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 7th 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 8th
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.
