To the chronicler God is the true Actor in human affairs.
Nebuchadnezzar thought of his conquest as won by his own arm. Secular
historians treat the fall of Zedekiah as simply the result of the
political conditions of the time, and sometimes seem to think that it
could not be a divine judgment because it was brought about by natural
causes. But this old chronicler sees deeper, and to him, as to us, if
we are wise, 'the history of the world is the judgment of the world.'
The Nebuchadnezzars are God's axes with which He hews down fruitless
trees. They are responsible for their acts, but they are His
instruments, and it is His hand that wields them.

The iron band that binds sin and suffering is disclosed in Judah's
fall. We cannot allege that the same close connection between
godlessness and national disaster is exemplified now as it was in
Israel. Nor can we contend that for individuals suffering is always
the fruit of sin. But it is still true that 'righteousness exalteth a
nation,' and that 'by the soul only are the nations great,' in the
true sense of the word. To depart from God is always 'a bitter and an
evil thing' for communities and individuals, however sweet draughts of
outward prosperity may for a time mask the bitterness. Not armies nor
fleets, not ships, colonies and commerce, not millionaires and trusts,
not politicians and diplomatists, but the fear of the Lord and the
keeping of His commandments, are the true life of a nation. If
Christian men lived up to the ideal set them by Jesus, 'Ye are the
salt of the land,' and sought more earnestly and wisely to leaven
their nation, they would be doing more than any others to guarantee
its perpetual prosperity.

The closing words of this chapter, not included in the passage, are