2 Crônicas 17

2 Crônicas 17

Utley notes "YHWH blessed Jehoshaphat by (1) establishing his kingdom, 2 Chr. 17:5, (2) all Judah bringing tribute, 2 Chr. 17:5, (2a) expected gifts to a new king (2b) taxes, cf. 1Sa 10:27; 1Ki 10:25 (3) great riches and honor, 2Ch 17:5 (4) protection from attack by the surrounding nations because of their dread of YHWH, 2Ch 17:10 (5) gifts brought by Philistines, 2Ch 17:11 (6) animals brought by Arabians, 2Ch 17:11 (Josephus, Antiq. 8.15.1., says they brought more every year) (7) he grew greater and greater, 2 Chr. 17:12 - built cities, large army Jehoshaphat’s prosperity I. ITS MEASURE. Everything indicates that it was great and genuine. Not an element of true prosperity is wanting, whether we consider him individually or as identified with the realm. It involved-- 1. The safety of the kingdom. 2. Wealth. 3. Honour from abroad. 4. The love and confidence of his own people. II. ITS ORIGIN. This was partly natural, partly supernatural. 1. Natural. (1) The roots of his prosperity lay largely in himself. He was a man of correct instincts and good convictions. A man of worth and weight of character. By these he won the love and secured the co-operation of his people. (2) He was wise in management. 2. Supernatural. “The Lord established the kingdom in his hand.” It was a reward of piety. He honoured God, and God honoured and exalted him. Lessons: (1) The union of prudence and piety. Each is helpful to the other; neither is sufficient without the other. Prudence gives tone and practicality to piety; piety gives sweetness and mellowness to prudence. Piety alone tends to feebleness and inefficiency; prudence alone inclines to coldness and covetousness. United they round out the character in beauty and strength. (2) Reform through religion and law. Jehoshaphat united the civil and religious power in securing national reform. How necessary is this union in the great struggle with intemperance and other moral defilements. (Monday Club Sermons.) 2 Chronicles 17:6 He took great pride in the ways of the LORD and again removed the high places and the Asherim from Judah. NET 2 Chronicles 17:6 He was committed to following the LORD; he even removed the high places and Asherah poles from Judah. CSB 2 Chronicles 17:6 His mind rejoiced in the LORD's ways, and he again removed the high places and Asherah poles from Judah. ESV 2 Chronicles 17:6 His heart was courageous in the ways of the LORD. And furthermore, he took the high places and the Asherim out of Judah. NIV 2 Chronicles 17:6 His heart was devoted to the ways of the LORD; furthermore, he removed the high places and the Asherah poles from Judah. NLT 2 Chronicles 17:6 He was deeply committed to the ways of the LORD. He removed the pagan shrines and Asherah poles from Judah. NRS 2 Chronicles 17:6 His heart was courageous in the ways of the LORD; and furthermore he removed the high places and the sacred poles from Judah. NJB 2 Chronicles 17:6 He was so enthusiastic about obeying Yahweh that once again he abolished the high places and sacred poles in Judah. NAB 2 Chronicles 17:6 Thus he was encouraged to follow the LORD'S ways, and again he removed the high places and the sacred poles from Judah. YLT 2 Chronicles 17:6 and his heart is high in the ways of Jehovah, and again he hath turned aside the high places and the shrines out of Judah. He took great pride: De 28:47 Job 22:26 in the ways: Ps 18:21,22 119:1 138:5 Ho 14:9 Ac 13:10 removed the high places and the Asherim: 2Ch 14:3 15:17 19:3 20:33 31:1 34:3-7 1Ki 22:43 Related Passage: Deuteronomy 8:14 then (CONTEXT Dt 8:11-13 - WHEN YOU ARE PROSPEROUS) your heart will become proud and you will forget the LORD your God who brought you out from the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery. 2 Chronicles 26:16 But when he (UZZIAH) became strong, his heart was so proud that he acted corruptly, and he was unfaithful to the LORD his God, for he entered the temple of the LORD to burn incense on the altar of incense. 2 Chronicles 32:25-26 But Hezekiah gave no return for the benefit he received, because his heart was proud; therefore wrath came on him and on Judah and Jerusalem. 26 However, Hezekiah humbled the pride of his heart, both he and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, so that the wrath of the LORD did not come on them in the days of Hezekiah. 1 Kings 22:43 He (JEHOSHAPHAT) walked in all the way of Asa his father; he did not turn aside from it, doing right in the sight of the LORD. However, the high places were not taken away; the people still sacrificed and burnt incense on the high places. 2 Chronicles 20:33 The high places, however, were not removed; the people had not yet directed their hearts to the God of their fathers. REMOVAL OF DEPRAVED FALSE WORSHIP He took great pride in the ways of the LORD - This reads literally "his heart was lifted up," which was positive and not negative like most of the mentions of this phrase (God's warning in Dt 8:14; Uzziah in 2Ch 26:16;Hezekiah in 2Ch 32:25) THOUGHT - Oh, that the Spirit would give each of us reading these notes a spirit of pride (a lifting up of our hearts) in the ways of the LORD God Almighty. In Jesus' Name and for His honor. Amen Dillard on took great pride - This is the only passage in Chronicles where the phrase ויגבה לבו, “his heart was lifted up,” must have a positive sense; its ordinary use in Chronicles (2Ch 26:16; 32:25) and in the rest of the OT is negative, “be haughty.” (See 2 Chronicles, Volume 15 - Page 133) Gustafson on took great pride (literally "his heart was lifted up") - The verb “lifted up” means to be high, and, when used with “heart” elsewhere, means to have a high, haughty, and proud attitude; but here it refers to his high ideals or high spiritual ambition to follow the Lord. “Ambition is a virtue when practised within the guidelines of ‘the ways of the Lord’ ” (Leslie C. Allen). Jehoshaphat’s high aims are seen in destroying the idols and in his wanting all of God’s people to be instructed in the law of the Lord (2Ch 17:7–9). 2Ch 17:1–6 can be summed up in these words: Jehoshaphat sought God and found God in His goodness in his life and reign. (Digital - What the Bible Teaches: 1 and 2 Chronicles or book - WTBT 1 and 2 Chronicles ) And again removed the high places (bamah) and the Asherim (Asherah) from Judah - I like the NJB "He was so enthusiastic about obeying Yahweh that once again he abolished the high places and sacred poles in Judah." Asa had made an attempt to rid the land of the high places, but apparently the people kept reopening them (cf. 2 Chr. 15:17; 20:33) thus the phrase again removed (Hezekiah 2Ki 18:4 and Josiah 2Ki 23:4-8 also removed the high places). Sadly despite Asa's and Jehoshaphat's efforts to remove the high places they reappeared (2Ch 20:33). ESV Study Bible (borrow) - Reform of worship is characteristic of faithful kings in Chronicles (see 2Ch 14:3, 5; 15:8; 34:4). (See ESV Study Bible (Ebook) - Page 1445) And the Asherim - Asherah poles were Canaanite fertility symbols which played an important role in the people’s depraved nature religion and were probably images of Asherah, Baal’s mother and El’s consort, and may have served as incense stands in Baal worship. It is in the period of the divided monarchy that the Asherah cult flourished both in Israel and Judah, though its existence before is documented by the command in Exodus 34:13, the prohibition of Deut. 16:21, and the incident at the threshold of Gideon's life of service to God, Judges 6:25ff. See below to note that many of the uses of the word Asherim (Asherah) were in the depraved times of the Judges and the following times of the Kings and Chronicles. Adam Clarke on the apparent discrepancy in 1 Kings 22:43 "However, the high places were not taken away; the people still sacrificed and burnt incense on the high places.“ -- In 2 Chronicles 17:6, it is expressly said, that he did take way the high places. Allowing that the text is right in 2 Chronicles the two places may be easily recognized. There were two kinds of high places in the land: 1. Those used for idolatrous purposes. 2. Those that were consecrated to God, and were used before the temple was built. The former he did take away, the latter he did not.” NIV Study Bible note on High Places - Upon entering Canaan, the Israelites often followed the Canaanite custom of locating their altars on high hills, probably on the old Baal sites. The question of the legitimacy of Israelite worship at these high places has long been a matter of debate. It is clear that the Israelites were forbidden to take over pagan altars and high places and use them for the worship of the Lord (Nu 33:52; Dt 7:5; 12:3). It is also clear that altars were to be built only at divinely sanctioned sites (see Ex 20:24; Dt 12:5,8,13-14). It is not so clear whether multiplicity of altars was totally forbidden provided the above conditions were met (see 19:10,14; Lev 26:30-31; Dt 12; 1Sa 9:12). It seems, however, that these conditions were not followed even in the time of Solomon, and pagan high places were being used for the worship of the Lord. This would eventually lead to religious apostasy and syncretism and was strongly condemned (2Ki 17:7-18; 21:2-9; 23:4-25). because a temple had not yet been built. Worship at a variety of places was apparently considered tolerable prior to the building of the temple (see Jdg 6:24; 13:19; 1Sa 7:17; 9:12-13). (See NIV Study Bible) Peter Pett discusses the problematic high places - There was now the Temple and there were legitimate high places (such as formerly on Mount Carmel - 1 Kings 18:32) where the worship was kept pure by the priests and prophets, but along with these there were many syncretised high places, which were ancient local sanctuaries, often also containing a Baal pillar and an Asherah pole/image, where the worship became a mixture of Yahwism and Baalism. These did not retain the purity of worship of the Temple and the legitimate high places, and would in fact later lead the people of Judah into grosser sin. But Jehoshaphat’s position was complicated, as we might have expected when considering such a complicated situation. And it would appear from 2 Chronicles 17:6; 2 Chronicles 19:3-4 that he did make an effort to remove those which had become too obviously syncretistic, and came to his attention. What was lacking was a full-scale purge. Believer's Study Bible - v. 6-9) The heart desire of Jehoshaphat was to follow after the Lord (cf. vv. 3-5). His desire was so pronounced that the unusual expression "his heart took delight in the ways of the Lord" is used to describe it. He recognized the need for constant vigil against idolatry. Even during the reign and revival in the days of Asa, idolatry continued to recur in Judah (cf. 1Ki 15:1, note). In order to accomplish his spiritual warfare against idolatry, Jehoshaphat removed high places and idols and sent out prophets and Levites to teach the leaders of Judah in "the Law of the Lord" (vv. 7-9). The expression "the Book of the Law of the Lord" probably refers to the Pentateuch, or Torah (cf. 2Ch 34:14; 1 Chr. 29:29, note; Ps. 119). Iain Duguid: The interplay of human and divine action is seen in the statement that “The Lord established the kingdom in his hand” (2Ch 17:5), balancing the opening statement that Jehoshaphat “strengthened himself” (2Ch 17:1). It is God’s “kingdom,” and the Lord placed it “in the hand of the sons of David” (2Ch 13:8)—until God later gave it “into [the] hand” of the “king of the Chaldeans” (2Ch 36:17). The statement that “His heart was courageous” (lit., “His heart was high”) elsewhere describes negatively the pride and arrogance of Uzziah and Hezekiah after they had become strong and enjoyed benefits (2Ch 26:16; 2Ch 32:25, 26; cf. Ps. 131:1; Prov. 16:5). What stands out uniquely regarding Jehoshaphat is that after he received “great riches and honor,” his “pride” was “in the ways of the Lord” as he removed the “high places” On the Asherim see FERTILITY WORSHIP OF THE ANE High places (01116) bamah Six activities seem to be related to high places -- burning of incense, sacrificing, eating of sacrificial meals, praying, prostitution, child sacrifice (cf. bama in the valley, Je 7:31). The first use in Lev 26:30 is God's declaration to Israel "I will destroy your high places." In Dt 32:13 speaking of Jacob (Israel) He declared "He made him ride on the high places of the earth," so clearly some uses of bamah are not negative. In a similar use God says Israel "you will tread upon their (Israel's enemies') high places." Another positive use is Psalm 18:33 where David declared Jehovah "makes my feet like hinds' feet, And sets me upon my high places." (cp Hab 3:19 - NET Note = David "compares his agility in battle to the ability of a deer to negotiate rugged, high terrain without falling or being injured.", cp Isa 58:14) We see he effect of Israel's high places on Jehovah in Ps 78:58 = "For they provoked Him with their high places and aroused His jealousy with their graven images." A sad phrase that is repeated again and again (speaking of Israel) is "the high places were not taken away" (1Ki 15:14, 2Chr 15:17 = King Asa but notice he did remove some of them - 2Chr 14:3, 5, 1Ki 22:43, 2Chr 20:33 = King Jehoshaphat, 2Ki 12:3 = King Jehoash, 2Ki 14:4 = King Amaziah, 2Ki 15:4 = King Azariah, 2Ki 15:35 = King Jotham son of Uzziah and look what his son did in 2Ki 16:1-4!, 2Chr 20:33). In many of these passages the context was of a king doing "spiritual house cleaning" so to speak and yet still failing to remove the high places. Isn't sin that way? We confess one or two sins but we have a little pet sin (better a "venomous viper") that we just don't have the heart to kill! God grant us spiritual eyes and hearts to learn from Israel's mistakes. Amen! Some kings like Hezekiah (1Ki 18:4, 2Chr 31:1, Isa 36:7) and Josiah (2Ki 23:4,8, 13, 15, 19-20, 2Chr 34:3 cp prophecy about Josiah 300 years earlier = 1Ki 13:2) did destroy the high places, but in Hezekiah's case his own son Manasseh rebuilt them (2Ki 21:1-2, 3, 2Chr 33:3) and in Josiah's case the people rebuilt them! We see the spiritual effect of high places on the people when King Jehoram (2Chr 21:5-10) "made high places in the mountains of Judah, and caused the inhabitants of Jerusalem to play the harlot and led Judah astray." (2Chr 21:11) One of the most incredible (and saddest) verses in the OT (in my opinion) is "Then Solomon built a high place for Chemosh the detestable idol of Moab, on the mountain which is east of Jerusalem, and for Molech the detestable idol of the sons of Ammon." (1Ki 11:7, cp 1Ki 3:3 = Solomon had "half a heart" for God!) This was too much for Jehovah and He declared that the 12 tribes would be split as a result of Solomon's sin! Sin is costly. You may think you are getting away with it, but you are not! You may think you are the wisest man in the world (like Solomon) but you are really the most foolish (as Solomon was)! There was one high place that was not idolatrous (at least not at the outset) - "Then Solomon, and all the assembly with him, went to the high place which was at Gibeon; for God's tent of meeting was there, which Moses the servant of the LORD had made in the wilderness." (2Chr 1:3, cp 1Chr 16:39-40, 21:29). Asherim (0842) Asherah refers to "poles" representing and/or associated with the goddess Asherah - these poles could be cut down and burned (Jdg. 6:25-26). They were made (1Ki 14:15) and set up (1Ki 14:23) after being carved (2Ki 21:7). In many cases, Asherah clearly refers to the deity and not to an image or symbol (Judg. 3:7, 1 Ki. 18:19 and 2 Ki. 23:4). W E Vine - ashērâ refers to a cultic object representing the presence of the Canaanite goddess Asherah. When the people of Israel entered Palestine, they were to have nothing to do with the idolatrous religions of its inhabitants. Asherah - 40v - Exod. 34:13; Deut. 7:5; Deut. 12:3; Deut. 16:21; Jdg. 3:7; Jdg. 6:25; Jdg. 6:26; Jdg. 6:28; Jdg. 6:30; 1 Ki. 14:15; 1 Ki. 14:23; 1 Ki. 15:13; 1 Ki. 16:33; 1 Ki. 18:19; 2 Ki. 13:6; 2 Ki. 17:10; 2 Ki. 17:16; 2 Ki. 18:4; 2 Ki. 21:3; 2 Ki. 21:7; 2 Ki. 23:4; 2 Ki. 23:6; 2 Ki. 23:7; 2 Ki. 23:14; 2 Ki. 23:15; 2 Chr. 14:3; 2 Chr. 15:16; 2 Chr. 17:6; 2 Chr. 19:3; 2 Chr. 24:18; 2 Chr. 31:1; 2 Chr. 33:3; 2 Chr. 33:19; 2 Chr. 34:3; 2 Chr. 34:4; 2 Chr. 34:7; Isa. 17:8; Isa. 27:9; Jer. 17:2; Mic. 5:14 F B