Morning Bible Study Chronicles 26:1-12 20141211 2Ch 26:1 And all the people of Judah took Uzziah, who was sixteen years old, and made him king in the room of his father Amaziah. 2Ch 26:2 He built Eloth, and restored it to Judah, after that the king slept with his fathers. 2Ch 26:3 Sixteen years old was Uzziah when he began to reign; and he reigned fifty and two years in Jerusalem; and his mothers name was Jecoliah of Jerusalem. 2Ch 26:4 And he did that, which was right in the eyes of the LORD, according to all that his father Amaziah had done. 2Ch 26:5 And he set himself to seek God in the days of Zechariah, who had understanding in the vision of God; and as long as he sought the LORD, God made him to prosper. 2Ch 26:6 And he went forth and warred against the Philistines, and broke down the wall of Gath, and the wall of Jabneh, and the wall of Ashdod; and he built cities in the country of Ashdod, and among the Philistines. 2Ch 26:7 And God helped him against the Philistines, and against the Arabians that dwelt in Gur-baal, and the Meunim. 2Ch 26:8 And the Ammonites gave gifts to Uzziah; and his name spread abroad even to the entrance of Egypt; for he waxed exceeding strong. 2Ch 26:9 Moreover Uzziah built towers in Jerusalem at the corner gate, and at the valley gate, and at the Turning, and fortified them. 2Ch 26:10 And be built towers in the wilderness, and hewed out many cisterns, for he had much cattle; in the Lowland also, and in the table-land; and he had husbandmen and vinedressers in the mountains and in the fruitful fields; for he loved husbandry. 2Ch 26:11 Moreover Uzziah had an army of fighting men, that went out to war by bands, according to the number of their reckoning made by Jeiel the scribe and Maaseiah the officer, under the hand of Hananiah, one of the kings captains. 2Ch 26:12 The whole number of the heads of fathers houses, even the mighty men of valour, was two thousand and six hundred. 1917 by The Jewish Publication Society (JPS) The Electronic Text is copyright © 1995, by Larry Nelson, P.O Box 1681, Cathedral City, CA, 92234. (760) 770-4462. All rights reserved. Used by permission. 2 Chronicles 26:1-23 Overstepping Gods Limits In Chronicles Amaziahs father, Amaziah himself, and Amaziahs son are all three tarred with the same brush as first faithful to God and then faithless. The royal trilogy is meant as a powerful sermon to believers to hold the beginning of their confidence steadfast to the end (Heb_3:14). The name Uzziah appears to be an alternative form of Azariah, which this king bears in the Davidic genealogy of 1Ch_3:12 and—mostly—in 2 Kings 14-15. About seven verses in this chapter have been copied from the corresponding Kings narrative. At the beginning of the chapter verses 2Ch_26:1-2 are taken from 2Ki_14:21-22, and verses 2Ch_26:3-4 from 2Ki_15:2-3. At the end of the chapter the last clause of verse 2Ch_26:20 and verses 2Ch_26:21-22 are derived from 2Ki_15:5-6, while verse 2Ch_26:23, apart from for they said, He is a leper harks back to 2Ki_15:7. Uzziahs long reign is regarded by historians as a prosperous one, although Kings devoted only nine verses to it. He was the Judean counterpart of the equally long-reigning and even more prosperous Jeroboam II of Israel in the eighth century B.C. The wresting of Elath (2Ch_26:2) from Edomite control gave access to the sea trade of Arabia, Africa, and India. The accounts of his conquests in verses 2Ch_26:6-8 and of his agricultural enterprises and military developments in verses 2Ch_26:9-15 are all feasible in principle and appear to have been taken from a source other than Kings. The Chronicler also seems to know from elsewhere a mentor called Zechariah (2Ch_26:5) and the kings officiating in the temple (2Ch_26:16). Despite his successes the Kings narrative refers to Uzziahs succumbing to leprosy. The comparison of his reign with that of Amaziah (2Ch_26:4-2Ki_15:3) would have confirmed the Chroniclers impression that Uzziahs reign had a Jekyll and Hyde sequence of blessing and backsliding. 1. Uzziahs blessing. The Chronicler took the religious assessment of verse 2Ch_26:4 as a reference to the first, happy period of his rule and developed it in two ways, in terms of foreign affairs (2Ch_26:6-8) and internal matters (2Ch_26:9-15). First, however, he provided an introduction to this positive period, in verse 2Ch_26:5. It was the situation of the pious Jehoiadas mentorship of Joash (2Ch_24:2-16) all over again. Uzziah was like Joash too in that prosperity depended on a positive attitude toward God (2Ch_24:20). The Chronicler tends to work with a theology of prosperity, although he does allow for crisis breaking into the obedient believers life, as precursor to a new experience of trust in God as one who saves as well as one who blesses (see 2Ch_20:1-30). He writes as a pastoral theologian in advocating spirituality as the hallmark of the lives of his fellow-believers and using the prospect of well-being as an incentive to that end. We fickle humans seem to need such an incentive as much as the donkey needs its dangled carrot. The Chroniclers repetition of his Kings source in verse 2Ch_20:2 has already specified Uzziahs capture of the key port of Elath. It conjures up Solomonic associations, for he too controlled Elath (2Ch_8:17). From another source the Chronicler was able to supply details of successful campaigns, mainly in the south and southwest of Judah. He supplies the spiritual secret of Uzziahs success in verse 2Ch_26:7. The end product of immense power (he became exceedingly strong, 2Ch_26:8), which resulted in widespread prestige (his fame spread), was due not to Uzziahs sole efforts but to the divine help he received. The accolade of prestige has a Davidic ring, for it directs the careful reader back to 1Ch_14:17. So here is a worthy king who is walking in the footsteps of both the Chroniclers heroes. Moreover, strength was a repeated motif in the description of the early, prosperous period of Rehoboams reign (2Ch_11:11, 2Ch_11:12, 2Ch_11:17; 2Ch_12:1). Uzziah had positive qualities associated with the early Davidic monarchy. From a literary standpoint the references to strength and help appear to be wordplays on the kings two names, Uzziah (Yahweh is my strength) and Azariah (Yahweh helps). In the second case the same Hebrew verb is used, while in the first instance a more common synonym in the Chroniclers vocabulary is used. These are the blessings that accrue to Uzziah. His power and prestige depend on the backing of his divine Patron. The same message is delivered at the end of the next paragraph, in verse 2Ch_26:15. Now the kings internal exploits are in view: his building work (2Ch_26:9, 2Ch_26:10), ever an indication of blessing in Chronicles, and his military manpower and material (2Ch_26:11-15). The agricultural exploits of verse 2Ch_26:10 presumably relate to the royal estates of 1Ch_27:25-31. Readers who are keen gardeners will warm to the description of Uzziah as one who loved the soil. In this context of divine blessing they will not be able to resist thinking of Dorothy F. Gurneys couplet from Gods Garden: One is nearer Gods heart in a garden Than anywhere else on earth. The mention of growing sophistication of ancient warfare (2Ch_26:15) strikes a more somber note, although the Chronicler regarded it positively as further evidence of divine blessing. Old Testament theology is a triangle with three corners, the land, Godpeople, and God Himself. Inclusion of the land necessarily brought territorial security into the sphere of the things of God. The advancement featured here concerns siege warfare. The Israeli general and scholar Yigael Yadin has plausibly identified the devices (2Ch_26:15) with special structures added to towers and battlements. Such structures were in evidence at Lachish at the end of the eighth century according to the scenes of the siege of the Judean city of Lachish depicted on the reliefs of the Assyrian king Sennacherib. They were wooden frames into which round shields were inserted to form a protective barrier behind which archers and stone-throwers could safely stand instead of crouching awkwardly. 2. Uzziahs backsliding. The success story, accentuated by the repeated reference to power and prestige, dependent still on the supernatural (marvelously, 2Ch_26:15) factor of help, changes abruptly into a tragedy. Uzziahs strength becomes a catchword linking success with self-centeredness. The Chronicler views the king as another Rehoboam, who perverted strength into a willful facility for transgression (2Ch_12:1, 2Ch_12:2), as here in verse 2Ch_26:16. There is a sense of anticlimax as success gives way to failure. In the Chroniclers eyes to commit blatant sin against God meant forfeiting His generous gifts. One could not have the gifts without allegiance to the Giver, an allegiance which involved staying within the moral and religious parameters of the Torah. His thinking is reminiscent of that of John who for pastoral ends declared in equally categorical terms that whoever hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him (1Jn_3:15). Similarly Paul listed a catalog of sins that excluded their perpetrators from inheriting the kingdom of God (1Co_6:9, 1Co_6:10). However, Paul went on to envisage a divine work of renewal which could remove the disqualification. So did the Chronicler in Rehoboams case: mention of self-humbling in 2Ch_12:6, 2Ch_12:7, 2Ch_12:12 alludes to the gracious provision laid down in 2Ch_7:14. In the case of Uzziah, however, it is to be stressed that an opportunity for repentance was given—and lost. Uzziahs lifting up of his heart (2Ch_26:16) is a repetition of his fathers pride (2Ch_25:19). It implicitly contrasts with the self-humbling essential for the procuring of divine forgiveness. Moreover, it is stressed in verse 2Ch_26:19 that judgment strikes not when Uzziah commits a religious sin by usurping the role of the Aaronic priesthood, but when he reacts to the high priests reprimand with wrath instead of repentance. In each of the cases of the three apostate kings there is a concern on the Chroniclers part to stress Gods patience in giving an opportunity for rethinking and repenting. There is ever a divine reluctance to punish, and punishment materializes only as a last resort. First, there is an endeavor to touch the sinners conscience by challenging him (2Ch_24:19, 2Ch_24:20; 2Ch_25:15; 2Ch_26:18). Only when that expedient fails does the ax fall. Uzziahs sin is that of pride in wanting to extend his power from the secular to the religious sphere. His power goes to his head. No longer content with legitimate authority, he oversteps the mark by extending it in an illegitimate direction, to enhance his own glory (honor). In the Chroniclers mind it constituted a double offense, against the temple and the Torah: the priestly prerogatives laid down in the Torah (cf. Exo_30:7-9; Num_18:1-7) applied to the temple. In the Hebrew the offense is twice described in extreme terms as unfaithfulness (2Ch_26:16, 2Ch_26:18 NKJV transgressed, trespassed), in echo of the sin of Saul (1Ch_10:13) and of the sin which was to send both Israel and Judah to Exile (1Ch_5:25; 1Ch_9:1; 2Ch_36:14). Again, the cautionary message of the Chronicler is that the peril of Exile and so of excommunication from the Lords presence lies within the potential of every generation of His people. Here that fate finds illustration in the leprosy of Uzziah, which is hauntingly mentioned no less than five times in verses 2Ch_26:19-23. In the Bible leprosy is not the malady which now popularly bears the name and technically is called Hansens Disease. It can be identified only as a severe skin complaint whose direness lay in its rendering the victim ritually unclean (cf. Lev_13:44-46). He who trespasses into the temple is henceforth excluded from it (2Ch_26:21) and evidently from society. His overweening ambition robs him of his previous legitimate power. For the rest of his reign his royal authority is delegated to his son as regent. Even in his burial his royal rank stands in some question, for he is laid to rest not in the royal cemetery but in crown property adjoining it. He who wanted too much ends up with less than he previously had. Yet the Chronicler desires his readers to appreciate that, great as his sin was, his fate was not irrevocable until it was sealed by willful refusal to climb down from his high and mighty attitude. In retrospect the incident casts a chilling shadow over the narrative of 1 Chronicles 13. Davids recourse to anger to express his frustration over the transporting of the ark was a dangerous one, but in his case it gave way to a proper reverence for God (1Ch_13:12, 1Ch_13:13). Ultimately to be a man or woman after Gods own heart entails compliance not with the law of His moral will but with His gospel of a second chance. These three chapters have a painful message, and it is only out of a pastoral concern that the Chronicler presents it, using three variations on a common theme in sermonic fashion. His positive desire is that of the writer to the Hebrews in his passages of dire warning. The overall intent of both pastoral authors is the same: Beware, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief in departing from the living God; but exhort one another daily … lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin (Heb_3:12, Heb_3:13). The Preachers Commentary Copyright © 1982-1992 by Word, Inc. Published in Nashville, Tennessee, by Thomas Nelson, Inc. All rights reserved. No portion of this book may be reproduced in any form whatsoever, except for brief quotations in reviews, without written permission from the publisher. Here we have another story of a King that starts off serving the Lords will and ends up serving his own will. God is trying to tell us He will bless you but He also expects you to follow Him as well. You can not have your cake and eat it to. Either you submit to God and be blessed or you follow your own prideful will and be damned. Two choices live and serve God or live and serve yourself, two rewards be blessed by God or suffer the wrath of God. It is your choice! Revelation from God
Posted on: Thu, 11 Dec 2014 14:05:02 +0000
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