The Chronicler is notable for his emphasizing another point: divine retribution is dealt to kings for their evil actions in their own lifetimes. Kings that are faithful to the Lord are blessed with either peace or victory in war. The reigns of the greatest kings of Judah are associated with building projects. The resulting effect is that the people of Judah are destroyed when their king is wicked, but they build great things when their leader is good.
Chronicles therefore serves as an excellent example of dialectical tensions, the tensions between God's will that humankind obey him and humankind's penchant for not obeying the law of God. These forces give shape to biblical narrative, and move the story forward through cycles of devotion and apostasy.
Dialectical tensions are perhaps best expressed in Azariah's words to King Asa of Judah:
Hear me, Asa, and all Judah and Benjamin: The Lord is with you, while you are with him. If you seek him, he will be found by you, but if you abandon him, he will abandon you. For a long time Israel was without the true God, and without a teaching priest, and without law; but when in their distress they turned to the Lord, the God of Israel, and sought him, he was found by them.Today's post explains the notable characteristics that the Chronicler emphasizes about the first three kings of Judah.
(2 Chronicles 15.2-4)
Rehoboam
Solomon's son gets off to a rocky start by ostracizing all of Israel except for Judah. He does it in a rather tactless style - promising to add to the workload of a tired people, and to enact stronger discipline among his followers. The story seems to suggest that had he listened to the elders instead of his entourage, Israel and Judah would have remained united.
Rehoboam makes a mistake that will trip up a few kings after him. While he is politically weak, he obeys the Lord. But when he becomes established and politically strong, he abandons the law of the Lord, and the people follow suit. Therefore, "because they had been unfaithful to the Lord," Judah is overrun by King Shishak if Egypt. (2 Chronicles 12.2) The prophet Shemaiah puts it nicely: "Thus says the Lord: You abandoned me, so I have abandoned you to Shishak." (2 Chronicles 12.5). The people acknowledge this, humble themselves, and the Lord relents somewhat. The people will not be destroyed, but they will serve Shishak as punishment. In the words of the Lord: "Nevertheless they shall be his servants, so that they may know the difference between serving me and serving the kingdoms of other lands." (2 Chronicles 8) This is an interesting way to put it; when Israel desired a monarch, the Lord emphasized that they would be sacrificing the best qualities of a divine ruler for an earthly one. Now Judah must serve a foreign earthly ruler in addition to the one that was chosen - it must pay tribute to the Egyptian King.
But because Rehoboam humbles himself, he only loses earthly treasures, and Judah is not completely destroyed.
Abijah
Abijah has the task of facing off against Jeroboam, the King of Israel. Luckily, he is faithful to the Lord and so Israel emerges triumphant: "Thus the Israelites were subdued at that time, and the people of Judah prevailed, because they relied on the Lord, the God of their ancestors." (2 Chronicles 13.18)
Asa
This king's reign goes well for most of his life. Judah enjoys ten years of peace during his reign, as he does what is right in the sight of the Lord. He destroys the vestiges of idol worship and spruces up Judah:
Asa did what was good and right in the sight of the Lord his God. He took away the foreign altars and the high places, broke down the pillars, hewed down the sacred poles, and commanded Judah to seek the Lord, the God of their ancestors, and to keep the law and the commandment. He also removed from all the cities of Judah the high places and the incense altars. And the kingdom had rest under him. He built fortified cities in Judah while the land had rest. He had no war in those years, for the Lord gave him peace. He said to Judah, “Let us build these cities, and surround them with walls and towers, gates and bars; the land is still ours because we have sought the Lord our God; we have sought him, and he has given us peace on every side.” So they built and prospered. Asa had an army of three hundred thousand from Judah, armed with large shields and spears, and two hundred eighty thousand troops from Benjamin who carried shields and drew bows; all these were mighty warriors.Note that Asa has peace because the Lord bestows it upon him. Righteous actions by Kings are rewarded. Unrighteous actions are punished.
(2 Chronicles 14.2-8)
It might seem strange to have such a great army during a time of peace, but the narrative includes it because it demonstrates very effectively the power that Judah has. Asa and his army defeat an Ethiopian army comprised of a million men and three hundred chariots.
Asa goes on to be a great reformer, going so far as to remove his mother Maacah from her post as queen mother because she makes an idol of Asherah. But this great king ends up making a big mistake. When King Baasha of Israel threatens to attack Judah, Asa pays off King Ben-hadad of Aram to break his covenant with Israel and attack them, so that Asa might have peace. For relying on a human instead of God, he is punished with disease in his feet. Again he seeks human aid above the Lord, relying on physicians instead of God. For this he dies. Yet his funeral is well attended - for the evil he caused at the end of his life, he was a good king for most of it.
Our discussion continues next week with further exploration of dialectical tensions and the implications for the author and reader.
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