Outline
Introduction
- Jerome’s statement: “All scriptural knowledge is contained in these books.”
- Unity of 1 and 2 Chronicles
- Authorship: Ezra, scribe and historian
- Date: Around 500 BC (during the lives of Ezra and Nehemiah)
- Inspiration: “Every scripture is inspired by God.”
- Historicity: Facts of the book confirmed by exploration of other sources
- Purpose: To enforce the principle that without Divine favor, contingent upon the conduct of God’s people, God’s people cannot truly prosper.
- Timeframe: from Solomon to Cyrus
Discussion
- Lessons from Solomon’s life
- Pattern for the conduct of the kings of Judah
- Relationship of the prophets to the kings
- Importance and necessity of the five reformations
- The folly of trusting in foreign alliances rather than God
- The evil effect of marriages to foreigners
- God’s use of nations to bring Judah to repentance
- Origen of mechanical instruments of music
Conclusion– God’s blessings
Introduction
Jerome had a most exalted opinion of the books of Chronicles. According to him, they were “an epitome of the Old Testament.” In another place, speaking of the books of Chronicles, he asserts: “All scriptural knowledge is contained in these books.” After a study of the books of 1 and 2 Chronicles, you may not feel as strongly as Jerome felt concerning the books, but it is inevitable that you will feel much more strongly their relationship to you as a member of the New Testament church.
The evidence is rather strong that one and two Chronicles as we know them today were originally one work. Jerome stated that these books remained undivided even in his time, although some division had been made by the Septuagint translators. The evidence from Jerome as well as evidence from Josephus and Origen further indicate the unity of these two books.
The author of the book of 2 Chronicles is, in all probability, Ezra, who was a scribe. Some of the commentators choose to speak of the writer of the book of Chronicles as the chronicler. Since our faith is that Ezra was the author of these books, we might speak of him as a chronicler as well as a scribe. The book of 2 Chronicles is replete with parallel statements that might be found in the books of 1 and 2 Kings as well as the book of Ezra. The author of the book of Chronicles frequently directs the reader to other writings, prophets, and even the book of the Kings in the course of the book of 2 Chronicles. Some of the works that are referred to in this book to which the attention of the reader is directed are as follows: the book of the kings of Judah, the book of the kings of Israel and Judah, the books of the kings of Israel, the book of the Kings, the words of the kings of Israel, the words of Samuel, the words of Nathan the prophet, the words of Gad the seer, the prophecy of a Ahijah, the words of Shemaiah the prophet. These are just a few of the works that are mentioned. It should always be remembered that reference to another work does not imply that the author of the book of Chronicles copied from this work. It would mean that he had knowledge of this work, but we must regard the chronicler as having these scriptures divinely given unto him. The date of the writing of the book of 2 Chronicles probably lies around 500 BC. There are some authors who place the date of the writing nearer 400 BC; however, conservative scholarship generally places the writing of the book within the period of the time that Ezra and Nehemiah lived.
Relative to the inspiration of the book of 2 Chronicles, we must remember that “every scripture is inspired by God (2 Timothy 3:16). Regarding this book as being inspired helps to preserve our faith in the historical trustworthiness of all parts of the Old Testament and of the New Testament. Many of the facts included in 2 Chronicles have been corroborated by exploration. For example: the fact that Manasseh was carried to Babylon by the captains of the king of Syria, the account of Uzziah’s military greatness, and the references to the industries in the book would certainly indicate the authenticity of the things contained therein.
The object of the book of 2 Chronicles is to enforce the principle that without Divine favor, which was contingent upon the conduct of God’s people, God’s people could not truly prosper. The book concerns itself with the great and enduring line of Judah, and the kings that are traced throughout the Book of 2 Chronicles are traced so far as Judah is concerned. Only a few references are made to the nation of Israel, and these are made only as there is suggestion concerning some of the practices of some of the kings who were in Judah. There is also an indication of the intention to preserve as historical matters materials that were in danger of being lost, those things concerning the temple worship. There is evidence of a desire to save these things for posterity in order that in due course of time there might be the restoration of the worship as God would have it in the temple.
The book begins with the reign of King Solomon and continues to the very wonderful proclamation of Cyrus, who authorized the return of the captives of Judah from their bondage. It was he who sanctioned the rebuilding of the temple in the city of Jerusalem. The book therefore spans a total of more than 400 years.
Discussion
Lessons from the life of Solomon
The first nine chapters of the book of 2 Chronicles deal with Solomon and his reign in the establishment of the temple worship. They also deal, naturally, with the death of King solomon. In the first chapter we read of Solomon’s prayer for wisdom and knowledge. Because he had prayed for wisdom and knowledge, God caused him to be granted great riches, and wealth, and honor far above that which had ever been attained by any king. The prayers of Christians, while they should certainly include things material, should emphasize things of a spiritual nature rather than things of a material nature.
In chapter two we see that Solomon built a house for the name of Jehovah, where the name of Jehovah might be preserved. As the name of Jehovah was preserved in the temple in the city of Jerusalem, so in the church of our Lord today, since it is the true temple of God; His name is there preserved. It is your responsibility in mine to see that the temple of the church of our Lord remains a pure temple for the place of preservation of the name of Jehovah.
In 6,6 we read, “I have chosen David to be over my people Israel.” The kings that are listed in the book of 2 Chronicles are given an important position as being successors in the true lineage of David. The Davidic line of kings is therefore important. It should be remembered that Jesus Christ came as a king from the lineage of David. That our Lord “sprang from Judah” should be remembered as an important truth by every Christian.
In chapter nine we we the boundaries of the land over which Solomon ruled described. As we remember the land that Jehovah promised unto Abraham and his seed, we recognize that Solomon indeed ruled over all the land that God ever promised to Abraham. This is an important truth to remember, especially when we who are members of the church of our Lord today are talking with those who do not believe the promise made to Abraham relative to the land his seed would inherit has been fulfilled.
It seems to me that the most important thing in the first section of the book of 2 Chronicles is the prayer Solomon prayed as recorded in chapter six, verses 14-42, concerning the relationship of God and Israel. The prayer is very prophetic, and the remainder of the book beginning with chapgter ten and continuing through the conclusion is an historical commentary demonstrating the accuracy of these principles that were stated. The principles were that if the children off Israel were faithful unto God, and kept His word and glorified Him, in the worship that had been ordained for them, then God would bless them, and He would heal their backslidings, but if they turned away from Jehovah, their enemies would devour them, and if as their enemies devoured them, they repented of their sins and returned to Jehovah, He would accept them again. In reality this is the theme that is reiterated throughout the book of 2 Chronicles.
Pattern For the Conduct of the Kings of Judah
Totally there were 19 kings and one queen in the lineage of Judah after the dividing of the United Kingdom. From the standpoint of their conduct there were about half of these that could be characterized generally as good, and about half of them could be characterized generally as bad. Only a few of them can be characterized as particularly outstanding. Of course, we view these in the light of the record that is given in the book of 2 Chronicles, and we are prone to view these things in the particular light of the reforms that were carried on by Asa, Jehoshaphat, Hezekiah, and Josiah.
Now notice a division, which is rather arbitrary, about the kings of Judah. First of all there were some good kings, who later sinned. For example: Jehoshaphat, the son of Asa, later leagued with Ahab of Israel. There were some good kings whose hearts were momentarily “lifted up” and who yet repented again. One of these in particular was Hezekiah, Momentarily Hezekiah lost control of himself and became very proud. But Jehovah chastised him stringently, and he repented. There are in the book three kings concerning whom nothing but good is said: Abijah, Jotham, and Josiah. There were some kings that started off in the direction of being righteous, but later they sinned grievously. Such were joash and Amaziah.
There were also evil kings who would not repent: Jehoram, the son of Jehoshaphat; Ahaziah, the son of Jehoram; and Athaliah, an evil queen who was the mother of Ahaziah; there was Ahaz who was the son of Jotham; there was Amon, who was the son of Manasseh; there was Jehoahaz, the son of Josiah; there was Jehoiakim, the son of Jehoahaz, and Jehoiachin, the son of Jehoiakim; there was Zedekiah, the brother of Jehoiachin. God was unable to cause these kings to repent. Regardless of the kind of punishment he sent upon them, they remained steadfast in their unrighteousness.
There was one evil king, however, that did repent of his wrongs, for a little season, but returned again to do evil. that was Rehoboam. There was one evil king, at least a king that started off wrong and later came to do that which was right, and is remembered as one of the outstanding characters of the book of 2 Chronicles – Manasseh. These things indicate to us that there are evil people in this world who will not repent. There are people with whom we will come in contact who will repent for a little season, and then return to their evil. And there are some bad people who will genuinely repent. Even though there were many more kings of Judah who did not repent than those who did, there was one who genuinely repented and came to be a most excellent king.
Another thing that is of outstanding interest in the book of 2 Chronicles is that there were at least two kings who did a very good job so far as the record in the book of Chronicles is concerned. Concerning these, it is said that their hearts were “lifted up”. They became very proud and trusted in themselves. One of these was Asa, the son of Abijah, and the other was Uzziah.
Concerning all the kings, it should be noted that there is no general pattern that is followed so far as a good king having a son that did righteously or an evil king necessarily having a son that did unrighteously. There are indications that there were good kings who had sons who reigned unrighteously, and there were evil kings who had sons who reigned righteously. These same instances prevail today, and it is worthy of mention that just because a child is a child of parents that are evil, worldly, and ungodly, it does not necessarily follow that this child is going to follow in the footsteps of his parents. He may rise above the manner of life they follow. This, of course, is in accordance with the teaching of the scripture: “that a child should not bear the iniquity of the father” (Ezekiel 18,17). Tragically, it is also true that just because we have good Christian people today, it does not necessarily follow that their children are going to be as strong in the Lord as were their parents. This has always been the nature of mankind. There is not necessarily any comfort to be found in this, but it does indicate to us that such has ever been the case.
Relationship of the Prophets to the Kings
In the wisdom of Jehovah, prophets, men who spoke in behalf of God, were provided to instruct the kings of Judah as well as the people of Judah in the paths of righteousness, which Jehovah would have them to follow. There were kings of Judah who heeded the prophets whom God sent to them, and there were kings who did not heed the prophets whom Jehovah sent. You and I, as Christians, recognize that Jesus Christ is the prophet whom God has raised up. Naturally, we are to heed Him. Men today who speak the words of God unto us (evangelists) must be regarded as prophets of God in that they are spokesman on behalf of God. We are to be guided by the things that are delivered to us from them, In so far as their words are truly the words of God.
In the book of two Chronicles we see the following relationship of prophet to king: Nathan to Solomon (9,29); Shemaiah to Rehoboam (12,5); Azariah to Asa (ch. 15); Hanani to Asa ( ch. 16); Micaiah to Jehoshaphat (ch. 18); Jehu to Jehoshaphat (ch. 19); Eliezer to Jehoshaphat (ch. 20); Elijah to Jehoram (ch. 21); a prophet to Amaziah (ch. 25); Isaiah to Uzziah (ch. 26); Obed to Israel (ch. 28); Isaiah to Hezekiah (ch. 32); Hulda (a prophetess) to Josiah (ch. 34); and Jeremiah to Josiah.
The Importance and Necessity of Reformations
The book of 2 Chronicles is also a book that deals with the importance and necessity of reformations. There were five principal reformations, and four of them were initiated by kings. These were the reformations by Asa, Jehoshaphat, and Hezekiah (which was the greatest reform up to that time). The greatest of all the reformations was initiated by Josiah. in the reformation of Josiah, one of the things that is outstanding is the fact that the book of God had been lost for many years within the house of God. You and I may learn from this that it is possible for the church of our Lord today to forget the importance of the Scriptures. One of the most exciting reformations was a priestly reformation initiated by Jehoida. Whereas the remainder of the reforms had been initiated by the kings, this reform was initiated by a priest of God and is a most exciting episode within the book of 2 Chronicles. It should be remembered that you and I as priests of God may find it necessary to reform our worship to God, making that worship conform to the thing that Jehovah has commanded as worship to Himself.
Whether the reformations were kingly or whether they were priestly, it is always indicated that there was a reformation of the worship of Judah causing them to return to the true temple worship that had been established by God through Solomon. There was also mentioned the tearing down of the various idolatrous forms of worship the ungodly kings had brought upon Judah. To the same degree there is always mentioned the fact that when an evil king came to be in power, he would lay waste the temple of God and would dispose of the holy vessels. He would build groves in the high places where the people might worship idols, such as Baal and Ashtoreth. but the reforms had connected with them not only the positive building up of the worship of God, but also the negative effect of tearing down the idol worship. That is a valuable lesson to us today as Christians in the 20th century, showing us that it is not only necessary to teach what is right about Christian worship, but also actually to show what is wrong about worship which is unscriptural.
Trusting and Foreign Alliances rather than in God
There are made known in the book of 2 Chronicles the alliances that some of the kings of Judah tried to effect with various foreign kings. They are condemned in this because of their trust in these kings and the help these foreign kings could give them rather than trusting in the help of Almighty God. Some of the kings are commended very highly for the fact that they trusted in God and did not trust in alliances that were made with foreign kings. The alliance that Asa made with Benhadad of Syria against King Baasha of Israel is recorded in 16,9. Jehoshaphat made an alliance with Ahab, king of Israel against the Assyrians (19,2 and 20,37). The church of our Lord must remember today that to win this world for Christ and to re-establish New Testament Christianity, our alliance must be altogether with Jehovah; we cannot accomplish these purposes through alliances with “the nation’s round about us”. From time to time within the framework of denominationalism, we see attempts that are made to unite forces. The church of our Lord must remain above such entangling alliances, and her preachers must remain aloof from alliances that would entangle them with those who proclaim error. Our confidence, our trust, our complete alliance must be with Jehovah. Only in this way shall we be truly successful in the Divine task set before us.
Effect of Foreign Marriages
Another important phase of study in the book of two Chronicles would be the effect of foreign marriages upon the kings of Judah. Reference is made to the fact that Solomon was married to the daughter of Pharaoh (8,11). Reference is made to the marriage of Jehoram to the daughter of Ahab (21,6). There are other inferences in the book suggesting that the evil kings of Judah caused Judah to sin after the likeness of the kings of Israel through what they had learned from the foreign kings. It is entirely possible that these things were learned from foreign wives. Such is certainly indicated in the books of 1 and 2 Kings.
Christians today should avoid marriage relationships with those who are not Christians after the New Testament order. Those who violate good judgment in this matter may certainly expect to reap many hours or years of heartache and disappointment. Before the New Testament Christian enters into the marriage relationship, he should be absolutely certain that he will enjoy a spiritual unity in his marriage, as well as a physical and psychological unity.
God’s use of Nations to bring Judah to Repentance
The purpose for which Jehovah used various nations and kings to punish Judah, and some of the kings of Judah, was to bring them to repentance. There were times that God used Judah to punish Israel. There were also times that God used Israel to punish Judah. Shishak of Egypt came and fought against Rehoboam. The Philistines and the Arabians were sent up against Jehoram. The Syrians came against Joash. The Edomites and the Philistines were sent against Ahaz. Assyria with Tiglath-Pileser as king came up and fought against Ahaz. Assyria came against Manasseh. Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, fought against three of the kings of Judah, and ultimately took Judah away into Babylonian captivity.
Jehovah in His providence may today send His people evidences of His displeasure with them. As he chastises us, may we take these occasions to repent of whatever wrongs are evident within our lives and to resolve to be the kind of citizens of the Heavenly Kingdom Jehovah would have us be.
Origin of Mechanical Instruments of Music
On at least two occasions reference is made in the book of 2 Chronicles to the fact that it was David who originated the use of mechanical instruments of music in praise to God. It should be remembered that you and I, who live in the Christian dispensation, use the instrument Jehovah has given us for praise to Himself. That instrument is, of course, the heart. From the heart and with the heart we sing psalms, and hymns, and spiritual songs, making melody in our hearts to the Lord (Colossians 3,16; Ephesians 5,19).
Conclusion
The book of 2 Chronicles concludes with the account of Cyrus giving a decree to rebuild the temple in the city of Jerusalem. This is the last of the indications of the principle stated in 6, 14-42. So long as Judah did what was right, God would bless them. When they sinned, God would curse them. When they repented, God would raise them up again and bless them. That is very much the history of the church of our Lord today. We have a period when there is tremendous growth. There is a blessing from God. Then we forget God, and difficulties, and trials, and hardships come upon us. When we reform our lives and repent and turn to God, we are blessed again.
This is true in the life of every Christian. When we do the things that are pleasing unto God, great blessing comes upon us. It may not be a material blessing always, as there are great spiritual blessings which accumulate to us. When we sin and turn our faces from Jehovah, it is not logical for us to expect his great blessings.
Questions for Class Discussion
- What, in your opinion, is the chief thought contained in the book of 2 Chronicles?
- With what two great rulers does the book have its beginning and ending?
- Who, in your opinion, is the author of this book?
- Does reference to another inspired historical work imply that the chronicler copied from it?
- Discuss the importance of 2 Chronicles 6,14-42.
- How many kings of Judah are named in the book? Are any queens named?
- List the names of at least ten prophets or prophetesses found in this book. To whom did they prophesy?
- Who, according to this book, originated the use of mechanical instruments of music in the worship unto God?
- Was it good judgment for the kings of Judah to make alliances with the nation’s about them? Explain your answer.
- What was the nature of the “reformations” described in 2 Chronicles?
- List three great reformers among the kings of Judah.
- Who, in your opinion, was the outstanding king of Judah? Why?
- Name an evil king whose son ruled righteously. Also name a righteous king whose son ruled wickedly.
- Name an outstanding example of the providence of Jehovah described in 2 Chronicles.
- What, in your opinion, is the outstanding lesson from this book for Christ’s kingdom today?