2 Chronicles 36 Devotional

Stirred to Send Them Home

“In the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, to fulfill the word of the LORD spoken through Jeremiah, the LORD stirred the spirit of Cyrus king of Persia to send a proclamation throughout his kingdom and to put it in writing as follows:”2 Chronicles 36:22 (BSB)

The last kings of Judah pass quickly. Jehoahaz is taken to Egypt, Jehoiakim and Jehoiachin to Babylon, and Zedekiah hardens his heart and will not humble himself before Jeremiah (36:1-13). The LORD kept sending his messengers again and again, because he had compassion on his people and his dwelling place. But they mocked them, until there was no remedy left (36:15-16). The Babylonians kill without sparing, burn the house of God, break down the wall, and carry the survivors into exile (36:17-20).

That is not where Chronicles ends. In the first year of Cyrus, the LORD stirs a Persian king to proclaim that the temple will be rebuilt and that any of God's people may go up (36:22-23). Jeremiah had promised that after seventy years God would bring his people back (Jeremiah 29:10). Judgment was real, but it was not the final word. The book closes with a door open and an invitation to return, and that invitation still stands for anyone far from him.

To think about: Where have you assumed that judgment or failure is the last word, and what does God's call to go up say to you?