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.

2 Chronicles 28:9-27 - Ahaz the foolish

28:9-15

God sent a prophet to the army of Israel warning them of mistreating Israel, adding to their own guilt. We should always be concerned first about our own guilt, before we start to worry about the guilt of others. In particular the guilt of others is never an excuse for our own sin. The leaders of Israel seemed to take the warning seriously, and the army acted upon it.

28:16-27

Ahaz was not a wise or good man, and he went to Assyria for help. Judah had suffered much at the hands of others. Assyria did not help, but only brought trouble. Ahaz even used the riches of the temple to try and placate Assyria, but this was not successful.Ahaz the fool then tried worshipping foreign gods. In fact he became increasingly desperate. He eventually died and was succeeded by his son Hezekiah, who would prove to be a somewhat wiser king.

2 Chronicles 28:1-8 - Ahaz

28:1-4

The next king was Ahaz who came to the throne at the age of twenty and reigned for sixteen years. He was not faithful to the Lord, so we cannot expect things to have gone well. Instead he followed the ways of the kings of Israel and was into Baal worship, even sacrificing children and worshipping at the high places.

28:5-8

So God delivered him into the hands of the king of Aram, and the hands of the king of Israel. When we follow the Lord we have freedom, when we do not we are prone to being subject to all sorts of things.

2 Chronicles 27 - Jotham - all good

27:1-4

Jotham became king at the age of twenty five, and he reigned for sixteen years. He “did what was right in the eyes of the Lord”, taking after his father Uzziah, without entering the temple of the Lord. But the people continued “their corrupt practices”. Jotham also rebuilt the Upper Gate, along with other work.

27:5-9

He waged war against the Ammonites and conquered them. He took riches from them. Jotham grew powerful because he followed the Lord. There is no record of him failing in this. He died nd was succeeded by his son Ahaz.

2 Chronicles 26 - Uzziah, pride was his downfall

26:1-8

Uzziah was now made king, he was only sixteen years old. He rebuilt Elath and restored it to Judah. He did what was right in the eyes of the Lord. It seems that Zechariah was an important prophet in his life. He instructed Uzziah in the fear of God. “As long as he sought the Lord, God gave him success”. This sentence sums up the history of Israel in Kings and Chronicles. He went to war against the Philistines, and rebuilt various towns God gave him aid and he became very powerful.

26:9-21

He also fortified Jerusalem, and built cisterns in the wilderness because he had much livestock there. So Uzziah was a competent leader, but he became proud, and this led to his downfall. He was unfaithful to the Lord and burned incense, only the priests should have done this. We need to be on our guard when we are successful, for pride can easily take hold. God gave Paul his thorn in the flesh to stop him becoming proud.Azariah the priest and eighty other “courageous priests” confronted him, and warned him that what he was doing was wrong. However, pride had truly taken hold of Uzziah and he became angry, he was afflicted with leprosy. He had leprosy until the day he died, and he lived in a separate house.

26:22,23

Uzziah is mentioned by the prophet Isaiah, after he dies he was succeeded by his son Jotham

2 Chronicles 24:17-28 - Joash fails

24:17-22

Things deteriorated after the death of Jehoiada, the temple was abandoned, and worshipped Asherah poles and idols instead. The Lord sent prophets to warn them, but the prophets were not listened to. Zechariah, the son of Jehoiada, spoke clearly to the people, but instead of listening they stoned him to death, even on the orders of the king.Zechariah issued a rebuke to the king before breathing his last. This is a sad demise of Joash.

24:23-28

The army of Aram marched against Joash  and killed all the leaders. Israel lost because they had abandoned the Lord. Joash was severely wounded and died. His son Amaziah succeeded him as king.

2 Chronicles 24:1-16 - Joash

24:1-5

Joash reigned for forty years. Most importantly, “he did what was right in the eyes of the Lord” Jehoiada chose two wives for him. That is one too many but moderate compared to Solomon! He then decided to restore the temple. He told the Levites to collect money for the repair of the temple, but they were rather tawdry in acting.

24:6-10

Joash summoned Jehoiada in order to get things sorted out. The sons of the wicked Athaliah had broken into the temple and taken the sacred objects for idol worship. Judah was in a terrible state. So a chest was made and placed outside the gate of the temple, the people were to place their “temple tax” into the chest. The people gladly brought their offerings. When leaders lead, people often follow.

24:11-16

The money was used to help restore the temple. The men in charge of the work were diligent, and the work progressed. During Jehoiada’s time the proper offerings were made. Jehoiada died at the age of a hundred and thirty, he was buried with the kings in the city of David.

2 Chronicles 23 - Jehoiada installs Joash

23:1-13

Jehoiada was a priest and married the  sister of king Azaliah. In fact it was Jehosheba whom he married, she who his Joash, Jehoiada made a covenant with the commanders of units of a hundred. Jehoiada believed God’s promise concerning the house of David.. Jehoiada was carefully planning a coup. All this was geared towards making Joash king. The measures were largely aimed at protecting Joash from the murderous Athaliah. Joash was crowned king. Athaliah was distraught at what was happening, crying out “treason, treason”, though she was the really treacherous one.

23:14

Jehoiada had Athaliah put to death, along with anyone who followed her. He then made a covenant with the Lord, smashed altars and idols, and the priest of Baal was killed. The Levitical priests were then put in charge of the temple. The king was then seated on the royal throne, the people of the land rejoiced. It is good for the people when there is godly rule.

" Chronicles 22 - Jehoram

22:1-9

Jehoram’s youngest son, Ahaziah, became king because raiders had killed all his older sons. He became king at age twenty two, but only reigned for one year. Sadly he followed the ways of Ahab, encouraged by his mother, he allied himself with Joram, son of Ahab. Ahaziah went to see Joram, son of Ahab, who was wounded, but the Lord brought about his downfall. The message of Chronicles is that the determining factor is whether or not we follow the Lord.

22:10-12

His evil mother, Athaliah, saw that her son was dead, so she proceeded to destroy the  whole royal family. However, Jehosheba rescued Joash and kept him safe, he would become a good king. He remained hidden for six years while Athaliah ruled.

2 Chronicles 20:1-37 - Jehoshaphat - success and failure

20:1-14

We now see the good side of Jehoshaphat. A vast army from Moab and Ammon attacked Jehoshaphat. Jehoshaphat was alarmed, but reacted in the right way by enquiring of the Lord. He also proclaimed a fast for the nation and all Judah sought the Lord. The Spirit of the Lord came upon  Jahaziel, who then spoke to the assembly.

20:15-30

The word encouraged Jehoshaphat not to be afraid. God told him to attack, and made him aware of the enemy's tactics. The Lord would win the victory. The Korahites stood up and praised the Lord. Jehoshaphat organised the army  and plundered the enemy. They returned to Jerusalem full of joy because of the victory the Lord had given them, The fear of the Lord came upon the surrounding kingdom.

20:31-37

Jehoshaphat’s reign ended sadly. Having failed once by helping Ahab, and having been rebuked for it, he made an alliance with the wicked king Ahaziah of Israel. God sent a prophet to rebuke him, and his reign came to an end.

2 Chronicles 19 - Administration

19:1-3

A prophet, Jehu the seer, came and rebuked Jehoshaphat for being willing to help Ahab, a wicked king who hated the Lord. At the same time his good deeds worked in his favour, and God knew that he wanted to follow the Lord.

19:4-7

Jehoshaphat was concerned not just for himself, but worked to get all the people to turn back to the Lord. To help towards this end, he appointed judges throughout the land. None of us can do everything ourselves, nor are we meant to. Justice is an essential part of a godly land.

19:8-11

In Jerusalem Levites were appointed to settle disputes. They were to serve faithfully and wholeheartedly, and to do so in the fear of the Lord. They were to promote the fear of the Lord. Without the fear of the Lord, justice cannot prosper, as western nations are discovering. Amariah was the chief pries appointed to oversee matters.

2 Chronicles 18:16-34 - Micaiah the true prophet

18:16-20

Then Micaiah gave a proper prophecy, i.e. an actual word from the Lord, and it was not good. The king of Israel  said such a word was all he expected, he did not believe or respond to the word. Micaiah then went on to say that ahab was being enticed into a foolish attack. A spirit volunteered to do the enticing. 

18:21-27

So the means of the demonic enticement is made abundantly clear, but to no avail. Ahab was determined to press ahead. Zedekiah, seeking favour with Ahab, assaulted  Micaiah, The situation is similar to the “trial” of Jesus. Micaiah is not swayed from his word.,he was confident in the Lord’s word.

18;28-34

So Ahab and Jehoshaphat went up to Ramoth Gilead. Ahab sought to get round the word by disguising himself and getting Jehoshaphat to dress as a king, hoping to deceive the enemy.  However the ruse did not work, and Ahab was killed.

2 Chronicles 18:1-15 - Ahab and Jehoshaphat

18:1-4

Ahab was about the worst king Israel ever had, but Jehoshaphat allied himself with him by marriage. One time when he went to see Ahab, Ahab urged him to join him in attacking Ramoth Gilead. Jehosha phat agreed, but urged him to seek the Lord first.

18:5-8

So Ahab called in the prophets, but these prophets were favourable to the king, and they all encouraged him to attack and that God would give him victory. Jehoshaphat was not fooled, realising that they were not prophets of the Lord. \ahab told him there was still one prophet, but revealed that he did not like him, for he never prophesied anything good about Ahab, this was Micaiah, Jehoshaphat rebuked the king,and Micaiah was summoned.

18:9-15

Ahab and Jehoshaphat were dressed in their royal robes, maybe to impress Micaiah. \the ones who had brought Micaiah urged him to follow the line of the false prophets and to prophesy victory. Initially he does this, but Ahab was not fooled and demanded a true prophecy.

2 Chronicles 17:1-19 - Jehoshaphat leads the nation

17:1-6

Asa was succeeded by his son, Jehoshaphat. He fortified Judah against Israel. Jehoshaphat followed the Lord, so the Lord blessed his reign, and the people of Judah brought gifts. He found favour with God and man. He also removed the high places and Asherah poles.

17:7-11

The priests taught the people the Law of the Lord. Leaders are meant to lead the people in the ways of God, both by their own actions, and by teaching the people. This has an effect on the surrounding nations with the fear of the Lord falling on them. When God’s people deny the Lord, they are mocked by the world, when we obey the Lord the fear of the Lord falls upon them. Even Philistines and Arabs brought gifts.

17:12-19

Because he feared the Lord Jehoshaphat became more and more powerful. He also built up the army.

2 Chronicles 16:1-14 - Asa's downfall

16:1-9

Baasha, king of Israel, now sought to attack Judah. Asa used gold from the treasuries of the Lord’s temple to persuade Ben-Hadad, king of Aram, to have a treaty with him, and to break his treaty with Baasha. Ben-Hadad agreed and initially the treaty had some success. Hanani, a seer, came to Asa and rebuked him for relying on the king of Aram instead of on the Lord.

16:10-14

Asa was not the only king to start out well, but then fail. He reacted badly to the words of the seer, and put him in prison. He also brutally oppressed some of the people. In the thirty-ninth year of his reign he was afflicted  with a disease of his feet. Even then he did not seek the Lord, but only from doctors. Asa died in his forty-first year of his reign. Does this mean that we should not seek the help of doctors. I do not believe that this is what it means, but we should always seek the Lord as well.

2 Chronicles 15:1-19 - Asa's reforms

15:1-7

“The Lord is with you when you are with Him”. These were words given to Asa, but words that all of Israel needed to heed. “If you seek him, he will be found by you, but if you forsake him, he will forsake you. “ This was the stark choice facing Israel, and they had been on the wrong side of this choice for so long. ”in their distress they turned to God”. It often takes distress for a person to turn to the Lord, but when we do the Lord accepts them. There was general trouble in the land, sounds a bit like our land! We need to turn to the Lord.

15:8-19

The words of prophecy encouraged Asa. He removed idols and repaired the temple of the Lord. People came to him because they saw the Lord was with Asa. We need to follow the Lord, then people will see that the Lord is with us. The people dedicated themselves to the Lord, and made sacrifices to Him. The people rejoiced, and the Lord gave them rest. Asa even deposed his grandmother, she had made a repulsive image. This is an example of loving God more than our family. There was no war until the thirty fifth year of Asa’s reign.

2 Chronicles 21:1-29 Jehoram

21:1-7

Jehoshophat died and was succeeded by his son Jehoram. Jehoram had some brothers and it seems that they may have been jealous of Jehoram. Jehpram reacted to this by killing his brothers, and a few officials as well. Jehoram was not a good king, he followed the ways of the kings of Israel, and married a daughter of Ahab. “He did evil in the eyes of the Lord”. The Lord still had mercy on the house of David.

21:8-20

Edom rebelled against Judah. Libnah also revolted, all this was because of Jehoram’s revolt against the Lord. He also built high places and , unlike his father, caused Israel to worship idols. Elijah sent a letter to Jehoram, warning him. The Lord roused enemies against Judah, who carried off members of Jehoram’s family;he had only one son left, Ahaziah.Then, in line with Elijah’s letter, he was afflicted with a disease of the bowels. So he died in great pain. He was not missed by the people, he reigned for eight years,and was not buried in the tombs of the kings

2 Chronicles 14 - Asa

14:1-6

Abijah was succeeded by his son Say, and the country enjoyed ten years of peace. Asa did “what was good and right in the eyes of the Lord”, including removing foreign altars and the high places. He led Judah to follow and obey the Lord, there was no war, and the strong implication is that this was because he sought the lord.

14:7-15

The towns were cleared of their idols and built up. He also established an army. Zerah the Cushite marched out against him, but Asa called on the Lord, and the Lord struck down the Cushites. The returnees are being reminded that salvation and restoration lie in seeking the Lord. So  Asa utterly defeated the enemy.

2 Chronicles 13:1-22 Abijah

13:1-22

During Jeroboam’s reign Abijah became king of Judah for three years, War existed between him and Jeroboam. There were four hundred thousand against eight hundred thousand. Abijah tried to argue with Jeroboam that David was the Lord’s chosen one. Jeroboam is painted in a bad light, gathering “worthless scoundrels”. Jeroboam was claiming to be on the Lord’s side while Jeroboam was not. Jeroboam had set up an ambush plan, but it didn’t work and he was defeated. Abijah inflicted heavy casualties on Israel. Judah’s victory is put down to their relying upon the Lord. Jeroboam died. Abijah had fourteen wives, who bore him twenty two sons and sixteen daughters. 

2 Chronicles 12:1-16 - Some good, some bad

12:1-5

The returnees needed to fully appreciate why they had been exiled, because of their disobedience. Rehoboam had been established as king , but then “he and all Israel” had abandoned the law of the Lord. They could not just blame their kings,  and rulers, the people themselves also bore responsibility. So Shishak, king of Egypt , along with other helpers, attacked Jerusalem. God sent a prophet telling them the reason for their troubles.

12:6-11

 The leaders responded properly, humbling themselves and admitting their guilt. So the Lord relented to a degree,but he would still discipline them. They needed to truly learn the error of their ways. We can easily revert to our old ways once the danger is over. So Shishak attacked and carried off some of the temple treasures. Rehoboam replaced the gold shield with bronze ones, and took extra care of them.

12:12-16

Rehoboam continued as king for seventeen years in total. He was a mixture, for he had not set his heart on seeking the Lord. Rehoboam’s reign included continual warfare with Jeroboam. He died and was succeeded by his son Abijah.

2 Chronicles 11 - Rehoboam

11:1-4

Having lost the kingdom, Rehoboam tried to get it back and had the support of a hundred and eighty thousand young men from Judah and Benjamin. However, the Lord sent a prophet(seer) to warn him against doing this. He told him that this was God’s doing. Rehoboam saw sense and so turned back.

11:5-17

However, Rehoboam in some ways acted as though he was king, strengthening various towns in. Judah and Benjamin were his. His action seems to have impressed the people and the priests and Levites sided with him, their action was also motivated by the fact that Jeroboam had rejected them. Jeroboam was as big an idiot as Rehoboam, for he had made goat and calf idols. The men of Israel who wanted to follow the Lord, went with the priests and Levites.

11:18-23

Rehoboam followed in the ways of his father, having eighteen wives and sixty concubines. However in other ways he acted wisely.

2 Chronicles - Rehoboam the idiot

10:1-19

Rehobom had succeeded Solomon. However, things were not straightforward. Jeroboam had fled from Solomon, but now saw a chance, so he returned from Egypt. Jeroboam urged Rehoboam to lighten the load on the people. Rehoboam wanted some time to consider the matter. He consulted the elders who advised him to be kind to the people. However, REhoboam was an idiot and rejected the advice. Instead he consulted the young men who were beholden to him, and they urged him to do the opposite and make the burden even harsher.The idiot took this advice. All this was actually part of God’s judgement on the nation. Unsurprisingly the people reacted against Rehoboam. So Israel rejected the house of David.

2 Chronicles 9:1-29 - the wealth of the nations

9:1-12

This perhaps marks the start of Solomon’s downfall, his being flattered by a visit from the queen of Sheba. She came with many gifts and praised him for his wealth and wisdom. We all like being praised and our gifts being recognised, but need to beware that we do not fall for flattery. She gave him a vast quantity of gold. Solomon , in turn, gave her even more.

9:13-29

Solomon received 666 talents of gold, the number 666 has great significance in Revelation. He received silver and gold from many different kings and rulers. Solomon made shields and a throne from the precious metal.News of his wisdom and wealth spread far and wide.

We are then told of his death, with no mention of his many wives nor his downfall. Maybe the point of the account in chronicles was to stress the wealth and favour of the nations coming to Jerusalem.

2 Chronicles 8 - Solomon's other activities

2 Chronicles 8:1-10

As well as building the temple Solomon also built his own palace, and rebuilt some of the villages. He also captured Hamath Zobah. In short he took care of all of Israel, seeking to improve the country. There were various non-Israelites living in the land, and he conscripted the descendants of these people as slave labour. However, the text is careful to stress that Solomon did not enslave any Israelites.  Israelites became fighting men, and commanders and officials.

2 Chronicles 8:11-16

Pharoah’s daughter had become his wife and brought her up to live in his palace in Jerusalem; he did not want her to live in the palace of David, because it was holy. There seems to be some recognition that he should not really have taken her as a wife. Solomon offered sacrifices in accordance with the Law, and the Levites fulfilled their priestly function. He also followed the plans set out by David. The work was brought to completion. 

2 Chronicles 8:17,18

Hiram also sent him ships, and Solomon used these to get more gold. Solomon hada liking for women and gold.

2 Chronicles 7:8-22

7:8-10

The festival was observed for seven days, along with all Israel. This is stressing to the returnees that they should observe the Levitical feasts. At the end the people were sent home “joyful and glad in heart for the good things the Lord had done for \david and Solomon and for His people Israel”, joy is part of the heritage of the people of God.

7:11-18

After all this the Lord appeared to Solomon  assuring him that He had heard his prayer and that the temple was His chosen place . Also that if, after sinning, His people repent, then He will hear and forgive them. The Lord has a heart commitment to the temple. There is also a promise to Solomon, if he faithfully follows the Lord.

7:19-22

Along with the promise to Solomon there is also a warning. If he fails to follow the Lord the people would be uprooted and the temple would become  a heap of rubble, sadly this is what happened. Others would recognise that it was because they had forsaken the Lord. One way or another they would  be a witness to the world.

2 Chronicles 7:1-7 - The Lord fills the temple

2 Chronicles 7:1-3

The temple had been built and prepared, now the most important thing happens, the Lord appears, for fire came down from heaven showing that the offerings were accepted. The people, not just the priests, saw the fire and fell down before th eLord, giving thanks to Him.

2 Chronicles 7:4-7

They all offered sacrifices to the Lord Solomon made a particularly extravagant sacrifice, twenty two thousand cattle, and twenty thousand sheep and goats. More praise was offered to the Lord, by the people and the Levites. Solomon then consecrated the middle part of the courtyard.

2 Chronicles 5:7-14 - The Lord Himself fills the temple

5:7-10

The ark was placed in the inner sanctuary of the temple. It was placed under the wings of the cherubim. The ark contained  the two tablets of the ten commandments, the other contents seem to have been removed at this stage (e.g. Aaron's rod). 

5:11-14

The priests had also consecrated themselves. There was also a “worship teamW and they sang

He is good,

His love endures forever

This is something Israel needed to remember, as do we.

The glory of the Lord, in the form of a cloud filled the temple. The cloud was tangible for the priests could not perform their service. The temple hd been filled with the furnishings, silver and gold, now it was filled with the Lord Himself.

2 Chronicles 6:1-42 Dedicating the temple

6:1-6

This is probably a reference to Ex19:9. Solomon puts the building of the temple down to God. Now God involves us in doing things with him, but when we achieve anything, we know that it is the Lord who enabled us to do it, who gave us the ability and the wherewithal. Jerusalem was God’s chosen place. He also says that He had chosen David to rule Israel. This was a reminder to the people that God’s plans were still in operation. Jesus was known as the son of David, He is God’s chosen king.

6:7-11

David’s desire to build a temple was a good desire, but it was not God’s plan. Solomon’s actions and words were all focused on God.

6:12-42

Solonon then prays to the Lord at the altar. The prayer stresses the faithfulness of God, and His uniqueness.  He prays for God to hear His people and to have mercy on them when they repent of their sins. He also asks God to hear the prayers of foreigners who call upon Him. The returnees are reminded that God is merciful to those who repent, so there is hope for the returnees.

2 Chronicles 5:1-6 - Filling the temple.

5:1

The silver, gold and furnishings were all brought into the temple. They were placed in the “treasuries of God’s temple”. The temple belonged to God, and the silver and gold belonged to God. The Israelites were not free to give these things away, as they had done from time to time, such as trying to buy off Assyria.

5:2-6

One thing remained, to bring the ark into the temple.Solomon assembled all the heads of tribes and elders. The Levites took up the ark. Solomon sacrificed many sheep and goats.