2 Chronicles - Chapters 10-36

These chapters cover the kings of Judah during the divided kingdom. After Solomon died, his son Rehoboam told his people he would be harder on them than Solomon so the people rebelled, and the ten northern tribes broke away from the southern two tribes of Judah and Benjamin. Rehoboam tried to get them back by force, but the Lord told him to not fight against his brothers, because the Lord said it was His doings. Some of the kings did what was right in the eyes of the Lord, and others did not. One of the main issues was their unfaithfulness to the Lord with regards to bringing idols into the land. Some even desecrated the temple of the Lord. Some kings, like Asa, Joash, and Hezekiah brought revival to the land, restored the temple, the festivals, the reading of the Word, and humbled themselves before the Lord, but even those kings were not perfect. The last few kings did evil in the Lord's eyes, and 36:15-16 say, "The Lord, the God of their fathers, sent word to them through his messengers again and again, because he had pity on his people and on his dwelling place. But they mocked God's messengers, despised His words and scoffed at His prophets until the wrath of the Lord was aroused against his people and there was no remedy." Nebuchadnezzar came and tool exiles, tore down the walls and burned the temple. The reign of Babylon was 70 years, and then 2 Chronicles ends with Cyrus king of Persia who announced, "The Lord, the God of heaven, has given me all the kingdoms of the earth and He has appointed me to build a temple for Him at Jerusalem in Judah. Anyone of His people among you - may the Lord His God be with him, and let him go up." In 1 Chronicles 3:17 we learn that Zerubbabel, the grandson of King Jehoiachin, was one to come back, and the Lord was still faithful to His covenant with king David and to His people.