2 Crônicas 28

2 Crônicas 28

Utley - "on the high places and on the hills under every green tree" This reflects outlawed Canaanite fertility worship (cf. Deut. 12:2; 1 Kgs. 14:23,24; Jer. 2:20; 3:2,6; 17:2; Isa. 57:5,7; Ezek. 6:13; 20:28; Hosea 4:13). The fertility gods were worshiped in many localities (i.e., natural hills or man made platforms). Trees were often viewed as sacred (esp. in arid places) because they showed underground water was present. SPECIAL TOPIC: TREES John Walton - high places, spreading trees. The worship at high places is not attributed to other Judahite kings but to the people of Judah (e.g., 1 Kings 22:44). A different verbal form is used in Hebrew to denote illegal sacrifices at shrines opposed to legal sacrifices at the Jerusalem temple. Ahaz, of course, was condemned for his illegal sacrifices. For more information on high places see comment on 2 Kings 17:9. (See page The IVP Bible Background Commentary-Old Testament) Sacrificed (slaughtered, offer sacrifice)(02076) zabach to slaughter or kill an animal for sacrifice. The Hebrew verb zābacḥ is a common Semitic term for sacrificial slaughter in general. It is used of offerings such as the firstborn (Ex. 13:15), peace and burnt offerings (Ex. 20:24), and animals from the flock and herd (Num. 22:40). Moses cited this need when asking Pharaoh to let Israel go to “sacrifice to the LORD our God” (Ex. 3:18; 5:3). The word can also refer to slaughter for food (Deut. 12:21; 1 Sam. 28:24) and to the sealing of a covenant (Gen. 31:54). Though most often used of sacrifices to the true God (Gen. 46:1), it also describes pagan offerings, such as to Dagon (Jdg. 16:23) and the gods of Damascus (2 Chr. 28:23). ZABACH IN SAMUEL-CHRONICLES 1 Sam. 1:3; 1 Sam. 1:4; 1 Sam. 1:21; 1 Sam. 2:13; 1 Sam. 2:15; 1 Sam. 2:19; 1 Sam. 6:15; 1 Sam. 10:8; 1 Sam. 11:15; 1 Sam. 15:15; 1 Sam. 15:21; 1 Sam. 16:2; 1 Sam. 16:5; 1 Sam. 28:24; 2 Sam. 6:13; 2 Sam. 15:12; 1 Ki. 1:9; 1 Ki. 1:19; 1 Ki. 1:25; 1 Ki. 3:2; 1 Ki. 3:3; 1 Ki. 3:4; 1 Ki. 8:5; 1 Ki. 8:62; 1 Ki. 8:63; 1 Ki. 11:8; 1 Ki. 12:32; 1 Ki. 13:2; 1 Ki. 19:21; 1 Ki. 22:43; 2 Ki. 12:3; 2 Ki. 14:4; 2 Ki. 15:4; 2 Ki. 15:35; 2 Ki. 16:4; 2 Ki. 17:35; 2 Ki. 17:36; 2 Ki. 23:20; 1 Chr. 15:26; 1 Chr. 21:28; 1 Chr. 29:21; 2 Chr. 5:6; 2 Chr. 7:4; 2 Chr. 7:5; 2 Chr. 11:16; 2 Chr. 15:11; 2 Chr. 18:2; 2 Chr. 28:4; 2 Chr. 28:23; 2 Chr. 30:22; 2 Chr. 33:16; 2 Chr. 33:17; 2 Chr. 33:22; 2 Chr. 34:4 Burned incense (offered up in smoke) (06999) qāṭar (from qetōreth, “smoke” or “fragrant incense”) means to cause smoke to rise, especially as an act of worship, and is used of burning incense or turning a sacrifice into fragrance by fire. While most often associated with incense, the term can describe the smoke of any major offering on the altar (Ex 30:7; Lev 1–7). It is closely linked with priestly ministry and dominates Leviticus, where sacrifices were “offered up in smoke” before the LORD. Tragically, the same word also marks Israel’s descent into idolatry: Solomon, though loving the LORD, “burned incense on the high places” (1Ki 3:3), and later even to the gods of his foreign wives (1Ki 11:8). This pattern spread through the nation so that burning incense became a symbol of covenant betrayal, provoking God’s wrath (2Ki 22:17; Jer 7:9; Hos 11:2). Yet in mercy the LORD promised a day when true worship would be restored, when from every nation incense would again be offered to His great name (Jer 33:18; Mal 1:11). High places (01116) bamah -- Scripture associates the high places (bāmôt) with at least six recurring activities—burning incense, offering sacrifices, eating sacrificial meals, praying, ritual prostitution, and even child sacrifice (Jer 7:31)—revealing how these sites became centers of corrupt worship. God’s first reference to them is a warning: “I will destroy your high places” (Lev 26:30). Yet the term can occasionally carry a positive sense, as when the LORD made Israel “ride on the high places of the earth” (Dt 32:13) or when David rejoiced that God set him upon “my high places” like a sure-footed deer (Ps 18:33; Hab 3:19; Isa 58:14). Tragically, Israel’s misuse of these sites provoked the LORD’s jealousy (Ps 78:58), and a sorrowful refrain echoes through Kings and Chronicles: “the high places were not taken away” (1Ki 15:14; 22:43; 2Ki 12:3; 14:4; 15:4, 35; 2Chr 15:17; 20:33). Even reforming kings who cleansed much of the land left this root of compromise intact, reminding us how sin often survives partial repentance—we put away obvious evils yet cling to a favored “pet sin,” which is really a venomous viper. May God give us grace to finish the work Israel left undone and to tear down every rival altar of the heart. High Places - NOTE prevalence in Kings and Chronicles - Lev. 26:30; Num. 22:41; Num. 33:52; Deut. 32:13; Deut. 33:29; Jdg. 5:18; 1 Sam. 9:12; 1 Sam. 9:13; 1 Sam. 9:14; 1 Sam. 9:19; 1 Sam. 9:25; 1 Sam. 10:5; 1 Sam. 10:13; 2 Sam. 1:19; 2 Sam. 1:25; 2 Sam. 22:34; 1 Ki. 3:2; 1 Ki. 3:3; 1 Ki. 3:4; 1 Ki. 11:7; 1 Ki. 12:31; 1 Ki. 12:32; 1 Ki. 13:2; 1 Ki. 13:32; 1 Ki. 13:33; 1 Ki. 14:23; 1 Ki. 15:14; 1 Ki. 22:43; 2 Ki. 12:3; 2 Ki. 14:4; 2 Ki. 15:4; 2 Ki. 15:35; 2 Ki. 16:4; 2 Ki. 17:9; 2 Ki. 17:11; 2 Ki. 17:29; 2 Ki. 17:32; 2 Ki. 18:4; 2 Ki. 18:22; 2 Ki. 21:3; 2 Ki. 23:5; 2 Ki. 23:8; 2 Ki. 23:9; 2 Ki. 23:13; 2 Ki. 23:15; 2 Ki. 23:19; 2 Ki. 23:20; 1 Chr. 16:39; 1 Chr. 21:29; 2 Chr. 1:3; 2 Chr. 1:13; 2 Chr. 11:15; 2 Chr. 14:3; 2 Chr. 14:5; 2 Chr. 15:17; 2 Chr. 17:6; 2 Chr. 20:33; 2 Chr. 21:11; 2 Chr. 28:4; 2 Chr. 28:25; 2 Chr. 31:1; 2 Chr. 32:12; 2 Chr. 33:3; 2 Chr. 33:17; 2 Chr. 33:19; 2 Chr. 34:3; Ps. 18:33; Ps. 78:58; Prov. 9:14; Eccl. 12:5; Isa. 15:2; Isa. 16:12; Isa. 36:7; Jer. 7:31; Jer. 17:3; Jer. 19:5; Jer. 26:18; Jer. 32:35; Jer. 48:35; Ezek. 6:3; Ezek. 6:6; Ezek. 16:16; Ezek. 16:24; Ezek. 16:25; Ezek. 16:31; Ezek. 16:39; Ezek. 20:29; Hos. 10:8; Amos 4:13; Amos 7:9; Mic. 1:3; Mic. 1:5; Mic. 3:12; Hab. 3:19 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, Je7:31). 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). Norman Geisler - When Critics Ask - 2 CHRONICLES 28:24—Did Ahaz encourage or oppose worship in the Jerusalem temple? PROBLEM: In 2 Kings 16:15, Ahaz encouraged the worship of the Lord in the temple. But, in 2 Chronicles 28 he is said to have “shut up the doors of the house of the Lord, and made for himself altars in every corner of Jerusalem” (v. 24). SOLUTION: First of all, even in 2 Kings, during his earlier reign, Ahaz was said to be an evil king who “did not do what was right in the sight of the Lord his God” (2Ki 16:2). He even “took the silver and gold that was found in the house of the Lord … and sent it as a present to the king of Assyria” (v. 8). During this period, he encouraged only a corrupt form of worship in the pilfered Jerusalem temple (v. 15). Furthermore, the 2 Chronicles passages refers to a later, even more corrupt, part of his reign. During this period of apostasy, he shut up the house of the Lord completely and set up his own centers of worship 2 Chronicles 28:5 Wherefore, the LORD his God delivered him into the hand of the king of Aram; and they defeated him and carried away from him a great number of captives and brought them to Damascus. And he was also delivered into the hand of the king of Israel, who inflicted him with heavy casualties. his God: 2Ch 36:5 Ex 20:2,3 delivered him: 2Ch 24:24 33:11 36:17 Jud 2:14 2Ki 16:5,6 Isa 7:1,6 Parallel Passages 2 Kings 16:5-6+ Then Rezin king of Aram and Pekah son of Remaliah, king of Israel, came up to Jerusalem to wage war; and they besieged Ahaz, but could not overcome him. 6 At that time Rezin king of Aram recovered Elath for Aram, and cleared the Judeans out of Elath entirely; and the Arameans came to Elath, and have lived there to this day. DIVINE DISCIPLINE ON AHAZ & JUDAH Wherefore - Term of conclusion. In view of King Ahaz's evil practices, consequences would follow. The LORD his God delivered him into the hand of the king of Aram (REZIN) - The text still calls Ahaz "his God" but one has to wonder if Ahaz truly had a personal relationship with God. It seems doubtful! The Chronicler probably says the LORD his God to remind his readers that Ahaz still belonged to the covenant people and was accountable to the LORD of that covenant. Matthew