2 Chronicles

1.  Solomon establishes himself firmly as king over Israel after his father, David's, death -- Solomon calls together the leaders of Israel and the the whole assembly goes to the tabernacle to offer sacrifices to God -- That night God appears to Solomon and tells him to ask for whatever he wants, and He will give it to him -- Solomon asks for wisdom and knowledge so he can rule the people well -- God tells him he will receive wisdom and knowledge, and he will also receive wealth, riches and honor -- Solomon accumulated horses and chariots, and silver and gold became as common in Jerusalem as stones
2.  Solomon gives orders to build the temple for the Lord, and a royal palace for himself -- He gets cedar logs and skilled workmen from Hiram, king of Tyre, in exchange for wheat, barley, olive oil and wine -- Solomon takes a census of the aliens in the Israel, then conscripts them to be carriers, stonecutters, and foremen to oversee their work
3.  In the 4th year of his reign, Solomon begins to build the temple of the Lord in Jerusalem on Mount Moriah, which was also the location of the threshing floor of Araunah which David had bought to offer sacrifices on
4.  The temple's furnishings which Solomon had build listed and described
5.  When the temple was finished, Solomon had all the things David had dedicated brought into the temple -- Solomon called all the leaders of Israel together in Jerusalem, then had the Levites carry the ark of the Lord and all the furnishings at the tent up to the temple of the Lord -- The priests placed the ark of the Lord in the inner sanctuary of the temple -- There was a great celebration of praise -- The temple of the Lord was filled with a cloud, and the glory of the Lord filled the temple
6.  Solomon begins to speak to the people and blesses them -- Solomon's prayer of dedication for the temple
7.  The dedication of the temple:  When Solomon finished praying, fire came down from heaven and comsumed the burnt offerings and sacrifices, and the glory of the Lord filled the temple; the people bowed down with their faces to the ground -- Great numbers of offerings were made -- They celebrated for 7 days -- On the 8th day they held an assembly, then celebrated for 7 more days -- When Solomon had finished the temple and the royal palace, the Lord appeared to him at night telling him that if he walked faithfully before Him, Solomon's throne would be established, but if he turned away from God to serve other gods, then Israel would be uprooted
8,  Solomon's other activities; at the end of the 20 years it took to complete the temple and the royal palace, Solomon rebuilt many cities throughout the land he ruled -- He built a palace for one of his wives, Pharaoh's daughter, whom he'd brought up from Egypt -- With Hiram's help, he also had some of his men sail to other countries
9.  The Queen of Sheba visits Solomon because she had heard of his great wisdom -- She comes bearing many gifts -- She finds Solomon's wisdom far greater than she had heard it to be -- Solomon's spendor detailed
 -- Solomon reigned over Israel 40 years -- After his death, Rehoboam, his son, succeeded him as king
10.  Rehoboam went to Shechem to be made king -- Jeroboam, along with all Israel, went to Rehoboam to ask him to lighten the heavy load that Solomon had put on them, and they would gladly serve him -- Reoboam consulted the elders who had served his father; their advice was to give them a favorable answer; but Rehoboam rejected their advice -- Reoboam then consulted the young men who had grown up with him; their advice was to make the load heavier rather than lighter -- Three days later, Jeroboam and the people returned to hear Rehoboam's answer -- When all Israel saw that the king refused to listen to them, they rebelled -- Rehoboam still ruled over the towns in Judah -- Rehoboam sent out Adoniram, but the rebellious Israelites stoned Adoniram to death, and Rehoboam managed to escape
11.   When Rehoboam returned to Jerusalem, he mustered the houses of Judah and Benjamin, and wanted to go to war against Israel to regain the whole kingdom -- God sent the message to Rehoboam to not go to war against Israel, their brothers; so he obeyed God -- Rehoboam fortifies the cities of Judah and Benjamin -- Along with Judah and Benjamin, the priests and Levites throughout the whole land sided with Rehoboam -- Jeroboam rejected the priests of the Lord and appointed his own priests for the high places and calf idols he had made -- Those from every tribe who chose to continue to follow the Lord, the God of their fathers, supported Rehoboam -- Rehoboam's family
12,  After Rehoboam's kingdom became strong, they abandoned the law of the Lord -- Shishak, king of Egypt attacked Jerusalem in the 5th year of Rehoboam's reign -- Shemaiah, the prophet came to the king and the leaders of Judah, telling them the Lord was abandoning them to Shishak because they had abandoned God --
They humbled themselves, so God told them they would not be destroyed, but would be delivered soon; however, they would be subject to Shishak to learn the difference between serving him and serving God -- Rehoboam continued as king and reigned 17 years; he did evil in the sight of the Lord -- Abijah, his son, succeeded him as king
13.  In the 18th year of Jeroboam, king of Israel, Abijah became king of Judah and reigned 3 years -- Abijah, with 400,000 men went up against Jeroboam, with 800,000 men and challenged him to battle -- When Judah saw they were being attacked from the front and the rear, they cried out to the Lord, the priests blew their trumpets and the men of Judah raised the battle cry -- God routed Jeroboam and his troops, and delivered them into the hands of Abijah and his men -- Abijah was victorious, and regained several towns with their surrounding villages -- Jeroboam did not regain power during Abijah's reign
14.  When Abijah died, Asa, his son, succeeded him as king -- Judah was at peace for 10 years -- Asa did what was right in God's sight, taking down the places of pagan worship and commanding Judah to seek the Lord -- He built up and fortified many cities in Judah as the land enjoyed peace -- When Zerah, the Cushite, marched with his vast army against Judah, Asa and his army marched out to meet him -- Asa called upon the Lord to help them in the battle -- God struck down the Cushites, and Asa and his men pursued them as the Cushites fled and were crushed before the Lord and and his forces -- The men of Judah destroyed many villages, carrying off much plunder from them; they attacked camps of herdsmen, and carried off droves of sheep, goats and camels before returning to Jerusalem
15.  The Spirit of God came upon Azariah, and he delivered a message from God to Asa, the king of Judah, and all Judah and Benjamin -- Asa took courage from the message and he removed the detestable idols and repaired the altar of the Lord at the temple -- He assembled all Judah and Benjamin, and the people from Ephraim, Manasseh and Simeon who had come to him from Israel when they saw that God was with him -- They made sacrifices to the Lord and entered a covenant to seek the Lord -- Asa removed Maacah, his grandmother, from her position for she had made a repulsive Asherah pole -- There was peace in the land until the 35th year of Asa's reign
16.  In the 36th year of Asa's reign, Baasha, king of Israel fortified Ramah to keep anyone from leaving or entering Asa's territory -- Asa made a treaty with Ben-Hadad, king of Aram, and gave him silver and gold to break his treaty with Israel -- Ben-Hadad helped Asa fight Israel, and they tore down the town of Ramah -- Hanani, the seer, told Asa that since he had relied on the king of Aram instead of the Lord, Judah would continue to be at war -- This so enraged Asa that he imprisoned Hanani -- In the 39th year of Asa's reign, he became ill and did not seek the Lord, but only the physicians -- Two years later, Asa died
17.  Jehoshaphat, Asa's son, became king of Judah -- He fortified the cities of Judah -- In his early years. he followed God and obeyed His commandments -- In the 3rd year of his reign, he sent his officials, along with certain Levites and priests, throughout the land to teach the Book of the Law to the people -- Jehoshaphat became more and more powerful; he built forts and store cities in Judah, and kept large supplies in the towns -- He kept a large army of fighting men in Jerusalem, besides those he stationed in the fortified cities
18.  Jehoshaphat allied himself with Ahab, king of Israel, through marriage -- Several years later, Jehoshaphat went to visit Ahab; Ahab asked Jehoshaphat to go to war with him against Ramoth Gilead -- Ahab asked his prophets if they should go to war; they told him he would be victorious -- Jehoshaphat asked if there was a prophet of the Lord they could call on -- Michaiah was brought in, and he prophesied defeat -- Ahab had Michaiah imprisoned -- Ahab disguised himself, but had Jehoshaphat go in his royal robes as they went into battle -- The Arameans thought Jehoshaphat was Ahab, so started to go after him -- When he called out who he was, the Lord helped him -- Ahab, the king of Israel was mortally wounded by a random arrow, and died
19.  When Jehoshaphat returned to Jerusalem, Jehu, the seer, told him the wrath of God was on him because he helped the wicked and loved those that hated the Lord; however, he was good in getting rid of the Asherah poles in the land and had set his heart on the Lord -- Jehoshaphat appointed judges in Judah, as well as some of the Levites to administer the law of the Lord -- He encouraged them to faithfully judge
20.  The Moabites, Ammonites and some of the Meunites joined forces to attack Jehoshaphat -- When Jehoshaphat was told they were on the way, he decided to inquire of the Lord and proclaimed a fast -- The people of Judah came together to pray because they didn't know what they should do -- The Spirit of the Lord came upon Jahaziel, who delivered God's message;  They were to not fear, go face the enemy, and the Lord would be with them -- Jehoshaphat appointed singers to praise God, leading the army as they went to face the enemy -- As they began to sing and praise the Lord, He sent ambushes against the enemy and they were defeated -- When the army of Jehoshaphat came to the place that overlooks the desert, they saw only dead bodies of the enemy -- Jehoshaphat's army continued to praise God for His deliverance -- Other events of Jehoshaphat's reign
21.  Jehoram, son of Jehoshaphat, become king of Judah -- When he became established, he killed his brothers and did evil in God's sight -- During his reign Edom and Libnah rebelled against him -- Elijah, the prophet sent him a letter telling him that the Lord would soon strike a heavy blow against Jehoram, and how he would die -- The Philistines, and some Arabs, invaded Judah and carried off everything of value in the palace, including Johoram's sons and wives; only Ahaziah, his youngest son was left -- Jehoram died as Elijah had predicted, ending Jehoram's eight-year reign 
22.  Ahaziah became king of Judah and reigned 1 year; he did evil in God's sight, walking in the ways of Ahab, king of Israel -- He joined forces with Joram, king of Israel, in warring against Hazael, king of Aram at Ramoth Gilead -- Joram was wounded and taken to Jezreel -- Ahaziah went to visit Joram -- While there, Jehu, son of Nimshi came to execute judgment on the house of Ahab, and also killed Ahaziah and all who came with him to visit Joram -- Athaliah, Ahaziah's mother, took control and proceeded to kill all the royal family of Judah -- But Jehosheba, daughter of Jehoram and wife of Jehoiada, rescued Joash, son of Ahaziah, and hid him in the temple with them during the 6 years that Athaliah rulled the land
23.  Then Jehoiada made a covenant with commanders of the army who gathered all the Levites and the heads of families in Judah to meet at the temple -- They made a plan, and crowned Joash king at the temple -- When Athaliah came to see what was going on, she was seized and then put to death -- Then Jehoiada made a covenant that he, all the people and the king would be the Lord's people -- The temple of Baal was torn down, the altar there smashed and the the priest of Baal was killed -- Jehoiada organized the Levites and the army; he also seated the new king on his throne
24.  Joash was 7 years old when he became king and reigned 40 years; As long as Jehoiada lived, Joash did right in the eyes of the Lord -- Joash decided to repair the temple of the Lord -- Money was collected and the temple of God was repaired according to its original design -- As long as Johoiada lived, burnt offerings were presented continually at the temple of the Lord -- After the death of Jehoiada, Joash began to listen to the officials of Judah -- They abandoned the temple of the Lord and began to worship other gods again -- God sent prophets to the people to bring them back to the Lord, but they refused to listen; they even killed those who tried to warn them -- The Aramean army invaded Judah, and though the Arameans had only a few men Judah was defeated -- Joash was severely wounded, and then his officials conspired against him, killing him in his bed -- Amaziah, son of Joash became king of Judah
25.  Amaziah reigned 29 years and did right in God's eyes, though not whole-heartedly -- In addition to his own army, Amaziah hired 100,000 fighting men from Israel, but when confronted by a prophet of God, the men were sent back home -- They were furious with the dismissal -- Amaziah had a great victory against the army of Seir, but while he was there, the previously dismissed troops invaded Judah, killing many and taking great quantities of plunder --  When Amaziah returned from his victory against the army of Seir, he began to worship the gods he had brought back from Seir -- God sent a prophet to again confront Amaziah, but Amaziah wouldn not listen  -- Then Amaziah challenged Israel to fight; Jehoash, king of Israel, urged Amaziah to stay home, but he refused -- Amaziah was defeated in battle and the Isaelites broke down the wall in Jerusalem and took the gold, silver, and other treasures from the temple;  Amaziah lived for 15 years after the death of Jehoash, king of Israel
26.  Uzziah, son of Amaziah, became king of Judah and reigned 52 years -- He went to war against the Philistines, and God helped him get the victory and he became powerful -- He built up and fortified Jerusalem, and had much livestock and vineyards -- He had a well- trained army which was also well-equipped -- But when he became powerful, he became proud, which led to his downfall -- The Lord afflicted him with leprosy when he attempted to burn incense in the temple, which was not right for him to do -- Uzziah had to live in a separate house for the rest of his life, while Jotham, his son, had charge of the palace and ruled the people -- At the death of Uzziah, Jotham became king of Judah
27.  Jotham reigned 16 years and did right in God's sight; But the people continued their corrupt practices -- Jotham built towns in the Judean hills as well as towers in the wooded areas -- Jotham made war against  the Ammonites and conquered them -- Jotham became powerful -- At his death, his son, Ahaz, became king
28. Ahaz, king of Judah, reigned 16 years and did not do right in the Lord's sight -- He did as Israel did, made idols and worshiped other gods; and followed the detestable ways of the nations around him -- Because of this, Judah was defeated by the Arameans, and even Israel warred with them and took many prisoners and plunder -- Oded, a prophet of the Lord, confronted Israel, telling them that the Lord's fierce anger was on them for intending to make the people of Judah their slaves;  He commanded that the people of Judah be released -- Some of the leaders followed Oded's commands, and confronted the returning army to release their prisioners -- the prisoners were fed, clothed and treated if wounded or weak; they were then returned to Jericho -- Ahaz had war on every side because he had promoted wickedness and been unfaithful to the Lord -- Even in his trouble he became even more unfaithful; he shut the doors of the temple of God and built altars to other gods everywhere in Judah -- At his death, Hezekiah, his son, became king of Judah
29.  Hezekiah reigned 29 years and he did right in God's sight -- In the 1st month of his reign, he opened and repaired the doors of the temple of the Lord -- He brought the priests and Levites back to the temple and commanded them to remove all defilement from the temple -- After the priests and Levites consecrated themselves, they did all the work of cleansing the temple; when the work was finished, they reported back to Hezekiah -- Early the next morning Hezekiah gathered the city officials together and they all went to the temple to offer sacrifices to the Lord -- So the service of the temple of the Lord was reestablished -- Hezekiah and all the people rejoiced
30.  Hezekiah sent word to all Israel and Judah, inviting them to the temple of the Lord in Jerusalem to celebrate the Passover -- The people in Israel scorned and ridiculed the messengers, although some men of Asher, Manasseh and Zebulun did humble themselves and came to Jerusalem -- The people of Judah had a spirit of unity to carry out the plans of the king to celebrate the Passover -- Since many of the crowd had not consecrated themselves, the Levites had to kill the lambs for them -- Although most of the many people who came from Ephraim, Manasseh, Issachar and Zebulun had not purified themselves, still they ate the Passover
-- But Hezekiah prayed that the Lord would pardon everyone whose heart was set on seeking God, even though they had not properly purified themselves before partaking of the Passover lamb -- God answered Hezekiah's prayer -- The Passover was celebrated with great joy
31.  After the celebration was over, the Israelites went out and smashed all the Asherah poles, high places of pagan worship and pagan altars throughout Judah, Benjamin, Ephraim and Manasseh -- Hezekiah organized the priests and Levites into divisions to serve at the temple of the Lord, and commanded the people to bring in their tithes and offerings to the temple -- Hezekiah ordered storerooms be built to handle all the contributions and placed men in charge of distribution -- Hezekiah did what was good and right and faithful, and so he prospered
32.  Sennacherib, king of Assyria invaded Judah and laid seige to the fortified cities to conquer them -- When Hezekiah knew that Sennacherib was intending to make war on Jerusalem, he worked hard to block sources of water outside Jerusalem, built up the city walls, built towers on them, built an additional protective wall and made a large number of weapons and shields -- He appointed military leaders and assembled them; he encouraged them by reminding them that God was with them and would help them to fight their battles -- Sennacherib sent messengers to Jerusalem to shout discouraging words to Hezekiah and the people, mocking their trust in God, and declaring that Sennacherib would defeat Jerusalem -- Hezekiah and Isaiah, the prophet, prayed to God about the situation -- The Lord sent an angel, who annihilated all the fighting men, the leaders and officers in the Assyian camp -- So Sennacherib withdrew to his own land in disgrace, and was soon after was killed by some of his own sons -- God saved Hezekiah and the people from Assyia and from all the other nations around them -- Hezekiah became ill to the point of death -- Hezekiah prayed to the Lord, who answered him and gave him a miraculous sign -- But Hezekiah was proud, so the Lord's wrath was on him and the people of Jerusalem -- They repented, so God's wrath did not come during the days of Hezekiah -- Hezekiah became very rich, and accomplished much building in the land -- When Hezekiah died, Manasseh, his son, became king of Judah
33.  Manasseh reigned 55 years and did evil in the Lord's sight, following the detestable practices of the nations around him -- He desecrated the Lord's temple, practiced Baal worship, erected Asherah poles, practiced sorcery, divination and witchcraft; and consulted mediums and spiritists -- He did very much evil in the eyes of the Lord, provoking Him to anger -- The Lord spoke to Manasseh and the people, but they would not listen -- So the Lord sent the armies of Assyia against him; Manasseh was taken prisoner to Babylon, with a hook in his nose and bound with bronze shackles -- In his distress, Manasseh sought the favor of the Lord and humbled himself; when he prayed to the Lord, He listened to him and brought Manasseh back to Jerusalem and his kingdom; then Manasseh knew that the Lord is God -- Manasseh rebuilt and heightened the outer wall around Jerusalem -- He also got rid of all the foreign gods and reestablished the worship of God in the Lord's temple; he told Judah to serve the Lord, the God of Israel, but the people continued to sacrifice at the high places, but only to the Lord, their God -- When Manasseh died, Amon, his son, became king -- Amon reigned 2 years and did evil in God's sight -- He reestablished all the pagan worship in the land -- His officials conspired against him and assassinated him; then the people of the land killed those who had plotted against the king; the people chose Josiah, son of Amon, to be king
34.  Josiah was 8 years old when he became king; he reigned 31 years and did right in the eyes of God -- He purged the land of the worship of false gods, then repaired and restored the temple of the Lord -- While the temple restoration was going on, the Book of the Law was found -- It was read to the king, who tore his robes and ordered that his officials go to inquire of the Lord -- They went to the prophetess, Huldah, who told them that God was going to bring all the disaster on Judah that He had promised, because Judah had forsaken God and worshiped false gods -- But because Josiah had humbled his heart before God, he would die in peace before the disaster came -- Josiah read all the Book of the Covenant to the people and renewed the covenant with God -- The people pledged themselves to the covenant -- As long as Josiah lived, they followed the Lord
35.  The Passover was celebrated with great joy -- When the temple had been set in order, Neco, king of Egypt went up to fight at Carchemish on the Euphrates -- Josiah marched out to meet and do battle with him -- Neco sent messengers to tell Josiah he was not coming to do battle with Judah, so go home; Josiah refused to go home so fought with Neco at the plain of Megiddo -- Though Josiah disguised himself, an arrow mortally wounded him and he died at Jerusalem
36.  Jehoahaz, son of Josiah, became king of Judah -- He reigned 3 months; the king of Egypt dethroned him and levied tribute on the land -- Eliakim, brother of Jehoahaz was made king by Neco, king of Egypt; Eliakim's name was also changed to Jehoiakim by Neco -- Jehoiakim reigned 11 years -- Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, attacked Judah and took Jehoiakim off in bronze shackles to Babylon and took articles from the temple of God with him, too -- Jehoiachin, son of Jehoiakim, became king of Judah; he ruled 3 months and 10 days and did evil in God's sight -- Nebuchadnezzar came and took him, along with more articles from the temple, to Babylon -- Nebuchadnezzar made Jehoiachin's uncle, Zedekiah, king of Judah; he ruled 11 years and did evil in God's sight -- He rebelled against Nebuchadnezzar, as well as worshiping false gods and following detestable practices -- God sent word time after time, but the people mocked God's messengers until God's anger was aroused -- He brought Nebuchadnezzar against them; many were killed, Jerusalem was destroyed, the temple burned, the temple articles taken and the surviving people went into exile to  Babylon -- They were in exile for 70 years, until Cyrus, king of Persia, came to power -- In the 1st year of Cyrus, he made a proclamation that the God of Heaven had given him all the kingdoms of the earth and had appointed him to build a temple for Him in Jerusalem -- Anyone among His people would be able to go up to Jerusalem to work on the temple