2 Chronicles 16

great festivals, when they were bound by God to go up to Jerusalem. P’-U A COMMENTARY UPO».>DT>r l\ [c.HAP..xyii. latter end of his Hfo he was defective in his inward trust and confidence in God: which is called foolishness; both because it was a sinful thiug, and very pernicious. For, God exposed him to his enemies, as a punishment for relying on man more than his friendship., •

2 Chronicles 16:1

JLn the six-and-thirtieth year of the reign of Asa, Baasha king of Israel came np against Judah. The war * was begun in the conclusion of the five-and-thirticth’ycar: » and in tho beginning of the six-and-thirtieth he made this invasion. But this disagrees so much with what is said in 1 Kings xv. 33. that interpreters labour hard to reconcile them. For by that place it appears, that Baasha began. his reign in the third year of Asa, and reigned no more than four-and-twenty years. T From whence it follows, that he was dead nine or ten years before the thirty-sixth year of Asa. It is a short way of solving this which Joscphus seems to take; (lib. viii. Ant. cap. G.) by supposing a mistake in the transcriber from the original copy, in which it vms not the. six-and-thirtieth of Asa’s reign, but the six-andtwentieth, which was the last year of the reign of Baasha. Who died, he thinks, immediately after Ben-hadad had defeated his intentions of building Bamah. But most think J chap.xvi.] THE SECOND BOOK OF THE CHRONICLES. this too* bold a supposal: and therefore I gave in few words another account of this difficulty in my notes upon 1 Kings xvi. 8. viz. that this was the six-and-thirtieth year since the’division of the kingdom, after the’ death of Solomon, when Israel was rent from Judah. For so many years were now past since that time; viz. twenty years in the reign of Rehoboam and Abijah, and fifteen of Asa’s reign,- when many of the Israelites came to him, (xv. 10.) Thus Seder Olam Rabba, Ralbag, Abarbincl also, with a great number of eminent modern writers, both protcstants and papists: such as Junius, Piscator, Cocceius, Jacobus Capellus, Lightfoot,’ Mariana, Torniellu’s, Sanctius, Salianus, and Petavius himself, with many others. It is not said, indeed, that Baasha came up in the thirty-sixth year of the kingdom of Judah, but in that year of the reign of king Asa: but they make, account, that the kingdom of Judah and of Asa were’ all one: and so they might easily be put one for the other. And whereas it is objected/ that the Scripture is not wont to reckon the years of any king from any other term but the time wherein he began to reign: they produce an example to the contrary from 2 Sara. xv. 7. where Absalom is said to have gone to Hebron in the end of forty years, and there conspired against his father; which years Seder Olam reckons from the beginning of the kingdom, or the inauguration of Saul. And our Dr. Lightfoot alleges another instance in the thirty-sixth chapter* of this book, ver. 9. where Jchoiachin is said to be eight years old.when he began to reign: that is, said he, in -the.eighth’ year of-Nebuchadnezzar: for he was eighteen years old/ as appears from 2 Kings xxiv. 8. But this difference, I think, may be better reconciled another way, as I shall observe on that place. I shall* here only add, that as this’ is the most ancient way of solving this difficulty, so they that go another are forced to suppose, that these words do not relate to the beginning of the reign of Asa, but to something else; for instance, to tho beginning of his wars witli Israel. Which Kimchi endeavours to make out; but I shall not trouble the, reader.with it: for many good men think Josephus in the right. * And built Ramah.] That’ is/made a wall about it, and fortified it. To the intent that he might let none go out or come in to Asa king of Judah.’] The late defection of so many of his subjects, as fell from him to the house of David, (xv. 9.) was the occasion of setting a strong guard in this place, which was the passage between the dominions of Israel and Judah, (1 Kings xv. 17.)

2 Chronicles 16:2

Then Asa brought but silver and gold out of the treasures of the house of the Lord, and of the king’s house, and sent to Ben-hadad king of Syria, that dwelt at Damascus, saying. ’ This is a little more largely related in 1 Kings xv. 18. (See my notes there.).

2 Chronicles 16:3

There is a league between me and thee, as there uxis between my father and thy father: behold, I have sent thee silver and gold; go, break’ thy league withBaasha king of Israel, that hemdy depart from me.

2 Chronicles 16:4

And Ben-hadad hearkened unto king Asa, and sent the captains of his armies against the cities of Israel; and they smote Ijon, and Dan, and Abel-maim, and all the store-cities ofNaphtali.

2 Chronicles 16:5

Audit came to pass, when Baasha heard it, that he left off building ofllamah, and let his work cease. Ver. G. Then Asa the king took all Judah; and they car* tied away the stones of Ramah, and the timber thereof wherewith Baasha was a building; and he built therewith Geba and Mizjmh.] These four verses are the very same (with small variation) with those in 1 Kings xv. 19 — 21. 29. (See my notes there.)

2 Chronicles 16:7

And at that time Hanani the seer came to Asa king of Judah, and said unto him. Here follows a remarkable history added to what we read in the book of the Kings: which relates the great weakness of Asa in his declining years, and God’s displeasure at it. Because thou hast relied on the king of Syria, and not relied, on the Lord thy God.] Who had promised great victories to him/ by the prophet Azariah, if he did well, (xv. 7.) •;’ TJierefore is the host of the king of Syria escaped out of thine hand,] Whom God would have overthrown, as he did the Ethiopians, if they had continued their league with Baasha, and come to his assistance against Asa. But now the Syrians were reserved to be a scourge to his family.'

2 Chronicles 16:8

Were not the Ethiopians and the Lubims a huge host, with very many chariots and horsemen?. Secxiv.9. By the Lubims are meant the people of Lybia, of the Africans beyond Egypt: who are sometimes in Scripture called Phut, and sometimes Lubim, from the Arabic’word Lub, which signifies dry or thirsty, as Bochartus observes: for such was the country which this people inhabited^erra sitiens (as-Lucian calls it), a thirsty land; They are noted by authors to have had abundance of horsemen arid chariots, in which they fought, as’Xenophon tells us. And’ Herodotus saith, the Greeks learnt from them r&rcrcpac IWove Z>zvyvvvat, to yoke four horses together to draw a chariot* Yet, because thou didst rely on the Lord, he delivered them into thine handi] See xiv. 11. The words of Conradus Pellicanus upon this verse are so pious, that’I think fit to transcribe them: " Asa committed a triple offence; in distrusting the goodness of God for help, and calling to his aid an infidel and impious king; when he bad lately had such an experiment of God’s clemency in his triumph over the king of Ethiopia. Nothing offends God so much as distrust in his goodness towards the faithful: as an entire faith and confidence in his merby pleases him above all things.. Upon which account David was so highly in his favour, though otherwise gnilty of sundry crimes."

2 Chronicles 16:9

For the eyes of the Lord run to and fro through out the whole earth, to shew himself strong in the behalf of them whose heart is perfect, towards him.* He exercises a most watchful providence over those throughout the whole world, who sincerely commit themselves unto him, and depend upon him in well-doing, and will not fail to protect them.’’ For these words, as Mr. Mede observes, are of the same import with those in the prophecy of Zechariah, iv» 11. where the seven eyes of the Lord are said to run to and fro through the earth’.’ Which took such care of that one stone which Zerubbabel had laid for the foundation of the temple, that the work could not be disappointed, but should certainly at length be finished, (par. i. discourse 10.) Herein thou hast donefoolishly; therefore from henceforth thou shall have tvars.] The heart of Asa is said to have been perfect all his days, in the foregoing chapter, ver. 17. And so it was in the matter of the outward worship of God at the temple/ of which lie was there speaking. But in the

2 Chronicles 16:10

Tlien Asa was wroth with the seer,. This was still a greater sin, to be so angry with his reprover (though ho had his commission from God) as to put him in prison. But anger is no good adviser; and when men forget God, they are not themselves. And put him in a prison-house.] In the stocks which wcro in. the prison, as Tremellius translates it, in domum cippi. For he was in a rage with him because of this thing.’] For which he ought to have. thanked and rewarded him. r7,<■ And Asa oppressed some of the people at the same time.] He enslaved them, as the Targum, translates it,. That is, in the latter part of his reign he grew.somcthing tyrannical. And no wonder, when he relied not upon God,, but upon human power, and was full of pridef and passion..

2 Chronicles 16:11

And they offered unto the Lord the same time.) In the Hebrew, in that day. Which the Targum takes to have been in the feast of weeks; whifch in the New Testament is called Pentecost; which was kept in the third month, called Sivan. Of.the spoil which they had brought.’] From Zcrab, and from the cities they took about Gerar. Seven hundred oxen and seven thousand sheep.] Which they offered besides the appointed offerings at the feast And’they seem to have been partly burnt-offerings, in acknowledgment of God’s goodness for their great victory: and. partly peace-offerings, in eating of which they made the following covenant. x: V.. And, behold, the acts of Asa, first and last, lo, they are written in the books of the kings of Judah and Israel.] Not in those books of the Kings which we have in the Bible; but in those mitten by the prophets, mentioned xii. 15. Ver- 12.? And -Asa, in tJie thirty and ninth year of his reign, was diseased in his feet, until his disease was exceeding great.] He had the gout; which increased to such a height, that he died of it, as Pellicanus thinks. Which was a just punishment upon him, fpr putting the prophet’s feet in tho stocks: " Ut per id quod peccaverat, per id, punirctur;" that his offence might be seen in his punishment, Yet in his disease he sought not to the Lord, but to the jyhysicians.] It was not a fault that he desired the help of physicians; but that he trusted to, their skill; more than.to* the goodness and power of God: which he did not implore, but cpntinucd in his former fault, of putting confidence in man. And so Grotius thinks, he^did not sin in seeking help from the Syrians, but in trusting to.them more than God, and hiring them with things consecrated to God, (lib. ii. de Jure Belli et Pacis, cap. 15, sect. 9.) An excellent person whom I have often mentioned (Dr. Alix) is of opinion, that these physicians were heathens; for we never read of any before in the sacred story, but among the Egyptians: and the heathen physicians in those days were a sort, of charmers. ^.,. /.. •,

2 Chronicles 16:12

And they entered into a covenant to seek the Lord God of their fathers with all their heart, and with all their sonl. Engaged themselves, by a solemn oath, to; worship the Lord alone; and professed to do it sincerely, and with entire affection to him. But this doth not signify that Asa had no fault: for it appears, by the next chapter, that he had a great many..,

2 Chronicles 16:13

That whosoever would not seek the Lord God of Israel should be put to death. If any body did, either publicly or privately, worship any other god, they agreed the sentence of the law should be executed upon him, which was death, (Deut.xvii.2.) Whether small or great, whether man or woman.] That is, without any respect to persons; no consideration being had of any one’s dignity, nor the weakness of.their sex moving pity and compassion.. < And Asa slept with his fathers, and died in the one-and~fortieth year of his reign,,. •Ver. 14, And they buried him in his own sepulchres, which he had made for himself in the city of David.] In the Hebrew the words are, they buried him in his sepulchres; the plural number being used, as many, think, for the singular, which is frequent,in the Scripture. But the words rather Tcspect the form of their monuments in that nation, which contained many sepulchres; that is, several cells wherein dead bodies were laid. And it is likely he made one for himself, which he added to the rest of the sepulchres in that vault, oi: monument. And laid him in the bed which was filled with sweet odours, and divers kinds of spices prepared by the apothecaries 9 art.] To all his other offences he added this vanity (as Conradus Pellicanus thinks), that he ordered his body to be buried after the manner of the gentiles, rather than like the people of God. Tho«gh it must bq confessed; it was an angient custom to embalm bodies, which was used in tho burial of Jacob. But what is herc.rclated doth not seem to be meant of any thing done to the body; but to the bed on which it lay; which, among the Romans, was very stately for great perspns. (Seo Suetonius, in the life of Julius Caesar, cap, 84.) For the heathens were wont to burn their goods with them, to serve them in the other world. And they made a very great burning for him.] The Greeks and Romans burnt dead bodies, throwing frankincense, myrrh, cassia, and other fragrant things, into the fire. And these in such vast quantity, that Pliny represents it as a piece of profaneness to bestow such heaps of frankincense upon a dead body, when. they offered it, to their gods by crumbs, (lib. xii. Nat. Hist. cap. 18.) But the Israelites had no such custom; but from the ancient Egyptians perhaps learnt the custom, not of burning bodies, but of burning many spic6s at their funerals; as we find not only here; but at the funeral of Jehoram, (chap. xxi. 9.) and of Zedckiah, (Jer. xxxiv. 5.) Kimchi here says, that they burnt the bed on which they lay, and other household-stuff, that none might have the.honour to use. them when they were gone. i.‘fhjod sxlj If we may believe what.the Jews say in Juchasin, when Gamalesl the son of Simeon, the grandchild of Hillel (at whose feet St. Paul s&t), was buried, Onkelos burnt seventy pounds of frankincense; upon his sepulchre. But this is a fable invented to raise the credit of the Targum of Onkelos, which was not known’.till many ages after. But the best of the Jews believe this burnihg of sweet spices and woods AVas first intended,.merely to prevent the offence -which the siriell of, dead bodies might possibly sometimes give. But the vanity of some men made them exceed beyond necessity.

2 Chronicles 16:14

And theysidare unto the Lord with a loud voice, and with shouting, and with trumpets, and with cornets. These were expressions of the joy mentioned in the next verse, wherewith they took this oath. The difference be– tween trumpets and cornets it is not worth inquiring after: the former seem to have been made of metals, the other of horns or wood.

And all Judah rejoiced at the. oath. The main body of the people: and though there might be some idolaters “secretly lurking among them, yet they all gave those’ outward tokensof their joy to see the worship of God thus established. For they liad sworn with all their heart, and sought him with their whole desire.] That is, they professed to do this most sincerely and heartily; and many of them, no doubt, did, at that time, resolve to worship God alone, though afterward they apostatized from him. And he was found of them: and the Lord gave them rest round about.] They reaped the happy fruit of this reformation, in the greatpeace which they enjoyed, without disturbance from any of their neighbours.

And also concerning Maachah, the mother of Asa the king. His grandmother, as the Targum observes: it being usual in Scripture to call such their parents, (Exod. ii. 18.) t. He removed her from being queen.] This was a great testimony of the uprightness of this king, that he would not suffer such a near relation to retain her idols, or any authority: his love to God overcoming his affection to his parents. (See 1 Kings xv. 13.) Jacobus Capellus thinks this stirred up Baasha to make war upon him: for having lived peaceably with him a longtimo,npon this he broke out into hostility. (Histor. Sacra et Exot. ad Annum Mundi 3053.) Because she had made an idol in a grove.] Or rather, an Asherah, or Astarte, for so Laasherah is translated by trie LXX. And, in all probability, Astarte, the famous goddess of Syria, was the deity “which was worshipped by Maachah, as Mr. Selden observes in his dc Diis Syris, Syntagm. ii. cap. 2: And thus Abarbincl upon Jcr. xliv. makes Asherah to be the same with the queen of heaven there mentioned, viz. the moon. And Asa cut down her idol, and stamped it, and burnt it at the brook Kidron.] He destroyed it with the utmost contempt, (1 Kings xv. 13.)

But the high places were not taken away out of Israel. It is said twice in the foregoing chapter, that he did take away the high places, (ver. 3. 5.) But that was of Judah: whereas out of the territories he had conquered in the land of Israel; we are here informed, he was not able to remove them. Or else the meaning is, that -he* gave orders for the taking them away every where; but they were not obeyed. Or, as others think, he took away those high places that were for the service of other gods; but let those alone where the true, God alone was worshipped…• Nevertheless the heart of Asa was perfect all his days.] He heartily hated all idolatrous worship as long as he lived.

And he brought into the house of God the things that his father had dedicated, and that he himself had dedicated, silver, and gold, and vessels. See upon 1 Kings xv. 15.

And there was ho more war unto the fwo-and thirtieth year of the reign of Asa. That is, as some interpret it, there was no war with the Ethiopians, or such-like people; though with Baasha he had perpetual war, (1 Kings xv. 1G.) But Jacobus Capellus in the place abovenamed* would have the words thus translated, There was no war in* the kingdom of Asa, till the. thirty-fifth year, viz. of the kingdom of Israel, not of Judah, or Asa: for this was the thirtyfifth year after Jeroboam rent the kingdom from the house of David. In which he follows Torniellus, as he doth Bcroaldus and Junius, though he would not vouchsafe to name them. But more of this in the beginning of tbe next - chapter. •. *. «