Week 34 Study Page - 2nd Chronicles 12-36

Week # 34 Study Page

2nd Chronicles 12-36

About the Book(s)

2nd Chronicles

Date of Authorship: If Ezra was the author of Chronicles, then these books were written in the middle of the 5th century BC (460-440). Those who do not believe Ezra to be the author usually suggest a date slightly more recent than that, and a few believe that it may have been written as recently as the 4th century BC.

Author: While the text of Chronicles claims no author, the Jewish Talmud claims that its author is Ezra, the priest. When these notes refer to the author of Chronicles, he will be referred to as "the Chronicler."

Purpose: The books of Chronicles intend to retell the story of God's people for an audience late in their history, several decades after the exile, with special emphasis on the Davidic covenant, the proper place of worship, and the certainty of God's punishment. you'll notice that Chronicles focuses much more on the kingdom of Judah at the expense of the account of the northern kingdom of Israel. The Chronicler views Judah as the vehicle of God's outworking of His promises, and will focus on this kingdom in his history. Chronicles is much more than just a retelling of the books of Samuel and Kings. In the Hebrew canon (Jewish Bible) 1st and 2nd Chronicles are the last book, after even Ezra and Nehemiah which record events later than those recorded in Chronicles. Chronicles occupies this special position because it retells the whole Old Testament story in a way which emphasizes the most important themes for postexilic Israel: 1) the Davidic covenant and lineage which was awaiting its ultimate fulfillment, and 2) the function and continuity of the priesthood.

Distinction from Samuel and Kings: One major distinction between the account of Chronicles and Kings is that Chronicles appears to be written much later than both of those accounts, and likely even uses them (Samuel and Kings) as source material. While these are the same stories of David and Solomon and the following kings of Judah, they are being told to a people who have been returned and restored from exile who we're wondering how God's plan for Israel related to their current situation under Persian / Greek control. Because the author is telling these 5th/4th century Israelites about the promise and certainty of both the Davidic kingship and the temple, he omits the stories of David struggling (no account of Bathsheba / Uriah, no rebellion of Sheba or Absalom) and focuses on the blessing of God toward David and his family, and makes the crucial connection between the kingship of David, and the Temple of God in Jerusalem.

As You Read Notes

2nd Chronicles 22:10: a Davidic crisis

Do you recall the bloody rebellion of Jehu against the house of Omri in the northern kingdom of Israel recorded in 2nd Kings 9 and 10? Joram king of Israel, son of Ahab, was not the only royal casualty in that affair. Ahaziah King of Judah was also killed in that episode just 1 year after he had ascended to the throne at the age of 22. In a linear, familial system of royal succession, this spells major trouble. there is no way a 23-year old has an heir old enough to become king. In this vacuum, Ahaziah's mother Athaliah claims power. This is an even greater problem because Athaliah is not playing for team Judah! she is the granddaughter of Omri king of Israel* (a consequence of Jehoshaphat's wicked coziness with the Israelite king Ahab). Athaliah, this Israelite agent of a queen, attempts to kill off the Davidic dynasty by exterminating her own family. This is a major moment of crisis for the promise of the Davidic covenant.

Thankfully, Ahaziah's infant baby is saved by his Aunt Jehoseba and hidden in the the temple. After six years, this baby, Joash, is made king, Athaliah is killed, and, and the Davidic line is restored. Earlier, I told you that our reading is divided into 19 different episodes, each of them containing 1 of the 19 kings of Judah. However, there are 2 bonus episodes sandwiched in between episode (king) #6 and #7. The six-year reign of queen-regent Athaliah, and the period of influence for the character we will discuss next

2nd Chronicles 23: Jehoiada the Priest

Joash is saved from the murderous queen Athaliah by his aunt Jehosheba. Jehosehba is married to a priest named Jehoiada, and Jehoiada plays a key role in the leadership of Judah. It is Jehoiada who takes the lead for the remainder of the chapter. this priest marshals a militia out of the Levites and elders of Judah to come and make the 8-year-old Joash king, in rebellion against their Israelite queen Athaliah. beyond that moment Jehoiada leads the people of Israel in a spiritual reform and becomes the teacher and mentor for young Joash in a position that would have made him the de facto ruler of Judah. give attention to how the story of Jehoiada ends

Now Jehoiada was old and full of years, and he died at the age of a hundred and thirty. He was buried with the kings in the City of David, because of the good he had done in Israel for God and his temple. (2nd Chronicles 24:15-16)

Jehoiada, the leader-priest who was buried with the kings is an important forshadow of the conditions that would exist in the time when the Chronicler is writing. When the Israelites return from Babylonian exile, they are still a vassal-state of the Persian and then Greek, and then Roman empires. They will not have a Davidic king sitting on the throne in this time, and they will depend on the priesthood for national leadership and unity. Jehoiada is the archetype of that leadership. Just as Jehoiada minded the care of God's people until the Davidic king could serve on the throne, the Israelite priesthood would be the source of leadership and strength until the Davidic kingship would be restored as promised - in Jesus Christ

2nd Chronicles 26:20-23: Uzziah's LEPROSY

Uzziah was a great king of Judah, right up until the time when his pride led him to enter the holy room of the temple and perform a function reserved for the priests. For this grave transgression he was afflicted with what our English Bibles translate "Leprosy." Here is a note on what kind of disease this was from the IVP Bible Backgrounds Commentary (that you might want to read after your finished eating):

"Those studying the ancient Near Eastern languages have concluded that the term often translated "leprosy" is more accurately rendered "lesion," or, less technical, "scaly skin." Such patches could be swelled or weeping, as well as flaking. Clinical leprosy (Hansen's Disease) has not been attested in the ancient Near East prior to the time of Alexander the Great (centuries later than Uzziah). None of the most prominent characteristics of Hansen's disease (what we now call Leprosy) are listed in the text, and the symptoms that are listed argue against a relationship to Hansen's disease. The condition discussed in the text is not presented as contagious. Descriptions would suggest that modern diagnoses would include psoriasis, eczema, favus and seborrheic dermatitis, as well as a number of fungal-type infections. Because of this, it is not clear exactly what type of skin disease Uzziah had. The great cultural aversion to skin diseases may be that in appearance and sometimes odor they resemble the rotting skin of the corpse and are therefore associated with death. This natural revulsion adds considerably to the victims outcast status when combined with the quarantine that is ritually rather than medically motivated. It is not certain whether Uzziah was quarantined because of the disease or because of his cultic offenses. Naaman had a similar disease and was able to continue his duties as commander in chief. It is resumed that Jotham, son of Uzziah, took over official duties as a co-regent after Uzziah's cultic offense.

2nd Chronicles 30:2: A Second Month Passover

The Passover was the second most sacred festival of the Jewish calendar after the Day of Atonement. It was to be celebrated on the 14th day of the first month. anyone who did not participate in the Passover was to be kicked out of the Israelite community. The sad truth is that it appears the Israelites rarely celebrated the Passover as commanded by God. National celebrations of the Passover are recorded as a remarkable exception to the norm during the reigns of Hezekiah and Josiah. Hezekiah's celebration of the Passover was unique in that they celebrated it in the second month (a month late) because not enough priests had consecrated themselves in time to celebrate the festival in the first month. Despite the fact that they were a month late, this celebration is recorded as a great moment of worship and national revival by the Chronicler. Why was it okay for them to celebrate the Passover in the 2nd month? Recall this passage from Number 9:

9 Then the Lord said to Moses, 10 “Tell the Israelites: ‘When any of you or your descendants are unclean because of a dead body or are away on a journey, they are still to celebrate the Lord’s Passover, 11 but they are to do it on the fourteenth day of the second month at twilight. They are to eat the lamb, together with unleavened bread and bitter herbs.

That rule was made for the exceptional case that an individual was ceremonially unclean for the Passover in the first month. here we see the whole nation of Judah failing to be ceremonially clean for the Passover on the prescribed date, so the whole community celebrates the festival in the second month.

Did you catch what happened in 30:23? They were having such a great time worshiping God, that they decided to keep going on for another week. I'm curious how full the church would be if one Sunday I invited you to return for second service on Monday morning? Perhaps we could draw a crowd if we sacrificed and ate 19,000 animals at our second service like Hezekiah did.

2nd Chronicles 32:9: Lachish

We remember the Assyrian king Sennacherib for failing to capture Jerusalem because of God's deliverance granted to King Hezekiah. However, Sennacherib wanted to be remembered for his victorious siege of the Judean city of Lachish, which the Chronicler briefly mentions here. This from the IVP Bible Backgrounds Commentary:

Tell Ed-Duweir: The site of the ancient city of Lachish in Judah

The city of lachish was a powerful garrison city or royal citadel. Fortified by Rehoboam, it was strategic because it strengthened a weak northern boundary. Archaeologists have unearthed the oldest siege ramp in the Ancient Near East at the site of the city of Lachish now called "Tell ed-Duweir" The Assyrian reliefs at Nineveh depicting the siege of Lachish show battering rams, seven siege engines, and Judahite deportees, as well as Sennacherib, seated on a lounge chair, watching the booty of Lachish pass by. The city was demolished within a few feet of its foundation. All buildings were consumed by fire and show an intense burning, along with reddened bricks. The floors were strewn with smashed vessels and utensils. The city was ransacked; only unimportant and heavy items remained. Hundreds of arrowheads were found, as well as twenty pieces of scale armor, and a bronze crest mount for a helmet. A mass of fifteen hundred human bones and decapitated human skulls (considered by the excavators to be civilians) which had rolled down the apex into a large pit were found.

You can read more about Lachish at this link

https://members.bib-arch.org/biblical-archaeology-review/5/6/1

Joel NielsenAugust 18, 2018Madison Church of Christ