What I Noticed Today (2 Chronicles 21-24)
2 Chronicles 21
In verses 1-4, Jehoshaphat died and his son, Jehoram reigned in his place.
- Once he had established himself as king, he killed all of his brothers as well as some of the princes of Israel.
Note: Jehoram was the fifth king of Judah. He was a bad king who promoted Baal worship in Judah.
In verses 5-11, Jehoram was 32-years old when he became king, and he ruled eight years over Judah from Jerusalem.
- Jehoram walked in the evil ways of the kings of Israel because Ahab’s daughter, Athaliah was his wife.
Note: Jehoshaphat may have thought that having the marriage alliance with Ahab and Jezebel’s daughter, Athaliah would bring the nation of Israel and Judah back together, but just the opposite happened, Baal worship spread throughout Judah.
- The Edomites rebelled against Jehoram’s rule, as did Libnah (a Levitical city) because he had abandoned God.
- Jehoram built high places and caused the people of Judah to prostitute themselves by worshiping other gods.
In verses 12-15, Elijah, the prophet, sent a letter to Jehoram rebuking him for the same sins as Ahab, the king of Israel, for killing his brothers and leading the people of Judah away from the Lord.
In verses 16-20, when Jehoram failed to repent after receiving Elijah’s letter, the Lord allowed the Philistines and Arabs to attack Jehoram.
- They carried off all of the king’s possessions, wives, and sons (except for Jehoahaz his youngest, only a year old).
- After this, the Lord afflicted Jehoram with an intestinal disease. He died after two years. He was buried in Jerusalem but not in the tombs of the kings.
2 Chronicles 22
In verses 1-6, after Jehoram died, his son Ahaziah (previously called Jehoahaz) became king when he was 22-years old. Ahaziah’s mother’ was Athaliah, the granddaughter of Omri.
- Ahaziah followed his mother’s advice and was a bad king doing evil in the eyes of the Lord.
- He reigned one year in Jerusalem.
- Ahaziah went with Israel’s king Joram (aka Jehoram) to do battle against Hazael, king of Aram in Ramoth-gilead (see 2 Chronicles 18:34).
- Ahaziah went to Jezreel to visit Joram who had been wounded in the battle.
In verses 7-9, Ahaziah and Jehoram went out to meet Jehu.
Note: Jehu was the military officer the Lord had chosen to be the next king of Israel (2 Kings 9:1-13).
- Jehu killed Jehoram (2 Kings 9:24) and Ahaziah’s brothers.
- Jehu chased after and captured Ahaziah and killed him.
- No one from the house of Ahaziah had the strength to rule the kingdom.
In verses 10-12, Ahaziah’s mother, Athaliah killed all the remaining royal heirs, except for Joash who was hidden away in God’s temple by Jehoshabeath, the king’s daughter and her husband, Jehoiada, the priest. Athaliah then installed herself as queen ruling over Judah.
2 Chronicles 23
In verses 1-7, in Athaliah’s seventh year (835 B.C.), Jehoiada made a covenant with the commanders and Levites and installed Joash as king.
Note: This was the first of three covenants Jehoiada made.
- Jehoiada gathered the Levites from all of Judah and came to Jerusalem.
- He divided the priests and Levites into three groups. He stationed a third of them at the temple, a third at the palace, and a third at the Foundation gate (aka Sur gate in 2 Kings 11:6).
Note: Jehoiada’s second covenant was between himself, the priests and Levites, and leaders to declare Joash as king.
In verses 8-15, the commanders did everything Jehoiada the priest commanded.
- Jehoiada took the spears and shields from the temple and gave them to the men.
- He stationed the men around the altar and brought Joash, the king’s son and anointed him as king.
- When Athaliah heard the commotion, she realized what had happened and shouted treason!
- Jehoiada then had men capture Athaliah and put her to death at the Horse’s gate to the king’s palace.
In verses 16-21, Jehoiada then made a third covenant between himself, the king, and the people that they would be the Lord’s people.
- They tore down the temple of Baal and killed the priest of Baal.
- Jehoiada then ordered the Levitical priests to assume responsibility for the temple and for offering sacrifices to God.
- Then Jehoiada took the commanders and Joash down from the temple and seated the king on his throne in the palace.
2 Chronicles 24
In verses 1-3, Joash was seven years old when he became king over Judah, and he reigned 40 years from Jerusalem.
- Throughout all the years of Jehoiada, the priest, Joash, did right in the eyes of the Lord.
Note: Joash was the seventh king of Judah.
In verses 4-7, as Joash grew older, he ordered the Levites to go out into the country and collect money to repair the temple (restoration of the temple tax imposed by Moses (Exodus 30:14).
Note: Joash’s order to rebuild the temple may have been 23-years into his reign (2 Kings 12:6)
- The Levites did not carry out the king’s order quickly.
- So Joash had a chest placed at the entrance to the temple, and whenever the chest got full, the money was given to workman to repair the damage done to the temple.
- Repairs were made to the Lord’s temple, and when they were finished, the rest of the money was used to make utensils of gold and silver for use in ministering before the Lord.
In verses 15-22, Jehoiada the high priest, and Joash’s counselor died at 130 years old.
- Rulers from around Judah came to Joash and persuaded him to abandon the worship of God and return to the worship of Asherah and idols.
- The Lord sent them prophets to admonish them, but the people would not listen.
- Then the Spirit of the Lord took control of Zechariah, son of Jehoiada, the priest.
- Zechariah told the people the Lord had abandoned them because they had abandoned Him.
- Joash and the people stoned Zechariah in the temple courtyard.
In verses 23-25, the Arameans went to war against Joash. They entered Judah and killed all the leaders of Judah and plundered the land.
In verses 26-27, Joash was wounded, but killed by his own servants because he had killed Zechariah.
Note: The servants that killed Joash were gentiles; an Ammonite and a Moabite. Even these gentile servants could not stand the fact that Joash had killed Zechariah.
- Joash was buried in Jerusalem but not in the tombs of the kings.
- Amaziah, the son of Joash, succeeded him as king over Judah.
Some thoughts for additional consideration:
- The decline of these many kings is apparent when they abandon the Lord. The people rebelled against Jehoram because of Baal worship. Ahaziah reigned for only one year because he was wicked. Athaliah, a Baal worshipper, killed her own family to secure her place as queen. Joash began his reign as a very good king, but when Jehoiada, the high priest died, Joash abandoned God and reverted to idol worship.
- Jehoiada, the high priest, was faithful to God at a time when that was in direct opposition to the rulers. He dared to stand up to the false worship of the rulers and even put his own life at risk to hide young Joash until he was old enough to become king. Then he remained a faithful counselor to Joash throughout his life, and all during this time Joash and the people faithfully followed God.
What did you notice in your study today? Feel free to visit the website and leave a question or a comment.
