2 Chronicles 36: The LORD, a God Faithful in Discipline

"The LORD, the God of their fathers, sent persistently to them by his messengers, because he had compassion on his people and on his dwelling place. But they kept mocking the messengers of God, despising his words and scoffing at his prophets, until the wrath of the LORD rose against his people, until there was no remedy." 2 Chronicles 36:15-16

This morning we finally read of the great deportation and destruction of the land of Judah. For many, many chapters in the Bible, we have read about the coming destruction of the land of Judah declared by the prophets. Both Isaiah, Jeremiah, and some of the minor prophets have proclaimed to Jerusalem that destruction was coming, and the only way to avoid it was to repent of their sin. Nevertheless, Jerusalem did not listen, and after years of warning, the LORD decided to act.

In both 2 Chronicles 36, 2 Kings 24-25, and Jeremiah 39, we find the story of the fall of Jerusalem foretold. Each of these accounts are unique, all telling their unique perspective on the story, but through all of them, one thing is clear: God is faithful in his judgment. What do I mean by this? Well, as mentioned above, we find that God adequately warned the people of Israel of their coming destruction, and gave them many chances to turn from their sins and avoid destruction. Yet, they did not listen. Thus, the LORD was faithful to his promise to destroy them, and bring many of them into captivity, away from their own land. However, I would like to discuss a question this morning, that is perhaps dwelling in your mind as well: was the LORD unfaithful to the Israelites when he caused them to go into exile? Let us consider a few things:

First, let us realize that the Israelites deserved much more than exile--they deserved complete destruction. Not only were they a sinful people, like the rest of the world, they had the very oracles and instruction of God given to them, and they still failed. Thus, if anyone had a chance of obeying the LORD God rightly, it was the Israelites, yet they failed to fulfill their very God-given mission. Thus, because they failed an almighty and holy God, they deserved much more than exile--what they deserved was complete and utter destruction.

Yet on the other hand, let us point out that God did covanentally bind himself to them in the Abrahamic (Gen. 12), Mosaic (Ex. 19-20), and Davidic (2 Sam. 7) Covenants. In other words, God promised in these covenants to the Israelites that he would be their God, and they would be his people. Each of these covenants had a unique function. In the Abrahamic Covenant, God unilaterally promised to give Abraham's offspring (the Israelites) land, a great name, and a blessing, in which they would bless the world. In the Davidic Covenant, God unilaterally promised to place a Davidic king on the throne of Israel forever and ever. Yet, in the Mosaic Covenant is where we find the great answer to our question, as we find that in this very covenant, God had promised to punish the Israelites if they dishonored him: "But if your heart turns away, and you will not hear, but are drawn away to worship other gods and serve them, I declare to you today, that you will surely perish" (Deut. 30:17-18). Although God's covenants did promise his eternal blessing, that eternal blessing was (in part) conditional upon the Israelite's obedience to him, as clearly seen in the Mosaic Covenant.

But what about the fulfillment of the Abrahamic and Davidic Covenants? Did not God bind himself to Israel in these covenants, promising to never forsake them? Surely, he did, and surely, this is exactly what we see. The key to realizing this is reading the very end of the books of 2 Kings and 2 Chronicles. In both of these contexts, Jerusalem has just been destroyed and its people taken into captivity. Yet before the book ends, we get two glimpses of hope. They are small glimpses, but they are glimpses. In 2 Kings, we find a new king of Babylon taking Jehoiachin (the old king of Israel) and giving him a position of royalty in the land of Babylon. In 2 Chronicles, we find the seventy years of captivity skipped over, only to find Cyrus letting the Israelites go back into their land and build their temple. What is the point of both of these accounts? That God has not forsaken his covenant people. Although he had to punish them for a certain time, he has not fully turned his back on them. They are still his people, and he is still their God. Remember Jeremiah 29:11?

Furthermore, let us focus for a moment on the grace of our God, in contrast to his punishment and judgment. For many, many years, the LORD had sent messengers (prophets) to Israel that they might be warned of their coming destruction and repent, that they might be saved (see 2 Chronicles 36:15-16, quoted above). Thus, considering all of these things, we are led to the following question: not why did God let his people to into exile? but rather: why did God not place his people in exile sooner, or even destroy them altogether for their great sin and wickedness?

Ultimately, what we find today is this: God is faithful in his discipline. In other words, what God promises to do to punish his people for their sin, he certainly will do. Although Israel was his chosen people (though, let us realize that not all of Israel were truly saved children of God, see Romans 9:6-7), he still disciplined them for their sin, quite severely. The point for us today is this: let us not forsake to take to heart the discipline of our God. Oftentimes, we presume on the mercy and grace of our God, neglecting his promise to discipline his children (see Hebrews 12). Yet if we continue to sin that grace may abound (Rom. 6:1-2), we will end up like the children of Israel in 2 Chronicles 36. God is faithful in his judgments--for his character is holy, holy, holy--and although he is merciful towards his children in Christ, to presume on this mercy and to continue to live in a sinful manner is to ask the LORD to punish us for our iniquity. Let us then not forget the faithful discipline of our God.

However, let us also take to heart that in Christ, though our sin may abound and God's punishment upon his children be severe, our God will never leave us nor forsake us. Just as he promised a hope and a future for the Israelites (Jer. 29:11), so does he have a hope and future for us. Yet, let us look to this promise to motivate us to further obey him in his grace, not take advantage of this promise to be led into further destruction.

"It is for discipline that you have to endure. God is treating you as sons. For what son is there whom his father does not discipline? If you are left without discipline, in which all have participated, then you are illegitimate children and not sons." Hebrews 12:7-8