Sue Russell

This week we read about the lives of six kings and one queen of Judah. In many ways the events recorded read like a novel with intrigue, betrayal and murder.

Once again, we see kings begin their reign in obedience to God and end their reign in rebellion. There is a persistent theme linking WHO the king sought advice from and his success. We will look at each chapter for an overview.

We concluded last week’s readings with the life of King Asa. Chapter 15 ends with a sentence that foreshadows what is to come: “So there was no more war until the thirty-fifth year of Asa’s reign” (2 Chronicles 15:19). This week, we begin with the 36th year of Asa’s reign and the lives of two additional kings: King Jehoshaphat and his son, King Jehoram. Each of these kings were defined by how they responded to the Lord, particularly in moments of crisis and correction.

This week’s readings take us through the reigns of three kings of Judah: Rehoboam, son of King Solomon; Abijah, Rehoboam’s son; and Asa, son of Abijah.

In 2 Chronicles, chapter 10, Israel gathers to make Rehoboam king after the death of King Solomon. This is an interesting chapter because we see the scene set up for a major event in Israel’s history.  First, Jeroboam returns from Egypt.  Jeroboam fled to Egypt because King Solomon tried to kill him (1 Kings 11:40). The leaders of Israel summon Jeroboam to meet with Rehoboam.  Jeroboam and the leaders speak to Rehoboam and ask him to lighten the labor and tax demands of his father, King Solomon. The people of Israel promise to be loyal subjects to Rehoboam in return.

This week we continue an overview of Solomon’s reign over Israel.  Chapter 4 details the specifics of the temple and the important articles created for it.  In the middle of the chapter a name is thrown into the descriptions:  Huram-abi. Solomon is credited for the building of the temple, but God records the specific man gifted in the actual creation of many of the articles.  “So at last Huram-abi completed everything King Solomon had assigned him to make for the temple of God” (2 Chronicles 4:11). I love it when God inserts the name of a specific person in the narrative. It is like He is highlighting an individual that might be obscure in the overall story, but something about that person merited mentioning.

About a week or so into the shelter-in-place, I was walking my dog and praying. If I were being honest, it was more like complaining to God. As I looked at what was going on around me in the natural world, none of it was what I would have chosen, and I was letting God know that.