The Monarchy – Part 11 The Road to Exile… II Chron. 36:11-23 November 20, 2016
I. The END of an ERA. (V.11-14)
A. THIS isn’t something NEW. (1-2 Kings, 1-2 Chron.)
B. Zedekiah’s PRIDE and HARDENED heart. (v.12-13)
C. The PEOPLE follow their LEADER. (v.14)
The Monarchy ends. It’s been a long time since the people asked for a King and were
given Saul as a leader. There have been great highlights (David, Solomon), but also
some very dark times, like the divided kingdom and all that entailed. Israel falls in 722
BC. And our text today, along with II Kings 25 and Jeremiah 52, tell us how Judah falls
to Babylon in 586 BC. It is the end of an era.
1. What does it mean to have a hardened heart? How do you get one? How can you
get rid of one?
2. Is the “people following the leader” something that we can avoid? Do leaders bear
more responsibility before God for their actions?
3. Why do you think God allowed the monarchy if He knew that this is where it would
end up?
II. God’s RESPONSE to His PEOPLE. (v.15-20)
A. He COMMUNICATES with THEM. (v.15)
B. His PATIENCE is PERSISTENT. (v.15)
C. His HEART has COMPASSION. (v.15)
D. SENT into EXILE… (v.17-19)
E. …but NOT FORGOTTEN. (v.20)
God does bring judgment on the people for their continual resistance and rejection. But
it’s important to note the long period of patience that God offers to them, calling them to
return to Him. He has pity/compassion on “His people and His dwelling place” until it
can wait no longer. Off to Babylon they go. All that is left of their history and religion is
a smoldering pile of rubble…and God’s faithfulness. He will not forget the remnant of
His people. He never does.
4. Which of these “responses” of God means the most to you personally and why?
5. How does (or how should) God’s patience impact the way we treat others?
6. How easy is compassion for you? How about when people are rejecting you or your
ideas?
7. Have you ever felt forgotten by God? How did that turn out?
III. Things to REMEMBER in EXILE. (I Peter 2:11; Heb 11:13)
A. God sometimes WOUNDS in order to HEAL. (v.21,23; Hos. 6:1)
B. He is not LIMITED by what LIMITS us. (v.18-19,22; Acts 17:24-25)
C. He never FORGETS His PEOPLE. (v.23; Dt. 4:31; Heb 6:10)
In many ways we are in exile. We are the people of the Kingdom of God, living in a
foreign land until Jesus returns and brings a new heaven and a new earth. Until that
time we live in a world that doesn’t function the way we are called to function. It’s a
world that doesn’t value what Jesus teaches us to value and doesn’t cultivate the habits
we are called to cultivate. How do we live in exile?
8. God sometimes wounds in order to heal. What are your thoughts about or reactions
to that statement?
9. What are our “limits”? In other words, when do we feel that situations are beyond
hope?
10.What does “exile” look like in your life? How is God calling you to trust Him while in
exile?