2 Chronicles 32
The
Chronicler again carefully portrays the kings of Judah. Today he does it by
omitting certain details that would make Hezekiah look bad. For example, he fails
to tell that Hezekiah pled with Sennacherib for peace and offered him tribute.
He also leaves out the detail that Hezekiah had an arrangement with the king of
Egypt. (We’ve seen how the Chronicler feels about foreign alliances!) Even in
the matter of Hezekiah’s illness, the king’s desperation and selfishness are
left off. Now, he does record Hezekiah’s pride, but he also immediately says
that Hezekiah repented of it and that Hezekiah was exceedingly blessed.
We’ve
talked about this before, how the Chronicler idealizes the kings of Judah. But
it’s a prominent feature of Chronicles, so we have to point it out again. The
Lord is faithful to the line of David, and the Chronicler explains it by emphasizing
their good qualities. In this, he is a great example of the 8th
Commandment, as he tries to explain everything n the kindest way.
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