Bible 101 - 2 Chronicles Chapters 29-33

Presented June 27, 2005 by Phyllis Gilbert

Review: As we move through the Chronicles of Judah, we see over and over cycles of faithful kings followed by those who are unfaithful - and at times, this faithful/unfaithful cycle could be seen in the reign of a single king. This was demonstrated in the reigns of Joash, Amaziah, and Uzziah, all of whom began with a heart for God and finished with a heart dominated by pride and self-will. We saw this in Samson, in Solomon, and in other leaders who preceded these three kings of Judah, and we'll see it again. With Uzziah's death, we turn two corners: the first is the introduction of Isaiah. In Israel, prophets such as Elijah and Elisha were powerful voices for God, calling the people back to the law and worship, back to a covenant relationship with God, the God who'd delivered them from Egypt. In Judah, prophets are mentioned only occasionally - Zechariah, for example, was killed by Joash for speaking out (II Chron. 24). Being a prophet was risky because what he said was often not what the king wanted to hear. Other unnamed prophets speak - as in the case of Amaziah (II Chron. 25), who was condemned for hiring 100,000 Israeli troops to augment his own forces. But when Uzziah died, God raised up a poetic, powerful voice in Isaiah (Is. 6:1), who became prophet to Jotham, Ahaz and Hezekiah, and we'll discover tonight that he was especially active during Hezekiah's reign.

II Chronicles 29: At the time of Ahaz's death, the land was polluted by pagan altars. The Temple was locked up, and it follows that no daily sacrifices were being offered, and the people were far from God. Hezekiah, however, "did what was right in the eyes of the Lord, just as his father David had done." We may ask how the son of a wicked king like Ahaz could be such a righteous, faithful king. It's God at work. Perhaps it was his mother's influence; she was the daughter of Zechariah, a prophet and priest. And we'll see as his reign unfolds that Hezekiah knew the law, and followed it (Deut. 17 instructed kings to copy the law and to rule by it, not turning to the left or to the right). His first work as king involved re-opening the Temple. This meant first recalling the priests and Levites. They'd been scattered and inactive for the 16 years Ahaz was on the throne; now, Hezekiah calls them together and tells them to consecrate themselves. Note that Hezekiah understands his role as king is administrator and leader; he is NOT presuming to do the work of the priests. He is, however, making it possible for them to do it. They are to purify themselves and the Temple, making it ready for worship and sacrifices once again. He also inspires them, giving them explicit directions for re-opening the Temple, warning them - and the people - that God's wrath comes on those who do not obey his law, and who reject his ways. Their past worship of idols and their abandonment of the Temple have brought punishment, and Hezekiah reminds them that their fathers were punished for the same sins. In v. 10, he tells the priests and Levites he's going to make a covenant with God, and in this way, shows them his serious commitment to the law and reform. They respond with zeal, cleaning out the Temple's pagan objects, burning them in the city dump, and after 16 days, completed their task, reporting to King Hezekiah that his orders had been followed.

II Chronicles 29:20: On the 17^th day of the first month (Nissan, the month of Passover observance), the king and city officials went to the Temple for the first sacrifices in years. Blood was sprinkled on the altars and utensils to dedicate and consecrate these objects to the Lord's service. This ceremony is very close to that of Moses, Aaron and Aaron's sons at the dedication of the Tabernacle and their own consecration to the priesthood (Lev. 8-9). Burnt and sin offerings were made to God, accompanied by confession and repentance. Now the people were once again able to follow the law by offering sacrifices at the Temple. And the music that David had added to worship was once again heard, making this not only a solemn occasion of repentance and renewal of the covenant, but a celebration of their return to God. In fact, the king and the officials knelt in reverence to God and then stood to praise God. And Hezekiah, once again demonstrating his knowledge of the law, announces "you have now dedicated yourselves to the Lord; come and bring thank offerings to the Temple." And the people responded. The final verse reads "So the service of the temple of the Lord was reestablished. Hezekiah and all the people rejoiced at what God had brought about for his people, because it was done so quickly." Hezekiah has his priorities straight: get right with God, and then walk in faith and dependence on God to experience all God's blessings.

Reflections on this occasion: Consider just how closely this follows our own worship services. We acknowledge who God is, we read from his Word, confess our sins, and then we offer the sacrifice of praise and thanksgiving, gather round the altar in remembrance of what Jesus did for us on the cross, and we celebrate the unity we have in the Lord.

II Chronicles 30: Now Hezekiah does a wonderful thing: he invites all of Judah AND Israel to celebrate the Passover. (Because of the Temple's defilement and the lack of consecrated priests, the Passover was postponed to the second month.) This pilgrimage festival had been neglected for years, and Hezekiah knows just how important it is to all Israel. It is THE feast of remembrance: God delivered his people from slavery to give them a new identity as his own people. And so Hezekiah sends messengers all over the land. Hezekiah, who came to the throne in 729 B.C. as a co-regent with Ahaz, begins his sole occupation of the throne in 715 B.C. The northern kingdom of Israel fell to Assyria in 722 B.C. Hezekiah is therefore inviting the survivors to come to Jerusalem once again. It had been more than 200 years since the kingdoms divided (930 B.C.), and Jeroboam had established two worship centers in Israel in Dan and Bethel in order to persuade the people to stay in Israel rather than returning to Jerusalem. But God preserved a remnant, and it is to them that Hezekiah issues an invitation. Note his language: "do not be stiff-necked like your fathers were; submit to the Lord" (v. 7). He reminds all Israel and Judah of God's promise to Solomon in II Chron. 7:14 that repentance brings reconciliation with God and healing to their land and lives. The Passover is celebrated with people from all the tribes together for the first time in generations. And they had so much pleasure in being together and once again in fellowship with the Lord, that they extended the feast for 7 days, celebrating Passover and the Feast of Unleavened Bread for 14 days. Wouldn't you like to have been there? What a time of rejoicing and renewal it was: "There was great joy in Jerusalem, for since the days of Solomon son of David king of Israel there had been nothing like this in Jerusalem" (v. 26), and this summary can't even begin to capture the joy in each individual heart. And God's heart, too, must have been joyful: "God heard them."

II Chronicles 31: What happens next is evidence of revival: "the Israelites who were there (at Passover) went out . . . and smashed the sacred stones and cut down the Asherah poles, and destroyed the high places" all over the land - both in Judah and Israel. If the pagan places had been left undisturbed, we might conclude that the Passover celebration was all show and no substance. But the people's desire to rid their land of pollution is a sign of their return to God.

II Chronicles 31:2: This chapter records Hezekiah's follow-up with the priests and Levites. He reassembles the divisions that David instituted (I Chronicles 23-26), so that each day, there will be priests on duty, musicians and Levites to help the priests, the Temple gates will be guarded, the treasuries maintained - all so that the work of God can be done faithfully and according to the Law. Hezekiah contributed animals for sacrifice; the people brought their first fruits and offerings. The outpouring of gifts was so great "they piled them in heaps" over a four-month period of provision. Hezekiah staffs the temple and makes sure it will run smoothly, daily sacrifices offered as required, other festivals observed, so that the people could come with confidence in an organized, reverent system. More storehouses were built to contain the overflow of gifts; people gave out of their love for God and gratitude to him. Once again, God's priests were supported by the tithes and offerings of his people. The chapter summary says it all: "This is what Hezekiah did throughout Judah, doing what was good and right and faithful before the Lord his God." The Chronicler adds that what he did he did because he knew the law and obeyed it. God blessed him and the nation.

II Chronicles 32: Whereas his predecessors had fortified cities and armed troops, Hezekiah concentrated on revival, reform, and restitution of the Temple worship. Now he's threatened by Assyrian armies. This is a natural power grab on the part of Assyria; they've defeated Israel, and now they move south, taking several cities outside of Jerusalem. Then Sennacherib, king of Assyria, campus outside Jerusalem. Recall that when we studied this in II Kings, we discovered that the Assyrians fought in several ways: they were cruel, well armed, and ruthless. But they were also savvy about intimidation, and tried, before firing a shot, to so terrify the people that they'd surrender. This psychological battering is Sennacherib's first strategy to take Jerusalem. God is testing Hezekiah and the people: how strong is their faith? Are they going to depend on him when things are not going well? Or is theirs a faith that shines only on sunny days, and fails when storms come? Sennacherib taunts the people and even when Hezekiah's representatives ask the king and his generals to speak in Aramaic, rather than Hebrew, the enemy's taunting gets louder and more insistent, directed to the people on the wall. Isaiah 36-37 shows us what happened in great detail. In response to the threat, Hezekiah and his officials put on sackcloth and ask God's help. Isaiah comes to the king with a word from God: have faith; it's God's battle, not yours. And Isaiah points out that Sennacherib's arrogant speech is blasphemy: he's put himself and his own might above God; not only will his armies be destroyed, but this Assyrian king will be killed, too. God delivers his people: "the Angel of the Lord went out and put to death 185,000 men in the Assyrian camp." (Isa. 37:36). Not a shot was fired on Jerusalem, not one Assyrian entered the city, and Sennacherib and his generals left town to go back to Ninevah. And we read in II Chron. 32:21 that the Assyrian leader withdrew in disgrace, and back home, in his own gods' temple, he was killed by his sons. His bold words against God were just hot air. "So the Lord saved Hezekiah and the people of Jerusalem. . . he took care of them on every side." The king's faith and that of the people remained firm in the Lord, and their response to God's deliverance was to bring offerings to the Lord.

II Chronicles 32:24: Hezekiah is struck with an illness that brings him close to death; he prays and God heals him. We read in II Kings 20 that he was given 15 additional years of life. But he doesn't use these last years in wholehearted service to God. Instead, he gathers much wealth, and the Chronicler tells us he was proud - a code word for his trust in his riches and power rather than in God. We read that he accomplished much in Jerusalem, not the least of which was to dig a tunnel to supply water to the city in the event of a siege. Representatives of Babylon visited Hezekiah, and we learned in II Kings 20 that he showed them all his wealth - and Isaiah told him he'd acted foolishly. The Chronicler simply says "God left him to test him and to know everything that was in his heart." The standard for a king's faith in these two books has been whole-hearted devotion to God. Now we see that God's test of Hezekiah was embodied in the Babylonian visitors, and he failed it. He was trusting in things, and not in God. He died, and was buried with honor because on the whole, he'd been a good king, and his leadership had brought the people back to God.

II Chronicles 33: But oh what a contrast his successor is: Manasseh, his son, is as wicked as Hezekiah is good. His father's first acts as king were to restore Temple worship, and to once again put Judah's focus on God. Manasseh's first acts were to rebuild the high places, pagan altars and restore pagan worship. Baal worship was back after 29 years of worship of God alone, and once again, we see the vital role the king plays in leading the people to or away from God. Unfortunately, Manasseh had a very long reign of 55 years, and nearly all of it was wicked. He is the worst of the kings in Judah, and as God punished Israel for the sins of Jeroboam who'd established idol worship in the northern kingdom, so God is about to punish Judah for Manasseh's sins. "The Lord spoke to Manasseh and his people [probably through Isaiah], but they paid no attention." All through II Chronicles, we've seen that God's punishment is swift: the king disobeys, the people disobey, and there is a price to pay. Uzziah became a leper; Jehoram's bowels fell out; Joash was invaded by enemy troops. Now God sends the Assyrian armies to take Manasseh prisoner. He's taken to Babylon where he finally repents. Like Jonah, he ran from God. And now, humbled in every way, he sees that God alone is his deliverer. He's released and when he returns to Jerusalem, he institutes reforms. But the damage has been done.

II Chronicles 33:21: Only a few verses are given to Amon, Manasseh's son and successor. He reigned just two years and was evil, never repenting. His own officials killed him.

Next week: we'll finish the last few chapters of II Chronicles, and the last few years of Judah as a kingdom. And it will be an opportunity to look back at the history of the kings we've studied from Saul to Zedekiah.

Homework for those who want to go deeper:

Let's close in prayer.