2 Chronicles 28:6 - Meaning and Application

Here we see Judah, acting treacherously, brought low under God’s providence, and the judgment was severe. Never before had such bloody destruction fallen on them since they became a kingdom, and even Israelites were the ones God used to punish them. Ahaz had followed the ways of the kings of Israel, and the king of Israel became the tool God used for his discipline. It is only right that God should make those our troubles whom we choose as our examples, or with whom we join in sin.

War broke out between Judah and Israel, and Judah lost badly. Many men were killed on the battlefield, a huge number, 120,000 in all, and they were fighting men too, people who had often shown strength before (2 Chronicles 28:6). Some of the dead were men of high rank, including the king’s son. Ahaz had once offered some of his sons to Molech, a pagan god, so now this death was a fitting act of divine judgment. Another man killed was next to the king, likely his close advisor or the chief officer of state, or perhaps the man who stood nearest him in battle, so that the king himself barely escaped (2 Chronicles 28:7).

Israel was not strong at that time, and yet strong enough to bring this great ruin on Judah. Still, so many men, including great and brave men, could not have fallen in one day unless they had been strangely weakened, both by the burden of their own guilt and by God’s righteous hand against them. Even brave men were counted like sheep for slaughter, and they became easy prey because they had abandoned the Lord, the God of their fathers, and so he had abandoned them. There was also a great captivity of women and children (2 Chronicles 28:8). Once the army in the field was defeated, the cities, towns, and villages were left open, and the people were carried off as slaves while their goods were taken as spoil.

Even though Israel won, God still rebuked them by his word because they had gone to war against Judah on a wicked principle and had used their success badly. That rebuke produced a good effect. God sent them a prophet, a messenger who went out to meet them, not to praise their bravery or celebrate their victory. Though they came back loaded with plunder and boasting of triumph, the prophet came in God’s name to expose their sin and warn them about God’s judgment.

He told them that their victory was not proof that God approved of them, and it was not because they had earned it. Rather, God was angry with Judah and used Israel as the rod of his anger. It was not because of Israel’s righteousness, but because of Judah’s wickedness (Deuteronomy 9:5). So they should not grow proud, but fear, lest God also spare not them (Romans 11:20-21).

He also charged them with misusing the power God had allowed them over their own brethren. People do not understand victory if they think it gives them the right to do whatever they want, as if the longest sword gave the clearest claim to lives and property. Victory must not be abused. The conquerors were rebuked, first, for the cruelty of the slaughter they had made in battle. War can involve shedding blood lawfully, but here it became sin because they acted from bitter hatred toward their brethren and with savage rage. Their violence cried out to heaven for vengeance. Those who serve God’s justice but do it in anger and revenge make themselves guilty before God, because human anger does not produce God’s righteousness.

They were also rebuked for the harsh way they treated their prisoners. They planned to keep them under their control, use them, or sell them as slaves, even though these were their brothers and fellow Israelites who had been free-born. God notices not only what people do, but also what they plan to do.

The prophet then reminded them of their own sins, which also made them liable to God’s wrath: “Are there not with you, even with you, sins against the Lord your God?” (2 Chronicles 28:10). He appealed to their own conscience and to plain facts they could not deny. Even if they had been used to punish Judah for sin, they must not think they were innocent themselves. They also were guilty before God.

This warning was meant to stop their pride in success. They were sinners, and sinners have no good reason to boast. They had won now, but they should not feel safe, because the judgment could soon turn back on them. If God begins judgment with those who have his house among them, what will become of those who worship the calves? It also checked their cruelty toward their brothers. Since they had Judah under their power, they should have shown mercy, because they themselves would need mercy from God. It is never fitting for sinners to be hard and cruel. They already had enough sins to answer for, and they did not need to add this one too.

The prophet then commanded them to release the prisoners and send them home safely (2 Chronicles 28:11). Since they had sinned, fierce wrath was coming on them, and there was no other way to escape it except by showing mercy.

The princes then resolved not to keep the prisoners. They stood up against the soldiers who were returning from battle, even though they were flushed with victory, and told them plainly that they must not bring the captives into Samaria (2 Chronicles 28:12-13). They already had enough sin to answer for, and they would not allow anything else to be added to their guilt. In this, they showed respect for God’s word through his prophet, and they also showed tender compassion for their brethren. That mercy was worked in them by God’s tender care, for he had regard for the suffering of this poor people, heard their cry, and made even their captors look on them with pity (Psalm 106:44, 46).

The soldiers then agreed with the princes and let the captives go. Though they were armed and might have tried to keep what they had taken by force, they yielded and left the captives and spoil in the hands of the princes (2 Chronicles 28:14). In this, they showed a braver kind of courage than they had shown in taking the captives. It is a great honor for anyone to submit to reason and religion, even when it goes against their own advantage.

The princes then very generously sent the poor captives home with everything they needed (2 Chronicles 28:15). Those who hope to find mercy from God should learn from this how gently they ought to treat those who are in their power. It is surprising that these princes, who here showed such respect for God’s word and such influence over the people, did not have enough grace, even with so many prophets calling them, to root out idolatry from their kingdom. Soon after, that same idolatry brought the kingdom to ruin.