2 Chronicles 29:3 — A good way to start on the very first month of his reign:
Repairing the LORD’s house (2 Chronicles 29:3)
Recalling the Levite’s responsibility (2 Chronicles 29:5)
Repenting for fathers’ sins (2 Chronicles 29:6)
Recognizing God’s wrath (2 Chronicles 29:9)
Restoring Israel’s covenant (2 Chronicles 29:10)
Rallying the city’s rulers (2 Chronicles 29:20)
Rendering the lambs’ blood (2 Chronicles 29:22)
Rejoicing in Asaph’s songs (2 Chronicles 29:30)
Receiving the people’s offerings (2 Chronicles 29:31)
Romans 14:3 — Paul is repealing virtually all of Kashrut (the Jewish dietary laws). Interesting that the prohibitions against eating blood are still maintained (Acts 15:29). He goes on to repeal the festivals and Sabbath (Romans 14:5). Notice that Paul did not reiterate the 4th Commandment in Romans 13:9.
Romans 14:10 — The Judgment Seat of Christ is introduced for the first time here. Erwin Lutzer is “amazed at the number of people who don’t realize that the Bible teaches that we shall all (Christians) stand before the judgment seat of Jesus Christ to give an account.” John MacArthur shows it will be an evaluation of our lives. John Piper reminds us “Salvation is owned by faith. Salvation is shown by deeds.” Hampton Keathley has an in-depth discussion of the doctrine of rewards. Adrian Rogers points out:
First, God will be judging both the saved and the sinners. Next, God judges the saved as sons and daughters. Then God judges the saved as servants.
This apothegm, which seems to be nothing but a trite truism, brings to notice many important consequences. First, there is the result noted in Psalm 94:9, “He that planted the ear, shall he not hear? He that formed the eye, shall he not see?” Hence we learn the sleepless providence of God.
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2 Chronicles 26:3 — Uzziah’s 52 years was just 3 years shorter than Manasseh (2 Chronicles 33:1), but in contrast to Manasseh’s evil reign (2 Chronicles 33:2), Uzziah did what was right in the sight of the Lord (2 Chronicles 26:4).
2 Chronicles 26:13 — The 307,500 man army sounds impressive – discounting even today’s standards (the U.S. has 2,092,900 active service men and women + reserves), but let’s see how this compares to other counts we have in Scripture. Keep in mind that some of these are standing armies – they are ready to fight or are in reserve; some are the result of a census count, which means they are available to be drafted; lastly, some are expeditionary forces, i.e. soldiers in a moving army on a campaign.
1,600,000 – David (Israel + Judah, but not Levi or Benjamin) / c. 950 BC / 2 Samuel 24:9, 1 Chronicles 21:5 {see explanation at DefendingInerrancy.com)
1,160,000 – Jehoshaphat (Judah + Benjamin) / c. 850 BC / 2 Chronicles 17:14-18
1,000,000 – Zerah the Ethiopian / c. 901 BC / 2 Chronicles 14:8
800,000 – Jeroboam (Israel) / c. 912 BC / 2 Chronicles 13:3
603,550 – Moses (Israel) / c. 1445 BC / Exodus 38:26, Numbers 1:46, Numbers 2:32
601,730 – Moses (Israel) / c. 1407 BC / Numbers 26:51
600,000 – Moses (Israel) / c. 1446 BC / Exodus 12:37
580,000 – Asa (Judah + Benjamin) / c. 901 BC / 2 Chronicles 14:8
400,000 – Abijah (Judah) / c. 912 BC / 2 Chronicles 13:3
400,000 – Judges (Israel, but not Benjamin) / c. ??? / Judges 20:2, Judges 20:17
330,000 – Saul (Israel + Judah) / c. 1050 BC / 1 Samuel 11:8
>320,000 – Ahaz (Judah) / c. 725 BC / 2 Chronicles 28:6-8
307,500 – Uzziah (Judah) / c. 768 BC / 2 Chronicles 26:13
300,000 – Amaziah (Judah) / c. 795 BC / 2 Chronicles 25:5
210,000 – Saul (Israel + Judah / c. 1040 BC / 1 Samuel 15:4
185,000 – Sennacherib and Rabshekah’s Expeditionary Force, both from Assyria / c. 701 BC / 2 Kings 19:35
180,000 – Rehoboam (Judah+Benjamin) / c. 930 BC / 1 Kings 12:21
42,360 – Zerubbabel (Exiles) / c. 516 BC / Ezra 2:64
Uzziah’s army was fairly small historically speaking, but depending on the strength of the surrounding kings, it was still significant, it was adequately supplied (2 Chronicles 26:14), and it had artillery (2 Chronicles 26:15). Because of Uzziah’s pride in the strength of his army, though, things went bad at the end of his life (2 Chronicles 26:16).
2 Chronicles 27:2 — Obedient kings were tough to find. Here’s a chart comparing each king’s general practice. If you have a better way to organize the data, let me know. This is not a fully precise chart (e.g. analyzing Uzziah’s sin of entering the temple shows a specific practice).
Worst – Burnt children (violated the 1st and 6th Command)
Judah: Ahaz (2 Chronicles 28:1-2)
Judah: Manasseh (2 Chronicles 33:6)
Judah: Ahaz (2 Chronicles 28:1-2)
Judah: Manasseh (2 Chronicles 33:6)
Worse – Sins of Ahab (Baal / 1st Command)
Israel: Ahab (1 Kings 16:31)
Judah: Manasseh (2 Kings 21:3)
Israel: Ahab (1 Kings 16:31)
Judah: Manasseh (2 Kings 21:3)
Bad – Sins of Jeroboam (Golden Calf / 2nd Command / 1 Kings 12:26-30)
Israel: Jehoram (2 Kings 3:3).
Israel: Pekah (2 Kings 15:28)
Israel: Jehoram (2 Kings 3:3).
Israel: Pekah (2 Kings 15:28)
Israel: Jehoram (2 Kings 3:3).
Israel: Pekah (2 Kings 15:28)
Israel: Jehoram (2 Kings 3:3).
Israel: Pekah (2 Kings 15:28)
Good – Solomonic Temple, but left sodomites, high places
Judah: Solomon (1 Kings 11:7) – built high places
Judah: Asa (1 Kings 15:14)
Judah: Solomon (1 Kings 11:7) – built high places
Judah: Asa (1 Kings 15:14)
Good – Solomonic Temple, removed sodomites, but left high places,
Judah: Jehoshaphat (1 Kings 22:43, 1 Kings 22:46)
Judah: Jehoshaphat (1 Kings 22:43, 1 Kings 22:46)
Judah: Jehoshaphat (1 Kings 22:43, 1 Kings 22:46)
Better – Solomonic Temple, removed high places
Judah: Hezekiah (2 Kings 18:4)
Judah: Josiah (2 Kings 23:8)
Judah: Hezekiah (2 Kings 18:4)
Judah: Josiah (2 Kings 23:8)
2 Chronicles 27:6 — A king that could be trusted with success, as opposed to Uzziah (2 Chronicles 26:16).
2 Chronicles 28:9-13 — Remember that the LORD is the name Jehovah/Yahweh – the specific personal name for the God of Israel. So why should Israel that had been so disobedient to the LORD listen to a prophet of the LORD (2 Chronicles 28:9), or speak in the name of the LORD (2 Chronicles 28:9) about sins against the LORD (2 Chronicles 28:10) that results in the wrath of the LORD (2 Chronicles 28:11), or listen to a prophet of the LORD that might result in conviction among the leaders (2 Chronicles 28:13)? Pekah, the ruler at this time (2 Chronicles 28:6), was “Bad” not “Worse/Worst.” While he violated the 2nd Commandment by building the Golden Calf for the worship of the LORD in a city other than Jerusalem, he kept the 1st Commandment. Only a few kings (Ahab, Ahaz, Manasseh) actively promoted the worship of Baal over the LORD. The rest pulled an Aaron and declared a feast to the LORD (Exodus 32:5) to dedicate the molten calf (Exodus 32:4) as the god who brought Israel out of Egypt (Exodus 32:4). This was a direct violation of the 2nd commandment – not “another god” but “the God” in the wrong way (see Nadab & Abihu – Numbers 3:4).
2 Chronicles 28:23 — Everything is easier than repenting and following the LORD.
Romans 13:1 — The man who has called upon the name of the LORD (Romans 10:13), has a changed form (Romans 12:1), and has a relationship with government that reflects submission.
Romans 13:9 — Are we free from the law in the Age of Grace? Has the freedom to eat bacon extended to the freedom to do whatever? No – absolutely not! Commandments 6-10 – the entire second half of the Law – is directly restated and summarized, and even given enforcement power (Romans 13:4)!
Psalm 23:1 — From our good friend Patch the Pirate … very close to word perfect according to the KJV!
2 Chronicles 24:7 — We think of the destruction of the Temple in 586 BC as disgraceful, yet when we realize that the descendants of Solomon (the sons of Athaliah would have also been the sons of Jehoram), the very builder of the temple’s descendants until the 6th generation “had broken up the house of God.”
2 Chronicles 24:10 — One of the few times you see “all the people” rejoicing about a mandatory tax, perhaps because the people realized that there was a king focused on eliminating waste, fraud, and abuse in this building project!
2 Chronicles 24:17 — Can one man make a difference? Let’s see … when Jehoiada is not around, they kill his son (2 Chronicles 24:21) for speaking the words of God (2 Chronicles 24:20)! Interesting that Joash’s slaying of a priest is avenged by an Ammonite and a Moabite (2 Chronicles 24:26). They possibly had good intentions (avenge their friend), but God says it’s better to let a bad king be in power than to bring a better king (2 Chronicles 25:2) in the wrong way (see 1 Samuel 24:6).
2 Chronicles 25:4 — We’ve read of Moses prohibiting human rulers from punishing the children for the sins of their fathers (Deuteronomy 24:16). In other words, human vengeance is prohibited, but God can and does judge the children for the sins of their fathers (Exodus 34:7).
2 Chronicles 25:6 — National unity was the goal of Jehoshaphat as exemplified in the wife of Jehoram, and the fault of Amaziah. Separation is required from those who are not followers of our LORD (2 Chronicles 25:7). We can’t say “But I’ve already spent …” Whether its money spent on things that God warns us against, e.g. alcohol (Proverbs 20:1), drugs, pornography, etc. But “… the LORD is able to give thee much more than this.” Be willing, able, and ready to take a radical stand for God.
2 Chronicles 25:14 — “My God beat your god … so I will serve your god!” Honestly, I’m struggling to follow Amaziah’s logic here! The prophet will echo this struggle in 2 Chronicles 25:15. Speaking of bad logic, why pick a fight with a stronger nation (2 Chronicles 25:17)?
2 Chronicles 25:27 — The front gate of Lachish:
Romans 12:1 — Now that we have called upon the name of the LORD, what should we be doing? Serving Him! Put our all on the altar!
… and we have 8 more verses to go! Make your own list of what a follower of Christ looks like!
Psalm 22:22 — Here’s what David says he will do following his salvation by the LORD. He will testify to the goodness of the LORD (Psalm 22:23, Psalm 22:25).
