2 CHRO�ICLES 27 COMME�TARYEDITED BY GLE�� PEASE

Jotham King of Judah

1 Jotham was twenty-five years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem sixteen years. His mother’s name was Jerusha daughter of Zadok.

BAR�ES, "This short chapter runs parallel with 2 Kings (marginal reference), and is taken mainly from the same source or sources which it amplifies.

GILL, "Jotham was twenty five years old,.... See Gill on 2Ki_15:33.

HE�RY 1-2, "There is not much more related here concerning Jotham than we had before, 2Ki_15:32, etc.

I. He reigned well. He did that which was right in the sight of the Lord; the course of his reign was good, and pleasing to God, whose favour he made his end, and his word his rule, and (which shows that he acted from a good principle) he prepared his ways before the Lord his God (2Ch_27:6), that is, he walked circumspectly and with much caution, contrived how to shun that which was evil and compass that which was good. He looked before him, and cast his affairs into such a posture and method as made the regular management of them the more easy. Or he established or fixed his ways before the Lord, that is, he walked steadily and constantly in the way of his duty, was uniform and resolute in it: not like some of those that went before him, who, though they had some good in them, lost their credit by their inconstancy and inconsistency with themselves. They had run well, but something hindered them. It was not so with Jotham. Two things are observed here in his character: - 1. What was amiss in his father he amended in himself (2Ch_27:2): He did according to all that his father did well and wisely; howbeit he would not imitate him in which he did amiss; for he entered not into the temple of the Lord to burn incense as his father did, but took warning by his fate not to dare so presumptuous a thing. Note, We must not imitate the best men, and those we have the greatest veneration for, any further than they did well; but, on the contrary, their falls, and the injurious consequences of them, must be warnings to us to walk the more circumspectly, that we stumble not at the same stone that they stumbled at. 2. What was amiss in his people he could not prevail to amend: The people did yet corruptly. Perhaps it reflects some blame upon him, that he was wanting in his part towards the reformation of the land. Men may be very good themselves, and yet not have

courage and zeal to do what they might do towards the reforming of others. however it certainly reflects a great deal of blame upon the people, that they did not do what they might have done to improve the advantages of so good a reign: they had good instructions given them and a good example set before them, but they would not be reformed; so that even in the reign of their good kings, as well as in that of the bad ones, they were treasuring up wrath against the day of wrath; for they still did corruptly, and the founder melted in vain.

JAMISO�, "2Ch_27:1-4. Jotham, reigning well, prospers.

Jotham was twenty and five years old— (See on 2Ki_15:32-35).

His mother’s name ... Jerushah, the daughter of Zadok— or descendant of the famous priest of that name [2Sa_8:17].

K&D 1-2, "Jotham having ascended the throne at the age of twenty-five, reigned altogether in the spirit and power of his father, with the single limitation that he did not go into the sanctuary of Jahve (cf. 2Ch_26:16.). This remark is not found in 2 Kings 15, because there Uzziah's intrusion into the temple is also omitted. The people still did corruptly (cf. 2Ch_26:16). This refers, indeed, to the continuation of the worship in the high places, but hints also at the deep moral corruption which the prophets of that time censure (cf. especially Isa_2:5., 2Ch_5:7.; Mic_1:5; Mic_2:1.).

BE�SO�, "Verses 1-9 A.M. 3246. — B.C. 758.Jotham reigns well and prospers, 2 Chronicles 27:1-6. The conclusion of his reign, 2 Chronicles 27:7-9.2 Chronicles 27:2. He did that which was right, &c. — He did according to all his father Uzziah did, except in his miscarriages. We must not imitate those we have the greatest esteem for, any further than they do well; and their failings must be warnings to us, to walk more circumspectly.

2 Chronicles 27:3. He built the high gate, &c. — Otherwise called the new gate. He repaired it, for it was built before, 2 Chronicles 11:5. On the wall of Ophel he built much — Ophel was a tower upon or near the wall of Jerusalem, which probably he fortified, as his father had other towers.

2 Chronicles 27:5-6. He fought also with the Ammonites — Who, it seems, endeavoured to shake off the yoke, which from David’s time had been put upon them. So Jotham became mighty — In wealth, and power, and influence upon the neighbouring nations, who courted his friendship, and feared his displeasure; because he prepared his ways, &c. — Or, directed his ways, his counsels, and actions, by the rule of God’s law. The more steadfast we are in religion, the more mighty we are both for the resistance of that which is evil, and for the performance of that which is good.

2 Chronicles 27:9. And Jotham slept with his fathers — He died in the midst of his

days, being only forty-one years of age, finishing his course too soon, as we may be ready to say, considering his great usefulness, but finishing it with honour, and having the happiness of not outliving his reputation, as his last three mentioned predecessors outlived theirs. And Ahaz his son reigned in his stead — Whose character, in all respects, was the reverse of his. “When that wealth and powers,” says Henry, “which wise men have done good with, devolves upon fools, that will do hurt with it, it is lamentable, and shall be for a lamentation.”

ELLICOTT, "REIG� OF JOTHAM. (Comp. 2 Kings 15:32-38.)

LE�GTH A�D CHARACTER OF THE REIG�.

PUBLIC WORKS (2 Chronicles 27:1-4).

(1) Jotham was twenty and five years old.—Word for word as 2 Kings 15:33, only adding Jotham.

Jerushah, the daughter of Zadok.—Perhaps the high priest Zadok of 1 Chronicles 6:12. (Comp. 2 Chronicles 22:11.)

GUZIK, "A. The good reign of King Jotham.

1. (2 Chronicles 27:1-2) An overview of the reign of Jotham.

Jotham was twenty-five years old when he became king, and he reigned sixteen years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Jerushah the daughter of Zadok. And he did what was right in the sight of the LORD, according to all that his father Uzziah had done (although he did not enter the temple of the LORD). But still the people acted corruptly.

a. And he did what was right in the sight of the LORD: Jotham was another king of Judah who was generally good. This stands in strong contrast to the evil done by the contemporary kings of Israel. Among the kings of Judah, there were good and godly kings.

b. According to all that his father Uzziah had done: The pattern is seen in both the kingdoms of Israel and Judah, where the son reigns as his father had before him. While this is not concretely predetermined, certainly this is a principle that shows us great influence that a father has on a son.

i. Yet, he did not enter the temple of the LORD. “He regarded his father’s sin rather as a beacon to warn him away from that rock on which Uzziah’s life had been wrecked.” (Spurgeon)

ii. “It is a great, mercy for us, when we have seen others sin, if we use their

shipwrecks as beacons for ourselves. What fascination should there be in sin?” (Spurgeon)

c. But still the people acted corruptly: The word still is important, because it tells us that this corruption did not begin with the reign of Jotham, but continued from the days of his predecessor, Uzziah. Though he had a bad end, the personal character of Uzziah was generally godly. Yet it seems that he was, in general, more godly than the common people.

i. Payne says of Uzziah and the kings of Israel that reigned in his days, “Below the surface prosperity that was enjoyed by both kingdoms at this time, the contemporary preaching of Hosea and Amos indicates the presence of serious moral and spiritual decay.”

ii. “Though Isaiah, Hosea, Micah, and other holy prophets then living showed them their sin. To this day, people will not leave their old evil customs, though never so much preached down.” (Trapp)

PULPIT, "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. �othing else is known of Jerushah, nor of her father Zadok.

PARKER, "WHO was he? Whence did he spring? He comes so suddenly upon us: let us interrogate him. A few facts may lead to a great philosophy. Jotham was the son of a king, and the probable son of a high priest. Then he must be good! Let us take care how we hasten to conclusions. We may be right, or we may be wrong; but let us take great care of the basis oh which our reasoning is founded. His father"s name was Uzziah,—not a name to be altogether proud of, as we have seen. His mother was the daughter of Zadok, and Zadok was probably high priest. Jotham was a good king, almost whole-hearted in genuine piety, and a wise man in that he avoided at least one of his father"s mistakes. Anybody can avoid a vulgarity; no genius is required in forbearing to imitate drunkenness, profanity, sheer and desperate recklessness: the thing that is difficult to avoid is a divergence from the path of virtue and wisdom. Heavenly wisdom discriminates between shades. A child might soon learn to distinguish between the right hand and the left; but all things are not diametrically separated; there are radii, and they can come quite closely together, being finely drawn, by specially prepared instruments. The wisdom that is

from above hath a microscopic eye which can see the finest shades and the closest lights. Uzziah made a fool of himself in a way that his son could hardly imitate. Moreover his son may have heard of the penalty that fell upon the trespassing king. When a man"s father has been blasted with leprosy, surely the son is not likely to go and do the very thing which brought upon his parent that malediction. We read, therefore, that Jotham "entered not into the temple of the Lord." Here is a negative virtue to begin with. The meaning is not that Jotham did not go to the temple service, did not heed the temple ritual, did not care for temple life; probably he was regular and punctual in his attendance at the temple within the assigned limits; but he did not enter the temple sacrilegiously as his father did, for, as we have seen, his father went in and took the censer, and swung it, and burned incense, and the priests followed him with great haste, and arrested him, king though he was, and said—�o: even a king must keep within the proper limitations; and whilst they remonstrated the white patch came up in the forehead, and Uzziah went out a leper, as he had come in a trespasser. Jotham took care not to imitate the broad vulgarity of his father"s sacrilege. But to avoid a great sin does not involve the fact or the necessity that we must therefore be minutely, critically, and vitally pious. The Scripture comes into closer quarters with us, and asks many questions in a whisper which we could have borne if they had been hurled at us in thunder. It is the searching whisper, the spiritual cross-examination, the still small voice that wants the minutest secret from the heart, that we cannot endure.

The piety of Jotham was the more remarkable that he had nobody to sustain him: "The people did yet corruptly" ( 2 Chronicles 27:2). It is hard to be a flower in a wilderness of weeds. There is a singularity that is painful. It is hard to pray when everybody is cursing. It is easy to join the popular hymn, easy to flow with the stream. The difficulty is to be the one example, to stand by conviction in the time of general moral collapse; to be the one faithful among the many faithless. But there is danger even here. A man may think himself more pious than he really is because other people are so corrupt. A little light may seem to be quite a sun where the darkness is so great. The danger is that we take credit to ourselves for being very heavenly when we are only really good by contrast, when we owe more to the darkness that is around us than to the light that is in us for the display of any supposed virtue or excellence.

We have said that Jotham was almost whole hearted: what flaw was there in the crystal? Read the words, and say if the most critical eye can detect in them any foreign material, any vitiating speck:—

"He built the high gate of the house of the Lord, and on the wall of Ophel he built much. Moreover he built cities in the mountains of Judah, and in the forests he built castles and towers" ( 2 Chronicles 27:3-4).

This wall looked towards the south: who does not like to work or build or loiter on the sunny side of the hill? Work then becomes a kind of pleasure, the sun blithely assists the labourer, and makes him forget quite half his toil. Many men are willing to assist on sunny days and at sunny places and under sunny circumstances, who

are no use among shadows and gathering gloom and threatening thunder. They call themselves your friends, and so they tell wicked lies; they profess themselves to be willing to undertake any work that the sun shines on, and to do it in the spirit of sacrifice: no such action is possible; they do it that they may enjoy themselves, that they may receive the benediction of the sun. Perhaps they do not mean to be wicked: what man ever did, fully and self-consciously, intend to be as bad as he could be? But they are self-deceived, they are charmed and tempted because the work is on the southern slope, and there the sun seems to shine all day. If all this were said to an intelligent Christian congregation the assembly would listen with interest and attention; yet this is not the meaning of the text, and this has no connection whatsoever with the text. This is the difficulty which the Christian teacher must always contend with, namely, that nobody knows the Bible; and further that there is a great danger in neglecting the text that the sermon may be enjoyed. As well neglect to reap, and come for the fruit. What then does "Ophel" mean? It means the mount. Where was the mount? On the southern slope. Why did the king build so much on Ophel? Because it was most accessible to the enemy; he would have built as much on the northern or shady side if that had been the weak point of his life; like a wise commander he remembered that no man is stronger than his weakest point, and that no fortification is stronger than its frailest part; so the king built much where the wall was weakest, or where the access of the enemy was most open; and in doing so he gathered up and represented the wisdom and experience of the ages, and anticipated what we and all the sons of time ought to do. Many men are building unnecessarily; they have not walked round the wall to see what place was weakest. So long as they are building they think they are industrious; it is industry thrown away. So many men are foolishly energetic and industrious. Why put more bolts on the door that is already ironed and strengthened in what appears to be every possible way? Why so diligently protect the front door, and leave the back door standing wide open? This is the folly of life, this is the madness of many business men, this is the secret of failure in a thousand directions,—industry to the point of exhaustion, early rising, late retiring, continual friction, but all at the wrong time or under the wrong circumstances, all stultified by want of proceeding from the right centre. What is your weakest point? Build much there. Your weakest point is not want of information; if your wisdom were half your knowledge a greater than Solomon would be here. Why all this acquisition of more languages, more history, more philosophy? Your character is running out of you at another point. Build much where much building is needed. Your want is not want of more money. Suppose your money were multiplied by ten, what of it? It would be multiplied by ten if you thought it were. After a certain point, a man can have just as much as he pleases to have by multiplying it a hundredfold. There is a time when money ceases to be of value as to living effect and blessed influence; therefore you can at any time multiply what you have by any number of units and ciphers, and all will come out in the great polysyllable of love. You do not need more money, but you need more character, patience, thoughtfulness, self-control, settled persistence, unsparing discipline: why not build much at Ophel? What is your weakest point—passion? Have plenty of water at hand, mountains of ice; that will be wisdom; but to be giving great festivals and floating banners and sounding trumpets will be absolutely useless to you: what you want is a plunge into an ice-pit, and to stop there till your

friends fetch you out of it,—you will be a long time absent, What is your weakest point—covetousness? Then take inkhorn and pen and cleanest sheet of whitest paper, and write on it in God"s sight that every day in the week you will give a sum that will pinch you. You do not give till you begin to feel you have given. All other contribution is luxury, vanity, a perfunctory service; let there be some feeling of real sacrifice; then every day for a time will be a battle. There will stand the oath—a challenge, a claim. �ear your shoulder there will plead an invisible devil, who will say, Has not the time come when you might relax your discipline? And you, poor bruised reed, only healed the day before yesterday, will begin to feel that perhaps you might intermit a day. Build much on that Ophel; that is your salvation or your ruin, namely, your relation to that weakest point in your character. What is your most accessible point—indolence? Build much there; insist upon being roused; say to your soul, It is right that I should, if need be, be maddened into action; and plead with your dearest friend not to spare the puncture that will call you to your fate. Sloth steals over a Prayer of Manasseh , lulls him, delights him; and how quickly the unsympathetic clock goes when we are dozing! What man ever woke up and said, It is not so far on as I thought it was? How many thousands awake to say they had no idea that the time had passed so rapidly? Is your weakest point envy? Is it impossible for you to see your neighbour prosper without your sleep being broken in upon? Does the prosperity of your competitor spoil your peace? That is your Ophel; build much there; to build otherwhere is useless; such building may express industry, but industry misspent; to beat the air is a fool"s exercise.

You are not going to found an accusation on the process and action of building. He was not building evil temples, unholy houses, places destitute of every sign of spiritual excellence and religious significance. Yet it was in all that building that he got wrong. We must go to the religious critic to find what men are doing. We must go to the pulpit, if the pulpit is true, to know whether kings are acting wisely or unwisely; and the pulpit must bear the foolish accusation of being political in its criticism and censure. All the building is proceeding, and people are saying what an admirable building it is; but Hosea was the prophet of the time, a burning fire in the northern kingdom, a man who would be written down by the journalists of the day for being political; he thundered in his age, and made kings know that prophecy was the true royalty. Said Hebrews , in the name of God: "Israel hath forgotten his Maker, and buildeth temples; and Judah hath multiplied fenced cities: but I will send a fire upon his cities, and it shall devour the palaces thereof." Whilst Jotham was building Hosea was thundering. Hosea might have been more popular if he had said nothing about it. People love an inoffensive ministry; a sweet, quiet, vapid platitudinarianism. But the prophets were great critics; they let nothing escape them, they condemned with a strong voice. Said Isaiah , that great statesman-prophet—who would not be shut up within some limited place called a pulpit, but who made creation the theatre of his action, "The fortress also shall cease from Ephraim,"—the northern tribes being politically designated by that name, and being thus significantly described. Jotham would have fortresses and castles and towers and much masonry. The Lord has always been training the race to spiritual dependence. If he has allowed man to build anything with mortar and stone, it has been to teach him the inutility of any such erections. "I will send a fire upon his

cities, and it shall devour the palaces thereof." The word "castles" in this verse literally means palaces, the very word which Hosea uttered at the bidding of God. The Lord is to be our refuge and strength, not our high walls and great towers and invincible bastions. The Lord of hosts is with us, the God of Jacob is our refuge. A man may be building atheistically. A man may lay up so much for a rainy day that in his very economy and penuriousness and forethought he may be denying God. Innocent indeed Jotham appeared to be when building and completing the line of fortifications; but he ought to have trusted more in the living God. There be those who say that heaven helps those who help themselves, and they help themselves so much as to leave heaven nothing to do. Are we not displacing faith by prudence? Are we not ousting religion by calculation? Except the Lord keep the city, every gate of it will fall down, and the burglars may enter in full force. Except the Lord watch, the watchman"s lamp and rattle are but child"s toys. What is the fortification of our life? What is the line of defence? Wherein have we put our trust? What appears to be innocent may in reality be full of atheism and folly. Self-preservation may be really an aspect of atheism. To put another line of defence around one"s life may be to restrain prayer before God. Thus all through the ages God has been training men to spiritual trust, to simple faith, to casting one"s self upon the Almighty, and saying—Father, as thou wilt; I am not my own, I am thine: lead me, guide me, make use of me, make my whole life a blessing; I want to have no will but thine: there cannot be two almighties: the Lord reigneth; he shall be the defence of my soul.

Was Jotham, then, condemned and utterly cast away? �o. We will retain our first form of words and say he was almost whole-hearted in his healthy piety. And it is recorded of him, "Jotham became mighty, because he prepared his ways before the Lord his God" ( 2 Chronicles 27:6). Literally, He directed his steps by the meridian of God"s righteousness. "In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths." How difficult it is to be a whole-hearted man in piety! How strong the temptatation just to do a little building and a little praying! How likely the Sunday of life is to be voted out by the six competing days! It must be hard to be the one day in the week which peculiarly bears the image and superscription of God. It is difficult to tell the whole truth. Who does? Society would be rent in pieces if the whole truth were spoken one single day. Jotham established his ways before God; he lived a religious life; he had an uppermost thought that fixed itself upon the living God. Who is a Christian? �o man. It is impossible to be a Christian. What is possible is the desire—"I count not myself to have attained, but I press toward the mark." If that was all the great apostle accounted himself to have done, in some feeble echo only can we claim to be of the glorious company of the apostles. The Lord looks upon the uppermost thought, the supreme desire, and when we can say, "Lord, thou knowest all things, thou knowest that I love thee: I know what happened four days ago—I know it—yet I love thee," then shall come a mission to feed the lambs and sheep.

Such was Jotham, in rude outline. Such a father must, we should say, have an excellent son. On so fair a tree fair fruit must be found. Yet we must beware of our own reasoning, for such halting logic would not have given us Jotham himself. We are on the wrong line of reasoning if we suppose that a good father must have a

good son. There is a kind of natural logic in it, a sequence that comes as if it were of necessity; but it is not so. Jotham"s father was a leper, and was smitten with leprosy on moral grounds. Helped until he became strong, he was not satisfied with strength; he exaggerated his strength into presumption; he inspired his strength by a baleful ambition, and he was ruined in his very endeavour to become more than God intended him to be. Blessed is he who knows the measure of his election, and who makes his calling and election sure; blessed is he who knows he cannot preach, cannot utter music, cannot grasp and handle with mastery the tragedy of life; blessed is he who knows just what he can do, and who faithfully, simply, lovingly does it; he shall be honoured with many honours when his Lord cometh. Uzziah was not after that model. Having done much he thought he could do more, and in the perversion and misapplication of his strength he found his leprosy. It would seem as if Providence persistently broke in upon natural logic and asserted a sovereignty immeasurable, incalculable, so that no man could tell what will happen tomorrow. The growth of humanity is not after a horticultural manner. We cannot say that a good tree shall have good off-shoots, if we are speaking of humanity. The holiest father may have a murderer for his son. The sweetest mother may die of a broken heart. Only a foolish criticism is reckless in fixing definite responsibilities in this matter of the nurture and culture of children. The Lord rebukes us when we say that because the father was good the son must be good; or because the father was evil the son must be evil. The Lord permits men to come in between who are bad, or who are good, that all our little speculation about heredity, and all our arrangements for moral progress, may be thrown back and lost in confusion. Herein is the working of that mysterious law which is often misunderstood when denominated the law of election. We cannot tell what God is doing. Your son ought to have been good: for where is there a braver soul than yourself? The boy ought to have been chivalrous, for he never knew you do a mean deed or give lodgment to an ungenerous thought. In a way too he was proud of his father; yet there was no devil"s work he would not stoop to do. He did not get the bad blood from his mother, for gentler, sweeter soul never sang God"s psalms in God"s house. Yet there is the mystery, and it is not for a reckless criticism to define the origin and the issue of this mysterious phenomenon in human development.

Jotham had a son called Ahaz: "But he did not that which was right in the sight of the Lord, like David his father" ( 2 Chronicles 28:1). What a point of departure! The prodigal son has been in every history; it required but the fingers of Christ to take him out and set him forth in a parable that fills the eyes like the sun at midday. Why did Ahaz go astray when his father was a good man? Perhaps he went only a little astray; perhaps the deflection was hardly calculable. �o, that is not so:—"For he walked in the ways of the kings of Israel, and made also molten images for Baalim,"—not for Baal; he served all the gods; his idols were in the plural number: for every aspect of Baal; literally, for the Baals. There was not an avatar that had not its recognition from wicked Ahaz. He walked round the Baalim to see how many there were of them, and the more there were the better he was pleased. "Moreover he burnt incense in the valley of the son of Hinnom, and burnt his children in the fire, after the abominations of the heathen whom the Lord had cast out before the children of Israel" ( 2 Chronicles 28:3). He revelled in wickedness; he was a glutton

at the devil"s table. He would have come well immediately after his grandfather, the leper. But Jotham was between. That is the mystery. How is it that man goes on for a while, and then suddenly reverts, or turns aside, or makes room for a monster? It is a curious history! There was no end to the wickedness of Ahaz. "He made Judah naked, and transgressed sore against the Lord": literally, He made Judah licentious; still more literally, He loosed Judah, took away the restraints of decency, custom, publicity; cut the tether, loosed Judah, made Judah naked, destroyed the last light of decency. Yet Jotham was his father. That is the difficulty. The old leprosy was to come up again in another form. This is the son of the leper, only the leprosy is on the heart, not on the face. A melancholy record, truly! Yet Jotham was his father. His father prayed, he worshipped idols; his father acknowledged God, he denied him. All the home influence was lost; he was a sevenfold offender. Hear his record:—he worshipped the gods of Syria, "For he sacrificed unto the gods of Damascus, which smote him: and he said, Because the gods of the kings of Syria help them, therefore will I sacrifice to them, that they may help me. But"—now comes a sentence that ought to be written in letters of fire, that ought to be kept steadily before the eyes of every young man—

2 He did what was right in the eyes of the Lord, just as his father Uzziah had done, but unlike him he did not enter the temple of the Lord. The people, however, continued their corrupt practices.

CLARKE, "He entered not into the temple - He copied his father’s conduct as far as it was constitutional; and avoided his transgression. See the preceding chapter, 2 Chronicles 26 (note).

GILL, "And he did that which was right,.... See Gill on 2Ki_15:34,

howbeit, he entered not into the temple of the Lord; to burn incense, as his father did; he did according to his good ways, but not his evil ones:

and the people did yet corruptly; in sacrificing and burning incense in the high

places, 2Ki_15:35 which some think Joash himself did, and is meant in the preceding clause; but the sense given is best.

JAMISO�, "he did that which was right— The general rectitude of his government is described by representing it as conducted on the excellent principles which had guided the early part of his father’s reign.

the people did yet corruptly— (See 2Ki_15:35); but the description here is more emphatic, that though Jotham did much to promote the good of his kingdom and aimed at a thorough reformation in religion, the widespread and inveterate wickedness of the people frustrated all his laudable efforts.

COFFMA�, ""The people did yet corruptly" (2 Chronicles 27:2). 2 Kings 15:35 has the information that the high places were not removed; thus God's people continued their idolatrous worship in the high places.

"The wall of Ophel" (2 Chronicles 27:3). "This wall was part of the old Jebusite city, a very important part of Jerusalem, also called `the City of David.'"[1] Jotham's fortifying this part of Jerusalem, "Indicated that he feared an external attack, probably from Assyria and Samaria. This faithless trust which Judah at that time put in fortifications was rebuked by the prophets (Hosea 8:14; and Isaiah 2:15)."[2]

"Ten thousand measures of wheat" (2 Chronicles 27:5). Curtis (Madsen) estimates this amount of wheat as 120,331 bushels.[3] Ammon had been subject to Uzziah, Jotham's father, but they rebelled against Jotham who put down their insurrection and exacted heavy toll for three years.

�one of the commentaries available to us carries any extensive comment on Jotham's reign.

ELLICOTT, "(2) Howbeit he entered not.—The chronicler adds this reservation upon the preceding general statement. The author of Kings, having said nothing of Uzziah’s sacrilege, had no need to make such an exception.

And the people did yet corruptly.—Still used to deal corruptly; a paraphrase of what we read in 2 Kings 15:35, “the people still used to sacrifice and burn incense on the high places.” We know further, from the extant utterances of the prophets of those days, that a deep-seated moral corruption was sapping the strength of the nation. (Comp. Micah 3:10-12; Hosea 4:1-2.)

PULPIT, "Howbeit. This word purports to render the Hebrew רק, 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.

3 Jotham rebuilt the Upper Gate of the temple of the Lord and did extensive work on the wall at the hill of Ophel.

BAR�ES, "Ophel was the name given to the long, narrowish, rounded spur or promontory, which intervenes between the central valley of Jerusalem (the Tyropoeon) and the Kidron, or valley of Jehoshaphat. The anxiety of Uzziah and Jotham to fortify their territory indicates a fear of external attack, which at this time was probably felt mainly in connection with Samaria and Syria (2Ki_15:37 note). The faithless trust put in fortifications was rebuked by the prophets of the time Hos_8:14; Isa_2:15.

CLARKE, "On the wall of Ophel - The wall, says the Targum, of the interior palace. Ophel was some part of the wall of Jerusalem, that was most pregnable, and therefore Jotham fortified it in a particular manner.

GILL, "He built the high gate in the house of the Lord,.... See the note on 2Ki_15:35.

and on the wall of Ophel he built much; which Kimchi interprets an high place; it was the eastern part of Mount Zion. Josephus (f) calls it Ophlas, and says it joined to the eastern porch of the temple; and some have thought the porch of the temple is meant; the Targum renders it a palace; it is a tradition of the Jews that it was the holy of holies (g).

HE�RY 3-7, "II. He prospered, and became truly reputable. 1. He built. He began with the gate of the house of the Lord, which he repaired, beautified, and raised. He then fortified the wall of Ophel, and built cities in the mountains of Judah (2Ch_27:3, 2Ch_27:4), took all possible care for the fortifying of his country and the replenishing of it. 2. He conquered. He prevailed against the Ammonites, who had invaded Judah in Jehoshaphat's time, 2Ch_20:1. He triumphed over them, and exacted great contributions from them, 2Ch_27:5. He became mighty (2Ch_27:6) in wealth and power, and influence upon the neighbouring nations, who courted his friendship and feared his displeasure; and this he got by preparing his ways before the Lord his God.

The more stedfast we are in religion the more mighty we are both for the resistance of that which is evil and for the performance of that which is good.

JAMISO�, "He built the high gate of the house of the Lord— situated on the north - that portion of the temple hill which was high compared with the southern part -hence “the higher,” or upper gate (see on 2Ki_15:35). He built, that is, repaired or embellished.

and on the wall of Ophel—Hebrew, “the Ophel,” that is, the mound, or eminence on the southeastern slope of the temple mount, a ridge lying between the valleys Kedron and Tyropoeon, called “the lower city” [Josephus].

he built much— having the same desire as his father to secure the defense of Jerusalem in every direction.

K&D 3-4,, "He built the upper gate of the house of Jahve, i.e., the northern gate of the inner or upper court (see on 2Ki_15:35); the only work of his reign which is mentioned in the book of Kings. But besides this, he continued the fortifying of Jerusalem, which his father had commenced; building much at the wall of the Ophel.

;was the name of the southern slope of the temple mountain (see on 2Ch_33:14) העפל

the wall of Ophel is consequently the wall connecting Zion with the temple mountain, at which Uzziah had already built (see on 2Ch_26:9). He likewise carried on his father's buildings for the protection of the herds (2Ch_26:10), building the cities in the

mountains of Judah, and castles (ות 2Ch_17:12) and towers in the forests of the ,�ירנ

mountains of Judah (חרשים from חרש, a thicket).

COKE, "2 Chronicles 27:3. And on the wall of Ophel he built much— And he repaired much in the walls of the ascent. See �ehemiah 3:26. Houbigant.

REFLECTIO�S.—The reign of Jotham was pious and prosperous.

1. He copied the best of his father's ways, and avoided his wickedness. His heart was right with God, and he endeavoured diligently to walk with, and please him: but the people followed not his good example; either he wanted zeal to restrain them, or they were too headstrong to be withheld. �ote; They are inexcusable, who slight the advantages that they enjoy, and refuse to be reformed.

2. His prosperity went hand in hand with his piety; he fortified his dominions, built new cities, subdued the Ammonites, and brought them under tribute for three years; and because he had chosen God's ways, he became mighty under his protection.

3. Too soon for his people he finished his happy reign, farther particulars of which were recorded in the annals of Judah, long since perished. The unworthy son who succeeded him made the loss of such a king more sensibly felt and lamented by every true Israelite.

ELLICOTT, "(3) He built.—He it was that built (pronoun emphatic). He “built,” i.e., restored and beautified. The same statement occurs in 2 Kings 15:35.

The high gate.—Rather, the upper gate; i.e., the northern gate of the inner or upper court (Ezekiel 9:2). The north being the holy quarter (Isaiah 14:13; Psalms 48:2), the north gate would be the principal entrance.

And on the wall of Ophel he built much.—The southern slope of the Temple hill was called the Ophel, i.e., “the mound.” Its wall would be the line of fortifications connecting Zion with Moriah, on which Uzziah had already laboured (2 Chronicles 26:9), with the same object of securing the city against attacks from the south and east. �either this detail nor the next three verses are found in the parallel account. The style and contents of the passage indicate a good ancient source.

Much.—Larôb, “to much;” one of the chronicler’s favourite words.

GUZIK, "2. (2 Chronicles 27:3-6) The accomplishments of Jotham.

He built the Upper Gate of the house of the LORD, and he built extensively on the wall of Ophel. Moreover he built cities in the mountains of Judah, and in the forests he built fortresses and towers. He also fought with the king of the Ammonites and defeated them. And the people of Ammon gave him in that year one hundred talents of silver, ten thousand kors of wheat, and ten thousand of barley. The people of Ammon paid this to him in the second and third years also. So Jotham became mighty, because he prepared his ways before the LORD his God.

a. He built the Upper Gate of the house of the LORD: This was always a positive sign in Judah. When kings and leaders were concerned about the house of the LORD, it reflected some measure of spiritual revival.

i. In particular, it seems that Jotham rebuilt the link between the temple and the palace. “He wished free access from his own house to that of the Lord. He would strengthen the link between the two houses - keep his line of communication open (to use a military figure) with the source of his supplies of strength and wisdom. This is one of the secrets of his prosperity and power.” (Knapp)

ii. His father Uzziah misunderstood the link between the royal house and the house God, demanding priestly authority (2 Chronicles 26:16-21). Many kings before him wanted no link between the royal house and the house of God. Jotham understood that he was a king and not a priest, yet he wanted a good, open link between the palace and the temple.

b. Moreover he built cities in the mountains of Judah, and in the forests he built fortresses and towers: Jotham extended his concern to build Judah beyond

Jerusalem and the temple. This made his kingdom strong and able to subdue neighboring peoples such as the Ammonites.

i. “He also turned his attention to urban planning, construction cities in the highlands of Judah that, together with a system of towers and fortification in the wooded areas, could serve both economic and military purposes.” (Patterson and Austel)

ii. “The tribute was substantial, something over three tons of silver and approximately ten thousand donkey loads of barley.” (Selman)

c. So Jotham became mighty, because he prepared his ways before the LORD his God. The building of this link between the palace and the temple was one of the chief ways that he prepared his way before the LORD. “That high gate between the palace and the temple was better than a Chinese wall around his kingdom. It is in communion with God that real prosperity and power is found.” (Knapp)

i. “While there was no definite national reform during his reign, he seems to have gone quietly forward along true lines, and his strength is attributed to the fact that he ordered his ways before Jehovah his God.” (Morgan)

ii. “Jotham must have been a man of prayer. He could not have prepared his ways thus anywhere except at the mercy-seat. He must have been in the habit of taking his daily troubles to his God, and of seeking guidance from him in his daily difficulties, and of blessing him for his daily mercies. He must have been in constant communion with his God, or else he could not have ordered his ways aright before him.” (Spurgeon)

iii. “Jotham is the only one of all the Hebrew kings, from Saul down, against whom God has nothing to record. In this his character is in beautiful accord with his name, Jehovah-perfect.” (Knapp)

iv. “I do not remember ever meeting one who really walked with God who did not make orderliness one of the first principles of life. . . . They are the habits of the soul that walks before God, and which is accustomed to thing of Him as seeing in secret, and considering all our ways.” (Meyer)

PULPIT, "The high gate. In the parallel, rendered in the Authorized Version the "higher" gate, the Hebrew ( חעליון ) 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, העפל ; 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.

BI, "And on the wall of Ophel he built much.

Building on Ophel

Ophel means “the mount.” Where was the mount? On the southern slope. Why did the king build so much on Ophel? Because it was most accessible to the enemy. Like a wise commander he remembered that no man is stronger than his weakest point, and that no fortification is stronger than its frailest part; so the king built much where the wall was weakest, or where the access of the enemy was most open; and in doing so he gathered up and represented the wisdom and experience of the ages, and anticipated what we and all the sons of time ought to do. What is your weakest point in life? Build much there. (J. Parker, D.D.)

4 He built towns in the hill country of Judah and forts and towers in the wooded areas.

CLARKE, "Castles and towers - These he built for the protection of the country people against marauders.

GILL, "Moreover, he built cities in the mountains of Judah,.... In the mountainous part of it, the hill country of Judea, Luk_1:65,

and in the forests he built castles and towers; for the safety of travellers, and of shepherds and their flocks, see 2Ch_26:10.

JAMISO�, "in the mountains of Judah, and in the forests he built castles and towers— that is, in the elevated and wooded spots where fortified cities could not be placed, he erected castles and towers.

2Ch_27:5-9 - He Subdues the Ammonites

K&D, "ELLICOTT, "(4) Moreover.—Literally, and cities built he in the hill region of Judah. (Comp. 2 Chronicles 26:10.)

Castles.—Bîrânîyôth; a term explained at 2 Chronicles 17:12. The contemporary prophets denounced the popular confidence in “fenced cities” as a kind of treason against Jehovah, who was Himself the shield and fortress of His people (Psalms 18:1; Isaiah 12:2). “Israel hath forgotten his Maker, and buildeth palaces; and Judah hath multiplied fenced cities: but I will send a fire upon his cities, and it shall devour the palaces thereof” (Hosea 8:14. Comp. Isaiah 2:15; Isaiah 17:3-4).

PULPIT, "The mountains of Judah; Hebrew, בהר ; 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, בירניות (so 2 Chronicles 17:12). The meaning is that he built forts (Isaiah 2:15; Hosea 8:14).

5 Jotham waged war against the king of the Ammonites and conquered them. That year the Ammonites paid him a hundred talents[a] of silver, ten thousand cors[b] of wheat and ten thousand cors[c] of barley. The Ammonites brought him the same amount also in the second and third years.

BAR�ES, "The Ammonites, who had submitted to Uzziah 2Ch_26:8, revolted against Jotham. This revolt he firmly repressed; and, to punish it, he exacted a high rate of tribute for the three years following the termination of the war. The productiveness of the Ammonite country in grain, which is here indicated, has been remarked upon as extraordinary by modern travelers.

CLARKE, "He fought also with - the Ammonites - We find here that he brought them under a heavy tribute for three years; but whether this was the effect of his prevailing against them, is not so evident. Some think that they paid this tribute for three years, and then revolted; that, in consequence, he attacked them, and their utter subjection was the result.

GILL, "He fought also with the king of the Ammonites, and prevailed against them,.... These were brought into subjection by David; but in later times endeavoured to cast off the yoke, and even invaded the land of Judah, as in the days of Jehoshaphat, and now in the reign of Jotham, but succeeded not, see Amo_1:13.

and the children of Ammon gave him the same year one hundred talents of silver; he obliged them to pay this tribute annually, and which they began to pay in the present year, and amounted to 35,330 pounds:

and ten thousand measures of wheat, and ten thousand of barley; the measure here is the "cor", the same with the "homer"; which, according to Godwin (h), held forty five gallons, or five bushels and five gallons, so that there must be upwards of 50,000 bushels of each of these paid to Jotham; according to Bishop Cumberland (i), a "cor", or "homer", held seventy five wine gallons, and upwards of five pints:

so much did the children of Ammon pay both the second year and the third; the two following years as well as the present one; why this tribute was not continued to be paid cannot be said with certainty, whether the Ammonites refused and revolted, and could not be obliged, or whether the agreement was only for three years.

JAMISO�, "2Ch_27:5. He subdues the Ammonites.

He fought also with the king of the Ammonites— This invasion he not only repelled, but, pursuing the Ammonites into their own territory, he imposed on them a yearly tribute, which, for two years, they paid. But when Rezin, king of Syria, and Pekah, king of Israel, combined to attack the kingdom of Judah, they took the opportunity of revolting, and Jotham was too distracted by other matters to attempt the reconquest (see on 2Ki_15:37).

K&D, "He made war upon the king of the Ammonites, and overcame them. The Ammonites had before paid tribute to Uzziah. After his death they would seem to have refused to pay this tribute; and Jotham made them again tributary by force of arms. They were compelled to pay him after their defeat, in that same year, 100 talents of

silver, 10,000 cor of wheat, and a similar quantity of barley, as tribute. לו השיבו this :זאת

they brought to him again, i.e., they paid him the same amount as tribute in the second and third years of their subjection also. After three years, consequently, they would seem to have again become independent, or refused the tribute, probably in the last years of Jotham, in which, according to 2Ki_15:37, the Syrian king Rezin and Pekah of Israel began to make attacks upon Judah.

ELLICOTT, "(5) He fought also with the king of the Ammonites.—“He also,” like his father, “fought with the king of the sons of Ammon.” They no doubt had refused the tribute imposed on them by Uzziah; but Jotham quelled their resistance, and they paid him a fixed contribution for three successive years.

The same year.—In that year; the year of the revolt.

Ten thousand measures.—Kôrîm. The kor was perhaps equivalent to our quarter. (Comp. 1 Kings 4:22; 2 Chronicles 2:10.)

The land of Ammon is fertile of grain even at the present day.

So much . . . and the third.—Rather, This (tribute) did the bnê Ammon restore to him (i.e., after withholding it during the year of rebellion); and in the second year, and the third. After three annual payments, the tribute was again suspended, perhaps because the Ammonites took advantage of the outbreak of the Syro-Ephraite war, which took place towards the end of the reign (2 Kings 15:37). There is no note of time in the text.

PULPIT, "He fought … the King of the Ammonites. �o 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.

6 Jotham grew powerful because he walked steadfastly before the Lord his God.

GILL, "So Jotham became mighty,.... Having built towers and castles, and fortified cities, and conquered his enemies:

because he prepared his ways before the Lord his God; ordered, directed, and guided them according to the word and will of God, and walked as in the sight of God, having the fear of him continually before him.

K&D 6-7, "2Ch_27:6-7

By all these undertakings Jotham strengthened himself, sc. in the kingdom, i.e., he attained to greater power, because he made his ways firm before Jahve, i.e., walked stedfastly before Jahve; did not incur guilt by falling away into idolatry, or by faithless infringement of the rights of the Lord (as Uzziah did by his interference with the rights

of the priesthood). From the ל־מלחמתיו� in the concluding remark (2Ch_27:7) we learn

that he had waged still other successful wars. The older commentators reckon among these wars, the war against Rezin and Pekah, which kings the Lord began in his days to send against Judah (see 2Ki_15:37), but hardly with justice. The position of this note, which is altogether omitted in the Chronicle, at the end of the account of Jotham in 2Ki_15:37, appears to hint that this war broke out only towards the end of Jotham's reign, so that he could not undertake anything important against this foe.

ELLICOTT, "6) So Jotham became mighty.—The chronicler’s customary phrase. “Strengthened himself,” “gained strength” (2 Chronicles 13:21).

Because he prepared.—For he directed his ways (Proverbs 21:29; comp. also 2 Chronicles 12:14; 2 Chronicles 20:33). Jotham directed his ways “before,” i.e., in the chronicler’s usage, “to meet,” “towards” Jehovah his God. (Comp. 1 Chronicles 12:17; 1 Samuel 7:3.) “Direct your heart towards Jehovah.” Perhaps, however, “before” simply means “as in the sight of” Jehovah. (Comp. Genesis 17:1, “walk before me.”)

The verse is a moral reflection of the writer on the preceding facts.

�ISBET, "THE SECRET OF SPIRITUAL STRE�GTH‘So Jotham became mighty, because he prepared his ways before the Lord his God.’2 Chronicles 27:6The principle of Jotham’s reign is a grand one; and there is immense truth condensed into this short record of his whole life. It takes us behind the scenes, and admits us into those privacies of the king’s mind and habit where the real clues of every one’s character are to be found. We arrive at the secret of all strength, ‘preparation,’ and that preparation made ‘before the Lord his God.’ ‘Preparing times’ are never lost times. We all have had to regret precipitancy; but very few of us, in the retrospect of life, will say that we ever acted too deliberately. What is preparation ‘before God’?

I. I should say it lies in that general recognition of God—which gives to what we are going to do a religious character, and invests it with religious influences.

II. But we must carry our line of thought a little further, and copy Jotham, who did

it ‘before the Lord his God.’—Observe the expression. ‘Before the Lord.’ Sovereignty. ‘His God.’ There is the loving appropriation.

III. The next thing is to ‘spread it before God,’ like Hezekiah’s letter, in prayer.—That man must be either an infidel, or a madman, who could dare to enter upon any enterprise without prayer!

IV. You must put God in His right place—‘the First, and with the Last.’ By such means a man ‘prepares his ways before the Lord his God.’

—Rev. James Vaughan.Illustration

‘All our ways must be ordered under the Lord’s eye, for His glory, and by the direction of His Spirit. Then God will be able to do His best in and for us—we, too, shall become “mighty.” “I am not more sure,” says Erskine of Linlathen, “of my own existence than I am of being under the eye and guidance of a Being Who desires to train and educate me to be a good man; and yet I know that beyond the pale of the Bible’s influence, this conviction has rarely been felt. But the agreement between the Bible and my spiritual organisation strengthens my faith in the Divine origin of the Bible, more than any other argument could.”’

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

7 The other events in Jotham’s reign, including all his wars and the other things he did, are written in the book of the kings of Israel and Judah.

CLARKE, "The rest of the acts of Jotham, and all his wars, and his ways - It was in his days, according to 2Ki_15:37, that Rezin king of Syria, and Pekah king of Israel, began to cut Judah short. See the notes on 2Ki_15:36, 2Ki_15:37.

Written in the book of the kings, etc. - There is not so much found in the books of Kings which we have now, as in this place of the Chronicles. In both places we have

abridged accounts only: the larger histories have long been lost. The reign of Jotham was properly the last politically prosperous reign among the Jews. Hezekiah and Josiah did much to preserve the Divine worship; but Judah continued to be cut short, till at last it was wholly ruined.

GILL, "Now the rest of the acts of Jotham, and all his wars,.... Not only with the Ammonites, but with the Syrians, and ten tribes, see 2Ki_15:37.

and his ways, lo, they are written in the books of the kings of Israel and Judah; not in the canonical books of Kings, but in the Chronicles of the kings of both nations, see 2Ki_15:36.

ELLICOTT, "(7) And all his wars, and his ways.—See 2 Kings 15:36, “And all that he did.” The chronicler seems to have varied the phrase, in order to hint at the Syro-Ephraite war, mentioned in 2 Kings 15:37.

GUZIK, "3. (2 Chronicles 27:7-9) The summary of his reign.

�ow the rest of the acts of Jotham, and all his wars and his ways, indeed they are written in the book of the kings of Israel and Judah. He was twenty-five years old when he became king, and he reigned sixteen years in Jerusalem. So Jotham rested with his fathers, and they buried him in the City of David. Then Ahaz his son reigned in his place.

a. All his wars and ways: 2 Kings 15:37-38 tells us, In those days the LORD began to send Rezin king of Syria and Pekah the son of Remaliah. Under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, the writer of 2 Kings tells us that it was the hand of the LORD that sent these foreign rulers who troubled Judah.

i. “During Jotham’s reign, the combined forces of King Rezin of Syria and King Pekah of Israel began their invasion of Judah, but the full impact of these military assaults was not felt until Jotham’s son became king.” (Dilday)

ii. “The reference to ‘all’ Jotham’s wars suggests that prior to the Ammonite campaign, for which as king he had sole responsibility, he may have served as field commander for the alliance that was conceived by his quarantined father, Uzziah.” (Payne)

b. So Jotham rested with his fathers: After the stories of the three previous kings, each of whom started well but finished poorly, it is somewhat of a relief to read of a king who did not have such a disappointing end.

PULPIT, "All his wars (see note on 2 Chronicles 27:5, and parallel, verse 37). The

book of the kings of Israel and Judah. �ote 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.

8 He was twenty-five years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem sixteen years.

GILL, "He was twenty five years old,.... The same is repeated here as in 2Ch_27:1.

HE�RY 8-9, "III. He finished his course too soon, but finished it with honour. He had the unhappiness to die in the midst of his days; but, to balance that, the happiness not to out-live his reputation, as the last three of his predecessors did. He died when he was but forty-one years of age (2Ch_27:8); but his wars and his ways, his wars abroad and his ways at home, were so glorious that they were recorded in the book of the kings of Israel, as well as of the kings of Judah, 2Ch_27:7. The last words of the chapter are the most melancholy, as they inform us that Ahaz his son, whose character, in all respects, was the reverse of his, reigned in his stead. When the wealth and power with which wise men have done good devolve upon fools, that will do hurt with them, it is a lamentation, and shall be for a lamentation.

K&D, "2Ch_27:8-9

The repetition of the chronological statement already given in 2Ch_27:1 is probably to be explained by supposing that two authorities, each of which contained this remark, were used.

ELLICOTT, "8) He was five and twenty years old.—A word for word repetition of 2 Kings 15:33, omitting the last clause about the queen-mother. Perhaps in one of the chronicler’s sources this notice occurred at the beginning, and in another at the end of the reign. This would account for its repetition here, after having been already stated in 2 Chronicles 27:1.

PULPIT, "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.

9 Jotham rested with his ancestors and was buried in the City of David. And Ahaz his son succeeded him as king.

GILL, "Ahaz was twenty years old when he began to reign,.... These verses are much the same with 2Ki_16:2, only in 2Ch_28:2 it is said:

he made also molten images for Baalim; the several Baals or idols of the nations round about, as well as served Jeroboam's calves; see Jdg_2:11, and he is said in 2Ch_28:3,

to burn incense in the valley of the son of Hinnom; to Molech, the god of the Ammonites, who was worshipped there. See Gill on 2Ki_16:2, 2Ki_16:3, 2Ki_16:4.

PULPIT, "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.

Footnotes:

2 Chronicles 27:5 That is, about 3 3/4 tons or about 3.4 metric tons2 Chronicles 27:5 That is, probably about 1,800 tons or about 1,600 metric tons of wheat2 Chronicles 27:5 That is, probably about 1,500 tons or about 1,350 metric tons of barley