Recap

So far in 1-2 Chronicles we’ve read through the introductory genealogies, king David and Solomon’s reigns and started reigns of Judah's kings from Rehoboam to the exile. We read through the opening chapters of the book dedicated to the genealogies of God's people. These covered from Adam to David, focusing on Judah, the tribe of the royal family, Levi, the tribe of the priests, and Benjamin, the tribe of the first king Saul. There were also genealogies of the people who returned from exile.

As we moved into the section of the book focused on David, we saw the author use David as a model for what an ideal future king will look like. He was a shepherd, a ruler, a priest. He united the tribes, defeated their enemies, established peace. He served as a second Moses, designing the temple, gathering its resources, and organising the Levites and priests. David did everything he could to set Solomon up well. He then stepped back to allow Solomon to be king. 

Starting 2 Chronicles, Solomon immediately set himself apart from other kings, asking God not for wealth or power, but wisdom. Because of this, God granted Solomon the wisdom that he asked for, and the wealth and success that he hadn't. Solomon built and established the temple and God's presence fell upon it. God then warned Solomon that as long as his people remained humble and repented of their sin, God would forgive and rescue them. But if they don't, God will cast them from their land and destroy this temple.

Solomon went on to build more cities and establishing trade routes before passing on reign to his son Rehoboam. Rehoboam sort to oppress and subdue the people which lead to the ten northern tribes seceding and setting up Jeroboam as king of the new Israel in the north. The two southern tribes became known as just Judah. Rehoboam started off poorly but turned to God when Egypt came to sack Jerusalem.

After him came Abijah, who trusted in God when Israel attacked. Then there was Asa who spent his early reign wiping out foreign worship, but when Israel attacked again, he turned to Syria for help, not God. Jehoshaphat made some poor alliances but trusted in God and led the people right.

Then came a bloody era of kings. Jehoram murdered his family to secure his throne and led the people in foreign worship. God struck him down with disease and he was replaced with Ahaziah. Ahaziah was just as bad and was assassinated. He was replaced by his mother, Athaliah, who also killed all her family to secure the throne. Only little Joash survived, and many years later, he was restored to the throne and Athaliah was executed. But after Joash's advisors died, Joash started leading the people in foreign worship. He was then assassinated.

Then came Amaziah who was lukewarm as a king, Uzziah who started off strong but sinned against God in his pride, and Jotham who was consistently faithful to God. Ahaz was the worst king that Judah had, engaging in child sacrifice. Then we got a long stretch from Hezekiah. He turned to God, led the people in repentance, purified and restored the temple, reestablished holy festivals and worship, and reorganised that Levites and priests so they were ready to lead the people in their worship going forward. 

2 Chronicles 32-34

The king of Assyria comes down and lays siege against Jerusalem. Hezekiah gathered the people together and went out to clog up all the wells so that the Assyrians couldn't gather any water. He then encouraged the people, reminding them that regardless of the number of Assyrians, they had God fighting on their side.

But the Assyrians began to mock the people of Judah. They pointed out that they had defeated every other nation they had come across. The gods of those nations didn't help them, so how is the God of Judah going to be any different?

So the people prayed and cried out to God, and he delivered them. He sent his angels to strike down the Assyrian army, and its king fled back home to Assyria, where he was killed by his own sons.

But even Hezekiah, with all his reform, failed to stay faithful his whole life. In his later years, Hezekiah got extremely ill and was close to death, but God decided to heal him. Unfortunately, rather than praise God for his goodness, Hezekiah became proud. God's wrath begins to boil over, and Hezekiah quickly repented, but the threat was still there. Even one of the most faithful kings of Judah was faithless at times.

Next up is Manasseh, who was more like his grandfather Ahaz than his father, Hezekiah. He brought back foreign worship and child sacrifice. He set up foreign altars all over the land and even in the temple itself. God caused the Assyrians to come up and attack Judah, taking Manasseh into slavery. There in captivity, Manasseh repented and turned back to God, and so God allowed him to return to Judah and be king once more.

Manasseh led the people back to worshipping God and restored much of the city that had been attacked. In Manasseh, we have a rare example of a king who started off bad but then ended up good. His son, Amon, was not as fortunate. He started off just like his father had done, worshipping false gods. But unlike his father, he never repented, and he was soon assassinated by his own people.

Then comes Josiah. Josiah was faithful to God and removed all the places of foreign worship in the land. He even went north into Israel, who by this point had been taken into captivity by the Assyrians, and removed all the places of foreign worship there too. He also reestablished the tithe and gave it to people to repair and maintain the temple.

While repairing the temple, some of the priests found the book of the law, an early version of the Torah, the first five books of our Bible. They sent it to Josiah, who had it read out loud. Hearing everything that was written in this book, he realised how far the people had strayed from God.

He immediately asked his people to find out from God what this all means and what they should do. They visit a prophetess called Huldah to ask her about all this. She tells them that God will pour out his wrath completely on Judah for their sins, but because Josiah has been faithful, it won't happen in his lifetime.

This encouraged Josiah to do all that he could to lead the people back to God. He had the book of the law read before all the people, and then everyone renewed their commitment to God. Maybe they could still prevent the disaster that was to come.

Psalm 77

This psalm is attributed to two people, Jeduthun and Asaph, both musicians of king David. It falls into the category of lament psalm. Unlike most lament psalms, this psalm lacks a clear request. Instead, the psalmist is happy to trust that God will make things right.

Psalm 77:1-4 - The complaint

Psalm 77:5-9 - The psalmist questions their complaint

Psalm 77:10-20 - Declaration of trust

The psalmist starts by sharing how they cry out to God, and he will hear them. But despite this, the psalmist feels weary crying out to God, presumably as currently it feels like God doesn’t hear. As much as they cry out, remember God and meditate, they’re left feeling tired and uncomforted. It almost feels like God is holding their eyelids open so they cannot rest.

But then the psalmist begins to question the validity of their complaint. They think back to what life was like and start to search through their thoughts. Is it really true that God will never smile upon them again? That God has stopped loving them or keeping his promises? Has God really forgotten grace and compassion and been overcome with anger?

Having raised the questions, the psalmist begins to answer them. They remember the great things God has previously done. They cling to them. He is a holy God who works wonders, makes himself know to his people, and redeems them. That’s his character who he is.

He’s a powerful God with the power of the oceans, rain, thunder, and lightning. He is the God that created a path through the seas and led his people through them.

And then the psalmist ends there. The unspoken answer to their questions? God has been good and faithful in the past. It is who he is. Therefore, he will be good and faithful to us now and in the future. The psalmist no longer needs to make a request because they’ve been able to encourage themselves with these truths.