2 Chronicles 31

Study Guide 40: 2 Kings 19-24; 2 Chronicles 29-32 JUDAH, THE SURVIVING KINGDOM Overview Judah existed as a separate kingdom from 931-586 b.c. Like Israel, Judah experienced national ups and downs. Spiritually Judah was blessed with several godly kings. But Judah was also ruled at times by apostates. Queen Athaliah (841-835 b.c.) attempted to bring Baal worship into Judah as Jezebel, her mother, had brought it into Israel. While Baal worship was never established in Judah, and the land knew great revivals under Kings Asa, Jehoshaphat, and Joash, the people were never completely committed to the Lord. Hezekiah, one of the most godly of Judah’ s kings, guided this nation during the critical period when Israel was invaded and destroyed. Hezekiah instituted drastic reforms to correct the idolatry of his father Ahaz. Under the influence of two great prophets, Isaiah and Micah, he thoroughly cleansed the land. Yet Hezekiah’ s own son, Manasseh, who ruled for 55 years, was one of Judah’ s most evil rulers. Despite a later revival under Josiah (640-609 b.c.), religious and moral deterioration continued. Jeremiah and Ezekiel graphically describe the way of life of Judah’ s people — a way of life that helps us see clearly why God’ s judgment had to fall on Judah too. As we look at highlights of Judah’ s history, the kings who struggled to lead Judah back to God, and the prophets God sent to warn His own, we learn more of the love of God — and more of that godly way of life that can bring blessing even today to you and to me.

Commentary When Solomon’ s kingdom was torn in 931 b.c., the Southern Kingdom, Judah, comprised considerably less territory and had a much smaller population than the Northern Kingdom. In the initial years of conflict between the two kingdoms, however, many from Israel drifted across the border. These were people committed to the worship of Jehovah, and they remained faithful to the Jerusalem temple and to the Law which ordained worship there. They rejected Bethel and Dan as worship centers, and refused to have the counterfeit priests ordained by Jeroboam I make their sacrifices. Then, as the decades passed, the once-united nation accepted its divided state. And, tragically, any initial claim of Judah to a special godliness was gradually lost. Of Judah’ s 19 kings, Scripture marks out 8 as “ good.” Characteristically, some of these kings stimulated revivals. Yet the fact that the Southern Kingdom even needed revival, plus the Bible’ s description of the sins that were put away, tells us that the citizens of Judah were all too quick to fall into the same apostasy that plagued Israel.

Revival Asa (2 Chron. 14-16). Asa removed idols from the land, and purged the male prostitutes who were associated with their worship. Asa also deposed his grandmother (the queen mother) because she had made an idol of Asherah. Encouraged by the Prophet Azariah, Asa led the people of Judah to renew their covenant promises to God. Yet Asa did not remain fully committed to God. In his later years Asa imprisoned the Prophet Hanani for rebuking him, and Asa failed to turn to God for aid when he was ill (2 Chronicles 16:1-14). Jehoshaphat (2 Chronicles 17:1-19; 19-20). This son of Asa also followed the Lord. Like his father he attempted to root out the worship of Baal and removed many “ high places.” These high places (bamoth) were elevations set aside for pagan worship. Each contained an altar featuring idols. Sometimes the Hebrews would set aside a high place for the worship of the Lord and would ordain local priests. This practice was in direct violation of Old Testament Law, which insisted on a single center for worship and sacrifice (Jerusalem, during the kingdom era) and on a priesthood staffed by descendants of Aaron, Moses’ brother. The pagan associations of the high places were much too strong; worship there soon took on characteristics of occultism and immorality. So Jehoshaphat’ s attack on the high places was undertaken out of zeal for God, as was his insistence that the Levites resume their ministry of traveling to teach the “ Book of the Law” throughout Judah (2 Chronicles 17:9). Jehoshaphat’ s faith was demonstrated powerfully when the Moabites and Ammonites invaded Judah. He turned to God in prayer, and fully trusted His promise of deliverance. On the morning of battle Jehoshaphat encouraged his army, “ Have faith in the Lord your God and you will be upheld; have faith in His prophets and you will be successful” (2 Chronicles 20:20). He then led his army out, praising God for what the Lord was about to do. That trust in God was well placed. As Judah’ s little army marched out to meet the overwhelming enemy force, the Moabites and Ammonites began fighting each other! The enemy were dead when Judah’ s forces arrived. Joash (2 Chron. 23-24). The kings after Jehoshaphat were evil, and set an example that the people of Judah gladly followed. Athaliah, a daughter of Jezebel (the pagan wife of Israel’ s King Ahab) came to the throne in Judah and aggressively promoted the cult of Baal. However, there was a core of godly resistance to Athaliah. After six years, Jehoiada, the high priest, secretly crowned seven-year-old Joash as king. The boy had been hidden six years from Athaliah, who had executed all other possible claimants of Judah’ s throne. Now military and religious leaders combined to bring about a coup, and Athaliah was quickly executed (22:10-23:15). Joash and the four kings who followed him were relatively good kings. Under Joash, the priests of Baal were killed and pagan altars and idols were destroyed. The temple was repaired and the worship of God reinstated. But in Joash’ s later years, he also faltered. After the high priest who had advised him as a child died, Joash wandered from God. A similar pattern is seen in Uzziah, who became king at 16 and who followed the Lord until the death of his court prophet, Zechariah (2 Chronicles 26:5). Then he became proud and God struck him with leprosy. LINK TO LIFE: CHILDREN Children can identify with the boy king who wanted his people to love God. And this Bible story can be immediately applied in a simple, relevant way. After telling the Bible story, let one of your boys or girls be “ King Joash.” One of Joash’ s most important orders was to make God’ s house beautiful again. Let your pretend king give this same command: “ Make God’ s house beautiful.” The boys and girls can then pick up and store materials, dust, wash fingerprints from the doorjamb, etc. Hezekiah (2 Chron. 29-32). Hezekiah reigned during the critical years of Assyrian world domination. The vast armies of this northern power invaded the Middle East again and again, dominating the nations there and in fact wiping out Israel as a nation in 722 b.c.Judah too was threatened. But from the very beginning of Hezekiah’ s reign, “ in the first month of the first year,” this king had shown great zeal for the Lord. The temple, which had been defiled and all but abandoned, was reconsecrated, and the 25-year-old king determined to renew his generation’ s covenant with the Lord. For the first time in decades, Passover was celebrated in Jerusalem, and the people were so moved that the festival was extended seven extra days! As a result of that worship experience, the people returned to destroy the pagan altars and high places throughout their land. When Assyrian forces threatened Jerusalem, Hezekiah showed his faith by turning immediately to God. Again God acted to aid His people, bringing death to the enemy soldiers. How tragic that on the death of this godly king all the good he had done was quickly overthrown by his own son, Manasseh, who was undoubtedly one of the most wicked of Judah’ s rulers, though in his later years Manasseh did return to the Lord. Josiah (2 Chron. 34-35). The last godly king of Judah, Josiah, also led a revival. He became king at 8, and at 16 began to seriously seek God. At 20, Josiah began to purge Judah of idolatry (yet again!). He also ordered another restoration of the temple, during which a copy of God’ s lost Law was found. Josiah was shaken by what he read, for he realized how far God’ s people had departed from the Lord. The king acted immediately, calling all his people together and leading them in another service of covenant renewal, promising to follow the Lord and keep His commands. The Passover was instituted yet again, and Josiah kept on seeking to lead Judah to worship God until his death in battle against the Egyptians. LINK TO LIFE: CHILDREN Josiah is another child king your boys and girls will enjoy pretending to be. The highlight of his rule was discovery of a copy of the then-lost Law of God in the temple when it was being repaired. This time your boy or girl “ King Josiah” can give a different command: “ Remember what God’ s Book says, and do it.” Have small scrolls prepared by gluing the ends of an 8" long paper strip to two dowel sticks. Then roll the paper up on the sticks. In response to “ King Josiah’ s” command, your boys and girls can write a selected Bible verse on their scrolls to take home. Print on the chalkboard memory verses taught during this quarter. Let each boy and girl choose one to print on his or her scroll. Using memory verses for this activity provides a helpful review. And do be sure to talk with each child about how he or she can put the verse chosen into practice in his or her life the coming week. Josiah’ s revival, like that led by other kings, brought the people nearer to God. But only for a time. Again, after his death, the people drifted quickly away, turning down that tragic path that could lead to only one thing — the edge of judgment. LINK TO LIFE: YOUTH / ADULT What characterizes revivals? Here are some of the elements seen in the revivals led by Judah’ s kings. Write this list on a chalkboard. Have group members in teams of three or four develop modern parallels. That is, describe one or more corresponding elements that we might observe in a revival that took place in our own day.

Elements to list on the board are: Tear down pagan altars Destroy “ high places” Renew covenant with God Send Levites to teach the Law Turn to God when in danger Praise God even before the battle is won Repair the temple Worship joyfully

When teams have developed parallels and have shared them with the group, discuss: “ How many of these characteristics of revival do we experience now? Are we in revival, or do we need a revival today?”

Regret It’ s difficult to look at Judah’ s history without experiencing a deep sense of regret. We do rejoice at the stories of revival and renewal. But we are saddened by the tragic state that called for revival: a state of spiritual decline and deadness that was all too often the normal state of affairs in Judah. Under its later kings Judah, the surviving kingdom, knew both trial and triumph. As in the Northern Kingdom, increasing prosperity led to the neglect of faith. Ahaz, Judah’ s king during the years preceding the destruction of Samaria, committed himself to evil. He promoted Baal worship and even engaged in infant sacrifice (2 Chronicles 28:3). He also established a pagan altar in the Jerusalem temple itself, making this the official place of sacrifice. He finally closed the temple, to force his people into the kind of pagan worship that he desired. Micah, a contemporary prophet, cried out against Judah in those days just before the downfall of Israel. You have observed the statutes of Omri and all the practices of Ahab’ s house, and you have followed their traditions. Therefore, I will give you over to ruin and your people to derision; you will bear the scorn of the nations. Micah 6:16How little difference could be seen between the sins of the Northern Kingdom and the lifestyle of “ godly” Judah! And prophet after prophet sent, along with the pious kings, to lead Judah back to God were rejected or ignored. Isaiah. Isaiah, who lived during the reigns of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, called Judah a sinful nation, a people loaded with guilt, a brood of evildoers, children given to corruption. They have forsaken the Lord; they have spurned the Holy One of Israel and turned their backs on Him. Isaiah 1:4In one of the Old Testament’ s most poignant images, Isaiah shares the song of the vineyard, God’ s plaintive cry over a nation gone astray. I will sing for the one I love a song about his vineyard: My loved one had a vine yard on a fertile hillside. He dug it up and cleared it of stones and planted it with the choicest vines. He built a watchtower in it and cut out a winepress as well. Then he looked for a crop of good grapes, but it yielded only bad fruit. Now you dwellers in Jerusalem and men of Judah, judge between me and my vineyard. What more could have been done for my vineyard than I have done for it? When I looked for good grapes, why did it yield only bad?. . . The vineyard of the Lord Almighty is the house of Israel, and the men of Judah are the garden of His delight. And He looked for justice, but saw bloodshed; for righteousness, but heard cries of distress. Isaiah 5:1-4, Isaiah 5:7Habakkuk. Habakkuk wrote in yet another time of revival, during the time of Josiah. Yet the first chapter of his short book indicates how troubled this prophet was with social and moral conditions in Judah. He was so troubled that he cried out to God, unable to grasp how God could permit the violence and injustice he saw everywhere. Despite a godly king whose whole heart was dedicated to the Lord, Habakkuk still cried out: How long, O Lord, must I call for help, but You do not listen? Or cry out to You, “ Violence!” but You do not save? Why do You make me look at injustice? Why do You tolerate wrong? Destruction and violence are before me; there is strife, and conflict abounds. Therefore the law is paralyzed, and justice never prevails. The wicked hem in the righteous, so that justice is perverted. Habakkuk 1:2-4The revival may have touched the hearts of the king and of Habakkuk, but the majority in Judah were unaffected; sin still marked the society. And what about the days just before judgment fell? Listen to Jeremiah, as he looked back on the captivity of the Northern Kingdom, seeing it as a special lesson to Judah — a unique call to the South to repent. The words of Jeremiah clearly show that all the revivals of the Southern Kingdom, even the greatest under Hezekiah and Josiah, had not touched the hearts of God’ s chosen. “ Have you seen what faithless Israel has done? She has gone up on every high hill and under every spreading tree and has committed adultery there. I thought that after she had done all this she would return to Me but she did not, and her unfaithful sister Judah saw it. I gave faithless Israel her certificate of divorce and sent her away because of all her adulteries. Yet I saw that her unfaithful sister Judah had no fear; she also went out and committed adultery. Because Israel’ s immorality mattered so little to her, she defiled the land and committed adultery with stone and wood [e.g., was involved in idolatry]. In spite of all this, her unfaithful sister Judah did not return to Me with all her heart, but only in pretense,” declares the Lord. Jeremiah 3:6-10In Judah, the outward form of religion was correct. But the form was deceptive. In their hearts, the people of Judah had drifted far from God. LINK TO LIFE: YOUTH / ADULT How do we measure religious commitment? Ask your group which of the following is the best indicator of true spirituality: A. News Item: 56 percent of Americans consider themselves “ born again” B. Statistic: More Americans attend church regularly in the ‘ 80s than did in the ‘ 70s C. News Item: Catholic bishops urge unilateral ban of the bomb D. Advertisement: Revival extended extra week! Come experience moving of God’ s Spirit! After discussion, ask what is inadequate about each of these items as an indicator of spirituality. Then against the background of Judah’ s periodic revivals, look at the words of the prophets quoted in this unit. Ask your group, from these quotes, to develop their own list of measures of spirituality. LINK TO LIFE: YOUTH / ADULT Help your group apply the measures of spirituality they developed. Ask them to write a series of headlines for news items as they might appear if (a) they reported how members of your local congregation were experiencing true revival, if (b) they reported how your whole community were living close to God, and if (c) our country was to experience life-changing revival. After sharing and discussing headlines, discuss ways that your group members, as individuals and together, can help make some of those headlines come true.

Review When we look back over the history of Judah, we do more than read of men long dead and empires whose remains are now little more than dust. When we look back we discover spiritual forces that are at work in people today. We see reflected in the actions of men and women then the very choices that we face. And in what happened to them, we sense both promise and warning. We can choose today to follow God, and know blessing. Or we can choose to turn away, and know the pain of judgment and defeat. The revivals reported here point the way to blessing. Like Judah’ s godly kings we can commit ourselves afresh to our relationship with God. We can learn to depend on prayer. And we can praise, even before our battles have been won, because we are confident in God’ s love. The regrets the prophets express warn us as well. Each testifies to a fact noted in 2 Chronicles 20:33 : “ The people still had not set their hearts on the God of their fathers.” God today as then is never satisfied with a superficial faith. He yearns now as then for full heart-commitment to Him. In our lives today we may be superficially good, and even respected by friends at church. But only a full, complete love for God that issues in a holy life can be acceptable to the Lord.

Teaching Guide Prepare Read in 2 Chronicles about one of the revivals discussed in this unit. Imagine you were there, living in Jerusalem and close to the king. How would you have felt? What might your role have been? How would the revival have affected your life?

Explore

1. Review the spiritual history of Judah. As you talk of the godly kings, draw the wavy line which indicates Judah’ s periods of revival and decline. Discuss: “ If we each drew a time line of our own lives, showing our personal spiritual experiences, would it be similar to or different from that of Judah’ s spiritual experience? How?”
2. Ask your group members for their impressions of revival and its characteristics. What do they think of when they hear of a “ revival” ? See “ link-to-life” idea above.

Expand

1. Engage in direct Bible study of the revivals reported in 2 Chronicles. Assign teams of several group members one of the passages that report revival. Each team is to list characteristics of the revival as it is reported in the biblical text. The passages to assign are 2 Chronicles 14-15; 2 Chronicles 17:1-19; 20-21; 23-24; 29-32; 34-35.
2. Or list the characteristics of revivals found in the earlier “ link-to-life” activity. Have your group brainstorm as to what contemporary parallels would mark a revival today.
3. Or present the headlines suggested in “ link-to-life.” Use them to help your group explore the question of what are valid indicators of revival and a close spiritual relationship with the Lord.

Apply

1. Summarize the words of the prophets God sent to Judah in a minilecture. Remind your group that God is not concerned with a superficial faith that exists as a veneer of religion. God seeks a heart-commitment to Him, and that heart-commitment will be expressed in the total life — the commitment to righteousness and holiness in all things — of the true believer.
2. Or have your members work in pairs to write headlines that might appear if revival were a reality in your church, community, and/or nation. When the headlines have been shared, discuss: “ What might we do to help headlines like these come true?” See “ link-to-life” above.