II Chronicles 21
Jehoram king of Judahverse 1
Now Jehoshaphat slept with his fathers
and was buried with his fathers in the city of David
and Jehoram his son reigned in his stead
Jehoram kills his siblingsverses 2-4
And he had brethren – the sons of Jehoshaphat
Azariah – Jehiel – Zechariah – Azariah –Michael – Shephatiah
all these were the sons of Jehoshaphat king of Israel
And their father gave them great gifts of silver – gold – precious things
with fenced cities in Judah
but the kingdom gave he to Jehoram
BECAUSE he was the firstborn
Now when Jehoram was risen up to the kingdom of his father
he strengthened himself
and slew his brethren with the sword
and divers also of the princes of Israel
Jehoram followed example of kings of Israelverses 5-7
Jehoram was thirty and two years old when he began to reign
and he reigned eight years in Jerusalem
and he WALKED in the way of the kings of Israel
like as did the house of Ahab
FOR he had the daughter of Ahab to wife
and he wrought that which was EVIL
in the eyes of the LORD
Howbeit the LORD would not destroy the house of David
BECAUSE of the covenant that HE had make with David
and as HE promised to give a light to him
and to his sons for ever
Jehoram revolt against the LORDverses 8-11
In his days the Edomites revolted from under the dominion of Judah
and made themselves a king
Then Jehoram went forth with his princes
and all his chariots with him
and rose up by night
and smote the Edomites which compassed
him in and the captains of the chariots
so the Edomites revolted
from under the hand of Judah
to this day
The same time also did Libnah revolt from under his hand
BECAUSE he had FORSAKEN
the LORD God of his fathers
Moreover he made high places in the mountains of Judah
and caused the inhabitants of Jerusalem
to commit fornication
and compelled Judah thereto
Elijah sent a letter to Jehoramverses 12-15
And there came a writing to him from Elijah the prophet
saying
Thus says the LORD God of David your father
BECAUSE you have not walked in the ways of Jehoshaphat
your father – nor in the ways of Asa king of Judah
BUT have walked in the way of the kings of Israel
and have made Judah and the inhabitants of
Jerusalem to go whoring like to the
whoredoms of the house of Ahab
and also have slain your brethren of your father’s house
which were better than yourself
BEHOLD with a great plague will the LORD smite your
people – children – wives – all your goods
and you shall have great sickness by disease of
your bowels until thy bowels fall out
by reason of the sickness day by day
Philistines attack Judahverses 16-17
Moreover the LORD stirred up against Jehoram the spirit of the Philistines
and of the Arabians – that were near the Ethiopians
and they came up into Judah – and brake into it
and carried away all the substance that was found
in the king’s house – and his sons also
and his wives
So that there was never a son left him save Jehoahaz
the youngest of his sons
LORD sent sickness to Jehoramverses 18-19
And after all this the LORD smote him in his bowels
with an incurable disease
and it came to pass
that in process of time – after the end of two years
his bowels fell out by reason of his sickness
so he died of sore diseases
And the people made no burning for him
like the burning of his fathers
Jehoram buriedverse 20
Thirty and two years old was he when he began to reign
and he reigned in Jerusalem eight years
and departed without being desired
Howbeit they buried him in the city of David
BUT not in the sepulchers of the kings
COMMENTARY:
DAILY SPIRITUAL BREAKFAST: Young Believers
: 4 Now when Jehoram was risen up to the kingdom of his father, he strengthened himself, and slew all his brethren with the sword, and divers also of the princes of Israel. (2388 “he strengthened himself” [chazaq] means to seize, grasp, keep hold of, grow firm, harden, prevail, be secure, to grow stout, grow rigid, grow hard in a bad sense, or to be severe)
DEVOTION: Here we find an individual who was not growing in the LORD but growing in his own strength. He used his own strength to do evil instead of good.
He killed all his brothers once he had genuine control of the kingdom of Judah. He was not consulting the LORD but was doing everything to please himself.
He also killed some other princes that would not go along with his train of thought regarding the direction of the kingdom.
It proved true that his wife was the daughter of Ahab of Israel. He practiced what Israel did regarding worship which was not to worship the LORD but false gods.
He was a self- made man. He didn’t regard the commands of the LORD. He was going in his own direction. He didn’t want to live under the commandments of the LORD.
The nation was going in the wrong direction.
Sometimes you will have a man of God whose son was not walking with the LORD like his father was doing during his lifetime.
This happens today with good fundamental men who are true to the Word of God but their son because a pastor as well but doesn’t follow in his father’s footsteps. He goes away for the true teaching of the Word of God to following the liberals of the day that are not concerned with what the Bible teaches but more concerned with what is politically correct in our society.
This hurts the church and the nation because the judgment of God has to come for this sin of false worship that the kings of both Judah and Israel were doing as they moved further and further from the teaching of the Biblical priests and Levites.
We might not kill our brothers and sisters but we cause them to wander from the truth of the Word of God.
CHALLENGE: We have to guard ourselves from moving away from the standards that are taught in the Word of God.
DAILY SPIRITUAL LUNCH: Transitional Believers
: 6 And he walked in the way of the kings of Israel, like as did the house of Ahab: for he had the daughter of Ahab to wife: and he wrought that which was evil in the eyes of the LORD. (1980 “walked” [halak] means to go, to behave, to live or behave in a specified manner, to go along, depart, manner of life)
DEVOTION: Who we marry affects our relationship to the LORD. This is shown to us throughout the Word of God. Here we have another example of how the spouse and their family can affect our family.
So we have to watch what our future spouse’s family believes as well as our spouse. This marriage was arranged to from a treaty between two families but that is not what is done today in many countries. We have a choice in the spouse we pick to marry.
Training our children early in the area of dating is very important today. This is the responsibility of both parents. The key is to marry someone who loves the LORD faithfully. Sometimes we find individuals who love the LORD whose parents don’t and we need to watch how much influence they have in our future spouse’s decision making process.
Our loyalty has to be to the LORD first and foremost in every decision we make but marriage is one of the most important decisions. Keep your priorities straight in dating habits. The future of your family is at stake.
Once our loyalty to the LORD goes away our standards of living changes as well. Our priorities change. The law of the LORD is forgotten. Our treatment of others is not important.
We can see in our society that those who don’t worship the LORD consider everything OK. Sin is not sin by the LORD’S standard.
CHALLENGE: We need to live our lives in a way that is pleasing to the LORD no matter what others do or think.
: 7 Howbeit the LORD would not destroy the house of David, because of the covenant that HE had made with David, and as HE promised to give a light to him and to his sons forever. (559 “promised” [‘amar] means to say, mention, think, command, to express in words, to say in one’s heart, or to intend)
DEVOTION: Did the LORD know what HE was doing when HE promised to keep a descendant of David on the throne of Judah forever? Did God make a mistake because HE didn’t know what the future generations of David would act like? This is the teaching of some people who think they are Biblical scholars. The Bible teaches that God is omniscient which means that HE know not only the present but the pass and the future. HE is a God who know the beginning and the end. HE is the creator of the universe so nothing is impossible with HIM.
Could God have made all the kings of Israel good kings? YES!! Why didn’t HE? HE gave us a choice as to our actions and told us what the consequences of our actions would be and so we were given free will by the LORD. HE gave the same free will to the angels and some of them chose to rebel against HIM and they will face future judgment for their actions. We will face future judgment for our actions because of the choices we make in this lifetime.
Here we have a king that faces judgment because he chose to rebel against the LORD. The LORD is longsuffering in HIS actions of judgment toward Judah and HE is longsuffering in HIS actions toward us.
HE also is a God who keeps HIS promises. We know that Jesus Christ came to this earth based on a promise. We know that HE died for our sins according to a promise. We know that HE arose from the death according to a promise. We know that HE is sitting on the right hand of God the Father making intercession for those who are believers now according to a promise. We know that HE is coming again for HIS own people according to a promise. HE is going reign on the throne of David during the Millennium. So we have a king on the throne of Israel throughout eternity in the person of Jesus Christ according to a promise.
CHALLENGE: We need to study the promises of God to those who are New Testament believers because those promises belong to us.
DAILY SPIRITUAL SUPPER: Mature Believers
: 16 Moreover the LORD stirred up against Jehoram the spirit of the Philistines, and of the Arabians, that were near the Ethiopians (5782 “stirred up” [‘uwr] means to agitate, disturb, awake, set in motion, rouse, move, open the eyes or incite)
DEVOTION: The LORD can protect HIS people for other nations or HE can set in motion the use of foreign nations to judge HIS people if they are not obedient to HIM. HE watches over the nation of Judah and knows where they headed in their relationship to HIM.
HE watched Jehoshaphat let his son marry the daughter of Ahab the wicked king of Israel to establish a treaty with him instead of trusting the LORD to care for the nation.
HE watched this son of Jehoshaphat become king of Judah and kill all of his brothers except the youngest. Then he set up false worship he learned from this wife’s family. The nation turned from the LORD and was headed for judgment.
Elijah sent a letter of judgment from the LORD. In the letter it stated that the LORD was going to send nations against Judah. Here we have the nations that would come and take the king’s wives and killed his sons. The judgment also included an incurable disease for the king.
These nations that came up against Judah were under control of the LORD to be used for chastening a nation and a king that were disobedient. The LORD showed more longsuffering that we would have but HE gave the king every chance to repent and return to HIM. He chose not to repent.
Judgment was warned and came to pass. The LORD warns us that if we continue in sin HE is going to send judgment our way to chasten us into obedience. The end result of not repenting is death.
Are we in a longsuffering time period regarding our actions toward obedience toward the LORD? Remember that even HIS longsuffering ends sometime. This is an example of this.
CHALLENGE: Learn a lesson from this evil king. Obedience is what the LORD desires from each of us.
: 18 And after all this the LORD smote him in his bowels with an incurable disease. (369 & 4832 “incurable” [ayin] means to be nothing, not exist, non-entity, neither, never, or none. [marpe] means curative, medicine, cure, deliverance, healing, remedy, or wholesome.)
DEVOTION: What a difference a generation makes. Jehoshaphat honored the LORD but he was not perfect. He allowed his son to marry a daughter of the Ahab and Jezebel. Remember that Jezebel caused Israel to worship Baal. She wanted to kill Elijah because he conquered and killed the prophets of Baal.
With Jehoshaphat dead his son, Jehoram, took over the kingdom. He strengthened himself and killed all of his siblings. He walked in the way of the house of Ahab. He did evil in the sight of the LORD. He forsook the LORD God of his fathers.
However, the LORD had made a promise to David that he would have a king on the throne. So what did the LORD do? HE sent rebellion in the hearts of the Edomites. HE sent rebellion in the hearts of the inhabitants of Libnah. HE had Elijah send a letter to him explaining what was going to happen and why.
What was going to happen to Jehoram was that he was going to be sent a plague in his bowels. This plague was going to cause the death of Jehoram because of his forsaking of the LORD.
Here we see the two words giving us the meaning of this one word in English. The words mean a “non- existent cure” or there was “none healing.” God can do anything HE wants too. HE can allow this king to have a disease that has no remedy.
God allowed his grandfather and father to work with Ahab and because of that their grandson/son married into his family. This caused all kinds of problems regarding the worship of the true God in Judah.
We need to watch who we bring home. We need to watch who we partner with in any business. We need to watch those who are teaching our children.
If we allow just anyone to teach or to come into our business, we can follow in the footsteps of Ahab. The Bible warns about being unequally yoked to unbelievers. We should not marry a nonbeliever. We should not be partners in business with a nonbeliever. It can cause our children to have problems.
Jehoram choose to kill all his brothers. Jehoram choose to marry the daughter of Ahab. Jehoram choose to forsake the LORD God of his fathers. Jehoram choose to cause the inhabitants of Jerusalem to commit fornication. There are consequences to our choices.
God allowed this consequence because of all the things stated above. One note regarding the disease the LORD sent on Jehoram. It lasted two years. In all of that time Jehoram didn’t repent of his sin and ask the LORD to heal him. The LORD was long-suffering with him as HE is with us.
The New Testament informs us that the LORD chastens HIS children. First, HE will send weakness. Next, HE will send sickness. Finally, death is the result. What is the LORD going to allow in our lives because of our choices?? We need to examine our lives. One caution is that all sickness is because of sin in our lives. Sickness can also be used for the glory of the LORD in the lives of those who are faithful to HIM.
Who do we hang out with the most? Who do our spouses hang out with the most? Who do our children hang out with the most? Faithfulness requires that we have close fellowship with believers only. Friendship with the world is a sin.
CHALLENGE: Witnessing to our family and acquaintances is a requirement of service to the LORD.
DISCIPLINES OF THE FAITH:
BODY
Chastity (Purity in living)
Fasting (Time alone with LORD without eating or drinking)
Sacrifice (Giving up something we want to serve the LORD)
Submission (Willing to listen to others and LORD)
Solitude (Going to a quiet place without anyone)
SOUL
Fellowship (Gathering together around the Word of God)
Frugality (wise use of resources)
Journalizing (Writing down what you have learned from the LORD)
Study and Meditation (Thinking through your study in the Word)
Secrecy (Doing your good deeds without others knowing but God)
SPIRIT
Celebration (Gathering around a special occasion to worship LORD)
Confession (Tell the LORD we are sorry for our sins on a daily basis)
Prayer (Conversation with God on a personal level)
Silence (Letting the LORD deal with some problems and needs)
Worship (Time to praise the LORD alone or in a group)
DOCTRINES OF THE FAITH:
Scripture (66 inerrant books of the Bible)
God the Father (First person of the Godhead)
LORD – Jehovah (Covenant keeping, Personal)verses 6, 7, 10, 12, 14, 16, 18
Eyes of the LORDverse 6
Promised a light of Davidverse 7
God – Elohim (Creator, Sovereign)verses 10, 12
LORD God of his fathersverse 10
LORD God of David thy fatherverse 12
LORD going to send a great plagueverse 14
LORD going to give Jehoram a great sickness of bowelsverse 15
LORD smote Jehoram with incurable
Disease of bowelsverse 18
God the Son (Second person of the Godhead – God/man, Messiah)
God the Holy Spirit (Third person of the Godhead – our comforter)
Trinity (Three persons of the Godhead who are co-equal = ONE God)
Angels (Created before the foundation of the world – Good and Evil)
Man (Created on the sixth twenty-four hour period of creation)
Edomitesverses 8-10
Revolted against Judah
Libnahverse 10
Philistinesverse 16
Arabiansverse 16
Ethiopiansverse 16
Three nations carried away all the substance of king’s house and killed sons of Jehoram except
Jehoahaz the youngestverse 17
Sin (Missing the mark set by God on man and angels)
Jehoram killed all his brothersverses 4, 13
Jehoram walked in way of kings of Israelverses 6, 12, 13
Evilverse 6
Jehoram had forsaken the LORDverse 10
High places to worshipverse 11
Fornicationverses 11, 13
Go a whoringverse 13
Salvation (Provided by Christ’s death on the cross for our sins)
Covenantverse 7
Promiseverse 7
Israel (Old Testament people of God)
Jehoshaphatverse 1
Died
Jehoram – son of Jehoshaphat verses 1-20
Strengthened himself
Killed his brothers
Reigned eight years
Walked in the ways of the kings of Israel like Ahab
Married a daughter of Ahab
Evil in the sight of the LORD
High places were allowed
Fornication allowed
Walked in the ways of the Kings of Israel
Allowed people to go whoring
LORD smote him with incurable disease and he died
Sons of Jehoshaphatverse 2
Azariah –Jehiel – Zechariah
Azariah – Michael – Shephatiah
Given gifts from father
Ahab – king of Israelverses 6, 13
House of Davidverse 7
Covenant with LORD
Elijah the prophetverse 12
Davidverses 12, 20
Jehoshaphatverse 12
Asaverse 12
Great plague sent by LORDverse 14
Great sickness sent by LORD on kingverses 15, 18, 19
Jehoahaz only living son of Jehoramverse 17
Church (New Testament people of God)
Last Things (Future Events)
Jehoram died and there was no burning for himverse 19
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QUOTES regarding passage
The Chronicler then develops his theme (vv. 10c–19) by identifying more of Jehoram’s sins. He is the first Judean king who actually constructed high places (v. 11; cf. 2 Chr. 15:17; 20:33), among which is probably to be counted a Baal temple in Jerusalem (cf. 2 Chr. 23:17). The two expressions caused to prostitute (niv, jb) and led astray (lit. ‘thrust aside’) belong to the Old Testament traditional vocabulary of idolatry, the former being particularly common in the prophets (e.g. Jer. 3:1; Ezek. 16:16; Hos. 4:18) and the latter in the Deuteronomic law (e.g. Deut. 4:19; 13:10, 13; cf. 2 Kgs 17:21). The former term has also been used to explain why the northern kingdom went into exile (1 Chr. 5:25), and shows that Judah is under the same condemnation. (Selman, M. J. (1994). 2 Chronicles: an introduction and commentary (Vol. 11, pp. 454–455). Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press.)
21:16–20 The consequences of his sin were far-reaching. He suffered military losses, his country was ravaged, his capital taken, his palace plundered, his wives taken, all his children killed but the youngest, he died with a painful disease, and was buried without honor (21:16–22:1). (MacArthur, J. F., Jr. (2006). The MacArthur study Bible: New American Standard Bible. (2 Ch 21:16–20). Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Publishers.)
The factual details of Jehoram’s passing also indicate God’s judgment. There are three negatives, that he was not honoured with the customary funeral fire (v. 19; cf. 2 Chr. 16:14; Jer. 34:5), that there was no regret at his passing, and that he was not buried in the royal cemetery (v. 20). Three items are also unusually omitted, viz. any source of further information, the direct succession, and that he rested with his fathers (cf. e.g. 2 Chr. 12:15–16; 13:22–14:1; 16:13–14). In this matter-of-fact way, the author shows that he regarded Jehoram’s reign, as also those of his successors Ahaziah and Athaliah, as an aberration. (Selman, M. J. (1994). 2 Chronicles: an introduction and commentary (Vol. 11, p. 456). Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press.)
18–20 The king’s “incurable disease of the bowels” (v.18) seems to have been some extreme form of dysentery. In further contrast to his father (cf. 16:14 comment), he died without “fire in his honor” (v.19). Jehoram’s death was unmourned, without even normal burial “in the tombs of the kings” (cf. 24:25 comment). (Payne, J. B. (1988). 1, 2 Chronicles. In F. E. Gaebelein (Ed.), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: 1 & 2 Kings, 1 & 2 Chronicles, Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther, Job (Vol. 4, p. 507). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House.)
Jehoram was afflicted by the promised disease (cf. v. 15), diagnosis of which is impossible in view of the scant information in verses 15, 18–19. His burial was without fanfare (no funeral fire was burned in his honor as was done for Asa, 16:14). Jehoram’s death was to no one’s regret because he had brought such misery on the nation. Like several other Judean kings he was buried in Jerusalem but not in the tombs of the kings (cf. 24:25; 26:23; 28:27). (Merrill, E. H. (1985). 2 Chronicles. In J. F. Walvoord & R. B. Zuck (Eds.), The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures (Vol. 1, p. 636). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.)
Ver. 20. Thirty-two years old was he when he began to reign, and he reigned in Jerusalem eight years, &c.] See 2 Kings 8:17. and departed without being desired; to live, either by himself, being weary of life through the pain he endured; or by his people, he being so wicked a prince, and so ill-beloved by them, that nobody wished to have him live, but were glad to hear of his death; the meaning is, he died unlamented; his death is expressed by a departing out of this world into another, a phrase more than once used for death in the New Testament, see John 13:1; Phil. 1:23. howbeit, they buried him in the city of David, but not in the sepulchres of the kings; they shewed him some respect for the sake of his father, by burying him in the city of David, but denied him the honour of lying in the royal sepulchres, see 2 Kings 8:24. (Gill, J. (1810). An Exposition of the Old Testament (Vol. 3, p. 72). London: Mathews and Leigh.)
FROM MY READING:
(Remember the only author that I totally agree with is the HOLY SPIRIT in the inerrant WORD OF GOD called THE BIBLE! All other I try to gleam what I can to help me grow in the LORD!!)
Learning from Jude: …… Here are three points: 1) Jude assumes that the readers know these stories! Is that not amazing! This was the first century! No books in anyone’s homes. No Bibles available. No story tapes. Just oral instruction. And he assumed that they would know: What is “the way of Cain” and “the error of Balaam” and “the rebellion of Korah”? Do you know? Isn’t this astonishing! He expects them to know. It makes me think that our standards of Bible knowledge in the church today are too low. 2) Jude assumes that knowing this history will illumine the present situation. The Christians will handle the error better today, if they know similar situations from yesterday. In other words, history is valuable for Christian living. To know that Cain was jealous and hated his brother and resented his true spiritual communion with God will alert you to watch for such things even among brothers. To know that Balaam finally caved in and made the Word of God a means of worldly gain makes you better able to spot that sort of thing. To know that Korah despised legitimate authority and resented Moses’ leadership will protect you from factious folk who dislike anyone being seen as their leader. 3) Is it not clear, then, that God ordains that events happen and that they get recorded as history so that we will learn them and become wiser and more insightful about the present for the sake of Christ and his church. Never stop learning history. Gain some knowledge every day. And let us give our children one of the best protections against the folly of the future, namely, a knowledge of the past. Learning with you, for Christ and his kingdom, John Piper (Desiring God)
Tithes and Offerings
“Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat in mine house, and prove me now herewith, saith the LORD of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it.” (Malachi 3:10)
Today there is much talk of financial security. The biblical formula in today’s verse, given to Israel but applied to all, begins with a scathing indictment. “Will a man rob God? Yet ye have robbed me. But ye say, Wherein, have we robbed thee? In tithes and offerings” (v. 8). What a terrible thing, to rob God. The result of their thievery, in God’s eyes: “Ye are cursed with a curse” (v. 9) such that their financial state was much worse than it would have been had they been obedient. This teaching and promise has not been rescinded (Luke 6:38; 1 Corinthians 16:2; etc.).
God’s charge to us as given in today’s verse is in three steps. First, we are told to obey; i.e., “bring ye.” This cannot be considered an option. Secondly, God proposes a test. “Prove me,” He says, give and see if He lives up to His promises. Thirdly, trust His promise to meet our needs.
Note that His promise is also threefold. It abundantly covers present needs, for He promises to “pour you out a blessing” unmeasurable in quality or quantity. Likewise, it covers the threat of future loss. “And I will rebuke the devourer for your sakes, and he shall not destroy the fruits of your ground; neither shall your vine cast her fruit before the time in the field” (v. 11). Most precious is His promise to reward obedience and trust with a special relationship: “All nations shall call you blessed: for ye shall be a delightsome land” (v. 12).
Thus, we see that with less than 100 percent of our income at our disposal, we will have greater financial security than if we had kept it all to ourselves, thereby robbing God. (JDM, The Institute for Creation Research)
The Passover ends with the redemption of a promise.
INSIGHT: Exodus 12 is one of the most remarkable and important chapters in all of the Bible. In it we learn many things:
1. Only God can deliver us from sin.
2. Sin’s penalty is death.
3. God is willing to allow a substitute death, so that we don’t have to die.
4. Faith is the basis of our salvation. Our belief results in our obedience.
5. The Old Testament Passover lamb is a foreshadowing of the New Testament Passover Lamb, Jesus Christ.
6. We are saved the same way the Israelites were saved: by faith in the substitutionary atonement of the Lamb which God provided.
7. Not to accept this avenue of escape is to suffer the wrath of God.
(Quiet Walk)
Stan Lane (NY) shares: The further a society drifts from truth the more it will hate those who speak it!
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