THE SECOND BOOK OF
CHRONICLES
The books of Chronicles give purpose and hope to a people whose future appears uncertain. God had promised that David’s descendants would have an everlasting kingdom, but the people of Judah had been exiled to Babylon, had returned to Jerusalem, and now lived as Persian subjects. Judah had no king descended from David, and no hope of becoming a kingdom. Yet God’s promises are certain, so the Chronicler encouraged the Judeans to hope for the future. The words of King Jehoshaphat capture the spirit of Chronicles: “Listen to me, all you people of Judah and Jerusalem! Believe in the LORD your God, and you will be able to stand firm. Believe in his prophets, and you will succeed” (2 Chr 20:20).
The Babylonian conquest of Judah occurred in 605–586 BC, about two centuries before Chronicles was written (around 400 BC; see 1 Chronicles Introduction, “Authorship and Date”). To address questions about God’s purposes, the Chronicler narrated the past of the Israelites from the earliest times until the destruction of the kingdom of Judah.
The Chronicler was a skilled professional historian. His knowledge of Israel’s former glory came through his worship at the Temple, his reading of the Scriptures, and his work as a historian. In his writing, he extensively used the Pentateuch, Samuel, Kings, and many other sources. He selected material from the earlier books and edited it into the order, context, and form that he thought appropriate for his writing purpose. He evaluated his sources, commenting on their meaning and on the significance of the historical events in the earlier texts. By studying the past, he learned about the present and provided hope for the future of faithful people.
The Chronicler was also a sophisticated writer. By carefully selecting his material and reworking it to suit his own purposes, he did not intend to replace or supplement earlier historical writings. Instead, he presumed that his readers were already familiar with his main sources and knew the characters in his books. He made his writings vital to his own time: He evaluated the past from his own vantage point and wrote so that his contemporaries could understand the heritage of the Temple and its worship and the status of God’s promises.
The Chronicler’s history focuses on David and Solomon. The promise of the kingdom that God gave to David was confirmed for Solomon (1 Chr 28:4-7), and the Chronicler’s account of David and Solomon constitutes almost half of his history (1 Chr 11:1–29:30; 2 Chr 1:1–9:31). Much of this narrative pertains to the building of the Temple and to providing for the priests.
Solomon’s prayer and God’s response are central to the Chronicler’s account of Solomon (2 Chr 6:1–7:22). God responded to Solomon’s prayer in a vision that articulated the Chronicler’s own theological perspective (2 Chr 7:12-22): God answers the prayers and repentance of his people; he brings judgment upon the disobedient, but he rewards humility and prayer with healing and deliverance. The Chronicler used his sources to explain to his own generation God’s rewards and punishments.
After recording the division of the monarchy, the Chronicler focused exclusively on the southern kingdom of Judah. He associated the continuity of the kingdom and Israel’s future with two institutions: the dynasty of David and the Temple in Jerusalem. However, the southern kingdom was not always a model of obedience, and the northern kingdom, Israel, sometimes did what was right (e.g., 2 Chr 28:5-15). The Chronicler always saw the northern kingdom as a part of Israel that needed to be restored, and he took special interest in contacts between the north and the south. He did not condemn the northerners for the initial division, but he did blame them for their refusal to return once their grievances were settled.
The Chronicler’s portrayal of Judah’s kings sometimes departs remarkably from parallel descriptions in the book of Kings, such as with Uzziah, Jotham, and Hezekiah. Although Uzziah was a powerful king who ruled for more than fifty years, he appears as a minor figure in Kings (2 Kgs 15:1-7). In Chronicles, however, Uzziah is depicted as a famous reformer and builder. Although little is said about Jotham in Kings (2 Kgs 15:32-38), his work is portrayed much more extensively in Chronicles. He continued the work of his father Uzziah: He built extensively on the wall of the Ophel, established cities in the hill country of Judah, and built fortresses and towers in the wooded areas (2 Chr 27:3-4). The Chronicler also expands our understanding of Hezekiah, devoting more space to him (2 Chr 29:1–32:33) than to any king except David and Solomon, dealing extensively with Hezekiah’s reforms and the restoration of Temple worship, and describing at length how Hezekiah prepared for the Assyrian siege of Jerusalem.
The reigns of Manasseh and Amon follow (2 Chr 33:1-25), and their wickedness and idolatry set the stage for Judah’s demise. Manasseh experienced his own exile, repentance, and return to Judah—a microcosm of what the Judeans themselves later experienced. Josiah’s reign (2 Chr 34:1–35:27) was pleasing to God. But when Josiah died (609 BC), Judah’s end soon followed. Within four years, the Babylonians began a series of attacks (605–586 BC) that led to the destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple and the exile of most of the population to Babylon (2 Chr 36:2-21). The covenant unfaithfulness of the people of Judah had come to fruition. Yet the Chronicler included a glimmer of hope, ending his account with the later proclamation of Cyrus in 538 BC that allowed the Jews to return to Judah and rebuild Jerusalem (2 Chr 36:22-23).
Chronicles is an ancient work of history with a distinctive approach. The book of 2 Chronicles covers essentially the same time period as 1 & 2 Kings. And while the Chronicler drew upon the earlier records of Samuel, Kings, and other sources, his own work shows a remarkable independence. He gave detailed attention to military, administrative, and geopolitical affairs in times that were already hundreds of years distant. He frequently added detailed information not found in any surviving sources but evidently available to him.
Archaeology occasionally provides confirmation of administrative and geopolitical reforms discussed by the Chronicler. For example, an inscription has been found in the Siloam Tunnel describing Hezekiah’s water project. Most of the time, the evidence has only a broad connection, such as with Uzziah’s building activity or agricultural initiatives. The work of the Chronicler is a valuable resource for understanding the history of the times he wrote about.
The fundamental question for the restoration community that comprised the original audience of Chronicles was its relationship to the Israel of the past. They were no longer an independent nation but a small province in the Persian empire. What validity did God’s promises regarding the Temple and the house of David have for a community that had no king, lived under foreign domination, and had only recently rebuilt the Temple destroyed by the Babylonians?
Chronicles presents the period of David and Solomon as an ideal time when all of Israel united in worship at the Temple (2 Chr 7:8). Concern for the correct worship of God dominates the account of David’s reign. The restoration of the Ark to Jerusalem and David’s military victories provided for the future Temple. David made all the necessary arrangements for the appropriate officials as worship shifted from Gibeon to Jerusalem. To the Chronicler, David’s reign offered a paradigm for his own readers: David moved out of being a fugitive from Saul (a condition of exile) and into the functioning community of God. The postexilic community reading Chronicles had undergone a similar transition from exile and could anticipate similar blessings if they were obedient.
The Chronicler regards Solomon’s reign as equal to David’s, because Solomon brought to fruition David’s plans for the Temple and its worship (2 Chr 3:1; 5:1; 7:1). In Chronicles, Solomon enjoys divine blessing and the total support of the people, David appoints Solomon to the throne in a public announcement, and Adonijah’s attempted coup is entirely omitted. The Chronicler does not mention Solomon’s sins, and he shifts blame for the schism to Jeroboam (2 Chr 13:6-7). Solomon’s wealth and international influence reflect his glorious, peaceful, and righteous reign.
The division of Israel into northern and southern kingdoms shows the obvious failure of the kingdom to meet its ideals, but it does not mean that all hope for the kingdom was lost. Obedience still results in God’s blessing, and disobedience will be punished. The Chronicler provides a cause for judgment each time calamity occurs, and he also emphasizes the blessings that result from faithfulness. Repentance is always a means of averting, or at least moderating, a threatened judgment. Prophetic warnings are always issued before judgment falls, and the possibility of healing is always present. This pattern provides one of the primary ways that the Chronicler communicates hope for the future in his own time.
With the reign of Hezekiah, the Chronicler offers a solution to the problem of the divided monarchy. Under Ahaz, Judah descended to the same level of disobedience as Israel (2 Chr 28:2, 6), and the kingdom of Israel is presented in a more favorable light. As Israel’s leaders confessed their sins (2 Chr 28:13), they indicated that the northerners were ready for restoration. The Chronicler then introduces Hezekiah, distinctively characterizing him as a second Solomon. Hezekiah invited the north to join in the first Passover of his reign, and many responded (2 Chr 30:11); a similar celebration had not been held since Solomon’s time (2 Chr 30:26). Hezekiah’s Passover provides a model for the restoration of Israel as a unified kingdom.
The Chronicler used his account of Israel’s history to teach his readers to regulate their lives and community. He maintained hope for a historical restoration of the promise to David—however remote such a possibility may have seemed in his time. The Chronicler makes it clear that the kingdom of Israel was not a human institution subject to the whims of political expediency. It was God’s kingdom, and God would ultimately make it a reality.