2 Chronicles 35:20-36:23
God’s eyes
The eyes of the Lord see everything you do, say and think. We can escape from human eyes but we cannot escape from the eyes of the Lord.
The sad history of the people of God continues in today’s passage. Human nature is unchanged. There were fights, battles, quarrelling, attacks and war (35:20–21). Josiah was succeeded by kings who did not follow his good example. Jehoakim, Jehoiachin (his son) and Zedekiah (Jehoiachin’s uncle) all ‘did evil in the eyes of the Lord’ (36:5,9,12).
Zedekiah’s problem, like the others, was that he was ‘stiff-necked and hardened his heart and would not turn to the Lord’ (v.13). Being stiff-necked is a powerful illustration of pride – refusing to bow the head before God. Hardening the heart is a description of how we can resist the Holy Spirit.
‘God… repeatedly sent warning messages to them. Out of compassion for both his people and his Temple he wanted to give them every chance possible. But they wouldn’t listen’ (2 Chronicles 36:15, MSG). Like many people today ‘they poked fun at God’s messengers, despised the message itself, and in general treated the prophets like idiots’ (v.16, MSG). Eventually, God handed them over (v.17) to the great powers of that day – Babylon (modern day Iraq) and Persia (modern day Iran).
The book of Chronicles ends with a slight note of hope. The passage for today includes a description of the destruction of Jerusalem and the temple in 597 BC and the exile, but it ends with the hope of restoration and rebuilding that began in 538 BC.
This restoration pointed towards the greater hope of what was to happen through Jesus Christ our Lord. The ministry of the old covenant was to be far exceeded by the ministry of Jesus and the Holy Spirit. Our hope is of a totally different order. Paul writes ‘since we have this hope we are very bold’ (2 Corinthians 3:12). It is the hope of reflecting the Lord’s glory and being transformed into his likeness with ever-increasing glory (v.18).
Lord, thank you for the hope that we have, which is so much greater than anyone had even thought or imagined. Thank you that I can gaze at the face of Jesus. Thank you that I can reflect the Lord’s glory and be transformed into his likeness with ever-increasing glory.
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