Problem: David declared here that the righteous person “meditates day and night.” However, meditation is associated with Eastern religions, such as Buddhism and Hinduism, which are contrary to Christianity. Should Christians engage in meditation?
Problem: The Chronicler declares that Nebuchadnezzar “came up against him [Jehoiakim], and bound him in bronze fetters to carry him off to Babylon.” But elsewhere “Jehoiakim rested with his fathers” (2 Kings 24:6) and was “buried with the burial of a donkey, dragged and cast out beyond the gates of Jerusalem” (Jer. 22:19; cf. 36:30).
Problem: Here we are informed that Josiah destroyed the altars and idols, but earlier (in 2 Chron. 33:15) Manasseh had destroyed them.
Solution: No human king can root out the depraved human desire for idolatry. Therefore, Josiah had to redo the same work that his predecessor had done. A good human king can destroy idols, but not the love of idols. And, as long as this love exists, idolatry will live to rear its ugly head again and again.
Problem: According to this text, upon his return, Manasseh repented of his earlier sin and reinstituted the worship of the Lord in Judah. However, the record of the career of Manasseh as found in 2 Kings 21 does not mention this glorious repentance. Why?
Problem: In 2 Kings 16:15, Ahaz encouraged the worship of the Lord in the temple. But, in 2 Chronicles 28 he is said to have “shut up the doors of the house of the Lord, and made for himself altars in every corner of Jerusalem” (v. 24). Continue reading →
“Who shall not fear thee, O Lord, and glorify Thy name? for thou only art holy” (Rev. 15:4). He only is independently, infinitely, immutably holy. In Scripture, He is frequently styled “The Holy One.” He is so because the sum of all moral excellency is found in Him. He is absolute purity, unsullied even by the shadow of sin. “God is light, and in him is no darkness at all” (1 John 1:5). Holiness is the very excellency of the divine nature; the great God is “glorious in holiness” (Ex. 15:11). Therefore we read, “Thou art of purer eyes than to behold evil, and canst not look on iniquity” (Hab. 1:13).
The longer I live, the more I realize the impact of attitude on life. Attitude, to me, is more important than facts. It is more important than success, than what other people think or say or do.
Problem: Here we are told that it was king Ahaziah’s brother’s “sons” who were killed. But 2 Kings 10:13–14 says it was Ahaziah’s “brothers” that were slain.
Problem: According to 2 Chronicles 21:16–17, Jehoram’s sons were only taken captive by the Philistines and the Arabians. By contrast, this passage says they “killed all the older sons.”
Problem: When Jehoram became king in Judah, “he made high places in the mountains of Judah, and caused the inhabitants of Jerusalem to commit harlotry, and led Judah astray” (2 Chron. 21:11). In 2 Chronicles 21:12, we find that, in response to Jehoram’s sin, Elijah sent a letter to Jehoram. However, if Elijah was translated prior to the reign of Jehoram the son of Jehoshaphat, then how could he have sent a letter to Jehoram?