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2 Chronicles Chapter 31

Idolatry Destroyed; Contributions for Worship The people go forward in destroying idolatry

31 1 2 Kin 18:4 N1Now when all this was finished, all Israel that were present went out to the cities of Judah, and brake the images in pieces, and cut down the groves, and threw down the high places and the altars out of all Judah and Benjamin, in Ephraim also and Manasseh, until they had utterly destroyed them all. Then all the children of Israel returned, every man to his possession, into their own cities. Hezekiah orders the courses of the priests and Levites,

2 1 Chr 23:6; 1 Chr 23:30-31 2And Hezekiah appointed the courses of the priests and the Levites after their courses, every man according to his service, the priests and Levites for burnt offerings and for peace offerings, to minister, and to give thanks, and to praise in the gates of the tents of the Lord.

3 Num 28 3He appointed also the king’s portion of his substance for the burnt offerings, to wit, for the morning and evening burnt offerings, and the burnt offerings for the sabbaths, and for the new moons, and for the set feasts, as it is written in the law of the Lord. and provides for their work and maintenance

4 Num 18:8; 1 Cor 9:13; Mal 2:7 4Moreover he commanded the people that dwelt in Jerusalem to give the portion of the priests and the Levites, that they might be encouraged in the law of the Lord. The people's forwardness in offerings and tithes

5 Jam 1:18; Eze 20:40; Pro 3:9; Num 18:12; Exo 22:29 5And as soon as the commandment came abroad, the children of Israel brought in abundance the firstfruits of corn, wine, and oil, and honey, and of all the increase of the field; and the tithe of all things brought they in abundantly.

6 Lev 27:30; Deu 14:28 6And concerning the children of Israel and Judah, that dwelt in the cities of Judah, they also brought in the tithe of oxen and sheep, and the tithe of holy things which were consecrated unto the Lord their God, and laid them by heaps.

7In the third month they began to lay the foundation of the heaps, and finished them in the seventh month.

8 Psa 33:12; 2 Sam 6:18; Deu 33:29 8And when Hezekiah and the princes came and saw the heaps, they blessed the Lord, and his people Israel.

9Then Hezekiah questioned with the priests and the Levites concerning the heaps.

10 Hag 2:19; Mal 3:10 10And Azariah the chief priest of the house of Zadok answered him, and said, Since the people began to bring the offerings into the house of the Lord, we have had enough to eat, and have left plenty: for the Lord hath blessed his people; and that which is left is this great store. Hezekiah appoints officers to dispose of the tithes

11¶Then Hezekiah commanded to prepare chambers in the house of the Lord; and they prepared them,

12 Neh 13:13 12And brought in the offerings and the tithes and the dedicated things faithfully: over which Cononiah the Levite was ruler, and Shimei his brother was the next.

13And Jehiel, and Azaziah, and Nahath, and Asahel, and Jerimoth, and Jozabad, and Eliel, and Ismachiah, and Mahath, and Benaiah, were overseers under the hand of Cononiah and Shimei his brother, at the commandment of Hezekiah the king, and Azariah the ruler of the house of God.

14And Kore the son of Imnah the Levite, the porter toward the east, was over the freewill offerings of God, to distribute the oblations of the Lord, and the most holy things.

15 Jos 21:9 15And next him were Eden, and Miniamin, and Jeshua, and Shemaiah, Amariah, and Shecaniah, in the cities of the priests, in their set office, to give to their brethren by courses, as well to the great as to the small:

16Beside their genealogy of males, from three years old and upward, even unto every one that entereth into the house of the Lord, his daily portion for their service in their charges according to their courses;

17 1 Chr 23:24; 1 Chr 23:27 17Both to the genealogy of the priests by the house of their fathers, and the Levites from twenty years old and upward, in their charges by their courses;

18And to the genealogy of all their little ones, their wives, and their sons, and their daughters, through all the congregation: for in their set office they sanctified themselves in holiness:

19 2 Chr 31:12-15; Num 35:2; Lev 25:34 19Also of the sons of Aaron the priests, which were in the fields of the suburbs of their cities, in every several city, the men that were expressed by name, to give portions to all the males among the priests, and to all that were reckoned by genealogies among the Levites. The sincerity of Hezekiah

20 1 Kin 15:5; Joh 1:47 20And thus did Hezekiah throughout all Judah, and wrought that which was good and right and truth before the Lord his God.

21 Deu 29:9; Jos 1:7; Jos 1:7 21And in every work that he began in the service of the house of God, and in the law, and in the commandments, to seek his God, he did it with all his heart, and prospered.

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Introduction to 2 Chronicles
by John MacArthur

Title

The original title in the Hebrew Bible read “The annals (i.e., events or happenings) of the days.” First and Second Chronicles were comprised of one book until later divided into separate books in the Greek OT translation, the Septuagint (LXX), ca 200 B.C. The title also changed at that time to the inaccurate title, “the things omitted,” i.e., reflecting material not in 1, 2 Samuel and 1, 2 Kings. The English title “Chronicles” originated with Jerome’s Latin Vulgate translation (ca 400 A.D.), which used the fuller title “The Chronicles of the Entire Sacred History.”

Author and Date

Neither 1 nor 2 Chronicles contains direct statements regarding the human author, though Jewish tradition strongly favors Ezra the priest (cf. Ezra 7:1-6) as “the chronicler.” These records were most likely recorded ca 450-430 B.C. The genealogical record in 1 Chr 1-9 supports a date after 450 B.C. for the writing. The NT does not directly quote either 1 or 2 Chronicles.

Background and Setting

The immediate historical backdrop encompassed the Jews’ three-phase return to the Promised Land from the Babylonian exile: 1) Zerubbabel in Ezra 1-6 (ca 538 B.C.); 2) Ezra in Ezra 7-10 (ca 458 B.C.); and 3) Nehemiah in Neh 1-13 (ca 445 B.C.). Previous history looks back to the Babylonian deportation/Exile (ca 605-538 B.C.) as predicted/reported by 2 Kings, Esther, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Daniel, and Habakkuk. The prophets of this restoration era were Haggai, Zechariah, and Malachi.

The Jews had returned from their 70 years of captivity (ca 538 B.C.) to a land that was markedly different from the one once ruled by King David (ca. 1011-971 B.C.) and King Solomon (971-931 B.C.): 1) there was no Hebrew king, but rather a Persian governor (Ezra 5:3; 6:6); 2) there was no security for Jerusalem, so Nehemiah had to rebuild the wall (Neh 1-7); 3) there was no temple, so Zerubbabel had to reconstruct a pitiful semblance of the Solomonic temple’s former glory (Ezra 3); 4) the Jews no longer dominated the region, but rather were on the defensive (Ezra 4; Neh 4); 5) they enjoyed few divine blessings beyond the fact of their return; 6) they possessed little of the kingdom’s former wealth; and 7) God’s divine presence no longer resided in Jerusalem, having departed ca 597-591 B.C. (Ezek 8-11).

To put it mildly, their future looked bleak compared to their majestic past, especially the time of David and Solomon. The return could best be described as bittersweet, i.e., bitter because their present poverty brought hurtful memories about what was forfeited by God’s judgment on their ancestors’ sin, but sweet because at least they were back in the Land God had given Abraham 17 centuries earlier (Gen 12:1-3). The chronicler’s selective genealogy and history of Israel, stretching from Adam (1 Chr 1:1) to the return from Babylon (2 Chr 26:23), was intended to remind the Jews of God’s promises and intentions about: 1) the Land; 2) the nation; 3) the Davidic king; 4) the Levitical priests; 5) the temple; and 6) true worship, none of which had been abrogated because of the Babylonian captivity. All of this was to remind them of their spiritual heritage during the difficult times they faced, and to encourage them to be faithful to God.

Historical and Theological Themes

First and Second Chronicles, as named by Jerome, recreate an OT history in miniature, with particular emphases on the Davidic Covenant and temple worship. In terms of literary parallel, 1 Chronicles is the partner of 2 Samuel, in that both detail the reign of King David. First Chronicles opens with Adam (2 Chr 1:1) and closes with the death of David (2 Chr 29:26-30) in 971 B.C. Second Chronicles begins with Solomon (2 Chr 1:1) and covers the same historical period as 1 and 2 Kings, while focusing exclusively on the kings of the southern kingdom of Judah, thus excluding the history of the northern 10 tribes and their rulers, because of their complete wickedness and false worship. It ranges from the reign of Solomon (2 Chr 1:1) in 971 B.C. to the return from Babylon in 538 B.C. (2 Chr 36:23). Over 55 percent of the material in Chronicles is unique, i.e., not found in 2 Samuel or 1 and 2 Kings. The “chronicler” tended to omit what was negative or in opposition to the Davidic kingship; on the other hand, he tended to make unique contributions in validating temple worship and the line of David. Whereas 2 Kings 25 ends dismally with the deportation of Judah to Babylon, 2 Chronicles 36:22-23 concludes hopefully with the Jews’ release from Persia and return to Jerusalem.

These two books were written to the repatriated Jewish exiles as a chronicle of God’s intention of future blessing, in spite of the nation’s past moral/spiritual failure for which the people paid dearly under God’s wrath. First and Second Chronicles could be briefly summarized as follows:

I. A Selected Genealogical History of Israel (1 Chr 1-9)
II. Israel’s United Kingdom Under Saul (1 Chr 10), David (1 Chr 11-29), and Solomon (2 Chr 1-9)
III. Judah’s Monarchy in the Divided Kingdom (2 Chr 10-36:21)
IV. Judah’s Release From Their Seventy Year Captivity (2 Chr 36:22, 23).

The historical themes are inextricably linked with the theological in that God’s divine purposes for Israel have been and will be played out on the stage of human history. These two books are designed to assure the returning Jews that, in spite of their checkered past and present plight, God will be true to His covenant promises. They have been returned by God to the Land first given to Abraham as a race of people whose ethnic identity (Jewish) was not obliterated by the deportation and whose national identity (Israel) has been preserved (Gen 12:1-3; 15:5), although they are still under God’s judgment as prescribed by the Mosaic legislation (Deut 28:15-68). The priestly line of Eleazar’s son Phinehas and the Levitical line were still intact so that temple worship could continue in the hopes that God’s presence would one day return (Num 25:10-13; Mal 3:1). The Davidic promise of a king was still valid, although future in its fulfillment (2 Sam 7:8-17; 1 Chr. 17:7-15). Their individual hope of eternal life and restoration of God’s blessings forever rested in the New Covenant (Jer 31:31-34).

Two basic principles enumerated in these two books prevail throughout the OT, namely, obedience brings blessing, disobedience brings judgment. In the Chronicles, when the king obeyed and trusted the Lord, God blessed and protected. But when the king disobeyed and/or put his trust in something or someone other than the Lord, God withdrew His blessing and protection. Three basic failures by the kings of Judah brought God’s wrath: 1) personal sin; 2) false worship/idolatry; and/or 3) trust in man rather than God.

Interpretive Challenges

First and Second Chronicles present a combination of selective genealogical and historical records and no insurmountable challenges within the two books are encountered. A few issues arise, such as: 1) Who wrote 1 and 2 Chronicles? Does the overlap of 2 Chr 36:22-23 with Ezra 1:1-3 point to Ezra as author? 2) Does the use of multiple sources taint the inerrancy doctrine of Scripture? 3) How does one explain the variations in the genealogies of 1 Chr 1-9 from other OT genealogies? 4) Are the curses of Deut 28 still in force, even though the 70 year
captivity has concluded? 5) How does one explain the few variations in numbers when comparing Chronicles with parallel passages in Samuel and Kings? These will be dealt with in the notes at the appropriate places.