2 Kings 23:35-25:30, 2 Chron 36:1-36:23
The end has come?
These sections see the close of both books and the close of a significant chapter of Judah’s history. The end has come for the city of Jerusalem, its kings and its temple, we hear the verdict:
15 The LORD, the God of their fathers, sent word to them through his messengers again and again, because he had pity on his people and on his dwelling place. 16 But they mocked God’s messengers, despised his words and scoffed at his prophets until the wrath of the LORD was aroused against his people and there was no remedy. 17 He brought up against them the king of the Babylonians, [g] who killed their young men with the sword in the sanctuary, and spared neither young man nor young woman, old man or aged. God handed all of them over to Nebuchadnezzar.
There are seeds of hope sown in the final sentences of 2 Chron that suggest that perhaps this is not the end:
23 “This is what Cyrus king of Persia says:
” ‘The LORD, the God of heaven, has given me all the kingdoms of the earth and he has appointed me to build a temple for him at Jerusalem in Judah. Anyone of his people among you—may the LORD his God be with him, and let him go up.’ “
We will see the rise of the nation once more as the story continues, but no real remedy for the sin of the people. Let us rejoice that Jesus is the remedy. He makes an end to our sin:
23for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, 24and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. Rom 3:23-24
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