Study Bible

Loading
2 Chronicles 32:1-33...

(Swipe page to view/hide tools)

2 Chronicles Chapter 32

Sennacherib Threatens Jerusalem; Hezekiah's Prayer Answered Sennacherib invading Judah, Hezekiah fortifies himself, and encourages his people

32 1 2 Kin 18:13 A1After these things, and the establishment thereof, Sennacherib king of Assyria came, and entered into Judah, and encamped against the fenced cities, and thought to win them for himself.

2And when Hezekiah saw that Sennacherib was come, and that he was purposed to fight against Jerusalem,

3He took counsel with his princes and his mighty men to stop the waters of the fountains which were without the city: and they did help him.

4So there was gathered much people together, who stopped all the fountains, and the brook that ran through the midst of the land, saying, Why should the kings of Assyria come, and find much water?

5 Isa 22:9-10; 2 Chr 25:23; 2 Sam 5:9 5Also he strengthened himself, and built up all the wall that was broken, and raised it up to the towers, and another wall without, and repaired Millo in the city of David, and made darts and shields in abundance.

6And he set captains of war over the people, and gathered them together to him in the street of the gate of the city, and spake comfortably to them, saying,

7 2 Kin 6:16; 2 Chr 20:15; Jos 1:6-7; Deu 31:6 7Be strong and courageous, be not afraid nor dismayed for the king of Assyria, nor for all the multitude that is with him: for there be more with us than with him:

8 Rom 8:31; Amo 5:14; Psa 18:2; 2 Chr 13:12; Deu 20:4 8With him is an arm of flesh; but with us is the Lord our God to help us, and to fight our battles. And the people rested themselves upon the words of Hezekiah king of Judah. Hezekiah and Isaiah pray against the blasphemies of Sennarchib

9 2 Kin 18:17 9¶After this did Sennacherib king of Assyria send his servants to Jerusalem,(but he himself laid siege against Lachish, and all his power with him,) unto Hezekiah king of Judah, and unto all Judah that were at Jerusalem, saying,

10Thus saith Sennacherib king of Assyria, Whereon do ye trust, that ye abide in the siege in Jerusalem?

11Doth not Hezekiah persuade you to give over yourselves to die by famine and by thirst, saying, The Lord our God shall deliver us out of the hand of the king of Assyria?

12Hath not the same Hezekiah taken away his high places and his altars, and commanded Judah and Jerusalem, saying, Ye shall worship before one altar, and burn incense upon it?

13 Psa 115:4-8; 2 Kin 18:33-35 13Know ye not what I and my fathers have done unto all the people of other lands? were the gods of the nations of those lands any ways able to deliver their lands out of mine hand?

14Who was there among all the gods of those nations that my fathers utterly destroyed, that could deliver his people out of mine hand, that your God should be able to deliver you out of mine hand?

15 Exo 5:2; Joh 19:10-11 15Now therefore let not Hezekiah deceive you, nor persuade you on this manner, neither yet believe him: for no god of any nation or kingdom was able to deliver his people out of mine hand, and out of the hand of my fathers: how much less shall your God deliver you out of mine hand?

16And his servants spake yet more against the Lord God, and against his servant Hezekiah.

17 2 Kin 19:9 17He wrote also letters to rail on the Lord God of Israel, and to speak against him, saying, As the gods of the nations of other lands have not delivered their people out of mine hand, so shall not the God of Hezekiah deliver his people out of mine hand.

18 2 Kin 18:28 18Then they cried with a loud voice in the Jews’ speech unto the people of Jerusalem that were on the wall, to affright them, and to trouble them; that they might take the city.

19 Hos 8:5-6; Jer 1:16; Psa 115:4; Deu 4:28 19And they spake against the God of Jerusalem, as against the gods of the people of the earth, which were the work of the hands of man.

20And for this cause Hezekiah the king, and the prophet Isaiah the son of Amoz, prayed and cried to heaven. An angel destroys the host of the Assyrians

21And the Lord sent an angel, which cut off all the mighty men of valour, and the leaders and captains in the camp of the king of Assyria. So he returned with shame of face to his own land. And when he was come into the house of his god, they that came forth of his own bowels slew him there with the sword.

22 Psa 18:48-50 22Thus the Lord saved Hezekiah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem from the hand of Sennacherib the king of Assyria, and from the hand of all other, and guided them on every side.

23 2 Chr 1:1; 1 Chr 29:25; 2 Chr 17:5 23And many brought gifts unto the Lord to Jerusalem, and presents to Hezekiah king of Judah: so that he was magnified in the sight of all nations from thenceforth. Hezekiah praying in his sickness, God gives him a sign of recovery

24 Isa 38:1 24¶In those days Hezekiah was sick to the death, and prayed unto the Lord: and he spake unto him, and he gave him a sign. His proud heart is humbled by God

25 2 Chr 24:18; 1 Pet 5:5-6; 2 Chr 25:19; Deu 8:17 25But Hezekiah rendered not again according to the benefit done unto him; for his heart was lifted up: therefore there was wrath upon him, and upon Judah and Jerusalem.

26 Jer 26:18; 2 Kin 20:19 26Notwithstanding Hezekiah humbled himself for the pride of his heart, both he and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, so that the wrath of the Lord came not upon them in the days of Hezekiah. His wealth and works

27And Hezekiah had exceeding much riches and honour: and he made himself treasuries for silver, and for gold, and for precious stones, and for spices, and for shields, and for all manner of pleasant jewels;

28Storehouses also for the increase of corn, and wine, and oil; and stalls for all manner of beasts, and cotes for flocks.

29 2 Chr 29:12 29Moreover he provided him cities, and possessions of flocks and herds in abundance: for God had given him substance very much.

30 Isa 22:9 30This same Hezekiah also stopped the upper watercourse of Gihon, and brought it straight down to the west side of the city of David. And Hezekiah prospered in all his works. His error in the ambassage of Babylon

31 Isa 39:1; Gen 22:1; Joh 1:12 31Howbeit in the business of the ambassadors of the princes of Babylon, who sent unto him to enquire of the wonder that was done in the land, God left him, to try him, that he might know all that was in his heart. He dying, Manasseh succeeds him

32 Isa 36; 2 Kin 18 32Now the rest of the acts of Hezekiah, and his goodness, behold, they are written in the vision of Isaiah the prophet, the son of Amoz, and in the book of the kings of Judah and Israel.

33 1 Sam 2:30 33And Hezekiah slept with his fathers, and they buried him in the chiefest of the sepulchres of the sons of David: and all Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem did him honour at his death. And Manasseh his son reigned in his stead.

Study Tools

Use the tabs above to select the tool you need.

Introduction — Book introductions

Outline — Chapter and book outline

Interlinear Bible — the Interlinar Hebrew/Greek text. It can be displayed alongside the English text, and the keyed words will be matched by highlighting the corresponding keyed word.

Introductions and Outlines courtesy Grace to You. Used by permission)

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.