2 Chronicles 36:19-21
“Then they burned the house of God and broke down the wall of Jerusalem, and burned all its fortified buildings with fire and destroyed all its valuable articles. He took into exile those who had escaped from the sword to Babylon; and they were servants to him and to his sons until the rule 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 of its desolation it kept the Sabbath until seventy years were complete.”
God had warned them about this for a long time. He was chastising them. There were several punishments here. The biggest one was their unfaithfulness to God. The other one was their refusal to treat the land the way God commanded. Leviticus 25:3,4 says, “For six years you may sow your field and prune your vineyard and gather its crops. But in the seventh year there shall be a Sabbath of complete rest for the land—a Sabbath to the LORD.” They had missed many cycles of this, 70 years of rest. This captivity makes up for that.
The most egregious offense was their unfaithfulness to the Lord. They broke several commandments. “I am the Lord thy God. You shall have no gods before Me”. The second is to have no idols before Him. The third is to not take His name in vain and the fourth is keep the sabbath. They certainly disobeyed the first two if not all four.
All throughout Solomon’s prayer of dedication (of the temple) he speaks of how if one sins (or the nation) and they are in a rough circumstance as punishment. Today’s verse is the great culmination of that. There had been small scale judgments often. God would forgive them and restore them. This happened generation after generation. Their sin and disobedience got worse and worse. Great evils like sacrificing the lives of children on pagan altars. As well as injustice in society that harmed the poor and weak.
Does God discipline us? Yes, He does. Hebrews 12:5,6 says, ‘And you have forgotten the exhortation which speaks to you as to sons: “My son, do not despise the chastening of the Lord, Nor be discouraged when you are rebuked by Him; For whom the Lord loves He chastens, And scourges every son whom He receives.”’ As we stray He brings us back. There can be pain there. It teaches us to stay close. This is normal discipline that all believers receive.
The discipline in today’s verse is far more serious. Paul addresses a similar issue with an errant believer in I Corinthians 5:5, “hand this man over to Satan for the destruction of the flesh, so that his spirit may be saved on the Day of the Lord.” This individual is in danger of losing his soul. Paul says it’s better for this person to die and go to heaven than to go down this path and end up in hell. Drastic. I’ve know people that I’ve suspected this of.
The idea is to have an open pliable heart. Don’t be stiff necked and stubborn. Hear the nudging of the Spirit. Pray and ask for wisdom.
Lord, help us to sensitive to Your Spirit and Your words. Keep us from evil.