Return From Exile: Rebuilding the People of God

Return From Exile: Rebuilding the People of God

Christopher Meredith

17 November 2002

When God made a nation out of the sons of Israel, He instructed them in how to live as His chosen people and He told them what would happen if they failed to do so. In 722 BC , God sent Assyria against the northern kingdom to take them captive as a result of their idolatry. Judah was warned that he would earn the same judgment, but he continued in his disobedience and in 605 BC, the Babylonian exile began. Divided and exiled from the land, Israel's only hope was restoration from the hand of the LORD.

In 538 BC, that restoration began with a decree from Cyrus, freeing Israel to return to their land and rebuild the temple. But the task was not easy as there was much work to do in re-establishing both the buildings and the people of God. It was under this light that the Chronicler set pen to paper some time around 400 BC. In his work, he went back and told a familiar story with a new twist. Drawing heavily from Samuel and Kings, the Chronicler retold the story of King David and the kings that followed him, placing special emphasis on events and details important to a reorganizing nation. Among the purposes of the Chronicler were to emphasize the unity of all twelve tribes of Israel, to support the rebuilding of Jerusalem and the temple, and to support the Judean kingship of the Davidic line. In chapter 30 of the book of Second Chronicles, we may observe how the Chronicler conveys each of these concerns to the sons of Israel.

Second Chronicles 30 recounts an event to which neither Samuel nor Kings testify. Apparently recorded in one of the Chronicler's extra-biblical sources, the account of the Passover celebration under King Hezekiah was something that held special significance with the Chronicler and his task. The story follows King Hezekiah who, shortly before 701 BC, sent a decree throughout Israel that the Passover would be celebrated in Jerusalem. Taking a clause in the law allowing a delayed observance of the Passover for those ritually unclean or on a journey¹ and applying it to the whole nation, Hezekiah held the Passover celebration in the second month rather than the first because not enough of the priests were consecrated and the people were not gathered in Jerusalem.

Emphasis on the Unity of All Twelve Tribes

Throughout the chapter under consideration, the purposes of the Chronicler manifest themselves. First under consideration is the unity of all Israel. This idea was critical for post-exhilic Israel as political division was a hindrance to the unity of God's people. Beginning in the first verse, the Chronicler emphasizes the unity of the nation by describing Hezekiah's invitation as being extended to “all Israel and Judah and... also to Ephraim and Manasseh...” A few verses later in verse 5, the messengers are described as circulating the proclamation “throughout all Israel from Beersheba even to Dan...” It is interesting to note here that Hezekiah sent the same message to both Israel and Judah. While the northern kingdom of Israel was not subject to him, Hezekiah extended the same invitation to all of God's chosen people with the hope that they would all be gathered together in worship of one God regardless of who they called their king. This emphasis is also evident during the celebration as Hezekiah prayed to God on behalf of all the people and in response, God looked upon the assembly as ritually clean that they might celebrate the Passover in righteousness.² Verse 21 tells us that as a result, “the sons of Israel present in Jerusalem celebrated... with great joy...” Because of the joy of the celebration, the Passover observance was extended another seven days. As verse 25 states, “All the assembly of Judah rejoiced, with the priests and the Levites and all the assembly that came from Israel, both the sojourners who came from the land of Israel and those living in Judah.” Regardless of political kingdoms, the sons of Israel were gathered together under one banner, the banner of the LORD. As they were in that day so Israel must be after the exile if the reunification of the kingdom could ever take place.

Support of the Rebuilding of Jerusalem and the Temple

In exile for almost two generations, Israel had forgotten what it meant to worship in the temple and according to the Law of Moses. A developed thread of temple worship and the centrality of Jerusalem can be followed throughout Chronicles and especially in the chapter under consideration. Jerusalem is mentioned nine times in this chapter and every reference identifies the city as the center for worship and celebration of the Passover. Likewise, the temple is mentioned three times as the “house of the LORD,”³ “His sanctuary which He has consecrated forever,”⁴ and “the sanctuary.”⁵ The word translated “sanctuary” is the Hebrew qodesh, the root of which is qadash, meaning “to be clean.” The temple is portrayed in a favorable light as the clean, sanctified house of God and its reconstruction in the post-exhilic period is, by implication, required.

Verses 13 through 25 detail the celebration and the precision with which the Law was followed. In clear view here is the emphasis on doing things “by the book.” Recalling Hezekiah's concern that Israel be united under one God, the manner in which he follows the Law is at once a call to unity in worship and a rebuke of idolatry. Contained in the Law, the document that outlines the Covenant, is the series of blessings and curses that result from obedience or disobedience of the statutes of God. It was transgressing of the Covenant that led to the exile in the first place (cf. 2 Chr. 36:14-21) and in light of this and previous failings, Israel is here exhorted by the Chronicler to keep the commandments of the LORD. This implied exhortation is of paramount importance considering Israel's propensity for returning from exile with the gods of its captors. If Israel is to be re-established, he must turn from his idolatry and worship the LORD.

Support of the Judean Kingship from the Line of David

While the spiritual unity of the sons of Israel is of prime importance to the Chronicler, the idea of political unity is also in view. As we have seen, Chronicles places a strong emphasis on “all Israel.” However, the southern kingdom of Judah is the primary focus as the kings of Judah are in the Davidic line. The Chronicler consistently evaluated kings and their deeds by the standard of King David. God made a promise to David, saying in part:

“When your days are fulfilled that you must go to be with your fathers, that I will set up one of your sons; and I will establish his kingdom. He shall build for Me a house, and I will establish his throne forever. I will be his Father and he shall be My son; and I will not take My lovingkindness from him, as I took it from him who was before you. But I will settle him in My house and in My kingdom forever, and his throne shall be established forever.”⁶

This promise is of high importance to the Chronicler. His political concern in these books is to support the Davidic kingship in the reorganizing nation of Israel and so he logically highlights the Davidic line of the Judean kings in the pre-exile period of which he is writing. In the chapter under consideration, we may find several examples of the pre-eminence of the Judean king and also of David himself.

King Hezekiah is a descendant of David and the Chronicler tells us that at the beginning of Hezekiah's reign, “he did right in the sight of the LORD, according to all that his father David had done.”⁷ The Chronicler has at the outset shined the Davidic light on Hezekiah and invited the reader to evaluate him in that light. It is therefore not surprising that throughout the account in chapter 30 we are given examples of ways in which Hezekiah followed David's example. For instance, verse 2 tells us that “the king and his princes and all the assembly in Jerusalem had decided...” This echoes David's wisdom in consulting “with the captains of the thousands and the hundreds, even with every leader.”⁸ Another example of Hezekiah following David's example may be observed in verse 24, where the king gave of his own wealth to support the temple.⁹

Further, if we examine the content of the invitation Hezekiah sent throughout the lands of Israel and Judah, we find striking similarities between his call to repentance¹⁰ and Solomon's dedicatory prayer over the Temple.¹¹ The theme of repentance and the righteousness of David's line is pervasive.

Several verses later, after we read about the couriers being scorned by some of the tribes, we are told that “the hand of God was also on Judah to give them one heart to do what the king and the princes commanded by the word of the LORD.¹² This is a revealing sentence as it clearly depicts the divine hand upon the kingdom of Judah and it places the word of the LORD in the mouth of “the king and the princes” of that land. These are, of course, the sons of David, the royal line. If Israel is to be re-established he must support the kingly line established by the LORD.

The events immediately following the national Passover celebration are very telling in that they show the result of the people of God in unified worship as prescribed by God. The first verse of chapter 31 informs us thus:

“Now when all this was finished, all Israel who were present went out to the cities of Judah, broke the pillars in pieces, cut down the Asherim and pulled down the high places and the altars throughout all Judah and Benjamin, as well as in Ephraim and Manasseh, until the had destroyed them all. Then all the sons of Israel returned to their cities, each to his own possession.”

The unified worship of Yahweh ignited a collective hatred for the false gods and idols among the people. They went on a veritable rampage throughout the land destroying the idols and symbols of idolatry in their midst. This typifies the spirit of unity that the Chronicler is trying to evoke through his writing and retelling of these events. Not only must the sons of Israel return to Jerusalem, rebuild the Temple, and support the Davidic line, but they must also recognize the sin of idolatry and unbelief among them and repent, turning back to the LORD and destroying any hint of idolatry within their heart as well as within the land.

In order for us to consider ourselves biblical Christians today, we must recognize the continuity of the Old and New Covenants. We must realize the exhortation to us as the sons of Israel in the 21^st century. We are still called to be unified¹³, we are still to worship in the Temple¹⁴, and we are still to support the King in the line of David.¹⁵ To this end, if we are truly to survive as people of God, we must turn and repent from our idolatry and seek the face of the LORD. For He has promised to us just as He promised to them: “For the LORD your God is gracious and compassionate, and will not turn His face away from you if you return to Him.”¹⁶

Amen.

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