Are We With God? (2 Chronicles)

Exiles have returned from Babylon and Persia. Their land is utterly devastated. Jerusalem is ruined. The temple is in shambles, and all attempts to rebuild pale compared to the glory of Solomon's masterpiece. But the Jews have something the nations around them do not. They have a promise from God. God promises to renew and restore them to a better version than anything they have ever known. So the scribes devote themselves to the records. There are many historical books to read through and devote themselves to, but they aren't written with a focus on what's most important, the lessons they learned during exile.

In 1 Chronicles, we learned about David. The writers wanted to highlight the life of David, the promises God made to him, and how faithful God was to fulfill those promises. Every exile knew about the OT promises for another Davidic king. Right now, there was no king on the throne in Jerusalem. The Messianic king would bring a pouring out of blessings this world has never known, and I imagine they greatly anticipated his arrival.

Now, we move over to 2 Chronicles, a continuation of the first. But the intentions in this book are far more clear. In it, we read about all the kings of David's line. The kings of Judah are described with information we cannot find in 1 or 2 Kings, and it is interesting to consider why they wrote what they did.

Solomon

The first thing we read about in 2 Chronicles is Solomon becoming king and being blessed with wisdom and wealth. There isn't a whole lot of infighting discussed like in Kings. Instead, he jumps right into the blessing of Solomon because God has promised to be with him like he was with David. Overall, this sets the stage for one of the major themes throughout the book: the law of retribution. These Jewish writers want it to be clear that God blesses those who do good and curses those who do evil. This is a typically Jewish way of relating the world based upon the covenantal promises found in Deuteronomy.

In Chapters 2 through 7, we learn about Solomon building the temple. The temple is a focal point of Solomon because the exiles would cling to God's promises after Solomon prayed over the temple.

2 Chronicles 7:14--22 (ESV) --- 14 if my people who are called by my name 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. 15 Now my eyes will be open and my ears attentive to the prayer that is made in this place. 16 For now I have chosen and consecrated this house that my name may be there forever. My eyes and my heart will be there for all time. 17 And as for you, if you will walk before me as David your father walked, doing according to all that I have commanded you and keeping my statutes and my rules, 18 then I will establish your royal throne, as I covenanted with David your father, saying, ‘You shall not lack a man to rule Israel.’ 19 “But if you turn aside and forsake my statutes and my commandments that I have set before you, and go and serve other gods and worship them, 20 then I will pluck you up from my land that I have given you, and this house that I have consecrated for my name, I will cast out of my sight, and I will make it a proverb and a byword among all peoples. 21 And at this house, which was exalted, everyone passing by will be astonished and say, ‘Why has the Lord done thus to this land and to this house?’ 22 Then they will say, ‘Because they abandoned the Lord, the God of their fathers who brought them out of the land of Egypt, and laid hold on other gods and worshiped them and served them. Therefore he has brought all this disaster on them.’ ”

Notice how the blessings and curses are established along with the covenantal promise of David. God promises to fulfill these promises, and he does. The rest of Solomon's life revolves around God's ability to deliver blessings. Then, the rest of the book is devoted to understanding cursing. This is foundational for explaining what happens in the rest of the book. ‌

Rehoboam Through Zedekiah

Beginning with Chapter 10, we learn about Rehoboam, the son of Solomon. First, he loses the northern ten tribes by being foolish and harsh, but it was ultimately a judgment from God for Solomon's transgression. This book doesn't take the time to outline Solomon's sin, but it assumes we know, saying that God was behind the split (2 Chron 11:4) without giving any additional information. The rest of Rehoboam details his faithfulness, foolishness, and humility. God brings the Egyptians to steal their wealth.

When we read through the rest of the kings, we see a mixture of good and evil kings. Overall, these kings are given a positive description if they trust in the Lord, but as soon as they fail to demonstrate faith, they are criticized and find some form of suffering. Even the greatest kings throughout the rest of 2 Chronicles struggle with doubt.

Asa, for example, conquered an Ethiopian army of over one million people by putting his faith in God with 600,000 soldiers. He went on to reform and restored good religious practices. But he is primarily known for his lack of faith. First, he gave money to the Syrians to help him conquer Israel. That seems like a small thing. Some might even call it a wise move since it worked. But God was not even considered. Then, he refused to turn to God when he had a disease in his foot.

We also read a lot about Jehoshaphat. He was a great king who spurred Judah to great faithfulness. On one occasion, the Moabites, Ammonites, and Meunites gathered together and came to battle suddenly. Jehoshaphat led the congregation in prayer, seeking the Lord. They went out in battle singing praises to God for the victory. When they crested the hill to face their enemies, they found that all these men had killed one another. There was no war to fight. But this same man intermixed with Ahab and other bad influences, causing many problems. The king trusted in his alliances with men more than an alliance with God.

Another example is king Uzziah. He was a great king who ruled for fifty-two years. He sought God's help and enjoyed great victories over the Philistines. But he grew proud and tried to offer incense in the temple. As a result, God struck him with leprosy, and he remained a leper for the end of his reign.

Over and over again, we read about kings failing to seek God. Hezekiah and Josiah seem to be the best ones, bringing about a total restoration of the Passover worship and the law. They were committed to bringing the people back to genuine heartfelt worship. Between these two great kings, we read about Manasseh, Israel's worst king. But the Chronicler tells us that this story had a happy ending for the king anyways. Manasseh started as the worst king but repented and tried to rectify everything he had ruined.

The End

The evil of Manasseh, and quite a few other kings we didn't mention, led the people's hearts to pursue idolatry. When kings fail to put their faith in God, become proud, and act idolatrous, the people follow their example. If the leaders change course, there is no guarantee that the people will also.

2 Chronicles 36:15--23 (ESV) --- 15 The Lord, the God of their fathers, sent persistently to them by his messengers, because he had compassion on his people and on his dwelling place. 16 But they kept mocking the messengers of God, despising his words and scoffing at his prophets, until the wrath of the Lord rose against his people, until there was no remedy. 17 Therefore he brought up against them the king of the Chaldeans, who killed their young men with the sword in the house of their sanctuary and had no compassion on young man or virgin, old man or aged. He gave them all into his hand. 18 And all the vessels of the house of God, great and small, and the treasures of the house of the Lord, and the treasures of the king and of his princes, all these he brought to Babylon. 19 And they burned the house of God and broke down the wall of Jerusalem and burned all its palaces with fire and destroyed all its precious vessels. 20 He took into exile in Babylon those who had escaped from the sword, and they became servants to him and to his sons until the establishment of the kingdom of Persia, 21 to fulfill the word of the Lord by the mouth of Jeremiah, until the land had enjoyed its Sabbaths. All the days that it lay desolate it kept Sabbath, to fulfill seventy years. 22 Now 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: 23 “Thus says Cyrus king of Persia, ‘The Lord, the God of heaven, has given me all the kingdoms of the earth, and he has charged me to build him a house at Jerusalem, which is in Judah. Whoever is among you of all his people, may the Lord his God be with him. Let him go up.’ ”

The end of this book reveals why Chronicles was written. It's all about the exiles. They must know that their forefathers were stubborn and rebellious, but God was patient and longsuffering. God let them continue to live in the land for hundreds of years while they ignored the covenant they had agreed to. Now, these exiles must make the right choice and obey their God, seeking him with faith.

What's The Message?

The message of this book is that God wants to extend mercy and provide the promised blessing. He forgives them repeatedly and re-establishes the throne of David as he has promised.

Unfortunately, men refuse to trust him and seek his help. They usually become proud and seek to accomplish their missions using their wisdom and cunning. Throughout this book, we see that their problem is more of a heart problem. In their hearts, they desire to be worshipped rather than worship and serve God. Men care more about their glory than the glory of God.

This is seen clearly in the restoration that has to happen three times throughout this book. Jehoida, Hezekiah, and Josiah must restore the temple because the people abandoned it. They got distracted by all the other gods and failed to honor the one God who gave them everything.

Application

The purpose of this book is to help exiles recognize that God is the only source of their blessings in life. They need to exalt him and glorify his name in the temple. How does that apply to us?

Think about our methods of handling difficult times in life. Maybe we have goals and desires in our life that aren't being met. What do we do when the going gets tough? We work hard to see if we can overcome it. When we lay out our plans and goals, who do we look to for guidance and help? Are we turning to men or women through self-help books, companies, or governments? Do we put our trust in our money or our investments? Are we seeking glory for our accomplishments? Are we becoming proud? How much do we lean on God for help when we think about our struggles and goals? Do we have faith in his ability to help?

Also, notice how Judah falls gradually. At first, they get the most spiritual of the nation. Jeroboam's temples bring the most faithful to the southern kingdom. But problems start popping up for Judah when their leaders show them it's okay to be focused on other gods, or they lead by focusing on themselves and their abilities instead of God. Then, everyone becomes proud, and they stop really worshipping the Lord. Don't get me wrong. They still have a temple and use it sometimes, but they merely serve God to keep him off their backs. They aren't devoted to him, nor do they trust him to provide. We must never let that happen to us.

If our hearts long for the satisfaction of this world, we will find it. But it won't be all we hoped it would be, and we will lose God in the process.

If we think we can save ourselves with our own wisdom and might, we deserve the coming pain.