SS Lesson       November 19^th, 2006             2^nd Chronicles 36(15-21), Psalms 137(1-6)

 

CHALDEA (chal dee’ uh) —Holman Bible Dictionary

refers either to a geographical locality (Chaldea) or to the people who lived there (Chaldeans). Chaldea was situated in central and southeastern Mesopotamia, i.e., the land between the lower stretches of the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers. Today Chaldea lies in the country of Iraq, very close to its border with Iran, and touching upon the head of the Persian Gulf.

The Chaldeans In Old Testament times different peoples occupied southeastern Mesopotamia at various times. One such group was the Chaldeans, whose name derives from the ancient term Kaldai, which refers to several Aramean tribes who moved into lower Mesopotamia between 1000 and 900 B.C. Their new homeland was a flat, alluvial plain of few natural resources, many marshes, spring flooding, and very hot summers.

Relation to Babylonia At first the Chaldeans lived in tribal settlements, rejecting the urban society of the Babylonians to the northwest—so-called after the leading city-state of the region, Babylon, to which the Old Testament refers over 300 times. Babylon was once the capital city of the great King Hammurabi (ca. 1763-1750 B.C.), remembered for the empire he created, and for the famous law code which bears his name.

As time passed, the Chaldeans gradually acquired domination in Babylonia. In the process they also took on the title “Babylonians,” or more exactly, “Neo-Babylonians.” As a result, the terms Chaldea(ns) and (Neo-) Babylonia(ns) may be used interchangeably (Ezek. 1:3, RSV, NIV; 12:13, NIV). See Babylon, History and Religion of.

In the eighth century B.C., the Chaldeans emerged as the champions of resistance against Assyria, a dangerous, aggressive imperial force in upper Mesopotamia. At this time the Chaldeans begin to appear in the Old Testament, first, as possible allies with Judah against Assyria, but later, as a direct threat to Judah and Jerusalem.

Tony M. Martin

DIASPORA —Holman Bible Dictionary

 The scattering of the Jews from the land of Palestine into other parts of the world and the Jews thus scattered. The term “dispersion” is also often used to describe this process.

The diaspora took place over several centuries. While its exact beginnings are difficult to date, two major events greatly contributed to it. In 722 B. C. the Assyrians captured the Northern Kingdom (Israel). Following this victory, the Assyrians resettled large numbers of the Israelites in Assyria (2 Kings 17:6). In 586 B. C. the Babylonians captured the Southern Kingdom (Judah) and followed the same policy of resettlement. Many of the residents of Judah were transported to Babylon (2 Kings 25:8-12). While some of these persons later returned to Judah, many of them remained permanently in Babylon. Later, other wars fought by the Greeks and Romans in Palestine helped scatter more of the Jewish people.

The diaspora was further encouraged by severe economic conditions which gripped Palestine. The warfare in the land disrupted the ability of the people to make a living. Also, heavy taxes were exacted from the people by the dominant foreign powers. This made life even more difficult.

Adding to this impulse to leave Palestine was the good reception the Jews generally received in other lands. As a rule, they were allowed to practice their own religion without interference.

The result of the diaspora was that by New Testament times as many Jews lived outside of Palestine as lived within the land. In almost every city which Paul visited on his missionary journeys, he found a Jewish synagogue (Acts 14:1; 17:1,10; 18:4). The diaspora thus helped pave the way for the spread of the gospel. See Assyria; Babylon, History and Religion Of; Exile; Synagogue.

Lynn Jones

Babylon (from Easton’s Bible Dictionary)
the Greek form of BABEL; Semitic form Babilu, meaning "The Gate of God." In the Assyrian tablets it means "The city of the dispersion of the tribes." The monumental list of its kings reaches back to B.C. 2300, and includes Khammurabi, or Amraphel (q.v.), the contemporary of Abraham. It stood on the Euphrates, about 200 miles above its junction with the Tigris, which flowed through its midst and divided it into two almost equal parts. The Elamites invaded Chaldea (i.e., Lower Mesopotamia, or Shinar, and Upper Mesopotamia, or Accad, now combined into one) and held it in subjection. At length Khammu-rabi delivered it from the foreign yoke, and founded the new empire of Chaldea (q.v.), making Babylon the capital of the united kingdom. This city gradually grew in extent and grandeur, but in process of time it became subject to Assyria. On the fall of Nineveh (B.C. 606) it threw off the Assyrian yoke, and became the capital of the growing Babylonian empire. Under Nebuchadnezzar it became one of the most splendid cities of the ancient world.

 

2^nd Chronicles 36:15 And the LORD God of their fathers sent to them by his messengers, rising up betimes, and sending; because he had compassion on his people, and on his dwelling place:

 

The Captivity

This section of Scripture is referred to as the Diaspora or the Babylonian captivity of the Jewish people.  To me it is the one of the saddest subjects in the Bible.  The reason it is so despairing is because it didn’t have to be.  It is one thing to suffer when one is unable to prevent the suffering; it is another thing to see disaster come upon a nation and the people of that nation because they refuse to humble themselves and obey God.  We must remember something when we read this Scripture; this is not fable or myth.  This is an account of a historical event.  The Babylonians were cruel people who killed Jews by the thousands and burned their sacred city and Temple with no regrets or feelings of remorse.  Women were raped and children slaughtered.  Old men and women were not spared.  The ancient died without any respect.  It should remind us of a very important lesson; sin is a cruel taskmaster.  God had protected the nation for hundreds of years, but they had refused the ways of God and cast their fortunes upon their own wisdom.  That earthly wisdom brought them to this place of horror.  Listen to the Bible’s reason that these stories are recorded and stored in Scripture: “1^st Corinthians 10:11 Now all these things happened unto them for ensamples: and they are written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the world are come.”  God wants us to read these accounts, take them to heart, and then learn lessons from them which will cause us to escape the same fate.

 

 

36:16 But they mocked the messengers of God, and despised his words, and misused his prophets, until the wrath of the LORD arose against his people, till there was no remedy.

 

Without remedy

The people of Judah ignored the warnings of God.  Even in the midst of their great sin, God called men to preach to them and warn them of the wrath to come.  He will do the same during our time which I believe may be the last days of the grace dispensation.  The people scoffed and mocked these men of God.  They treated them with utter contempt and despised their words.  It is getting close to that way in America now.  Many folks taunt and mock men who are attempting to preach the Word of God.  They oppose everything Godly.  They impudently scorn God and His people.  God is still calling faithful men to warn them of His coming wrath, Oh, that the world would listen and repent.  The word “remedy” here means healing, soundness, or possessing the ability to be cured.  I compare this situation to cancer.  There are some cancers, if caught early, can be somewhat easily cured, but if they are ignored and allowed to worsen; they eventually cause death.  Sin is that way.  If the people of Judah had listened to the warnings of the prophets and turned from their evil ways God would’ve healed them and their land.  Because of their stiff necked opposition to God, they died in their sins.  Don’t allow sin to ruin you.  Repent now!

 

 

36:17 Therefore he brought upon them the king of the Chaldees, who slew their young men with the sword in the house of their sanctuary, and had no compassion upon young man or maiden, old man, or him that stooped for age: he gave them all into his hand. 36:18  And all the vessels of the house of God, great and small, and the treasures of the house of the LORD, and the treasures of the king, and of his princes; all these he brought to Babylon.

 

Captivity

The phrase “all the vessels of the house of God” hints not only at the utensils and dishes that served in the temple, but also to the young people who were princes, scribes, and religious people in the land.  When judgment falls upon a nation the righteous suffer along with the wicked.  Wicked people died and were taken into captivity by the Babylonians, but so also were Daniel, the 3 Hebrew children, and Ezekiel.  Through no fault of their own, they found themselves captives in a strange land.  They endured these hardships by the grace of God.  In our time this nation, I believe, is suffering also due to sin.  The righteous also suffer, but thank God we can be over comers through God who loves us!  By the way, just for the interested ones, all of the valuable utensils and materials of the Temple were taken from Jerusalem to Babylon except the one which was most important to the Jewish people.  There is no evidence the Babylonians found the Ark of the Covenant.  It seemingly disappears from the world scene.  It is often conjectured where it might be.  Some think Jeremiah took it with him to Egypt after the fall of the city of Jerusalem.  Others think it is buried beneath the Dome of the Rock which covers the area of the original Temple Mount.  The violence perpetrated by the Palestinians in Israel, which the Muslims called the “Intifada” was brought on because some Muslims heard digging underneath the dome area and conjectured Jewish excavators were coming close to the Ark.  The discovery of the Ark would verify Israeli ownership and presence in the land of Israel.  They could not allow that to happen!

 

 

36:19 And they burnt the house of God, and brake down the wall of Jerusalem, and burnt all the palaces thereof with fire, and destroyed all the goodly vessels thereof.

 

No respect

The Babylonians were idolaters; they had no respect for the things of Jehovah God.  They never realized it was God who was allowing them to punish His people for their sins.  They burnt without fear the palace of God.  Every time I read this I think back to the dedication of this building and Solomon’s great speech of praise.  God’s people had truly loved this place with a passion.  It was their life and their link to their God.  Sin caused to burn!  The forces of evil today care not for any thing sacred.  Churches and ministers are not holy or precious to them.  They scorn at the Word of God and mock the cross.  Their destruction is coming very soon.  Whatever you do, don’t participate in their wickedness.   Do not listen to those who mock righteousness.  Turn from their presence.  The brain is a mighty computer; if you put garbage in then garbage will come out.

 

36:20 And them that had escaped from the sword carried he away to Babylon; where they were servants to him and his sons until the reign of the kingdom of Persia: 36:21 To fulfil the word of the LORD by the mouth of Jeremiah, until the land had enjoyed her sabbaths: for as long as she lay desolate she kept sabbath, to fulfil threescore and ten years.

 

Sabbath

The Hebrew word “Sabbath” simply means to cease or rest.  There were different Sabbaths the people of Israel were commanded to observe.  First there is, of course, the Sabbath day.  The Bible directed them to keep the Sabbath day holy.  Listen to the commandment concerning the Sabbath day: Exodus 20:8-11 “Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy. 20:9 Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work:  20:10  But the seventh day is the sabbath of the LORD thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates: 20:11  For in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the LORD blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it.”  The people were to rest and consider Godly things on this day.  Greed and unbelief cause them to ignore this sacred day.  They were also commanded to observe what was called the Sabbath year. Leviticus 25:4 “But in the seventh year shall be a sabbath of rest unto the land, a sabbath for the LORD: thou shalt neither sow thy field, nor prune thy vineyard.” This Sabbath year was commanded to be observed every seventh year; they were not to do any servile work in that year.  God promised to bless their sixth year crop so they would have plenty to eat.  God also promised to turn the heart of their enemies so they would not invade.   Every 50^th year, (at the end of 7 Sabbath years) was called a year of Jubilee.  This was also a Sabbath year.  This meant they had 2 consecutive years to relax and count their blessings as to their relationship with God.  By the way, the land was also to be at rest as were their servants and hired laborers.  We know the people observed the Sabbath day, if not completely at least partially, but we have no record or indication that they ever observed a Sabbath year or a Jubilee year.  They lived below the intended privileges of God due to greed and unbelief.  We often think we can get around the commandments of God, but we are wrong.  They did not allow the land to observe the proper Sabbaths while they lived in the Promised Land; God saw that the Sabbaths were observed by causing them to be removed from the Land by their enemies.

 

Psalms 137:1 By the rivers of Babylon, there we sat down, yea, we wept, when we remembered Zion.

 

Mourning the loss

This is one of the saddest of the Psalms.  It is no doubt written by Hebrew captives taken to Babylon who are devastated by their situation.  The phrase “sat down” literally means dwelling or one’s abode.  Evidently this was written after they had been in Babylon for some time.  Babylon was known to the ancient world as a beautiful place.  The Hanging Gardens of Babylon were one of the 7 wonders of the ancient world, but it was not home.  It might have been wonderful to the world who did not know Jehovah God, but to an Israelite, Jerusalem was their eternal home.  They could never be satisfied living anywhere else.  How they mourned their struggle!  I know Christians who have wandered away from God.  I don’t think it is possible for them to experience the joys they knew as close followers of Christ.  A Christian can never be satisfied in the “far country” of sin.  His heart will always yearn for the peace and safety of Father’s house.  Have you wandered away from the safety of God’s house?  If you have, look to Him right now in repentance.  He wants to take you back.  He has never quit loving you!  These Jewish pilgrims could not go home, but you can.  Restoration is only a prayer away!

 

137:2 We hanged our harps upon the willows in the midst thereof.

 

Willows (from Smith’s Bible Dictionary)

are mentioned in ( Leviticus 23:40; Job 40:22; Psalms 137:2; Isaiah 44:4) With respect to the tree upon which the captive Israelites hung their harps, there can be no doubt that the weeping willow Salix babylonica , is intended. This tree grows abundantly on the banks of the Euphrates, in other parts of Asia as in Palestine. The Hebrew word translated willows is generic, and includes several species of the large family of Salices , which is well represented in Palestine and the Bible lands, such as the Salix alba, S. viminalis (osier), S. aegyptiaca .

 

Hanging on the willows

From the above article we can see these willows illustrate the grow sorrowfulness of the Jewish captives.  The harps upon which they were to sing the praises of God could not soothe their troubled souls.  Singing for joy was not possible.  It is the same for the soul who has wandered from God today.  He cannot sing for joy for joy comes from a heart that is right with God. 

 

137:3 For there they that carried us away captive required of us a song; and they that wasted us required of us mirth, saying, Sing us one of the songs of Zion.137:4 How shall we sing the Lord's song in a strange land?

 

Songs in a strange land

The word translated “strange” means a foreign land or a land of strangers. Their tormentors, in an unreasonable and mocking manner, demanded they sing the songs they sang when they lived in Jerusalem.  How could these Jewish believes expect to sing songs of joy and deliverance when they were separated from their sacred city and not free to worship as they pleased?  Sin has consequences.  It is often far easier to get in than to get out.  Often folks forget the principle of sowing and reaping.  It is a Biblical principle which cannot be annulled.  Galatians 6:7 “Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.”  Some Christians want to sow wild oats and then pray for a crop failure.  It does not work that way.  Judgment comes upon sin sure and swift.  It must then be endured.  It often cannot be escaped without pain and tears.

 

137:5 If I forget thee, O Jerusalem, let my right hand forget her cunning. 137:6 If I do not remember thee, let my tongue cleave to the roof of my mouth; if I prefer not Jerusalem above my chief joy.

 

Hope

In the midst of their pain and degradation they reminded themselves to keep hope alive.  Many of the Jewish people living in Babylon had never seen Jerusalem.  The Captivity lasted for approximately 70 years.  Even those without memories of their homeland longed to go there and live.  The Jew has a homing devise built in by God which causes Him to consider Jerusalem his homeland no matter what country he is living in.  European Jewish families who returned to Israel after WWII had lived for generations in their adopted lands.  They never assimilated into those societies but remained loyal to Israel.  When the opportunity came millions fled to their “land of promise.”  One day soon Jesus is going to return and establish the throne of His father David in Jerusalem.  He will rule as the promised King of Israel.  The enemies of the land will beat their swords into plowshares and live in peace.  They will be free and safe in the land of Promise.  We who are believers in Christ will rule and reign with them.  Oh, what a day that will be!

 

The Bible in Basic English Translation (to be used as a commentary only)

 2^nd Chronicles 36:15 And the Lord, the God of their fathers, sent word to them by his servants, sending early and frequently, because he had pity on his people and on his living-place; ¹⁶ But they put shame on the servants of God, making sport of his words and laughing at his prophets, till the wrath of God was moved against his people, till there was no help. ¹⁷ So he sent against them the king of the Chaldaeans, who put their young men to death with the sword in the house of their holy place, and had no pity for any, young man or virgin, old man or white-haired: God gave them all into his hands. ¹⁸ And all the vessels of the house of God, great and small, and the stored wealth of the Lord's house and the wealth of the king and his chiefs, he took away to Babylon. ¹⁹ And the house of God was burned and the wall of Jerusalem broken down; all its great houses were burned with fire and all its beautiful vessels given up to destruction. ²⁰ And all who had not come to death by the sword he took away prisoners to Babylon; and they became servants to him and to his sons till the kingdom of Persia came to power: ²¹ So that the words of the Lord, which he said by the mouth of Jeremiah, might come true, till the land had had pleasure in her Sabbaths; for as long as she was waste the land kept the Sabbath, till seventy years were complete

 

 

Psalms 137(1-6)

¹ By the rivers of Babylon we were seated, weeping at the memory of Zion, ² Hanging our instruments of music on the trees by the waterside. ³ For there those who had taken us prisoners made request for a song; and those who had taken away all we had gave us orders to be glad, saying, Give us one of the songs of Zion. ⁴ How may we give the Lord's song in a strange land? ⁵ If I keep not your memory, O Jerusalem, let not my right hand keep the memory of its art. ⁶ If I let you go out of my thoughts, and if I do not put Jerusalem before my greatest joy, let my tongue be fixed to the roof of my mouth

 

 

  

PASTOR RICK BARCUS