Walk Through the Bible: II Chronicles
Passage: II Chronicles 1:1; 3:1; 7:14, 19-20; 36:14-17, 19-23
When we talk about the Bible we use an incarnational analogy. Just as Jesus is fully divine and fully human, so the Bible is fully divine and fully human. It is divine in that it is the Word of God. Like God it doesn’t lie, it is without error, it is eternal, trustworthy and true.
It is human as God didn’t set aside human personality in giving us His revelation. It was not dictated from heaven. It is the product of particular persons at particular moments in history, people influenced by their life and times, by their cultures and backgrounds and upbringing.
But the chronicler is not just a journalist, a recorder of facts. This is more like a painting than a photograph. There are no uninterpreted facts, he is a teacher and theologian, writing to influence, to minister to the needs of his people.
The message of II Chronicles is an unvarnished, brutally honest account of what happened and why, and yet in the midst of the honesty there is still hope.
Even when all hope seems completely lost, God’s covenant-keeping mercy triumphs over His covenant-demanding judgment (Stan Guthrie).
This is why Chronicles focuses on the southern kingdom of Judah. For the northern kingdom all hope is gone, their wicked apostacy has been judged permanently, there is no more grace for them.
Just to quickly recap where we are, like Samuel and Kings, Chronicles was one book.
I Chronicles mirrors the history of II Samuel which is about David.
II Chronicles mirrors the history of I and II Kings which is about Solomon and the kings. It covers 400 years of Israel’s history.
II Chronicles 1-9, Solomon
II Chronicles 10-36, all the rest of the kings.
400 years, from the building the temple to the destruction of the temple.
Both Chronicles were written for Jews who were returning to the Promised Land from their 70-year exile in Babylon. These post-exilic Jews needed a reminder of who their God was, what He was like and how He worked. In the mind of the Chronicler the history of Judah from David to the last king provided the best lessons to show the people God and His dealings with His people.
We see good kings who make catastrophic decisions, mediocre kings who are redeemed with a wise response, terrible kings who repent and find forgiveness. These are real people, who have moments of greatness and weakness, and who need to learn the importance of humility, wisdom, obedience, and prayer.
There are four lessons the Chronicler wants to drive home as the people of God begin their drive back home to Judah and the Promised Land.
Gods glory and greatness.
Peoples sin
God’s judgement
The resolution