Going through trials, God’s sovereignty is the pillow upon which you lay your head. —C.H. Spurgeon
This second half of the Chronicles first draws our attention to the reign of the newly-crowned Solomon, who takes us to the height of Israel’s glory. The book then shifts to the other focal point, the soon-to-be-built temple. As the Chronicles unfold, they are not now composed of copious lists of names, but with fully formed dramas of the kings of Judah. Unlike the books of Kings, here Israel’s monarchs are almost completely ignored. After a detailed look at Solomon, special attention will be given to kings Asa, Jehoshaphat, Joash, Hezekiah, and Josiah. Sometimes called the good kings of Judah, they had their failures, but the trajectory of their lives was toward the Lord. They’re especially regarded for calling the people back to God’s Word and for restoring and recommissioning the temple after periods of neglect. Thus the book is really tracing the history of the temple, seeing the kings primarily as guardians of the sacred things in the City of the Name. The book begins with the construction of Solomon’s glorious temple, and finds its nadir with the temple’s abandonment by the Lord and its destruction at the hands of Gentile world powers. It concludes with the edict of King Cyrus the Great, enabling the Jews to rebuild the temple more than 400 years later. Again we are reminded that all this ebb and flow of history is actually His story. About 150 years before Cyrus lived, the prophet Isaiah called him by name and gave details of his care of the Jews (Isa 45:1, 4; see also 41:2-25). In days of governmental uncertainty, we find comfort in the Lord’s own words regarding this pagan king: “He is My shepherd and will accomplish all that I please” (44:28, NIV). Kings come and go. We trust the King of kings.