Teaching Notes

TH1067: II CHRONICLES

As we continue our study of II Chronicles we are once again looking at the reign of Hezekiah, the best king that the Southern Kingdom of Judah ever had. And in our last study we saw spiritual revival begin in the temple and now it is moving outward, into society itself. You see, true spiritual revival will not remain within the walls of the church but will burst forth and impact society as well. And that is what we are going to see as we move into II Chronicles chapter 31, after this 2 week long celebration has ended, and the people are heading home, their lives changed for the better, and that inward change that took place will affect their outward actions as we will see.

II CHRONICLES 31

VERSE 1

1. We see that the spiritual revival is leading now to social changes, as the false worship places are destroyed and along with them all the sexual perversion and carnality that accompanied their worship. This is not only affecting the Southern Kingdom of Judah, but has also spread northward, into Israel.

VERSE 2

1. Hezekiah is following the example that David laid out regarding temple service for the priests. Each division served for 2 weeks out of the year in the temple and the rest of the time they ministered to those in their home town. Remember that during the time of David the priests were spread out throughout the land of Israel in 48 Levitical cities so that no one was more than a days journey from a priest.

VERSES 3-4

1. Hezekiah leads by example. He gave to the work of God and he is encouraging the people to do the same. Remember that the tribe of Levi did not receive an inheritance or land as a possession. They were allowed to live in one of the forty-eight Levitical cities, but it was not theirs. They were to be in the ministry full time, totally devoted to God and not distracted by working outside the ministry. Thus, the other tribes were to support them and their families. (Numbers 18:20-24). And as we move into the New Testament we see that same idea portrayed so that the shepherd could minister the things of God to the people. (I Timothy 5:18, Acts 6:2).

VERSES 5-7

1. When the peoples hearts are touched by God you don't have to beg for money, for they will give of a willing heart. For 4 months the people kept bringing gifts to help support the priests and their families, so much so that it was "laid in heaps."

VERSES 8-10

1. The priests and Levites were blessed beyond measure, they had more than they needed. As Paul said in Ephesians 3:20 "Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us."

VERSES 11-15

1. Remember around Solomon's temple was a 3 story building that was used by the priests when they came to minister in the temple, and it was also used as a storage area. Hezekiah is having the abundance of offerings stored in this area and distributed by various men to those who needed it, of the priests and Levites.

VERSES 16-19

1. Here Hezekiah was making sure that everyone got what was rightfully theirs. Throughout the land, not only those who were working in the temple, received their portion. And these portions were distributed to the entire family, from 3 years old and up for the priests. The reason it was 3 years old and up was because prior to that they were still nursing, but once they were weaned from breast milk, they received their portion. And Hezekiah sets men in each of these cities to make sure the work was done properly.

VERSES 20-21

1. Why did Hezekiah and the nation prosper? Because his heart was set on doing what was right before the Lord. His eyes were properly focused on God. He had his priorities right. He put God first in his life. In the New Testament Jesus put it this way in Matthew 6:33. He said "But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you." Hezekiah knew the law and the commandment of God, that is he knew the Word of God. If only more would have a love and hunger for the Word of God today, maybe they would have a clearer picture of what God wants them to do.

2. Now what seems to follow a great spiritual experience, just as Hezekiah experienced with this great spiritual revival, is the enemy will try and fight back. You know that the enemy is not going to just sit back and allow these things to continue on, and so as God works from heaven, a noise from hell is going to be made in response to that.

II CHRONICLES 32

VERSE 1

1. Ahaz, Hezekiah's father made a treaty with Tiglath-Pileser, king of Assyria, for protection. (II kings 16:7). Now that Hezekiah is on the throne he breaks any treaties that his father had made and we are told in II Kings 18:7 that "...he rebelled against the king of Assyria and did not serve him." At this time the Northern Kingdom of Israel has already been taken away captive, in 721 BC. And Now Sennacherib is leading a campaign against the Southern Kingdom of Judah in the 14th year of Hezekiah's reign or around 701 BC. And the Assyrian records claim that he captured 46 Judean towns before he went after Jerusalem.

2. As we have said before, the Assyrians were a very cruel people. They would go and cut off the heads of their enemies and place them on poles. They would then take these poles and place them around the city they were fighting against to strike fear in their hearts and with the possibility of a surrender without a fight. They would put their prisoners to death very slowly and painfully. One way was to peel off the skin of their victim over 4 or 5 hours, until they died. They would put hooks through the noses or lips of their captives and lead them away, back to Syria. With that information, you can easily understand why Jonah did not want to go to Nineveh and preach of a coming judgment unless they repented. Jonah wanted the Assyrians destroyed and he knew God's mercy, that if they did repent, He would spare them. So Jonah took a boat to try and get away from what God wanted him to do, but God brought a submarine to pick him up and bring him to Nineveh to complete the work he was suppose to do.

VERSES 2-4

1. Hezekiah sees what is happening and stopped the water supply outside the city of Jerusalem so that the Assyrians would not be able to have a fresh water supply. Jerusalem's water supply was very vulnerable to attack because they were located outside the city. Thus, to get fresh water you would have to open the gates of the city, which gave the enemy free entrance. Jerusalem had two main sources of water, the spring of Gihon in the Kidron valley and the spring of En-Rogel which was two miles to the south. So Hezekiah had two groups of workers, one group working from the spring of Gihon digging a tunnel through solid rock towards the city, and another group digging from the pool of Siloam out of the city. His goal was to bring the water supply into the city. And this tunnel, which is some 1,777 feet long, was a constant source of fresh water. You can go to Israel today and see this tunnel that Hezekiah built.

VERSES 5-8

1. Two important facts come out of this portion of Scripture. Hezekiah fortified the city, built up that which was broken, built towers on the walls, prepared weapons for war. Hezekiah did all that he could do, and then he committed the rest to God. To many times we are so passive in our Christian walk. We expect God to do it all, when many times He works through us. We need to do our part and then let God do His. Do your best and commit the rest!

2. Secondly, Hezekiah not only strengthened himself, but his people by sharing with them the Word of God. How important that is to each of us. You see, the Word of God strengthens us. And Hezekiah uses the illustration of what happened when the Syrians had surrounded Elisha and his servant in the city of Dothan. When Elisha's servant went out of the tent one morning, he saw something that troubled him deeply and he brought that bad news to Elisha. That news was that the enemy, the Syrian army, had surrounded the city of Dothan, which they were in, to capture them. It was a hopeless situation. But Elisha tells his servant "...'Do not fear, for those who are with us are more than those who are with them.'" II Kings 6:16. You see, the servant did not see what Elisha saw, that the armies of God had surrounded the Syrian army. You see, you need to get the right perspective on each situation, and the Word of God will help you to do that. As Psalm 34:7 says "The angel of the LORD encamps all around those who fear Him, And delivers them."

3. Now don't think Hezekiah was perfect, because in II Kings chapter 18 we see his faith waver. You see, he saw what the Assyrian army could do, and he took his eyes off of God and was willing to pay the king off instead of turning and bringing his requests to the Lord. He forgot who was in control, and he gave into the enemy. Two important Scriptures that we should treasure in our heart. The first one is from I John 4:4 which says "You are of God, little children, and have overcome them, because He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world." And the second is found in Romans 8:31 which says "...If God is for us, who can be against us?

4. At some point Hezekiah got his eyes off the situation and back on the Lord. And when he did he had the proper perspective of the situation. It did not matter how bleak or how hopeless the situation seemed. He put into practice that which he believed, that God is still on the throne and He is still in control. Never forget that fact!

VERSE 9

1. Sennacherib was fighting in Lachish, which was about 30 miles southwest of Jerusalem. So he sends his representatives to Jerusalem to give the people an ultimatum, to either surrender or die fighting. And the Rabshakeh will be the spokesperson for the king of Assyria.

VERSES 10-12

1. Intimidation played a big role in what the Assyrians were doing. And the Rabshakeh is telling them that their God is not going to spare them when their own king has destroyed all the high places, the places of worship. This spokesperson had no idea what their faith was all about. Hezekiah was removing the places of false worship, but this spokesperson saw no difference, it was a place of worship to him. And that is so true today. How many times do you see people shoot off their mouth about Christianity, about the Bible, about the God we serve, and yet they haven't got a clue what they are talking about. They speak as an authority on something they are truly ignorant on, just as the Rabshakeh was doing.

VERSES 13-14

1. Now the Rabshakeh is comparing the God of Israel with other gods. His point is very clear, "If the other nations were not spared by their god's, don't think you will be spared by your God." And the people knew what destruction and devastation that the Assyrians had brought upon other nations, even the Northern Kingdom of Israel. It seemed like no one could escape their power.

VERSE 15

1. Now he is putting down the God of Israel, and that just shows how little he knew of Jehovah God, but he will be getting a lesson first hand, very soon!

VERSES 16-19

1. Now as the Rabshakeh was speaking, a gathering of Jews assembled on the wall. And this spokesperson gave all his warnings in Hebrew so all could hear and understand. In II Kings 18:26 we are told that the representatives of Hezekiah said to the Rabshakeh "...Then Eliakim the son of Hilkiah, Shebna, and Joah said to the Rabshakeh, 'Please speak to your servants in Aramaic, for we understand it; and do not speak to us in Hebrew in the hearing of the people who are on the wall.'" But he refused, trying to intimidate the people and cause them to rebel against their king and surrender.

2. Too many times Christians put themselves on the wall and listen to the foolishness of men yelling up at them. And what ends up happening is those on the wall begin to have their thoughts perverted, they can become confused with these critical views on what we believe. Don't waste your time, spend it in the word!

VERSE 20

1. Don't ever underestimate the power of prayer. Hezekiah and Isaiah are prayer partners, lifting their concerns up to the Lord, the only one who could truly help them and give them peace in the middle of this storms.

2. On Sunday mornings at 9 AM we have a time of prayer before service, lifting up the needs of the body, this community and this church. Tragically many feel that prayer is useless, but it is not. Listen to this story that happened many years ago. A group of men were going to hear Spurgeon preach and in their excitement they arrived a little early. As they stood by the door a man came up to them and asked them if they wanted to see what made this place run, were the power was coming from. Assuming it was the janitor, and not wanting to offend him, they followed this man to the basement of the building. They thought he was going to show them the boiler room. To their surprise he took them to a room filled with people, praying for the service that was going to take place shortly. This man told them, "This is the power that makes this place run!" That man directing them was none other than Spurgeon himself!

VERSE 21

1. We are told in II Kings that this one angel wiped out 185,000 Assyrians in one night, so that when Israel woke that morning, they saw all the dead bodies of their enemy. Not bad for one nights work! Sennacherib, king of Assyria heads home in retreat and he goes into his temple to worship his god - Nisroch, and while there his two sons, Adrammelech and Sharezer kill him with the sword. Just a short time earlier they were putting down the God of Israel, saying he could not defeat them, but now they have seen that the true and living God is able to respond, that He is all powerful!

VERSES 22-23

1. With the Southern Kingdom of Judah victorious, Hezekiah is exalted, and this may have been the spark that sent him on a downward trend. Pride is a horrible thing in our life!

VERSE 24

1. Here in II Chronicles we have a shortened explanation of what transpired. In II Kings chapter 20 and Isaiah 38 we are told more of the details of this event. God told Hezekiah to get his house in order for he was going to die. But the king was not ready to die and wept before the Lord all night. And that morning God told Isaiah that Hezekiah's life will be extended another 15 years. And the sign that this will take place will be that the sun dial will go backwards 10 degrees or about 40 minutes.

2. Now in all that we see the perfect will of God, that it was time for Hezekiah to die, and the permissive will of God, that God extended his life another 15 years. The reason I say that these 15 years added to Hezekiah's life were not God's perfect will is because of what transpired during that time. First of all pride filled Hezekiah's heart. Secondly, Hezekiah shows the ambassadors from Babylon all the treasures of Judah. And thirdly, Manasseh, his son, was born to Hezekiah during those 15 years and Manasseh was Judah's most wicked king, even worse than his grandfather, Ahaz.

3. Some today would have you believe that praying "Thy will be done" is a cop out. Not true! I would rather have God's perfect will done in my life than my own will. Notice what is said in Matthew 6:10 "...Your will be done On earth as it is in heaven." You see, it is not our will we are praying for but for God's will to be done through us. Thus, prayer is not to change God's will but to conform our will to His! You don't go ordering God around telling Him what you want done, I don't care how positive your confession is! And if you do get your will, if you do get what you want instead of what God wants for you, you will lose out. Listen to what is said in Psalm 106:15 to those that desire to get their will instead of God's will done in their life. We read "And He gave them their request, But sent leanness into their soul."

VERSES 25-26

1. First we see pride begin to build, but Hezekiah recognized it and repented of it. Because of that God said judgment would not come in his days but in future generations. And Hezekiah's response is "Praise the Lord, at least it is not in my days." Pretty selfish attitude on his part.

VERSES 27-31

1. Hezekiah greatly prospered which again lead to pride in his life. As these ambassadors from Babylon came, he opened all the storehouses and showed off his wealth to them. And because of that Isaiah tells him he did very foolishly and because of his actions the following would happen. In Isaiah 39:6-7 we read "'Behold, the days are coming when all that is in your house, and what your fathers have accumulated until this day, shall be carried to Babylon; nothing shall be left,' says the LORD. 'And they shall take away some of your sons who will descend from you, whom you will beget; and they shall be eunuchs in the palace of the king of Babylon.'"

2. Understand that the Assyrians were still in power at this time, but on the decline. The Babylonians were on the rise and the next world power to come on the scene.

VERSES 32-33

1. Hezekiah was truly a great king and compared to king David in his actions. And in his death, Manasseh, his son, becomes king.

II CHRONICLES 33

VERSE 1

1. Manasseh was born 3 years into Hezekiah's extended 15 years of life. And Manasseh was the most wicked king that Judah had on the throne as we shall soon see.

VERSES 2-7

1. Manasseh was like his grandfather, Ahaz. And all the spiritual reform that Hezekiah brought into the land, Manasseh destroyed with a blink of an eye. He even goes as far as setting up an idol in the holy of holies, sacrificing his children to the god Molech, and going after all the abominations that the nations who were driven from the land were into. It is much easier to go downhill than it is to go uphill. And Manasseh gives us that example in how he brought the Southern Kingdom of Judah to the pit!

VERSES 8-10

1. Isn't God's mercy unbelievable! Manasseh should have been wiped out and yet God is calling to him, trying to get him to listen and to get the nation to listen, but they refused. It was during the reign of Manasseh that tradition tells us that he took Isaiah the prophet captive, placed him in a hollowed out log, and sawed him in two. He did not want to hear what the prophets had to say, for they went against what he was doing. Thus, he gets rid of the prophets.

VERSE 11

1. Since he refused to listen to the prophets, God tries to get his attention by taken him captive by the Assyrians, as they placed hooks in his nose and fetters on him, and carried him away to Babylon.

VERSES 12-13

1. This is what Manasseh needed before he was broken and would look up. God knows what it will take before we are low enough and helpless enough, to look up to Him and repent of our sin. Manasseh repents and is restored to the kingdom in Jerusalem!

VERSES 14-17

1. Manasseh fortifies the city, removes the false places of worship, except for the high places, and calls for Judah to turn to the Lord. Yes Manasseh was converted but all the evil he had poured out into the land was just to much. They had a small revival, but it was to little, to late. Judgment was coming.

VERSES 18-20

1. Manasseh's conversion is very similar to that of Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon. Nebuchadnezzar's pride brought him to a state of madness until he finally looked up to the true and living God. And Manasseh also had to be broken before he would look to God.

VERSES 21-23

1. Amon, Manasseh's son, was also a wicked king and he is spinning out of control, away from God. Amon does not repent of his sin but remains lost moving in the opposite direction of God. The die was cast, and the nation was sinking lower and lower, drowning in their wickedness.

VERSES 24-25

1. Amon was only king for 2 years before he was assassinated by his own men. And in his death Josiah is now king and Josiah brings about the last revival before the Southern Kingdom of Judah is taken into captivity by the Babylonians. We are about 34 years away from Babylon's first invasion of the Southern Kingdom of Judah.