Bible Commentaries

EXPOSITION

This chapter of nine verses is paralleled by the seven verses of 2 Kings 15:32-38. It consists of personal particulars respecting Jotham (2 Kings 15:1, 2 Kings 15:2); his building and his wars (2 Kings 15:3-6); a reference to his further doings (2 Kings 15:7); an exact repetition of a part of the first verse (2 Kings 15:8); his death, burial, and. successor (2 Kings 15:9).

2 Chronicles 27:1

Jerushah. This name in the parallel is spelt with a final aleph instead of he. Nothing else is known of Jerushah, nor of her father Zadok.

2 Chronicles 27:2

Howbeit. This word purports to render the Hebrew רַק, which might find a more telling reproduction in such a phrase as "and moreover." It has been said, wherein his father did right, so did he; and to his clear advantage, where his father went wrong, he did not. The people did yet corruptly. The parallel, in its verse 35, specifies in what this consisted, viz. that they continued the high places, burning incense and sacrificing at them. The early chapters of Isaiah depict forcibly the extent of this national apostasy, and the heinous offensiveness of it in the Divine sight.

2 Chronicles 27:3

The high gate. In the parallel, rendered in the Authorized Version the "higher" gate, the Hebrew ( חָעֶלְיוֹן) being the same in both places. The Revised Version shows "upper gate" in both places. It was probably the gate which led from the palace to the temple's outer court (see 2 Chronicles 23:20, and note there). On the wall of Ophel; Hebrew, הָעפֶל; i.e. the ophel, which may be Englished "the swelling ground." It was the extreme south end of the spur which gradually narrowed southward, and which was the continuation of the Bezetha hill, bounded by the brook Kedron on the east, and the Tyropceon on the west. This extreme south part called the Ophel sank into the bounding valleys to the Kedron precipitously and to the Tyropeon gradually. Pp. 328-335 of Condor's 'Handbook' (2nd edit.), and specially pp. 332-334, well repay a thorough study. A ditch was cut across the narrowest part of the ridge, which separated the temple hill itself from the Bezetha hill. In these parts fortifications were built, and no doubt to such it is our text calls attention.

2 Chronicles 27:4

The mountains of Judah; Hebrew, בְּהַר; Revised Version, hill country of Judah, the Hebrew text being in the singular number (compare particularly Joshua 9:1, where the Har is evidently placed in contrast with the Shefelah). Castles; Hebrew, בִּירָנִיּוֹת (so 2 Chronicles 17:12). The meaning is that he built forts (Isaiah 2:15; Hosea 8:14).

2 Chronicles 27:5

He fought … the King of the Ammonites. No allusion is made to the matter of this verse in the parallel, which contains a statement of the Syrian Rezin's attack or threatened invasion of Judah; as well as Pekah's, son of Remaliah King of Israel. Of the Ammonites' defeat by Uzziah we have just heard (foregoing chapter, 2 Chronicles 27:8). A general statement is all that is made there of the gifts or tribute, they then had to pay. The present tribute was a heavy payment, and enforced for three, years. The "wheat" and "barley," in which payment was largely made bespeak the fertile arable quality of the Ammonite land, and this is noticed by travellers to the present day.

2 Chronicles 27:6

The virtue of the reflection of this verse is apparent. Prepared; Hebrew, הֵכִין; Revised Version, ordered; with some others (such as "set straight," etc.), a good rendering in keeping with other Old Testament renderings of words betokening moral habitude.

2 Chronicles 27:7

All his wars (see note on 2 Chronicles 27:5, and parallel, verse 37). The book of the kings of Israel and Judah. Note carefully the parallel, verse 36, and also 2 Chronicles 27:6 of same chapter, entries of Judah kings, and comp. peps. 11, 15, 21, 26, 31 of same chapter. (2 Kings 15:1-38.), entries of Israel kings.

2 Chronicles 27:8

This verse is identical with so much of 2 Chronicles 27:1 as has to do with same subject; that it is no mere careless repeated insertion, however, is evidenced by the name Jotham in that verse, in the place occupied by was in this verse.

HOMILETICS

2 Chronicles 27:1-9

The blameless reign of a son who followed all that was good in a father's example, and took warning of what was wrong in it.

The preacher may take occasion, from the apparently scant contents of this chapter, to enlarge on the general subject of example as a force in human life, pointing out its strong points and its weaker side; what is requisite to give it a steady and equable influence, and how there is only one perfect Example—an Example always and in all things and by all worthy to be followed. Point may be given to the subject, as based on this chapter, by observing how it reminds us that—

I. NO HUMAN EXAMPLE CAN BE WORTHY TO BE FOLLOWED AND COPIED IN EVERY RESPECT. The most filial son may not look to the wisest, kindest, and most religious father as an absolutely safe guide and model in everything; and so, through the whole range and operation of the relationships, and the influences in them for good even, which affect our character and are prone to dominate our life.

II. THE EXAMPLES OF THOSE WHOM WE BEST LOVE—OF GREAT MEN, OF THE SAINTLIEST-KNOWN CHARACTERS, OF THOSE WHOM WE DESERVEDLY ADMIRE AND VENERATE—MUST NOT BE MADE ANY SLAVISH MODEL, MUCH LESS PERVERTED INTO AN IDOLATROUS ONE. Nay, how very common it is, in such cases, to see that errors, defects, peculiarities, mannerisms, are what are copied first, while the weightier qualities and objects of imitation are overlooked! As if we imitate perfectly our human model, much is still wanting of Divine perfection, and which in our measure it is quite possible to incorporate; so, if we imitate slavishly, we are putting in what had better be left cut, and are often caught putting it in, even at the expense of omitting the worthier things.

III. HUMAN EXAMPLE GIVES THE HELP OF WARMTH, SYMPATHY, AND AN ENCOURAGING INDUCEMENT TO ATTEMPT WHAT WE KNOW FROM IT THAT OTHERS HAVE DONE OR ATTAINED. It offers our thought and our moral nature a stepping-stone; it leads us on by the analogy to take the advantage of higher endeavour and of a higher model.

IV. FOR THE DISCRIMINATION ABSOLUTELY NEEDED, WHEN WE ARE FOLLOWING HUMAN EXAMPLES, SINCERE ENDEAVOUR, CONSCIENTIOUS THOUGHT, AND HUMBLE PRAYER WILL DO VERY MUCH TO FIT US. As in so much else these three moderating and directing forces reap God's blessing and gain safe practical results, so assuredly they will here, in what is a delicate grace to bloom and flourish in any circumstances, viz. that of discrimination. Jotham was made wise in this respect above many others, and his brief but very expressive and unique biography is therefore written without one single reproach or blot.

HOMILIES BY W. CLARKSON

2 Chronicles 27:1, 2 Chronicles 27:2

Uzziah and Jotham, father and son.

From the slight materials we have here, and those still more scanty in the Book of Kings, we may glean—

I. THAT THE BEST PART OF UZZIAH'S FORTUNE WAS IN HIS FATHERHOOD. He did, indeed, enjoy a very good estate; the "lines fell to him in pleasant places, and he had a goodly heritage." He had the highest position in the land, power, wealth, a large and noble sphere for great natural ability and honourable ambition (2 Chronicles 26:6-15). But more precious than all of these to the king's heart, we may be sure, was the possession of a true, loyal, godly son and successor. That which touches us in our home affections either stirs within us the deepest and purest joy or awakens the profoundest and most poignant grief. An unworthy son, a "thankless child," an heir who is likely to overturn all that we have laboriously built up, will make the very sweetest enjoyments and the fairest earthly possessions to lose ill their charm and be of no account to us. But such a son as Jotham is to his father the crown of prosperity and the comfort of adversity. From royal cares the king goes home to find, in conjugal and in filial affection, a contentment and a peace, an exhilaration and a joy, which no glittering gewgaws and no obsequious attentions are able to command. We do not know how highly Uzziah prized the virtue and the attachment of his son during his earlier and happier years, but we may be well assured that, when the hand of God was upon him, and he was separated from the society of men, he found in Jotham's regency and in his filial sympathy a priceless mitigation to his loss, an invaluable treasure in his loneliness and his decline. Parents may think that their professional or household duties make it impossible for them to afford time for the teaching and training of their children, for the culture of their Christian character; but they ought to know that, whatever their other claims may be, they cannot afford to neglect their parental duty. If they do neglect it, they will leave undone that which will make them immeasurably poorer than they might become a few years further on.

II. THAT THE BEST PART OF JOTHAM'S SUCCESSION WAS HIS FATHER'S CHARACTER. He inherited great things from his father, the king; but from his father, the servant of Jehovah, he gained one that outweighed them all—the influence for good of a godly man. He "did what was right … according to all that his father did." It was very largely, indeed, to his father's example that he owed his own character for piety and purity. And what is there in the most splendid surroundings, or in the most attractive positions, that is to be compared with that? They will perish, but that will endure; they will soon lose their charm, but it will always he precious beyond all price; they are relatively, but that is intrinsically and eternally, valuable. We may not have to thank our parents for a fortune or a dowry—it matters little; we may have to thank them for a bright and beautiful example—that matters much, indeed everything.

III. THAT JOTHAM LEARNT THE LESSON WHICH THE DIVINE FATHER TAUGHT, "Howbeit he entered not [profanely and intrusively] into the temple of the Lord." God rebuked his father, Uzziah, for this flagrant transgression, rebuking at the same time his pride of heart, his spiritual decline (see homily on 2 Chronicles 26:16-21, "A clouded close"). Doubtless Uzziah himself understood the meaning of that heavy blow, and bowed his heart beneath it; he "was in subjection to the Father of spirits, and lived." In that lingering death of leprosy he found life in penitence and in return to God. Jotham, his son, also learnt the lesson; and, instead of giving way to haughtiness of heart in the days when he was "mighty" (2 Chronicles 27:6), he retained his integrity before the Lord.

1. We may not plead our father's deficiencies, excesses, or disobediences as an excuse for our own. If they erred or sinned, they also suffered for their error, for their guilt. And their experience should be a warning which we should heed, and not an example which we foolishly follow.

2. We should give God heartfelt thanks for all the gracious influences which come to us in our home-life, and regard them as of the very best gifts that come from his Divine hand.

3. We should have it as a sacred and honourable ambition to confirm (and not to destroy) the work of those who went before us. If we do thus live, our fathers will be living on in us and through us, and if we cannot immortalize their name, we can perpetuate their influence.

4. We may hope that such filial devotedness will be rewarded by parental rejoicing in those whom we shall leave behind, to whom we shall commit the fruit of our labour.—C.

2 Chronicles 27:1-9

Features of an honourable life: Jotham.

But little of Jotham's reign is recorded in Scripture, and his name is seldom on our lips. But he was a man of worth and wisdom; and, considering the comparative brevity of his life, we may say that he contributed much to his country. We learn from the account in the Second Book of Kings (2 Kings 15:5)—

I. THAT HE SERVED A USEFUL APPRENTICESHIP. We find that, for some time during his father's illness, he, "the king's son, was over the house, judging the people of the land." This was an admirable arrangement for the country and for the young prince; for it had the advantage (which the son could not fail to obtain) of the experience of Uzziah; and he was learning the great art of ruling, while his responsibility was shared by one much wiser and stronger than he. It is an excellent thing for the you-,g, in every sphere, to be placed where they can be gathering wisdom before they carry the heavy burden of a weighty responsibility.

II. THAT HE FOLLOWED IN THE FOOTSTEPS OF A WISE AND GOOD MAN. (2 Chronicles 27:2.) (See previous homily on "Uzziah and Jotham, father and son.")

III. THAT HE WORKED IN A WISE DIRECTION—FROM WITHIN OUTWARD. First, "he built the high gate" of the temple (2 Chronicles 27:3); that was beginning at the very centre, at "the house of the Lord," which was morally, if not geographically, the central spot in the kingdom. Then he made some additions to the wall of Jerusalem (2 Chronicles 27:3). Then, moving outward, he built fortified cities in the mountains, and castles in the forests of Judah. And. then, going further afield, he warred with Ammon, and compelled it to pay tribute (2 Chronicles 27:5). This is the true order. Let solicitude and activity begin at the centre; let them begin at the very centre—at a man's own heart and character; let them move outward—to those in the home circle, to the kindred, to the Church; and then to those still further away—to fellow-countrymen, to fellow-men everywhere. A circumscribed activity is altogether a mistake; but we must begin with ourselves, becoming right at heart, and then we may and should move outward in our sympathies and our endeavours.

IV. THAT HE ATTAINED GREAT POWER BY MAINTAINING HIS GODLY CHARACTER. (2 Chronicles 27:6.) (See succeeding homily.)

V. THAT HIS LIFE WAS DARKENED BY MANY SHADOWS AS WELL AS BRIGHTENED BY MANY BLESSINGS.

1. He could not effect all the reforms he would have liked to carry out, and he had to witness some evil-doings which must have grieved his spirit. "The people did yet corruptly" (2 Chronicles 27:2).

2. Foreign invasion began to threaten the kingdom (1 Kings 15:1-34 :37).

3. He found himself sick unto death at an age (forty-one) when he might have expected to do great things, and to be much to the people whom he ruled. It was an honourable and useful life that Jotham lived; one to be remembered and to be followed in its salient features. Like him

2 Chronicles 27:6

The accumulation of spiritual power.

"So Jotham became mighty, because he prepared his ways before the Lord his God;" or, because "he made his ways firm before Jahveh." Whatever may be the exact rendering of the passage, and whatever may be the precise shade of thought intended to be conveyed, it is clear that Jotham's might or his strength in the kingdom is referred to his continuance in the service of the Lord. And thence we gain the truth that true power is to be sought and found in permanent piety, in walking with an unfaltering step in the ways of Divine wisdom and of human obedience. Power of the truest and highest kind is not the endowment of a moment; it is not a suddenly acquired possession; it is a growth, an accumulation; it is the "long result ' of a faithful service. It is—

I. THE COMBINATION OF MANY CHRISTIAN VIRTUES. AS the "mighty" swordsman is the man who is strong at all points of attack and defence; as the "mighty" speaker is he who has all possible qualifications for interesting, convincing, and persuading men; so the "mighty" man of God is he who has acquired all the various excellences which we are able to secure. "Giving all diligence," we are" to add to our faith virtue; and to virtue knowledge; and to knowledge temperance," etc. (2 Peter 1:5, 2 Peter 1:6). "Whatsoever things are true, honest, just, pure, lovely, and of good report," we are to think upon and, of course, to pursue and to acquire. We are to "build ourselves up on our holy faith." And building up is a work that is not done in a day nor in a year. It is a Work of time. And the strong character thus formed is the accumulated result of many spiritual activities, protracted over many years.

II. THE WORK OF TIME IN MANY PARTICULARS. No man can be a mighty man, in a spiritual sense, who is not:

1. A large possessor of Divine wisdom. A superficial. knowledge of Divine truth may serve for a while in simpler and subordinate positions; but he who occupies an important post, to which large responsibilities and delicate duties belong, must be furnished with a large measure of spiritual sagacity. And this can only be gained by serving the Lord for many years and in many ways. It is the acquisition of one whose "ways have been firm before Jehovah;" who has been living before God, and learning of him from year to year, from period to period.

2. A man of much self-command. A hasty or impulsive man is necessarily a weak man. Only those who can control themselves can command their fellows or direct affairs. Patience, self-possession, the ruling of our own spirit—this is an essential condition of all real strength; and this, again, is the work of long-continued struggle and discipline. It is the harvest of strenuous effort and of earnest prayer; it is a steady, spiritual accumulation.

3. One that has acquired skill and strength in exercise and activity. No man can do a thing really well till he has first done it imperfectly and tentatively. Excellency is always the fruit of practice, of patient, continuous endeavour. And here, again, is gradual acquisition or accumulation.

4. One that enjoys a good measure of esteem. It is the man of whom we say, "We know the proof of him;" the man who has approved himself in many a field of labour and in many a flood of trial; to whose words we listen, whose will we obey, whom we permit to guide and rule us. And, of all things, esteem is the product of consistency and beauty in life, of much walking "in the ways of Jehovah."

III. A GOAL TO BE PURSUED AND ATTAINED. It is true that power, or might, is, to some extent, an endowment; it is a direct gift of God. But it is far from being wholly so. In the kingdom, large or small, over which we are placed, we may "become mighty;" we may rise to influence; we may make our mark, which will not soon, if ever, be erased.

HOMILIES BY T. WHITELAW

2 Chronicles 27:1-9

A brief record of a bright reign.

I. JOTHAM, A GOOD MAN.

1. Of honourable parentage.

2. Of excellent character.

II. JOTHAM SUCCESSFUL KING.

1. The duration of his success. Throughout his entire reign of sixteen years. If his father's reign was longer and more brilliant, his was more symmetrical and complete. If he was a more obscure monarch than his father, he was probably as good a man.

2. The nature of his success.

(a) He restored and beautified the upper gate of the temple (verse 3), i.e. the northern gate, which led into the inner court (Ezekiel 8:3, Ezekiel 8:5, Ezekiel 8:14), and was called "upper" probably because it stood upon higher ground than the gates upon the south (Ezekiel 9:2). His reason for such architectural ornamentation most likely was, either that it formed the principal entrance to the temple (Bertheau), or that there the burnt offerings were washed; cf. Ezekiel 40:38 (Bahr). In beginning with the temple, Jotham observed the right order; first the things of God, and then those of man; first religion, and then business; first the claims of Heaven, and then those of earth.

(b) He added to the city fortifications. "On the wall of Ophel," which ran along the southern slope of the temple hill and joined the temple wall at the south-eastern corner, at the turning of the wall (2 Chronicles 26:9), where his father before him had raised erections, "he built much." As Solomon's palace, on the southern slope, was considerably lower than the temple, Jotham may have had a good deal of building.

(c) "In the mountains of Judah," on the military roads, he erected fortified cities or garrisons; and in the forests or wooded hills, where such "cities" could not be placed, he constructed" castles and towers" (Ezekiel 40:4). Thus, while like a good man he honoured God, like a prudent sovereign he looked well to the safety of his kingdom.

3. The explanation of his succces. Neither the wealth of his kingdom, which was "full of silver and gold" (Isaiah 2:7), nor the size of his army, "The land [in his day] was also full of horses, neither was there any end of chariots" (Isaiah 2:7), nor the splendour of his merchant navy, which consisted of ships of Tarshish (Isaiah 2:16), accounted for the remarkable prosperity of this sovereign's reign. If, on the one hand, these were rather signs and results of the flourishing condition of the nation; on the other hand, they were ominous of, and contributory to, the nation's decay. Not only did these in no way diminish, but, on the contrary, fostered and increased the worst characteristics of the people—a love of luxury, which evinced itself amongst the women in a passion for finery and dress (Isaiah 3:16-24), amongst the men in licentiousness and oppression, witchcraft and soothsaying (Isaiah 2:6; Isaiah 3:9), amongst both in haughtiness and self-conceit (Isaiah 2:17), a thirst for war (Isaiah 2:7), and an infatuation for idolatry (Isaiah 2:8). The real secret of the kingdom's prosperity lay in the piety of its king. Judah was blessed because Jotham "prepared [or, 'ordered'] his ways before the Lord"—a clear case of imputation of merit and of vicarious blessing. Jot. ham systematically and studiously guided his personal and official actions by a regard to the Divine Law, and Jehovah caused him to become mighty. Them that honour me I will honour" (1 Samuel 2:30). No piety likely to he either deep or permanent that does not spring from well-considered choice and lead to scrupulous obedience. A good man may pray, "Order my steps in thy Word" (Psalms 119:133), knowing that "it is not in man that walketh to direct his steps" (Jeremiah 10:23), and that a good man's steps are ordered by the Lord (Psalms 37:23); if a truly good man, he will try to answer his own prayer (Psalms 101:2), in doing which he has God's encouragement (Psalms 50:23). Rehoboam prepared neither his heart nor his way, and consequently went astray (2 Chronicles 12:14).

LESSONS.

1. The best men are often the least known.

2. A life short in years may be long in influence.

3. The danger of inferring inward stability from outward prosperity.—W.