Job

1) Job, a great and blameless man from the land of Uz, is subjected to a test due to a disagreement between the satan and the Lord as to whether he is blameless due to his good fortune or good character.  God allows the satan to destroy all of Job’s property and children in order to check the source of Job’s character.  Job mourns, but acknowledges that all he had had come from the Lord, and chooses not to blame God.

2) The satan challenges God again, asking him to allow him to afflict his body, and then he will surely curse God.  God allows it.  Job is covered in sores and in great suffering, and even his wife encourages him to curse God, but he refuses and says he will accept the bad with the good.  Job’s three friends come to comfort and console him and sit with him in his suffering.

3) Job curses the day he was born, wishing that he had never lived his life so that he had never met his suffering.

4) Eliphaz answers Job by suggesting that because he is personally affected, he is being weak where he had counseled for strength in others.  He states that the innocent does not perish, but the wicked, and that no one can be pure and righteous before God.

5) Eliphaz goes on to emphasize that fools lose everything.  God saves the lowly, the mourning, and the needy, while the crafty are frustrated.  He points out that one should be happy to meet God’s correction, because God will bind him up and redeem him.

6) Job emphasizes the severity of the distress of the situation, and wishes that he were dead.  He says that he has not denied God, but he laments the actions of his companions, who he believes are confounded and at a loss to comfort him in his predicament.

7) Job again emphasizes the misery of his life.  He speaks of the brevity of life and pleads with God to relent, or at least to explain to him why he has become a target for such suffering, to forgive him from whatever he has done wrong.

8) Bildad states that Job should stop complaining, and affirms that God punishes the deserving and restores the upright.  He claims from common experience that the godless are cut down and destroyed, but that the blameless person will not be rejected by God.

9) Job states that God is so much greater than mortals that there is no point in contending with him.  Even if Job is innocent, which he feels that he is, God is not going to listen to his complaint.

10) Job says he hates his life so much he might as well fully voice his complaint to God.  He states that God has made him, only do destroy him, despite knowing Job’s innocence.  He accuses God of hunting and attacking him, and asks that God may simply leave him alone.

11) Zophar tells Job that he obviously deserves all that has been done to him and more, but that divine punishment is beyond human understanding and should just be accepted.  If Job turns towards righteousness, all this misery will go away.

12) Job sarcastically critiques his friends for their negative attitude towards him.  He then goes into a biting hymn of God’s power, pointing out the ways that God has power over all, even the power to bring shame upon the just and destroy the wise among the people.

13) Job admonishes his friends for deeming to know more than he does.  He then makes a plea for being able to plead his case directly before God’s face, where he believes he will be vindicated. 

14) Job speaks of mortal life as short and full of trouble, and thus pleads that he may enjoy the few days that he has.  However, he then turns negative on this point, assuming that God will not grant his petition.

15) Eliphaz condemns Job’s words and declares them unwise, out of line with the received wisdom of those around them.  He states that no human is innocent, implying Job is deceived about his own state.  He then talks about the great suffering of the wicked in this life, both due to the punishment God holds in store for them and their secure knowledge that destruction is always coming. 

16) Job critiques his supposed “comforters” and declares them useless. He declares that God has destroyed him, and he is now nothing.   All he wishes for is for a witness (perhaps a heavenly witness) who will affirm that he is in the right.

17) Job is broken, but he will not give in to the words of those around him.  He demonstrates a mix of hopelessness and perhaps faint hope that there is some possibility for vindication.

18) Bildad questions whether Job is giving their words appropriate weight, then gives a discourse on how the wicked are tormented all their lives, and beyond.

19) Job criticizes his friends for speaking against him, then blames God for all that has been done to him.  He states that all friends, family, and acquaintances have abandoned him.  Job calls out for his words to be permanently remembered, and states that he believes in a Redeemer who will vindicate him in the end.

20) Zophar speaks of an unknown force compelling him to respond to Job’s insulting words.  He says that the glory of the wicked is short and will soon turn against them, and that the wicked are forgotten forever.  Their greed and abuse of the poor will be their ruin, their inequity revealed, and their punishment from God assured.

21) Job contrasts Zophar, stating in fact that the wicked often lead peaceful, apparently blessed lives, of which there is no sign of God’s punishment.  He questions why he is the one being confronted, and not the wicked who are getting off scot-free.

22) Eliphaz mocks the idea that Job could be innocent, and assumes all manner of sins he must have engaged in – primarily the economic abuse of the weak.  He states that the wicked are surely punished, and that Job must accept God’s rebuke and return to Him, and all will be well.

23) Job desires to lay a case before God and believes that then he would find the truth, and be acquitted, but laments that God is nowhere to be found. He insists that he has never departed from God’s ways, yet God still does what God wants.  Thus, he is terrified of God.

24) Job complains that the wicked do many unjust things, especially to the poor and needy.  He states that they live in the dark and all its ways, but God does nothing either to punish their wickedness nor to answer the poor’s call for help.  Job then says that God prolongs the life of the mighty and by Sheol snatches away the life of those who have sinned, in a short excerpt that sounds somewhat like it should have been in the mouth of one of Job’s friends.

25) Bildad briefly responds that God is too great, that no mortal can pretend to be righteous before him.  The very short speech may be artificially truncated by the next chapter.

26) Job mocks Bildad’s “wisdom”, then speaks on God’s greatness and superiority much as Bildad had been (perhaps this was the completion of Bildad’s truncated speech). 

27) Job states that his integrity makes it impossible for him to speak anything other than the truth which he sees.  He curses his enemy, whom he hopes will be like the godless who God cuts off, though who his enemy is in unclear and the passage is a bit out of touch with previous ones where Job questions whether the wicked are punished.  He then goes into a discourse about the punishment the wicked will receive which sounds much like earlier speeches of his opponents…possibly this is Zophar’s missing 3^rd speech as it sounds much like chapter 20.

28) A poem about the source of wisdom, which is eventually credited to God and the fear of the Lord.  The speaker of the poem is unclear.

29) Job laments the loss of his younger days, when he acted in great charity and righteousness and all people looked up to him.

30) Unlike his previous days, now even the most wretched of the youth mock him.  God has afflicted Job with great violence and cruelty, and now Job is hopeless because only evil comes for him.

31) Job makes another plea proclaiming his righteousness and degree to which he does not deserve this affliction.  He states that if he has had committed any iniquity, any at all, then he deserves any and all punishment…but implies that he has not.

32) All of the opponents to Job stop speaking because Job sees himself as righteous and there is no convincing him.  Elihu, a younger man who has waited his turn, now enters the dialogue, and states that while the aged have apparently not found the answers, God can give wisdom to any man, and thus now he, full of words, must speak.

33) Elihu notes that Job has claimed purity, but says that God does all things to turn men away from their sins and bring their souls back from the pit.  He states that Job must listen to him, that God has intended Job to be a witness to others in repentance.

34) Elihu critiques Job’s claims of righteousness and his claims against God’s justice, and states rather that God is perfectly just and only punishes the evildoer.  He then criticizes Job for not offering repentance.

35) Elihu tells Job that his righteousness does not help God, nor does his sin hurt God, so why is he complaining that he is no better off than if he had sinned?  His sins hurt others, and his righteousness helps others.  God does not answer him because he complains against God.

36) Elihu repeats that the obedient are blessed by God and the transgressors will perish.  He tells Job not to envy the wicked and to remember to praise God’s good work. 

37) Elihu expresses his awe of God.  He reminds Job how small he is before Him.

38) God finally answers Job, and challenges him with the fact that He, God, has created and controls all the storms and the sea, the day and the night and the stars, and no one else knows anything of it.  There is a suggestion that the challenge is in fact intended to be against Job’s friends, though that is not stated in the passage.

39) God then challenges them that they do not know of the animal world and all that goes on within it, but God supports all.

40) God demands that Job respond, and Job demurs.  God asks for a response again, and once again declares his majesty through his power, with a special focus on his creation of behemoth.

41) God continues to demonstrate his superior power by pointing out the power of leviathan, which is simply a creation of God.

42) Job answers God with an interesting statement that admits that God can do everything, while appearing to state that God hides his intentions, states that he will question God, and rejects the fate he has been subjected to.  (Or repents, according to translation debate).  God states that Job has spoken right and demands that Eliphaz and his friends repent.  God returns to Job twice as much as he had before, with seven new sons and three daughters.

Job: A divine bet between God and the satan leads to the extreme suffering of an innocent man.  Job maintains his innocence and questions his suffering throughout the book, while Job’s friends insist that it is only the wicked who are punished.  God comes in at the end to challenge them with the fact that only He knows all that goes on in creation, that He is far superior to all.  In the end, the good things of Job’s life are restored to him. 

Esther

1) In the course of major banquets, the Persian king commands his queen to present her beauty before the people, but she refuses.  In anger, he and his sages crafted an irreversible law stating that she could never again come before the king, calling for another woman to be put in her place, and declaring that all men were masters of their own homes.

2) The king gathers virgins from across the kingdom in a search for a new queen.  Esther is one of them, and gains the favor of the king’s eunuch, and then the king, and becomes queen.  Mordecai overhears a plot by two men to assassinate the king, and passes it to the king via Esther, resulting in the hanging of the two men.

3) Mordecai offends Haman, the Agagite advisor to the king, by refusing to bow to him.  In retribution, Haman plots the destruction of all the Jews and gets the king to give an edict to that effect.

4) Mordecai and all the Jews mourn the degree.  Mordecai is able to inform Esther of what has happened and convince her to petition the king, though she is at first reluctant.  She asks all the Jews to fast for her.

5) Esther receives the king’s favor, and uses it to invite the king and Haman to a banquet, and then another one.  While waiting for the second banquet, Haman becomes angry with Mordecai, and plots with his family and friends to have Mordecai hanged.

6) The king, pushed by what appears to be divine intervention, realizes that Mordecai has never been honored for his earlier great deed.  Haman, motivated by pride, accidentally places himself at the center of Mordecai’s honoring.  Haman realizes that his destruction has begun.

7) Esther petitions the king to save her people.  She accuses Haman of being the one to have planned their destruction.  The king has Haman hanged by his own gallows.

8) Esther and Mordecai are set over the house of Haman.  They are allowed by the king to issue a decree that enables the Jews to protect themselves from the coming attack, and Jewish people across the empire rejoice.

9) In a passage with a change of tone that suggests a later time, the Jews clearly have the upper hand over their enemies, and slaughter them in great numbers when the designated day comes.  After that day (which goes a second day in Susa), a day of feasting and celebration is had.  This is recorded as the origin of the festival of Purim. 

10) The greatness of the King and of Mordecai are described, though strangely not of Esther.

Esther: Jews living in exile are placed in many difficult positions, but through their bravery and apparent divine intervention, are still able to gain the upper hand over their enemies.  That which evil men intend for others is turned against them to their own ruin.

Nehemiah

1) Nehemiah, a Jewish cupbearer to the Persian king, hears of the poor condition of those who have returned to Jerusalem and prays a prayer of repentance and petition for all his people.

2) Nehemiah gains permission from the king to return to Jerusalem and repair the city and its walls.  After inspecting the walls, he calls the people to start building.  The non-Jewish people who govern the area initially are glad that he seeks the welfare of the people, but are suspicious and mocking when they see he intends to build the walls.

3) The men are listed who worked on the repair and building work all around the wall and its gates, with the portion each one worked on specifically noted.

4) Opposition by non-Jews raises its head again.  Nehemiah prays against their plots, but also has his men take extreme measures (24-hour guard, weapons in all hands, etc.) to thwart any potential attack.  Due to this the enemies fail to attack and work on the wall continues.

5) Nehemiah addresses the economic oppression of the most needy of his people by their own fellow Jews.  He secures an agreement by the rich for them to return the property which they have seized from the poor due to indebtedness.  He himself is generous during his time as governor and careful not to lay additional burdens upon them.

6) Leaders who oppose Nehemiah’s program begin directing their attacks towards him personally in order to try to stop the building of the wall, including attempts to discredit him in the eyes of the emperor, in the eyes of his fellow people, and perhaps even do him harm.  He parries these attacks, and the work on the wall is finished to the rejoicing of his people and dismay of his enemies.

7) Nehemiah appoints and instructs the gatekeepers for the wall.  He then enrolls all the people by genealogy and gets some of them to settle in the town to make up for the lack of population within the city walls.

8) Ezra reads the law to the people, which they had been unfamiliar with.  They then celebrate the Festival of Booths, which had not been done for many centuries.  This chapter and the next two seem out of place in the previous account.

9) The people come together for a time of mournful repentance and petition to God. A doxology is made which recites God’s provision for Israel since the beginning, along with Israel’s many sins and turnings away.  It ends with a petition that God relieve them from their current distress under Persian rule.

10) The leaders, priests, and Levites sign a firm agreement to follow the law and to commit themselves to the provision of regular temple offerings.

11) Some of the people are chosen to live in Jerusalem, as mentioned in chapter 7.

12) Lists are made to preserve the names of the priests, Levites, and heads of ancestral houses.  The dedication of the wall is described.  Some temple responsibilities are given.

13) Nehemiah works to keep the temple and community operating in a holy manner, throwing Tobiah out of the temple, ensuring the Levites get their tithe, enforcing the Sabbath regulations, and condemning mixed marriages.  He repeatedly asks God to remember the good he has done.

Nehemiah: Nehemiah comes to Jerusalem to assist the struggling community there, building the wall around the city and standing strong against their enemies.  He also helps to instigate various reforms which lead the community to live in closer obedience to the Law.

Ezra

1) King Cyrus of Persia is stirred by God to allow the Jews to return to Jerusalem, with their temple vessels, and rebuild the temple of the Lord.  All their neighbors help in language that recalls the Exodus.

2) An extensive list is given of all those who returned to Jerusalem, emphasizing the priests, Levites, and temple servants, but including the other people too.  Notes are made of the need for returners to have their status confirmed in the genealogical records, and some cannot.

3) The altar is set up on the old temple’s foundation, and the Festival of Tabernacles and sacrifices are reinstituted for the first time since the exile.  In the second year, work on the foundation of the temple begins, with great joy but also mixed feelings by those who remember the first temple.

4) People who had settled the land in the absence of the Jews are denied a part in the rebuilding of the temple, and in response they convince the king to oppose the building of the wall and the temple, delaying their continuation until King Darius later takes power.

5) Haggai, Zechariah, Zerubabbel, and Jeshua resume work on the temple during the reign of Darius.  The governor Tattenai questions their right to rebuild the temple, but is unable to stop them immediately, so he appeals to Darius to ask if their claims are legitimate.

6) King Darius discovers the document confirming that King Cyrus indeed allowed the Jews to rebuild the temple.  The project is allowed to proceed, the temple is built, and its dedication is celebrated with great joy.  Soon, Passover too is successfully celebrated.

7) 58 years later, in the reign of Artaxerxes, Ezra the scribe is sent from Babylon with the king’s blessings and gifts to study the law of the Lord in Jerusalem and teach it to the people.  A letter from the king shows that he fully supports all that Ezra does.

8) Ezra prepares the full party to travel to Jerusalem, including many families, and ensures that Levites are represented.  The party and all the precious vessels make it safely to Jerusalem without a military escort, by the grace of God.  The gifts are delivered to the temple and a sin offering for all the people is made.

9) Ezra is told by the officials that intermarriage with the “people of the land” is occurring.  He mourns dramatically, then prays a prayer of repentance before God that states that all they have suffered has been due to their sin, and they have not suffered as much as they’ve deserved.  The prayer makes a clear argument to the community that intermarriage with non-Jews is wrong and that more punishment will result if it continues.

10) The people mourn in response to Ezra’s plea.  An agreement is made to send away the foreign women and their children.  All the heads of families systematically go through their families and find the men who had married foreign women, and those men send the women away with their children.


Ezra: For the first time since the destruction of the temple and the exile, some of the Jewish people are allowed to return to Jerusalem.  Despite the blessings of the Persian kings, obstacles cause some time to be taken before the temple and the wall can be built.  Decades later, Ezra the scribe comes to teach the people in the ways of the law, and purges intermarriage with the “people of the land”.  

2 Chronicles

1)      Solomon, who we are frequently reminded is David’s son, is described as wealthy and powerful, due to his having asked God for wisdom at the start of it, and God granting him that and much more in return.  The turmoil of the beginning of Solomon’s reign, recorded in 1 Kings 2, is omitted here.

22)      Solomon procures King Huram’s help in artisans, laborers, and materials to build the temple.  The fact that Solomon is David’s son is repeated five more times.  Unlike 1 Kings, here Solomon initiates and controls everything in the process.  153,600 foreigners, supposedly all the foreigners in Israel, are conscripted as slaves to build the temple.

33)      Solomon begins building the temple and its dimensions are described. 

44)      Solomon makes the many things to be kept inside the temple, with Huram’s help described.

55)      The ark is brought into the temple with great ceremony, and God’s presence fills the temple.

66)      Solomon makes an extensive prayer to dedicate the temple.  The buildup is heavily focused on David again, then the prayer itself focuses on repentance and God’s forgiveness, almost exclusively towards the people of Israel as a body who will be punished for corporate sin leading to their prayer and repentance towards the temple, followed by God’s forgiveness and reinstitution of blessing

77)      God visibly affirms the temple’s dedication, and all Israel celebrates together.  The house of the Lord, the great goal of David and Solomon, is finished.  God appears to Solomon again and says that Israel will be greatly blessed if they are humble and repentant when things go poorly, but will be cast out if they forsake God’s commandments and worship other gods.

88)      Solomon builds up the cities and fortifications in all of Israel using conscripted labor from the foreigners.  Solomon continues worship at the temple in the appropriate manner.  Oddly, Huram gives Solomon 20 cities in 2 Chronicles 8:2, where it had actually been Solomon who had given Huram the cities in 1 Kings 9:11.

99)      Solomon’s greatness over all other kings on Earth is described, primarily in his wealth and his wisdom.  The Queen of Sheba is especially used to demonstrate both of these things.  Solomon’s life is summarized through the end without any reference to the apostasy or negative aspects of his reign.

110)   Rehoboam takes over from his father, and makes the decision to increase the people’s burdens.  This is shown as the trigger which causes the northern tribes to abandon the authority of the Judaic kings, though it is also shown to fulfill God’s prophecy (from 1 Kings). 

111)  Rehoboam, as opposed to Jeroboam, is shown to be the good king who follows in the Lord’s ways for three years by listening to God and not going to war, securing Judah with fortified cities, taking on the priests and the Levites from all Israel (while Rehoboam leads worship to devils), and marrying David’s granddaughters and fathering many children.

112)  Rehoboam leaves worship of God in some ambiguous manner, and as a result Egypt attacks.  However, Rehoboam and his people realize their error and humble themselves, so they are not totally destroyed, and things again become good in Judah.

113)  Abijah is the good, Godly king of Judah, while Jeroboam is the rebellious, idolatrous king of Israel.  When they go to war, God supports Abijah and Israel, specifically because they have continued the Davidic kingdom, the Levitic priesthood and the Jerusalem temple, and they win through miraculous means.  Abijah has clear blessings to his rule.

114)  Asa son of Abijah has a wonderful first ten years of his reign, where he commands Judah to seek the Lord, takes down all the high places and alters (unlike the story in 1 Kings), builds well, and sees 10 years of rest.  An Ethiopian invasion leaves Judah facing an army twice as big as theirs, but with the help of God (due to their obedience), they defeat it easily and come away with much bounty.

115)  Azariah prophecies to Asa that God will remain with him as long as he remains with God.  Asa is spurred to take on further religious reforms, destroying idols, repairing the alter, and gathering together the aliens in Israel (including northern tribes) to seek God (those who did not were put to death).  It is said that he was true to God all his days, and he sees rest for 25 more years.

116)  King Baasha of Israel goes against Asa (though in 1 Kings he’d already been dead 10 years), and Asa enters into an alliance with the king of Aram and thereby defeats Israel.  A prophet condemns Asa for relying on a foreign king rather than on God.  Asa turns negative, putting the prophet in prison and inflicting cruelties on the people.  He gets a severe disease in his foot, apparently as a result, and then dies.

117)  Jehoshaphat succeeds Asa and is lauded by the author for increasing fortifications, sending officials around to teach the Word of God to everyone, following the ways of the Lord and removing the high places.  His honor is shown by all bringing tribute to him, giving him riches and honor, and his commanders being great.

118)  Jehoshaphat makes an alliance with Ahab, and thus agrees to go with him into battle.  Jehoshaphat insists they inquire of the Lord first though, and while 400 eager-to-please prophets state that they should go, Micaiah alone predicts destruction.  However, they do not listen to him.  In battle, the Lord protects Jehoshaphat, but Ahab is killed by chance.

119)  A prophet condemns Jehoshaphat for having made his alliance and states that wrath will come against him, but that he still has some good for having destroyed the sacred poles.  Jehoshaphat goes out widely across his kingdom and brings many back to the Lord, then installs good judges and instructs them to judge wisely according to God’s rule.

220)  Judah is attacked, and Jehoshaphat once again inquires of the Lord along with all Judah.  A prophet insists that God will fight the battle on their behalf and they will be saved.  Indeed, while the Judahites are singing praises to God, the enemy attacks themselves and are destroyed.  Great booty is taken from the corpses and the rest of Jehoshaphat’s rule is quiet.  After explaining the general good of Jehoshaphat’s rule, one last example is given of Jehoshaphat’s alliance with an evil ruler turning to naught.

221)  Jehoram kills off all his brothers and, partly at least because he had married the daughter of Ahab, walks in evil as the kings of Israel do, leading Judah into unfaithfulness.  Some areas revolt and other nations invade, a clear sign of God’s lack of support which is confirmed by a letter of condemnation from Elijah (which doesn’t appear in Kings), predicting a great plague and a disease specifically on Jehoram’s bowels.  Jehoram suffers from this for two years then dies in agony, and the people do not honor him.  The only saving grace is that the Lord does not destroy the house of David.

222)  Ahaziah become king, evil in every way due to his strong influences from the Northern Kingdom.  He only reigns one year due to his death when meeting King Joram when he was sick while Jehu executed his God-given coup of that kingdom.  Athaliah, Ahaziah’s mother, then purges the remaining royal family in order to take power herself, but Jehoshabeth the daughter of Jehoram saves Joash, Ahaziah’s son, in a secret bedroom.

223)  In the 7^th year Jehoiada, priest and husband of Jehoshabeth, allies with the military commanders and the Levites to stage a coup against Athaliah and present Joash as the true king.  Athaliah is killed, the house of Ba’al and all its priests are destroyed, and order is restored.

224)  Joash begins as a very good king, restoring the temple to the joy of the people, blessed with family.  But when Jehoiada the priest (basically his foster father) dies, he follows the officials of Judah and turns towards idols.  The priest Zechariah speaks against him, and Joash has him killed.  At the end of Joash’s life the army of Aram comes against him, destroys his army, takes off booty, and leaves him wounded.  He is then killed on his bed by his own servants and buried in shame.

225)  Amaziah starts off doing well, though not with a “true heart”, and listens to God’s prophet eventually in not seeking Israel’s help in the battle against the Edomites.  Thus God supports him in battle.  However, Amaziah brings back idols from Edom to worship, earning the rebuke of a prophet and God’s wrath.  That leads Amaziah to attack Israel against all advice, who then defeats Judah, destroys the wall, and carries off much gold and silver and things of the house of the Lord.  Amaziah is killed by his own people just as his father was.

226)  Uzziah starts off faithful and makes great building projects and a strong military.  However, his pride causes him to attempt to offer incense in the temple, leading to him contracting leprosy on the spot as judgment. 

227)  Jotham generally does what is right before the Lord, and succeeds in building projects and in war against the Ammonites as a result.  However, the people still follow corrupt practices.

228)  Ahaz does many abominable things, sacrificing to idols and foreign gods.  As a result Judah is repeatedly defeated and taken into captivity.  The prophet and rulers in Israel force them to release Judah or face the wrath of God though.  Still, Ahaz dies in apostasy and shame.

229)  The righteous king Hezekiah reopens the temple, cleanses it, and reestablishes temple worship.

330)  Hezekiah invites all Israel to come celebrate the Passover together, as a prayer of escape from occupation, though few outside Jerusalem come.  The former alters in Jerusalem are removed and, via the Passover celebration, the priests and Levites purify the whole city with great celebration.

331)  The cleansing is taken further as all pillars and alters through all Judah and Benjamin and Ephraim and Manasseh are taken down.  Regular temple worship and sacrifice is reestablished, with so much given by the people that storehouses must be built.  The regular enrollment of priests and Levites is reestablished.  All that Hezekiah does is good.

332)  Hezekiah’s kingdom is invaded by King Sennacherib of Assyria, who mocks Hezekiah’s God and his ability to defend the city.  Through faith and prayer, God defends the city miraculously and the invasion is repulsed.  Hezekiah’s good works and the positive blessings from God are again emphasized, with negative elements from 2 Kings 18-20 (his surrender, foreign alliances, stripping of the temple) ignored.

333)   Manasseh starts off his life evil, worshiping foreign gods, following wizards and sorcery, and sacrificing his own son.  God delivers him into the hands of the king of Assyria, but releases him back after he repents.  After his repentance he becomes a good king, getting rid of foreign gods and restoring the alter, something unmentioned in 2 Kings.  Amon, his son, has a short wicked reign after him of sacrificing to foreign gods, and is killed by the people of the land.

334)  Josiah is a wonderful king, beginning with seeking God at the age of 16 (his 8^th year as king), moving into purging the land of idolatrous alters, cleansing the temple, and the typical religious reforms.  When the priests find the Book of the Law in the temple, the king and all the people have great mourning because they deserve the condemnations in the book.  However, because the king has humbled himself, God promises that while he will indeed destroy Judah for her idolatry, he will not do it in Josiah’s life.  The people all come together to pledge to renew the covenant.

335)  Josiah’s celebration of the Passover is described in extravagant detail, with the contribution of the Levites emphasized.  Josiah goes out against King Neco of Egypt in war, apparently completely unnecessarily and against the will of God, and is killed. 

336)  Jehoahaz is barely king before he is disposed by the King of Egypt.  Jehoiakim (originally Eliakim) is made king by the king of Egypt and acts with evil for 11 years until King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon carries him off and takes things out of the temple for himself.  Johoiachin only reigns 3 months but acts evilly (despite being only 8) before being carried off to Babylon as well with more vessels of the temple carried off.  His brother Zedekiah is made king by the king of Babylon and does evil, failing to humble himself before God’s prophet as well as rebelling against the king of Babylon.  All the priests and leaders were also unfaithful.  No one heeds the prophets despite many warnings.  Finally, the people are killed and all the things of the temple are carried off, the temple, wall, and palace are all burned down, and all who are not killed are carried off to Babylon as servants.  After 70 years, Cyrus the king of Persia grants that a temple may be built in Jerusalem.    

2 2 Chronicles: The first quarter of 2 Chronicles emphasizes Solomon’s greatness, often hearkening back to David to emphasize his role in the good things of Solomon’s reign.  The kings that follow are clearly described as evil, good, or occasionally shifting from evil to good or good to evil within their reign.  The evil acts are primarily idolatry, failure to listen to prophets, and bad alliances.  The good acts are restoration of temple worship, repentance and obedience to prophets, and trust in God to save.  Eventually, the northern kingdom and then Judah are overthrown for the nation’s sins.  Overall, it is a somewhat sanitized retelling of Kings, with several elements changed to more clearly align with the Chroniclers worldview.

1 Chronicles

11)      A genealogy from Adam to the clans of Edom.  The different lines are given, with the primary line which will lead to Israel always being given last.

22)      The genealogy of Israel’s sons is now given.  The first chapter focuses on Judah, with the lines leading to David in the center.  A couple outside lines which may reflect groups that moved into the Southern Kingdom and were absorbed by them are also listed.

33)      The descendants of David through the end of the exile are given.

44)      Judah’s genealogy is reiterated in shorter form, then the descendants of Simeon are given.  Two examples of Simeon’s people getting land are inserted into the genealogies.

55)      The genealogies of Reuben, Gad, and the half-tribe of Manasseh, the tribes which settled on the eastern side of the Jordan.  Their victory in war, but also their transgression and resulting exile, are described.

66)      The genealogy of the Levites (and the high priests specifically) as well as a listing of Levitical cities which emphasizes their distribution throughout all of Israel.

77)      Genealogies of the northern tribes west of the Jordan are given.  Strangely, Benjamin is included and the list bears almost no resemblance to the list for Benjamin in chapter 8.  Zebulun and Dan are left out, and don’t appear anywhere in the genealogies of Chronicles.  Several other errors (referring to Machir and his sons as Aramean, a “second” in verse 15 with no “first”) suggests that there may have been copying errors in this chapter.

88)      The genealogy of Benjamin. 

99)      A conclusion to the genealogies by listing the genealogies of the post-exile returners.  Only southern tribes are listed, though Ephraim and Manasseh are also said to have been there.  Special attention is given to the temple gatekeepers and the family of Saul.

110)  The death and humiliation of Saul and his sons is described and explained as a result of Saul’s unfaithfulness.

111)  David takes the throne with the support of all Israel.   David’s mighty men are described in detail.  None of the intrigue and conflict that surrounded the transfer of power from Saul’s family to David is described.

112)   Great detail continues to be added about all the mighty men and troops from all of Israel who came together to support David.

113)   David plans to return the ark to Jerusalem, but gets scared when Uzzah is killed by it.

114)   Gifts to David’s kingdom, wives and sons and daughters that David is blessed with, and military victories by Israel prove that David has been firmly established as King of Israel with the blessing of God.

115)  David brings the ark to Jerusalem, this time following current protocol with the role of the Levites duly emphasized.  The celebration of the event is clear, but Michal daughter of Saul is bitter.

116)  The ark of the covenant is brought into the tent and people are appointed to minister to it in various roles.  David gives a psalm of thanksgiving for the occasion (taken from Psalms 105, 96, and 106) which emphasizes thanking God for his provision, works, and fulfillment of covenant promises, but ends in asking God to rescue them from the surrounding nations.

117)  David considers building a house (temple) for the ark, but gets word via Nathan that God desires that not he, but his son, will build the ark’s home.  God promises David that He will defend and protect the people of Israel and that David’s line will be a dynasty propped up by God himself.

118)   God gives David victory in many military battles, such that he is able to subdue the Philistines, Zobahites, the Moabites, the Arameans, and the Edomites.  David attains much wealth in these victories, some of which is explicitly shown to later be used in the temple project.

119)   David easily defeats the combined forces of the Ammonites and Arameans in battle.

220)   Minor episodes in battles against the Ammonites and Philistines are recorded, where David’s mighty men had performed great deeds.  David’s adultery with Bathsheba had occurred during the period, but is not mentioned here.

221)   David is spurred by Satan to conduct a census of Israel (despite Joab’s attempts to warn him against it), and Israel is judged as a result.  David’s repentance prevents Israel from being judged even worse, and the demonstration of that repentance (an altar and sacrifice on Ornan’s threshing floor) leads to the eventual site of the temple.

222)   David prepares everything for Solomon to build the temple, deeply connecting David to the temple even though he himself is not allowed to be the one to build it.  He them appoints Solomon to build it, giving him the typical warnings that God with be with him in strength if he follows in God’s commands.

223)   David is given credit for assembling the Levites and designated how they will hold charge over the temple activities.  An extensive listing of the Levites is given and their duties are described.

224)  David organizes the priests and their names and numbers and shifts are described.

225)  David organizes the temple musicians, whose role is associated with prophecy.  Their names and shifts are described.

226)  David organizes the temple gatekeepers, with their names and shifts and placements being described.  David then appoints Temple treasurers out of the Levites, and then officers and judges to oversee Israel.

227)  A list of the commanders of military divisions under David is given.  Then the tribal leaders, king’s treasurers, and counselors are also listed.

228)  David assembles all the leaders together, enthrones Solomon as king, and announces Solomon’s building of the temple.  While Solomon is designated to build it, it’s clear that every detail of its construction and preparation has been completely prepared by David.  David instructs Solomon to serve God and follow him absolutely, and warns of consequences if he does not.

229)  David announces all he has provided for the temple’s materials and invites the gathered leaders to give their own freewill offerings for its construction, which they do.  David then prays to God at the end of his reign, praising Him, thanking Him, and asking that He keeps the heart of the people and the mind of Solomon turned towards Him.  Solomon is then consecrated as king and all Israel follows him (directly contradicting the events of 1 Kings 1-2).

1 1 Chronicles: 1 Chronicles appears to primarily revolve around validating David’s reign. First, by showing the genealogy that led to and came from David, then by showing the circumstances of his ascension to the throne, then by showing his religious devotion to the ark and God’s affirmation given to him in his military victories and wealth he receives, then in his extensive preparations for the building of the temple.  Generally David’s faults are glossed over or ignored, while the unity of Israel is highlighted and exaggerated.

2 Kings

1) Ahaziah is judged by God and dies due to his reliance of prophets of another god.  Elijah is again shown to be a reliable prophet of God, and can smite soldiers with a word.

2) Elisha is demonstrated to be the true successor to Elijah through a miraculous transition of power.  The superiority of God’s anointed prophets over all others is made clear.

3) The kings of Judah and Israel come together for war again (along with the vassal Edom). Israel is demonstrated again to be outside of God’s will, but God (and his prophet Elisha) still act favorably due to the presence of Judah, and Moab is routed. 

4) A string of miracles is shown to validate Elisha’s place as a prophet of God.

5) Elisha’s miracle-working in highlighted again.  Eligha’s servant is condemned and punished for trying to profit off of the miracle.  God continues to control all events.

6) Further demonstrations of Elisha’s miracle-working in diverse settings.  Elisha also displays a surprising early example of nonviolence towards enemies. 

7) God miraculously provides for the people and scatters their enemies, fulfilling yet another prophecy of Elisha.

8) Elisha helps to provide for the widow he had earlier helped.  Political situations in both Israel and Judah deteriorate – though God’s hand is clearly still with Elisha, it appears that little can be done to salvage the larger situation.

9) Elisha commands the anointing of Jehu, who purges those who had led the nation of Israel into adultery, killing the kings of both Israel and Judah as well as Jezebel.

10) Jehu completely wipes out Ahab’s house as the Lord had told, then wipes out the people of Ahaziah as well, then follows by wiping out those who had worshipped Ba’al and his temple.  Still, he did not rid Israel of the golden calves.  God begins to take territory away from Israel.

11)   The mother of the former king of Judah ruthlessly takes the throne, but one of her grandchildren survives the purging and is eventually installed as the rightful king.  Athaliah the queen and Mattan the priest of Ba’al are put to death.

12) Jehoash rules Judah long and well, though not perfectly.  His priests however, appear either corrupt or incompetent in repairing the house of the Lord.  Administrative changes are undertaken to spearhead the repairs on the temple.  Aram invades but is bought off with gifts.  Jehoash is eventually killed by his own servants for unstated reasons.

13) More kings do what is wrong in the sight of the Lord and Israel suffers, though God has compassion on them and saves them from their enemies at multiple points.  Elisha dies, making a last prophecy just beforehand and being responsible for a last miracle just afterwards.

14) The King of Judah basically does what is right in the sight of the Lord, while the King of Israel is disobedient and begins leading his people into ruin.  However, when it comes to going to war the King of Israel is in the right and the King of Judah is in the wrong, thus Judah is defeated by Israel and ransacked. 

15) Judah enjoys peace under 70 years of two generally righteous kings (though one is struck by leprosy as a punishment from God for not removing the high places), while Israel undergoes extreme turmoil as one evil king after another is killed early in his reign by a new assumer of the throne.

16) The new king of Judah leaves the way of the Lord and practices abominations. When the kings of Israel and Aram come against him, he asks for the help of Assyria, who then conquers much of Israel.  Judah then begins being influenced by desire to please Assyria in religious matters, and replaces some of the Temple with things copied from the north.

17) After the reign of one last ungodly king, Israel is fully conquered by Assyria and the people are carried off.  This happens due to the myriad ways in which they had failed to follow the Lord their God.  Assyria resettled Samaria with peoples from many other nations, who worshipped other gods.  He eventually put priests of Israel among them to worship God as well, but their practices became mixed.

18) Hezekiah emerges as one of the best kings of Judah, removing the high places and all idolatry.  Perhaps because of this, Judah is not destroyed when Israel is.  Still, the king of Assyria eventually goes up against Judah, takes the fortified cities, and makes distressing threats against the king.

19) A distraught Hezekiah goes to Isaiah, who promises him that God will take care of things.  Hezekiah prays, Isaiah repeats that God has heard it, and the king of Assyria leaves due to rumors, has his army miraculously destroyed, and is then murdered by his own sons.

20) Hezekiah’s prayer causes God to grant another 15 years to his life.  However, his response to the Babylonian envoy leads Isaiah to prophesy that Hezekiah’s descendents will be carried off by the Babylonians.  Hezekiah is strangely unperturbed by this revelation.

21) Manasseh reigns over Judah in complete evil in nearly every way.  God speaks of great punishment he will bring against Jerusalem and Judah because of this, yet Manassah still reigns 55 years somehow.  Amon then reigns in evil after him, but is quickly killed by his servants, who are then killed by the people of Israel.

22) Josiah contrasts Manasseh as the best of kings, doing everything right in the Lord’s sight and staying in the path of David.  His staff rediscover the book of the law, causing great mourning and repentance in Josiah for all the ways the people had fallen short of following.  God acknowledges Josiah’s repentance and states that no disaster will come upon them during his reign.

23) Josiah holds a public reading of the law, destroys all vestiges of idolatry and worship of other gods, and holds a Passover as had never been held.  Still, God’s anger does not turn from Judah and his promise to destroy Judah remains.  After Josiah is killed by the Egyptian Pharoah, his sons Jehoahaz and Jehoiakim rule over Israel, and do so with evil.

24) Babylon takes control over Judah, first with the kind Jehoiakim as a vassal and then through direct invasion and rule during Jehoiachin’s reign.  All the upper classes and all the wealth, including the wealth of the temple, are taken out of Jerusalem.  The invasion is described as God’s punishment on Judah and the evil of the kings, especially Manasseh.  Zedekiah becomes king after invasion, and continues to be evil just like Jehoiachin and Jehoiakim before him.

25) After a rebellion by Zedekiah, Babylon comes through and sieges Jerusalem, then completely destroys it.  All the temple and palaces are raised to the ground, many officials are killed, and the rest of the people (except the very poorest) are taken away.  After the assassination of the appointed governor, the rest of the remainder flees to Egypt.  The book ends with a slight bit of hope, as 27 years later Jehoiachin is released from prison in his 37^th year in exile.

2 Kings: The first part follows Elisha, whose ministry before God is confirmed with many wonders and the success of his prophecies.  Most of the kings of Israel and Judah commit evil, primarily idolatry and non-sanctioned religious practices, but the occasional Judean king is righteous and at times correct temple worship is re-established and the land sees peace.  However, the predominance of bad kings nd the people’s following of them causes land to gradually be lost to outside forces, with the northern kingdom eventually conquered completely.  Obedient kings in Judah allow it to last for some time later, but Manasseh’s incredible evil leads God to condemn Judah as well, and all Israel goes into exile.