Verses 1-23

Failure, defeat and captivity (36:1-23)

The Chronicler spent much time describing the reforms of Hezekiah and Josiah, impressing upon his readers that good kings tried to be faithful to the Mosaic and Davidic covenants. They had to follow the Levitical order if they were to enjoy the promises given to the dynasty of David. With the death of Josiah, Judah quickly returned to its former ungodly ways. Successive kings followed disastrous policies, both political and religious, which resulted in God's final judgment upon the nation. He allowed Babylon to conquer Judah, destroy Jerusalem, and take the people captive to a foreign land.

It is not the Chronicler's purpose to record details of the conquest. These are given in Kings. Instead he draws attention to the reasons for Judah's destruction: the unfaithfulness of the priests and the people, and their refusal to heed the warnings of the messengers God sent to them (36:1-21; see notes on 2 Kings 23:31-25:30).

Yet God did not cast off his people for ever. About seventy years later a new age dawned, when Cyrus, the Persian king who had conquered Babylon, announced that the Jews were free to return to their homeland and rebuild their nation. As formerly, that nation was to have its life centred on the temple in Jerusalem (22-23).

APPENDIX

Index of Parallel Passages

1 Chronicles 1 Samuel

- 1:1-30:31

1:1-9:44 -

10:1-14 31:1-13

2 Samuel

- 1:1-4:12

11:1-9 5:1-10

11:10-47 23:8-39

12:1-40 -

13:1-14 6:1-11

14:1-17 5:11-25

15:1-16:3 6:12-23

16:4-43 -

17:1-27 7:1-29

18:1-17 8:1-18

- 9:1-13

19:1-19 10:1-19

20:1 11:1

- 11:2-12:25

20:2-3 12:26-31

- 13:1-21:17

20:4-8 21:18-22

- 22:1-23:7

21:1-22:1 24:1-25

22:2-29:30 -

2 Chronicles 1 Kings

- 1:1-3:3

1:1-13 3:4-15

- 3:16-4:34

1:14-17 10:26-29

2:1-18 5:1-18

3:1-5:1 6:1-7:51

5:2-7:22 8:1-9:9

8:1-18 9:10-28

9:1-28 10:1-25

- 11:1-40

9:29-31 11:41-43

10:1-11:4 12:1-24

- 12:25-14:20

11:5-12:16 14:21-31

13:1-22 15:1-8

14:1-16:14 15:9-24

- 15:25-21:29

17:1-19 -

18:1-34 22:1-40

19:1-20:30 -

20:31-37 22:41-50

- 22:51-53

2 Kings

- 1:1-8:15

21:1-20 8:16-24

22:1-6 8:25-29

- 9:1-20

22:7-9 9:21-29; 10:12-14

- 9:30-10:11

- 10:15-36

22:10-23:21 11:1-20

24:1-27 11:21-12:21

- 13:1-25

25:1-26:2 14:1-22

- 14:23-29

26:3-23 15:1-7

- 15:8-31

27:1-9 15:32-38

28:1-27 16:1-20

- 17:1-41

- 18:1-12

29:1-31:21 -

32:1-33 18:13-20:21

33:1-25 21:1-26

34:1-33 22:1-23:20

35:1-27 23:21-30

36:1-21 23:31-25:30

36:22-23 -