114 lines
8.8 KiB
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114 lines
8.8 KiB
XML
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<div2 id="iiCh.xxviii" n="xxviii" next="iiCh.xxix" prev="iiCh.xxvii" progress="85.96%" title="Chapter XXVII">
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<h2 id="iiCh.xxviii-p0.1">S E C O N D C H R O N I C L E
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S</h2>
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<h3 id="iiCh.xxviii-p0.2">CHAP. XXVII.</h3>
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<p class="intro" id="iiCh.xxviii-p1">Here is a very short account of the reign of
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Jotham, a pious prosperous prince, of whom one would wish to have
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known more: but we may better dispense with the brevity of his
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story because that which lengthened the history of the last three
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kings was their degeneracy in their latter end, of which we have
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had a faithful account; but there was no occasion for such a
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melancholy conclusion of the history of this reign, which is only
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an account, I. Of the date and continuance of this reign, <scripRef id="iiCh.xxviii-p1.1" osisRef="Bible:2Chr.27.1 Bible:2Chr.27.8" parsed="|2Chr|27|1|0|0;|2Chr|27|8|0|0" passage="2Ch 27:1,8">ver. 1, 8</scripRef>. II. The general good
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character of it, <scripRef id="iiCh.xxviii-p1.2" osisRef="Bible:2Chr.27.2 Bible:2Chr.27.6" parsed="|2Chr|27|2|0|0;|2Chr|27|6|0|0" passage="2Ch 27:2,6">ver. 2,
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6</scripRef>. III. The prosperity of it, <scripRef id="iiCh.xxviii-p1.3" osisRef="Bible:2Chr.27.3-2Chr.27.5" parsed="|2Chr|27|3|27|5" passage="2Ch 27:3-5">ver. 3-5</scripRef>. IV. The period of it, <scripRef id="iiCh.xxviii-p1.4" osisRef="Bible:2Chr.27.7 Bible:2Chr.27.9" parsed="|2Chr|27|7|0|0;|2Chr|27|9|0|0" passage="2Ch 27:7,9">ver. 7, 9</scripRef>.</p>
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<scripCom id="iiCh.xxviii-p0.1_1" osisRef="Bible:2Chr.27" parsed="|2Chr|27|0|0|0" passage="2Ch 27" type="Commentary"/>
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<scripCom id="iiCh.xxviii-p0.2_1" osisRef="Bible:2Chr.27.1-2Chr.27.9" parsed="|2Chr|27|1|27|9" passage="2Ch 27:1-9" type="Commentary"/><div class="Commentary" id="Bible:2Chr.27.1-2Chr.27.9">
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<h4 id="iiCh.xxviii-p1.7">The Reign of Jotham. (<span class="smallcaps" id="iiCh.xxviii-p1.8">b. c.</span> 758.)</h4>
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<p class="passage" id="iiCh.xxviii-p2">1 Jotham <i>was</i> twenty and five years old
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when he began to reign, and he reigned sixteen years in Jerusalem.
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His mother's name also <i>was</i> Jerushah, the daughter of Zadok.
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2 And he did <i>that which was</i> right in the sight of the
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<span class="smallcaps" id="iiCh.xxviii-p2.1">Lord</span>, according to all that his
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father Uzziah did: howbeit he entered not into the temple of the
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<span class="smallcaps" id="iiCh.xxviii-p2.2">Lord</span>. And the people did yet
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corruptly. 3 He built the high gate of the house of the
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<span class="smallcaps" id="iiCh.xxviii-p2.3">Lord</span>, and on the wall of Ophel he
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built much. 4 Moreover he built cities in the mountains of
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Judah, and in the forests he built castles and towers. 5 He
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fought also with the king of the Ammonites, and prevailed against
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them. And the children of Ammon gave him the same year an hundred
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talents of silver, and ten thousand measures of wheat, and ten
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thousand of barley. So much did the children of Ammon pay unto him,
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both the second year, and the third. 6 So Jotham became
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mighty, because he prepared his ways before the <span class="smallcaps" id="iiCh.xxviii-p2.4">Lord</span> his God. 7 Now the rest of the acts
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of Jotham, and all his wars, and his ways, lo, they <i>are</i>
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written in the book of the kings of Israel and Judah. 8 He
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was five and twenty years old when he began to reign, and reigned
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sixteen years in Jerusalem. 9 And Jotham slept with his
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fathers, and they buried him in the city of David: and Ahaz his son
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reigned in his stead.</p>
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<p class="indent" id="iiCh.xxviii-p3">There is not much more related here
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concerning Jotham than we had before, <scripRef id="iiCh.xxviii-p3.1" osisRef="Bible:2Kgs.15.32-2Kgs.15.38" parsed="|2Kgs|15|32|15|38" passage="2Ki 15:32-38">2 Kings xv. 32</scripRef>, &c.</p>
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<p class="indent" id="iiCh.xxviii-p4">I. He reigned well. He <i>did that which
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was right in the sight of the Lord;</i> the course of his reign was
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good, and pleasing to God, whose favour he made his end, and his
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word his rule, and (which shows that he acted from a good
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principle) he <i>prepared his ways before the Lord his God</i>
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(<scripRef id="iiCh.xxviii-p4.1" osisRef="Bible:2Chr.27.6" parsed="|2Chr|27|6|0|0" passage="2Ch 27:6"><i>v.</i> 6</scripRef>), that is, he
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walked circumspectly and with much caution, contrived how to shun
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that which was evil and compass that which was good. He looked
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before him, and cast his affairs into such a posture and method as
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made the regular management of them the more easy. Or he
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established or fixed his ways before the Lord, that is, he walked
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steadily and constantly in the way of his duty, was uniform and
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resolute in it: not like some of those that went before him, who,
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though they had some good in them, lost their credit by their
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inconstancy and inconsistency with themselves. They had run well,
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but something hindered them. It was not so with Jotham. Two things
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are observed here in his character:—1. What was amiss in his
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father he amended in himself (<scripRef id="iiCh.xxviii-p4.2" osisRef="Bible:2Chr.27.2" parsed="|2Chr|27|2|0|0" passage="2Ch 27:2"><i>v.</i> 2</scripRef>): He did <i>according to all that
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his father did</i> well and wisely; howbeit he would not imitate
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him in which he did amiss; for he <i>entered not into the temple of
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the Lord</i> to burn incense as his father did, but took warning by
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his fate not to dare so presumptuous a thing. Note, We must not
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imitate the best men, and those we have the greatest veneration
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for, any further than they did well; but, on the contrary, their
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falls, and the injurious consequences of them, must be warnings to
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us to walk the more circumspectly, that we stumble not at the same
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stone that they stumbled at. 2. What was amiss in his people he
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could not prevail to amend: <i>The people did yet corruptly.</i>
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Perhaps it reflects some blame upon him, that he was wanting in his
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part towards the reformation of the land. Men may be very good
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themselves, and yet not have courage and zeal to do what they might
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do towards the reforming of others. However it certainly reflects a
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great deal of blame upon the people, that they did not do what they
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might have done to improve the advantages of so good a reign: they
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had good instructions given them and a good example set before
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them, but they would not be reformed; so that even in the reign of
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their good kings, as well as in that of the bad ones, they were
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<i>treasuring up wrath against the day of wrath;</i> for they still
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did corruptly, and the founder melted in vain.</p>
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<p class="indent" id="iiCh.xxviii-p5">II. He prospered, and became truly
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reputable. 1. He built. He began with <i>the gate of the house of
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the Lord,</i> which he repaired, beautified, and raised. He then
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<i>fortified the wall of Ophel, and built cities in the mountains
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of Judah</i> (<scripRef id="iiCh.xxviii-p5.1" osisRef="Bible:2Chr.27.3-2Chr.27.4" parsed="|2Chr|27|3|27|4" passage="2Ch 27:3,4"><i>v.</i> 3,
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4</scripRef>), took all possible care for the fortifying of his
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country and the replenishing of it. 2. He conquered. He prevailed
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against the Ammonites, who had invaded Judah in Jehoshaphat's time,
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<scripRef id="iiCh.xxviii-p5.2" osisRef="Bible:2Chr.20.1" parsed="|2Chr|20|1|0|0" passage="2Ch 20:1"><i>ch.</i> xx. 1</scripRef>. He
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triumphed over them, and exacted great contributions from them,
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<scripRef id="iiCh.xxviii-p5.3" osisRef="Bible:2Chr.27.5" parsed="|2Chr|27|5|0|0" passage="2Ch 27:5"><i>v.</i> 5</scripRef>. He <i>became
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mighty</i> (<scripRef id="iiCh.xxviii-p5.4" osisRef="Bible:2Chr.27.6" parsed="|2Chr|27|6|0|0" passage="2Ch 27:6"><i>v.</i> 6</scripRef>) in
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wealth and power, and influence upon the neighbouring nations, who
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courted his friendship and feared his displeasure; and this he got
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by <i>preparing his ways before the Lord his God.</i> The more
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stedfast we are in religion the more mighty we are both for the
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resistance of that which is evil and for the performance of that
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which is good.</p>
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<p class="indent" id="iiCh.xxviii-p6">III. He finished his course too soon, but
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finished it with honour. He had the unhappiness to die in the midst
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of his days; but, to balance that, the happiness not to out-live
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his reputation, as the last three of his predecessors did. He died
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when he was but forty-one years of age (<scripRef id="iiCh.xxviii-p6.1" osisRef="Bible:2Chr.27.8" parsed="|2Chr|27|8|0|0" passage="2Ch 27:8"><i>v.</i> 8</scripRef>); but <i>his wars and his
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ways,</i> his wars abroad and his ways at home, were so glorious
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that they were recorded in the book of the kings of Israel, as well
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as of the kings of Judah, <scripRef id="iiCh.xxviii-p6.2" osisRef="Bible:2Chr.27.7" parsed="|2Chr|27|7|0|0" passage="2Ch 27:7"><i>v.</i>
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7</scripRef>. The last words of the chapter are the most
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melancholy, as they inform us that <i>Ahaz his son,</i> whose
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character, in all respects, was the reverse of his, <i>reigned in
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his stead.</i> When the wealth and power with which wise men have
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done good devolve upon fools, that will do hurt with them, it is a
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lamentation, and shall be for a lamentation.</p>
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</div></div2>
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