We now come to the final chapter in Chronicles. After Josiah Judah was dominated by Egypt for several years, effectively having puppet governments. The puppet kings did themselves no favours (v8, 9) carrying on with their detestable practices. After being a puppet to Egypt, they then became dominated by Babylon.
Zedekiah is castigated for not paying attention to Jeremiah the prophet. He also rebelled against Nebuchadnezzar. The nation continued to go from bad to worse.
The Lord had send numerous prophets to the land warning them of the consequences of their actions, but they paid no attention. So the Lord handed them over to Babylon and they suffered much. Many were carried off into exile. v21 tells us that the land was given its Sabbath rest. The Law had stipulations for Sabbath years and Jubilee years, but it is doubtful that these laws were often observed. So the Lord gave the land its Sabbath rest, when all the people had been cleared out. So the people were in exile until the seventy year period had been fulfilled, then King Cyrus gave the order for people to return to their land. The writer is setting everything in its context, enabling the people to understand their present situation. In a sense the nation had a second chance, it should learn from the past.
Some will object that God's judgement, involving much bloodshed as it did, is harsh. However, this is a stupid attitude. We should learn the lesson and put things right, following God's ways instead of rebelling against them. However, it seems that we would rather argue that God is unfair than repent.
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