2BC BIBLE STUDY NOTES
Wednesday in the Word
Second Baptist Church
May 10, 2023
2nd Chronicles Chapter 32:24 through Chapter 33:13
Recap: Last week we studied how King Hezekiah was able to trust God for the deliverance of his people from the hands of King Sennacherib. God gave them a victory over the vast army that came to attack them. After the victory, many came from far and wide to offer tribute to the Victorious King Hezekiah. Hezekiah had to trust the Lord fully to get the victory. What Hezekiah did was a perfect example of what to do to prevent the enemy’s success. Hezekiah did what he could do, and he let God do the rest. In our study last week, the enemy was easy to identify, and his intentions were clear. Hezekiah didn’t need to ask God if the Assyrians had good intentions or not. It was clear they came to defeat the Israelites. But how many of you know that the enemy doesn’t always appear like the enemy. This is why it is important to constantly be in prayer and listen to the Holy Spirit. Prior the victory that God had given Hezekiah, he didn’t have much because his father lost it all by being disobedient to the Lord. Now Hezekiah is wealthy and powerful. These two things will blind him to the enemy disguised as a friendly group of people.
Verses 24-26. This section about Hezekiah’s illness happened while they were being harassed by the Assyrians (so we went back in time a bit). We know this from Isaiah 38 which gives more details on sickness and miracles. From Isaiah 38 we know that God sends the Prophet Isaiah to the king to let him know he would not recover from the illness and to get his house in order. Hezekiah cries out to the Lord and the Lord responds and informs Isaiah to go back and let the king know he will live 15 more years. Hezekiah ask for a sign and the Lord tells the prophet that the shadow of the sundial would move in reverse ten steps. Initially Hezekiah didn’t worship God like he should have for such a wonder blessing. God rebukes him and he quickly repents.
Verses 27-31. Here is the second test for Hezekiah. With the wealth that he obtained after the mighty deliverance God gave them from the Assyrians, Hezekiah accumulated all sorts of riches, spices, precious stones, and many more valuables. He built many buildings to hold the grain and wine. He built cities and acquired a great number of livestock. He even made it possible for the city to have a fresh water supply. This tunnel was an amazing engineering feat. He built an aqueduct to insure fresh water inside the city walls even during sieges. It was more than 650 yards long through solid rock, begun on each end and meeting in the middle. The text says he succeeded in everything he put his hand to. He was super wealthy. People often forget to pray and talk to God when they have riches and no material needs, but most of us know that is the time to pray more. The news of Hezekiah’s wealth traveled all the way to Babylon. A group of ambassadors from Babylon came to meet the king, and see the king’s wealth. He was flattered by the visit of the ambassadors from this up-and-coming world power, and showed them the riches of the kingdom — riches which they later took by siege and war. When the enemy was obviously aggressive and antagonistic (i.e., Sennacherib) Hezekiah was ready and did everything to prevent a breach of the wall. When the enemy chose flattery, Hezekiah rolled out the red carpet. In Isaiah 39, the prophet Isaiah rebukes Hezekiah for letting the envoy from Babylon see all the kingdom’s wealth. Hezekiah was quick to show off his wealth, but failed to mention how God was the one who defeated Sennacherib.
Verses 32-33. Hezekiah started out as a godly king, and overall, his reign was one of outstanding godliness. Yet his beginning was much better than his end; Hezekiah did not finish well. God gave Hezekiah the gift of 15 more years of life (2 Kings 20:6), but the added years were wasted on looking at his wealth and not his God. He rested in the tombs of the kings. “Hezekiah was buried on the sloping hill where the tombs of David’s descendants were cut (2 Chronicles 32:33). This was because the royal burial caves north of the city were full by this time and no Judean king was buried in the caves there.
Chapter 34. Verses 1-9. After the death of King Hezekiah, his son Manasseh became king at 12 years old and reigned for 55 years. He was born in the last fifteen years of Hezekiah’s life, the additional fifteen years that Hezekiah prayed for (2 Kings 20:6). Those additional fifteen years brought Judah one of its worst kings. He started out as king in a bad way. He decided to follow the evil practices of evil nations near them. Manasseh imitated the sins of both the Canaanites and the Israelites of the northern kingdom (2 Kings 16:3). Since God brought judgment on these groups for their sin, casting them out of their land, then similar judgment against an unrepentant Judah should be expected. He rebuilt the high places that his father had destroyed. He erected pagan idols and altars for Asherah and Baal. He worshipped the starry hosts and built pagan altars in the holy temple and in the courts of the temple. He practiced witchcraft and consulted with psychics and people who practiced weird pagan rituals. He even sacrificed his own children to the pagan gods.
Verses 10-11. Manasseh seduced Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem to do more evil than the nations whom the LORD had destroyed: 2 Kings 21:9 tells us what the attitude of the people was: they paid no attention. This described the basic attitude of the people of Judah during the 55-year reign of Manasseh. They paid no attention to the generous promises of God, promising protection to His obedient people. The protection of the Lord was lifted, and the Babylonians arrived and attacked the city and carried off the king and put him in jail in Babylon.
Verses 12-13. In his distress, Manasseh called out to the Lord. Something he didn’t do for a while. Manasseh was in a prison of his own doing. His sin brought the wrath of God on him and his people. He cried out to God, and the Lord heard his cry. He was allowed to return to Jerusalem. Upon his return he repented and rebuilt the city. He built a wall: Before he was humbled and repentant, Manasseh didn’t care very much for the defense of Judah and Jerusalem. Now, with a godly perspective, he cared deeply about the security of God’s people and the kingdom of Judah. He restored the Lord’s house and removed the idols from the temple. He urged the people to return to the worship of the true and Living God. He tore down some of the high palaces. This reminds us of the distinction between two different kinds of high places. Some were altars to pagan idols; others were unauthorized altars to the true God. Manasseh stopped all the pagan worship in Judah, but unauthorized (that is, outside the temple) worship of the God of Israel continued. His later years were far better than his former years. He is a lesson that it’s never too late to tum to God.
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