2 Crônicas 17

2 Crônicas 17

Meyer - Sursum corda! Lift up your hearts! How beautiful is this ejaculation in the Communion Service of the Church of England, and the response, “We lift them up unto the Lord.” I never hear it without the thrill of a holy impulse passing through me. It is possible, and it is meet and right, to lift up our hearts from the sordid cases and pressing responsibilities of daily life, into the calm, serene presence of God our Father. Lift up your heart to God, as a child its face to be kissed. Lift it up free from mistrust and sinful stain, and unkind feeling toward any. Lift it up in holy joy and inspiration. Lift it up as a censer filled with the hot coals, from which sweet fragrance exhales. And God will bend down to lift it higher, and fill it with His peace and joy and purity. In hours of depression look up, be lifted. Sursum corda! When the foe is pressing you most severely, look up, your redemption draweth nigh. When the river has to be crossed, when the last farewell must be said, when the flesh fails, let your mind and heart thither ascend, and there continually dwell where Jesus has entered as your Forerunner. If you would lift up your heart, you must be in the ways of the Lord, as the good Jehoshaphat. You must seek the Lord God, and walk in His commandments. You must take away the high places and groves of idolatry and impurity. Beware of the world’s birdlime! Shake yourself from the bands and bonds that would detain you. Oh, heart of mine, why is thy flight so low? Lift thyself up and sit down with Christ in the heavenly places! “Unto Thee, O Lord, do I lift up my soul. Let not mine enemies triumph over me!” Raymond Dillard on the problem of high places removed and not removed. This comment is from the description of Jehoshaphat's father King Asa (2Ch 14:1-4) - That Asa “removed the foreign altars and high places” (2Ch 14:1 [2]) is in tension with the statement that “he did not remove the high places from Israel” (2Ch 15:17); many regard these two statements as fiat contradictions or a measure of the author’s incompetence as a historian. Rather than quickly dismiss efforts to ease the apparent contradiction as unconscionably harmonistic, it would be more plausible to assume that in the author’s mind the two statements were not in tension; it is unlikely that either the author or a later editor would contradict himself in such short compass. (1) Since 2Ch 15:17 occurs toward the end of Asa’s reign, presumably in some proximity to his thirty-fifth year from the narrator’s viewpoint (2Ch 15:19), and 2Ch 14:2 refers to early reforms, an intervening period of up to thirty years is possible. The two statements could be understood as no more than evidence of the resilience of the indigenous cults which plagued Judah’s history and required repeated reformation. (2) It is also possible that the Chronicler’s insertion of the words “from Israel” in 2Ch 15:17 (not in the // at 1 Kgs 15:14) is intended to indicate that Asa did not remove the high places from the cities earlier belonging to the Northern Kingdom and then under his sway; contrast the explicit statement that he removed the high places “from all the cities of Judah” (2Ch 14:4 [5]). Rudolph (241) criticizes two other solutions, that 2Ch 15:17 be understood as saying that Asa did “not completely” remove the high places (Theodoret), or that the high places in 2Ch 14:2 were the high places of the foreign deities also mentioned, whereas the subsequent reference was to Yahwistic worship centers (Noordtzij)—both solutions which are admittedly less plausible. This difficulty is not unique to the Chronicler’s account of Asa, but recurs in his statements that Jehoshaphat did (2Ch 17:6) and did not (2Ch 20:33) remove the high places. The destruction of the pillars and Asherah poles, the high places and altars is in accord with the injunctions of Deut 7:5; 12:3; 16:21–22. (See 2 Chronicles, Volume 15 - Page 117) 2 Chronicles 17:7 Then in the third year of his reign he sent his officials, Ben-hail, Obadiah, Zechariah, Nethanel and Micaiah, to teach in the cities of Judah; he sent: De 4:5 Ps 34:11 51:13 Ec 1:12 12:9,10 Isa 49:23 to teach: 2Ch 15:3 30:22 35:3 De 33:10 Ne 8:7,8,13,14 9:3 Mt 4:23 Mk 4:2 Lu 4:43,44 Ac 1:1 TAUGHT THE LAW IN THE LAND Then - Time phrase marking progression in the narrative - He had followed David, did not seek Baals, sought God, followed God's commandments and did not act as Israel did. It is therefore not surprising that in light of this description of Jehoshaphat that now he seeks to establish the Word of the Lord in all of Judah. In the third year of his reign - ~870 BC. Some think this is the first year of his sole reign following coregency with his ailing father King Asa (2Ch 16:12) Gustafson - Jehoshaphat had a true shepherd’s heart. What he knew of God’s ways and commandments (vv. 3–4), he wanted all of God’s people to know. Jehoshaphat was an ideal shepherd king who was subject to the law himself and wanted all of God’s people to be subject to it also. He initiated an itinerant Bible teaching team. This is the first time in Chronicles that such a ministry is explicitly mentioned....Various parts of the Old Testament describe priests teaching, but this is the first time that we read of Levites doing so. (Digital - What the Bible Teaches: 1 and 2 Chronicles or book - WTBT 1 and 2 Chronicles ) he sent his officials, Ben-hail, Obadiah, Zechariah, Nethanel and Micaiah, to teach in the cities of Judah - Teaching is the key thought (keyword) in 2Ch 17:7-9. In these verses we have an account of a remarkable itinerant ministry established by Jehoshaphat, in which three classes of men were employed his officials, the Levites and the priests. McConville makes a good point about his officials that this "shows that the king was prepared to organize his whole kingdom for the purpose of propagating the law” (See I and II Chronicles - Page 179) TSK - We may presume that the Princes (OFFICIALS) instructed the people in the nature of the civil law and constitution of the kingdom; that the Levites instructed them in every thing that appertained to the temple service, and ritual law; and that the Priests instructed them in the nature and design of their religion. Thus the nation became thoroughly instructed in their duty to God, to the king, and to each other; they therefore became as one man; and against a people thus united, on such principles, no enemy could be successful. Raymond Dillard - Jehoshaphat’s teaching mission portrays him in the light of the ideal king of Deut 17:18–20. It is an ideal of royal responsibility for law and justice which is pervasive in the ancient Near East (Whitelam, Just King, 17–38, 207–18). The teaching duty of the cultic personnel is well established in biblical tradition (Deut 33:10; Lev 10:11; Jer 18:18; Mal 2:7; Hos 4:6; cf. 2 Chr 15:3). Though the five officials would have served primarily as representatives of the crown, their presence assigns and legitimates a teaching role also for laity. The Chronicler’s interest in the lay members may reflect the practice of the emergent synagogues in the post-exilic period. (See 2 Chronicles, Volume 15 - Page 134) Iain Duguid: Early in his reign, Jehoshaphat initiated a broad program of teaching, involving lay officials (who would represent royal authority), Levites, and priests in an itinerant task “through all the cities of Judah.” Andrew Hill: The curriculum consists of the “Book of the Law,” presumably some form of the Pentateuch – perhaps more specifically the Covenant Code (Ex. 19-24) or even what we now know as the book of Deuteronomy. . . The verb “to teach” (lmd; 2 Chron. 17:8, 9) is a common word for instruction in the Old Testament (cf. Deut. 4:10; 5:1). It implies that education is a process of assimilation, not the dumping of information. The teacher stimulates the learner to imitate the desired action or behavioral response by word and example. The program appears to have been one of unrestricted access to religious education, as the “people” of Judah are the target audience of this “tuition-free” instruction (2 Chron. 17:9). (See NIVAC) Geoffrey Kirkland: The priorities in the teaching: 1. Instruct the MIND — teach/instruct/impart/preach/proclaim 2. Engage the PEOPLE — all the cities, in Judah, of Judah 3. Know the WORD — had the Law WITH THEM** 4. Teach the WORD — they taught… they taught… they were teaching… 5. Keep the MISSION — they *went* throughout ALL the cities 6. Maintain the PRIORITY — they were teaching the people (didn’t get sidetracked or distracted) Frederick Mabie: It is noteworthy that these individuals go out to teach God’s Word (in analogy to the going forth built into the Great Commission; cf. Mt 28:19-20), rather than expecting the people to come to them. (See 1 and 2 Chronicles) Ron Daniel - Jehoshaphat knew that the Word of God was vitally important to his nation. And so he sent officials and Levites to teach the people the book of the law of the Lord. 2 Chronicles 17:8 and with them the Levites, Shemaiah, Nethaniah, Zebadiah, Asahel, Shemiramoth, Jehonathan, Adonijah, Tobijah and Tobadonijah, the Levites; and with them Elishama and Jehoram, the priests. priests: Ezr 7:1-6 Mal 2:7 Related Passages: Leviticus 10:11 (TO AARON, A LEVITE) and so as to teach the sons of Israel all the statutes which the LORD has spoken to them through Moses.” Deuteronomy 33:10 They (LEVITES) shall teach Your ordinances to Jacob, And Your law to Israel. They shall put incense before You, And whole burnt offerings on Your altar. Malachi 2:7 “For the lips of a priest should preserve knowledge, and men should seek instruction from his mouth; for he is the messenger of the LORD of hosts. LEVITES AND PRIESTS ALSO TEACH THE WORD OF GOD and with them the Levites, Shemaiah, Nethaniah, Zebadiah, Asahel, Shemiramoth, Jehonathan, Adonijah, Tobijah and Tobadonijah, the Levites; and with them Elishama and Jehoram, the priests - I call these men the "Sweet 16," for they gave out the living Word, which David said is "Sweeter also than honey and the drippings of the honeycomb." (Ps 19:10). The Levites, especially the priests from the tribe of Levi, were directly tasked with teaching God’s law to the people as spiritual educators. ESV Study Bible - It was God’s intention from Israel’s beginning that his people be thoroughly conversant with the law (see Deut. 6:6-9). Besides administering sacrifices, it was the duty of priests in particular to instruct the people in the law (see Lev. 10:11; Deut. 33:10; Jer. 18:18; Mal. 2:7). On the role of the Levites in teaching the law, see Neh. 8:7-9. David Boyd Long writes regarding the "Sweet 16", “This would give balance and variety to all the teaching, something best done through different types of teachers rather than a stereotyped one-man-ministry type of arrangement”. Knapp - “By this little band of princes, Levites and priests, sixteen in all, Jehoshaphat did more toward impressing the surrounding nations with a sense of his power than the largest and best-equipped standing army could have secured to him” 2 Chronicles 17:9 They taught in Judah, having the book of the law of the LORD with them; and they went throughout all the cities of Judah and taught among the people. They taught in Judah: 2Ch 35:3 Ne 8:7 the book of the law of the LORD De 6:6-9 31:11-13 Jos 1:7,8 Isa 8:20 Mt 15:2-9 28:19,20 Lu 4:17-19 Joh 5:39,46 Ac 13:15 15:21 28:23 Ro 3:2 1Pe 4:11 they went throughout all the cities: Mt 10:23 11:1 Ac 8:40 They taught in Judah, having the book of the law of the LORD with them; and they went throughout all the cities of Judah and taught among the people. G Campbell