Category: 2 Chronicles

2 Chronicles 13-16

Just a question based on one of the passages from these four chapters:

  1. Now the Spirit of God came on Azariah the son of Oded,
  2. and he went out to meet Asa and said to him, “Listen to me, Asa, and all Judah and Benjamin: the LORD is with you when you are with Him. And if you seek Him, He will let you find Him; but if you forsake Him, He will forsake you.
  3. “For many days Israel was without the true God and without ba teaching priest and without law.
  4. “But ain their distress they turned to the LORD God of Israel, and they sought Him, and He let them find Him.
  5. “In those times there was no peace to him who went out or to him who came in, for many disturbances afflicted all the inhabitants of the lands.
  6. “Nation was crushed by nation, and city by city, for God troubled them with every kind of distress.
  7. “But you, be strong and do not lose courage, for there is reward for your work.”

If the foundation of God’s reward is based on our proximity to Him, what can our expectation for America be in 2013?

If we read the remainder of chapter 15, we see what Asa did in order to ensure the Lord’s reward would continue upon the land.

8.  Now when Asa heard these words and the prophecy which Azariah the son of Oded the prophet spoke, he took courage and removed the abominable idols from all the land of Judah and Benjamin and from the cities which he had captured in the hill country of Ephraim. He then restored the altar of the LORD which was in front of the porch of the LORD.

9.  He gathered all Judah and Benjamin and those from Ephraim, Manasseh and Simeon who resided with them, for many defected to him from Israel when they saw that the LORD his God was with him.

10.  So they assembled at Jerusalem in the third month of the fifteenth year of Asa’s reign.

11.  They sacrificed to the LORD that day 700 oxen and 7,000 sheep from the spoil they had brought.

12,  They entered into the covenant to seek the LORD God of their fathers with all their heart and soul;

13.  and whoever would not seek the LORD God of Israel should be put to death, whether small or great, man or woman.

14.  Moreover, they made an oath to the LORD with a loud voice, with shouting, with trumpets and with horns.

15.  All Judah rejoiced concerning the oath, for they had sworn with their whole heart and had sought Him 1earnestly, and He let them find Him. So the LORD gave them rest on every side.

16.  He also removed Maacah, the mother of King Asa, from the position of queen mother, because she had made a horrid image as an Asherah, and Asa cut down her horrid image, crushed it and burned it at the brook Kidron.

17.  But the high places were not removed from Israel; nevertheless Asa’s heart was blameless all his days.

18.  He brought into the house of God the dedicated things of his father and his own dedicated things: silver and gold and utensils.

19.  And there was no more war until the thirty-fifth year of Asa’s reign.

At what price are we willing to sacrifice to receive the Lord’s blessings?

(New American Standard Bible: 1995 update. 1995 (2 Ch 15:1–7). LaHabra, CA: The Lockman Foundation.)

2 Chronicles 7.12-22

2 Chronicles 7.12-22 (1 Kings 9.1-9)

The most quoted portion of 2 Chronicles is found in these verses. It is also the most commonly misquoted portion of 2 Chronicles. 1 Kings does not contain verses 14-16 because it is looking forward and 2 Chronicles is looking back. The writer’s audience in 2 Chronicles is the post-exilic nation.

The gist of verses 12-18 is when sin happens, repentance must follow. It is also implicit that God is faithful to His Word, even when we are not faithful to follow. The promises of God are both conditional (blessings, etc) and unconditional (salvation, etc). Here God presents both promises. The success of Israel is based on their turning from sin and turning toward God. It is not enough to say that sin is wrong, they need to define it and turn from it and turn to God. The promise of the coming Messiah is unconditional.

What we can do with this passage is realize that God is calling us to do three things: humble ourselves, repent, and turn to Him. He, then, will do three things for us: hear our prayers, forgive our sins in restoring fellowship, and heal the land. The last one is debatable outside of Israel (see McGee, 1997). However, if God’s people today, the church, were to turn back to Him, the land would be healed. Not from pestilence, drought, etc. but from the socialism and other ungodly pursuits she has undertaken. This would be due to the character change of God’s people producing a change where the live. This truth is evident in James 4.7-10.

A good read on the evils of America is Dennis Prager’s Still the Best Hope.

2 Chronicles 4

2 Chronicles 4 (Cf. 1 Kings 6 and 1 Kings 7)

This chapter is similar to 1 Kings 6 and 7. However, verse one introduces an altar of bronze. It is huge (see photo). The increased size was due to the increased sacrifices being offered.

This passage and the one in 1 Kings 7.23 both describe π quite precisely. Chuck Missler, among others, have commented on this passage. I refer the reader to his article “The Value of Pi.”