2 Chronicles

I am reading through the Bible in one year, as I have done several times before, and I have just completed the Old Testament book of 2 Chronicles. This is a book that would go under the “historical” classification of biblical books, and for good reason – it “chronicles” (as the name indicates) the history of the Kingdom of Judah from the early reign of King Solomon until its fall at the time of the Babylonian captivity.

Also as its name implies, 2 Chronicles is the second of two books with the name “Chronicles”. The first book traces the history of Israel under King David until the early part of Solomon’s reign. Both books of Chronicles are similar to the books of 1 and 2 Kings in that they tell the story of a nation and its leaders. But they differ in that the books of the Kings describe the histories of both Judah and Israel (the southern and northern factions, respectively, of a once-united nation which was divided after Solomon’s reign), while the books of Chronicles choose to focus mostly on Judah.

There is much that can be said about the subjects I have just now briefly alluded to – too much, in fact, for a single blog entry or even a series of them. But I want to take some time to explain why I enjoyed the book of 2 Chronicles and found it unique among some of its similar historical peers.

As many times as I have read 2 Chronicles before, this time I found myself seeing it with a fresh perspective, almost as if I’d never read it before. What struck me most was that this book, often more so than the other books that tell of Israel’s history, pays attention to the spiritual details behind the historical realities of those times. The books of Chronicles and Kings both share in the description of each king as “doing what was right in the sight of the Lord” or “doing evil in the sight of the Lord”. But 2 Chronicles goes deeper than Kings in describing just how the leaders – as well as the people they led – related to their God. Let me tell you about some examples of this.

After the united Israelite kingdom was split between Israel and Judah, King Rehoboam of Judah wanted to go to war with the other kingdom. However, one of God’s prophets told Rehoboam that he should hold back from attacking his brethren, because the division had come from the hand of God. Rehoboam obeyed and relented from his intent (2 Chron. 11:2-4). Yet, of this same King Rehoboam we later read, “When Rehoboam had established the kingdom and had strengthened himself…he forsook the law of the Lord, and all Israel along with him” (2 Chron. 12:1). The Lord sent a foreign army against Rehoboam, along with a warning from His prophets, and once again Rehoboam and the people humbled themselves and returned to God. Still, the final analysis given in 2 Chronicles 12:14, Rehoboam is described as doing “evil, because he did not prepare his heart to seek the Lord.”

A later king, Asa, was told by a prophet, “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” (2 Chron. 15:2). These words spurred Asa, who was a righteous king, to lead Judah in seeking the Lord even more, and putting away false gods from the land. Still, as with Rehoboam, Asa did not follow God as fully later in life, for we read in 2 Chronicles 16:12, “Asa became diseased in his feet…yet in his disease he did not seek the Lord, but the physicians.”

Uzziah was another example of a king of Judah who relied on himself and not the Lord as he became stronger. 2 Chronicles 26:16 tells us, “But when (Uzziah) was strong his heart was lifted up, to his destruction, for he transgressed against the Lord his God by entering the temple of the Lord to burn incense on the altar of incense.” This activity was forbidden to all but the Levitical priests, but Uzziah’s sense of self-importance led him to think that he had a right to a realm that God had not granted him. God punished Uzziah by striking him with leprosy for the rest of his life.

Some kings never made an attempt to follow God. Such was King Ahaz, who followed all of the false gods of the nations around Judah as well as their religious customs, such as sacrificing his children in a fire to a false god. For his unfaithfulness, God sent enemies to defeat Ahaz, but unlike other kings, Ahaz failed to receive God’s message of warning. 2 Chronicles 28:22 says, “Now in the time of his distress King Ahaz became increasingly unfaithful to the Lord.” In fact, the following verses describe how Ahaz began to serve the gods of the nations that defeated him in battle, thinking that these idols were what had given them success.

Another wicked king was Manasseh. Not only did Manasseh serve false gods, but he also set up altars and images for them right in the middle of God’s holy temple! Manasseh also served as a bad example for the people he ruled; according to 2 Chronicles 33:9, “So Manasseh seduced Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem to do more evil than the nations whom the Lord destroyed before the children of Israel.” But this story has a happier ending than those of other ungodly kings. God caused Manasseh to be taken captive to Babylon, and it was there that the king humbled himself, repented of his wickedness, and returned to God.

There were also examples of good kings. Of King Hezekiah we read, “He did what was good and right and true before the Lord his God. And in every work that he began in the service of the house of God, in the law and in the commandment, to seek his God, he did it with all his heart. So he prospered” (2 Chron. 31:20-21). Of Josiah it is said, “Thus Josiah removed all the abominations from all the country that belonged to the children of Israel, and made all who were present in Israel diligently serve the Lord their God. All his days they did not depart from following the Lord God of their fathers” (2 Chron. 34:33).

You will find many of these types of examples as you read through all 36 chapters of 2 Chronicles. To me, the book conveys a profoundly personal message that God has for His people. He wants us to be sensitive to Him, to always put Him first, and to seek Him with all of our heart.

Just as in the life of the nation of Judah and in the lives of the men who led it, events in our lives are never disconnected from our spiritual condition – from where our heart is before God. Are we following Him with our whole heart and seeking to do what He tells us? When the Lord rebukes us (for all of us go astray), do we listen to His warning, or do we choose to reject His word and press on to our own detriment? When times get tough, do we turn to other things besides our God for help? Or do we call out to Him for His mercy and grace? On the other hand, when we succeed and are strong, do we attribute the good times to our own credit, or do we give God the glory, remaining humble before Him?

As we ponder the lessons that God teaches us through 2 Chronicles, let us remember one of my favorite verses in all of that book: “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” (2 Chron. 16:9).