2 Chronicles 35-Ezra 10
*image courtesy of bosela at www.sxc.hu
While 2 Kings ended on a rather sad note, with Jehoiachin king of Judah in the court of Babylon, 2 Chronicles ends on a high note. Being written later than Kings, Chronicles has more information, and flashes forward about 70 years to the time of the return from the Babylonian Captivity. God had prophesied specifically about this return through both Isaiah and Jeremiah (Jeremiah 25:12, 29:10; Isaiah 44:24-45:13). As usual, God kept His word. He swayed the heart of king Cyrus (Proverbs 21:1)to send the Jews back to Jerusalem to rebuild the Temple, even decreeing that the costs should be covered by the royal treasury (Ezra 6).
There is a neat connection made between Chronicles and Ezra. If you notice, the last words of Chronicles and the first words of Ezra are identical. There is a definite seam or joint here. The writers of both had a point they were trying to make – Judah was removed from the land because of sin, and restored because of God’s faithfulness. It was not that Judah was full of great people, or that they did some marvelous thing while in Babylon and Persia. God had prophesied in advance that a king named would send His people back into the land. He receives all the glory for the return!
This hasn’t changed over time, and into the New Covenant. Despite our failures, even as believers, God’s faithful love for His people endures forever (1 Chronicles 16:34, etc.). Paul scolded the Galatians for thinking that they could keep themselves saved and make themselves holier, even though they had only been saved by the working of the Spirit (Galatians 3). We do the same thing today. We come to Jesus with nothing in our hands, we throw ourselves on His mercy and grace, and receive forgiveness and salvation through no work of our own but by the sacrifice of Jesus and the baptism of the Holy Spirit. Then, we pick ourselves up, dust off a bit, and think we can carry it from there. But it is not our goodness that prompts God to action.
It’s His love.
Let’s live in light of this. Let’s not think that we can make ourselves holier on our own power. We need the guidance and empowerment of the Holy Spirit, the mercy of Jesus, and the forgiveness of the Father. Since we began in the Spirit, let us walk in the Spirit (Galatians 5:16-17).
originally appeared at Words of Reason
Words of Reason 