7 But it was not the Lord's purpose to send destruction on the family of David, because of the agreement he had made with David, when he said he would give to him and to his sons a light for ever.
And when the time comes for you to go to rest with your fathers, I will put in your place your seed after you, the offspring of your body, and I will make his kingdom strong. He will be the builder of a house for my name, and I will make the seat of his authority certain for ever. I will be to him a father and he will be to me a son: if he does wrong, I will give him punishment with the rod of men and with the blows of the children of men; But my mercy will not be taken away from him, as I took it from him who was before you. And your family and your kingdom will keep their place before me for ever: the seat of your authority will never be overturned. So Nathan gave David an account of all these words and this vision.
I will keep my mercy for him for ever; my agreement with him will not be changed. His seed will keep their place for ever; his kingdom will be eternal, like the heavens. If his children give up my law, and are not ruled by my decisions; If my rules are broken, and my orders are not kept; Then I will send punishment on them for their sin; my rod will be the reward of their evil-doing. But I will not take away my mercy from him, and will not be false to my faith. I will be true to my agreement; the things which have gone out of my lips will not be changed.
Let us go up against Judah, troubling her, and forcing our way into her, and let us put up a king in her, even the son of Tabeel: This is the word of the Lord God: This design will not come about or be effected.
The Lord has said: If it is possible for my agreement of the day and the night to be broken, so that day and night no longer come at their fixed times, Then my agreement with my servant David may be broken, so that he no longer has a son to take his place on the seat of the kingdom; and my agreement with the Levites, the priests, my servants. As it is not possible for the army of heaven to be numbered, or the sand of the sea measured, so will I make the seed of my servant David, and the Levites my servants. And the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah, saying, Have you taken note of what these people have said, The two families, which the Lord took for himself, he has given up? This they say, looking down on my people as being, in their eyes, no longer a nation. The Lord has said, If I have not made day and night, and if the limits of heaven and earth have not been fixed by me, Then I will give up caring for the seed of Jacob and of David my servant, so that I will not take of his seed to be rulers over the seed of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob: for I will let their fate be changed and will have mercy on them.
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible » Commentary on 2 Chronicles 21
Commentary on 2 Chronicles 21 Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
CHAPTER 21
2Ch 21:1-4. Jehoram Succeeds Jehoshaphat.
1-4. Jehoshaphat slept with his fathers … Jehoram … reigned—The late king left seven sons; two of them are in our version named Azariah; but in the Hebrew they appear considerably different, the one being spelt "Azariah," and the other "Azariahu." Though Jehoshaphat had made his family arrangements with prudent precaution, and while he divided the functions of royalty in his lifetime (compare 2Ki 8:16), as well as fixed the succession to the throne in his oldest son, he appointed each of the others to the government of a fenced city, thus providing them with an honorable independence. But this good intentions were frustrated; for no sooner did Jehoram find himself in the sole possession of sovereign power than, from jealousy, or on account of their connections, he murdered all his brothers, together with some leading influential persons who, he suspected, were attached to their interest, or would avenge their deaths. Similar tragedies have been sadly frequent in Eastern courts, where the heir of the crown looks upon his brothers as his most formidable enemies, and is therefore tempted to secure his power by their death.
2Ch 21:5-7. His Wicked Reign.
6, 7. he walked … as did the house of Ahab, for he had the daughter of Ahab to wife—The precepts and examples of his excellent father were soon obliterated by his matrimonial alliance with a daughter of the royal house of Israel. Through the influence of Athaliah he abolished the worship of the Lord, and encouraged an introduction of all the corruptions prevalent in the sister kingdom. The divine vengeance was denounced against him, and would have utterly destroyed him and his house, had it not been for a tender regard to the promise made to David (2Sa 7:29; 2Ki 8:19).
2Ch 21:8-17. Edom and Libnah Revolt.
8-10. the Edomites revolted—That nation had been made dependent by David, and down to the time of Jehoshaphat was governed by a tributary ruler (1Ki 22:47; 2Ki 3:9). But that king having been slain in an insurrection at home, his successor thought to ingratiate himself with his new subjects by raising the flag of independence [Josephus]. The attempt was defeated in the first instance by Jehoram, who possessed all the military establishments of his father; but being renewed unexpectedly, the Edomites succeeded in completely emancipating their country from the yoke of Judah (Ge 27:40). Libnah, which lay on the southern frontier and towards Edom, followed the example of that country.
12-15. there came a writing to him from Elijah the prophet—That prophet's translation having taken place in the reign of Jehoshaphat [2Ki 2:11, 12], we must conclude that the name of Elijah has, by the error of a transcriber, been put for that of Elisha.
13-19. hast made Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem … like to the whoredoms of the house of Ahab—that is, introduced the superstitions and vices of Phœnician idolatry (see on De 13:6-14). On this account, as well as for his unnatural cruelties, divine vengeance was denounced against him, which was soon after executed exactly as the prophet had foretold. A series of overwhelming calamities befell this wicked king; for in addition to the revolts already mentioned, two neighboring tribes (see 2Ch 17:11) made hostile incursions on the southern and western portions of his kingdom. His country was ravaged, his capital taken, his palace plundered, his wives carried off, and all his children slain except the youngest. He himself was seized with an incurable dysentery, which, after subjecting him to the most painful suffering for the unusual period of two years, carried him off, a monument of the divine judgment. To complete his degradation, his death was unlamented, his burial unhonored by his subjects. This custom, similar to what obtained in Egypt, seems to have crept in among the Hebrews, of giving funeral honors to their kings, or withholding them, according to the good or bad characters of their reign.