2 Chronicles 32 - Siege Defeated

The attack on Jerusalem  now takes place, which is also recorded in some depth in 2 Kings and Isaiah. Now it might seem unfair that Hezekiah has done so much good and then gets "rewarded" by this onslaught from the nation of Assyria. However, there is another way to look at it. All the reforms that Hezekiah had made meant that Jerusalem was able to withstand the attack, and the most important reason they were able to see off the Assyrians was that God was for them. If they had continued in their idolatrous ways they would undoubtedly have been defeated. The same applies to our lives. When we walk in faith and obedience we prepare ourselves to withstand anything.

Hezekiah reacted at first by blocking off the supply of water that the besieging army could use. He also built up the defences of Jerusalem. He also encouraged the people to put their trust in the Lord. 

We then get a rather condensed account of the siege and defeat of Assyria. The writer of Chronicles is focusing on the how Hezekiah's dedication to the Lord was the determining factor. So Hezekiah was and Jerusalem were saved and the nation was highly regarded by all the nations. There is a clear message here to those who had returned to Jerusalem.

The chapter closes with Hezekiah's downfall. Pride again took hold of a godly man. All of us need to beware of pride, especially when we have enjoyed success. Even so, Hezekiah gets quite a favourable write-up.

2 Chronicles 31 - Tithing, the joy of giving

After this the people went into the towns and villages destroying all the idols and high places.

The priests were then organised with three main functions: to make offerings and serve, to give thanks and to sing praises. Hezekiah did not just issue orders but made his own contributions to the worship.  He also ensured that the money that was due to the Levites was given to them. Churches should ensure that their ministers and pastors are properly looked after. They should  not be stinking rich, but it is a disgrace that so often they are not properly remunerated (just to add that I am not a minister or pastor, so this is not self-interest!).

The people freely gave a tithe of everything and there was great rejoicing. This is an example of Paul's words in 2 Corinthians 9:7 about cheerful givers. There is sometimes a lot of debate about whether or not tithing applies today. No it doesn't, we are to give even more! Tithing is a good place to start. Everything in the Old Testament is a shadow of what is found in the New, and in the New it is greater. We have a better sacrifice in Christ, a better High Priest in Christ, the Holy Spirit comes to dwell within us etc. Likewise, giving should be multiplied. Our God is a giving God and we are to be like Him. It is probably not being too harsh to say that many of those who argue against tithing are arguing for giving less than a tenth.

All the gifts were looked after properly. The church has a solemn responsibility to ensure that it handles money correctly. So the land prospered and Hezekiah prospered.

2 Chronicles 30 - Passover

We now get details on Hezekiah celebrating the Passover. Why does the writer focus so much on the religious aspects of Hezekiah's reign? It is to make the point that the returning nation of Israel needed to get their worship of God right. When faced with such a situation as they were it is so easy to think that we have to get all the practical things sorted out. The truth was that while these things do matter, the most important thing is to get our relationship with the Lord sorted out. We can all apply this to our lives. We need to be right with God.

Hezekiah set in train the plans for a celebration of the Passover, this previously having been impossible due to the shortage of consecrated priests. 

A proclamation was sent throughout the land, and it made clear the reasons for the Passover, and in interpretation of past events. They needed to return to the Lord so that He would return to them. The nation was nothing if it did not live under God's blessing. This would even lead to further captives being set free. When we turn to God all sorts of things start happening.

The hand of the Lord was on the messengers to give them a favourable reception. The remnants of idol worship were cast away. Remember in the account of the Assyrian siege the army commander berates them for getting rid of the altars. 

Verses 18, 19 also set the emphasis on the attitude of heart. So the celebration ensued and there was great rejoicing.

2 Chronicles 29 - Good leadership

Ahaz was replaced by one of the best kings, Hezekiah. Hezekiah receives most attention of the post-Solomon kings in Chronicles, whereas Josiah is the favourite in Kings. Kings does devote a significant amount of space to Hezekiah, but the emphasis is on the Assyrian conflict. There is very little direct overlap between the material in Chronicles and Kings. In Chronicles the emphasis is on his religious reforms, this being the primary concern of the writer of Chronicles. Note how David is called his father. Now David is many generations back, so this teaches us something about the way the term "father" is used in the Old Testament. 

Right from the start Hezekiah set about repairing the temple. He did this by setting the Levites to work, ie he followed the teaching of the Law, giving the task to those who had been appointed by God to that task. They had to clean out the defilement, and to replace it with the good stuff. Note also that although the Levites were appointed and anointed, it needed leadership to set them in the right direction. In our churches we need to recognise the gifts and ministries that God has given to various people, and we need to set them off in the right direction. 

Hezekiah understood the true reasons why the nation and the people had suffered. People will have many explanations, but most of them will miss the real issue. So Hezekiah sought to put things right by making a covenant with the Lord. He knew the source of the problem, their sin, and the only One who could provide the answer.

After the temple had been sorted out a great celebration, involving sacrifice, took place.

They celebrated with gladness. Note also that it is God who brought all this about (v36) and things were turned around quickly. When a people repent and believe situations can be turned around remarkably quickly. 

2 Chronicles 28 - Turning away from God

After a series of reasonable or good kings we come to a bad one, Ahaz. Now this following of other religions is not some quaint thing, but something that is utterly evil. He worshipped idols and this involved the sacrifice of children. We should also note that God had driven these people out of the land. Many people object to the instructions in Joshua to drive out all the inhabitants of the Promised Land, killing them as well. Some of these things are difficult to come to terms with, but we need to be aware that at least part of the reason was to rid the land of detestable practices, practices which harmed and destroyed peoples' lives. Choosing to worship another god is not a matter of personal choice but a matter of rebellion against the Lord and an act that will lead to all sorts of evil consequences. We may think this idol worship, and especially child sacrifice, has nothing to do with us any more, but consider this, close to 200 000 children are aborted each year in the UK, and this is just one country. Millions of children have been aborted, and for the vast majority it has not been because of foetal abnormalities. Should this not at least make us think?

So Judah was delivered into the hands of the Arameans. Israel too was given victories over Judah. The most important thing we can do is worship the Lord and obey Him. 

Israel committed some atrocities as well. In any act part of it can be the will of God, part of it can be our disobedience. God sent a prophet to the returning army telling them not make slaves of the people of Judah and they followed the prophets command.

Instead of repenting, Ahaz sought help from Assyria. When we get in trouble we should always seek the Lord. Instead, Ahaz just increased his idol worship, and all that went with it. As our society turns away from God and encounters all sorts of problems it just rushed with even greater haste into godlessness. The consequences do not bear thinking about.

2 Chronicles 27 - On whose terms?

Jotham came next and he was another reasonable king, and avoided the sin of Uzziah of thinking he could enter the temple of the Lord how he likes. In fact Uzziah's sin is repeated many times today. Listen to the arguments of atheists. They will often object that it is unfair that Christ is the only way to God, or to some other requirement of the Lord. What they are doing is saying that we should be free to choose how we approach God. We have got things the wrong way round here, it is God who decides how we approach Him, not the other way. Imagine if you wanted to see the Queen or the President. First the Queen would decide whether or not she wanted to see you, and if she did, she would set the terms. So it is with God.

While Jotham was reasonable, the people were not, continuing in their corrupt ways. Nevertheless, the rebuilding work continued. 

Jotham also had some success against the Ammonites. Chronicles explicitly puts Jotham's increase in power down to his commitment to the Lord. Jotham died and was succeeded by Ahaz.

2 Chronicles 26 - We need character to handle success

Uzziah was the next king. His father was Amaziah and the people made him king. He had a very long reign, fifty two years. The fact that his mother was from Jerusalem, rather than Israel, is noted and is significant, pointing to less influence from the Northern kingdom. He was generally a good king and as long as he sought the Lord God granted him success. We need to realise that there is a very close relationship between seeking the Lord and success. 

His successes included defeating the Philistines and extending the territory. He was a man of soil and developed the agriculture of Judah. He also had a substantial army and developed the weapons that they had at their disposal. 

However, all this success was his downfall for as his power grew so did his pride. You see, we think that we need is success, but this is not true. For if we have success without character then success will lead to pride, and pride will lead to destruction. What we need is character. Then we can handle success. Like Saul, Uzziah took up priestly duties that he was not qualified to carry out, going into the temple to offer incense. The priests went and warned him. Instead of repenting Uzziah acted with anger. If we do not have a humble character we start thinking we have the right to do anything. The Lord then afflicted Uzziah with leprosy, this made him unclean and was probably sent by the Lord to demonstrate to him beyond all doubt that he had no right to be in the inner temple. 

The priests ushered him out of the temple and he lived in seclusion for the rest of his days, not now allowed into any parts of the temple. Jotham, his son, governed on his behalf and eventually succeeded him as king.