Text -- 2 Chronicles 7:12 (NET)

7:12 the Lord appeared to Solomon at night and said to him: “I have answered your prayer and chosen this place to be my temple where sacrifices are to be made.

Commentary -- Word/Phrase Notes (per phrase)

JFB: 2Ch 7:12

(See on 1Ki 9:1-9). The dedication of the temple must have been an occasion of intense national interest to Solomon and his subjects. Nor was the interest merely temporary or local. The record of it is read and thought of with an interest that is undiminished by the lapse of time. The fact that this was the only temple of all nations in which the true God was worshipped imparts a moral grandeur to the scene and prepares the mind for the sublime prayer that was offered at the dedication. The pure theism of that prayer--its acknowledgment of the unity of God as well as of His moral perfections in providence and grace, came from the same divine source as the miraculous fire. They indicated sentiments and feelings of exalted and spiritual devotion, which sprang not from the unaided mind of man, but from the fountain of revelation. The reality of the divine presence was attested by the miracle, and that miracle stamped the seal of truth upon the theology of the temple-worship.

Clarke: 2Ch 7:12

The Lord appeared to Solomon - This was a second manifestation; see 1Ki 9:2-9 (note), and the notes there. The Targum says, "The Word of the Lord appeared to Solomon."

TSK: 2Ch 7:12

the Lord : 2Ch 1:7; Gen 17:1; 1Ki 9:2

I have heard : 2Ki 20:5; Psa 10:17, Psa 66:19; Luk 1:13; Act 10:31; 1Jo 5:14, 1Jo 5:15

have chosen : 2Ch 7:16; Deu 12:5, Deu 12:11; Psa 78:68, Psa 78:69, Psa 132:13, Psa 132:14

an house of sacrifice : 2Ki 2:6; Deu 12:6

Commentary -- Word/Phrase Notes (per Verse)

Barnes: 2Ch 7:12

An house of sacrifice - This expression does not elsewhere occur. Its meaning, however, is clear. God declares that Solomon’ s Temple is the place whereunto all Israelites were commanded to bring their burnt-offerings and sacrifices (see Deu 12:5-6).

Gill: 2Ch 7:12-22

And the Lord appeared to Solomon by night,.... From hence, to the end of the chapter, much the same things are related as in 1Ki 9:2. See Gill on 1Ki 9:2, 1Ki 9:3, 1Ki 9:4, 1Ki 9:5, 1Ki 9:6, 1Ki 9:7, 1Ki 9:8, 1Ki 9:9, excepting 2Ch 7:13 which contain an answer to the particular requests made by Solomon in case of a famine or pestilence, that when the people of Israel should humble themselves in prayer and supplication, the Lord would be attentive to them, and forgive them, 2Ch 6:26 and which is given as a specimen, and as encouragement to expect the same treatment in all other cases mentioned in Solomon's prayer, they so behaving.

Commentary -- Verse Notes / Footnotes

NET Notes: 2Ch 7:12

¹ tn Heb “I have heard.”

² tn Heb “temple of sacrifice.” This means the Lord designated the temple as the place for making sacrifices, and this has been clarified in the translation.

Commentary -- Verse Range Notes

TSK Synopsis: 2Ch 7:1-22

1 God having given testimony to Solomon's prayer by fire from heaven, and glory in the temple, the people worship him.

4 Solomon's solemn sacrifice.

8 Solomon having kept the feast of tabernacles, and the feast of dedication of the altar, dismisses the people.

12 God appearing to Solomon, gives him promises upon condition.

MHCC: 2Ch 7:1-22

God gave a gracious answer to Solomon's prayer. The mercies of God to sinners are made known in a manner well suited to impress all who receive them, with his majesty and holiness. The people worshipped and praised God. When he manifests himself as a consuming Fire to sinners, his people can rejoice in him as their Light. Nay, they had reason to say, that God was good in this. It is of the Lord's mercies we are not consumed, but the sacrifice in our stead, for which we should be very thankful. And whoever beholds with true faith, the Saviour agonizing and dying for man's sin, will, by that view, find his godly sorrow enlarged, his hatred of sin increased, his soul made more watchful, and his life more holy. Solomon prosperously effected all he designed, for adorning both God's house and his own. Those who begin with the service of God, are likely to go on successfully in their own affairs. It was Solomon's praise, that what he undertook, he went through with; it was by the grace of God that he prospered in it. Let us then stand in awe, and sin not. Let us fear the Lord's displeasure, hope in his mercy, and walk in his commandments.

Matthew Henry: 2Ch 7:12-22

That God accepted Solomon's prayer appeared by the fire from heaven. But a prayer may be accepted and yet not answered in the letter of it; and therefore God appeared to him in the night, as he did once before (2Ch 1:7), and after a day of sacrifice too, as then, and gave him a peculiar answer to his prayer. We had the substance of it before, 1Ki 9:2-9.

I. He promised to own this house for a house of sacrifice to Israel and a house of prayer for all people (Isa 56:7): My name shall be there for ever (2Ch 7:12, 2Ch 7:16), that is, "There will I make myself known, and there will I be called upon."

II. He promised to answer the prayers of his people that should at any time be made in that place, 2Ch 7:13-15. National judgments are here supposed (2Ch 7:13), famine, and pestilence, and perhaps war, for by the locusts devouring the land meant enemies as greedy as locusts, and laying all waste. 2. National repentance, prayer, and reformation, are required, 2Ch 7:14. God expects that his people who are called by his name, if they have dishonoured his name by their iniquity, should honour it by accepting the punishment of their iniquity. They must be humble themselves under his hand, must pray for the removal of the judgment, must seek the face and favour of God; and yet all this will not do unless they turn from their wicked ways, and return to the God from whom they have revolted. 3. National mercy is then promised, that God will forgive their sin, which brought the judgment upon them, and then heal their land, redress all their grievances. Pardoning mercy makes ways for healing mercy, Psa 103:3; Mat 9:2.

III. He promised to perpetuate Solomon's kingdom, upon condition that he persevered in his duty, 2Ch 7:17, 2Ch 7:18. If he hoped for the benefit of God's covenant with David, he must imitate the example of David. But he set before him death as well as life, the curse as well as the blessing. 1. He supposed it possible that though they had this temple built to the honour of God, yet they might be drawn aside to worship other gods, 2Ch 7:19. He knew their proneness to backslide into that sin. 2. He threatened it as certain that, if they did so, it would certainly be the ruin of both church and state. (1.) It would be the ruin of their state, 2Ch 7:20. "Though they have taken deep root, and taken root long, in this good land, yet I will pluck them up by the roots, extirpate the whole nation, pluck them up as men pluck up weeds out of their garden, which are thrown to the dunghill."(2.) It would be the ruin of their church. This sanctuary would be no sanctuary to them, to protect them from the judgment of God, as they imagined, saying, The temple of the Lord are we, Jer 7:4. "This house which is high, not only for the magnificence of its structure, but for the designed ends and uses of it, shall be an astonishment, it shall come down wonderfully (Lam 1:9), to the amazement of all the neighbours."

Keil-Delitzsch: 2Ch 7:1-22

The divine confirmation of the dedication of the temple . - 2Ch 7:1-10. The consecration of the sacrificial service by fire from heaven (2Ch 7:1-3), and the sacrifices and festival of the people (2Ch 7:4-10).

2Ch 7:1-3

At the conclusion of Solomon's prayer there fell fire from heaven, which devoured the burnt-offering and the thank-offering, and the glory of the Lord filled the house, so that the priests could not enter the house of Jahve. The assembled congregation, when they saw the fire and the glory of the Lord descend, bowed themselves with their faces to the ground upon the pavement, and worshipped God to praise. Now since this narrative is not found in 1Ki 8:54., and there a speech of Solomon to the whole congregation, in which he thanks God for the fulfilment of His promise, and expresses the desire that the Lord would hear his prayers at all times, and bestow the promised salvation on the people, is communicated, modern criticism has rejected this narrative of the Chronicle as a later unhistorical embellishment of the temple dedication. "If we turn our attention,"says Berth. in agreement with Then., "to 2Ch 5:11-14, and compare 2Ch 5:14 with our second verse, we must maintain that our historian found that there existed two different narratives of the proceedings at the dedication of the temple, and received both into his work. According to the one narrative, the clouds filled the house (1Ki 8:10, cf. 2Ch 5:11-14); and after this was done Solomon uttered the prayer, with the conclusion which we find in 1 Kings 8; according to the other narrative, Solomon uttered the prayer, with the conclusion which we find in Chron., and God thereafter gave the confirmatory signs. Now we can hardly imagine that the course of events was, that the glory of Jahve filled the house (2Ch 5:14); that then Solomon spoke the words and the prayer in 2 Chron 6; that while he uttered the prayer the glory of Jahve again left the house, and then came down in a way manifest to all the people (2Ch 7:3), in order to fill the house for a second time."Certainly it was not so; but the narrative itself gives no ground for any such representation. Not a word is said in the text of the glory of Jahve having left the temple during Solomon's prayer. The supposed contradiction between 2Ch 5:14 and the account in 2Ch 7:1-3 is founded entirely on a misinterpretation of our verse. The course of events described here was, as the words run, this: Fire came down from heaven upon the sacrifices and devoured them, and the glory of the Lord filled the house; and this is in 2Ch 7:3 more exactly and precisely repeated by the statement that the people saw the fire and the glory of Jahve descend upon the house. According to these plain words, the glory of Jahve descended upon the temple in the fire which came down from heaven. In the heavenly fire which devoured the sacrifices, the assembled congregation saw the glory of the Lord descend upon the temple and fill it. But the filling of the temple by the cloud when the ark was brought in and set in its place (2Ch 5:13) can be without difficulty reconciled with this manifestation of the divine glory in the fire. Just as the manifestation of the gracious divine presence in the temple by a cloud, as its visible vehicle, does not exclude the omnipresence of God or His sitting enthroned in heaven, God's essence not being so confined to the visible vehicle of His gracious presence among His people that He ceases thereby to be enthroned in heaven, and to manifest Himself therefrom; so the revelation of the same God from heaven by a descending fire is not excluded or set aside by the presence of the cloud in the holy place of the temple, and in the most holy. We may consequently quite well represent to ourselves the course of events, by supposing, that while the gracious presence of God enthroned above the cherubim on the ark made itself known in the cloud which filled the temple, or while the cloud filled the interior of the temple, God revealed His glory from heaven, before the eyes of the assembled congregation, in the fire which descended upon the sacrifices, so that the temple was covered or overshadowed by His glory. The parts of this double manifestation of the divine glory are clearly distinguished even in our narrative; for in 2Ch 5:13-14 the cloud which filled the house, as vehicle of the manifestation of the divine glory, and which hindered the priests from standing and serving (in the house, i.e., in the holy place and the most holy), is spoken of; while in our verses, again, it is the glory of God which descended upon the temple in the fire coming down from heaven on the sacrifices, and so filled it that the priests could not enter it, which is noticed.

Since, therefore, the two passages involve no contradiction, the hypothesis of a compounding together of discrepant narratives loses all standing ground; and it only remains to determine the mutual relations of the two narratives, and to answer the question, why the author of the book of Kings has omitted the account of the fire which came down from heaven upon the sacrifices, and the author of the Chronicle the blessing of the congregation (1Ki 8:54-61). From the whole plan and character of the two histories, there can be no doubt that in these accounts we have not a perfect enumeration of all the different occurrences, but only a record of the chief things which were done. The authority made use of by both, however, doubtless contained both the blessing of the congregation (1Ki 8:55-61) and the account of the fire which devoured the sacrifices (2Ch 7:2-3); and probably the latter preceded the blessing spoken by Solomon to the congregation (Kings). In all probability, the fire dame down from heaven immediately after the conclusion of the dedicatory prayer, and devoured the sacrifices lying upon the altar of burnt-offering; and after this had happened, Solomon turned towards the assembled congregation and praised the Lord, because He had given rest to His people, of which the completion of the temple, and the filling of it with the cloud of the divine glory, was a pledge. To record this speech of Solomon to the congregation, falls wholly in with the plan of the book of Kings, in which the prophetic interest, the realization of the divine purpose of grace by the acts and omissions of the kings, is the prominent one; while it did not lie within the scope of his purpose to enter upon a detailed history of the public worship. We should be justified in expecting the fire which devoured the sacrifices to be mentioned in the book of Kings, only if the temple had been first consecrated by this divine act to be the dwelling-place of the gracious presence of God, or a sanctuary of the Lord; but such significance the devouring of the sacrifices by fire coming forth from God did not possess. Jahve consecrated the temple to be the dwelling-place of His name, and the abode of His gracious presence, in proclaiming His presence by the cloud which filled the sanctuary, when the ark was brought into the most holy place. The devouring of the sacrifices upon the altar by fire from heaven was merely the confirmatory sign that the Lord, enthroned above the ark in the temple, accepted, well pleased, the sacrificial service carried on on the altar of this temple; and since the people could draw near to the Lord only with sacrifices before the altar, it was a confirmatory sign that He from His throne would bestow His covenant grace upon those who appeared before him with sacrifices; cf. Lev 9:23. Implicitly, this grace was already secured to the people by God's consecrating the sanctuary to be the throne of His grace by the cloud which filled the temple; and the author of the book of Kings thought it sufficient to mention this sign, and passed over the second, which only served as a confirmation of the first. With the chronicler the case was different; for his plan to portray in detail the glory of the worship of the former time, the divine confirmation of the sacrificial worship, which was to be carried on continually in the temple as the only legitimate place of worship, by fire from heaven, was so important that he could not leave it unmentioned; while the words of blessing spoken by Solomon to the congregation, as being already implicitly contained in the dedicatory prayer, did not appear important enough to be received into his book. For the rest, the sacrifices which the fire from heaven devoured are the sacrifices mentioned in 2Ch 5:6, which the king and the congregation had offered when the ark was borne into the temple. As there was an immense number of these sacrifices, they cannot all have been offered on the altar of burnt-offering, but, like the thank-offerings afterwards brought by Solomon and the congregation, must have been offered on the whole space which had been consecrated in the court for this purpose (2Ch 7:7). This is expressly attested by 2Ch 7:7, for the העלות can only be the sacrifices in 2Ch 5:6, since the sacrifices in 2Ch 7:5 of our chapter were only שׁלמים ; cf. 1Ki 8:62.

2Ch 7:4-6

The sacrifices and the festival. After fire from heaven had devoured the sacrifices, and Solomon had praised the Lord for the fulfilment of His word, and sought for the congregation the further bestowal of the divine blessing (1Ki 8:54-61), the dedication of the temple was concluded by a great thank-offering, of which we have in 2Ch 7:5, 2Ch 7:6 an account which completely agrees with 1Ki 8:62-63. - In 2Ch 7:6 the author of the Chr. again makes express mention of the singing and playing of the Levites when these offerings were presented. In the performance of this sacrificial act the priests stood על־משׁמרותם , in their stations; but that does not signify separated according to their divisions (Berth.), but in officiis suis (Vulg.), i.e., ordines suos et functiones suas a Davide 1 Chron. 2Ch 24:7. institutas servarunt (Ramb.); see on Num 8:26. The Levites with the instruments of song of Jahve, which David had made, i.e., with the instruments invented and appointed by David for song to the praise of the Lord. בּידם דויד בּהלּל , not hymnos David canentes per manus suas (Vulg.), taking דויד הלּל for the praising appointed by David, which by the hands of the Levites, i.e., was performed by the hands of the Levites (Berth.), but literally: when David sang praise by their hand (i.e., their service). This clause seems to be added to the relative clause, "which king David had made,"for nearer definition, and to signify that the Levites used the same instruments which David had introduced when he praised God by the playing of the Levites. The form מחצצרים as in 1Ch 15:24.

2Ch 7:7-10

2Ch 7:7 contains a supplementary remark, and the ו relat. expresses only the connection of the thought, and the verb is to be translated in English by the pluperfect. For the rest, compare on 2Ch 7:4-10 the commentary on 1Ki 8:62-66.

2Ch 7:11-22

The Lord's answer to Solomon's dedicatory prayer. Cf. 1Ki 9:1-9. The general contents, and the order of the thoughts in the divine answer in the two texts, agree, but in the Chronicle individual thoughts are further expounded than in the book of Kings, and expressions are here and there made clear. The second clause of 2Ch 7:11 is an instance of this, where "and all the desire of Solomon, which he was pleased to do,"is represented by "and all that came into Solomon's heart, to make in the house of the Lord and in his own house, he prosperously effected."Everything else is explained in the Com. on 1 Kings 9.

Constable: 2Ch 1:1--9:31

III. THE REIGN OF SOLOMON chs. 1--9

The Chronicler's main interest in David's reign, as we have seen, focused on the Davidic Covenant with its promises to David and his descendants. In recounting the events of Solomon's reign he proceeded to emphasize the temple that Solomon built. Almost everything he mentioned about Solomon ties in with the temple somehow. The writer of Kings, on the other hand, emphasized many different aspects of Solomon's reign, though his interest was particularly Solomon's fidelity to the Mosaic Covenant (1 Kings 1-11). In the rest of 2 Chronicles the writer likewise pointed out how the kings who succeeded Solomon cared for the temple and perpetuated temple worship.

When the Chronicler wrote his history there was controversy over the second temple (i.e., the temple that Ezra built). Some of the residents in and around Jerusalem opposed its construction (Ezra 4:4-24; Hag. 1:2-4). If the returned exiles were to renew their (Mosaic) covenant relationship with God, they had to have a temple. There they could obey the laws regarding expiation of sin, worship, and fellowship with God (cf. Exod. 25:8).

Furthermore, when the Chronicler lived the Israelites realized that God had not fulfilled the promises concerning David's son completely in Solomon's day or during any of his successors' reigns. They looked for a Messiah to appear who would be both a king and a priest. The prophets had given revelation that such a person would come someday. He would be a perfect king who would rule the whole world, not just Israel (Ps. 2; et al.). Moreover he would be a priest, not of the Aaronic order, but of the order of Melchizedek (Ps. 110; et al.). David was the first king of Israel who served as a faithful priest after this order. He personally offered sacrifices and led the people in worship as well as in government. David's successors on the throne did the same things. The prophets promised that Messiah would build a house (temple) for God. He would give attention to His people's worship of God and their fellowship with God. He would be a man of peace compared to David who was a man of war (1 Chron. 22:7-9). David's rule was the kind of rule the coming King would establish. Consequently the writer of Chronicles measured all David's successors by the standard of David and his kingdom.

Concern for temple worship marked David's rule, as we have seen in 1 Chronicles 17-29. The King who would fulfill God's covenant promises to David would have to possess similar zeal for temple worship (cf. John 2:17). The writer viewed Solomon as a second David and compared him to David as Joshua compares to Moses.² The Chronicler reviewed the histories of David's successors to see if any one of them was that King. He showed in 2 Chronicles that none was. He was yet to come.

When Solomon began to rule he stepped onto a political stage in the ancient Near East that God had prepared. There were no major empires reaching out to conqueror surrounding territories because these empires had internal problems that demanded their attention. Some of them were experiencing harassment from their neighbors. Consequently Solomon was free to solidify David's gains in an atmosphere of peace.

Constable: 2Ch 7:11-22

D. God's Blessings and Curses 7:11-22

God responded to Solomon's prayer with a special revelation. He promised to grant the petitions of the people, as Solomon had requested, if they manifested a true heart for Him (vv. 12-14). Verses 13 and 14 are a short summary of the message of Chronicles.

"This verse [v. 14] is of vital significance for the Chronicler's theology. Four avenues of repentance are mentioned that will lead God to forgive and restore. Each of these is taken up at appropriate places in the later narrative of Chronicles, often in connection with one of the remarkable interventions of God."¹⁶

God would establish Solomon's kingdom if he fully obeyed God's Word (vv. 17-18). However if Solomon proved unfaithful, the nation might go into exile and Israel's enemies might destroy the temple (vv. 19-22).

This passage shows how to avoid the consequences of disobedience: submit to God, pray, and repent (i.e., change direction, not just feeling; v. 14). This remedy is as applicable today as it was in postexilic Israel and in the days of Israel's monarchy. The promise that God would "heal their land" ties in with His earlier promise to bless the Israelites' land with rain and fertility if they obeyed His commandments (Deut. 28:11-12). God has not promised specifically to heal the land of other believers who obey Him. However, He has promised to bless generally those who do so (Ps. 1; Matt 6:33; Gal. 6:7-8; et al.).

Guzik: 2Ch 7:1-22

2 Chronicles 7 - The Temple Dedicated

A. Dedication by God and man.

1. (1-3) The temple is dedicated by God with fire from heaven.

When Solomon had finished praying, fire came down from heaven and consumed the burnt offering and the sacrifices; and the glory of the LORD filled the temple. And the priests could not enter the house of the LORD, because the glory of the LORD had filled the Lord's house. When all the children of Israel saw how the fire came down, and the glory of the LORD on the temple, they bowed their faces to the ground on the pavement, and worshiped and praised the LORD, saying: "For He is good, for His mercy endures forever."

a. Fire came down from heaven and consumed the burnt offering and the sacrifices: This is one of the remarkable instances in the Old Testament of God sending fire from heaven to consume a sacrifice. It was a dramatic and visible proof of God's approval, and the glory of the LORD filled the temple.

i. "This fire was kept alive till the captivity of Babylon: and after that, it was said to have been miraculously renewed [in the days of the Maccabees]." (Trapp)

b. The priests could not enter the house of the LORD: This repeats the occasion first described in 2 Chronicles 5:14.

c. They bowed their faces to the ground on the pavement, and worshiped and praised the LORD: The people responded with a combination of reverence and worship. Their awe-filled praise glorified the goodness and mercy of God.

i. One might think that consuming fire from heaven might make them more aware of the power and judgment of God. Yet the whole situation seems to have made them more aware of the goodness and mercy of God.

d. For He is good, for His mercy endures forever: This familiar refrain is connected with Psalms 136 and 118, and with 2 Chronicles 5:13. Seeing all they could of God's great works, they could not help having this strong emphasis on the goodness and mercy of God.

2. (4-5) The temple is dedicated by man with a multitude of sacrifices.

Then the king and all the people offered sacrifices before the LORD. King Solomon offered a sacrifice of twenty-two thousand bulls and one hundred and twenty thousand sheep. So the king and all the people dedicated the house of God.

a. The king and all the people offered sacrifices before the LORD: As wonderful as the program and the praise were, they could not replace the sacrifices. God still had to be honored through blood sacrifice, both for atonement and as a demonstration of fellowship with God.

b. King Solomon offered a sacrifice of twenty-two thousand bulls and one hundred and twenty thousand sheep: This is a staggering - almost grotesque - amount of sacrifice. Each animal was ritually sacrificed and a portion was dedicated to the LORD, and a portion given to the priests and the people. It was enough to feed a vast multitude for two weeks.

3. (6-10) The days of praise and feasting for the dedication of the temple.

And the priests attended to their services; the Levites also with instruments of the music of the LORD, which King David had made to praise the LORD, saying, "For His mercy endures forever," whenever David offered praise by their ministry. The priests sounded trumpets opposite them, while all Israel stood. Furthermore Solomon consecrated the middle of the court that was in front of the house of the LORD; for there he offered burnt offerings and the fat of the peace offerings, because the bronze altar which Solomon had made was not able to receive the burnt offerings, the grain offerings, and the fat. At that time Solomon kept the feast seven days, and all Israel with him, a very great assembly from the entrance of Hamath to the Brook of Egypt. And on the eighth day they held a sacred assembly, for they observed the dedication of the altar seven days, and the feast seven days. On the twenty-third day of the seventh month he sent the people away to their tents, joyful and glad of heart for the good that the LORD had done for David, for Solomon, and for His people Israel.

a. The priests attended to their services; the Levites also with instruments of the music of the LORD: On such a great occasion everyone must be about their work. The priests had so many sacrifices to administer that they specially consecrated the area in front of the temple to receive sacrifices, because the bronze altar which Solomon had made was not able to receive the burnt offerings.

b. At that time Solomon kept the feast seven days, and all Israel with him: From the time of year and the length of this feast, we understand that this was the Feast of Tabernacles, extended beyond its normal seven days on this special occasion.

i. "Their unity is expressed in geographical terms as well as by a unity of spirit - Lebo Hamath to the Wadi of Egypt indicates the widest possible extent of Israel's occupation of the Promised Land." (Selman)

c. For the good that the LORD had done for David, for Solomon, and for His people Israel: This account of the dedication of the temple ends where the story of the temple began - with David, not Solomon. The writer remembers that it was David's heart and vision that started the work of the temple.

4. (11) Conclusion: the work successfully accomplished.

Thus Solomon finished the house of the LORD and the king's house; and Solomon successfully accomplished all that came into his heart to make in the house of the LORD and in his own house.

a. Thus Solomon finished the house of the LORD and the king's house: 1 Kings 7 goes into more detail about Solomon's palace. It seems that his palace was even more spectacular than the temple, based on the number of years it took him to build it.

b. Solomon successfully accomplished all that came into his heart: It was the end of a well done job, a job that began with Solomon's father David.

B. God appears to Solomon again.

1. (12-16) The assurance of answered prayer from the temple.

Then the LORD appeared to Solomon by night, and said to him: "I have heard your prayer, and have chosen this place for Myself as a house of sacrifice. When I shut up heaven and there is no rain, or command the locusts to devour the land, or send pestilence among My people, if My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land. Now My eyes will be open and My ears attentive to prayer made in this place. For now I have chosen and sanctified this house, that My name may be there forever; and My eyes and My heart will be there perpetually."

a. The LORD appeared to Solomon by night: This was actually the second great appearance of God to Solomon (1 Kings 9:1-2). The first is described in 1 Kings 3:5-9. It was good of God to appear to Solomon the first time; it was even better of God to grant a unique appearance to Solomon the second time.

i. "Brethren, we want renewed appearances, fresh manifestations, new visitations from on high; and I commend to those of you who are getting on in life, that while you thank God for the past, and look back with joy to his visits to you in your early days, you now seek and ask for a second visitation of the Most High." (Spurgeon)

ii. After Solomon built the temple and his palace he came to the most dangerous period of his life - a season after great blessing and accomplishment. God graciously gave Solomon a fresh revelation of Himself before this dangerous period.

iii. "The words speak to us also. No height attained, no work done, no blessing received, is in itself sufficient to ensure our continuance in favor. Nothing but continued fidelity can do that." (Morgan)

b. I have heard your prayer: The great prayer of Solomon in 1 Kings 8 meant nothing unless God heard the prayer. The true measure of our prayer is if God in heaven answers the prayer.

i. This answer seems to have come many years after the actual dedication of the temple. Yet God also gave Solomon an immediate answer of approval at the time of dedication, when the sacrifices were consumed with fire from heaven (2 Chronicles 7:1-7).

c. Have chosen this place for Myself as a house of sacrifice: The building was Solomon's work, done in the power and inspiration of the LORD. The consecration of the building was God's work. Solomon could build a building, but only God could hallow it with His presence.

i. "It is to be a house of prayer and a (literal) 'house of sacrifice' . . . This combination of the temple's functions is striking, and is one of the several indications in 2 Chronicles 5-7 that prayer and sacrifice are to be understood as 'two sides of the same coin.'" (Selman)

ii. "By presenting the temple as a place where right sacrifice and prayer could be accepted, an opening was being provided to exchange Israel's present bleak circumstances for a more positive future. It offered an opportunity to change the course of Israel's history." (Selman)

d. If My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face: This wonderful promise is in the context of God's promise to answer prayer from the temple which He chose to hallow with His presence. God promised something special to Israel when they did humble themselves and did pray and seek God's face.

i. There is something naturally humble in true prayer because it recognizes that the answers are not in self and they are in God. God promises something special to humble, praying people.

ii. The phrase My people who are called by My name had its first application to the people of Israel as they lived in the land God promised them. Nevertheless, the same God who made this promise to Israel still reigns in the heavens and will still respond to His humble praying people today.

iii. "Although God's invitation is initially given to my people (2 Chronicles 7:14), 2 Chronicles 6:32-33 has made clear that anyone who acknowledges God's name and authority may pray with the same confidence of a hearing. This passage is therefore consistent with others where the invitation is explicitly extended to 'all who call upon the name of the LORD . . .'" (Selman)

e. And turn from their wicked ways: This great promise of answered prayer in 2 Chronicles 7:14 also includes the condition of repentance. As the people of God humble themselves, pray and seek the face of God, they must also turn from their wicked ways. It wasn't enough to merely turn their heart to God; they must also turn their life to God.

f. Then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land: God simply promises to hear the prayer of his humble, prayerful, seeking, repentant people. He will bring forgiveness to His people and healing to their land.

i. "These expressions are best understood as four facets of one attitude, that sinners should seek God himself in humble repentance, rather than four separate steps on a long road to forgiveness." (Selman)

· We can see what it means to humble one's self by looking at Rehoboam (2 Chronicles 12:6, 7, and 12), Hezekiah (2 Chronicles 30:11 and 32:26), and Manasseh (2 Chronicles 33:12, 19, and 23).

· We can see what it means to pray by looking at Hezekiah (2 Chronicles 30:18 and 32:20) and Manasseh (2 Chronicles 33:13).

· We can see what it means to seek by looking at the returning priests (2 Chronicles 11:16) and Jehoshaphat (2 Chronicles 20:3-4).

· We can see what it means to turn by looking at Hezekiah (2 Chronicles 30:6 and 30:9)

ii. "Healing throughout the Old Testament has a mixture of spiritual and physical applications. Sometimes healing is specifically equated with forgiveness (e.g. Hosea 14:4; Isaiah 53:5, 57:18-19; Psalm 41:5); at other times it relates to physical healing (e.g. Genesis 20:17; Numbers 13:20; 2 Kings 20:5, 8). When it is applied to the land, as here, it can refer to bringing the exiles back to the Promised Land (Jeremiah 30:17; 33:6-7) or restoring the land and its people to peace and security (Jeremiah 33:6; Isaiah 57:19)." (Selman)

g. Now My eyes will be open and My ears attentive to prayer made in this place: God promised a special attention to the prayers offered from the temple which Solomon, the son of David built. We can be much more confident of His attention to our prayers when we offer them in the name of Jesus, the Son of David. He is better access to God than even the temple was.

h. My eyes and My heart will be there perpetually: "The idea of God having a heart is extremely rare in the Bible, and only other explicit reference speaks of God suffering heart pains because of the evil of humanity (Genesis 6:6; cf. also Genesis 8:21; 1 Samuel 13:14; Acts 13:22). . . It is hard to think of a more intimate way to indicate God's nearness, or a greater encouragement to prayer." (Selman)

2. (17-22) God's warning to Solomon.

"As for you, if you walk before Me as your father David walked, and do according to all that I have commanded you, and if you keep My statutes and My judgments, then I will establish the throne of your kingdom, as I covenanted with David your father, saying, 'You shall not fail to have a man as ruler in Israel.' But if you turn away and forsake My statutes and My commandments which I have set before you, and go and serve other gods, and worship them, then I will uproot them from My land which I have given them; and this house which I have sanctified for My name I will cast out of My sight, and will make it a proverb and a byword among all peoples. And as for this house, which is exalted, everyone who passes by it will be astonished and say, 'Why has the LORD done thus to this land and this house?' Then they will answer, 'Because they forsook the LORD God of their fathers, who brought them out of the land of Egypt, and embraced other gods, and worshiped them and served them; therefore He has brought all this calamity on them.'"

a. If you walk before Me as your father David walked . . . then I will establish the throne of your kingdom: God's answer to Solomon's previous prayer had a great condition. If Solomon walked before God in obedience and faithfulness, he could expect blessing on his reign and the reign of his descendants, and the dynasty of David would endure forever.

i. God did not demand perfect obedience from Solomon. David certainly did not walk perfectly before the LORD, and God told Solomon to walk before Me as your father David walked. This was not out of reach for Solomon.

b. But if you turn away and forsake My statutes and My commandments . . . then I will uproot them: The positive promise is followed by a negative promise. If Solomon or his descendants turn away and forsake God and His word, then God promised to correct a disobedient Israel.

c. And this house which I have sanctified for My name I will cast out of My sight: God answered to Solomon's prayer was not an unqualified promise to bless the temple in any circumstance. God blessed the temple and filled it with the glory of His presence, but he would cast it out of His sight if the kings of Israel forsook the LORD.

i. With such a glorious temple, Israel would be tempted to forsake the God of the temple and make an idol of the temple of God. Here the LORD made them know that He could never bless this error.

d. Will make it a proverb and a byword among all peoples . . . everyone who passes by it will be astonished: Under the Old Covenant, God promised to use Israel to exalt Himself among the nations one way or another. If Israel obeyed He would bless them so much that others had to recognize the hand of God upon Israel. If Israel disobeyed He would chastise them so severely that the nations would be astonished at the hard work of God among His disobedient people, and they would know that the LORD has brought all this calamity on them.

i. "The manner in which these disobedient people have been destroyed is truly astonishing: no nation was every so highly favoured, and none ever so severely and signally punished." (Clarke)

© 2006 David Guzik - No distribution beyond personal use without permission

Commentary -- Other

Critics Ask: 2Ch 7:12

2 CHRONICLES 7:12 ff—Does God dwell in a chosen temple?

PROBLEM: God told Solomon, “I have heard your prayer, and have chosen this place for Myself as a house of sacrifice” (v. 12 ), that “My name may be there forever” (v. 16 ). Yet, even Solomon in his dedicatory prayer acknowledged that God could not dwell in His temple, saying, “Behold, heaven and the heaven of heavens cannot contain You. How much less this temple which I have built!” ( 1 Kings 8:27 ). Other Scriptures likewise affirm that God does not “dwell in temples made with hands ( Acts 17:24 ; cf. Isa. 66:1 ).

SOLUTION: It should be noted, first of all, that God did not actually promise Solomon that He would “dwell” in this temple. He only said He chose it as a “house of sacrifice” ( 2 Chron. 7:12 ), to which He would attach His “name” (v. 16 ).

Further, when the Bible speaks of God being “in” something, it does not mean that His infinite nature can be “contained” ( 1 Kings 8:27 ) by it, but simply that He is there in a special sense to bless it or manifest Himself to His people. Usually, this took the form of a theophany ( Isa. 6:1 ), or shekinah cloud of glory ( Ex. 40:34 ). But, there is no way that the transcendent God of Scripture can be encompassed by the walls of any human building (cf. Isa. 40:21-22 ).   

Introduction / Outline

JFB: 2 Chronicles (Book Introduction)

THE FIRST AND SECOND BOOKS OF CHRONICLES were also considered as one by the ancient Jews, who called them "words of days," that is, diaries or journals, being probably compiled from those registers that were kept by the king's historiographers of passing occurrences. In the Septuagint the title given them is Paraleipomenon, "of things omitted," that is, the books are supplementary because many things unnoticed in the former books are here recorded; and not only the omissions are supplied, but some narratives extended while others are added. The authorship is commonly ascribed to Ezra, whose leading object seems to have been to show the division of families, possessions, &c., before the captivity, with a view to the exact restoration of the same order after the return from Babylon. Although many things are restated and others are exact repetitions of what is contained in Kings, there is so much new and important information that, as JEROME has well said, the Chronicles furnish the means of comprehending parts of the New Testament, which must have been unintelligible without them. They are frequently referred to by Christ and the Apostles as forming part of "the Word of God" (see the genealogies in Mat. 1:1-16; Luk. 3:23-38; compare 2Ch 19:7 with 1Pe 1:17; 2Ch 24:19-21 with Mat 23:32-35).

JFB: 2 Chronicles (Outline)

• SOLEMN OFFERING OF SOLOMON AT GIBEON. (2Ch 1:1-6)
• HIS CHOICE OF WISDOM IS BLESSED BY GOD. (2Ch 1:7-13)
• HIS STRENGTH AND WEALTH. (2Ch 1:14-17)
• SOLOMON'S LABORERS FOR BUILDING THE TEMPLE. (2Ch 2:1-2)
• HIS MESSAGE TO HURAM FOR SKILFUL ARTIFICERS. (2Ch 2:3-10)
• HURAM'S KIND ANSWER. (2Ch 2:11-18)
• PLACE AND TIME OF BUILDING THE TEMPLE. (2Ch 3:1-2)
• MEASURES AND ORNAMENTS OF THE HOUSE. (2Ch 3:3-7)
• DIMENSIONS, &C., OF THE MOST HOLY HOUSE. (2Ch 3:8-13)
• ALTAR OF BRASS. (2Ch 4:1)
• MOLTEN SEA. (2Ch 4:2-5)
• THE TEN LAVERS, CANDLESTICKS, AND TABLES. (2Ch 4:6-18)
• THE DEDICATED TREASURES. (2Ch 5:1)
• BRINGING UP OF THE ARK OF THE COVENANT. (2Ch 5:2-13)
• SOLOMON BLESSES THE PEOPLE AND PRAISES GOD. (2Ch. 6:1-41)
• GOD GIVES TESTIMONY TO SOLOMON'S PRAYER; THE PEOPLE WORSHIP. (2Ch 7:1-3)
• SOLOMON'S SACRIFICES. (2Ch 7:4-11)
• GOD APPEARS TO HIM. (2Ch 7:12-22)
• SOLOMON'S BUILDINGS. (2Ch 8:1-6)
• THE CANAANITES MADE TRIBUTARIES. (2Ch 8:7-11)
• SOLOMON'S FESTIVAL SACRIFICES. (2Ch 8:15-18)
• THE QUEEN OF SHEBA VISITS SOLOMON; SHE ADMIRES HIS WISDOM AND MAGNIFICENCE. (2Ch 9:1-12)
• HIS RICHES. (2Ch. 9:13-28)
• REHOBOAM REFUSING THE OLD MEN'S GOOD COUNSEL. (2Ch 10:1-15)
• REHOBOAM, RAISING AN ARMY TO SUBDUE ISRAEL, IS FORBIDDEN BY SHEMAIAH. (2Ch. 11:1-17)
• HIS WIVES AND CHILDREN. (2Ch 11:18-23)
• REHOBOAM, FORSAKING GOD, IS PUNISHED BY SHISHAK. (2Ch 12:1-12)
• HIS REIGN AND DEATH. (2Ch 12:13-16)
• ABIJAH, SUCCEEDING, MAKES WAR AGAINST JEROBOAM, AND OVERCOMES HIM. (2Ch. 13:1-20)
• ASA DESTROYS IDOLATRY. (2Ch 14:1-5)
• HAVING PEACE, HE STRENGTHENS HIS KINGDOM WITH FORTS AND ARMIES. (2Ch 14:6-8)
• HE OVERCOMES ZERAH, AND SPOILS THE ETHIOPIANS. (2Ch 14:9-15)
• JUDAH MAKES A SOLEMN COVENANT WITH GOD. (2Ch 15:1-15)
• ASA, BY A LEAGUE WITH THE SYRIANS, DIVERTS BAASHA FROM BUILDING RAMAH. (2Ch 16:1-14)
• JEHOSHAPHAT REIGNS WELL AND PROSPERS. (2Ch 17:1-6)
• HE SENDS LEVITES TO TEACH IN JUDAH. (2Ch 17:7-11)
• HIS GREATNESS, CAPTAINS, AND ARMIES. (2Ch 17:12-19)
• JEHOSHAPHAT AND AHAB GO AGAINST RAMOTH-GILEAD. (2Ch. 18:1-34)
• JEHOSHAPHAT VISITS HIS KINGDOM. (2Ch 19:1-4)
• HIS INSTRUCTIONS TO THE JUDGES. (2Ch 19:5-7)
• TO THE PRIESTS AND LEVITES. (2Ch 19:8-11)
• JEHOSHAPHAT, INVADED BY THE MOABITES, PROCLAIMS A FAST. (2Ch. 20:1-21)
• THE OVERTHROW OF HIS ENEMIES. (2Ch 20:22-30)
• HIS REIGN. (2Ch 20:31-37)
• JEHORAM SUCCEEDS JEHOSHAPHAT. (2Ch 21:1-4)
• HIS WICKED REIGN. (2Ch 21:5-7)
• EDOM AND LIBNAH REVOLT. (2Ch 21:8-17)
• AHAZIAH SUCCEEDING JEHORAM, REIGNS WICKEDLY. (2Ch 22:1-9)
• ATHALIAH, DESTROYING THE SEED ROYAL SAVE JOASH, USURPS THE KINGDOM. (2Ch 22:10-12)
• JEHOIADA MAKES JOASH KING. (2Ch 23:1-11)
• ATHALIAH SLAIN. (2Ch 23:12-15)
• JEHOIADA RESTORES THE WORSHIP OF GOD, AND SETTLES THE KING. (2Ch 23:16)
• JOASH REIGNS WELL ALL THE DAYS OF JEHOIADA. (2Ch 24:1-14)
• JEHOIADA BEING DEAD. (2Ch 24:15-16)
• JOASH FALLS INTO IDOLATRY. (2Ch 24:17-22)
• HE IS SLAIN BY HIS SERVANTS. (2Ch 24:23-27)
• AMAZIAH BEGINS TO REIGN WELL. (2Ch 25:1-4)
• HAVING HIRED AN ARMY OF ISRAELITES AGAINST THE EDOMITES, AT THE WORD OF A PROPHET HE LOSES A HUNDRED TALENTS AND DISMISSES THEM. (2Ch 25:5-10)
• HE PROVOKES JOASH TO HIS OVERTHROW. (2Ch 25:17)
• UZZIAH SUCCEEDS AMAZIAH AND REIGNS WELL IN THE DAYS OF ZECHARIAH. (2Ch 26:1-8)
• HIS BUILDINGS. (2Ch 26:9-10)
• HIS HOST, AND ENGINES OF WAR. (2Ch 26:11-15)
• HE INVADES THE PRIEST'S OFFICE, AND IS SMITTEN WITH LEPROSY. (2Ch 26:16-21)
• JOTHAM, REIGNING WELL, PROSPERS. (2Ch 27:1-4)
• HE SUBDUES THE AMMONITES. (2Ch 27:5-9)
• AHAZ, REIGNING WICKEDLY, IS AFFLICTED BY THE SYRIANS. (2Ch. 28:1-21)
• HIS IDOLATRY IN HIS DISTRESS. (2Ch 28:22-27)
• HEZEKIAH'S GOOD REIGN. (2Ch 29:1-2)
• HE RESTORES RELIGION. (2Ch 29:3-11)
• THE HOUSE OF GOD CLEANSED. (2Ch. 29:12-36)
• HEZEKIAH PROCLAIMS A PASSOVER. (2Ch 30:1-12)
• THE ASSEMBLY DESTROYS THE ALTARS OF IDOLATRY. (2Ch 30:13-27)
• THE PEOPLE FORWARD IN DESTROYING IDOLATRY. (2Ch 31:1-10)
• HEZEKIAH APPOINTS OFFICERS TO DISPOSE OF THE TITHES. (2Ch 31:11-19)
• HIS SINCERITY OF HEART. (2Ch 31:20-21)
• SENNACHERIB INVADES JUDAH. (2Ch. 32:1-20)
• AN ANGEL DESTROYS THE ASSYRIANS. (2Ch 32:21-23)
• HEZEKIAH'S SICKNESS AND RECOVERY. (2Ch 32:24-26)
• HIS RICHES AND WORKS. (2Ch 32:27-33)
• MANASSEH'S WICKED REIGN. (2Ch 33:1-10)
• HE IS CARRIED UNTO BABYLON, WHERE HE HUMBLES HIMSELF BEFORE GOD, AND IS RESTORED TO HIS KINGDOM. (2Ch 33:11-19)
• HE DIES AND AMON SUCCEEDS HIM. (2Ch 33:20-25)
• JOSIAH'S GOOD REIGN. (2Ch 34:1-2)
• HE DESTROYS IDOLATRY. (2Ch 34:3-7)
• HE REPAIRS THE TEMPLE. (2Ch 34:8-18)
• AND, CAUSING THE LAW TO BE READ, RENEWS THE COVENANT BETWEEN GOD AND THE PEOPLE. (2Ch 34:19-33)
• JOSIAH KEEPS A SOLEMN PASSOVER. (2Ch. 35:1-19)
• HIS DEATH. (2Ch 35:20-27)
• JEHOAHAZ, SUCCEEDING, IS DEPOSED BY PHARAOH. (2Ch 36:1-4)
• JEHOIAKIM, REIGNING ILL, IS CARRIED INTO BABYLON. (2Ch 36:5-8)
• ZEDEKIAH'S REIGN. (2Ch 36:11-21)
• CYRUS' PROCLAMATION. (2Ch 36:22-23)

TSK: 2 Chronicles 7 (Chapter Introduction)

Overview

2Ch 7:1, God having given testimony to Solomon’s prayer by fire from heaven, and glory in the temple, the people worship him; 2Ch 7:4, Solomon’s solemn sacrifice; 2Ch 7:8, Solomon having kept the feast of tabernacles, and the feast of dedication of the altar, dismisses the people; 2Ch 7:12, God appearing to Solomon, gives him promises upon condition.

Poole: 2 Chronicles 7 (Chapter Introduction)

CHRONICLES CHAPTER 7

Fire from heaven, and a glory in the temple, witness the Divine acceptance: the people worship, 2Ch 7:1-3 . Solomon’ s solemn sacrifice, 2Ch 7:4-7 . Having kept the feast of tabernacles, and the feast of the dedication of the altar, he dismisseth the people, 2Ch 1:8-11 . God appeareth to Solomon; promiseth his favour on obedience; else threateneth grievous judgments, 1Ch 7:12-22 .

MHCC: 2 Chronicles 7 (Chapter Introduction)

God's answer to Solomon's prayer.

Matthew Henry: 2 Chronicles (Book Introduction)

An Exposition, with Practical Observations, of The Second Book of Chronicles

This book begins with the reign of Solomon and the building of the temple, and continues the history of the kings of Judah thenceforward to the captivity and so concludes with the fall of that illustrious monarchy and the destruction of the temple. That monarchy of the house of David, as it was prior in time, so it was superior in worth and dignity to all those four celebrated ones of which Nebuchadnezzar dreamed. The Babylonian monarchy I reckon to begin in Nebuchadnezzar himself - Thou art that head of gold, and that lasted but about seventy years; The Persian monarchy, in several families, about 130; the Grecian, in their several branches, about 300; and 300 more went far with the Roman. But as I reckon David a greater hero than any of the founders of those monarchies, and Solomon a more magnificent prince than any of those that were the glories of them, so the succession was kept up in a lineal descent throughout the whole monarchy, which continued considerable between 400 and 500 years, and, after a long eclipse, shone forth again in the kingdom of the Messiah, of the increase of whose government and peace there shall be no end. This history of the Jewish monarchy, as it is more authentic, so it is more entertaining and more instructive, than the histories of any of those monarchies. We had the story of the house of David before, in the first and second books of Kings, intermixed with that of the kings of Israel, which there took more room than that of Judah; but here we have it entire. Much is repeated here which we had before, yet many of the passages of the story are enlarged upon, and divers added, which we had not before, especially relating to the affairs of religion; for it is a church-history, and it is written for our learning, to let nations and families know that then, and then only, they can expect to prosper, when they keep in the way of their duty to God: for all along the good kings prospered and the wicked kings suffered. The peaceable reign of Solomon we have (ch. 1-9), the blemished reign of Rehoboam (ch. 10-12), the short but busy reign of Abijah (ch. 13), the long and happy reign of Asa (ch. 14-16), the pious and prosperous reign of Jehoshaphat (ch. 17-20), the impious and infamous reigns of Jehoram and Ahaziah (ch. 21-22), the unsteady reigns of Joash and Amaziah (ch. 24, 25), the long and prosperous reign of Uzziah (ch. 26), the regular reign of Jotham (2Ch 27:1-9), the profane and wicked reign of Ahaz (ch. 28), the gracious glorious reign of Hezekiah (ch. 29-32), the wicked reigns of Manasseh and Amon (ch. 33), the reforming reign of Josiah (ch. 34, 35), the ruining reigns of his sons (ch. 36). Put all these together, and the truth of that word of God will appear, Those that honour me I will honour, but those that despise me shall be lightly esteemed. The learned Mr. Whiston, in his chronology, suggests that the historical books which were written after the captivity (namely, the two books of Chronicles, Ezra, and Nehemiah) have more mistakes in names and numbers than all the books of the Old Testament besides, through the carelessness of transcribers: but, though that should be allowed, the things are so very minute that we may be confident the foundation of God stands sure notwithstanding.

Matthew Henry: 2 Chronicles 7 (Chapter Introduction)

In this chapter we have God's answer to Solomon's prayer. I. His public answer by fire from heaven, which consumed the sacrifices (2Ch 7:1), with which the priests and people were much affected (2Ch 7:2, 2Ch 7:3). By that token of God's acceptance they were encouraged to continue the solemnities of the feast for fourteen days, and Solomon was encouraged to pursue all his designs for the honour of God (2Ch 7:4-11). II. His private answer by word of mouth, in a dream or vision of the night (2Ch 7:12-22). Most of these things we had before, 1 Kings 8 and 9.

Constable: 2 Chronicles (Book Introduction)

Introduction

For an explanation of the title, writer, date, scope, and purpose of this book, see my comments in my notes on 1 Chronicles. Second Chronicles continues the historical narrative begun in 1 Chronicles.

Message¹

Even though 1 and 2 Chronicles give one continuous story the emphasis in 2 Chronicles is different from that in 1 Chronicles. In 1 Chronicles the emphasis is the importance of the temple in national life. However in 2 Chronicles the emphasis is the impotence of the temple in national life. First Chronicles condemns rationalism in national life, the idea that we can get along without God. Second Chronicles condemns ritualism in national life, the idea that what satisfies God is external conformity rather than internal reality. First Chronicles emphasizes the importance of recognizing God in national life. Second Chronicles emphasizes the importance of following up that formal recognition with actual recognition in attitudes and actions. Second Chronicles is a negative lesson because in it we see that the Israelites' recognition of God was only formal, not actual.

In the first part of the book (chs. 1-9) we have the story of Solomon. It is a demonstration of the impotence and uselessness of merely formal religion. This comes through in four respects.

First, Solomon's inheritance was more than the throne of Israel. His throne only gave him the opportunity to fulfill God's purpose for his life. That purpose was to enable the people to acknowledge Yahweh's rule over them that the temple symbolized. This had been David's great passion in life. He wanted the people to realize that national strength came from submission to God's heavenly throne. Solomon appreciated that fact. When he offered his first sacrifice as king to God he did so at the old tabernacle, not at the temporary tent where the ark resided. He realized that Israel's strength lay in her relationship to God that the tabernacle symbolized. His temple was to become the tabernacle's successor. Solomon's real inheritance then was his opportunity to build the temple as a reminder to the people of how important it was for them to recognize Yahweh as their real Ruler.

Second, Solomon's greatness was not really his wealth and political influence. These were the results of his greatness. His real greatness lay in his humility before God and in his intercession for the people with God. He got away from these things, but when he began to reign he had the essentials of greatness.

Third, Solomon's service was not most importantly the administration of Israel, though he did that well. His primary service to the nation was the erection of the temple, which the writer emphasized.

Fourth, Solomon's failure was more significant than that he oppressed the people and that he set the stage for the division of the kingdom. It was essentially the fact that he ceased to recognize God's rule over him and his kingdom, the very thing the temple he had built promoted. His life became self-centered rather than God-centered. He stopped submitting to the Word of God. For Solomon the temple became only an outward form, not the expression of his inward life. It became an object of ritual rather than the expression of reality. In the years that followed, what had become true of Solomon became true of the whole nation.

In the second part of the book (chs. 10-36) we have the history of the nation Solomon ruled. It is an illustration of the impotence and uselessness of merely formal religion. Let me point this out in four respects.

First, the division of the kingdom resulted because Rehoboam did not acknowledge God's sovereignty over the nation in reality even though he did so formally. Rehoboam continued the true form of worship in Judah, but Jeroboam substituted a new form of worship in Israel. In both cases the worship was only a matter of formal observance, not a matter of reality. That is why both nations failed.

Second, the degeneracy of the kingdom of Judah, as well as Israel, continued because most of the kings and people that followed continued worship only as a matter of formal observance. This resulted too in increasing neglect of even the form. People do not continue to observe a form of worship that is devoid of power very long. Mere formalism dies eventually, as it should. The real issue in Judah was apostasy, infidelity.

Third, the reformations in the kingdom began at the temple. Asa restored the altar. Jehoshaphat sent messengers throughout the land to read the Word of God to the people. Joash renovated the temple. Hezekiah reopened it and revitalized worship in it. Josiah repaired it. In each case, conditions were appalling when these reformations began. In Asa's day the altar was in disrepair. In Jehoshaphat's day the people were ignorant of God's Word. In Joash's day Athaliah had damaged the temple. In Hezekiah's day no one came to the temple. Its doors were shut and its worship abandoned. In Josiah's day not one copy of the Law was available. When the king heard the copy that someone had found in the rubble of the temple read, he was completely unfamiliar with it. Throughout this period of history, about 350 years in chapters 10-36, the nation moved farther and farther from God.

Fourth, the ultimate disaster in the kingdom was the burning of the temple and the captivity of the people. All through the years Solomon's temple had stood as a reminder to the people to recognize God's rule over them as a nation. It had become a hollow symbol, the symbol of a formal ritualism rather than the symbol of a vital relationship. It was only fitting that when the nation ceased to exist and the people left their land the Babylonians destroyed the temple.

If 1 Chronicles teaches that it was necessary that the people recognize God, 2 Chronicles teaches that if that recognition is only formal and ceremonial it is not only useless but impotent.

That is the message of this book. If our recognition of God is only formal and not real, that recognition will be useless for us and impotent in us.

I would like to apply this lesson to us.

First, let me remind you of the similarity that exists between ourselves and the Israelites. They had a physical, material temple. We are a spiritual temple (1 Cor. 3:16; cf. 1 Pet. 2:4-10, esp. vv. 5, 9-10). As the presence of God filled Solomon's temple at its beginning, God's presence filled the church at its beginning (2 Chron. 5:13-14; Acts 2:1-4). As Solomon's temple was the center of national life in Israel, so the church is to be the center of international life in the world. As God intended Solomon's temple to remind His people of His heavenly rule over them, so God intended the church to remind all people of God's rule over them. As Solomon's temple became simply a symbol of a form of worship, so can the church. We must remember what we are here to do, namely to call people to recognize God's gracious and beneficent rule over them that can result in their blessing.

Second, let me point out some manifestations of formalism in the church today. One of these is insistence on doctrinal orthodoxy without a corresponding vital spiritual life. This is what James called dead faith (James 2:20). This can be the possession of both individual Christians and local churches. I do not mean to suggest that doctrinal orthodoxy is unimportant. I am not suggesting that we tear down the temple. But let us make sure that our theological edifice is having its full effect and not merely giving us a false sense of God's approval. It is possible to argue for the correctness of our views and to curse the person who does not share them. That is an evidence of formalism. It is possible to go to church faithfully and yet to live out of church as though there were no God. That is ritualism. It is possible to worship God earnestly and then to goof off at work. That is formalism, ritualism, empty hypocrisy.

Third, let me point out the consequences of formalism. The most serious consequence is not only that a church will fail to be what God wants it to be. It is also that it will fail to do what God has placed it on the earth to do. As Israel failed to bring the light of God's revelation to the world, the church can fail to do so too. Our nation and our world can rush headlong toward godlessness if we are content merely with playing church. We Christians can bear the marks of unworthy conduct, cowardice in the face of wrong, and carelessness about what is right. If we do, we will be useless and impotent. Why is the modern church unlike the Jerusalem church in Acts 2? It is different because of formalism, ritualism, lack of reality. The world has no time or patience with formalism. Why are so many local churches not growing? They are stagnant because the Christians in them are just going through motions. There is no evidence to others that they are anything but useless and impotent. Is your Christian life vital, or are you just going through motions?

Constable: 2 Chronicles (Outline)

Outline

(Continued from notes on 1 Chronicles)

III. The reign of Solomon chs. 1-9

A. Solomon's wisdom and prosperity ch. 1

B. The building of the temple 2:1-5:1

1. Preparations for building the temple ch. 2

2. The temple proper 3:1-9

3. The temple furnishings 3:10-5:1

C. The dedication of the temple 5:2-7:10

1. The installation of the ark 5:2-14

2. Solomon's address 6:1-11

3. Solomon's prayer 6:12-42

4. The celebration of the people 7:1-10

D. God's blessings and curses 7:11-22

E. Solomon's successes chs. 8-9

1. Solomon's political success 8:1-11

2. Solomon's religious success 8:12-16

3. Solomon's economic success 8:17-9:28

4. Solomon's death 9:29-31

IV. The reigns of Solomon's successors chs. 10-36

A. Rehoboam chs. 10-12

1. The division of the nation ch. 10

2. Rehoboam's kingdom ch. 11

3. The invasion by Egypt ch. 12

B. Abijah 13:1-14:1

C. Asa 14:2-16:14

1. Asa's wisdom 14:2-15

2. Asa's reform ch. 15

3. Asa's failure ch. 16

D. Jehoshaphat chs. 17-20

1. Summary of Jehoshaphat's reign 17:1-6

2. The strength of Jehoshaphat's kingdom 17:7-19

3. Jehoshaphat and Ahab ch. 18

4. Jehoshaphat's appointment of judges ch. 19

5. Victory over the Moabite-Ammonite alliance 20:1-30

6. Jehoshaphat's failures 20:31-37

E. Jehoram ch. 21

F. Ahaziah ch. 22

G. Athaliah ch. 23

H. Joash ch. 24

I. Amaziah ch. 25

J. Uzziah ch. 26

K. Jotham ch. 27

L. Ahaz ch. 28

M. Hezekiah chs. 29-32

1. The cleansing and rededication of the temple ch. 29

2. Hezekiah's Passover 30:1-31:1

3. Re-establishment of proper worship 31:2-21

4. The invasion by Sennacherib 32:1-23

5. Hezekiah's humility and greatness 32:24-33

N. Manasseh 33:1-20

O. Amon 33:21-25

P. Josiah chs. 34-35

1. Josiah's reforms ch. 34

2. Josiah's Passover 35:1-19

3. Josiah's death 35:20-27

Q. The last four kings 36:1-21

1. Jehoahaz 36:1-4

2. Jehoiakim 36:5-8

3. Jehoiachin 36:9-10

4. Zedekiah 36:11-21

R. The edict of Cyrus 36:22-23

Constable: 2 Chronicles

2 Chronicles

Bibliography

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Copyright 2003 by Thomas L. Constable

Haydock: 2 Chronicles (Book Introduction)

THE SECOND BOOK OF PARALIPOMENON.

INTRODUCTION.

As the former Book shews how David was chosen to rule over God's peculiar people, so this [Book] explains briefly the reign of Solomon, in the nine first chapters; and in the rest, that of nineteen of his successors, who governed two tribes till the captivity, while Israel was divided. (Worthington)

Gill: 2 Chronicles (Book Introduction)

INTRODUCTION TO 2 CHRONICLES

This, and the preceding, were but one book originally, but divided into two because of the size of it, so that this is only a continuation of the former history; that ends at the death of David; this begins with the reign of Solomon, goes through that, and the reigns of all the kings of the house of David; of the kings of Judah only, after the separation of the ten tribes, quite down to the captivity of Judah in Babylon, and reaches to the deliverance of the Jews from thence by Cyrus, and contains an history of four hundred and seventy nine years. It treats not at all of the kings of Israel, after the separation, only of the kings of Judah, through whom the line of the Messiah was drawn; and though it omits several things recorded of them in the book of Kings, yet it gives abundance of anecdotes not to be met with there, which are of great use and advantage in history to know.

Gill: 2 Chronicles 7 (Chapter Introduction)

INTRODUCTION TO 2 CHRONICLES 7

In this chapter is an account of the Lord's acceptance of the sacrifices offered at the dedication of the temple by fire, to the great surprise and encouragement of the people, 2Ch 7:1, and of the feast kept on that account, and the feast of tabernacles, 2Ch 7:8, and of the Lord's appearance to Solomon, giving an answer to his prayer, 2Ch 7:13.