Day 237 Reading Schedule: 2 Chronicles 18-22

2 Chronicles 18: The Alliance of Jehoshaphat and Ahab

[Overview]

In this chapter, Jehoshaphat, faced with the nation's greatest challenge, the division of the land and the division of the people, sought to renew relations with Ahab of the northern kingdom by allying with him for the first time since the days of the divided kingdom to fight together at the battle of Ramoth-Gilead. Jehoshaphat was so concerned with unity with King Ahab that he accepted the prophecies of King Ahab and the 400 false prophets rather than heeding the prophecy of the prophet Micaiah. This chapter records the alliance between Jehoshaphat and Ahab (vv. 1-3), and the two kings asking God's will (vv. 4-11). It then records Micaiah's prophecy (vv. 12-22) and the persecution of Micaiah (vv. 23-27), followed by Ahab's warriors (vv. 28-34).

2 Chronicles 19: Jehu's Rebuke and Jehoshaphat's Reformation

[Overview]

This chapter describes Jehoshaphat's judicial reforms. The war against Aram, fought by a coalition of southern and northern Israel, had disastrous results for northern Israel. King Ahab was killed, and Gilead-Ramoth and the northern part of Transjordan fell into Aramean hands. Southern Judah also suffered the consequences of this war for, despite Jehoshaphat's good works in the capital including the establishment of a judicial system, it was invaded by a coalition of Moabite armies and bloodshed broke out among Jehoshaphat's descendants. However, Jehoshaphat is portrayed as a king of Judah who responded to God's rebuke and obeyed his word. This chapter records Jehu's rebuke of Jehoshaphat's alliance with Ahab (vv. 1-3) and Jehoshaphat's private tour of duty (v. 4). It also records the appointment of city judges (vv. 5-7) and the appointment of judges in Jerusalem (vv. 8-11).

2 Chronicles 20: The War of Judah and Moab

[Overview]

This chapter begins by describing Jehoshaphat's response to the Moabite and Ammonite invasions by proclaiming a fast to the people and praying to God himself in the temple (vv. 1-13), followed by God's prophecy of victory in response to this prayer (vv. 14-19) and the actual fulfillment of this prophecy (vv. 20-30), and then concludes with a summary of Jehoshaphat's reign by describing his actions and the end of his reign (vv. 31-37).

2 Chronicles 21: Wicked King Jehoram

[Content Overview]

This chapter mentions the reign of Jehoram, who came to the throne at the age of 32 and ruled for 8 years. However, Jehoram, mentioned in this chapter, is a king whose ruling character is completely different from that of the kings of Southern Judah from the first to fourth generations described so far, and who consistently committed evil actions from the beginning. Through his evil intentions, the fundamental cause of the chaotic political and national situation in the late Judah is shown. This chapter describes Jehoram's political evil (verses 1-7), God's political discipline against him (verses 8-10), God's warning through Elijah (verses 11-15), and military discipline against him (verses 16-17). ), and consists of the fulfillment of prophecy (verses 18-20). Through this chapter, we can see that history operates according to God's providence, not according to human resourcefulness.

2 Chronicles 22: Ahaziah and Athaliah's covenant

[Content Overview]

The tragedy of the House of David, which originated from Jehoshaphat's human actions and began to spread from the time of Jehoram, now reaches its peak in the second generation of Ahaziah. This chapter also records the scene in which Jehoram's youngest son, Ahaziah, ascends to the throne and commits evil deeds during his short one-year reign before being murdered (verses 1-9), and the scene in which his mother Athaliah destroys the king's descendants is also recorded. (verses 10-12). Following Jehoram, the influence of Ahab's daughter Athaliah continued to be seen during the reign of Ahaziah. However, it may seem very strange that this woman, who was the one who moved Jehoram to worship Baal, has continued to survive until now. However, this can be understood as God's providence that was temporarily overlooked in order to completely eliminate the corruption of the Davidic royal family, which was already stained with sin. This chapter contains the faithfulness and love of God who preserved David's seed until the end against satan's efforts to destroy the covenant.