Sunday Sermonette: Getting it over with

The last chapter of Chronicles collapses the story told in the last three chapters of Kings. It ' s pretty much the same story, but the Chronicler seems anxious to get it over with. Just to recap, Kings was originally compiled during the reign of Josiah, but the story of the fall of Jerusalem and the destruction of the Temple was added later, presumably during the Babylonian exile. This doesn ' t add anything. It pretty much ignores the destruction of the northern kingdom, which doesn ' t interest the Chronicler.  Although the writers of both books ascribe the downfall of the Hebrew kingdoms to apostasy and Yahweh ' s displeasure, the historical reality is that the tiny kingdoms of Israel and Judah got caught between warring empires. After repelling the Assyrians, they first become a tributary of Egypt, and then of Babylon. Pharaoh is content to install a puppet king, but Nebuchadnezzar ' s philosophy of empire is to eliminate the local polity and culture. He loots and destroys the Temple, and carries off the royal household and literate priesthood, leaving a viceroy over the decapitated state. Then Cyrus of Persia conquers Babylon. He has a different philosophy of empire, in which vassal states are granted religious and cultural freedom and home rule, so he sends the captives back to Jerusalem and allows them to rebuild the Temple and their traditions.Yes, this really happened. It is because of the policy of Cyrus " the Great " that Judaism, Christianity and Islam ...
Source: Stayin' Alive - Category: American Health Source Type: blogs