Adam Clarke

“ Preface to the Two Books of Chronicles
Anciently these two books were considered but as one: for this we have not only the testimony of St. Jerome, but also that of the Masoretes, who gave the sum of all the sections, chapters, and verses, under one notation at the end of the second book, without mentioning any division; and although the modern Jews divide them, yet they give the Masoretic enumeration of sections, etc., as it was given of old; and all editors of the Masoretic Bibles, whether Jewish or Christian, follow the same plan. ”

“ A rich priesthood is not favorable either to the spread or depth of religion. Earthly gratifications are often put in the place of Divine influences: it is almost a miracle to see a very rich man deeply interested in behalf either of his own soul, or the souls of others.
Verse 36
And Hezekiah rejoiced - Both he and the people rejoiced that God had prepared their hearts to bring about so great a reformation in so short a time; for, it is added, the thing was done suddenly. The king's example and influence were here, under God, the grand spring of all those mighty and effectual movements. ”

“ We see that the religion of a land is as the religion of its king. If the king were idolatrous, up went the altars, on them were placed the statues, and the smoke of incense ascended in ceaseless clouds to the honor of that which is vanity, and nothing to the world; on the other hand, when the king was truly religious, down went the idolatrous altars, broken in pieces were the images, and the sacrificial smoke ascended only to the true God: in all these cases the people were as one man with the king.
Verse 5
He burnt the bones of the priests - כומריא kumeraiya, the kemarim, says the Targum. ”

“ The people departed with a glad heart, for all the good which God had done to David his servant, on whose account the doors of the sanctuary were open and for Solomon his son, because God had heard his prayer, and the majesty of the Lord had rested on the house of the sanctuary and for Israel, his people, because God had favourably accepted their oblations, and the heavenly fire had descended, and, burning on the altar, had devoured their sacrifices. ”

“ Alas, alas! Can even kings forget benefits? But when a man falls from God, the devil enters into him; and then he is capable of every species of cruelty.
Verse 22
The Lord look upon it, and require it - And so he did; for, at the end of that year, the Syrians came against Judah, destroyed all the princes of the people, sent their spoils to Damascus; and Joash, the murderer of the prophet, the son of his benefactor, was himself murdered by his own servants. ”

“ To know ourselves, and our own character, is of the utmost importance to our religious growth and perfection. He who does not know where his weakness lies, is not likely to know where his strength lies. Many, by not being fully acquainted with their own character, have been unwatchful and unguarded, and so become an easy prey to their enemies. Know thyself is a lesson which no man can learn but from the Spirit of God.
Chapter 33 Introduction
Manasseh reigns fifty-five years, and restores idolatry, pollutes the temple, and practises all kinds of abominations, [470] . ”

“ Verse 10
Built towers in the desert - For the defense of his flocks, and his shepherds and husbandmen.
And in Carmel - Calmet remarks that there were two Carmels in Judea: one in the tribe of Judah, where Nabal lived, and the other on the coast of the Mediterranean Sea, near to Kishon; and both fertile in vines.
He loved husbandry - This is a perfection in a king: on husbandry every state depends. Let their trade or commerce be what they may, there can be no true national prosperity if agriculture do not prosper; for the king himself is served by the field. ”

“ Verse 18
A multitude of the people - had not cleansed themselves - As there were men from Ephraim, Manasseh, Issachar, and Zebulun, they were excusable, because they came from countries that had been wholly devoted to idolatry.
The good Lord pardon every one - "The Lord, who is good, have mercy on this people who err." - T.
Verse 22
Spake comfortably unto all the Levites - On such occasions the priests and Levites had great fatigue, and suffered many privations; and therefore had need of that encouragement which this prudent and pious king gave. ”

“ That he was young when he came to the throne, is evident from his consulting the young men that were brought up with him, [171] , [172] . They were young men then; and if he was brought up with them, he must have been young then also. Besides, Abijah, in his speech to Jeroboam, [173] , says that at the time Rehoboam came to the throne he was tender-hearted, and therefore could not withstand the children of Belial raised up against him by Jeroboam: but surely at that time no man could be reputed young and tender-hearted - quite devoid of experience, who was above forty years of age. ”

“ Verse 3
Burnt his children in the fire - There is a most remarkable addition here in the Chaldee which I shall give at length: "Ahaz burnt his children in the fire; but the Word of the Lord snatched Hezekiah from among them; for it was manifest before the Lord that the three righteous men, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, were to proceed from him; who should deliver up their bodies that they might be cast into a burning fiery furnace, on account of the great and glorious Name, (יהוה) and from which they should escape. ”

“ The Levites were more upright in heart - The priests seem to have been very backward in this good work; the Levites were more ready to help forward this glorious reformation. Why the former should have been so backward is not easy to tell; but it appears to have been the fact. Indeed, it often happens that the higher orders of the priesthood are less concerned for the prosperity of true religion than the lower. Why is this? They are generally too busy about worldly things, or too much satisfied with secular emoluments. ”

“ That every thing in the tabernacle and temple was typical or representative of some excellence of the Gospel dispensation may be readily credited, without going into all the detail produced by the pious author of Solomon's Temple Spiritualized. We can see the general reference and the principles of the great design, though we may not be able to make a particular application of the knops, the flowers, the pomegranates, the tongs, and the snuffers, to some Gospel doctrines: such spiritualizing is in most cases weak, silly, religious trifling ”

“ Verse 19
Israel rebelled - A few soft words, and the removal of a part of the oppressive taxes, (for they said, Ease thou Somewhat the grievous servitude) , would have secured this people to the state, and prevented the shedding of a sea of human blood, which was the consequence of the separation of this kingdom. Rehoboam was a fool; and through his folly he lost his kingdom. He is not the only example on record: the Stuarts lost the realm of England much in the same way; and, by a different mode of treatment, the House of Brunswick continues to fill the British throne. ”

“ Hezekiah's good reign, [404] , [405] . He opens and repairs the doors of the temple, [406] . He assembles and exhorts the priests and Levites, and proposes to renew the covenant with the Lord, [407] . They all sanctify themselves and cleanse the temple, [408] . They inform the king of their progress, [409] , [410] . He collects the rulers of the people: and they offer abundance of sin-offerings, and burnt-offerings, and worship the Lord, [411] . Every part of the Divine service is arranged, and Hezekiah and all the people rejoice, [412] . ”

“ It was anciently used as a form of confession in the Christian Church, and is still as such received by the Greek Church. It is as follows: - "O Lord, Almighty God of our fathers, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and of their righteous seed, who hast made heaven and earth, with all the ornament thereof; who hast bound the sea by the word of thy commandment; who hast shut up the deep, and sealed it by thy terrible and glorious name; whom all men fear, and tremble before thy power; for the majesty of thy glory cannot be borne, and thine angry threatening towards sinners is insupportable ”

“ Verse 3
Put the holy ark in the house - It is likely that the priests had secured this when they found that the idolatrous kings were determined to destroy every thing that might lead the people to the worship of the true God. And now, as all appears to be well established, the ark is ordered to be put into its own place.
For an ample account of this passover and the reformation that was then made, see on [505] (note) , etc., and the places marked in the margin. ”

“ It is not for the want of holy resolutions and heavenly influences that men are not saved but through their own unsteadiness; they do not persevere, they forget the necessity of continuing in prayer, and thus the Holy Spirit is grieved, departs from them, and leaves them to their own darkness and hardness of heart. ”

“ When we consider the heavenly influences which many receive who draw back to perdition, and the good fruits which for a time they bore, it is blasphemy to say they had no genuine or saving grace; they had it, they showed it, they trifled with it, sinned against it, continued in their rebellions, and therefore are lost. ”

“ The Philistines brought - presents - They and the Arabians purchased peace with the king of Judah by paying an annual tribute. The Philistines brought silver, and no doubt different kinds of merchandise, The Arabs, whose riches consisted in cattle, brought him flocks in great abundance, principally rams and he-goats.
Verse 13
He had much business in the cities - He kept the people constantly employed; they had wages for their work; and by their labors the empire was both enriched and strengthened. ”

“ The Word of the Lord shall be your helper, while ye walk in his ways. If ye seek doctrine from his presence he will be found of you in times of trouble; but if you cast away his fear, he will abandon you."
Verse 3
Now for a long season Israel - "Israel hath followed Jeroboam, and they have not worshipped the true God. They have burnt incense to their golden calves; their priestlings [כומריא cumeraiya, their black, sooty sacrificers] have burnt perfumes with a strange worship, and have not exercised themselves in the law." - Targum. These priests could not teach, because they had not learnt ”

“ What amazing power and influence has God lodged with kings! They can sway a whole empire nearly as they please; and when they declare themselves in behalf of religion, they have the people uniformly on their side. Kings, on this very ground, are no indifferent beings; they must be either a great curse or a great blessing to the people whom they govern.
Chapter 30 Introduction
Hezekiah invites all Israel and Judah, and writes letters to Ephraim and Manasseh to come up to Jerusalem, and hold a passover to the Lord, [418] . ”

“ Calmet considers these words as strong evidence that these books were the work of Ezra, and penned after the captivity.
We are not to suppose that these books are the Chronicles of the Kings of Judah and Israel so often referred to in the historical books of the Old Testament; these have been long lost, and the books before us can only be abridgments, either of such chronicles, or of works of a similar kind. ”

“ Jehoram succeeds his father Jehoshaphat; and commences his reign with the murder of his brethren, and of several of the princes of Israel, [280] . He walks in the way of Ahab, whose bad daughter, Athaliah, he had married, [281] . God remembers his covenant with David, and does not destroy the nation, [282] . The Edomites revolt, [283] . Jehoram restores the high places in the mountains of Judah, and greatly corrupts the morals of the people, [284] . A letter comes to him from Elijah, [285] . ”

“ Shut up the doors - He caused the Divine worship to be totally suspended; and they continued shut till the beginning of the reign of Hezekiah, one of whose first acts was to reopen them, and thus to restore the Divine worship, [403] .
Verse 27
The kings of Israel - It is a common thing for the writer of this book to put Israel for Judah. He still considers them as one people, because proceeding from one stock. The versions and MSS. have the same reading with the Hebrew; the matter is of little importance, and with this interpretation none can mistake. ”

“ Jehoiachin is made king in his stead, and reigns wickedly three months and ten days, and is also led captive to Babylon, [510] , [511] . Zedekiah begins to reign, and reigns wickedly eleven years, [512] , [513] . He rebels against Nebuchadnezzar, and he and his people cast all the fear of God behind their backs; the wrath of God comes upon them to the uttermost; their temple us destroyed; and the whole nation is subjugated, and led into captivity, [514] . Cyrus, king of Persia, makes a proclamation to rebuild the temple of the Lord, [515] , [516] . ”

“ The king, the Levites, and the people take courage; praise and magnify God; and go forth to meet their enemies, [267] . The enemies are confounded, and destroy each other, [268] . The men of Judah take the spoil, praise the Lord, and return with joy to Jerusalem, [269] . The fear of the Lord falls upon all their enemies round about; and the land has rest, [270] , [271] . Transactions and character of Jehoshaphat, [272] . He joins with Ahaziah, king of Israel, in building a fleet of ships to go to Tarshish, but they are wrecked at Ezion-geber, [273] . ”

“ Josiah reigns thirty-one years; destroys idolatry in Judah, as also in Manasseh, Ephraim, Simeon, and even to Naphtali, [483] . He begins to repair the temple, and collects money for the purpose, and employs workmen, [484] . Hilkiah the priest finds the book of the law in the temple, which is read by Shaphan before the king, [485] . He is greatly troubled, and consults Huldah the prophetess, [486] . Her exhortation, and message to the king, [487] . He causes it to be read to the elders of Judah, and they make a covenant with God, [488] , [489] . ”

“ Gathered Judah together - He purposed to avenge himself of the Syrians, but wished to know his military strength before he came to a rupture.
Verse 7
The Lord is not with Israel - "The Word of the Lord is not the helper of the Israelites, nor of the kingdom of the tribe of Ephraim." - Targum. ”