Category: 2 Chronicles

Did God Kill An Innocent Man?

by Matthew Stidham, posted in 1 Chronicles, 2 Chronicles, 2 Samuel, Narrative Lectionary

Great Is Thy Faithfulness continues this week by looking at the story of the ark of God coming to Jerusalem during the reign of King David. There is a part of this story that seems to perplex and worry many readers, and that is the account of Uzzah. I recall hearing several sermons and teachings in my past surrounding this story, but most of them didn’t fit within the theological narrative of the text. Both 2 Samuel 6 and 1 Chronicles 13 retell this story. 2 Samuel is not as nuanced and detailed as the Chronicler’s account, so I’ll use both texts. Let’s look at it together.

In Samuel’s account, David had become king and had been inquiring of God and operating under God’s guidance (2 Sam. 5:10, 18, 23). After this time David wanted to bring the ark of God, which is the very presence of God, to Jerusalem. This is a noble task because in contrast to Saul, David actually wanted to inquire of the LORD and wanted to be near the ark of God, the presence of God, when he did so (1 Chr. 13:3). The problem is that David did not actually inquire of God how to move the ark! (1 Chr. 15:13)

Careful attention is needed to what the text actually says here. “[David] and all his men” were the ones that undertook the movement of the ark of God (2 Sam 6:2). “They set the ark of God on a new cart” (2 Sam 6:3). As the cart travels along the ox stumbles so Uzzah takes hold of the ark and God strikes him down (2 Sam 6:6-7). 

Now on the surface it looks like God strikes down Uzzah because of a violation of a worship technicality. But keep in mind David and the whole group did this, not just Uzzah, and he is the only one struck down. That’s not what has happened. One might also think a vengeful God struck down an innocent concerned person who was only trying to help. That too is not what has happened. David, Uzzah, and all involved in the moving of the ark violated the law. Why did God only strike down Uzzah? This is where context comes into play.

The Chronicler has set a theme throughout his writings. To quote John Mark Hicks, that theme is “God seeks seekers.”  Chronicles uses the words “seek” more than any other biblical writing, and “heart” more than any except Jeremiah and Psalms. From the Chronicles we learn that to God it is the condition of the heart that matters. There are other clear examples of technical law violations in Chronicles (ex. 2 Chr. 30:18, 23), but God honors these violations (2 Ch. 30:20, 27).

The heart of the matter in this story is a matter of the heart.
-Why was Hezekiah’s unauthorized Passover celebration acceptable? His heart was set on seeking God. (2 Chr. 30:19)
-Why was David not struck down for moving the ark of God on a “new cart”? His heart was set on seeking God. (1 Sam. 16:7)

Why was Uzzah struck down? It’s clear Uzzah had no respect for the presence of God. Apparently his heart was not set on seeking God. Uzzah was struck down while others were not.

More could be said, but I think Hezekiah’s prayer in 2 Chronicles summarizes the story of Uzzah, and the Chronicles well.

“May the LORD, who is good, pardon everyone who sets their heart on seeking God – the LORD, the God of their ancestors – even if they are not clean according to the rules of the sanctuary.” And the LORD heard Hezekiah and healed the people.”

2 Chronicles 30:18-20 NIV (emphasis added)

Why the Church Needs to Talk About Huldah

by Matthew Stidham, posted in 2 Chronicles, 2 Kings, Scripture, Women of Scripture

I was at a Bible conference recently and the speaker asked for a show of hands by asking the question, “Who here has heard of Huldah?” Almost nobody raised their hands. Sadly this important prophet has been forgotten about, even though the king sought her out! Her story is part of the narrative around king Josiah restoring worship in the Temple in Jerusalem, and can be found in both 2 Kings 22, and 2 Chronicles 34. King Josiah is not like his father or grandfather. They were wicked, but Josiah decided to follow God like his ancestor, King David (2 Kings 22:2). Josiah removed all the idols and altars to pagan gods. He drove out the spiritists and mediums, all the household gods and brought the nation back to worshipping Yahweh.

Part of this was due to the discovery of the book of the Law when the Temple was being repaired, likely the complete Torah scroll or at least Deuteronomy. At this point in history Israel had no know knowledge of the Torah. After hearing the book read to him, Josiah responds:

 “Go and inquire of the Lord for me and for the people and for all Judah about what is written in this book that has been found. Great is the Lord’s anger that burns against us because those who have gone before us have not obeyed the words of this book; they have not acted in accordance with all that is written there concerning us.”

2 Kings 22:12-13

This is where the high priest and the advisors consult a prophet. Now during this time there were several well known prophets in Jerusalem who had been prophesying against the wickedness of idolatry. You’ve probably heard of them too, Jeremiah and Zephaniah. You can read their prophecies in your Old Testament. Yet when it was time to “inquire of the Lord” as to the validity of the words in the Book of the Law, the leaders of Israel go to Huldah. 

Huldah is a prophet, a married woman, and the keeper of the garments (NIV translates “wardrobe”). This must tell us something about Huldah. The great prophets Jeremiah and Zephaniah are prophesying in Jerusalem and yet they go to Huldah. Why? We can speculate all day about her social status, her past prophecies, why she is more highly sought than prophets we know more about today. But in the end what we do know is that when Israel’s leaders wanted to “inquire of the Lord” and validate the Book of the Law, God sends Huldah into the story.

In this narrative we find for the first time someone validating the words of the Law as being God’s word. We find that the Book of the Law is actually Scripture by the Lord’s prophecy through Huldah. Nowhere in this passage is Huldah criticized or reprimanded for teaching these men. Nowhere are these men condemned or criticized for allowing a woman to teach them. This leads to a question: If we say it’s wrong for a woman to teach a man, why does God teach these men through a woman? The story of Huldah is preserved twice in Scripture because it is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting, and training in righteousness. 

So what can we learn from Huldah? We learn that even though Jeremiah and Zephaniah had God-given prophetic roles in Jerusalem during this time, God gave Hulda a job too. And that job was to teach the men leading Israel about God’s Word. Perhaps we would be wise to remember that God gifts “each one” as he determines (1 Cor. 14:4-11). We don’t make the rules. God does.