2 Chronicles 36:20–23: “And those who escaped from the sword [King Nebuchadnezzar] carried away to Babylon . . . to fulfill the word of the Lord by the mouth of Jeremiah . . . Now in the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, that the word of the Lord by the mouth of Jeremiah might be fulfilled, the Lord stirred up the spirit of Cyrus king of Persia, so that he made a proclamation throughout all his kingdom, and also put it in writing, saying: ‘Thus says Cyrus king of Persia: All the kingdoms of the earth the LORD God of heaven has given me. And He has commanded me to build Him a house at Jerusalem, which is in Judah. Who is among you of all His people? May the LORD his God be with him, and let him go up!'”

October 23rd, 2023 by Pastor Ed in devotional

After hundreds of years of running after false gods and not obeying God’s voice, God allowed King Nebuchadnezzar to conquer the kingdom of Judah and carry the Israelites into captivity in Babylon. Seventy years of bondage and exile pass between verse 21 and 22. Verse 21 records the fall of Judah to Nebuchadnezzar in 582 BC, and verse 22 records Cyrus king of Persia, seven decades later, allowing the people to return to the land in 539 BC. Archaeology has proven this verse to be accurate with the discovery of the “Cyrus cylinder,” which records Cyrus’ policy of encouraging exiles to return to their homelands.

Ezra, who also led a group of exiles back to Jerusalem, is the possible author of Chronicles. And it’s interesting that he chose to end his book with hope by fast-forwarding past the 7 decades of bondage in Babylon to God fulfilling His promise to restore His people again. It reveals the heart and character of God. We serve the God of hope. We see this clearly in the ministry of Jesus in the New Testament. Wherever He went, He brought hope. In fact, it seems like it was his calling card. Jesus brought hope to the leper, sick and exiled from home and community. Jesus brought hope to a paralyzed person, unable to care for family. Jesus brought hope to any person who felt worthless, lost, broken, rejected, or beyond saving.

Missionary Oswald Chambers wrote:

The spirit of God is always the spirit of liberty; the spirit that is not of God is the spirit of bondage, the spirit of oppression and depression . . . God who made the birds never made birdcages; it is men who make birdcages, and after a while we become cramped and can do nothing but chirp and stand on one leg. When we get out into God’s great free life, we discover that is the way God meant us to live—“the glorious liberty of the children of God.”

God’s desires us to hear and obey His voice, which keeps us from bondage and exile and enables us to live in His freedom.

“LORD, please set us free and give us hope for others this day as we walk Your path, in Jesus’ name.”