2 Chronicles 36

2 Chronicles records a story about Manasseh that wasn’t included in 2 Kings. He made himself humble before God and prayed for God to help him. He did this after God brought judgement against him for his evil deeds. God allowed the Assyrian army to make Manasseh a prisoner in Babylon.

Manasseh turned away from his evil ways after God punished and corrected him. Because Manasseh repented, God allowed him to return to Jerusalem. When he once again ruled as king, he led the people to worship only God. He no longer did the evil things he had done before. Yet his son Amon followed the evil example Manasseh had set for many years. He didn’t follow Manasseh’s example of repenting and being humble.

Josiah was a king like David, Solomon and Hezekiah. He got rid of everything that was used to worship false gods. He did this in the southern kingdom. He also did it in the land that where the northern kingdom had been. Assyria controlled that land. But any Israelites who still lived there were allowed to worship the true God. So were the outsiders who lived there.

Josiah had the temple repaired. He made sure that the Book of the Law was read to the people. This was a copy of the Law of Moses. He learnt about the covenant curses while reading about the Mount Sinai covenant. He hoped to stop the covenant curses from coming. So while he was king, all 12 tribes of Israel obeyed God. Those in the southern kingdom and those left in the northern kingdom followed God faithfully.

When he was older, Josiah made a foolish decision to fight against Egypt’s army. This led to his death. It also led to Egypt taking control of the government of the southern kingdom. The king of Egypt chose their next king.

The kings after Josiah didn’t follow his example of obeying God and worshipping him only. Jehoiakim and Jehoiachin didn’t repent or make themselves humble. They didn’t do that even when they were taken to Babylon as prisoners.

Zedekiah refused to listen to God’s messages from the prophet Jeremiah. God had been very patient with his people. He had shown mercy and pity over and over again. He had forgiven them every time they made themselves humble and prayed to him.

But they were committed to following evil practices and to worshipping false gods. They refused to live as a kingdom of priests and a holy nation. They refused to listen to the prophets that God sent to them. They refused to follow God’s example for being rulers of his land. They didn’t allow the land to rest during the sabbath years. God’s instructions about the land resting were recorded in Leviticus 25:1–12.

So God no longer stopped the covenant curses from coming to the southern kingdom. The Babylonian army destroyed Jerusalem and took control of the southern kingdom. They forced many people from the southern kingdom to live in exile in Babylonia. While the people were away, the fields of the southern kingdom weren’t farmed. That is how God provided the rest that the land needed.

After many years, Cyrus allowed the people to return to Jerusalem. He wanted them to build another temple for the Lord. This made something clear to the Jews who returned to Jerusalem. God still wanted them to worship him according to the laws in the Mount Sinai covenant. He still wanted them to be his people. He still wanted to be their God.