What is the meaning of 2 Chronicles 15:6?

Nation was crushed by nation

“Nation was crushed by nation” (2 Chron 15:6) describes an era when rival peoples continually battered one another. This is literal history, previewed long before in God’s covenant warnings (Deuteronomy 28:25). Because Israel and her neighbors rejected the Lord, He withdrew His protective hand, allowing outside forces to gain the upper hand (Judges 2:14; 2 Kings 17:5-6).

• Each hostile border raid or invasion shouted that peace cannot last when a nation forsakes God (Proverbs 14:34).

• The pattern reminds us that international chaos is often a mirror of spiritual chaos.

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and city by city

The unrest wasn’t limited to borders; it seeped into the streets. “City by city” points to local breakdowns—towns fighting neighboring towns, clans turning on one another (Judges 9:23-25; Isaiah 3:5).

• Internal fractures are God’s megaphone, warning that sin erodes the bonds that hold communities together (Psalm 11:3).

• King Asa’s generation could look back to the turbulent days of the judges and see the same lesson: when God is sidelined, unity disintegrates (Judges 21:25).

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for God afflicted them

Scripture is clear: “for God afflicted them.” He wasn’t a passive observer; He was the righteous Judge administering discipline (Hebrews 12:6; Amos 4:6-11).

• His affliction was corrective, not spiteful—meant to drive the people to seek Him (2 Chron 15:4).

• Ignoring God doesn’t merely remove blessing; it invites His active opposition (1 Samuel 5:6; Psalm 106:40-42).

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with all kinds of adversity

The phrase “all kinds of adversity” gathers every form of hardship—war, famine, plague, economic collapse (Deuteronomy 28:20-22; 1 Kings 8:37).

• God’s toolkit of discipline is varied, because different hearts respond to different pressures.

• Yet every adversity carried the same call: “Return to Me, and I will return to you” (2 Chron 7:13-14).

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summary

2 Chronicles 15:6 is a sober snapshot of what happens when nations and cities abandon the Lord. External wars, internal strife, divine affliction, and multifaceted hardships all serve one purpose: to awaken people to their need for God. The verse affirms that the Lord governs history, using even adversity to steer hearts back to Himself and to highlight the blessing that flows from wholehearted obedience.