2 Chronicles 27
BSASBJotham is one of Judah’s good kings. He walked rightly before God, built up the nation and won a war, and the chapter credits his strength to the way he ordered his life before the LORD. Yet the people around him kept sliding into corruption, and his son Ahaz would soon lead them far worse.
2 Chronicles 27:1
Jotham came to the throne at twenty-five and ruled sixteen years from Jerusalem. The chronicler names his mother, Jerushah, daughter of Zadok. Her name ties him to a godly line, since his father Uzziah was a long-reigning king.
BSA: Jerusalem (“the city of peace, the capital city”): Jotham ruled from the city where God had set His temple and David’s throne.
2 Chronicles 27:2
Jotham did right in the LORD’s eyes, as Uzziah had. He did not copy his father’s one great failing, when Uzziah proudly entered the temple to burn incense. Still, the people went on in corruption. A good king cannot make a nation good.
BSA: right (“just, upright”): His life was straight and true when measured against God’s standard, not merely popular. corruptly (“in a ruinous, destructive manner”): The people’s habits were not just wrong but were wrecking the nation from within.
See also: 2 Chronicles 26:16-21.
2 Chronicles 27:3
Jotham rebuilt the Upper Gate of the temple and did heavy work on the wall at Ophel, the hill south of the temple area. He cared for God’s house and for the city’s defense. Faithfulness shows in practical, lasting work.
BSA: rebuilt (“restored, repaired”): He cared for what already existed and kept God’s house in good order.
2 Chronicles 27:4
Jotham also built towns in Judah’s hill country, and fortresses and towers in the wooded areas. These strengthened the land, giving people places to live and defend themselves. His reign was marked by steady, careful building across the whole kingdom.
BSA: towers (“elevated stages, watchtowers”): These were lookout points for guarding the land from raiders and enemies.
2 Chronicles 27:5
Jotham fought the Ammonites and won. They then paid him a hundred talents of silver, ten thousand cors of wheat and ten thousand of barley, for three years. The tribute shows God’s blessing on his reign and the size of his victory.
BSA: defeated (“prevailed, overcame”): The victory was decisive enough to force the Ammonites into years of payment.
2 Chronicles 27:6
Here is the secret of Jotham’s strength. He grew powerful because he ordered his ways before the LORD his God. He lived with God in view and set his life in line with Him. His power was the result, not the goal.
BSA: ordered (“directed, established”): He deliberately set his course, not drifting but steering his life toward God. before (“in the presence of”): He lived as one aware that God was always watching and near.
Hebrew: הֵכִין (hēkhin, H3559) — “he made firm, set in order, prepared.” The Hebrew word carries the sense of fixing something firmly in place. Jotham did not wander into godliness; he set his path with purpose.
See also: Proverbs 3:6.
2 Chronicles 27:7
The chronicler points readers to the royal records for Jotham’s other deeds, wars and ways. Not everything is told here. What God chose to preserve is the heart of the matter: a king who walked with Him.
BSA: ways (“path, manner of life”): His whole manner of living is on record, not only his public acts.
2 Chronicles 27:8
The summary of his age and reign is repeated, closing the account like a frame around his life. Sixteen years was a fairly short reign, yet it was full of faithful work. God measures a life by how it was lived, not only by how long it lasted.
BSA: reigned (“exercised royal authority, ruled”): His authority was real, and he used it for good.
2 Chronicles 27:9
Jotham died, “rested with his fathers,” and was buried in the City of David. His son Ahaz took the throne. The next reign would be very different, a reminder that godliness must be passed on and cannot simply be inherited.
BSA: rested (“slept with his fathers”): Death is pictured as sleep, a gentle way of speaking of a faithful man’s end.
See also: 2 Chronicles 28:1-4.