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2 Chronicles 36:11-21...

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2 Chronicles Chapter 36

Jehoahaz; Jehoiakim; Jehoiachin; Zedekiah; Captivity in Babylon; Cyrus Permits Return Zedekiah succeeding, reigns ill, despite the prophets, and rebels against Nebuchadnezzar

11 2 Kin 24:17; Jer 52:1 11¶Zedekiah 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.

13 Exo 17:15; 2 Kin 17:14 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. Jerusalem, for the sins of the priests and the people, is wholly destroyed

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.

15 Jer 25:3; Hos 11:8 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:

16 Psa 74:1; Jer 32:3; Luk 16:14; Pro 1:25 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.

17 Deu 28:49; Ezr 9:7 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.

18 2 Kin 25:13 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.

19 Psa 74:6-7; 2 Kin 25:9 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.

20 Jer 27:7 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:

21 Jer 25:9; Lev 26:34; Lev 25:4-5 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.

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Introduction to 2 Chronicles
by John MacArthur

Title

The original title in the Hebrew Bible read “The annals (i.e., events or happenings) of the days.” First and Second Chronicles were comprised of one book until later divided into separate books in the Greek OT translation, the Septuagint (LXX), ca 200 B.C. The title also changed at that time to the inaccurate title, “the things omitted,” i.e., reflecting material not in 1, 2 Samuel and 1, 2 Kings. The English title “Chronicles” originated with Jerome’s Latin Vulgate translation (ca 400 A.D.), which used the fuller title “The Chronicles of the Entire Sacred History.”

Author and Date

Neither 1 nor 2 Chronicles contains direct statements regarding the human author, though Jewish tradition strongly favors Ezra the priest (cf. Ezra 7:1-6) as “the chronicler.” These records were most likely recorded ca 450-430 B.C. The genealogical record in 1 Chr 1-9 supports a date after 450 B.C. for the writing. The NT does not directly quote either 1 or 2 Chronicles.

Background and Setting

The immediate historical backdrop encompassed the Jews’ three-phase return to the Promised Land from the Babylonian exile: 1) Zerubbabel in Ezra 1-6 (ca 538 B.C.); 2) Ezra in Ezra 7-10 (ca 458 B.C.); and 3) Nehemiah in Neh 1-13 (ca 445 B.C.). Previous history looks back to the Babylonian deportation/Exile (ca 605-538 B.C.) as predicted/reported by 2 Kings, Esther, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Daniel, and Habakkuk. The prophets of this restoration era were Haggai, Zechariah, and Malachi.

The Jews had returned from their 70 years of captivity (ca 538 B.C.) to a land that was markedly different from the one once ruled by King David (ca. 1011-971 B.C.) and King Solomon (971-931 B.C.): 1) there was no Hebrew king, but rather a Persian governor (Ezra 5:3; 6:6); 2) there was no security for Jerusalem, so Nehemiah had to rebuild the wall (Neh 1-7); 3) there was no temple, so Zerubbabel had to reconstruct a pitiful semblance of the Solomonic temple’s former glory (Ezra 3); 4) the Jews no longer dominated the region, but rather were on the defensive (Ezra 4; Neh 4); 5) they enjoyed few divine blessings beyond the fact of their return; 6) they possessed little of the kingdom’s former wealth; and 7) God’s divine presence no longer resided in Jerusalem, having departed ca 597-591 B.C. (Ezek 8-11).

To put it mildly, their future looked bleak compared to their majestic past, especially the time of David and Solomon. The return could best be described as bittersweet, i.e., bitter because their present poverty brought hurtful memories about what was forfeited by God’s judgment on their ancestors’ sin, but sweet because at least they were back in the Land God had given Abraham 17 centuries earlier (Gen 12:1-3). The chronicler’s selective genealogy and history of Israel, stretching from Adam (1 Chr 1:1) to the return from Babylon (2 Chr 26:23), was intended to remind the Jews of God’s promises and intentions about: 1) the Land; 2) the nation; 3) the Davidic king; 4) the Levitical priests; 5) the temple; and 6) true worship, none of which had been abrogated because of the Babylonian captivity. All of this was to remind them of their spiritual heritage during the difficult times they faced, and to encourage them to be faithful to God.

Historical and Theological Themes

First and Second Chronicles, as named by Jerome, recreate an OT history in miniature, with particular emphases on the Davidic Covenant and temple worship. In terms of literary parallel, 1 Chronicles is the partner of 2 Samuel, in that both detail the reign of King David. First Chronicles opens with Adam (2 Chr 1:1) and closes with the death of David (2 Chr 29:26-30) in 971 B.C. Second Chronicles begins with Solomon (2 Chr 1:1) and covers the same historical period as 1 and 2 Kings, while focusing exclusively on the kings of the southern kingdom of Judah, thus excluding the history of the northern 10 tribes and their rulers, because of their complete wickedness and false worship. It ranges from the reign of Solomon (2 Chr 1:1) in 971 B.C. to the return from Babylon in 538 B.C. (2 Chr 36:23). Over 55 percent of the material in Chronicles is unique, i.e., not found in 2 Samuel or 1 and 2 Kings. The “chronicler” tended to omit what was negative or in opposition to the Davidic kingship; on the other hand, he tended to make unique contributions in validating temple worship and the line of David. Whereas 2 Kings 25 ends dismally with the deportation of Judah to Babylon, 2 Chronicles 36:22-23 concludes hopefully with the Jews’ release from Persia and return to Jerusalem.

These two books were written to the repatriated Jewish exiles as a chronicle of God’s intention of future blessing, in spite of the nation’s past moral/spiritual failure for which the people paid dearly under God’s wrath. First and Second Chronicles could be briefly summarized as follows:

I. A Selected Genealogical History of Israel (1 Chr 1-9)
II. Israel’s United Kingdom Under Saul (1 Chr 10), David (1 Chr 11-29), and Solomon (2 Chr 1-9)
III. Judah’s Monarchy in the Divided Kingdom (2 Chr 10-36:21)
IV. Judah’s Release From Their Seventy Year Captivity (2 Chr 36:22, 23).

The historical themes are inextricably linked with the theological in that God’s divine purposes for Israel have been and will be played out on the stage of human history. These two books are designed to assure the returning Jews that, in spite of their checkered past and present plight, God will be true to His covenant promises. They have been returned by God to the Land first given to Abraham as a race of people whose ethnic identity (Jewish) was not obliterated by the deportation and whose national identity (Israel) has been preserved (Gen 12:1-3; 15:5), although they are still under God’s judgment as prescribed by the Mosaic legislation (Deut 28:15-68). The priestly line of Eleazar’s son Phinehas and the Levitical line were still intact so that temple worship could continue in the hopes that God’s presence would one day return (Num 25:10-13; Mal 3:1). The Davidic promise of a king was still valid, although future in its fulfillment (2 Sam 7:8-17; 1 Chr. 17:7-15). Their individual hope of eternal life and restoration of God’s blessings forever rested in the New Covenant (Jer 31:31-34).

Two basic principles enumerated in these two books prevail throughout the OT, namely, obedience brings blessing, disobedience brings judgment. In the Chronicles, when the king obeyed and trusted the Lord, God blessed and protected. But when the king disobeyed and/or put his trust in something or someone other than the Lord, God withdrew His blessing and protection. Three basic failures by the kings of Judah brought God’s wrath: 1) personal sin; 2) false worship/idolatry; and/or 3) trust in man rather than God.

Interpretive Challenges

First and Second Chronicles present a combination of selective genealogical and historical records and no insurmountable challenges within the two books are encountered. A few issues arise, such as: 1) Who wrote 1 and 2 Chronicles? Does the overlap of 2 Chr 36:22-23 with Ezra 1:1-3 point to Ezra as author? 2) Does the use of multiple sources taint the inerrancy doctrine of Scripture? 3) How does one explain the variations in the genealogies of 1 Chr 1-9 from other OT genealogies? 4) Are the curses of Deut 28 still in force, even though the 70 year
captivity has concluded? 5) How does one explain the few variations in numbers when comparing Chronicles with parallel passages in Samuel and Kings? These will be dealt with in the notes at the appropriate places.