2 Chronicles 36:17-21--Jerusalem Captured and Burned

2 Chronicles 36:17-21
English Standard Version
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Jerusalem Captured and Burned
17 Therefore he brought up against 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 aged. He gave them all into his hand. 18 And all the vessels of the house of God, great and small, and the treasures of the house of the LORD, and the treasures of the king and of his princes, all these he brought to Babylon. 19 And they burned the house of God and broke down the wall of Jerusalem and burned all its palaces with fire and destroyed all its precious vessels. 20 He took into exile in Babylon those who had escaped from the sword, and they became servants to him and to his sons until the establishment of the kingdom of Persia, 21 to fulfill the word of the LORD by the mouth of Jeremiah, until the land had enjoyed its Sabbaths. All the days that it lay desolate it kept Sabbath, to fulfill seventy years.

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The "king of the Chaldeans" that the LORD brought up against Judah and Jerusalem was probably the king of the Babylonian empire, though Chaldea was province of the Babylonian empire.  Since King Nebuchadnezzar was Chaldean and his officers and nobles were probably of his people and were also Chaldeans, then it makes sense that he might be looked at as the "king of the Chaldeans" while still being king over the entire empire that was made up of other people groups too.  The region of Chaldea was close to Babylon to the south and east and is often mentioned in the Bible in connection with Babylon to mean the entire Babylonian empire because the Chaldeans were definitely the most powerful group of Babylonians and probably the most numerous until the time of Darius/Cyrus when the Medes and Persians took over.

So, the Babylonians who have raided Jerusalem in small ways before to take some of the best people and best things from the treasuries back to Babylon are now going into all-out war with Jerusalem and Judah, and the LORD has directed Babylon to do so.  The Babylonians would have no compassion on the young or old--all of them were taken captive.  All the treasures and vessels of worship in the house of the LORD were taken and brought back to Babylon, and they burned down the Temple and broke down the walls of Jerusalem and burned down all the "palaces" (literally "paneled houses" that we might call "mansions" for the rich, powerful, and famous people--not just palaces for royalty).  They took all of the royal treasury that remained and all the treasures of the people.  Nothing of value remained in all the Land, and it was intentionally left in disrepair so that people would "wag their heads" at the people of Judah and Jerusalem and say, "The LORD did this to them" (because they turned to idols and stirred up His wrath with many abominations).

Though not mentioned here, the Edomites and other neighbors of the people of Judah captured any who tried to escape and turned them over to the Babylonians for the bounties that were put on their heads, and some of these people even joined in the battle against Jerusalem and Judah.  The LORD would judge Babylon, Edom, and all the other peoples who engaged in such conduct, but for now he is using these people to judge Judah and Jerusalem.  The fact that Babylon and Edom are helping the LORD accomplish His plans for His people will not excuse their bad actions--a theme that we'll see throughout the Bible that God can be Sovreign and yet still hold men personally accountable for their actions as He does not cause or will people to sin, but He can use even their sinful decisions to accomplish His good will and pleasure.

The 70 years of Babylonian captivity is summed up this way to give us hope and daylight at the end of the tunnel, "And they became servants to him and to his sons until the establishment of the kingdom of Persia, to fulfill the word of the LORD by the mouth of Jeremiah, until the land had enjoyed its Sabbaths. All the days that it lay desolate it kept Sabbath, to fulfill seventy years."  So, we are looking for and expecting something to happen when the Persians take over, and we're expecting to read about that happening at the end of the 70 years that Jeremiah prophesied about.  If we read the prophets closely, we'll even see that their deliverer would be named Cyrus, and that was prophesied long before Cyrus was ever born.  So, we've reached another point that seems like a good ending point for the book--we have some hope now, but we're not done yet.  God is going to have the author write the history all the way out until Cyrus's decree because it is not just an important historical event, but an extremely important prophetic event.  Did you know that the LORD told his people exactly how long it would be between Cyrus's decree and the day that Jesus would die on the cross to be the real Savior for His people? Maybe this helps us understand why the books of Kings and Chronicles will end with this decree that keeps us looking forward to the King of Kings and Lord of Lords--Jesus, the Messiah!