As the Chronicler draws his work to a close, he covers the last set of Kings of Judah rapidly. These men were not as strong or godly as Josiah who perished because, contrary to the Lord’s will, he got involved in the conflict between Babylon and Assyria. The rise of Babylon was inevitable and the Judean Kings were unable to stop it. In fact, the Lord allowed Babylon to crush Judah for it was His plan to use that pagan empire to discipline and punish His people for their unfaithfulness and idolatry. He is a God of mercy and love but also of justice and righteousness. Those who disobey Him may be given many opportunities to repent as we have seen in the Chronicles, but those who refuse to acknowledge the Lord will surely come under judgment.
The Chronicler did not end his book with a negative theme. He mentioned the decree of Cyrus which allowed the Israelites to return to the land, not as an independent nation, it is true, but as a province of the Persian Empire. This is surely a sign of God’s favor and blessing for their sufferings and God’s discipline were done. Finally the Chronicler called upon his audience to go up to worship the Lord in response to what they have read. He is indicating that is the responsibility of the believer to come to faith and not trust or rely on his/her heritage or national origin or religious upbringing. As we have seen, those who were called the people of God were not. Now in our day, the Lord has called out children from every tongue and tribe and nation for He desires all human beings to come to repentance.
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