2 Chronicles: Jesus the Center of Worship
- Chp. 1-9 Solomon’s opportunity
- Chp. 10-36 Twenty kings in 393 years
Like the compilation of 1 Chronicles, 2nd Chronicles was also written at Judah’s return from captivity to encourage the people to rebuild the house of God. Again, most likely by Ezra as the last paragraph in 2nd Chronicles is repeated almost verbatim in the 1st paragraph of Ezra.
In both first and second Chronicles the ten northern tribes of Israel are barely mentioned (in fact 2nd Chronicles doesn’t mention them at all) as the focus is almost exclusively on Judah. The reason for this is that Judah, though far from perfect, still maintained the worship of God at least outwardly.
Second Chronicles covers 433 years and two temples Solomon’s to the time when Zerubbabel at the time this book was being compiled built his. The first section is a look at Solomon’s 40-year reign, the second section covers 393 years and 20 kings 8 of which we are told “did right in the eyes of the Lord” and 12 that didn’t.
What is interesting though is that the Lord by way of Ezra chooses to spend 70% of the time focusing in on the eight kings who did it right and only 30% writing about the 12 wicked kings. Oh, dear ones Isn’t it wonderful to realize that our Lord is much more interested in spending time speaking to us about what we are doing right and only as a point of correction because of His love speaking to us about the things we are doing wrong? Of general observation looking at both of these two books and the time they were written, it seems as though the compiler, Ezra, (who would have been rebuilding the 2nd temple), wanted the nation not to repeat the two mistakes the nation had made.
- In 1 Chronicles Ezra wrote of the importance of the “temple” in the life of the nation. Before David, the nation seemed to say “We can manage without God” and after Saul, they were given a man after God’s own heart who put the worship of the living God at the center of his life and by placing the tabernacle and the building of the temple in his backyard he put worshipping God at the center of national life. David’s passion was the necessity of man’s and a nation’s remembrance of God’s government over all of human affairs.
- 2nd Chronicles takes a look at what can happen to men and a nation when what began as worship becomes a mere ritual of religion. Here we see that a form of religion that in the end denies the power of a relationship that God has established, and man is blessed to maintain is utterly worthless, no matter how close a person dwells next to the temple. In the end, religion instead of saying “We can manage without God” drops only the word “without” and says instead, “We can manage God” but the outcome is the same!
Listen carefully to the words of G. Campbell Morgan as he wrote over 100 years ago in his commits about this book. “The Bible knows nothing of the establishment of the Church by the state, but it teaches forevermore that the Church must establish the nation.
In order to do this, formal religion is infinitely worse than none. By formal religion, I mean high Church doctrine without full church life. What is high Church doctrine without full Church life? The doctrine of the Church that is forevermore arguing for the correctness of its views and cursing the man who does not share them!”
“If the Church is not what it ought to be, we have a nation without salt and without light, a nation rushing headlong to Godlessness…” “If that be the national condition, the blame is with the Church of God.” “A world that means business is never going to be influenced by a Church that is playing. What we need is the Church, the temple, filled with the presence of God, flaming in His glory!”
Chp. 1-9 Solomon’s opportunity
In these 9 chapters we are taken through forty years of Solomon’s death and through those 40 years we see four things:
- His inheritance
- His greatness
- His service
- His failure
His inheritance:
In the first chapter we see that he inherited his father’s heart towards worship as we are told in verse 6 that “Solomon went up there to the bronze altar before the Lord, which was at the tabernacle of meeting, and offered a thousand burnt offerings on it.” The first act of Solomon’s reign was not a coronation but rather a sacrifice to the One who truly reigned over Israel.
Next, we note in verses 7-12 that Solomon both asked for and received from God wisdom to rule over God’s people. On the service that is what we all wish those who govern would ask but Solomon’s first request should have been for the wisdom of the Lord to allow God to continue to rule over his heart and life.
The third aspect of inheritance Solomon received was material as verses 13-17 record his wealth which included horses (1 Kings 4:26 declares that he had 40,00 stalls for his horses) as well as gold and silver which became according to verse 15 as common as stones in Jerusalem.
Well, should Solomon remember the words of Moses in Deut. 17:15-17 where Moses warned when they would set a king over them that he “he shall not multiply horses for himself, nor cause the people to return to Egypt to multiply horses, for the Lord has said to you, ‘You shall not return that way again.’ Neither shall he multiply wives for himself, lest his heart turn away; nor shall he greatly multiply silver and gold for himself.”
His greatness:
Solomon’s inheritance led to his greatness which was the opportunity to build what was the passion of his father David, the temple. Solomon’s wisdom found its proper usage in the construction of the temple which Moses envisioned so long ago. Chapter 2 opens with these words, “Then Solomon determined to build a temple for the name of the Lord” but godly wisdom allowed him to recognize that what he needed was “a man skillful to work in gold and silver, in bronze and iron, in purple and crimson and blue, who has skill to engrave with the skillful men who are with me in Judah and Jerusalem”. The construction will continue through chapters 2-4.
His service:
Is taken up in chapters 5-8 which went way beyond the wisdom of building the temple to the administration of the kingdom to worship the Lord as the basis of all national life. Solomon did not just see the Ark placed into the temple and the Glory of the Lord filling the temple, no he made sure that such would continue well beyond the moment.
Listen to his prayer in chapter 6 where he says in verse 14 “Lord God of Israel, there is no God in heaven or on earth like You, who keep Your covenant and mercy with Your servants who walk before You with all their hearts.”
Then looking at this amazing temple Solomon said in verse 18 “will God indeed dwell with men on the earth? Behold, heaven and the heaven of heavens cannot contain You. How much less this temple which I have built!” Then he humbly asks in verse 20, “Your eyes may be open toward this temple day and night, toward the place where You said You would put Your name, that You may hear the prayer which Your servant prays toward this place.”
And God Himself confirms Solomon’s words in chapter 7 verses 14-15 where God says, “If My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land. Now My eyes will be open and My ears attentive to prayer made in this place.” The 8th chapter tells us that it took ½ of Solomon’s reign 20 years to complete this project and it is what defined his reign of service both for God and His people.
His failure:
In 1 Kings 11:1-2, 4 we are given Solomon’s failure as it is recorded that, “King Solomon loved many foreign women, as well as the daughter of Pharaoh: women of the Moabites, Ammonites, Edomites, Sidonians, and Hittites — from the nations of whom the Lord had said to the children of Israel, “You shall not intermarry with them, nor they with you. Surely they will turn away your hearts after their gods.”
Solomon clung to these in love. For it was so, when Solomon was old, that his wives turned his heart after other gods; and his heart was not loyal to the Lord his God, as was the heart of his father David.” Though Ezra does not record this we must understand that Solomon’s failure was due to the fact that though he built the temple to worship “he nonetheless clung to these in love”. He chose to be close to God outwardly but failed in the end to do so inwardly and instead chased after his own fleshly desires. The temple in the end was only from nothing more until he lost his throne. All would do well to hear this friend; if God ceases to dwell on your throne you will in the end find yourself removed and what is only form on no usefulness.
Chp. 10-36 Twenty kings in 393 years
The first question one needs to ask is, “What do these 20 kings have to teach me?” Here are the words of Paul as he wrote to the Corinthians in 1 Cor. 10:11 “Now all these things happened to them as examples, and they were written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the ages have come.” Here then is a brief summery of 20 kings through 26 chapters:
Chapters 10-12 Rehoboam: Although he was not righteous, he did humble himself before God and averted the wrath of God upon the nation. In 12:6 we are told that after the Shemaiah the prophet came to him and the leaders, “the leaders of Israel and the king humbled themselves; and they said, “The Lord is righteous.”
Chapter 13 Abijah: He reigned only 3 years and was a wicked king but he defeated Israel because according to verse 18 “the children of Judah prevailed, because they relied on the Lord God of their fathers.” How ironic that even though he did not the nation did.
Chapters 14-16 Asa: He destroyed foreign altars, conquered Ethiopia because he trusted God, and restored the altar of the Lord. Yet he fails to trust God when threatened by Israel. Listen to the exhortation of the Lord to Asa from Azariah 15:2, 7, and 16:9 “The Lord is with you while you are with Him. If you seek Him, He will be found by you; but if you forsake Him, He will forsake you…. be strong and do not let your hands be weak, for your work shall be rewarded!”
“For the eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to show Himself strong on behalf of those whose heart is loyal to Him.” And such was the cause of his death as we are told in 16:12 “Asa became diseased in his feet, and his malady was severe; yet in his disease he did not seek the Lord, but the physicians.”
Chapters 17-20 Jehoshaphat: He brings great revival because we are told in 17:6 “his heart took delight in the ways of the Lord; moreover, he removed the high places and wooden images from Judah.” In 20:15 when the Spirit of the Lord came upon Jahaziel we are told that the Lord told him “Do not be afraid nor dismayed because of this great multitude, for the battle is not yours, but God’s.”
Chapter 21 Jehoram: He followed in the ways of Ahab as he married his daughter and led Judah into idolatry and we are told in 21:20 that he reigned in “Jerusalem eight years and, to no one’s sorrow, departed.”
Chapter 22 Ahaziah and Athaliah: Ahaziah was wicked like his father Jehoram and when he died his mother Athaliah reined and she reigned over Judah for 6 years after she killed off all the royal heirs to the throne until she was murdered.
Chapters 23-24 Joash: He repairs the temple and restores worship but when the priest Jehoiada dies he allows the people to abandon the worship of God and return to idolatry.
Chapter 25 Amaziah: He is mixed up in his relationship with the Lord as we are told in 25:2 that “he did what was right in the sight of the Lord, but not with a loyal heart.” In 25:27 we read that “Amaziah turned away from following the Lord, they made a conspiracy against him in Jerusalem, and he fled to Lachish; but they sent after him to Lachish and killed him there.”
Chapter 26 Uzziah: This fellow becomes king at age 16 and reigns 52 years and mostly according to verse 4 did what is right in the eyes of the Lord. He was victorious in battle but listen carefully as we are told in 26:15-16 that “his fame spread far and wide, for he was marvelously helped till he became strong. But when he was strong his heart was lifted up, to his destruction.” Friends learn the lesson of Uzziah that pride will destroy us every time.
Chapter 27 Jotham: He rebuilds the gate of the temple and worships God and we are told in 27:6 that he “became mighty, because he prepared his ways before the Lord his God.” Oh, another great lesson here for us to prepare our ways before the Lord our God!!
pay tribute to the Assyrians from the temple treasures.
Chapter 28 Ahaz: He is a wicked king who takes the throne at 16 but makes molded images of the Baals and forces his children to be sacrificed on its alters. Because of this Israel and Syria conqueror Judah. This king was so wicked that even went to the extreme of gathering up the articles in the temple and cutting them into pieces and shutting up its doors so he could make alters for himself in every corner of Jerusalem.
Chapters 29-32 Hezekiah: He repairs and reopens the temple and puts away the idols and altars set up by his father. His reforms spar the nation certain destruction from the Assyrians as the Lord. In 32:8 he stands before the nation and says of the invading army when compared with the Lord, “With him is an arm of flesh; but with us is the Lord our God, to help us and to fight our battles.” And the people were strengthened by the words of Hezekiah king of Judah.”
Hear again my dear ones a lesson as we are told in 32:24-26
“In those days Hezekiah was sick and near death, and he prayed to the Lord, and He spoke to him and gave him a sign. But Hezekiah did not repay according to the favor shown him, for his heart was lifted up; therefore, wrath was looming over him and Judah and Jerusalem. Then Hezekiah humbled himself for the pride of his heart, he and the inhabitants of Jerusalem so that the wrath of the Lord did not come upon them in the days of Hezekiah.”
Chapter 33 Manasseh and Amon: Manasseh was Judah’s most wicked king as he set up idols and altars all over Judah. We are told in 33:9 that “Manasseh seduced Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem to do more evil than the nations whom the Lord had destroyed before the children of Israel.” However, after he is carried away into captivity he repents and God brings him back where he does some reforms. Amon his son also does wickedness and both he and his father are killed.
Chapters 34-35 Josiah: He leads the nation back to right worship and revival breaks out as he finds the law and obeys it which leads to the reinstitution of the Passover.
Chapter 36 Jehoahaz, Jehoiakim, Jehoiachin, and Zedekiah: These three were so evil that they led to the capture and captivity of the nation by way of the Babylonians. This leads us to the last king of Judah who also is wicked as the temple is destroyed and the captivity begins. But the book ends on a good note as we are told in 36:22-23 that in “the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, that the word of the Lord by the mouth of Jeremiah might be fulfilled, the Lord stirred up the spirit of Cyrus king of Persia, so that he made a proclamation throughout all his kingdom, and also put it in writing, saying, Thus says Cyrus king of Persia: All the kingdoms of the earth the Lord God of heaven has given me. And He has commanded me to build Him a house at Jerusalem which is in Judah. Who is among you of all His people? May the Lord his God be with him and let him go up!”
Friends these two books serve as a warning with regards to our worship. That which was built in the passion for God was burnt in the apathy of religion! This is always the case when ritual replaces a relationship!