GOD’S WORD FOR YOU
2 CHRONICLES 1:1
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2 C h r o n i c l e s
2 Chronicles begins very nearly in the same historical moment as 1 Kings. The difference is that in 1 Kings, we see that Solomon’s brother Adonijah made one more attempt for the throne and had to be killed, along with Joab, and in Chronicles we are simply told that “Solomon established himself in his kingdom,” so two chapters of material are laid aside. The account that our author takes up in 2 Chronicles is about the throne of Judah without stopping to describe the parallel events in the northern kingdom. There is almost no mention of Elijah and nothing at all about Elisha. The book stays as focused as possible on the temple and Solomon’s reign, and then on the nineteen kings and 1 reigning queen that followed him. The final verses are nearly identical with the opening verses of Ezra, leading many people to wonder whether Ezra wrote or compiled 1-2 Chronicles.
Regarding Solomon, several details from 1 Kings are missing; most of which would draw attention to Solomon as a sinful and flawed man. But the purpose of the author of Chronicles is obviously not to portray Solomon as a sinless and righteous leader, but to emphasize the building and completion of the temple in all its many details.
In the second part of the book, chapters 10-25, we are told about certain key events in the first hundred and fifty years of the divided kingdom: Shishak’s assault on Jerusalem, which diminished much of the glory left after Solomon’s reign (12:1-9), the war of Solomon’s grandson Abijah against Jeroboam I (13), Asa’s war against the Cushites in the southwest (14) and his reforms (15), the alliance of Jehoshaphat with Ahab of Samaria (17-20), Jehoram’s letter from Elijah the prophet (21), the wickedness of Queen Athaliah (22-23) and the rise and fall of Joash (24).
In the final part of the book, chapters 26-36, we are told about the downfall of Judah in the last hundred and fifty years of the kingdom. Fairly good kings, Uzziah and Jotham, are followed by the wicked Ahaz (28), but he is followed by Hezekiah in the days of the Assyrian crisis and the ministries of Isaiah and Micah (28-32). Manasseh’s cruel wickedness and his later repentance are told (33). This is followed by the story of Josiah and the discovery of the lost book of the law in the temple (34-35). The final four kings’ reigns are described very much as they are in 2 Kings in the last chapter, but the return from exile is also described (36:22-23).
A brief outline of the book:
I, The Reign of Solomon
A, Solomon’s reign begins with a prayer for wisdom (1)
B, The Temple is built (2-4)
C, The Temple is dedicated (5-7)
D, Building projects, slaves, Queen, worship, fleet (8)
E, Queen of Sheba, Solomon’s death (9)
II, The early divided kingdom (Rehoboam to Amaziah, 10-25)
III, The late divided kingdom (Uzziah to the exile, 26-36)
1:1 Solomon the son of David established himself in his kingdom, and the LORD his God was with him and made him exceedingly great.
There are three actions in this first verse. Solomon established himself, which means that he made his kingship secure. Part of this included actions described in 1 Kings but not here: putting down the final rebellion and executing his brother Adonijah (1 Kings 2:23-25), removing Abiathar from the high priesthood (1 Kings 2:26-27), executing Adonijah’s conspirator Joab (1 Kings 2:28-35), and also executing Achish to end the rebellion of the house of Saul against the house of David (2 Kings 2:44-46). But Solomon’s own establishment included everything he did with regard to Israel’s borders, their neighbors, trade, treaties, and the new idea of a navy, or at least a cargo fleet. Those are Solomon’ own actions.
But two other actions are presented in this verse, and both are from God. First, God was with Solomon. God’s will was to have David’s son on the throne, this son of David by name, for the building of the temple to God’s glory and the preservation of God’s people and the promise of the coming Messiah. For all who put their faith in him, “Christ, the Father’s Son, will be with us in truth and love.”
The third action we see is God’s own impulse to make Solomon exceedingly great. The Lord did this by glorifying himself through Solomon’s achievements, such as answering the questions of the Queen of Sheba, the profitable alliance with Hiram, King of Tyre, and of course the completion of the temple in Jerusalem: “I will glorify the place of my feet” (Isaiah 60:13). Unified worship at the temple would provide the means for the people to “glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ” (Romans 15:6). This is what David sang about when the ark was brought into the city: “Save us, O God of our salvation, gather us and rescue us from the nations, so that we may give thanks to your holy name, by boasting about you with praise” (1 Chronicles 16:35).
We put our trust completely in our Lord God, and he establishes our work (Psalm 90:17), builds up our faith (Jude 1:20), and reassures us of his grace and our place with him forever in heaven.
In Christ,
Pastor Timothy Smith
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Pastor Smith serves St. Paul’s Lutheran Church, New Ulm, Minnesota
God’s Word for You – 2 Chronicles 1:1 The Lord was with him