Bible in 90 Days - Day 32 (2 Chronicles 7:11-23:15)

Lord God,

you have declared that your kingdom is among us.

Open our eyes to see it,

our ears to hear it,

our hearts to hold it,

our hands to serve it.

This we pray in Jesus’ name. Amen.

I did a lot of looking back to the stories of these kings in 1-2 Kings. I am amazed at the change in perspective. I tried not to mention too many things, considering that we already have so much to read, but I could hardly help myself.

Note: Don’t be confused by the way Judah is called Israel. Since the original audience of this book is just one kingdom after the return from exile, the chronicler sometimes calls it Judah and sometimes Israel. If the context makes it seem like it is the same group, it is.

God tells Solomon at the beginning of today’s reading that when the temple (which at that time was imposing and glorious) becomes an object of ridicule, the people will be appalled. The decimated temple will serve as a reminder. The original audience of this book was among those appalled people. This was the age of the stark reminder of the consequences of breaking the covenant.

2 Chronicles 9:8 is another verse that speaks volumes. “Justice and righteousness” are themes that will be carried through all the prophets. Justice and righteousness are characteristics of God that he always desires for his people. Here the Queen of Sheba recognizes those as God’s gift and the responsibilities of God’s appointed leaders. One of the accusations we will read over and over in the prophets is the failure to maintain justice and righteousness.

Did you notice something missing in the details of the end of Solomon’s life? Chronicles is primarily the story of faithfulness and obedience.

11:13-17 is the story of the Levites and some of the faithful members of the northern kingdom coming to join the southern kingdom of Judah. All tribes are represented in this post-exile remnant nation.

Reading the story of Rehoboam really shows the difference between the books of Kings and Chronicles. If you have time, look again at 1 Kings 14:21-31 after you read the story of Rehoboam in Chronicles. (Same with Abijah in 1 Kings 15:1-8 – where is the impassioned God-glorifying speech in the 1 Kings account?)

The note in my study Bible for 15:17 says this probably refers to the high places in the cities Asa took from Israel for Judah, since we just read that he removed the high places in Judah.

18:31 contains details that are not elaborated in 1 Kings 22:31-33 – “and the Lord helped him. God drew them away from him.” God’s hand of blessing is prominent in Chronicles. That being said, we also see God’s hand coming down on the evil Jehoram with much more detail than in Kings (2 Kings 8:16-24).