Yahweh,
the God of their fathers, sent to them by his messengers, rising up early and sending, because he had compassion on his people, and on his dwelling place: but they mocked the messengers of God, and despised his words, and scoffed at his prophets, until Yahweh’s wrath arose against his people, until there was no remedy.
2 Chronicles 36:15-16
2 Chronicles 36 [15.] Yahweh, the God of their fathers, sent to them by his messengers, rising up early and sending, because he had compassion on his people, and on his dwelling place: but they mocked the messengers of God, and despised his words, and scoffed at his prophets, until Yahweh’s wrath arose against his people, until there was no remedy. Therefore he brought on them the king of the Chaldeans, who killed their young men with the sword in the house of their sanctuary, and had no compassion on young man or virgin, old man or gray-headed: he gave them all into his hand. All the vessels of God’s house, great and small, and the treasures of Yahweh’s house, and the treasures of the king, and of his princes, all these he brought to Babylon. They burnt God’s house, and broke down the wall of Jerusalem, and burnt all its palaces with fire, and destroyed all the goodly vessels of it.
2 Chronicles 36 [20.] He carried those who had escaped from the sword away to Babylon; and they were servants to him and his sons until the reign of the kingdom of Persia: to fulfill Yahweh’s word by the mouth of Jeremiah, until the land had enjoyed its Sabbaths. As long as it lay desolate it kept Sabbath, to fulfill seventy years. Now in the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, that Yahweh’s word by the mouth of Jeremiah might be accomplished, Yahweh stirred up the spirit of Cyrus king of Persia, so that he made a proclamation throughout all his kingdom, and put it also in writing, saying, “Thus says Cyrus king of Persia, ‘Yahweh, the God of heaven, has given all the kingdoms of the earth to me; and he has commanded me to build him a house in Jerusalem, which is in Judah. Whoever there is among you of all his people, Yahweh his God be with him, and let him go up.’”
Meaning:
These verses stand near the end of the books of Chronicles. After describing the last kings of Judah, who did evil in Yahweh’s sight, the Chronicler pauses to explain why Jerusalem fell to Babylon in 586 BC. The city fell because the people had rejected God’s word, again and again, until no remedy was left.
- “Sent to them by his messengers, rising up early and sending”
“Rising up early” is a Hebrew picture of earnest, persistent effort. God did not send one warning but many, through prophets such as Isaiah, Jeremiah and others, generation after generation.
- “Because he had compassion on his people, and on his dwelling place”
The motive behind all these warnings was love. God cared for his people and for the temple where he had put his name. His patience did not come from weakness but from compassion. Even after the city fell, the writer of Lamentations could say, “It is because of Yahweh’s loving kindnesses that we are not consumed, because his compassion doesn’t fail” (Lamentations 3:22).
- “But they mocked the messengers of God”
The response was contempt. The people and their leaders mocked the prophets, despised God’s words and scoffed at those who brought them. Some prophets were not only mocked but killed. In the days of king Joash, Zechariah the son of Jehoiada warned the people, and “They conspired against him, and stoned him with stones at the commandment of the king in the court of Yahweh’s house” (2 Chronicles 24:21).
- “Until there was no remedy”
There is a limit to God’s patience. When warnings are rejected long enough, judgement comes. The Babylonians killed the young men in the sanctuary, carried off the treasures and burned the temple.
- The parable of the wicked farmers
Jesus told the story of this passage in a parable. A householder planted a vineyard and leased it to farmers. He sent servant after servant to receive his fruit, but they beat one, killed another and stoned another. Last of all he sent his son, and they killed him (Matthew 21:33-41). Shortly afterwards Jesus lamented over the city: “Jerusalem, Jerusalem, who kills the prophets, and stones those who are sent to her!” (Matthew 23:37).
The Significance of 2 Chronicles 36:15-16
- Listen while God is speaking
God’s warnings are acts of compassion. The right response is to hear and turn back while there is time.
- God’s patience has a purpose
His long-suffering is meant to lead to repentance, not to be taken for granted.
Cross-References:
Lamentations 3:22: "because his compassion doesn’t fail." Compassion even after judgement.
2 Chronicles 24:21: "They conspired against him, and stoned him with stones" A prophet killed in the temple court.
Matthew 23:37: "Jerusalem, Jerusalem, who kills the prophets," Jesus’ lament over the city.
Conclusion: The Chronicler explains the fall of Jerusalem: Yahweh, in compassion, sent his messengers again and again, but the people mocked them, despised his words and scoffed at his prophets until his wrath arose and there was no remedy. The passage shows both God’s patient love and the seriousness of rejecting his word, and it lies behind Jesus’ parable of the farmers who killed the owner’s servants and finally his son.
PIB Scriptures are derived from the World English Bible