2 Chronicles 27:1-9

2 Chronicles: God desires loyal people

The *Kingdom called Judah

2 Chronicles Chapter s 10 to 36

Ian Mackervoy

Chapter 27

Jotham – 2 Chronicles 27:1-9

v1 Jotham was 25 years old when he became king. He ruled for 16 years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Jerushah. She was the daughter of Zadok. v2 Jotham did what was right in the opinion of the *LORD. In this way, he was like his father Uzziah. But Jotham did not go to the *LORD’s *temple to burn *incense as his father had. But the people continued to do what was wrong. v3 Jotham built again the Upper Gate of the *LORD’s *temple. And he did a lot of work on the wall of Ophel. v4 Also, he built towns in the hill country of Judah. In the forests, he built castles and high buildings for defence.

v5 Jotham fought the king of Ammon and Jotham defeated his army. That year the people in Ammon paid to him 100 *talents of silver. Also they gave to him 10 000 *cors of wheat and 10 000 *cors of *barley. They paid to him the same amounts for the next two years.

v6 Jotham became powerful, because he always obeyed the *LORD his God.

v7 There is a record of what Jotham did. It includes all his wars while he was king. This record is in the book of the kings of *Israel and Judah. v8 He was 25 years old when he became king. And he ruled for 16 years in Jerusalem. v9 Jotham died and they buried him in David’s city. Then Ahaz his son replaced him as king.

Verses 1-4 Jotham ruled for 16 years from about 751 *BC to 735 *BC. He ruled in Jerusalem. His father Uzziah died in about 738 *BC. So, for 13 of his 16 years he ruled with his father. He was 25 years old when he began to rule. His mother was the daughter of Zadok. Probably Zadok was a *descendant of the famous priest with the same name (2 Samuel 8:17).

Jotham was loyal to the *LORD as his father had been. But he did not go into the holy place or burn *incense. The people continued to *sacrifice and to burn *incense at the *worship places (2 Kings 15:35). Uzziah and Jotham did not try to remove those places.

The Upper Gate, which Jotham built again, was on the north side of the *temple (Ezekiel 9:2). The wall of Ophel was to the south and east of the *temple. It was between the Kidron Valley and the Tyropoeon Valley. Jotham repaired the wall of the city that was in that area.

In many parts of Judah, Jotham built castles and other buildings for the defence of his *kingdom. The agreement between the kings of *Israel and Aram may have been the reason for this work (2 Kings 15:37).

Verse 5 Uzziah had control over Ammon (26:8). It seems that they tried to get free from the control of Jotham. So, Jotham fought with them and he defeated them. Then for three years, the people in Ammon paid a tax to Jotham. That tax included about three and three quarter tons of silver. And they gave to him wheat and *barley in volume about 575 000 gallons (2200 *kilolitres) of each.

Verses 6-9 Jotham involved himself in several wars. There is now no record of any of them except against the people from Ammon. There is a note that in those days *Israel and Aram came against Judah (2 Kings 15:37). That may have been at the end of Jotham’s life. But he was powerful in all these wars because he obeyed the *LORD.

The record of all that he did was in the book of the kings of *Israel and Judah. Jotham died and they buried him in David’s city. Then his son Ahaz became king.

kingdom ~ the place or territory where a king rules; or, the people that a king rules over.
LORD ~ ‘LORD’ is the special name that God gave to himself. It means that God has always been.
lord ~ someone with authority such as the king.
temple ~ a special building for the worship of God or of other gods. The Jews had one in Jerusalem for the worship of the real God.
worship ~ to praise God and to give thanks to him; to show honour to God and to say that we love him very much. But some people worship false gods instead of the real God.
Jews ~ another name for the *Israelites.
incense ~ something that gives a sweet smell when it burns. The priests burned it when they praised God in the temple.
temple ~ a special building for the worship of God or of other gods. The Jews had one in Jerusalem for the worship of the real God.
worship ~ to praise God and to give thanks to him; to show honour to God and to say that we love him very much. But some people worship false gods instead of the real God.
Jews ~ another name for the *Israelites.
talent ~ weight equal to 75 pounds or 34 kilos.
cor ~ a quantity of grain equal to 57.5 gallons (220 litres).
barley ~ a grain.
BC ~ years before Christ was born.
descendant ~ a future member of a family or of a nation.
sacrifice ~ something that people give to God. If it was an animal, the priests would burn all or part of it on an altar. That was to say thank you to God, or to ask him to forgive. God made Jesus to be a sacrifice because of our sins. To sacrifice is to give a sacrifice.
altar ~ the special table that someone made out of stone or wood or metal; on it they burnt animals or they offered other gifts to God or to false gods.
sin ~ sin is the wrong things that we do. To sin is to do wrong, bad or evil deeds and not to obey God. Those who sin are sinners.
worship ~ to praise God and to give thanks to him; to show honour to God and to say that we love him very much. But some people worship false gods instead of the real God.
kingdom ~ the place or territory where a king rules; or, the people that a king rules over.
kilolitre ~ a quantity of liquid equal to 1000 litres. It is about 260 gallons.