Day 358: 2 Chronicles 9-12 | Read The Bible In A Year | Bible Study Commentary by Dr. Manny Arango

We're a couple days away from the end of our reading plan, which means you're about to be a part of the 6% of Christians that have actually read the entire Bible cover to cover. So stay tuned until the very end of this episode to hear about something special that we have planned just for you. Bible nerds, let's dive in to today's episode. Family, welcome to day 358. We are in 2nd Chronicles, chapters 9 through 12. Really, really, really exciting chapters. If you ask me, I enjoyed today's reading thoroughly. And I will admit, I don't always enjoy each day's reading the same, no guilt if you feel the same way, no judgment. But today's reading was action-packed, for real. Like, just narrative moving. And so, if you haven't done the reading, how about you stop the video, pause the audio, go get the reading done, okay? I would not describe today's reading as difficult reading or hard reading. There are a lot of details that you probably may have missed, and I'm going to try to highlight those details because Ezra, yeah, Ezra Slick, you know? Like, Ezra's a little petty. Like, Ezra's a little petty. Ezra's going to just throw stuff in there. Like, you know, just like some Slick comments here and there. He's a little passive aggressive. Ezra's a little passive aggressive. Not typically the energy, the frequency, I tune my radio to, but you know,

we'll give you a pass, Ezra. A little petty, you know what I'm saying? He's a little 50 cent petty. Anyway, I am going to do my best job to give you context clues, nerdy nuggets, and a timeless truth that I think will help to build and edify your soul and your spirit. So if you haven't done the reading, stop the video, pause the audio for everybody else. Let's dive in. All right, big, big, big, 30 foot idea for today's reading is that today's reading is a book ended by two Gentile political leaders, okay? Sheba, okay? Female, the queen of Sheba and Shaishak, okay? The Egyptian Pharaoh. You are supposed to read chapters nine, 10, 11, and 12 together as a unit. Now it doesn't always work that way. Like on the plan, we don't always split it up perfect where there's a chunk of reading that should be read kind of together, but it worked out that way today for day 358. So our reading today is book ended by Sheba and Shaishak. Now what you'll realize is that they are polar opposites. They are engaging with Israel in very, very, very different ways, okay? The queen of Sheba is either from Yemen or Ethiopia. There's all kinds of theories and options for where this woman is from,

like who the historical figure would have been. The Egyptian Pharaoh, his name is Shaishak. This Egyptian Pharaoh, actually there's records of his raids on Judah and Egyptian records, which is really, really cool. He's just always cool when there are archeological digs in the secular or non-sacred world, non-sacred, like biblical world that back up what's happening in the Bible. There's actually, this is actually recorded in Egypt on a wall in the Karnak Temple, okay? Karnak Temple, which actually says that this exact Pharaoh raided up as far as Phoenicia in many towns of Israel. Also many places, place names of Judah are mentioned in the list, which correlate with the history of the raid that we have here. And the big, huge juxtaposition that you're supposed to see is that when Israel prioritize the temple, when they like sacrifice and worship and follow the festivals and they're obedient, they'll be wealthy. And that wealth or that excellence, remember we said that the book of second chronicles is going from excellence to exile. You're literally seeing that from chapters nine to 12. The excellence is designed to get the attention of the nations and to cause the nations to come to Israel and need to find out the secret. What's the secret? What makes you guys so successful?

Which is then the Queen of Sheba is in awe of Solomon's wisdom, Solomon's wealth, the excellence of Solomon's palace, which then makes her an awe of God. And so that's the ideal. The Israel is supposed to be a blessing to the nations. And we see that in the story of the Queen of Sheba. Then Shai-Shak is the exact opposite, okay? If we go all the way to chapter 12, it literally tells us that Shai-Shak is raised up by God as punishment, okay? It says this verse five. Therefore, I now abandon you to shot check. You've abandoned me. Therefore, hey, I'm now gonna abandon you to foreign Gentile rulers coming and taking advantage of you. Okay, so you can see just in one from Solomon to his son, Raya Bohm. I always have to check is it's Jeroboam that's in the north and Raya Bohm that's in the south. So Raya Bohm is Solomon's son. And you can see just from one generation to the next how fast things shift. And Ezra's gonna give a sly, low pass, aggressive reason as to why this shifted. But it's a detail and you could drive right past it and miss it. You kind of have to read slow and read. You can't read distracted in order to find these details. But all right, from Shiba to Shai-Shat.

Okay, that's kind of the 30,000 foot idea. And what's gonna happen, the other big thing that's happening is that Israel's gonna disappear. Okay, second chronicles, chapter six, verse five and six. So this is back in yesterday's reading, chapter six, verses five and six is gonna say this, that obviously that it's David's desire, it's David's plans, it's Solomon who executes it. But Ezra the chronicler wants to make it really, really clear whose choice Jerusalem, David's line, the southern kingdom, whose choice that really is. So chapter six, verse five and six, it says this, since the day I brought my people out of Egypt, I have not chosen a city in any tribe of Israel to have a temple built so that my name might be there, nor have I chosen anyone to be ruler over my people Israel. But now, I, Yahweh, I have chosen Jerusalem for my name to be there and I have chosen David to rule my people Israel. So Ezra's gonna make it really clear. God has chosen David as the king, which means his line, which means heirs of his house and Jerusalem, which means the temple. So that's Yahweh's choice. It's not David's politicking, it's not any political propaganda, this is Yahweh's choice. And if the north is gonna rebel against Yahweh's choice, then they cease to be Israel and we're gonna see that. Okay, so let's transition into our nerdy nuggets. Don't skip, don't skip.

Hey, if you are in the homestretch of reading your Bible, first of all, I'm so proud of you. Second, you probably know this, but you're my kind of people. I really enjoy hanging out with Bible nerds. So I've got exciting news for you and it's called the 6% Club. For anyone that has finished their entire Bible in a calendar year, we have exclusive content, newsletters, giveaways, live events. Oh yeah, live events, baby, and more all throughout the year. You can find out about all of that. If you go to the bibledepartment.com/club to officially join the 6% Club. Why don't we call the 6% Club? 'Cause only 6% of Christians have actually read their entire Bible cover to cover. And every year, Bible nerds, like you, finish our Bible reading plan and we get asked, what's next? Well, we've got an answer and you don't want to miss out. So head over to the bibledepartment.com/club or click the link in the description to get access. We'll see you in the club. Let's go. And I'll kind of walk us through each chapter, okay? Second Chronicles chapter nine versus one through 12. We get the story of the Queen of Shiva. This is the ideal. We've already talked about this at length. And then second Chronicles chapter 10,

we're gonna get the formal split. Now, the content that we're gonna find in Chronicles is very different than what we find in Kings. What we find with the prophetic account is once the kingdom splits, there are two big differences, okay? Once the kingdom splits, it's actually gonna give blame on both sides. Like this, it takes two to tango. And so there's gonna be blame for the North and blame for the South, okay? But not really in Chronicles. In Chronicles, the North is just wrong, okay? You've rejected what God has chosen. God chose David, God chose Jerusalem. And obviously, maybe this is not obvious. Jerusalem is not in the North, okay? And the temple is in Jerusalem. So if Jerusalem is in the South, the temple is in the South and David's heirs or the kings after David are all in the South, if the North has rejected all of that, then that means you have to create their own temple, they have to create their own Messiah, which then means they are in full-blown religious rebellion. So this is no longer just political. This is completely religious. is happening up in the north because the prophetic heart of God is to win his lost sheep back, okay? That's not just a parable that Jesus tells in the New Testament, that's not like the father's heart.

It's the father in the Old Testament who's trying to win his lost sheep, okay? So there's a massive focus in Kings, a prophetic history of trying to win those 10 lost tribes up in the north. But in Chronicles, nah, Ezra's petty. Ezra is 50 cent making a ditty documentary, okay? Ezra is like, noop, noop, we don't care. If y'all have rejected God's choice of David's lineage and the temple and Jerusalem, we don't know y'all who, new number, who this? Like y'all are cut off, okay? So, Israel is gonna disappear, okay? As Kings is a prophetic focused book, the stories of both kingdoms are equally important, okay? If you remember when we were in Kings, it would be like the Northern Kingdom, Southern Kingdom, Northern Kingdom, Southern Kingdom, Northern Kingdom, Southern Kingdom. It was actually kinda hard to keep track of. Both kingdoms are equally important, okay? If you're telling the story from the prophetic lens or prophetic history, equally important as it is the story of both kingdoms breaking the covenant with Yahweh despite his attempts to draw them back, which is the reason why you get so much space for Elijah and Elijah's ministry as in those years Israel is further away from Yahweh than Judah. So, like the law sheet parable, okay?

Yahweh spends most of his time and energy trying to get Israel back, Israel being the Northern Kingdom, okay? But chronicles is not history by a prophet, but history by a priest. Ezra's focus is on the temple, the festivals, the priesthood and the Levites, Jerusalem. And of course, the one who ties it all together in one place, David, the Northern tribes abandoned all these. They rejected the house of David and so rejected the house of Yahweh and the priests, Levites, festivals that are attached to it. And so, of course, they also rejected Jerusalem in the eyes, therefore, of the chronicler, Ezra, they have ceased to be Israel. They are done being Israel, okay? Actually, there's a little nerdy nugget in second chronicles, chapter 12, verse one. Reabom, Solomon's son is gonna actually lead the southern kingdom of Judah in rebellion, okay? It says this in chapter 12, verse one, which is why Shaishak is actually gonna be allowed to oppress them, okay? It says this, after Reabom's position as king was established and he had become strong, he and all Israel with him abandoned the law of the Lord. Okay, when the Bible says all Israel here, who is it talking about? It's only talking about Judah. But now for Ezra, the actual nation of Israel in the north is no longer Israel.

They have ceased to be Israel. So this idea that there's a true Israel and people who are only ethnically Israel is not only a New Testament idea. Paul is gonna run with that idea. Paul is gonna run with the idea that to be truly Israel means to be circumcised, not a flesh but to be circumcised in your heart. It's to accept Jesus as Messiah. It's to walk in the New Covenant. That's what it means to be true Israel. So there's already this idea that ethnic Israel is not enough, that it is not just enough to be of one of the 12 tribes, that being a true Israelite means being part of the remnant. Okay, and obviously this is an important idea for Ezra. This is a vitally important idea. Like Ezra needs this to be an idea and he needs to find historical grounds and precedent for this idea. Okay, so from this point then, the Northern Kingdom is not treated as Israel. Even if it is named Israel, doesn't matter if it's named Israel, it's not considered to be Israel. But as a foreign nation, the part they play in the story is a negative one, a threat in the North just like Assyria. If they reject Yahweh's choice, they reject Yahweh, and so are no longer relevant to the story

and they are excluded, that is it. So whereas Kings is gonna go back and forth, back and forth, back and forth, once we hit the split in 2 Chronicles chapter 10, that is it. We're not gonna hear about the North anymore. And we're definitely not gonna hear about the North as if it's like the other half of Israel. No, it's a foreign kingdom. Y'all are not Israel anymore. Israel now is only Judah 'cause only Judah, Insemian and Benjamin, and Levi, so there's actually four tribes in the South. All the Levites, chapter 11 verse 14 and 15, all the Levites are gonna leave the Northern areas. So the North don't even have Levites. So anything that they're doing from a religious standpoint is wrong, like it's off. This is so relevant during the time of Jesus, like fast forward, ah, fast forward, 800, 900 years, like the woman in Samaria is the North. She's still kind of like, now where should we worship? Like Jews say that the only place of worship is down South, but I don't know, like this debate starts right here. And by the time Jesus is alive, the Samaritan woman is still trying to figure out who's right, all right? As in terms of Kings equal parties bear the blame. Chronicles, this is not 50/50.

Nope, it's y'all's fault for leaving. And that is it. That is the perspective of Chronicles. If they reject Yahweh's toys, they reject Yahweh and are no longer relevant to the story, and they will be excluded from this point on. Remember also, the original audience are the Jews who ever turn from exile, okay? Those of Judah and some friends, Judah survived because of their loyalty. Israel was no more because of their rejection. As Ezra is resetting the nation around the Torah, temple, Jerusalem, festivals, et cetera, once more than Judah's story is the only one that should be told. Be like these great kings who serve the house of Yahweh and you will survive and flourish again. That is what Ezra's trying to communicate to his audience. And he is going to shape the content of history to speak to his present audience. Okay, is that in Chronicles chapter 12, verse 13, I'm gonna show you where it gets shady, okay? I'll show you the exact verse because Rehoboam is gonna wall out and Rehoboam walling out is going to equal that he is just gonna be a king that a band of the law of the Lord and he the bad king, that's it. This is so sad, by the way, before I get into how, you know,

what the little petty line is in the Second Chronicles 12, it says, "When Shoshack King of Egypt attacked the Jerusalem," this is chapter 12, verse nine. He carried off the treasures of the temple. You remember how like full of joy David was and how like all the work that Solomon put into this temple and in one generation, it's gone. Literally, just think like if Solomon is the one who's writing Ecclesiastes, Solomon literally is writing wisdom that's like, yeah, you could acquire wealth, but then you have to leave it to your sons and your son could be an idiot and your son could squander everything that you got. And that's exactly what's happening. Okay, treasures of the temple of the Lord and the treasures of the royal palace, he took everything. Pharaoh Shoshack took everything, including the gold shields Solomon had made. So King Rehobo made bronze shields to replace them and assign these to the commanders of the guard on duty at the entrance of the royal palace. He can't afford more gold shields, so he gets bronze ones. That tells you everything you need to know right there. Solomon was a gold level leader. His son is a broad level leader. And man, that is sad. And Ezra, Mr. Petty is gonna give us a reason why.

Verse 13, it says this, "King Rehoboam established himself firmly in Jerusalem and continued as king. He was 41 years old when he became king and he reigns 17 years in Jerusalem, the city of the Lord had chosen." This is important, the Lord had chosen. Not the city that David had chosen. It was the city of the Lord had chosen. Out of all the tribes of Israel in which to put his name, his mother's name was Namah. Yeah, Namah, she was in Ammonite. He did evil because he had not set his heart on seeking the Lord. His mother's name was Namah and she was in Ammonite. Ezra is petty, Ezra is petty. What is Ezra doing in his own time period? He's making men who are married to foreign women divorce those women. So Ezra who's chronicling the history of the kings of Judah is essentially saying, David was a great king, Solomon, solid king, but Solomon, he married in Ammonite, had a kid in these half-bloods, man. His mama probably raised him to be an idol worshipper. And because he wasn't fully devoted to Yahweh, there went the kingdom. That easy. And that's why he shouldn't marry foreign women.

That easy. Yeah, Ezra just sneaks that right in there. Ezra, Ezra is slick, okay? So there's so many options on who to blame. I'll actually read this really good 'cause it was in my notes. In this version of Chronicles, the blame for the split is given more to the Northern. The reality is, of course, the split had many causes, some deeply historical ones going all the way back to Jacob's wives and their children Solomon was to blame Raya bone was to blame consequences of the failed conquest was to blame consequences of Leah and Rachel's white over their husband was to blame consequences of the way Jacob stole and tricked his way into the birthright in a blessing was to blame the Civil War after Saul's death was to blame the rebellious the rebellions against David rule was to blame Raya bone was to blame the northern tribes were to blame it is impossible to say who had the greatest blame in such a complex way web or weave of consequences that have been going on since the patriarchs so again, it is not Ezra's intention to simply shift blame or to hide the blame no, rather he's focusing on one blame that it is most closely associated with the story he's telling Okay, in the same way, King's focus is mostly on the choice of Solomon Raya bone, not to deny the rest, but when you are telling a story of the way Kings react to covenants, then focusing on Kings makes sense. But when you're telling a story about a temple, the way that Ezra tells his version makes sense to the focus is on the northern tribes rejection of the house of David. And so all that is connected to it. So again, it's not about correct or incorrect. It's about complete both accounts, whether it's Kings, aka the profit account or chronicles, aka the priest account are giving different perspectives on the same thing. And the reality is that if I hold this book up, guess what, I can't see what you can see. I'm seeing words, but you're seeing a cover. And now, I'm not seeing what you're seeing. And that's what we have with Kings of Chronicles. The prophets are going to see it from their perspective and the priest is going to see it from their perspective and thanks be to God that we have both, we get to see both perspectives. All right, our timeless truth for the day, pretty simple. It comes out of 2 Chronicles chapter 10 verses 6 through 11. This is when Raya Bohm, Solomon's son has a choice to make. He can consult elders and the elders that he consults, actually gives him wise counsel. They are right. Hey, your dad, you know, your dad took a lot of resources from the north. You should probably lighten up. But instead, he goes to young men and allows young, you know, zealous guys to give him wisdom instead of the old guys. And you know what? And I've tried in my life to make sure that I'm incorporating multi-generational wisdom. There are some scenarios where the advice of my peers is great advice. But then there are times where you just got to ask somebody who's in their 70s in their 80s, probably, you know, the marriage therapists that have helped me and my wife, Tia the most, have been married for 50 years. They're in their 80s. And there are some some things that my friends, they've given me good counsel on. But some of the best advice I got was from people who don't have the energy anymore, but they got a lot of wisdom. And my timeless truth today is that you should seek wise counsel from some people who have just been around for a long time. I'm not saying that age automatically equals wisdom. However, if you can find someone with age and wisdom, you have found someone that you should really hang on to for dear life. And that's not just true for Raya Balm. That's true for you. That's true for me. It's a timeless truth. Tomorrow we've got day 359. We're going to be in second Chronicles chapters 13 through 16. It's going to be amazing. I can't wait to go through it with you. I'll be right here same time, same place. Love you. I'm so proud of you. See you tomorrow. Peace. Thanks so much for joining us on the Bible department podcast. Hey, we're almost there. I bet you can see the light at the end of the tunnel. We're towards the end of the year and I'm so proud of you.

If this episode and this year of reading through the Bible was helpful, how about you invite a friend to join you on the journey next year? To learn more about the show, head to the Bible department.com and to learn more about the 6% club, make sure you go to the Bible department.com/club. We'll see you right back here tomorrow.