What I Noticed Today (2 Chronicles 28-30)
2 Chronicles 28
In verses 1-4, Ahaz became king of Judah after his father, Jotham died. He reigned 16 years (731-715 B.C.) in Jerusalem.
Note: Ahaz reigned as co-regent with his father Jotham for four years.
- Ahaz was an evil king who did not do right in the eyes of the Lord.
- He turned completely away from the example of his father and grandfather.
- Ahaz walked in the ways of the Israelites, made images for Baal worship, and even burned his own sons as offerings.
In verse 5, the Lord gave Ahaz into the hands of the Syrians (Aramites) who defeated Judah and took a number of captives to their capital city of Damascus.
In verses 6-8, the Lord also gave Ahaz into the hands Pekah, king of Israel, who killed half of Ahaz’s army, took 200,000 people hostage, and plundered the land.
In verses 9-15, a prophet in Samaria, named Oded, warned the Israelites that it was wrong to take their brothers' hostage and that Israel was already facing God’s wrath.
- The leaders in Israel obeyed Oded and sent the captives home to Judah.
In verses 16-18, Ahaz, now desperate, asked the king of Assyria for help in defending Judah against the Edomites and the Philistines who had attacked Judah.
- Rather than helping, Tiglath-pileser, the king of Assyria came against Judah and oppressed Ahaz.
In verses 22-25, Ahaz stubbornly refused to turn to God.
- Rather, he turned to the gods of the Syrians (Damascus) who had defeated him, thinking their gods were stronger than the Lord.
- Ahaz desecrated the temple of the Lord, shut the doors of the temple, and made high places to worship false gods all over Judah.
In verses 26-27, Ahaz died and was buried in Jerusalem but not in the tombs of the kings. His son Hezekiah began to reign in Judah.
2 Chronicles 29
In verses 1-2, Hezekiah was 25 years old when he became king of Judah, and he reigned 29 years from Jerusalem (715-686 B.C.)
Note: Hezekiah also reigned as co-regent with his father for 14 years (729-715 B.C.).
- Hezekiah was a good king, who did right in the eyes of the Lord.
In verses 3-9, the first thing Hezekiah did in his first month was to begin the process of restoring the people to worshipping the Lord.
- He began by assembling the priests and Levites and commanded them to consecrate themselves and begin the process of cleansing and restoring the temple of the Lord. After 16 days the temple was cleansed.
In verses 10-19, Hezekiah announced his intention to renew the Mosaic covenant between the people and the Lord.
- The heads of the Levite families came together with their brothers and began the process of cleansing the Lord’s temple.
- It took eight days to cleanse the temple and consecrate all the utensils in preparation for making offerings to the Lord.
In verses 20-36, next, Hezekiah gathered the officials of the city of Jerusalem together to present offerings to the Lord as they restored temple worship.
- Hezekiah began by having the priests make a sin offering of seven bulls, seven rams, and seven lambs.
- Hezekiah then commanded the burnt offering to be made.
- Finally, the whole assembly presented their offerings, sang, and worshiped the Lord.
2 Chronicles 30
In verses 1- 12, Hezekiah then reinstated the celebration of Passover, which had not been practiced for many years.
- Hezekiah sent messengers throughout the land telling people to prepare themselves to celebrate the Passover.
- Some people laughed and refused, but others humbled themselves and prepared to celebrate the Passover.
Note: Hezekiah told the people to return to the Lord (2 Chronicles 30:6), to not be like their stubborn fathers (v. 7-8), and promised that if they did return to the Lord, He would have compassion on them (v. 9).
In verses 13-21, in addition to assembling to celebrate the Passover, the people gathered in Jerusalem to celebrate the Feast of Unleavened Bread (which follows the Passover celebration).
- The people removed the high places and altars that had been built around Jerusalem.
- The people celebrated the Passover for a week and then decided to celebrate for another week.
- There was great joy in the city of Jerusalem, the priests blessed the people, and God heard their prayers.
Some thoughts for additional consideration:
- It is hard to understand how Ahaz, who had a faithful father and grandfather, could so completely turn away from the Lord. Despite his failures, he turned himself and the people of Judah further and further from the Lord.
- Just as surprising, is how Hezekiah could be so completely devoted to the Lord considering the example of his father, Ahaz. Hezekiah did everything he could, in exactly the right order, to encourage the people to return to worship the Lord by choice. The result was those who returned to the Lord did so joyfully!
What did you notice in your study today? Feel free to visit the website and leave a question or a comment.
