2 Chronicles 36:19
Then the Chaldeans set fire to the house of God and broke down the wall of Jerusalem. They burned down all the palaces and destroyed every article of value.
Sermons
Zedekiah; or the Fall of JudahT. Whitelaw 2 Chronicles 36:11-21
Desecration and DestructionW. Clarkson 2 Chronicles 36:18, 19














We look at -

I. A SAD HISTORICAL FACT. Perhaps a Jew would say, the saddest of all the facts of history. This is the very climax of disasters - the, great temple of Jehovah in Jerusalem burnt down, and all its precious treasures and all its sacred vessels carried away into a heathen land, to be there profaned by irreverent and wanton hands! Could anything happen more painful to the feelings, more shocking to the imagination, of the devout than that? All the work to which David consecrated his energies with such rare affection and devotion, to which Solomon brought all his wisdom and for which he obtained the most advanced culture of his time, brought to desolation by the ruthless hand of the heathen! That glorious, that sacred, that beloved building, meeting-place of God and man, where the people of God realized their highest privileges, and recognized their relation to their Redeemer and to one another, burned and desolated, the foot of the idolater intruding into its holiest sanctuary, and the hand of the spoiler taking away its most sacred treasure!

II. ITS SADDEST HISTORICAL ANALOGUE. Once there lived upon the earth a Son of man who could say of himself without presumption, "In this place is One greater than the temple" (Matthew 12:6); and he once spake of "the temple of his body" (John 2:21). And well, indeed, might the Son of God speak thus of himself; for was he not the manifestation of the Divine to the children of men, and did he not reveal the truth of God to mankind, and in his presence men drew near to God as they did not even in "the holy of holies"? We know how that living temple of God suffered from the rude violence of men, and at last "with wicked hands was slain." No such desecration took place when the temple was burnt and spoiled as was witnessed when Jesus Christ was crowned with thorns in the soldiers' hall, and was crucified at Calvary.

III. ITS LAMENTABLE ILLUSTRATION NOW. Where shall we find the visible, approachable, appreciable manifestation of God now? Where, but in the life and the character of good men? We are the temple of God when we are what our Divine Father created us to be; such are we then, that, as men draw nigh to us and observe us and learn of us, they know God and learn of him. But how may this temple be desecrated and destroyed?

1. By the profanation of our powers and our affections. When our powers are expended on the furtherance of that which is evil and on the production of that which is baneful; when our affections are wasted on those who are unworthy of our love; when we prize and when we pursue that which is below our true aspiration, and which leads us downward and backward; - then the temple of God is despoiled and desecrated.

2. By the guilty forfeiture of our life. What a destruction of the temple of God is a guilty suicide! And they are many who take their own lives. It is not only those who shoot or hang themselves that commit suicide; it is they who deliberately and repeatedly do those things which they must know are destroying their vitality and taking away their life; these are men who put a brand to the temple which God as well as man has built.

IV. ITS EXCELLENT OPPOSITE. This is found in the reverence we pay to the human body as the temple of God; the habit of regarding our bodily frame - and how much more our human spirit! - as a sacred thing, because it is (because we are) the very dwelling-place of God (see 1 Corinthians 2:9, 16, 17; 6:19; 2 Corinthians 6:16; Ephesians 2:20, 21; 1 Peter 2:5). It is this elevated and ennobling thought which, more than any other, stirs and strengthen us to "purify ourselves even as Christ the Lord is pure;" to seek, by earnest effort and frequent prayer, for the utmost attainable sanctity of spirit and of life. - C.

And the Lord God of their fathers sent to them by is me messengers, rising up betimes.
Homilist.
I. We see here CONTINUED REBELLION, which suggests —

1. That habits are easily commenced. There is little difficulty in forming' habits. They are not acquired by one mighty bound, but by a series of almost imperceptible steps.

2. That habits are readily strengthened. Every step that is taken is planted with firmer grip. With every ripple that flows the stream becomes wider and swifter, fed as it were with other streamlets on the way. Every time an action is repeated the easier it becomes, and the more deeply rooted in the soul.

3. That habits are seldom eradicated. Can the Ethiopian change his skin? Yea, easier than a man unassisted by Divine help can break away from evil habits. They become part of the nature of the man himself.

II. WE SEE THE PRESUMPTION OF CONTINUED REBELLION. We are constantly reminded of the fact that God is merciful. But there is a limit to the mercy and forbearance even of God. This is evident —

1. From the fact that it is impossible always to continue His warning and judgments on the impenitent. If the obstinacy of one person cannot be overcome it were unjust on that account to remove the chance of salvation from others.

2. From the inevitable progress of temporal affairs. Death comes on with his rapid step and cuts short the life and with it the opportunities of repentance from the obdurate spirit. Then the door of mercy must be shut for ever.

3. From the very nature of the refusal. Is it likely that He, the Lord of all, will continue offering heavenly treasures to human swine who only trample His gifts in the mire? Oh, it is a sad and an awful truth that man may presume too far even on infinite love!

III. WE SEE THE AWFUL END OF PRESUMPTUOUS SIN. The consequences are at the last utter destruction and irretrievable loss. This stands to reason if we remember —

1. That God must vindicate His character.

2. That an example must be set to the world at large.

3. That the sinful must be removed out of the way.

(Homilist.)

The island of Ischia was a favourite summer resort of Italians. In 1883 the sinking of water in wells, mutterings and rumblings underground, distinctly foretold a coming earthquake; these signs were noticed and understood, but through fear of frightening visitors, and so losing custom, hotel-keepers and others refrained from making public these warnings. Ruin and death ensued, involving those who knew and heeded not, and those who, through lack of warning, had unwittingly exposed themselves to peril.

Till there was no remedy
These words contain three facts of great importance.

1. That there was, at least at one time, a remedy.

2. That the remedy went on, and might have been used, for a very long period.

3. That there came a time when the remedy ceased.

I. ALL LIFE IS A REMEDY. The conditions of things require it. Life a great restorative process.

1. Comes that marvellous provision of God in Jesus Christ.

2. All providences have a curative character.

3. Every one carries within himself an antidote to evil. Conscience, till silenced, a sure antidote to evil.

II. Notice the word "TILL." It shows how slow God is to take away the remedy. We may sin ourselves into a state, not in which there is no forgiveness, but no thought or desire to seek forgiveness. "No remedy," not on God's account, but your own; not in God's want of will to save you, but in your own incapacity to will your own salvation.

(J. Vaughan, M.A.)

People
Cyrus, Eliakim, Jehoahaz, Jehoiachin, Jehoiakim, Jeremiah, Joahaz, Josiah, Nebuchadnezzar, Necho, Zedekiah
Places
Babylon, Egypt, Jerusalem, Persia
Topics
Articles, Beautiful, Brake, Break, Broke, Broken, Buildings, Burn, Burned, Burnt, Desirable, Destroyed, Destruction, Fire, Fortified, God's, Goodly, Houses, Jerusalem, Palaces, Precious, Temple, Thereof, Valuable, Value, Vessels, Wall
Outline
1. Jehoahaz succeeding, is deposed by Pharaoh, and carried into Egypt
5. Jehoiakim reigning ill, is carried bound into Babylon
9. Jehoiachin succeeding, reigns ill, and is brought into Babylon
11. Zedekiah succeeding, reigns ill, despite the prophets, and rebels against Nebuchadnezzar
14. Jerusalem, for the sins of the priests and the people, is wholly destroyed
22. The proclamation of Cyrus

Dictionary of Bible Themes
2 Chronicles 36:19

     5228   battering-rams
     5315   fortifications
     5437   palaces
     5604   walls

2 Chronicles 36:9-21

     5366   king

2 Chronicles 36:11-20

     7240   Jerusalem, history

2 Chronicles 36:15-20

     1310   God, as judge
     5214   attack
     8728   enemies, of Israel and Judah

2 Chronicles 36:17-19

     5508   ruins

2 Chronicles 36:17-20

     4215   Babylon
     5398   loss
     5529   sieges

2 Chronicles 36:17-21

     1035   God, faithfulness

Library
The Fall of Judah
'Zedekiah was one and twenty years old when he began to reign, and reigned eleven years in Jerusalem. 12. And he did that which was evil in the sight of the Lord his God, and humbled not himself before Jeremiah the prophet speaking from the mouth of the Lord. 13. And he also rebelled against king Nebuchadnezzar, who had made him swear by God: but he stiffened his neck, and hardened his heart from turning unto the Lord God of Israel. 14. Moreover all the chief of the priests, and the people, transgressed
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture

Youthful Confessors
'But Daniel purposed in his heart that he would not defile himself with the portion of the king's meat, nor with the wine which he drank; therefore he requested of the prince of the eunuchs that he might not defile himself. 9. Now God had brought Daniel into favour and tender love with the prince of the eunuchs. 10. And the prince of the eunuchs said unto Daniel, I fear my lord the king, who hath appointed your meat and your drink; for why should he see your faces worse liking than the children which
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture

Chronicles
The comparative indifference with which Chronicles is regarded in modern times by all but professional scholars seems to have been shared by the ancient Jewish church. Though written by the same hand as wrote Ezra-Nehemiah, and forming, together with these books, a continuous history of Judah, it is placed after them in the Hebrew Bible, of which it forms the concluding book; and this no doubt points to the fact that it attained canonical distinction later than they. Nor is this unnatural. The book
John Edgar McFadyen—Introduction to the Old Testament

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