◄ 2 Chronicles 30:9 ►
For if you return to the LORD, your brothers and sons will receive mercy in the presence of their captors and will return to this land. For the LORD your God is gracious and merciful; He will not turn His face away from you if you return to Him."
Study Bible
For if you return to the LORD
The Hebrew word for "return" is "שׁוּב" (shuv), which implies a turning back or repentance. This concept is central to the biblical narrative, emphasizing a heartfelt return to God. Historically, this call to return is set during King Hezekiah's reign, a time of spiritual renewal and reform in Judah. The invitation to return to the LORD underscores the covenant relationship between God and His people, highlighting the possibility of restoration and renewal through repentance.

your brothers and your children
This phrase emphasizes the communal and generational impact of repentance. In the ancient Near Eastern context, family and community were integral to identity and survival. The mention of "brothers and children" signifies that the blessings of returning to God extend beyond the individual to the entire community, reflecting the biblical principle that one's faithfulness can have a ripple effect on others.

will be shown compassion by their captors
The Hebrew root for "compassion" is "רָחַם" (racham), which conveys deep mercy and tender love. This promise of compassion from captors is remarkable, suggesting divine intervention in the hearts of those who hold power over the Israelites. Historically, this reflects the Assyrian captivity, where God’s sovereignty could soften the hearts of even the most hardened oppressors, demonstrating His control over all nations.

and will return to this land
The promise of returning to the land is deeply rooted in the Abrahamic covenant, where the land of Israel is a significant aspect of God’s promise to His people. This return signifies not just a physical relocation but a spiritual restoration to the place of God’s blessing and presence. It echoes the hope of restoration and the fulfillment of God’s promises despite past disobedience.

for the LORD your God is gracious and merciful
The attributes "gracious" and "merciful" are central to God’s character, as seen throughout Scripture. The Hebrew words "חַנּוּן" (chanun) for gracious and "רַחוּם" (rachum) for merciful highlight God’s willingness to forgive and His compassionate nature. This assurance of God’s character provides the foundation for the call to repentance, offering hope that God’s mercy outweighs His judgment.

He will not turn His face away from you
In biblical terms, God’s face represents His presence and favor. The assurance that He will not turn His face away signifies His readiness to forgive and restore those who seek Him. This promise is a powerful reminder of God’s faithfulness and His desire for a restored relationship with His people.

if you return to Him
The conditional "if" underscores the necessity of human response to divine grace. The call to return is an invitation to repentance and faith, a theme that resonates throughout Scripture. It highlights the covenantal relationship where God’s promises are activated by human response, emphasizing the importance of obedience and faithfulness in experiencing God’s blessings.

Persons / Places / Events
1. Hezekiah
The King of Judah who initiated religious reforms and called for the celebration of the Passover, urging the people to return to the LORD.

2. Judah and Israel
The divided kingdoms during this period, with Hezekiah ruling Judah and inviting all of Israel to join in the Passover celebration.

3. Passover
A significant Jewish festival commemorating the Israelites' deliverance from Egypt, which Hezekiah sought to restore as a national observance.

4. The LORD (Yahweh)
The covenant God of Israel, characterized by grace and compassion, who promises restoration upon repentance.

5. Captivity
The context of the Assyrian threat and the captivity of the Northern Kingdom, highlighting the need for divine intervention and mercy.
Teaching Points
The Call to Return
God continually invites His people to return to Him, regardless of past disobedience. This call is rooted in His unchanging nature of grace and compassion.

The Promise of Compassion
God's promise of compassion extends not only to individuals but also to their families and communities. Our repentance can have a ripple effect, bringing restoration to others.

The Nature of God
Understanding God's character as gracious and compassionate should motivate us to seek Him earnestly, knowing He desires to restore and bless us.

Repentance and Restoration
True repentance involves a heartfelt return to God, which leads to spiritual and sometimes physical restoration. This principle is timeless and applicable to our lives today.

The Importance of Obedience
Hezekiah's reforms and the call to celebrate Passover highlight the importance of obedience to God's commands as a means of experiencing His blessings.
Bible Study Questions
1. How does understanding God's character as gracious and compassionate influence your willingness to repent and return to Him?

2. In what ways can your personal repentance impact your family or community, as suggested in 2 Chronicles 30:9?

3. Reflect on a time when you experienced God's compassion after returning to Him. How did this experience shape your faith journey?

4. How can the account of Hezekiah's reforms inspire you to pursue spiritual renewal in your own life or community?

5. What practical steps can you take to ensure that your obedience to God is consistent and heartfelt, similar to the call to celebrate Passover in Hezekiah's time?
Connections to Other Scriptures
Joel 2:13
This verse also emphasizes God's gracious and compassionate nature, urging repentance and return to the LORD.

Exodus 34:6-7
Describes God's character as merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love, which aligns with the message in 2 Chronicles 30:9.

Luke 15:11-32
The Parable of the Prodigal Son illustrates the theme of returning and receiving compassion, similar to the call in 2 Chronicles 30:9.

James 4:8
Encourages believers to draw near to God with the promise that He will draw near to them, echoing the call to return to the LORD.

Psalm 103:8-13
Highlights God's compassion and forgiveness, reinforcing the assurance of His mercy upon repentance.
Sermons
Letters to Ephraim: GenerosityW. Clarkson 2 Chronicles 30:1, 10, 11
Preparations for a Grand National PassoverT. Whitelaw 2 Chronicles 30:1-12
Four Reasons for RepentanceW. Clarkson 2 Chronicles 30:6-9
People
Asher, Dan, David, Hezekiah, Isaac, Issachar, Levites, Manasseh, Solomon, Zebulun
Places
Assyria, Beersheba, Dan, Jerusalem, Kidron
Topics
Aside, Brethren, Brothers, Captive, Captors, Carried, Compassion, Compassionate, Face, Full, Grace, Gracious, Lead, Led, Mercies, Merciful, Mercy, Pity, Return, Shown, Sons, Turn, Turning
Dictionary of Bible Themes
2 Chronicles 30:9

     1030   God, compassion
     1255   face of God
     5150   face
     5809   compassion, human
     6628   conversion, God's demand
     6667   grace, in OT
     6730   reinstatement
     6740   returning to God

2 Chronicles 30:1-10

     5463   proclamations

2 Chronicles 30:1-20

     7266   tribes of Israel

2 Chronicles 30:1-27

     8466   reformation

2 Chronicles 30:6-9

     6195   impenitence, results

2 Chronicles 30:6-10

     8817   ridicule, objects of

2 Chronicles 30:7-9

     8705   apostasy, in OT

Library
A Loving Call to Reunion
'And Hezekiah sent to all Israel and Judah, and wrote letters also to Ephraim and Manasseh, that they should come to the house of the Lord at Jerusalem, to keep the passover unto the Lord God of Israel. 2. For the king had taken counsel, and his princes, and all the congregation in Jerusalem, to keep the passover in the second month. 3. For they could not keep it at that time, because the priests had not sanctified themselves sufficiently, neither had the people gathered themselves together to Jerusalem. …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture

Of Antichrist, and his Ruin: and of the Slaying the Witnesses.
BY JOHN BUNYAN PREFATORY REMARKS BY THE EDITOR This important treatise was prepared for the press, and left by the author, at his decease, to the care of his surviving friend for publication. It first appeared in a collection of his works in folio, 1692; and although a subject of universal interest; most admirably elucidated; no edition has been published in a separate form. Antichrist has agitated the Christian world from the earliest ages; and his craft has been to mislead the thoughtless, by …
John Bunyan—The Works of John Bunyan Volumes 1-3

The New Temple and Its Worship
'And the elders of the Jews builded, and they prospered through the prophesying of Haggai the prophet and Zechariah the son of Iddo: and they builded, and finished it, according to the commandment of the God of Israel, and according to the commandment of Cyrus, and Darius, and Artaxerxes king of Persia. 15. And this house was finished on the third day of the month Adar, which was in the sixth year of the reign of Darius the king. 16. And the children of Israel, the priests, and the Levites, and the …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture

Appendix v. Rabbinic Theology and Literature
1. The Traditional Law. - The brief account given in vol. i. p. 100, of the character and authority claimed for the traditional law may here be supplemented by a chronological arrangement of the Halakhoth in the order of their supposed introduction or promulgation. In the first class, or Halakhoth of Moses from Sinai,' tradition enumerates fifty-five, [6370] which may be thus designated: religio-agrarian, four; [6371] ritual, including questions about clean and unclean,' twenty-three; [6372] concerning …
Alfred Edersheim—The Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah

The Quotation in Matt. Ii. 6.
Several interpreters, Paulus especially, have asserted that the interpretation of Micah which is here given, was that of the Sanhedrim only, and not of the Evangelist, who merely recorded what happened and was said. But this assertion is at once refuted when we consider the object which Matthew has in view in his entire representation of the early life of Jesus. His object in recording the early life of Jesus is not like that of Luke, viz., to communicate historical information to his readers. …
Ernst Wilhelm Hengstenberg—Christology of the Old Testament

Covenanting Performed in Former Ages with Approbation from Above.
That the Lord gave special token of his approbation of the exercise of Covenanting, it belongs to this place to show. His approval of the duty was seen when he unfolded the promises of the Everlasting Covenant to his people, while they endeavoured to perform it; and his approval thereof is continually seen in his fulfilment to them of these promises. The special manifestations of his regard, made to them while attending to the service before him, belonged to one or other, or both, of those exhibitions …
John Cunningham—The Ordinance of Covenanting

Covenanting a Duty.
The exercise of Covenanting with God is enjoined by Him as the Supreme Moral Governor of all. That his Covenant should be acceded to, by men in every age and condition, is ordained as a law, sanctioned by his high authority,--recorded in his law of perpetual moral obligation on men, as a statute decreed by him, and in virtue of his underived sovereignty, promulgated by his command. "He hath commanded his covenant for ever."[171] The exercise is inculcated according to the will of God, as King and …
John Cunningham—The Ordinance of Covenanting

Chronicles
The comparative indifference with which Chronicles is regarded in modern times by all but professional scholars seems to have been shared by the ancient Jewish church. Though written by the same hand as wrote Ezra-Nehemiah, and forming, together with these books, a continuous history of Judah, it is placed after them in the Hebrew Bible, of which it forms the concluding book; and this no doubt points to the fact that it attained canonical distinction later than they. Nor is this unnatural. The book …
John Edgar McFadyen—Introduction to the Old Testament

Links
2 Chronicles 30:9 NIV
2 Chronicles 30:9 NLT
2 Chronicles 30:9 ESV
2 Chronicles 30:9 NASB
2 Chronicles 30:9 KJV

2 Chronicles 30:9 Commentaries

Bible Hub
2 Chronicles 30:8
Top of Page
Top of Page