2 Chronicles

Second Chronicles gives purpose and hope to people who are unsure about their future. God had promised that David’s descendants would rule forever. But the people of Judah had been taken away to Babylon as exiles. Even after they returned to Jerusalem, they lived under Persian rule.

Judah had no king from David’s family. They had no clear hope of becoming a kingdom again. But God’s promises are sure. So the Chronicler encouraged the people of Judah to hope in God’s future.

King Jehoshaphat’s words show the main message of the book: “Hear me, O people of Judah and Jerusalem. Believe in the LORD your God, and you will be upheld; believe in His prophets, and you will succeed” (2 Chronicles 20:20).

Setting

Babylon conquered Judah between 605 and 586 BC. This happened about 200 years before Chronicles was written, around 400 BC (see 1 Chronicles Book Introduction, “Author and Date”).

To answer questions about God’s purposes and promises, the Chronicler told the story of Israel’s past. He began with the earliest times and continued until the kingdom of Judah was destroyed.

The Chronicler chose his material carefully. He also shaped it for his own purpose. He did not try to replace earlier history books or add a new history beside them. Instead, he expected his audience to know his main sources and the people in his books. He wrote in a way that mattered for his own time. He looked at the past from where he stood. He wanted the people of his day to understand their history, the temple and its worship, and the state of God’s promises.

Summary

The first nine chapters of 2 Chronicles focus on Solomon’s rule as king. Much of this story is about building the temple and supporting the priests. Solomon’s prayer and God’s answer are central to the Chronicler’s account of Solomon (6:1–7:22). God answered Solomon’s prayer in a vision. This vision clearly shows the Chronicler’s main teaching about God (7:12–22). God hears the prayers of his people when they turn back to him. He judges those who disobey him. But he gives healing and rescue to those who humble themselves and pray.

After he described how the kingdom divided, the Chronicler focused mostly on the southern kingdom of Judah. He connected Israel’s future with David’s family line and the temple in Jerusalem.

But the kings from David’s family did not always obey God. At times, the northern kingdom of Israel did what was right (for example, 28:5–15). The Chronicler saw the northern kingdom as part of Israel. It needed to be brought back together with Judah. So he gave special attention to times when the north and south had contact with each other. He did not blame the people of the north for the kingdom’s division. But he did blame them for refusing to return after their complaints had been answered. He believed their future was closely connected to Judah’s future.

The Chronicler’s portrayal of Judah’s kings sometimes departs remarkably from parallel descriptions in the book of Kings. Uzziah appears as a minor figure in Kings (2 Kgs 15:1–7). But Uzziah was a powerful king who ruled for more than 50 years. In Chronicles, Uzziah is an important reformer and builder. Kings also says little about Jotham (2 Kgs 15:32–38). But Chronicles describes his work in more detail (2 Chr 27:3–4). The Chronicler also gives a fuller picture of Hezekiah (29:1–32:33). He writes much about Hezekiah’s reforms and the return of temple worship. He also describes in detail how Hezekiah prepared Jerusalem for the Assyrian army’s attack. (2 Kings 15:1–7).

The reigns of Manasseh and Amon come next (33:1–25). Their evil actions and idol worship prepared the way for Judah’s fall. Chronicles tells Manasseh’s story differently than Kings does. In Chronicles, Manasseh goes into exile, repents, and returns to Judah. His story is a small picture of what the people of Judah would later experience.

Josiah’s rule pleased God (34:1–35:27). But after Josiah died in 609 BC, Judah’s end came soon after. Within four years, the Babylonians began several attacks against Judah. These attacks happened between 605 and 586 BC. They led to the destruction of Jerusalem and the temple. Most of the people were taken into exile in Babylon (36:2–21). The people of Judah had not kept God’s covenant, or binding agreement. Now the results of their unfaithfulness had fully come.

The account ends with a small sign of hope. In 538 BC, Cyrus announced that the Jews could return to Judah and rebuild Jerusalem (36:22–23).

Chronicles as History

Chronicles is an ancient history book with its own clear approach. Second Chronicles covers almost the same time period as 1–2 Kings. The Chronicler used earlier records, including Samuel, Kings, and other sources. But his own work is also different in important ways. He gave careful attention to military, government, and political events from earlier centuries. He often added details that are not found in any other surviving sources. But these sources were likely available to him.

Archaeology sometimes supports the Chronicler’s descriptions of government and political reforms. For example, an inscription was found in the Siloam Tunnel. It describes Hezekiah’s water project. Most evidence is more general. For example, some evidence may connect with Uzziah’s building work or his farming projects. The Chronicler’s work is a valuable source for understanding the history of the period he describes.

Meaning and Message

A basic question for the community in Judea after the exile was, What is our connection to the Israel of the past? They were no longer an independent nation. They were a small province in the Persian Empire. Judea had no king. The people lived under foreign rule. They had only recently rebuilt the temple after the Babylonians destroyed it. What did God’s promises about the temple and David’s family line mean for this community?

For the Chronicler, David’s rule gave his readers a pattern to follow. David had been forced to run from Saul. This was like a kind of exile. But later, David returned to live among God’s people. The community after the exile had gone through a similar change. They had returned from exile. Like David, they could expect God’s blessing if they obeyed him.

Chronicles presents the time of David and Solomon as an ideal period. At that time, all Israel was united in worshiping God (7:8). The account of David’s rule gives much attention to the right worship of God. David brought the ark back to Jerusalem. The ark was the sacred box that represented God’s presence with his people. David’s military victories also helped prepare for the future temple. David made all the needed plans for the officials who would serve in worship. These plans were important because worship would now center in Jerusalem.

The Chronicler sees Solomon’s rule as equal to David’s rule. This is because Solomon completed David’s plans for the temple and its worship (3:1; 5:1; 7:1). In Chronicles, David publicly appoints Solomon as king. Solomon receives God’s blessing and the full support of the people.

The Chronicler does not mention Adonijah’s attempt to take make himself king. He also does not mention Solomon’s sins. Instead, he places the blame for the kingdom’s division on Jeroboam (13:6–7). Solomon’s wealth and influence among other nations show that his rule was glorious, peaceful, and right before God.

The division of Israel into northern and southern kingdoms showed that the kingdom did not live up to God’s ideal. But this did not mean that all hope was gone. Obedience still brought God’s blessing. Disobedience still brought punishment. Each time the Chronicler describes a disaster, he also gives the reason for God’s judgment. He also shows the blessings that come from faithfulness.

Repentance, or turning back to God, could always turn away judgment or make it less severe. God always sent prophetic warnings before judgment came. Prophetic warnings were messages from God spoken through his prophets. The possibility of healing was always present. This pattern was one of the main ways the Chronicler gave hope for the future in his own time.

The Chronicler also uses events from Hezekiah’s rule to show a way to heal the divided kingdom. Earlier, Judah under Ahaz had become as disobedient as Israel (28:2, 6). But Israel’s leaders confessed their sins. This showed that they were ready to be restored (28:13).

Then the Chronicler introduces Hezekiah. He presents Hezekiah as a second Solomon. Hezekiah invited the people of the north to join the first Passover during his rule. Many of them came (30:11). A Passover like this had not been celebrated since Solomon’s time (30:26). Hezekiah’s Passover shows a model for restoring Israel as one united kingdom.

The Chronicler used Israel’s history to teach his audience to keep hoping that David’s kingdom would be restored. This hope may have seemed very unlikely. But the people were still called to live holy lives and build a righteous community while they waited. The Chronicler makes clear that Israel’s kingdom was not only a human government. It did not depend only on political decisions or changing events. It was God’s kingdom, and God would restore it in the end.