2 Chronicles 36:1-21
Thank you for continuing this journey of The Gospel Project®
for Kids. Last Sunday preschoolers learned that even though Jehoiakim
had burned Jeremiah’s warnings from God, the people of Judah would still
be punished and exiled because of their sins. Warnings had come from
the prophets for decades and God patiently waited for His people to turn
from their sin. The prophet Jeremiah spared few details when he warned
Judah what would happen if they did not turn from their evil ways. (See
Jeremiah 25:1-14.)
The
people of Judah did not change their ways and the time of judgment had
come. As God had warned through Jeremiah, He used the king of
Babylon—King Nebuchadnezzar—to deport the people from Judah to Babylon.
King Nebuchadnezzar went to Judah when Jehoiakim was king. He put
Jehoiakim in chains and took him to Babylon. His son Jehoiachin became
king, and Nebuchadnezzar came back for him too. Many of the people in
Judah were taken, along with treasures from the Lord’s temple.
Nebuchadnezzar put Jehoiakim’s brother Zedekiah on the throne in
Jerusalem.
The
people of Judah were unfaithful to God. Zedekiah rebelled against King
Nebuchadnezzar, and God poured out His wrath on Judah. Nebuchadnezzar
showed no mercy to the people of Jerusalem. The Babylonians set fire to
the Lord’s temple and the king’s palace. They destroyed the wall around
Jerusalem. King Nebuchadnezzar’s armies carried most of the people away
to Babylon as prisoners; only poor farmers were allowed to stay and work
the land. The people were held captive in Babylon, serving the king for
the next 70 years.
God
did not abandon His people, though. The prophet Jeremiah told what
would happen next: “The days are certainly coming … when I will restore
the fortunes of My people Israel and Judah” (Jeremiah 30:3). God
righteously punished His people for their sin but remained faithful to
them, keeping the promise He made to David to provide a king.
Ultimately, God punished our sin through His Son, Jesus, and made Him
our King forever.
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