The Prophet and Praise
Joyful Worship Restored
2 Chronicles 36:15-21
The Message
15-17 God,
the God of their ancestors, repeatedly sent warning messages to them.
Out of compassion for both his people and his Temple he wanted to give
them every chance possible. But they wouldn’t listen; they poked fun at
God’s messengers, despised the message itself, and in general treated
the prophets like idiots. God became more and more angry until there was no turning back—God
called in Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, who came and killed
indiscriminately—and right in The Temple itself; it was a ruthless
massacre: young men and virgins, the elderly and weak—they were all the
same to him.
18-20 And then he plundered The Temple of everything valuable, cleaned it out completely; he emptied the treasuries of The Temple of God, the treasuries of the king and his officials, and hauled it all, people and possessions, off to Babylon. He burned The Temple of God to the ground, knocked down the wall of Jerusalem, and set fire to all the buildings—everything valuable was burned up. Any survivor was taken prisoner into exile in Babylon and made a slave to Nebuchadnezzar and his family. The exile and slavery lasted until the kingdom of Persia took over.
21 This is exactly the message of God that Jeremiah had preached: the desolate land put to an extended sabbath rest, a seventy-year Sabbath rest making up for all the unkept Sabbaths.
18-20 And then he plundered The Temple of everything valuable, cleaned it out completely; he emptied the treasuries of The Temple of God, the treasuries of the king and his officials, and hauled it all, people and possessions, off to Babylon. He burned The Temple of God to the ground, knocked down the wall of Jerusalem, and set fire to all the buildings—everything valuable was burned up. Any survivor was taken prisoner into exile in Babylon and made a slave to Nebuchadnezzar and his family. The exile and slavery lasted until the kingdom of Persia took over.
21 This is exactly the message of God that Jeremiah had preached: the desolate land put to an extended sabbath rest, a seventy-year Sabbath rest making up for all the unkept Sabbaths.
For Reflection
The
author of Chronicles writes a history of God's people from a faith
based perspective. He assigns God's intentions to the affairs of human
economics, social order and politics. God is thus seen as a grand
manipulator. It is hard in our modern age to accept this perspective.
It is hard for us to understand or to accept a God of punishment.
Perhaps punishment is the wrong term. God's people are so far removed from reconciliation that they need shocked into the error of their ways. Perhaps the author is trying to help God's people understand the obscene acts in defiance of God. Question: "Does God punish us, or is it our own folly that leads to undesirable and hopeless ends?
Perhaps punishment is the wrong term. God's people are so far removed from reconciliation that they need shocked into the error of their ways. Perhaps the author is trying to help God's people understand the obscene acts in defiance of God. Question: "Does God punish us, or is it our own folly that leads to undesirable and hopeless ends?
Pray
that you will strive to be true to the Holy Spirit that resides within you. Pray that you will abide in God.
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