Who, When, Where

Written by Ezra.
We’re not sure who wrote Chronicles, but the final verses of 2 Chronicles and the start of Ezra are pretty similar, so we think it was him.
And we think he wrote them either during or just after the Babylonian exile around 450-400BC.
So most likely written either in Babylon or back in Israel, depending on exactly when he did write them.

Summary

As you would expect, 2 Chronicles continues the story begun in 1 Chronicles. Solomon has just become king of Israel, and David has commissioned him with building a house for God on the site of the threshing floor where David took the blame, and the angel who was executing Yahweh’s 3 days of wrath against the Israelites, stopped the killing spree.

Before You Read

How hard is it to get Yahweh’s attention?
How hard is it to learn more about him and what he requires from us?

What if you were living back then, 3,000 years ago. Before the Bible was written. Would that change your answer?

How secure is Israel now? They’ve got a king whom Yahweh has said will be king of Israel forever. And he’s building the first “permanent” home for Yaweh to live among them. (The temple instead of the tent he’s been living in the last 500 years since Moshe).

How about yourself? How secure do you feel?
You own a house? Married, maybe with kids, good job. You’re pretty much set for life eh.

Key Verses

2 Chronicles 1:11-12

God said to Solomon, “Because this was in your heart, and you have not asked riches, wealth, or honor, nor the life of those who hate you, neither yet have asked long life; but have asked wisdom and knowledge for yourself, that you may judge my people, over whom I have made you king: wisdom and knowledge is granted to you. I will give you riches, wealth, and honor, such as none of the kings have had who have been before you; neither shall any after you have the like.”

Because Solomon asked for wisdom and knowledge, (different things by the way for those who think they know a lot), Yahweh also granted him riches, wealth and honour beyond comparison.
One thing I noticed in Psalms… they are so often asking Yahweh to kill their enemies. I think that’s part of our fallen nature. When we have an enemy we want them dead and gone. Problem solved.
If Yahweh had that thinking where would you be? Yeah, dead like me! Yahweh instead seems more focused on turning his enemies into his friends. Even adopting them as family.

2 Chronicles 4:1

Then he made an altar of brass, twenty cubits its length, and twenty cubits its width, and ten cubits its height.

A cubit is 18” (45cm). So the altar was 30’x30’ (9mx9m) and 15’ (4.5m) tall. This thing was huge. And that’s just the altar.
In the next verse we read of huge metal bowl, the sea, 10 cubits across and a bandwidth thick standing on 12 oxen. And they cast it from metal in one piece!

2 Chronicles 6:5-6

Since the day that I brought my people out of the land of Egypt, I chose no city out of all the tribes of Israel to build a house in, that my name might be there; neither chose I any man to be prince over my people Israel: but I have chosen Jerusalem, that my name might be there; and have chosen David to be over my people Israel.

This is Yahweh speaking. He chose Jerusalem out of all the possible cities of the world to make his home. And he chose David to be his king.
Anti-semitism seems to be strongly on the rise lately, (2020’s), and presumably it is because they don’t believe that Yahweh said this, and that he did in fact make these decisions.
Pity them when they realise he did, and that the Jews really are his chosen people… and they haven’t been fighting just against the people of some country, they’ve actually been fighting against him.

2 Chronicles 7:13-14

If I shut up the sky so that there is no rain, or if I command the locust to devour the land, or if I send pestilence among my people; if my people, who are called by my name, shall 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 will heal their land.

Yahweh said this to Solomon.
If his people are suffering because of their sin, and they come to this temple and confess, and turn from their wickedness, … he will relent, and heal/deliver them.
In context, this is more about God’s people as a group, than individuals.
So how about the church? Are we suffering drought, pestilence, anything which may well be from God, and due to our group sin as a church? (I’m thinking things like relying on money instead of God’s provision, running church like a business, valuing # of followers above actual discipleship, and against becoming unpopular for speaking out God’s truth to people who don’t want to hear it?). What should we do as a church? A global church. Repent and turn from our ways? Or just show how our predecessors have misinterpreted the Bible and it actually teaches all those things, we just didn’t realise it?

2 Chronicles 8:1

At the end of twenty years, in which Solomon had built Yahweh’s house, and his own house …

In Kings it is more explicit. Solomon spent 7 years building Yahweh’s house, and then 13 years building his own.

2 Chronicles 9:1

When the queen of Sheba heard of the fame of Solomon, she came to prove Solomon with hard questions …

She had been told about Solomon and how wise and wealthy he was, but she couldn’t believe it.
But once she came and saw his wisdom, and heard his answers, and the house he had built and all it’s glory she realised that what she had heard back in Sheba was only half the story, and the truth was way beyond even what she had been told.

2 Chronicles 9:9, 13

She gave the king one hundred and twenty talents of gold …
the weight of gold that came to Solomon in one year was six hundred and sixty-six talents of gold.

So the Queen of Sheba gave him 120 talents of gold as a gift. That’s 4 metric tons of gold. As of April 2025 that’s $AUD650 million. That’s quite a gift!
But then we read that Solomon had an annual “income” of 666 talents of gold. 22 metric tons. So that’s almost $A4 billion. And that’s just his gold. He had so much other wealth.

And remember Yahweh blessed him with wealth because he didn’t ask for it, all he wanted was wisdom.
(Btw: I have a friend in Australia, where houses are quite literally millions of dollars each, who was praying to Yahweh about her future, and felt like he was asking her what one thing she wanted for the future. She chose to ask to be a really talented artist and told him she wanted that more than she wanted to own a house).

How about you? What would you ask for? Why should Yahweh give it to you?

2 Chronicles 9:30-31

Solomon reigned in Jerusalem over all Israel forty years. Solomon slept with his fathers and was buried…

He was about 20 years old when he became king. So he lived to be about 60.
Can you imagine him begging God for 5 more years?
Yeah, neither can I. I’ve already lived longer than Solomon, but if God told me I was going home today I’d be totally fine with that. (If possible I’d live to say goodbye to my loved ones, but if not, I know I’ll see them again one day anyway).

So why do we spend our life savings trying to fight death and get ourselves even a few more years of life? What do we want to do with those years?
Usually they won’t be great anyway because we’re always recovering from operations, or on super strong medication. Our family is stressed and if they’re honest, they know it’s still only a few more years and they have to go through it all anyway.

How old do you want to be when you die?
How are you going to be useful to Yahweh in the days between today and then?

2 Chronicles 10:8

But Rehoboam abandoned the counsel of the old men which they had given him, and took counsel with the young men who had grown up with him, who stood before him.

The old men had advised him to be kind to the people and to listen to what they have to say and to speak good words to them, basically to show them you care about them and to make their life better, … and they will happily serve you forever. (Good advice for any people manager even today IMO).

The young men who grew up with him basically said, “No way. Your father was tough, be ten times tougher than your father. Add to their burdens and show how tough you are. And they’ll do what you tell them.”

Sadly I see this attitude among the young of this generation. They think that if they are leaders they will be tough and people will do what they say.
They have no clue. They have never asked Yahweh for his advice.
Why does it seem like they get all their wisdom from computer games which have been designed to addict them and to waste their lives?

2 Chronicles 10:18

King Rehoboam sent Hadoram, who was over the men subject to forced labor; and the children of Israel stoned him to death with stones.

It didn’t work out too well eh.
As expected, if you oppress those “under” you, and treat them badly enough, eventually they will rebel.
In this case they rebelled to the point of stoning the man Rehoboam had sent to rule over them.
And so 10x tougher Rehoboam? He was scared and he ran away to Jerusalem, where he tried to gather men to come back and fight, but Yahweh told them not to because he was behind all this, he was with the oppressed people.
So Rehoboam stayed in Jerusalem and built his defences, by being nicer o the people, and by following more like David and Solomon.

2 Chronicles 12:1

When the kingdom of Rehoboam was established, and he was strong, he abandoned Yahweh’s law, and all Israel with him

So when Rehoboam was scared he followed Yahweh, but as soon as the thought he was strong and tough again, he abandoned Yahweh’s law … and took all of Israel down with him.
What a thing to be famous for for all eternity.

2 Chronicles 12:9

So Shishak king of Egypt came up against Jerusalem, and took away the treasures of Yahweh’s house, and the treasures of the king’s house. He took it all away.

Because of the rebelling of Rehoboam and all the people, Yahweh raised up Shishak, king of Egypt who came and took it all away.
All of it. All that gold of Solomons. Gone.
Can you imagine being a multi billionaire, and suddenly one day you wake up and it’s all gone? All gone.

2 Chronicles 12:12

When Rehoboam humbled himself, Yahweh’s wrath turned from him, so as not to destroy him altogether: and moreover in Judah there were good things found.

As we see throughout Chronicles. When we sin, if we humble ourselves before Yahweh, he will relent our punishment.
He didn’t give Rehoboam the gold back, but he gave him 17 more years being the king.

2 Chronicles 12:14

And he did evil, because he did not set his heart to seek Yahweh.

But even then, he didn’t seek Yahweh and continued to do evil the rest of his days.

2 Chronicles 13:17

Abijah and his people killed them with a great slaughter: so there fell down slain of Israel five hundred thousand chosen men.

Jeroboam, king of the north had make golden calf idols, (some people just never learn), and come down to surround and attack the men of Judah in the south who were still faithful to Yahweh.
The men of Judah were surrounded and outnumbered, and they called out to Yahweh. And he delivered them. Wiping out 500,000 of their enemies in a single day. Yahweh also struck Jeroboam and he died.
I guess he knows now how stupid he was.

2 Chronicles 16:7

Hanani the seer came to Asa king of Judah, and said to him, “Because you have relied on the king of Syria, and have not relied on Yahweh your God, therefore is the army of the king of Syria escaped out of your hand.

Asa had taken some of his gold, and even some of the gold which belonged to the temple, and used it to pay off the king of Syria to be at peace with him.
Hanani was sent to deliver the message from Yahweh, (who would have kept the peace for him if he had only trusted him), because of this, from now on you will have war.

When he got older Asa got a disease in his feet. Even then he didn’t learn from before, and instead of asking Yahweh to heal him he went to the physicians and trusted in them.

Sadly I see so many Christians these days who do exactly the same thing. They trust more in their own income than they do in Yahweh. They definitely trust more in doctors than they do Yahweh. If fact, they only seem to go to Yahweh when they’re desperate because the doctors weren’t able to heal them.

And then, they’re often angry with Yahweh for “making them sick in the first place”. Who do you think you are if you consider yourself so important that Yahweh shouldn’t be allowed to let you get sick!

2 Chronicles 17:6

His heart was lifted up in the ways of Yahweh: and furthermore he took away the high places and the Asherah poles out of Judah.

It’s one thing to become a Christian. It’s another thing to deliberately destroy the things of the world from being part of your life.
What worldly values are you hanging on to?
What do you need to do to get rid of those?
Whose heart is broken by you not doing that?

And the church is more the equivalent of Israel, not so much you personally.
What worldly practices is your church hanging onto? Things like running as a business, annual tithing commitments and budgeting, asking the world for money to fund your church? Even subtle things like voting by members on what the church should do. The church was never meant to be democratic. Of course you can ask everyone what they think, but the leaders of the church need to be the ones making the decisions.
And now we have more issues with gender issues, gay rights, all these ideas which are not Biblical and which lead Yahweh’s children astray.

2 Chronicles 18:7

The king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, “There is yet one man by whom we may inquire of Yahweh; but I hate him, for he never prophesies good concerning me, but always evil. He is Micaiah the son of Imla.”

A true prophet must say whatever Yahweh tells him. Only a false prophet would say only things the king wants to hear.

Same for churches these days. So many now seem to be saying what the world around them wants to hear, so they’ll be more popular and have better attendance.

Increasing attendance is not the church’s job. Being faithful representatives of Yeshua is its job. Regardless of the consequences.

2 Chronicles 18:22

“Now therefore, behold, Yahweh has put a lying spirit in the mouth of these your prophets; and Yahweh has spoken evil concerning you.”

Micaiah tells Ahab, the king, that all his prophets have been lying to him because Yahweh wants him dead.

2 Chronicles 18:29

The king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, “I will disguise myself, and go into the battle; but you put on your robes.” So the king of Israel disguised himself; and they went into the battle.

So Ahab, (king of Israel), figured he could outsmart the enemy. They would always try to kill the king as a prime target, so he just disguised himself as an ordinary soldier.

2 Chronicles 18:33

A certain man drew his bow at random, and struck the king of Israel between the joints of the armor.

You might be able to trick people. But you can’t trick Yahweh, and once Yahweh has said you’re going to die… you’re going to die.

Nobody knew which one of the thousands of soldiers was the disguised king. But some guy shoots at random into the crowd of soldiers in front of him, and doesn’t just hit the king. He hits the king right in the crack of his armour.

There is no such thing as random.

2 Chronicles 20:15, 24

Yahweh says to you, “Don’t be afraid, neither be dismayed by reason of this great multitude; for the battle is not yours, but God’s.”
…
When Judah came to the place overlooking the wilderness, they looked at the multitude; and behold, they were dead bodies fallen to the earth, and there were no one who escaped.

Jehoshaphat and his people are being attacked by a massive army from Egypt. Yahweh tells them, “Don’t worry. This is my fight not yours. I got this, just watch.”

Do you need to hear that message too?
Are you trying to fight something yourself that you should just hand over to Yahweh and sit back and watch him deal with it?

Trust him. You are his child. He will look after you big time.

2 Chronicles 22:3

He also walked in the ways of Ahab’s house; for his mother was his counselor to do wickedly.

There are many godly women in the Bible. But Athaliah (Ahab’s daughter and Ahaziah’s mother) isn’t one of them. Her and Jezebel (Ahab’s wife) are perhaps the most famous for taking power which wasn’t theirs and abusing it to lead the king astray, and the rest of the country with him. Leading them all off to worship Baal in the land given to them by Yahweh!

Ahaziah was 42 years old already when he became king, but still under the influence and control of his manipulative mother.
She was a nasty piece of work. When she learned that Yahweh had raised up Jehu and he had slain her son, she killed all the royal offspring and took control herself.

2 Chronicles 24:1

Joash was seven years old when he began to reign…

When Athaliah was killing all the royal children, Jehoshabeath had hidden the baby in Yahweh’s temple, where he stayed for six years. And now he was declared king. At 7 years old.
And what a good king he was. At first.
He restored the temple, and took back all the temple things which his wicked grandmother had given to the Baals.
But then in the end his own servants killed him and he wasn’t even buried with the kings.

2 Chronicles 24:20

Why do you disobey Yahweh’s commandments, so that you can’t prosper?
Because you have forsaken Yahweh, he has also forsaken you.

Why do people think they’re better off if they just bend God’s rules a bit. And end up breaking them entirely.
We think we’ll be better off, richer, healthier, happier, but in the end we would end up miserable and broken.
Do it God’s way. And he’ll actually bless you.

2 Chronicles 25:15

Why have you sought after the gods of the people, which have not delivered their own people out of your hand?”

After listening to the prophet of Yahweh and sending the mercenaries he had hired home, Amaziah conquered the Edomites without them. But then he brought their “gods” back with him to become his gods!
Seriously how dumb can we be. These gods which couldn’t even save the Edomites from his little army… what does he think they can do for him!
And when Yahweh sends his prophet to warn him about this, he tells him to shut up or be killed!
Amaziah was defeated in his next battle and all the treasures of Jerusalem were carried off.

2 Chronicles 26:19

Then Uzziah was angry; and he had a censer in his hand to burn incense; and while he was angry with the priests, the leprosy broke out on his forehead before the priests in Yahweh’s house, beside the altar of incense.

We see this pattern over and over and over in Kings and Chronicles. A good king is blessed by Yahweh and the nation prospers. But then another king comes along who has no respect for Yahweh and his ways, and the nation suffers.
In this case, Uzziah was doing good, but he thinks he should be allowed to make the offerings himself. But the priests explain to him that only priests are allowed to do that. He wants to do it anyway, and gets leprosy! Out of nowhere, while he’s just standing there with the censer in his hand.

How are your sons? Your children?
Do they know Yeshua like you do? Are they living for him?
What will happen to them when you’re gone?

2 Chronicles 31:1

Now when all this was finished, all Israel who were present went out to the cities of Judah, and broke in pieces the pillars, and cut down the Asherah poles, and broke down the high places and the altars out of all Judah and Benjamin, in Ephraim also and Manasseh, until they had destroyed them all.

Finally!
Over the years I feel like the church has erected a few of these itself. Christmas, Easter, pageantry, hierarchy, temples. All these things which are not in the Bible.
What would the church look like if we removed it all and got back to just basic Christianity the way it was in the beginning?
(Feel free to start justifying all your add ons, … and then go and read Chronicles again).

2 Chronicles 32:21

Yahweh sent an angel, who cut off all the mighty men of valor, and the leaders and captains, in the camp of the king of Assyria.

The king of Assyria had surrounded Jerusalem and had been shouting about how no god of any country had ever been able to stop him. How they’re all going to die if they put their trust in Yahweh.
And then Yahweh sends an angel! And kills them.
Imagine how he felt when he saw that happening! “Uh oh” doesn’t begin to say it does it.
And imagine how Hezekiah felt. Yahweh is here to rescue us as we trusted. WOW. Can you imagine. Yahweh literally sends an angel to save you.

Hitler should have read Chronicles.

2 Chronicles 33:1-9

… Manasseh did much evil in Yahweh’s sight, to provoke him to anger…

Incredible! After an angel rescues Hezekiah, his father, from massive enemies. This kid takes over and does the worst evils you can imagine. Set up an idol that he made himself in Yahweh’s temple, practiced sorcery, and hung out with wizards and people who had familiars. This is no Harry Potter movie. This is real. And it’s evil.
He may not have been born when the angel rescued the land in his father’s reign, but for sure he would have known about it. He would have heard how his father tore down all the evil places of worship. But he built them up again anyway.

How quickly we turn back to sin.

2 Chronicles 34:15, 19

“I have found the book of the law in Yahweh’s house.”
…
When the king had heard the words of the law, he tore his clothes.

Josiah has become king at 8. He restores the temple, and when they’re cleaning out the temple of all the bad things which have been put there… they find the book of the Law.

And when the king reads it he’s mortified. He realises how far they have fallen. And because of his humble response Yahweh tells him he will be spared the destruction he is about to bring on the nation because of the abominations they have done worshipping false gods, even in Yahweh’s temple itself!

2 Chronicles 36

…
Neco took Joahaz his brother, and carried him to Egypt
…
Therefore Yahweh brought on them the king of the Chaldeans, who killed their young men with the sword in the house of their sanctuary, and had no compassion on young man or virgin, old man or gray-headed: he gave them all into his hand.
…
They burnt God’s house, and broke down the wall of Jerusalem, and burnt all its palaces with fire…He carried those who had escaped from the sword away to Babylon.
…
As long as it lay desolate it kept Sabbath, to fulfill seventy years.
…
Thus says Cyrus king of Persia, “Yahweh, the God of heaven, has given all the kingdoms of the earth to me; and he has commanded me to build him a house in Jerusalem, which is in Judah. Whoever there is among you of all his people, Yahweh his God be with him, and let him go up.”

And so Yahweh finally has enough. He sends them all into captivity in Babylon. For 70 years.
And then in the reign of Cyrus, king of Persia, he finally brings them back… but that’s for later prophets to explain.
Ezra, Nehemiah, Haggai, Zechariah, Malachi…

After You Read

What verses really stood out to you?

How would you summarize this book in a sentence or two? What is it about? What is God trying to say to us?

Did you notice the phrase, “If you seek him, he will be found by you” popping up a few times? (at least 6). It started back in 1 Chronicles.
Interesting that it’s not, “If you seek him, you’ll find him”…
Basically, if you look for him, he will let you find him.
What does that tell you about Yahweh?
Have you found him? Why not?

What the heck went wrong for the Israelites? At the start of this Solomon as one of the greatest kings who ever lived. He built a home for Yahweh, and Yahweh actually came down and lived there!!

How did they go from that to exile in Bablyon!

What do you learn about yourself from that?
How do you need to change? What do you need to watch out for?

What about your church? Big and successful?
Will it always be that way?
What could go wrong?

If you could ask God for one thing and he said he would give it to you, what would it be? What would you ask for?

If God appeared to you tonight and said, “I’m not too happy with how you’ve been living, but I want to give you another chance. I’m going to give you 17 more years.”
What would you do?
What would you change?
How long do you think that would last before you changed back to your old ways?
Rehoboam didn’t change. If anything he got worse.
But he didn’t have the holy spirit, and you do.
You can change. It’s definitely possible.
But you still have to want it. You have to choose it, every day.
Want it?

If Yahweh set you up as king of a country, how would you run it?
What would you do to make sure you didn’t turn away from Yahweh like so many of the Jewish kings?
Are you being discipled by anyone? If not, I would really recommend you do. Build a friendship with an older Christian in church and hang out with them, asking spiritual and life questions.

Do you think Yahweh will ever reach the point with the church where he shouts, “Enough!” and disciplines us somehow?