jerusalem temple. David planned the temple; Solomon built it and then put on the greatest dedication service the world had ever seen. Worship in the temple was superbly organized. But several evil kings defiled the temple and degraded worship so that the people revered idols more highly than God. Finally, King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon destroyed the temple (36:19). The kings were gone, the temple was destroyed, and the people were removed. The nation was stripped to its very foundation. But fortunately there was a greater foundation -God himself. When everything in life seems stripped away from us, we, too, still have God--his Word, his presence, and his promises.
LIFE APPLICATION by Dr. Dave Burnette
Each day we walk through the Bible chapter by chapter making an application of our text to help us grow in the Lord. Many applications can be made from each day's text. Today we Continue in the book of 2 Chronicles with Chapter 35 and we see Josiah keeping the Passover and later dies in battle. What catches my eye is how Josiah ignored the word of Necho because he was a ungodly King which cost him His own life. In making application we see how God uses the just and unjust to accomplish His Will. As Christians we need to not try to figure out the Lord's plan but rather simply be obedient to His Steps and His Works in our lives. Many times we will only be obedient if we know all the details but waiting to figure things out could cost us our steps to victory. How about you? Do you see how we are to be obedient even when we don't understand the completed plan of our Lord? Let us learn from our text today and the life of Josiah to remember to be obedient even when we don't understand the completed plan of our Lord.