When Mercy Rebukes Wrath Text: 2 Chronicles 28:5-15
Introduction: The Covenantal Civil War
We are accustomed to thinking of war in terms of us versus them, our people against their people. But the most bitter and tragic of all conflicts are the civil wars, when brother turns against brother. The history of Israel is, in many ways, the story of one long, slow-burning civil war. After the foolishness of Rehoboam, the kingdom split in two, and for centuries, the northern kingdom of Israel and the southern kingdom of Judah were often at each other's throats. They were brothers by blood, brothers in the covenant of Abraham, and yet they were rivals, and at times, mortal enemies.
Our text today drops us into the middle of one of the ugliest episodes in this sorry history. The southern king, Ahaz, is a piece of work. He is a rank idolater, even sacrificing his own children to pagan gods. He has led Judah into a spiritual freefall. As a result, God, in His covenant faithfulness, brings the hammer of judgment down upon them. And who does He use as His instrument? He uses their brothers to the north, the kingdom of Israel, led by Pekah, son of Remaliah.
What unfolds is a brutal slaughter, followed by a massive deportation of captives. From a worldly perspective, this is just another ancient near-eastern conflict, a story of power, politics, and the spoils of war. But the Bible does not allow us to read history that way. History is always theology playing out on the stage of time. This is not just a political story; it is a story about God's wrath, the nature of sin, the role of a prophet, and the surprising eruption of mercy in a most unexpected place. It is a story that forces us to ask very hard questions. What happens when God uses a sinful people to judge another sinful people? What is the difference between being an instrument of God's wrath and simply being a bloodthirsty brute? And what does it look like when the Word of God cuts through the fog of war and calls men to their senses?
This passage is a stark reminder that God's judgments are real, that sin has consequences, and that even in the midst of a bloody fraternal conflict, God can raise up a voice to speak truth and command mercy. It is a story that shows us that the line between being a tool in God's hand and being a sinner worthy of judgment yourself is razor-thin. And it is a story that ultimately points us to the only true resolution for the civil war that rages in every human heart.
The Text
So, Yahweh his God gave him into the hand of the king of Aram; and they struck him and carried away from him a great number of captives and brought them to Damascus. And he was also given into the hand of the king of Israel, who struck him with a great slaughter. Indeed, Pekah the son of Remaliah killed in Judah 120,000 in one day, all men of valor, because they had forsaken Yahweh, the God of their fathers. And Zichri, a mighty man of Ephraim, killed Maaseiah the king’s son and Azrikam the ruler of the house and Elkanah the second to the king. Then the sons of Israel carried away captive of their brothers 200,000 women, sons, and daughters; and they plundered also a great deal of spoil from them and brought the spoil to Samaria. But a prophet of Yahweh was there, whose name was Oded; and he went out before the army which came to Samaria and said to them, “Behold, because of the wrath of Yahweh, the God of their fathers, against Judah, He has given them into your hand, and you have killed them in a rage which has even reached heaven. So now you are intending to subdue for yourselves the people of Judah and Jerusalem for male and female slaves. Surely, do you not have your own matters of guilt against Yahweh your God? So now, listen to me and return the captives whom you carried away from your brothers, for the burning anger of Yahweh is against you.” Then some of the heads of the sons of Ephraim, Azariah the son of Johanan, Berechiah the son of Meshillemoth, Jehizkiah the son of Shallum, and Amasa the son of Hadlai, arose against those who were coming from the engagement of the army, and said to them, “You must not bring the captives in here, for you are intending to bring upon us guilt against Yahweh adding to our sins and our guilt; for our guilt is great so that His burning anger is against Israel.” So the armed men left the captives and the plunder before the commanders and all the assembly. Then the men who were designated by name arose, took hold of the captives, and they clothed all their naked ones from the spoil; and they gave them clothes and sandals, fed them and gave them drink, anointed them with oil, led all their feeble ones on donkeys, and brought them to Jericho, the city of palm trees, to their brothers; then they returned to Samaria.
(2 Chronicles 28:5-15 LSB)
The Righteous Wrath and the Sinful Instrument (vv. 5-8)
We begin with the brutal reality of God's judgment.
"So, Yahweh his God gave him into the hand of the king of Aram... And he was also given into the hand of the king of Israel, who struck him with a great slaughter... because they had forsaken Yahweh, the God of their fathers." (2 Chronicles 28:5-6)
The text is unflinchingly clear about the ultimate cause of Judah's defeat. It was not superior military strategy on the part of Aram or Israel. It was Yahweh. "Yahweh his God gave him into the hand..." This is the language of divine sovereignty. God is not a spectator in the affairs of nations; He is the kingmaker and the kingbreaker. He raises up empires and He casts them down. And He does so according to His covenant purposes. The reason for this judgment is stated plainly: "because they had forsaken Yahweh, the God of their fathers."
Ahaz had led Judah into grotesque idolatry. He was playing the harlot with foreign gods, and the covenant Lord will not tolerate rivals. The covenant promises blessings for obedience and curses for disobedience (Deuteronomy 28). Judah was experiencing the curse sanctions of the covenant. The slaughter was immense: 120,000 men of valor killed in a single day. The royal house itself was struck down. This was not a slap on the wrist. This was a devastating, national catastrophe, orchestrated by God Himself.
But notice who God uses. He uses the pagan Arameans, and more pointedly, He uses their covenant brothers, the northern kingdom of Israel. Israel, who was just as idolatrous, if not more so, becomes the rod of God's anger. This is a crucial point. God is free to use any instrument He chooses, including sinful ones, to accomplish His righteous purposes. He used Assyria, the "rod of My anger" (Isaiah 10:5). He used Babylon. He used godless Rome to bring about the crucifixion of His Son. The sinfulness of the instrument does not negate the righteousness of God's judgment.
Following the slaughter, Israel takes a massive number of captives, 200,000 women and children, along with a great deal of plunder. They are heading back to their capital, Samaria, flushed with victory, dragging their brothers and sisters behind them as spoils of war, intending to make them slaves.
The Prophetic Interruption (vv. 9-11)
Just as the victorious army is about to enter Samaria for a ticker-tape parade, God sends a prophet to meet them. His name is Oded, and he is a man with a backbone of steel.
"Behold, because of the wrath of Yahweh, the God of your fathers, against Judah, He has given them into your hand, and you have killed them in a rage which has even reached heaven." (2 Chronicles 28:9 LSB)
Oded begins by acknowledging the truth. He doesn't deny God's hand in their victory. He says, "Yes, God was angry with Judah. Yes, He gave them into your hand." This is important. The prophet isn't a pacifist who believes all war is wrong. He affirms God's righteous judgment. But then he pivots. He says, "but you have killed them in a rage which has even reached heaven."
Here is the distinction. God used them as an instrument of His wrath, but they carried it out with their own sinful, unrestrained fury. They were not sober executioners of divine justice; they were filled with rage. Their personal, vicious animosity had taken over. God's purpose was corrective discipline for Judah; their purpose was slaughter and subjugation. The rage itself, the sheer scale and brutality of it, was a sin that "reached heaven."
Then Oded drives the point home with two piercing questions.
"So now you are intending to subdue for yourselves the people of Judah and Jerusalem for male and female slaves. Surely, do you not have your own matters of guilt against Yahweh your God?" (2 Chronicles 28:10 LSB)
First, he confronts their future plans. They intend to enslave their own kinsmen, which was a direct violation of God's law (Leviticus 25:39-46). They were taking God's judgment and leveraging it for their own economic gain and personal power. Second, he turns the mirror on them. "Surely, do you not have your own matters of guilt?" This is a brilliant rhetorical stroke. He is saying, "You think you are the righteous ones here? You think you are qualified to be God's holy executioners? Look at your own house. Samaria is a cesspool of idolatry and injustice. You are just as guilty, if not more so, than the people you just slaughtered."
He concludes with a command and a warning: "So now, listen to me and return the captives whom you carried away from your brothers, for the burning anger of Yahweh is against you." The very wrath of God that was just directed at Judah is now turning, like a great battleship, to aim its guns at Israel. Their sin in victory was about to bring judgment upon them.
The Astonishing Repentance (vv. 12-15)
What happens next is nothing short of miraculous. In a world where military victory is seen as absolute justification, the prophet's words hit their mark.
"Then some of the heads of the sons of Ephraim... arose against those who were coming from the engagement of the army, and said to them, 'You must not bring the captives in here, for you are intending to bring upon us guilt against Yahweh adding to our sins and our guilt...'" (2 Chronicles 28:12-13 LSB)
The civic leaders of Israel stand up to the military leaders. This is remarkable. They don't debate the prophet. They don't form a committee. They hear the Word of the Lord from Oded, and they tremble. They see the logic of it instantly. They recognize that bringing these captives into the city will not be a sign of their strength, but will in fact "bring upon us guilt against Yahweh." They understand the concept of corporate guilt. They know that this action will compound their already "great" guilt and invite the "burning anger" of God upon the whole nation.
And the army listens. The soldiers, fresh from the battlefield, full of adrenaline and conquest, submit. "So the armed men left the captives and the plunder before the commanders and all the assembly." This is true repentance. It is immediate, it is public, and it is costly. They relinquish the spoils of war, the slaves and the plunder, because they fear God more than they love their loot.
But their repentance doesn't stop at mere compliance. It flows into active, tangible mercy.
"Then the men who were designated by name arose, took hold of the captives, and they clothed all their naked ones from the spoil; and they gave them clothes and sandals, fed them and gave them drink, anointed them with oil, led all their feeble ones on donkeys, and brought them to Jericho..." (2 Chronicles 28:15 LSB)
This is one of the most beautiful pictures of repentance in all the Old Testament. They don't just let the captives go; they minister to them. They take the very spoil they had plundered and use it to care for their former enemies. They clothe the naked. They feed the hungry. They give drink to the thirsty. They anoint the wounded with oil. They put the weak on donkeys. This is the parable of the Good Samaritan, centuries before Jesus told it. Their enemies, their brothers, had fallen among robbers, themselves, and now they bind up their wounds and care for them.
They take them all the way to Jericho, the "city of palm trees," returning them safely to their own land. This is repentance in shoe leather. It is not just saying, "we were wrong." It is actively working to undo the wrong and to show mercy to those who were wronged. It is a stunning reversal, brought about by the simple, authoritative Word of God spoken by one faithful prophet.
Conclusion: The End of the Civil War
This story is a potent lesson for the church in every age. First, we must see that God's judgments against His own people for their sin are severe and real. We live in a sentimental age that wants to domesticate God, to turn the consuming fire into a decorative fireplace. But when God's people forsake Him, He will discipline them, and it is often a painful and bloody business.
Second, we must learn the lesson of Oded. We must be careful when we find ourselves on the winning side of some conflict, especially an internal conflict with other believers. It is one thing to be an instrument of God's correction, and quite another to prosecute that correction with a rage that reaches heaven. We are called to restore a brother caught in sin with a spirit of gentleness, looking to ourselves, lest we also be tempted (Galatians 6:1). Before we set out to remove the speck from our brother's eye, we must ask, as Oded did, "Surely, do you not have your own matters of guilt?"
But most importantly, this story shows us the only true solution to the civil war between brothers, and the civil war within every human heart. The rage of man cannot accomplish the righteousness of God. The law could reveal sin, and God's wrath could punish it, but it could not produce the kind of heart-level repentance and mercy we see in this story, at least not consistently.
That required a greater intervention. The ultimate civil war is between the holiness of God and the sinfulness of man. And on the cross, God did something remarkable. He took all the righteous wrath that was stored up against us, the wrath against Judah's idolatry, the wrath against Israel's rage, the wrath against your sin and mine, and He poured it out onto His own Son. Jesus became the target of the great slaughter.
And in doing so, He did not just satisfy wrath; He created the ultimate Good Samaritan. He found us stripped, beaten, and left for dead by our sin. And He did not pass by on the other side. He came to us. He clothed us in His own righteousness. He fed us with His own body and gave us His blood to drink. He anointed us with the oil of His Spirit. And He is carrying us all the way home, to the true city of peace, the New Jerusalem. He is the one who ends the civil war, making the two, Jew and Gentile, one new man in Himself, so making peace (Ephesians 2:15). The repentance of the Ephraimite leaders was a temporary truce. The work of Christ is an everlasting peace.