Song of Songs 2:8 Listen! My love is approaching. Look! Here he comes, leaping over the mountains, bounding over the hills. Song of Songs 2:9 My love is like a gazelle or a young stag. See, he is standing behind our wall, gazing through the windows, peering through the lattice. Song of Songs 2:10 My love calls to me: Arise, my companion. Come away, my beautiful one. Song of Songs 2:11 For now the winter is past; the rain has ended and gone away. Song of Songs 2:12 The blossoms appear in the countryside. The time of singing has come, and the turtledove’s cooing rings in our land. Song of Songs 2:13 The fig tree ripens its figs; the blossoming vines give off their fragrance. Arise, my companion. Come away, my beautiful one. Song of Songs 2:14 My dove, in the clefts of the rock, in the crevices of the cliff, let me see your face, let me hear your voice; for your voice is sweet, and your face is lovely. Song of Songs 2:15 Catch the foxes for us — the little foxes that ruin the vineyards — for our vineyards are in bloom. Song of Songs 2:16 My love is mine and I am his; he feeds among the lilies. Song of Songs 2:17 Until the day breaks and the shadows flee, turn around, my love, and be like a gazelle or a young stag on the divided mountains.
little foxes
When the time is right, the hindrances and fears and distractions are overcome. Marital love is a beautiful thing at that time, a right thing. Nothing (even the mountains) should be allowed to spoil the joy that the LORD intends for lovers.
Yet the little foxes also try to spoil the vineyards. So she asks her lover to catch them. These are the things that might destroy the relationship before the springtime of love. Many a relationship has been destroyed because some fox has broken into the vineyard.
LORD, give us and our children wisdom to take care of the vineyard spoilers.
Song of Songs 1:9 I compare you, my companion, to a mare among Pharaoh’s chariots. Song of Songs 1:10 Your cheeks are beautiful with jewelry, your neck with its necklace. Song of Songs 1:11 We will make gold jewelry for you, accented with silver. Song of Songs 1:12 While the king is on his couch, my perfume releases its fragrance. Song of Songs 1:13 The one I love is a sachet of myrrh to me, spending the night between my breasts. Song of Songs 1:14 The one I love is a cluster of henna blossoms to me, in the vineyards of En-gedi. Song of Songs 1:15 How beautiful you are, my companion. How incredibly beautiful! Your eyes are doves. Song of Songs 1:16 How handsome you are, my love. How delightful! Our bed is lush; Song of Songs 1:17 the beams of our house are cedars, and our rafters are cypresses. Song of Songs 2:1 I am a wildflower of Sharon, a lily of the valleys. Song of Songs 2:2 Like a lily among thorns, so is my companion among the young women. Song of Songs 2:3 Like an apricot tree among the trees of the forest, so is my love among the young men. I delight to sit in his shade, and his fruit is sweet to my taste. Song of Songs 2:4 He brought me to the banquet hall, and he looked on me with love. Song of Songs 2:5 Sustain me with raisins; refresh me with apricots, for I am lovesick. Song of Songs 2:6 May his left hand be under my head, and his right arm embrace me. Song of Songs 2:7 Young women of Jerusalem, I charge you by the gazelles and the wild does of the field, do not stir up or awaken love until the appropriate time.
the feast of love
The lovers in this song feast on each other’s beauty. They have eyes for each other, and all others become dull backdrops for the main attraction. She is a lily among brambles. He is an apple tree, giving both cool shade, and sweet fruit. Love is a feast, and one for which we can celebrate the master of the feast – the one who put a man and a woman in a garden to enjoy all its delights – including each other.
Song of Songs 1:1 The Song of Songs, which is Solomon’s. Song of Songs 1:2 Oh, that he would kiss me with the kisses of his mouth! Because your love is better than wine. Song of Songs 1:3 The fragrance of your perfume is intoxicating; your name is perfume poured out. No wonder young women adore you. Song of Songs 1:4 Take me with you — let’s hurry. The king has brought me to his chambers. We will rejoice and be glad in you; we will celebrate your caresses more than wine. It is only right that they adore you. Song of Songs 1:5 Daughters of Jerusalem, I am dark like the tents of Kedar, yet lovely like the curtains of Solomon. Song of Songs 1:6 Do not stare at me because I am dark, for the sun has gazed on me. My mother’s sons were angry with me; they made me take care of the vineyards. I have not taken care of my own vineyard. Song of Songs 1:7 Tell me, you whom I love: Where do you pasture your sheep? Where do you let them rest at noon? Why should I be like one who veils herself beside the flocks of your companions? Song of Songs 1:8 If you do not know, most beautiful of women, follow the tracks of the flock, and pasture your young goats near the shepherds’ tents.
drawn to each other
This love song begins with an invitation from the bride. She wants to spend more time with her betrothed. They are both shepherds, and she wants to bring her flocks to rest at noon beside his, so they can spend more time together. The lover’s response seems to indicate that she already knows where he is. They are drawn to each other.
LORD, may our love for each other show in the way we seek each other’s presence.
2 Chronicles 36:1 Then the common people took Jehoahaz son of Josiah and made him king in Jerusalem in place of his father. 2 Chronicles 36:2 Jehoahaz was twenty-three years old when he became king, and he reigned three months in Jerusalem. 2 Chronicles 36:3 The king of Egypt deposed him in Jerusalem and fined the land seventy-five hundred pounds of silver and seventy-five pounds of gold. 2 Chronicles 36:4 Then King Neco of Egypt made Jehoahaz’s brother Eliakim king over Judah and Jerusalem and changed Eliakim’s name to Jehoiakim. But Neco took his brother Jehoahaz and brought him to Egypt. 2 Chronicles 36:5 Jehoiakim was twenty-five years old when he became king, and he reigned eleven years in Jerusalem. He did what was evil in the sight of Yahvehhis God. 2 Chronicles 36:6 Now King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon attacked him and bound him in bronze shackles to take him to Babylon. 2 Chronicles 36:7 Also Nebuchadnezzar took some of the articles of Yahveh’s temple to Babylon and put them in his temple in Babylon. 2 Chronicles 36:8 The rest of the deeds of Jehoiakim, the detestable actions he committed, and what was found against him, are written in the Book of Israel’s Kings. His son Jehoiachin became king in his place. 2 Chronicles 36:9 Jehoiachin was eighteen years old when he became king, and he reigned three months and ten days in Jerusalem. He did what was evil in Yahveh’s sight. 2 Chronicles 36:10 In the spring Nebuchadnezzar sent for him and brought him to Babylon along with the valuable articles of Yahveh’s temple. Then he made Jehoiachin’s brother Zedekiah king over Judah and Jerusalem. 2 Chronicles 36:11 Zedekiah was twenty-one years old when he became king, and he reigned eleven years in Jerusalem. 2 Chronicles 36:12 He did what was evil in the sight of Yahveh his God and did not humble himself before the prophet Jeremiah at Yahveh’s command. 2 Chronicles 36:13 He also rebelled against King Nebuchadnezzar who had made him swear allegiance by God. He became obstinate and hardened his heart against returning to Yahveh, the God of Israel. 2 Chronicles 36:14 All the leaders of the priests and the people multiplied their unfaithful deeds, imitating all the detestable practices of the nations, and they defiled Yahveh’s temple that he had consecrated in Jerusalem. 2 Chronicles 36:15 But Yahveh, the God of their ancestors sent word against them by the hand of his messengers, sending them time and time again, for he had compassion on his people and on his dwelling place. 2 Chronicles 36:16 But they kept ridiculing God’s messengers, despising his words, and scoffing at his prophets, until Yahveh’s wrath was so stirred up against his people that there was no remedy. 2 Chronicles 36:17 So he brought up against them the king of the Chaldeans, who killed their fit young men with the sword in the house of their sanctuary. He had no pity on young men or young women, elderly or aged; he handed them all over to him. 2 Chronicles 36:18 He took everything to Babylon– all the articles of God’s temple, large and small, the treasures of Yahveh’s temple, and the treasures of the king and his officials. 2 Chronicles 36:19 Then the Chaldeans burned God’s temple. They tore down Jerusalem’s wall, burned all its palaces, and destroyed all its valuable articles. 2 Chronicles 36:20 He deported those who escaped from the sword to Babylon, and they became servants to him and his sons until the rise of the Persian kingdom. 2 Chronicles 36:21 This fulfilled the word of Yahveh through Jeremiah, and the land enjoyed its Sabbath rest all the days of the desolation until seventy years were fulfilled. 2 Chronicles 36:22 In the first year of King Cyrus of Persia, in order to fulfill the word of Yahveh spoken through Jeremiah, Yahveh roused the breath of King Cyrus of Persia to issue a proclamation throughout his entire kingdom and also to put it in writing: 2 Chronicles 36:23 This is what King Cyrus of Persia says: Yahveh, the God of the heavens, has given me all the kingdoms of the land and has appointed me to build him a temple at Jerusalem in Judah. Any of his people among you may go up and may Yahveh his God be with him.
We have followed the chronicler as he has retold the story of the kings of Judah. He took us through the good and the bad – mostly bad – times. Even the best of the kings did not look well when scrutinized by his omniscient-like reflection. The human heroes of the works turn out to be two people who were not kings of Judah: Jeremiah the prophet who predicted restoration, and Cyrus, king of Persia whose spirit was stirred up by the LORD to allow it. Both books are revealed to be less about the bad choices the kings of Judah made, and more about the opportunity that the readers have to make the right choices.
LORD, help us to make the right choices… ones that honor you and extend your kingdom.
2 Chronicles 35:20 After all this that Josiah had prepared for the temple, King Neco of Egypt marched up to fight at Carchemish by the Euphrates, and Josiah went out to confront him. 2 Chronicles 35:21 But Neco sent messengers to him, saying, “What is the issue between you and me, king of Judah? I have not come against you today, but I am fighting another dynasty. God told me to hurry. Stop opposing God who is with me; don’t make him destroy you!” 2 Chronicles 35:22 But Josiah did not turn away from him; instead, in order to fight with him he disguised himself. He did not listen to Neco’s words from the mouth of God but went to the Valley of Megiddo to fight. 2 Chronicles 35:23 The archers shot King Josiah, and he said to his servants, “Take me away, for I am severely wounded!” 2 Chronicles 35:24 So his servants took him out of the war chariot, carried him in his second chariot, and brought him to Jerusalem. Then he died, and they buried him in the tomb of his fathers. All Judah and Jerusalem mourned for Josiah. 2 Chronicles 35:25 Jeremiah chanted a dirge over Josiah, and all the male and female singers still speak of Josiah in their dirges today. They established them as a statute for Israel, and indeed they are written in the Dirges. 2 Chronicles 35:26 The rest of the events of Josiah’s reign, along with his deeds of faithful love according to what is written in the law of Yahveh, 2 Chronicles 35:27 and his words, from beginning to end, are written in the Book of the Kings of Israel and Judah.
keep listening
We should not be surprised that the great reforming king Josiah would end his life in such an ignominious way. His story is of one who dared to respond to the word of the LORD. His only failure is that he did not recognize that word when it came from the mouth of the king of Egypt. Had Josiah only been listening, as he had before, he would have been able to keep up his reforms, and might have spared his kingdom much misery. May this be a lesson for believers to keep listening. It might be that the next word from our LORD will come from an unexpected mouth.
LORD, keep us willing to hear what you want us to know.
2 Chronicles 35:1 Josiah observed Yahveh’s Passover and slaughtered the Passover lambs on the fourteenth day of the first month. 2 Chronicles 35:2 He appointed the priests to their responsibilities and encouraged them to serve in Yahveh’s temple. 2 Chronicles 35:3 He said to the Levites who taught all Israel the holy things of Yahveh, “Put the holy ark in the temple built by Solomon son of David king of Israel. Since you do not have to carry it on your shoulders, now serve Yahveh your God and his people Israel. 2 Chronicles 35:4 “Organize your ancestral families by your divisions according to the written instruction of King David of Israel and that of his son Solomon. 2 Chronicles 35:5 Serve in the holy place by the groupings of the ancestral families for your brothers, the lay people, and according to the division of the Levites by family. 2 Chronicles 35:6 Slaughter the Passover lambs, consecrate yourselves, and make preparations for your brothers to carry out the word of Yahveh through Moses.” 2 Chronicles 35:7 Then Josiah donated thirty thousand sheep, lambs, and young goats, plus three thousand cattle from his own possessions, for the Passover sacrifices for all the lay people who were present. 2 Chronicles 35:8 His officials also donated willingly for the people, the priests, and the Levites. Hilkiah, Zechariah, and Jehiel, chief officials of God’s temple, gave twenty-six hundred Passover sacrifices and three hundred cattle for the priests. 2 Chronicles 35:9 Conaniah and his brothers Shemaiah and Nethanel, and Hashabiah, Jeiel, and Jozabad, officers of the Levites, donated five thousand Passover sacrifices for the Levites, plus five hundred cattle. 2 Chronicles 35:10 So the service was established; the priests stood at their posts and the Levites in their divisions according to the king’s command. 2 Chronicles 35:11 Then they slaughtered the Passover lambs, and while the Levites were skinning the animals, the priests splattered the blood they had been given. 2 Chronicles 35:12 They removed the burnt offerings so that they might be given to the groupings of the ancestral families of the lay people to offer to Yahveh, according to what is written in the book of Moses; they did the same with the cattle. 2 Chronicles 35:13 They roasted the Passover lambs with fire according to regulation. They boiled the holy sacrifices in pots, kettles, and bowls; and they quickly brought them to the lay people. 2 Chronicles 35:14 Afterward, they made preparations for themselves and for the priests, since the priests, the descendants of Aaron, were busy offering up burnt offerings and fat until night. So the Levites made preparations for themselves and for the priests, the descendants of Aaron. 2 Chronicles 35:15 The singers, the descendants of Asaph, were at their stations according to the command of David, Asaph, Heman, and Jeduthun the king’s seer. Also, the gatekeepers were at each temple gate. None of them left their tasks because their Levite brothers had prepared for them. 2 Chronicles 35:16 So all the service of Yahveh was established that day for observing the Passover and for offering burnt offerings on the altar of Yahveh, according to the command of King Josiah. 2 Chronicles 35:17 The Israelites who were present in Judah also observed the Passover at that time and the Festival of Unleavened Bread for seven days. 2 Chronicles 35:18 No Passover had been observed like it in Israel since the days of the prophet Samuel. None of the kings of Israel ever observed a Passover like the one that Josiah observed with the priests, the Levites, all Judah, the Israelites who were present in Judah, and the inhabitants of Jerusalem. 2 Chronicles 35:19 In the eighteenth year of Josiah’s reign, this Passover was observed.
the feast, the past and the future
In the same year that Josiah rediscovered the Book of the Law, he reinstituted the Passover, and celebrated it as none had ever done in his lifetime. It was a tremendous celebration of God’s grace, which looked back to the time that the LORD rescued the Israelites from bondage in Egypt, and looked forward to the day when the Messiah would die on a cross to rescue all sinners from death. Christians regularly remind ourselves of that grace when we partake of the LORD’s supper. That feast looks back on our deliverance at the cross, and forward to the day when we celebrate his grace in the renewed earth that grace will make possible.
LORD, teach us to look back at your grace, and forward to its result.
2 Chronicles 34:1 Josiah was eight years old when he became king, and he reigned thirty-one years in Jerusalem. 2 Chronicles 34:2 He did what was right in Yahveh’s sight and walked in the ways of his ancestor David; he did not turn aside to the right or the left. 2 Chronicles 34:3 In the eighth year of his reign, while he was still a youth, Josiah began to seek the God of his ancestor David, and in the twelfth year he began to cleanse Judah and Jerusalem of the high places, the Asherah poles, the carved images, and the cast images. 2 Chronicles 34:4 Then in his presence the altars of the Baals were torn down, and he chopped down the shrines that were above them. He shattered the Asherah poles, the carved images, and the cast images, crushed them to dust, and scattered them over the graves of those who had sacrificed to them. 2 Chronicles 34:5 He burned the bones of the priests on their altars. So, he cleansed Judah and Jerusalem. 2 Chronicles 34:6 He did the same in the cities of Manasseh, Ephraim, and Simeon, and as far as Naphtali and on their surrounding mountain shrines. 2 Chronicles 34:7 He tore down the altars, and he smashed the Asherah poles and the carved images to powder. He chopped down all the shrines throughout the land of Israel and returned to Jerusalem. 2 Chronicles 34:8 In the eighteenth year of his reign, in order to cleanse the land and the temple, Josiah sent Shaphan son of Azaliah, along with Maaseiah the governor of the city and the court historian Joah son of Joahaz, to repair the temple of Yahveh his God. 2 Chronicles 34:9 So they went to the high priest Hilkiah and gave him the silver brought into God’s temple. The Levites and the doorkeepers had collected it from Manasseh, Ephraim, and from the entire remnant of Israel, and from all Judah, Benjamin, and the inhabitants of Jerusalem. 2 Chronicles 34:10 They gave it to those doing the work– those who oversaw Yahveh’s temple. They gave it to the workmen who were working in Yahveh’s temple, to repair and restore the temple; 2 Chronicles 34:11 they gave it to the carpenters and builders and also used it to buy quarried stone and timbers– for joining and making beams– for the buildings that Judah’s kings had destroyed. 2 Chronicles 34:12 The men were doing the work with integrity. Their overseers were Jahath and Obadiah, Levites from the Merarites, and Zechariah and Meshullam from the Kohathites as supervisors. The Levites were all skilled with musical instruments. 2 Chronicles 34:13 They were also over the porters and were supervising all those doing the work task by task. Some of the Levites were secretaries, officers, and gatekeepers. 2 Chronicles 34:14 When they brought out the silver that had been deposited in Yahveh’s temple, the priest Hilkiah found the book of the law of Yahveh written by the hand of Moses. 2 Chronicles 34:15 Consequently, Hilkiah told the court secretary Shaphan, “I have found the book of the law in Yahveh’s temple,” and he gave the book to Shaphan. 2 Chronicles 34:16 Shaphan took the book to the king, and also reported, “Your servants are doing all that was placed in their hands. 2 Chronicles 34:17 They have emptied out the silver that was found in Yahveh’s temple and have given it to the overseers and to those doing the work.” 2 Chronicles 34:18 Then the court secretary Shaphan told the king, “The priest Hilkiah gave me a book,” and Shaphan read from it in the presence of the king. 2 Chronicles 34:19 When the king heard the words of the law, he tore his clothes. 2 Chronicles 34:20 Then he commanded Hilkiah, Ahikam son of Shaphan, Abdon son of Micah, the court secretary Shaphan, and the king’s servant Asaiah, 2 Chronicles 34:21 “Go and inquire of Yahveh for me and for those remaining in Israel and Judah, concerning the words of the book that was found. For great is Yahveh’s wrath that is poured out on us because our ancestors have not kept the word of Yahveh in order to do everything written in this book.” 2 Chronicles 34:22 So Hilkiah and those the king had designated went to the prophetess Huldah, the wife of Shallum son of Tokhath, son of Hasrah, keeper of the wardrobe. She lived in Jerusalem in the Second District. They spoke with her about this. 2 Chronicles 34:23 She said to them, “This is what Yahveh God of Israel says: Say to the man who sent you to me, 2 Chronicles 34:24 ‘This is what Yahveh says: I am about to bring disaster on this place and on its inhabitants, fulfilling all the curses written in the book that they read in the presence of the king of Judah, 2 Chronicles 34:25 because they have abandoned me and burned incense to other gods so as to anger me with all the works of their hands. My wrath will be poured out on this place, and it will not be quenched.’ 2 Chronicles 34:26 Say this to the king of Judah who sent you to inquire of Yahveh: ‘This is what Yahveh God of Israel says: As for the words that you heard, 2 Chronicles 34:27 because your heart was tender and you humbled yourself before God when you heard his words against this place and against its inhabitants, and because you humbled yourself before me, and you tore your clothes and wept before me, I myself have heard’– this is Yahveh’s declaration. 2 Chronicles 34:28 ‘I will indeed gather you to your fathers, and you will be gathered to your grave in peace. Your eyes will not see all the disaster that I am bringing on this place and on its inhabitants.'” Then they reported to the king. 2 Chronicles 34:29 So the king sent messengers and gathered all the elders of Judah and Jerusalem. 2 Chronicles 34:30 The king went up to Yahveh’s temple with all the men of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, as well as the priests and the Levites– all the people from the oldest to the youngest. He read in their hearing all the words of the book of the covenant that had been found in Yahveh’s temple. 2 Chronicles 34:31 Then the king stood at his post and made a covenant in Yahveh’s presence to follow Yahveh and to keep his commands, his decrees, and his statutes with all his heart and with all his soul in order to carry out the words of the covenant written in this book. 2 Chronicles 34:32 He had all those present in Jerusalem and Benjamin agree to it. So all the inhabitants of Jerusalem carried out the covenant of God, the God of their ancestors. 2 Chronicles 34:33 So Josiah removed everything that was detestable from all the lands belonging to the Israelites, and he required all who were present in Israel to serve Yahveh their God. Throughout his reign they did not turn aside from following Yahveh, the God of their ancestors.
second mission
Josiah was already 18 years into his mission of reforming Judah when his servant found a book among the collected items in the temple. Once he heard its words, he knew that it was the Law of the LORD, and that his people were going to be judged for failing to obey it. He immediately humbled himself, and God assured him that he would not suffer the punishment because he responded correctly to the Law by seeking grace.
His mission grew from that time on. Not only was he to see that all of the vestiges of the old idolatry were destroyed, he added to that mission the new mission of proclaiming the words of the Book of the Covenant, and made his people join in the covenant.
LORD, make us responsive to your word. May proclaiming your word be our mission.
2 Chronicles 33:1 Manasseh was twelve years old when he became king, and he reigned fifty-five years in Jerusalem. 2 Chronicles 33:2 He did what was evil in Yahveh’s sight, imitating the detestable practices of the nations that Yahveh had dispossessed before the Israelites. 2 Chronicles 33:3 He rebuilt the high places that his father Hezekiah had torn down and reestablished the altars for the Baals. He made Asherah poles, and he bowed in worship to all the stars in the sky and served them. 2 Chronicles 33:4 He built altars in Yahveh’s temple, where Yahveh had said, “Jerusalem is where my name will remain forever.” 2 Chronicles 33:5 He built altars to all the stars in the sky in both courtyards of Yahveh’s temple. 2 Chronicles 33:6 He passed his sons through the fire in Ben Hinnom Valley. He practiced witchcraft, divination, and sorcery, and consulted mediums and spiritists. He did a huge amount of evil in Yahveh’s sight, angering him. 2 Chronicles 33:7 Manasseh set up a carved image of the idol, which he had made, in God’s temple that God had spoken about to David and his son Solomon: “I will establish my name forever in this temple and in Jerusalem, which I have chosen out of all the tribes of Israel. 2 Chronicles 33:8 I will never again remove the feet of the Israelites from the land where I stationed your ancestors, if only they will be careful to do all I have commanded them through Moses– all the law, statutes, and judgments.” 2 Chronicles 33:9 So Manasseh caused Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem to stray so that they did worse evil than the nations Yahveh had destroyed before the Israelites. 2 Chronicles 33:10 Yahveh spoke to Manasseh and his people, but they didn’t listen. 2 Chronicles 33:11 So he brought against them the military commanders of the king of Assyria. They captured Manasseh with hooks, bound him with bronze shackles, and took him to Babylon. 2 Chronicles 33:12 When he was in distress, he sought the favor of Yahveh his God and earnestly humbled himself before the God of his ancestors. 2 Chronicles 33:13 He prayed to him, and Yahveh was receptive to his prayer. He granted his request and brought him back to Jerusalem, to his kingdom. So, Manasseh came to know that Yahveh his God. 2 Chronicles 33:14 After this, he built the outer wall of the city of David from west of Gihon in the valley to the entrance of the Fish Gate; he brought it around the Ophel, and he heightened it considerably. He also placed military commanders in all the fortified cities of Judah. 2 Chronicles 33:15 He removed the foreign gods and the idol from Yahveh’s temple, along with all the altars that he had built on the mountain of Yahveh’s temple and in Jerusalem, and he threw them outside the city. 2 Chronicles 33:16 He built the altar of Yahveh and offered fellowship and thank offerings on it. Then he told Judah to serve Yahveh, the God of Israel. 2 Chronicles 33:17 However, the people still sacrificed at the high places, but only to Yahveh their God. 2 Chronicles 33:18 The rest of the events of Manasseh’s reign, along with his prayer to his God and the words of the seers who spoke to him in the name of Yahveh, the God of Israel, are written in the Events of Israel’s Kings. 2 Chronicles 33:19 His prayer and how God was receptive to his prayer, and all his sin and unfaithfulness and the sites where he built high places and set up Asherah poles and carved images before he humbled himself, they are written in the Events of Hozai. 2 Chronicles 33:20 Manasseh rested with his fathers, and he was buried in his own house. His son Amon became king in his place. 2 Chronicles 33:21 Amon was twenty-two years old when he became king, and he reigned two years in Jerusalem. 2 Chronicles 33:22 He did what was evil in Yahveh’s sight, just as his father Manasseh had done. Amon sacrificed to all the carved images that his father Manasseh had made, and he served them. 2 Chronicles 33:23 But he did not humble himself before Yahveh like his father Manasseh humbled himself; instead, Amon increased his guilt. 2 Chronicles 33:24 So his servants conspired against him and put him to death in his own house. 2 Chronicles 33:25 The common people killed all who had conspired against King Amon, and they made his son Josiah king in his place.
Manasseh’s breaking point
The words “what were you thinking?” come to mind when we read about Manasseh. He busied himself undoing all the good that his father, Hezekiah, had done. But even evil Manasseh had his breaking point. Things got so bad that he was carried away into exile himself before he humbled himself, and sought the LORD. Even then, God was in no way obligated to interfere in Manasseh’s self-inflicted judgment. The fact that God did interfere, and bring Manasseh back from exile, is just another example of his great grace – a grace that none of us deserve. That is why it is called grace.
LORD, give us the wisdom to humble ourselves before you are forced to judge us.
2 Chronicles 32:1 After these faithful deeds, King Sennacherib of Assyria came and entered Judah. He laid siege to the fortified cities and intended to break into them. 2 Chronicles 32:2 Hezekiah saw that Sennacherib had come and that he planned war on Jerusalem, 2 Chronicles 32:3 so he consulted with his officials and his warriors about stopping up the water of the springs that were outside the city, and they helped him. 2 Chronicles 32:4 Many people gathered and stopped up all the springs and the stream that flowed through the land; they said, “Why should the kings of Assyria come and find abundant water?” 2 Chronicles 32:5 Then Hezekiah strengthened his position by rebuilding the entire broken-down wall and heightening the towers and the other outside wall. He repaired the supporting terraces of the city of David and made an abundance of weapons and shields. 2 Chronicles 32:6 He set military commanders over the people and gathered the people in the square of the city gate. Then he encouraged them, saying, 2 Chronicles 32:7 “Be strong and courageous! Don’t be afraid or discouraged before the king of Assyria or before the large army that is with him, for there are more with us than with him. 2 Chronicles 32:8 He has only human strength, but we have Yahveh our God to help us and to fight our battles.” So, the people relied on the words of King Hezekiah of Judah. 2 Chronicles 32:9 After this, while King Sennacherib of Assyria with all his armed forces besieged Lachish, he sent his servants to Jerusalem against King Hezekiah of Judah and against all those of Judah who were in Jerusalem, saying, 2 Chronicles 32:10 “This is what King Sennacherib of Assyria says: ‘What are you relying on that you remain in Jerusalem under siege? 2 Chronicles 32:11 Isn’t Hezekiah misleading you to give you over to death by famine and thirst when he says, “Yahveh our God will keep us from the grasp of the king of Assyria”? 2 Chronicles 32:12 Didn’t Hezekiah himself remove his high places and his altars and say to Judah and Jerusalem, “You must worship before one altar, and you must burn incense on it”? 2 Chronicles 32:13 ” ‘Don’t you know what I and my fathers have done to all the peoples of the lands? Have any of the national gods of the lands been able to rescue their land from my power? 2 Chronicles 32:14 Who among all the gods of these nations that my predecessors completely destroyed was able to rescue his people from my power, that your God should be able to deliver you from my power? 2 Chronicles 32:15 So now, don’t let Hezekiah deceive you, and don’t let him mislead you like this. Don’t believe him, for no god of any nation or kingdom has been able to rescue his people from my power or the power of my fathers. How much less will your God rescue you from my power! ‘” 2 Chronicles 32:16 His servants said more against Yahveh God and against his servant Hezekiah. 2 Chronicles 32:17 He also wrote letters to mock Yahveh, the God of Israel, saying against him: Just like the national gods of the lands that did not rescue their people from my power, so Hezekiah’s God will not rescue his people from my power. 2 Chronicles 32:18 Then they called out loudly in Hebrew to the people of Jerusalem, who were on the wall, to frighten and discourage them in order that he might capture the city. 2 Chronicles 32:19 They spoke against the God of Jerusalem like they had spoken against the gods of the peoples of the land, which were made by human hands. 2 Chronicles 32:20 King Hezekiah and the prophet Isaiah son of Amoz prayed about this and cried out to heaven, 2 Chronicles 32:21 and Yahveh sent an angel who made every valiant warrior, leader, and commander in the camp of the king of Assyria to disappear. So the king of Assyria returned in disgrace to his land. He went to the temple of his god, and there some of his own children struck him down with the sword. 2 Chronicles 32:22 So Yahveh saved Hezekiah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem from the power of King Sennacherib of Assyria and from the power of all others. He gave them rest on every side. 2 Chronicles 32:23 Many were bringing an offering to Yahveh to Jerusalem and valuable gifts to King Hezekiah of Judah, and he was exalted in the eyes of all the nations after that. 2 Chronicles 32:24 In those days Hezekiah became sick to the point of death, so he prayed to Yahveh, and he spoke to him and gave him a miraculous sign. 2 Chronicles 32:25 However, because his heart was proud, Hezekiah didn’t respond according to the benefit that had come to him. So, there was wrath on him, Judah, and Jerusalem. 2 Chronicles 32:26 Then Hezekiah humbled himself for the pride of his heart — he and the inhabitants of Jerusalem — so Yahveh’s wrath didn’t come on them during Hezekiah’s lifetime. 2 Chronicles 32:27 Hezekiah had abundant riches and glory, and he made himself treasuries for silver, gold, precious stones, spices, shields, and every desirable item. 2 Chronicles 32:28 He made warehouses for the harvest of grain, new wine, and fresh oil, and stalls for all kinds of cattle, and pens for flocks. 2 Chronicles 32:29 He made cities for himself, and he acquired vast numbers of flocks and herds, for God gave him abundant possessions. 2 Chronicles 32:30 This same Hezekiah blocked the outlet of the water of the Upper Gihon and channelled it smoothly downward and westward to the city of David. Hezekiah succeeded in everything he did. 2 Chronicles 32:31 When the ambassadors of Babylon’s rulers were sent to him to inquire about the miraculous sign that happened in the land, God left him to test him and discover what was in his heart. 2 Chronicles 32:32 As for the rest of the events of Hezekiah’s reign and his deeds of faithful love, note that they are written in the Visions of the Prophet Isaiah son of Amoz, and in the Book of the Kings of Judah and Israel. 2 Chronicles 32:33 Hezekiah rested with his fathers and was buried on the ascent to the tombs of David’s descendants. All Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem paid him honor at his death. His son Manasseh became king in his place.
what’s in your heart?
The chronicler has a unique perspective on why Hezekiah made the mistake of showing the Babylonian envoys his treasures. He says that “God left him to test him and discover what was in his heart. ” (31).
We are not to blame for the bad situations we get in, but we are being watched to see how we respond to them. The world needs to see what is in our heart.
LORD, help us to seek your will in every decision we make. We do not want to presume that we are smart enough to make decisions that honor you.
2 Chronicles 31:1 When all this was completed, all Israel who had attended went out to the cities of Judah and broke up the sacred pillars, chopped down the Asherah poles, and tore down the high places and altars throughout Judah and Benjamin, as well as in Ephraim and Manasseh, to the last one. Then all the Israelites returned to their cities, each to his own possession. 2 Chronicles 31:2 Hezekiah reestablished the divisions of the priests and Levites for the burnt offerings and fellowship offerings, for ministry, for giving thanks, and for praise in the gates of the camp of Yahveh, each division corresponding to his service among the priests and Levites. 2 Chronicles 31:3 The king contributed from his own possessions for the regular morning and evening burnt offerings, the burnt offerings of the Sabbaths, of the New Moons, and of the appointed feasts, as written in the law of Yahveh. 2 Chronicles 31:4 He told the people who lived in Jerusalem to give a contribution for the priests and Levites so that they could devote their energy to the law of Yahveh. 2 Chronicles 31:5 When the word spread, the Israelites gave liberally of the first of the grain, new wine, fresh oil, honey, and of all the produce of the field, and they brought in an abundance, a tenth of everything. 2 Chronicles 31:6 As for the Israelites and Judahites who lived in the cities of Judah, they also brought a tenth of the herds and flocks, and a tenth of the dedicated things that were consecrated to Yahveh their God. They gathered them into large piles. 2 Chronicles 31:7 In the third month they began building up the piles, and they finished in the seventh month. 2 Chronicles 31:8 When Hezekiah and his officials came and viewed the piles, they blessed Yahveh and his people Israel. 2 Chronicles 31:9 Hezekiah asked the priests and Levites about the piles. 2 Chronicles 31:10 The chief priest Azariah, of the household of Zadok, answered him, “Since they began bringing the offering to Yahveh’s temple, we eat and are satisfied and there is plenty left over because Yahveh has blessed his people; this abundance is what is left over.” 2 Chronicles 31:11 Hezekiah told them to prepare chambers in Yahveh’s temple, and they prepared them. 2 Chronicles 31:12 The offering, the tenth, and the dedicated things were brought faithfully. Conaniah the Levite was the officer in charge of them, and his brother Shimei was second. 2 Chronicles 31:13 Jehiel, Azaziah, Nahath, Asahel, Jerimoth, Jozabad, Eliel, Ismachiah, Mahath, and Benaiah were deputies under the authority of Conaniah and his brother Shimei by appointment of King Hezekiah and of Azariah the chief official of God’s temple. 2 Chronicles 31:14 Kore son of Imnah the Levite, the keeper of the East Gate, was over the freewill offerings to God to distribute the contribution to Yahveh and the consecrated things. 2 Chronicles 31:15 Eden, Miniamin, Jeshua, Shemaiah, Amariah, and Shecaniah in the cities of the priests were to distribute it faithfully under his authority to their brothers by divisions, whether large or small. 2 Chronicles 31:16 In addition, they distributed it to males registered by genealogy three years old and above; to all who would enter Yahveh’s temple for their daily duty, for their service in their responsibilities according to their divisions. 2 Chronicles 31:17 They distributed also to those recorded by genealogy of the priests by their ancestral families and the Levites twenty years old and above, by their responsibilities in their divisions; 2 Chronicles 31:18 to those registered by genealogy — with all their dependents, wives, sons, and daughters — of the whole assembly (for they had faithfully consecrated themselves as holy); 2 Chronicles 31:19 and to the descendants of Aaron, the priests, in the common fields of their cities, in each and every city. There were men who were registered by name to distribute a portion to every male among the priests and to every Levite recorded by genealogy. 2 Chronicles 31:20 Hezekiah did this throughout all Judah. He did what was good and upright and true before Yahveh his God. 2 Chronicles 31:21 He was diligent in every deed that he began in the service of God’s temple, in the instruction and the commands, in order to seek his God, and he prospered.
open the floodgates
Those who have been involved in ministry management know how disheartening it is to always be checked by the bottom line. When we get in our minds that something should be done, it hurts to learn that there is no budget for it. For once, the priests and Levites did not have that problem. They gathered contributions for four months, and the result was that the resources were in such heaps that chambers had to be guilt within the temple courts to hold it all. What a joy it is to not have to worry about where the funds are coming from.
LORD, open the floodgates of blessing for those ministries hampered by lack of funds. Open the hearts of those whom you have chosen to bless by giving.
Devotions 