2 Chronicles 34 - Josiah the good

34:1-8

Josiah became king at the age of 8 and reigned for thirty one years. Unlike his father “he did what was right in the eyes of the Lord”, not turning to the right or left.In the eighth year of his reign he began to seek the Lord, and in the twelfth year began to purge the country of the high places and idols. He scattered the pieces of the idols over the graves of those who had worshipped the. In the eighteenth year he began to repair the temple.

34:9-22

Money was given to people to carry out the repair work. There was proper management of the work. During the course of the work Hilkiah the priest found the Book of the Law. He gave the book to Shaphan who in turn took it to the king and read it to him. Josiah tore his clothes on hearing the words, probably because he realised how far the nation had fallen, and the promise of what the Lord would do if this happened. Josiah instructed the priests to inquire of the Lord. Hilkiah went to speak to the female prophet Huldah.

34:23-33

Huldah gave them a word, but not a comforting one.The curses (God’s judgement on man’s sin) would come upon Israel. Sin is very serious. However, because Josiah had humbled himself and sought the Lord, he would die in peace. Josiah then read the Book of the Law to all the people, they needed to know the word and learn to obey them.  They then all recommitted themselves to the Law of God. Perhaps Josiah hoped there was some way for them to avoid the judgement. Josiah continued to seek the Lord and to follow His ways.

2 Chronicles 33:10-25 - Manasseh repents, Amon doesn't

33:10-20

The Lord spoke to Manasseh and the people, but they paid no attention,Assyria came and took Manasseh prisoner. And he was led to Babylon. He then humbled himself and the Lord heard him, and brought him back to Jerusalem. He then knew that the Lord was God. He did some rebuilding work and got rid of the foreign gods, and undid much of the idol building he had done. However, the people continued to make sacrifices at the high places. He died and was succeeded by his son Amon.

33:21-25

Amon became king at the age of twenty two, but only reigned for two years. Sadly “he did evil in the eyes of the Lord”, indulging in idol worship like his father, but without eventually humbling himself. He was assassinated by his officials. The plotters were all killed by the people of the land, and his son Josiah was made king.

2 Chronicles 33:1-8 - Maasseh the bad

33:1-6

Manasseh was only twelve when he became king and he reigned for fifty five years. However, he did evil in the eyes of the Lord, even rebuilding the high places that his father had demolished and erecting other places of idol worship. He bowed down to idols. He also sacrificed his children, His evil aroused the anger of the Lord.

33:7-9

He even put an image in the temple of the Lord. He led the people of Judah astray, so they did more evil than the nations that the Lord had expelled. In Hezekiah’s time the Assyrian attack on Jerusalem failed, but Manasseh was preparing the way for Babylon’s success.

2 Chronicles 32:1-33 - Assyrian attack repulsed.

32:1-12

Following the Lord does not mean absence from difficulty, for Assyria invaded Judah. Hezekiah took action and blocked off the water from outside the city, thus depriving Assyria of this supply.. He also worked on building up the defences., and built up the armaments. He organised the army and addressed the troops. He encouraged them to trust in God. The king of Assyria tried to counter this by telling the people not to believe Hezekiah’s words, there was a propaganda war.

32:13-23

Assyria also boasted about her past successes. But theGod of Israel is not like the gods of the nations.Hezekiah and Isaiah called out to the Lord. And the Lord sent an angel to wipe out the Assyrian army. Sennacherib retreated and was killed. So the \lord saved Judah and many brought offerings to the Lord. Hezekiah was highly regarded.

32:24-33

Hezekiah became ill, he prayed and was healed. He also became proud. He eventually died and was succeeded by his son Manasseh.

2 Chronicles 31:1-21 - Hezekiah leads the nation in following the Lord

31:1-4

The  people enthusiastically followed the lead of Hezekiah, and went about smashing the Asherah poles and other idol worship items.Hezekiah assigned Levites and priests to do the Lord’s work. The king made contributions from his own wealth, and he ordered the people to ensure that the priests were properly supported.

31:5-7

The Israelites gave generously of the first fruits, a tithe of everything. There was a lot of tithing going on.Hezekiah and his officials praised the Lord when they saw the obedience of the people. When leaders follow their own way the people follow, there is a vicious circle. Conversely when the leaders follow the Lord, the people also follow and there is a virtuous circle.Hezekiah blessed the people.

31:8-21

There was plenty of supplies for the priests, so storerooms were prepared for the surplus. Various people were appointed to look after the temple. Care was taken over administering the priesthood. Hezekiah assiduously sought to obey the Lord, and so he prospered. The returnees needed to take this lesson to heart.

2 Chronicles 30:1-27 - The nation celebrates the Passover

30:1-9

All Israel was invited to worship at the temple and to celebrate the Passover. THis mirrors in some way everyone being invited to worship the Lord Jesus Christ. Letters were sent out to all of Israel calling the people to return to the Lord, this is the gospel declaration. It was the only way for things to improve.

30:10-27

However, the people scorned the message and ridiculed the messengers. However, some did respond favourably, and the hand of God was on them. So a large crowd assembled at the temple, and artefacts of idol worship were removed. The priests were not proud, but ashamed, presumably of their siN. Hezekiah prayed for those who sought the Lord. The Passover was celebrated for seven days with great rejoicing. “The Lord heard Hezekiah and healed the people”. Hezekiah, the priests and the people sought the Lord, and the Lord heard them.

1 Chronicles 29:1-36 - Hezekiah

29:1-9

Hezekiah was the next king, taking the throne of twenty five years old and reigned for twenty nine years. He did what was right in the eyes of the Lord. He repaired the temple\he organised the priests and Levites. Getting worship of the Lord right is important. The sanctuary was to be undefiled and sanctified. He knew that the disobedience of previous generations was the root of the problem.

29:10-17

Hezekiah intended to make a covenant with the Lord. The people were to devote themselves to the Lord. So the Levites set about purifying the temple. All unclean things were ejected from the temple. The work was soon completed.

29:18-36

After the work was completed sacrifices were made to atone for Israel’s sins. There was also worship. It seems that at least some of the worship used the psalms. A vast number of animals were sacrificed. So proper worship was established. Atonement for sin (i.e. sacrifices) were a vital part of putting things right. Today recognition of Christ’s sacrifice is essential.