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2 Chronicles 35

2 Chronicles 36

Ezra 1

2 Chronicles 36 — Commentary 4

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Benson Commentary 2 Chronicles 36:1 Then the people of the land took Jehoahaz the son of Josiah, and made him king in his father's stead in Jerusalem. 2 Chronicles 36:1 . The people of the land took Jehoahaz, &c. — The principal contents of this chapter are explained in the notes on 2 Kings 23:31 , and 24., and 25., to which the reader is referred. What is peculiar to this chapter shall be noticed here. 2 Chronicles 36:2 Jehoahaz was twenty and three years old when he began to reign, and he reigned three months in Jerusalem. 2 Chronicles 36:3 And the king of Egypt put him down at Jerusalem, and condemned the land in an hundred talents of silver and a talent of gold. 2 Chronicles 36:4 And 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. 2 Chronicles 36:5 Jehoiakim 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. 2 Chronicles 36:6 Against him came up Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, and bound him in fetters, to carry him to Babylon. 2 Chronicles 36:6 . And bound him in fetters to carry him to Babylon — But he did not carry him thither, for Nebuchadnezzar altered his mind, and permitted him to reign at Jerusalem as his tributary, though he carried away, as it follows, some of the vessels of the temple, and also certain principal persons, as we read in the first of Daniel. 2 Chronicles 36:7 Nebuchadnezzar also carried of the vessels of the house of the LORD to Babylon, and put them in his temple at Babylon. 2 Chronicles 36:8 Now 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. 2 Chronicles 36:8 . That which was found in him — That crime of rebellion against the king of Babylon, which for a time he kept in his own breast, but when he saw fit, discovered it and was convicted of it. 2 Chronicles 36:9 Jehoiachin 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. 2 Chronicles 36:9 . Jehoiachin was eight years old — See the note on 2 Kings 24:8 , in which it is said that he was eighteen years old when he began to reign, which is probably the right reading. 2 Chronicles 36:10 And 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. 2 Chronicles 36:10 . When the year was expired — Hebrew, At the return of the year. At the beginning of the next year, according to the sacred account of the Hebrews, at the spring of the year, the time when kings go forth to battle, as is elsewhere said, when Nebuchadnezzar, among others, went forth to settle and enlarge his conquests. His brother — Largely so called, for this was his uncle, or his father’s brother, being the son of Josiah. 2 Chronicles 36:11 Zedekiah was one and twenty years old when he began to reign, and reigned eleven years in Jerusalem. 2 Chronicles 36:12 And 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. 2 Chronicles 36:12 . And humbled not himself — By repentance for his past errors and obedience to God’s express commands, which he would not yield to, through the pride of his heart, as is intimated by this phrase, and expressed Jeremiah 38:19 . 2 Chronicles 36:13 And 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. 2 Chronicles 36:13 . Who had made him swear by God — Who had required him to swear fealty and constant obedience to him, by the true God, whom he called upon to be a witness against him if he broke his oath. So his rebellion was aggravated with perjury and horrid contempt of God. But he stiffened his neck, and hardened his heart — He added obstinacy and incorrigibleness to his sins. 2 Chronicles 36:14 Moreover 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. 2 Chronicles 36:14-15 . The people transgressed very much — They were universally corrupt, and therefore God justly brought upon them a general destruction. Rising up betimes, and sending them — Sending them early and diligently, as a careful householder, who rises betimes about his business. God sent them many prophets and messages, some at the very beginning of their apostacy, and others afterward, till the very day of their captivity. 2 Chronicles 36:15 And 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: 2 Chronicles 36:16 But 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. 2 Chronicles 36:16 . But they mocked the messengers of God — Of which see instances Ezekiel 11:3 ; Ezekiel 20:49 . Misused his prophets — Imprisoning and persecuting them as they did Jeremiah; or, seduced themselves by his prophets; that is, by the prophecies of his prophets, which they perverted, or misconstrued. An eminent instance of which we have in this, that because Jeremiah prophesied that Zedekiah should be led to Babylon, ( Jeremiah 32:5 ,) and Ezekiel, that he should not see Babylon, ( Ezekiel 12:13 ,) and therefore they believed neither, as the Hebrew writers relate. Till there was no remedy — Because the people would not repent, and God would not pardon them without repentance. 2 Chronicles 36:17 Therefore 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. 2 Chronicles 36:17 . Therefore he brought upon them the king of the Chaldees — The king of the Chaldeans marched against them out of some political view; but we are taught in the Holy Scriptures to ascribe all these events to the agency of the Divine Providence, and therefore it is said here, not that the king of the Chaldeans went against them, but that the Lord brought upon them the king of the Chaldeans. Who slew their young men in the house of their sanctuary — Either in Jerusalem, which was the dwelling- place of God’s sanctuary, or in the house which was their sanctuary. It is probable they killed some of them in the very courts and house of God, to which they had fled for refuge, such places being esteemed sacred and inviolable by the heathen themselves. He gave them all into his hand — To be carried captive into Chaldea. Abraham was called out of Ur of the Chaldees, when God took him into covenant with himself. And now his degenerate seed are carried into that country again, to signify that they had forfeited all that kindness wherewith they had been loved for their father’s sake, and the benefit of the covenant into which he was called. 2 Chronicles 36:18 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. 2 Chronicles 36:18 . And the treasures of the king, and of his princes — The treasures of the temple, by a special providence of God, were preserved, and restored, in the reign of Cyrus, to the house of the Lord: but the other, it is likely, were looked upon as spoil, and spent by the king and his great men. 2 Chronicles 36:19 And 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. 2 Chronicles 36:20 And 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: 2 Chronicles 36:20 . Where they were servants to him and his sons — They do not seem to have been made captives to private persons, but to have been taken in one body, and made the servants of the king; that is, to have been employed by him, in one way or other, to his private advantage, which we are not now acquainted with. Until the reign of the kingdom of Persia — Until the reign of the king of Persia, Houb. Respecting the proclamation of Cyrus, see the beginning of the next book. From these words, we may conclude that this book was written after the return from captivity. 2 Chronicles 36:21 To 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. 2 Chronicles 36:21 . Until the land had enjoyed her sabbaths — “God had commanded them to let their land rest every seventh year; and because the Jews had violated this, as well as other precepts, God gave their land a long sabbath, or rest, for no less than ten times seven years, which Jeremiah threatened, as in the margin. If it be true, that they had neglected this law for the space of four hundred and ninety years, having ploughed their ground in the seventh as well as in other years, then the judgment of God upon them was very remarkable, in causing their ground to rest, and be free from tillage, just as long as it should have been if they had observed his law. For in those four hundred and ninety years, says Procopius Gazæus, when they were under the government of kings, there were seventy years to be kept as sabbaths, which, that the land might enjoy its sabbath, were spent in the captivity of Babylon. Their punishment, too, was made more remarkable in this particular, if it be true, as some have observed, that both the kingdom of Samaria and the kingdom of Judah were destroyed in a sabbatical year; and that immediately after a jubilee, the city and temple were destroyed by Titus, according to Scaliger’s computation.” See Patrick, Calmet, and Dodd. 2 Chronicles 36:22 Now 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, 2 Chronicles 36:22 . Now in the first year of Cyrus — Kennicott thinks that the last two verses of this book belong properly to the book of Ezra, and were subjoined to the Chronicles through the inadvertency of some transcriber. And thus ends the history of the kingdom of Judah, as governed by the successors of the illustrious King David, with the destruction of Jerusalem, the temple, and the whole Jewish monarchy, by the conquest of the Babylonian king: which, in the course of a righteous providence, in punishment of the idolatry and other sins of this people, fell out about nine hundred and three years after their deliverance from Egypt; eight hundred and sixty-three from their first entrance into the land of Canaan; four hundred and sixty-eight from David’s reign; four hundred and seventeen after the building of the temple; and one hundred and thirty-four after the destruction of the kingdom of the ten tribes. It is justly observed by a late writer, that the propriety of this dispensation of Divine Providence toward this people will appear, if we reflect, 1st, That this dreadful calamity came upon them gradually, by a succession of judgments, from less to greater, for the space of twenty-two years; in which the lenity of God was very apparent, and which should have been a warning to them, that the threatenings denounced by the prophets would certainly be executed; but which effected no amendment of the religion or morals of the nation; Zedekiah, the last king, being as bad as his predecessors. 2d, That it was a just punishment of their sins, particularly of their idolatry, whereby they forsook God, and therefore God justly forsook them, and delivered them into the hands of their enemies, as Moses had foretold, Leviticus 26:30-36 . 3d, That this terrible overthrow was the most effectual means to work their reformation, which was the end proposed by the divine wisdom. Now, in their captive, disconsolate state, they had time, and their calamities had a natural tendency to give them a disposition, to reflect upon the long series of iniquity and perverseness which had brought them under the heaviest of God’s judgments. Now their own wickedness corrected them, and their backslidings reproved them: now they must know and see that it was an evil thing and bitter, that they had forsaken the Lord their God, and that his fear had not been in them, Jeremiah 2:19 . In the land of their captivity, the sermons of the prophets, declaiming with the highest authority against their profane and vicious practices, would be still sounding in their ears, and their abject, wretched condition, the consequence of such practices, would cause these discourses to sink deep into their hearts, and produce an utter detestation of what they very well knew was the cause of all their grievous sufferings. 4th, The law of God, written by Moses, as the rule of their conduct in all affairs, civil and religious, and the ground of their happiness, they had so far neglected, that once it was almost unknown and lost among them, 2 Kings 22:8-12 . This contempt of the divine law the prophets had frequently and strongly protested against, and publicly declared that it would be their ruin. And in their ruined state this would be remembered as the primary reason of all their sufferings; and they would be made thoroughly sensible that a due regard to the law of God was the only way to recover his favour and their own prosperity; and accordingly would be disposed to attend to it; which, in some measure, was the case. This was another good effect of this dispensation, and may justly be given as one good reason of their being so strongly fixed against idolatry ever after the Babylonish captivity. 5th, This dispensation was also calculated to produce good effects among the nations whither they were carried into captivity. For wherever they were dispersed, in the eastern countries, they would bring with them the knowledge of the true God, now seriously impressed upon their hearts. But Divine Providence, by such signal circumstances of his interposition as were published and known over all the vast extent of the eastern empire, raised some of the captive Jews to the highest posts of dignity and power in the courts of Assyria and Persia, ( Daniel 1:19-20 ,) insomuch that the most haughty monarchs openly confessed the living and true God, ( Daniel 2:47-49 ; Daniel 4:34 , &c.,) and made decrees, which were published throughout their spacious dominions, in favour of the profession and worship of him. Daniel 3:29 ; Daniel 6:25 , &c. From all this, it is clear, that the Jews, notwithstanding their depravity in their own country, during the captivity of seventy years, must have been the means of diffusing a blessed light all over the eastern countries. And thus, in this dispensation also, God, the Father and Governor of mankind, was working for the reformation and improvement of the world, in that which is the true excellence of their nature, and the only foundation of their happiness. See Dodd and Taylor’s Scheme of Scripture Doctrine. 2 Chronicles 36:23 Thus 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. Benson Commentary on the Old and New Testaments Text Courtesy of BibleSupport.com . Used by Permission.

Expositors

Expositor's Bible Commentary 2 Chronicles 36:1 Then the people of the land took Jehoahaz the son of Josiah, and made him king in his father's stead in Jerusalem. THE LAST KINGS OF JUDAH 2 Chronicles 34:1-33 ; 2 Chronicles 35:1-27 ; 2 Chronicles 36:1-23 WHATEVER influence Manasseh’s reformation exercised over his people generally, the taint of idolatry was not removed from his own family. His son Amon succeeded him at the age of two-and-twenty. Into his reign of two years he compressed all the varieties of wickedness once practiced by his father, and undid the good work of Manasseh’s later years. He recovered the graven images which Manasseh had discarded, replaced them in their shrines, and worshipped them instead of Jehovah. But in his case there was no repentance, and he was cut off in his youth. In the absence of any conclusive evidence as to the date of Manasseh’s reformation, we cannot determine with certainty whether Amon received his early training before or after his father returned to the worship of Jehovah. In either case Manasseh’s earlier history would make it difficult for him to counteract any evil influence that drew Amon towards idolatry. Amon could set the example and perhaps the teaching of his father’s former days against any later exhortations to righteousness. When a father has helped to lead his children astray, he cannot be sure that he will carry them with him in his repentance. After Amon’s assassination the people placed his son Josiah on the throne. Like Joash and Manasseh, Josiah was a child, only eight years old. The chronicler follows the general line of the history in the book of Kings, modifying, abridging, and expanding, but introducing no new incidents; the reformation, the repairing of the Temple, the discovery of the book of the Law, the Passover, Josiah’s defeat and death at Megiddo, are narrated by both historians. We have only to notice differences in a somewhat similar treatment of the same subject. Beyond the general statement that Josiah "did that which was right in the eyes of Jehovah" we hear nothing about him in the book of Kings till the eighteenth year of his reign, and his reformation and putting away of idolatry are placed in that year. The chronicler’s authorities corrected the statement that the pious king tolerated idolatry for eighteen years. They record bow in the eighth year of his reign, when he was sixteen, he began to seek after the God of David; and in his twelfth year he set about the work of utterly destroying idols throughout the whole territory of Israel, in the cities and ruins of Manasseh, Ephraim, and Simeon, even unto Naphtali, as well as in Judah and Benjamin. Seeing that the cities assigned to Simeon were in the south of Judah, it is a little difficult to understand why they appear with the northern tribes, unless they are reckoned with them technically to make up the ancient number. The consequence of this change of date is that in Chronicles the reformation precedes the discovery of the book of the Law, whereas in the older history this discovery is the cause of the reformation. The chronicler’s account of the idols and other apparatus of false worship destroyed by Josiah is much less detailed than that of the book of Kings. To have reproduced the earlier narrative in full would have raised serious difficulties. According to the chronicler, Manasseh had purged Jerusalem of idols and idol altars; and Amon alone was responsible for any that existed there at the accession of Josiah: but in the book of Kings Josiah found in Jerusalem the altars erected by the kings of Judah and the horses they had given to the sun. Manasseh’s altars still stood in the courts of the Temple; and over against Jerusalem there still-remained the high places that Solomon had built for Ashtoreth, Chemosh, and Milcom. As the chronicler in describing Solomon’s reign carefully omitted all mention of his sins, so he omits this reference to his idolatry. Moreover, if he had inserted it, he would have had to explain how these high places escaped the zeal of the many pious kings who did away with the high places. Similarly, having omitted the account of the man of God who prophesied the ruin of Jeroboam’s sanctuary at Bethel, he here omits the fulfillment of that prophecy. The account of the repairing of the Temple is enlarged by the insertion of various details as to the names, functions, and zeal of the Levites, amongst whom those who had skill in instruments of music seem to have had the oversight of the workmen. We are reminded of the walls of Thebes, which rose out of the ground while Orpheus played upon his flute. Similarly in the account of the assembly called to hear the contents of the book of the Law the Levites are substituted for the prophets. This book of the Law is said in Chronicles to have been given by Moses, but his name is not connected with the book in the parallel narrative in the book of Kings. The earlier authority simply states that Josiah held a great passover; Chronicles, as usual, describes the festival in detail. First of all, the king commanded the priests and Levites to purify themselves and take their places in due order, so that they might be ready to perform their sacred duties. The narrative is very obscure, but it seems that either during the apostasy of Amon or on account of the recent Temple repairs the Ark had been removed from the Holy of holies. The Law had specially assigned to the Levites the duty of carrying the Tabernacle and its furniture, and they seem to have thought that they were only bound to exercise the function of carrying the Ark; they perhaps proposed to bear it in solemn procession round the city as part of the celebration of the Passover, forgetting the words of David that the Levites should no more carry the Tabernacle and its vessels. They would have been glad to substitute this conspicuous and honorable service for the laborious and menial work of flaying the victims. Josiah, however, commanded them to put the Ark into the Temple and attend to their other duties. Next, the king and his nobles provided beasts of various kinds for the sacrifices and the Passover meal. Josiah’s gifts were even more munificent than those of Hezekiah. The latter had given a thousand bullocks and ten thousand sheep; Josiah gave just three times as many. Moreover, at Hezekiah’s passover no offerings of the princes are mentioned, but now they added their gifts to those of the king. The heads of the priesthood provided three hundred Oxen and two thousand six hundred small cattle for the priests, and the chiefs of the Levites five hundred oxen and five thousand small cattle for the Levites. But numerous as were the victims at Josiah’s passover, they still fell far short of the great sacrifice of twenty-two thousand oxen and a hundred and twenty thousand sheep which Solomon offered at the dedication of the Temple. Then began the actual work of the sacrifices: the victims were killed and flayed, and their blood was sprinkled on the altar; the burnt-offerings were distributed among the people; the Passover lambs were roasted, and the other offerings boiled, and the Levites "carried them quickly to all the children of the people." Apparently private individuals could not find the means of cooking the bountiful provision made for them; and, to meet the necessity of the case, the Temple courts were made kitchen as well as slaughterhouse for the assembled worshippers. The other offerings would not be eaten with the Passover lamb, but would serve for the remaining days of the feast. The Levites not only provided for the people, for themselves, and the priests, but the Levites who ministered in the matter of the sacrifices also prepared for their brethren who were singers and porters, so that the latter were enabled to attend undisturbed to their own special duties; all the members of the guild of porters were at the gates maintaining order among the crowd of worshippers; and the full strength of the orchestra and choir contributed to the beauty and solemnity of the services. It was the greatest Passover held by any Israelite king. Josiah’s passover, like that of Hezekiah, was followed by a formidable foreign invasion; but whereas Hezekiah was rewarded for renewed loyalty by a triumphant deliverance, Josiah was defeated and slain. These facts subject the chronicler’s theory of retribution to a severe strain. His perplexity finds pathetic expression in the opening words of the new section, "After all this," after all the idols had been put away, after the celebration of the most magnificent Passover the monarchy had ever seen. After all this, when we looked for the promised rewards of piety-for fertile seasons, peace and prosperity at home, victory and dominion abroad, tribute from subject peoples, and wealth from successful commerce - after all this, the rout of the armies of Jehovah at Megiddo, the flight and death of the wounded king, the lamentation over Josiah, the exaltation of a nominee of Pharaoh to the throne, and the payment of tribute to the Egyptian king. The chronicler has no complete explanation of this painful mystery, but he does what he can to meet the difficulties of the case. Like the great prophets in similar instances, he regards the heathen king as charged with a Divine commission. Pharaoh’s appeal to Josiah to remain neutral should have been received by the Jewish king as an authoritative message from Jehovah. It was the failure to discern in a heathen king the mouthpiece and prophet of Jehovah that cost Josiah his life and Judah its liberty. The chronicler had no motive for lingering over the last sad days of the monarchy; the rest of his narrative is almost entirely abridged from the book of Kings. Jehoahaz, Jehoiakim, Jehoiachin, and Zedekiah pass over the scene in rapid and melancholy succession. In the case of Jehoahaz, who only reigned three months, the chronicler omits the unfavorable judgment recorded in the book of Kings; but he repeats it for the other three, even for the poor lad of eight who was carried away captive after a reign of three months and ten days. The chronicler had not learnt that kings can do no wrong; on the other hand, the ungodly policy of Jehoiachin’s ministers is labeled with the name of the boy-sovereign. Each of these kings in turn was deposed and carried away into captivity, unless indeed Jehoiakim is an exception. In the book of Kings we are told that he slept with his fathers, i.e. , that he died and was buried in the royal tombs at Jerusalem, a statement which the LXX inserts here also, specifying, however, that he was buried in the garden of Uzza. If the pious Josiah were punished for a single error by defeat and death, why was the wicked Jehoiakim allowed to reign till the end of his life and then die in his bed? The chronicler’s information differed from that of the earlier narrative in a way that removed, or at any rate suppressed the difficulty. He omits the statement that Jehoiakim slept with his fathers, and tells us that Nebuchadnezzar bound him in fetters to carry him to Babylon. Casual readers would naturally suppose that this purpose was carried out, and that the Divine justice was satisfied by Jehoiakim’s death in captivity; and yet if they compared this passage with that in the book of Kings, it might occur to them that after the king had been put in chains something might have led Nebuchadnezzar to change his mind, or, like Manasseh, Jehoiakim might have repented and been allowed to return. But it is very doubtful whether the chronicler’s authorities contemplated the possibility of such an interpretation; it is scarcely fair to credit them with all the subtle devices of modern commentators. The real conclusion of the chronicler’s history of the kings of the house of David is a summary of the sins of the last days of the monarchy and of the history of its final ruin in 2 Chronicles 36:14-20 . All the chief of the priests and of the people were given over to the abominations of idolatry; and in spite of constant and urgent admonitions from the prophets of Jehovah, they hardened their hearts, and mocked the messengers of God, and despised His words, and misused His prophets, until the wrath of Jehovah arose against His people, and there was no healing. However, to this peroration a note is added that the length of the Captivity was fixed at seventy years, in order that the land might "enjoy her sabbaths." This note rests upon Leviticus 25:1-7 , according to which the land was to be left fallow every seventh year. The seventy years’ captivity would compensate for seventy periods of six years each during which no sabbatical years had been observed. Thus the Captivity, with the four hundred and twenty previous years of neglect, would be equivalent to seventy sabbatical periods. There is no economy in keeping back what is due to God. Moreover, the editor who separated Chronicles from the book of Ezra and Nehemiah was loath to allow the first part of the history to end in a gloomy record of sin and ruin. Modern Jews, in reading the last chapter of Isaiah, rather than conclude with the ill-omened words of the last two verses, repeat a previous portion of the chapter. So here to the history of the ruin of Jerusalem the editor has appended two verses from the opening of the book of Ezra, which contain the decree of Cyrus authorizing the return from the Captivity. And thus Chronicles concludes in the middle of a sentence which is completed in the book of Ezra: "Who is there among you of all his people? Jehovah his God be with him, and let him go up." { 2 Chronicles 36:23 } Such a conclusion suggests two considerations which will form a fitting close to our exposition. Chronicles is not a finished work; it has no formal end; it rather breaks off abruptly like an interrupted diary. In like manner the book of Kings concludes with a note as to the treatment of the captive Jehoiachin at Babylon: the last verse runs, "And for his allowance there was a continual allowance given him of the king, every day a portion, all the days of his life." The book of Nehemiah has a short final prayer: "Remember me, O my God, for good"; but the preceding paragraph is simply occupied, with the arrangements for the wood offering and the firstfruits. So in the New Testament the history of the Church breaks off with the statement that St. Paul abode two whole years in his own hired house, preaching the kingdom of God. The sacred writers recognize the continuity of God’s dealings with His people; they do not suggest that one period can be marked off by a clear dividing line or interval from another. Each historian leaves, as it were, the loose ends of his work ready to be taken up and continued by his successors. The Holy Spirit seeks to stimulate the Church to a forward outlook, that it may expect and work for a future wherein the power and grace of God will be no less manifest than in the past. Moreover, the final editor of Chronicles has shown himself unwilling that the book should conclude with a gloomy record of sin and ruin, and has appended a few lines to remind his readers of the new life of faith and hope that lay beyond the Captivity. In so doing, he has echoed the key-note of prophecy: ever beyond man’s transgression and punishment the prophets saw the vision of his forgiveness and restoration to God. The Expositor's Bible Text Courtesy of BibleSupport.com . Used by Permission.

Illustrator

And the Lord God of their fathers sent to them by is me messengers, rising up betimes . 2 Chronicles 36:15-17 Presumptuous rebellion Homilist. I. We see here CONTINUED REBELLION, which suggests — 1. That habits are easily commenced. There is little difficulty in forming' habits. They are not acquired by one mighty bound, but by a series of almost imperceptible steps. 2. That habits are readily strengthened. Every step that is taken is planted with firmer grip. With every ripple that flows the stream becomes wider and swifter, fed as it were with other streamlets on the way. Every time an action is repeated the easier it becomes, and the more deeply rooted in the soul. 3. That habits are seldom eradicated. Can the Ethiopian change his skin? Yea, easier than a man unassisted by Divine help can break away from evil habits. They become part of the nature of the man himself. II. WE SEE THE PRESUMPTION OF CONTINUED REBELLION. We are constantly reminded of the fact that God is merciful. But there is a limit to the mercy and forbearance even of God. This is evident — 1. From the fact that it is impossible always to continue His warning and judgments on the impenitent. If the obstinacy of one person cannot be overcome it were unjust on that account to remove the chance of salvation from others. 2. From the inevitable progress of temporal affairs. Death comes on with his rapid step and cuts short the life and with it the opportunities of repentance from the obdurate spirit. Then the door of mercy must be shut for ever. 3. From the very nature of the refusal. Is it likely that He, the Lord of all, will continue offering heavenly treasures to human swine who only trample His gifts in the mire? Oh, it is a sad and an awful truth that man may presume too far even on infinite love! III. WE SEE THE AWFUL END OF PRESUMPTUOUS SIN. The consequences are at the last utter destruction and irretrievable loss. This stands to reason if we remember — 1. That God must vindicate His character. 2. That an example must be set to the world at large. 3. That the sinful must be removed out of the way. ( Homilist. ) Unheeded warning The island of Ischia was a favourite summer resort of Italians. In 1883 the sinking of water in wells, mutterings and rumblings underground, distinctly foretold a coming earthquake; these signs were noticed and understood, but through fear of frightening visitors, and so losing custom, hotel-keepers and others refrained from making public these warnings. Ruin and death ensued, involving those who knew and heeded not, and those who, through lack of warning, had unwittingly exposed themselves to peril. Till there was no remedy No remedy J. Vaughan, M.A. These words contain three facts of great importance. 1. That there was, at least at one time, a remedy. 2. That the remedy went on, and might have been used, for a very long period. 3. That there came a time when the remedy ceased. I. ALL LIFE IS A REMEDY. The conditions of things require it. Life a great restorative process. 1. Comes that marvellous provision of God in Jesus Christ. 2. All providences have a curative character. 3. Every one carries within himself an antidote to evil. Conscience, till silenced, a sure antidote to evil. II. Notice the word "TILL." It shows how slow God is to take away the remedy. We may sin ourselves into a state, not in which there is no forgiveness, but no thought or desire to seek forgiveness. "No remedy," not on God's account, but your own; not in God's want of will to save you, but in your own incapacity to will your own salvation. ( J. Vaughan, M.A. ) Now, in the first year of Cyrus, king of Persta. 2 Chronicles 36:22, 23 Cyrus: the divinely-directed deliverer F. Hastings. I. GOD STIRRED UP CYRUS TO DO A GREAT AND NECESSARY WORK. II. CYRUS WAS A FITTING INSTRUMENT FOR THE GREAT WORK. III. GOD HAS VARIOUS MEANS WHEREBY TO INCITE TO ACTION. IV. THE DIVINE INCITEMENT TO THE NECESSARY WORK WAS AT A MOST OPPORTUNE TIME. V. GOD TEACHES HIS INSTRUMENTS HOW AS WELL AS WHEN TO ACT. VI. AS THE LORD STIRRED UP THE SPIRIT OF CYRUS, SO HE CAN STIR MEN NOW. ( F. Hastings. ) He made a proclamation. The decree of Cyrus; or, all things for the Church H. S. Kelsey. I. GOD USES KINGS AND RULERS FOR HIS CHURCH. That the Lord raises up men within the Church to be leaders and mighty workers in her behalf is a fact which the Bible and all history fully prove. Such men were Noah, Abraham, Joseph, Moses, David, Paul, Augustine, Luther, Calvin, Wesley. But He calls men from without also to work for her. Conspicuous among this number is Cyrus, the Persian king. Though Cyrus be a marked illustration of the matter under discussion, especially so because of the clear declarations of prophecy on his behalf, still he is by no means the only one. Through the intervention of Joseph, God made Pharaoh the preserver of His people. The immediate successors of Cyrus on the Persian throne followed his example. Through the influence of Esther and Mordecai, Ahasuerus, in a most critical time, became the saviour of the Jews. Later, in the time of Darius, the interrupted work upon the temple at Jerusalem was renewed and pushed forward. Still later, in the days of Ezra and Nehemiah, Artaxerxes expended his royal treasure in establishing the remnant of the Jews in their ancient and. Alexander the Great, marching upon Jerusalem with a bitter purpose in his heart, is suddenly changed from foe to friend. Like Cyrus, he too doubtless was shown the sacred books of the Jews, and in the prophesy of Daniel saw himself described and his career delineated. The general policy of the Roman government was severe, but many of the emperors, moved by kindness of disposition or considerations of State, were lenient towards the Christians. Ere long the government itself became Christian, and throughout the Middle Ages, power was on the side of the Church. At the Reformation, whenever and wherever needed, men were raised up among the rulers of the world to be abettors of the new faith and breakwaters against the floods of persecution. Such were the elector of Saxony in the days of Luther , and measurably so of England. Such were the Syndics who stood around Calvin at Geneva. Such Elisabeth, , Cromwell . And the same thing is transpiring in our own days. II. GOD HANDLES THE NATIONS FOR THE GOOD OF THE CHURCH. We know that the nations round about the Hebrews in all their history were instruments in God's hands for disciplining them and fashioning them to His will. To this end He ordered their affairs. And the same thing is apparent in these modern ages. Was it fortuitous that England early became Protestant and the champion of the new faith? Was it a thing of chance that Saxony, the Netherlands, Switzerland, Sweden, resisted the tyranny of the Pope? Did it merely happen that this broad land of ours was sealed against the efforts of Rome to possess it, and was preserved as virgin soil for a pure faith and a free government? Is not God's hand in England's occupancy of India, and can we not see that thereby that land is bespoken for Christ? Is Italy's emancipation from the Pope wholly of man? Is Germany's attitude to Rome of Bismarck as much as it is of God? Blind is he who cannot see God's use of the nations in these modern times! III. GOD USES THE WORLD'S MATERIAL RESOURCES AND FORCES FOR THE CHURCH. God has always put the world's wealth under tribute as He has needed it, from the day when Israel went out of Egypt to the present time. And the tribute increases as the Church increases. More of the world's wealth is flowing into the channels of the Church now than ever before. But not merely wealth — money expression of value — but every good and uplifting form at work among men God uses for the development of His plan. Discovery, invention, progress in economical and industrial arts, natural science — all these things, which are represented in the complicated civilisation of our day, are likewise represented in the Christianity of the times. Providence takes them up and utilises them as they appear; nay, more, orders the time and the manner of their appearance. How true of the art of printing! The first book printed was the Bible, And from that day forward God has been presiding at the printing press and scattering its leaves for the healing of the nations. The fleets of commerce beam the gospel to the corners of the world. Discovery in geography, ethnology, philology adds new buttresses to Christianity. All these and the like, though material and natural forces, yet work spiritual results. 1. By all these means God fulfils His prophecies and accomplishes His purpose. None can hinder, none compel. On the trains of providence there are neither accidents nor delays. 2. Herein we see the undying nature of the Church. Great has been the heat of her affliction, but by it have her enemies been consumed. 3. The Spirit of God is abroad in the world, preparing the way for the coming of Christ's kingdom. How should the servants of the Lord be encouraged in labour and in prayer by the Spirit's antecedent work in every heart! 4. In all these things we have the assurance of the triumph of God's kingdom. ( H. S. Kelsey. ).

Matthew Henry

36:1-21 The ruin of Judah and Jerusalem came on by degrees. The methods God takes to call back sinners by his word, by ministers, by conscience, by providences, are all instances of his compassion toward them, and his unwillingness that any should perish. See here what woful havoc sin makes, and, as we value the comfort and continuance of our earthly blessings, let us keep that worm from the root of them. They had many times ploughed and sowed their land in the seventh year, when it should have rested, and now it lay unploughed and unsown for ten times seven years. God will be no loser in his glory at last, by the disobedience of men. If they refused to let the land rest, God would make it rest. What place, O God, shall thy justice spare, if Jerusalem has perished? If that delight of thine were cut off for wickedness, let us not be high-minded, but fear. 36:22,23 God had promised the restoring of the captives, and the rebuilding of Jerusalem, at the end of seventy years; and that time to favour Zion, that set time, came at last. Though God's church be cast down, it is not cast off; though his people be corrected, they are not abandoned; though thrown into the furnace, they are not lost there, nor left there any longer than till the dross be separated. Though God contend long, he will not contend always. Before we close the books of the Chronicles, which contain a faithful register of events, think what desolation sin introduced into the world, nay, even into the church of God. Let us tremble at what is here recorded, while in the character of some few gracious souls, we discover that the Lord left not himself without witness. And when we have looked at this faithful portrait of man by nature, let us contrast with it that same nature, when recovered by Almighty grace, through the justifying and soul-adorning righteousness of Christ our Saviour.