Introduction to 2 Chronicles

Although First and Second Chronicles were originally only one book, we can see one major difference between the two books: The first book gives us an almost exclusively positive view of David’s reign while the second book gives us both a negative and positive view of Solomon ‘s and the other 20 kings of Judah’s reigns.  Much of the information included in this book has already been seen in Kings; however, there are unique perspectives included in this rendering that certainly enrich our understanding of what happened in the history of the nation.  The book of Kings gives us a back and forth history of the kings of Israel and Judah in a somewhat chronological order.  2 Chronicles gives us an exclusive focus on the kings of Judah and their reigns.  The only mentions we see of the kings in Israel occur when they have some sort of significant interaction with the king of Judah.  It is clear that Ezra had a purpose for this focus on Judah as he prepares the people to rebuild this nation.  One lesson that is repeatedly emphasizes is that there are wonderful blessings for obedience and there are terrible consequences for disobedience.  It seems that Ezra wants to communicate in a very clear way that we must all choose whether we are going to obey or disobey.  As clear as that choice seems to be; we all still struggle with our desires for sin.  Our view of the kings of Judah should give us a clear reflection of our own hearts on so many occasions.

THE UPS AND DOWNS OF SOLOMON’S REIGN: Solomon is perhaps the ultimate example of a king who started well but did not finish well.  At the beginning of his reign he asks God for wisdom and God grants his request and adds wealth, longevity and peace to his request as bonuses for having made such a noble request.  His constructions of the temple as well as the royal palace are impressive undertakings.  He has a reputation that brings him all kinds of visitors from all over the world who honor him and stand in awe of his brilliance.  Unfortunately, it seems that all of this attention filled his heart with pride and he ended up being drawn away from the Lord.  He many wives influence him towards idolatry and he begins to live in a way that is very displeasing to the Lord.  Lust and idolatry always seem to walk hand in hand and Solomon keeps company with both of these.  God used him to record the Proverbs and other books that demonstrate his wisdom but despite having such a profound knowledge he did not live well.  Excessive blessings can easily spoil us and if we are not careful can lead us down a path of destruction.  It seems people are often able to respond to suffering in a better way than they respond do blessings.  Pride and self-reliance are destructive characteristics that will always lead us away from the Lord.  Humility and dependence on the Lord will always draw us closer to Him and make us live in a way that is more beneficial to others.  Solomon serves as a great illustration of just how rich the blessings of God can be as well as just how easily our sinful hearts can draw us away from Him if we are not very careful.

THE UPS AND DOWNS OF THE KINGS OF JUDAH: It is very sad to see the consequences of Solomon’s sin begin to unfold in the unraveling of the kingdom due to his son’s foolishness.  It appears that Solomon was so busy being impressed by his own wisdom that he had no time to pass wisdom on to his son.  At the end of First Chronicles we see David give long and clear instructions to Solomon prior to his death.  We find no such instructions during the transition to Rehoboam.  The result was the division of the kingdom.  What follows in 2 Chronicles is the description of the kings of Judah and their reigns.  All of them had their ups and downs and there were many ups and downs as we transition from one king to the other.  It is strange to see how frequently a good king will often raise a son that ends up being a terrible king.  It is also a demonstration of God’s patience and grace to see how often an incredibly wicked king has a godly son who follows him.  One consistent tendency we see in both the evil and good kings is the way that pride can absolutely destroy a leader.  Pride was one of the main factors that led the wicked kings into idolatry because they wanted to gain power on their own without dependence on the Lord.  Pride was also the downfall of many of the godly kings who ended up sinning because they allowed God’s blessings to go to their heads.  One theme that consistently runs through the book is that sin has very grave consequences.  The kings who were evil are not honored in life or in death and they had incredibly painful lives.  Another theme that winds through the book is God’s gracious love and patience with His people.  He forgives and He longs to see His children repent and return to Him.  When the most wicked of all kings would repent and humble themselves before the Lord; God would forgive and prolong His judgment of the people.  In the end the nation of Judah fell, but even so we see the book concludes on an “up” with the decree to restore the nation and rebuild the temple.  God longs for us to live in humble obedience before Him.  He blesses this kind of life beyond anything that we could ever imagine and far beyond anything our meager works could ever deserve.  God also is forgiving of our failures if we will truly repent of our sin and turn to Him from the worthless idols of our hearts.  However, God is also an all-knowing and completely just God who will ultimately judge every person and every nation.  We would all be wise to live in fear of Him.