2 Chronicles 25-28

Chronicles • Sermon • Submitted 7 years ago

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We are continuing our study in a section of 2 Chronicles that began in ch24. In your notes, the section of chapters 24-26 is titled, “Three declining kings.” Another way of putting this is that this section describes three kings who start off well but finish badly.

Amaziah (25:1–26:2)

Amaziah’s strength (25:1–4)

War against Edom (25:5–16)

War against Israel (25:17–24)

Amaziah’s end (25:25–26:2)

Uzziah (26:3–23)

Uzziah seeks God and is successful (26:3–15)

Uzziah’s pride and downfall (26:16–23)

Three contrasting kings, pt1 ()

Jotham’s obedience (27:1–9)

Jotham’s contrast with his father (27:1–2)

Jotham’s continuity with his father (27:3–6)

Jotham rests with his fathers (27:7–9)

Ahaz’ unfaithfulness (28:1–27)

Ahaz’ apostasy (28:1–4)

Massacre and mercy (28:5–15)

False help (28:16–21)

Ahaz’ further apostasy (28:22–25)

Ahaz’ burial (28:26–27)

Summary of Chapters 25-28

We are continuing our study in a section that began in ch24. IN your notes, the section of chapters 24-26 is titled, “Three declining kings.” Another way of putting this is that this section describes three kings who start off well but finish badly.

The first king, who we studied last week, was Joash. The righteous Jehoiada, the high priest of the time, installed Joash on the throne and overthrew the wicked Athaliah who had taken the throne after killing her grandsons. Joash’s reign began very well with Joash turning His attention to the temple that had been neglected during previous reigns. He collected the funds for the temple restoration and the work was done. But then things took a turn for the worse when Jehoiada, his wise counselor died. Joash turned his back on the Lord and gave his heart to idolatry. He killed Jehoiada’s son, Zechariah, who had prophesied against him.

God brought justice for Joash’s sin. Judah was defeated by a small number of invading Arameans, and Joash was murdered/assassinated in his bed ().

Timeline

Just to catch us up to when these reigns take place of the kings we will study today. The kings who start out well and finish bad: Amaziah and Uzziah, and then two contrasting kings, Jotham and Ahaz. We are going to cover a period of about 80yrs, starting around 800BC and will finish today close to when Israel is taken into captivity in the 720s.

We are coming to the period of time that we have covered in our sermons on the minor prophets. Assyria comes to repentance at the preaching of Jonah during this time period and grows in their power, and Amos prophesies during the reign of Uzziah when there was comfort and peace in Jerusalem during the good years of Uzziah. Then Isaiah & Micah prophesy to Judah during the terrible reign of Ahaz.

Amaziah ()

Amaziah reign is summarized well in verse 1: “He did what was right in the Lord’s sight but not wholeheartedly.” Not giving his whole heart to the LORD was a huge factor in why he goes astray later on. There were competing allegiances within him.

Amaziah Kills His Father’s Murderers

Not giving his whole heart to the LORD was a huge factor in why he goes astray later on. There were competing allegiances within him.

So, after the kingdom was firmly in his grasp, what did Amaziah do to those who killed His father? He killed them, but he did not kill their children. Why didn’t he kill their children? Because the law of Moses said not to (). Amaziah had some kind of understanding of God’s laws. That’s at least good to see.

The Chronicler does not comment on putting to death those who killed his father Joash, so we don’t know if his motivation was justice, revenge, or a mixture of both. Most tend to look favorably at this event because this would make Amaziah’s kingship follow the pattern of others kings who start off well then fall in Chronicles. There is a display of their strength and power as they serve the Lord, which leads them to become proud or sin, and then they fall or reject the Lord.

But I do believe it is safe to in the very least question whether many of his actions show faith in the Lord even before we are told that the Lord’s anger came against him.

Amaziah Fights Against Edom

For instance, in verses 5-6, Amaziah amasses a large army to go and fight against Edom, and He hires mercenaries from Israel to come fight with him also. We know from the rest of the book that one does not need a large army when the LORD is on their side. But then, even after amassing his own army, he sends money to Israel to get them to come and help in the battle. In my mind, this shows a lack of faith on Amaziah’s part, but thankfully, whenever he is challenged by whoever this “man of God” is in verses 7-9, he decides to send back the help he received from Israel.

Judah crushed the Edomites, but the disgruntled Israelites who were sent back to Israel plundered Judah’s cities as they marched home and killed 3000 who lived in those cities.

Things Get Worse!

Then things take a turn for the worse with Amaziah. After the LORD gives him victory in battle, he brought the gods of those he defeated back with him to Judah. He worshipped these gods as his gods.

Understandably, in verse 15, Amaziah’s burning incense to these gods led the Lord to burn in anger against Amaziah. The LORD sent a prophet prophet to the king and condemned him for resisting the Lord’s word. And the prophet’s argument sure does make a lot of sense. He says, “Why have you sought a people’s gods that could not rescue their own people from you?” (25:15, CSB)

Amaziah Challenges Israel

Fresh from his victory over Edom, Amaziah challenged the stronger Jehoash/Joash of Israel.

But before he challenges Joash, we are told that “he took counsel.” It is probably safe to assume that he did NOT take counsel from the LORD here because of how things turned out.

Joash’s response to Amaziah is interesting. He tells Amaziah that his victory over Edom has made him overconfident, and he warned Amaziah not to come out to battle against Israel or they would fall.

But Amaziah does not listen to Joash. Judah goes out to battle against Israel. The result of the conflict was the destruction of Jerusalem’s defenses and Amaziah’s capture. Joash broke down a large section of Jerusalem’s wall and took some of the utensils out of the temple and the treasures of the king’s palace.

The Chronicler attributed Amaziah’s defeat to his sin of idolatry (25:20). This turn of events was from the LORD.

Applications?

Whenever we don’t fully give ourselves to the Lord or give our hearts to other things/idols, there should be no surprise whenever we fall in our spiritual battles.

We cannot selectively choose which scriptures to follow. Amaziah chooses to follow one but not another on idolatry

The result of the conflict was the destruction of Jerusalem’s defenses and Amaziah’s capture. The Chronicler attributed Amaziah’s defeat and his subsequent murder to his sin of idolatry (25:17–28). This turn of events was from the LORD.

Uzziah ()

Uzziah (Azariah - 2 Kings) succeeded his father at the age of sixteen. A man named Zechariah tutored Uzziah in the things of God. So he began a lot like His grandfather Joash. He had a good counselor in Zechariah like Joash had in Jehoiada (see 24:2).

God blessed Uzziah, which is seen in the fact that he had one of the longest reigns of the kings - fifty-two years. His reign probably included a co-regency with his father Amaziah when he was captured by Israel, as well as a coregency with his son, Jotham, after he is struck with leprosy by the LORD.

But things started off great for Uzziah. As he trusted in the LORD and sought the LORD, he was blessed in all that he did. Uzziah subjugated many peoples, built a huge army, and pioneered military weaponry. His most notable victories were against the Philistines and Ammonites. We are told that the Ammonites paid Uzziah tribute and that Uzziah grew in fame throughout the region. The reason was the same as other good kings before him: because God was with him and gave him success (26:5, 7).

was one of the longest and most prosperous among the kings of Judah (; –3). The king subjugated many peoples, built a huge army, and pioneered military weaponry.

Pride Leads to Uzziah’s Fall

Unfortunately, his success got to his head:

“16 But when he became strong, he grew arrogant, and it led to his own destruction. He acted unfaithfully against the Lord his God by going into the Lord’s sanctuary to burn incense on the incense altar.” (, CSB)

He attempted to do the unthinkable - to officiate at the altar - doing the job that belonged to the priests alone! And he didn’t go to the altar of burnt offering, we are told that he attempted to burn incense on the incense alter within the temple!

In verse 17, the Chronicler highlights the bravery of the priests who stand up to Uzziah for his unfaithfulness to the LORD. They told him that he had no right to be doing what God said only the descendants of Aaron were to do. They told him to leave the temple.

But Uzziah did not respond favorably. He got angry. At this point, the LORD struck Uzziah with leprosy, and this got his attention. Both he and the priests quickly got him out of the temple!

His son Jotham carried on in his place as he was put into quarantine (26:6–23; ).

The main emphasis in Uzziah’s actions was that he acted unfaithfully. This is the first time this word was used since the days of Rehoboam, and it will now become an emphasis in the rest of the book as the kings, with a couple exceptions, become more and more unfaithful to the LORD.

Applications?

Worship - What God says goes! Don’t act presumptuously or proudly in thinking that you can do something that is not authorized.

Jotham ()

The next chapters of Chronicles gives us some kings who contrast those who they follow. We have two good kings with a very evil king in between.

The first of the three kings is Jotham. The Chronicler does not spend a lot of time talking about him, so we will not talk a lot about him either.

But verse 2 tells us that he did what was right in the LORD’s sight, but then in contrast to his father, he did not go into the temple and try to act as a priest.

But the righteousness of Jotham did not do much to change the people of Judah. Somewhere along the line they became corrupt, and we are told in verse 2 that they “still behaved corruptly.” Good kings often cannot make up for evil that is done before they reign, and unfortunately, his righteousness does not rub off onto his son, as we will see shortly.

But the righteousness of JOtham did not do much to change the people of Judah. Somewhere along the line they became corrupt, and we are told in verse 2 that they “still behaved corruptly.” Good kings often cannot make up for evil that is done before they reign.

In verses 3-6, we are told about the building projects and military victories of Jothan, following the pattern of earlier good kings, such as Solomon. He got stronger and stronger during his reign, and the reason why is given to us in verse 6:

“6 So Jotham strengthened his position because he did not waver in obeying the Lord his God.” (, CSB)

Ahaz ()

The Chronicler’s history reaches another low point with the reign of Ahaz.

“1 Ahaz was twenty years old when he became king, and he reigned sixteen years in Jerusalem. He did not do what was right in the Lord’s sight like his ancestor David, 2 for he walked in the ways of the kings of Israel and made cast images of the Baals. 3 He burned incense in Ben Hinnom Valley and burned his children in the fire, imitating the detestable practices of the nations the Lord had dispossessed before the Israelites. 4 He sacrificed and burned incense on the high places, on the hills, and under every green tree.” (, CSB)

The Chronicler highlights just how wicked Ahaz is:

To start with, Ahaz did not do what was right before God (v. 1), in contrast to his immediate predecessor Jotham (27:2).

Also, the totally negative assessment of Ahaz puts him on a par with the rulers of Ahab’s house () and with the kings whose reigns later lead directly to the exile (; cf. also ). Ahaz’s actions lead many people in Judah to be taken into captivity in Damascus (v5).

And not only was he as bad as Israel’s kings, such as Ahab, we are told that he was imitating the wicked practices of the pagan Canaanites who the Lord had dispossessed before the Israelites by burning his children in the fire… (v3)

The Consequences for Ahaz

First, Ahaz’s kingdom was attacked by Aram and many were taken into captivity (v5a).

The Lord handed them over to Pekah, the king of Israel. 120,000 men of Judah lost their lives in one day! (5b-6) We are once again reminded in verse 6 that this happened because “they had abandoned the lORD God of their ancestors.” It was during this time period that Isaiah came to Ahaz in and encouraged him not to fear Aram and Israel, but to trust in the LORD and to return to Him. But he didn’t listen and tried to pay off the Assyrians to help.

Some of those close to Ahaz were killed, including one of Ahaz’s sons (v7)

In verse 8, 200,000 people, including women and children of Judah, were taken into captivity in Israel. Thankfully, the prophet Oded was there and tells them not to enslave them. Their desire to enslave them brought God’s anger towards them. Oded tells them to return the captives, and they listen. It is interesting that at this point, both Israel and Judah are guilty before the LORD, but many within Israel are more receptive to God’s word than Ahaz & Judah!

It seems that, even though Israel was not doing well morally also, they were doing better than what Ahaz led the people of Judah into.

The Lord punished Judah further by pressuring it with the raiding armies of the mercenary Edomites and Philistines.

The Lord punished Judah further by pressuring it with the raiding armies of the mercenary Edomites and Philistines. Ahaz appealed to the Assyrian king Tiglath-Pileser III (745–727 B.C.), who promptly obliged by marching west, destroying Damascus and conquering Samaria. Ahaz failed at buying his independence with temple and royal treasuries. He became a vassal of the Assyrian king and bowed to the gods of Assyria. The worse Ahaz’s circumstances got, the more unfaithful he became to the LORD.

Ahaz does not trust in the LORD at this point, but appealed to the Assyrian king Tiglath-Pileser III (745–727 B.C.) to come and help Judah. We will see his response in a moment in verse 20.

We are told that the Philistines and Edomites also came up against Judah and defeated them.

Ahaz does not trust in the LORD at this point, but appealed to the Assyrian king Tiglath-Pileser III (745–727 B.C.) to come and help Judah. We see Assyria’s response in verses 20-21: “20 Then King Tiglath-pileser of Assyria came against Ahaz; he oppressed him and did not give him support. 21 Although Ahaz plundered the Lord’s temple and the palace of the king and of the rulers and gave the plunder to the king of Assyria, it did not help him.” (, CSB)

Then King Tiglath-pileser,m of Assyria came against Ahaz; he oppressed him and did not give him support. 21 Although Ahaz plundered the Lord’s temple and the palace of the king and of the rulers and gave the plunder to the king of Assyria, it did not help him.

Through all of this, Ahaz becomes worse and worse. HE shuts the doors to the temple, build altars to other gods throughout Jerusalem, and built high places to other gods int he cities of Judah.

“19 For the Lord humbled Judah because of King Ahaz of Judah, who threw off restraint in Judah and was unfaithful to the Lord.” (, CSB)

The Chronicler tried to introduce something positive about each king of Judah, but for Ahaz there was nothing good to report other than his death which brought Hezekiah to the throne.

The Chronicler tried to introduce something positive about each king of Judah, but for Ahaz there was nothing good to report other than his death bringing Hezekiah to the throne.

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