1-4 Azariah (Uzziah) Begins Reign over Judah (2 Chronicles 26:1-15)
- Son of Amaziah of Judah and Jecoliah, begins reign in 27th year of Jeroboam II of Israel, at 16 years old, for 52 years.
- As long as Zechariah the priest is alive, he does right as his father had done, but does not take away the high places. "As long as he sought the LORD, God made him prosper."
- He rebuilds Eloth, restoring it to Judah, wars against the Philistines, Arabs, and Meunites.The Ammonites pay tribute to him.
- In Jerusalem, he builds towers, cisterns, large herds, with farmers and vine dressers, "for he loved the soil."
- His army, under Hananiah, has 2600 mighty warriors, with a well-equipped army of 375,500 and machines on the towers and corners that shoot arrows and large stones.
- In his success he becomes proud and "false to God," and enters the temple to make his own offering of incense.
- The priest Azariah, with 80 other priests, tells him it is only for priests to do.
- He becomes very angry, and begins to offer the incense anyway, and the LORD strikes him with leprosy
- From that day he lives in a separate house while his son Jotham governs.
- At his death, he is buried in the city of David in a field "near his ancestors," for he is leprous, and is succeeded by his son Jotham.
- Begins in 38th year of Azariah (Uzziah) of Judah, reigning only 6 months.
- He does what is evil, following the sins of Jeroboam.
- Shallum son of Jabesh conspires against him, murders him in public, then reigns in his place.
- Fulfills prophecy of God to Jehu (2 Kings 10:30) that his sons would sit on the throne of Israel for 4 generations. (Jehu - Jehoahaz - Jehoash - Jeroboam II - Zechariah)
- Shallum begins reign in 39th year of King Uzziah of Judah, reigning only one month.
- Menahem son of Gadi from Tirzah kills Shallum and reigns in his place.
- Because the city of Tiphsah does not open to him, Menahem sacks it, "ripping open" all the pregnant women.
- An evil king, Menahem begins reign in 39th year of Azariah (Uzziah) of Judah, reigns 10 years.
- When King Pul of Assyria threatens Israel, he exacts 50 shekels each from the wealthy, gives Pul 1000 talents of silver, and Assyria turns back.
- Succeeded by his son Pekahiah.
- An evil king, Pekahiah begins reign in 50th year of Azariah (Uzziah) of Judah, reigns 2 years.
- Pekah son of Remaliah, his captain, conspires with 50 Gileadites to kill him, Arbog and Arich in the citadel of the palace, and reigns in his place.
- An evil king, Pekah begins reign in 52nd year of Azariah, reigning 20 years.
- King Tiglath-pileser of Assyria captures several cities, and carries their people to Assyria.
- In the 20th year of Jotham of Judah, Hoshea son of Elah conspires against and kills Pekah, reigning in his place.
- Son of Uzziah (Azariah) and Jerusha daughter of Zadok, Jotham begins reign in 2nd year of Pekah of Israel, at 25 years old, reigning 16 years.
- Jotham does right, as Uzziah had done, but does not remove the high places
- He does not invade the temple as Uzziah did.
- He builds the upper gate of the temple, cities in the hill country, forts, and towers.
- He fights and prevails over the king of the Ammonites, receiving 100 talents of silver, 10,000 cors of wheat and 10,000 of barley for 3 years in a row.
- He becomes strong because "he ordered his ways before the LORD his God."
- At this time the LORD begins sending King Rezin of Aram and Pekah son of Remaliah against Judah.
- Jotham is buried in city of David, succeeded by his son Ahaz.
1-20 Ahaz over Judah (2 Chronicles 28)
- Ahaz begins reign in 17th year of Pekah, at 20 years old, reigning 16 years in Jerusalem.
- He does not do right in God's sight, but walks in the path of kings of Israel, making even his own son(s) "pass through the fire," sacrificing in the high places and making images for the Baals.
- King Rezin of Aram and King Pekah of Israel wage war on Jerusalem, besieging the city but not conquering it. Per the Chronicles account (28:5), the king of Aram takes people captive to Damascus. And Pekah kills 120,000 in Judah in one day (28:6). Zichri of Ephraim kills the king's son Maaseiah, Azrikam the palace commander, and Elkanah, the next in authority to the king (28:7).
- Chronicles account: Israel takes 200,000 captives to Samaria, but Oded, a prophet, convinces them of the evil and consequences of taking their own brothers captive. He is backed up by Ephraimite chiefs Azariah son of Johanan, Berechiah son of Meshillemoth, Jehizkiah son of Shallum and Amasa son of Hadlai, who clothe, feed, and anoint the captives and take them to Jericho, back to their kindred. Then they return to Samaria. (28:8-15)
- The king of Edom recovers Elath for Edom, driving out the Judeans.
- Ahaz appeals to King Tiglath-pileser of Assyria for help against Aram (Syria), giving him silver and gold out of the temple, and the king of Assyria marches against Damascus, taking its people captive and killing Rezin. Per the Chronicles account, Tiglath-pileser does not help Judah, but oppresses them instead, even after Ahaz plunders the temple and his house to give tribute to Tiglath-pileser (28:16-21). On this seeming contradiction, commentators say that Tiglath-pileser does go against Damascus but takes it for himself, using his position there to further oppress Judah. Ahaz learns little from this experience of trusting his enemies and the enemies of God -- instead he tries to emulate them.
- King Ahaz goes to Damascus to meet Tiglath-pileser and while there copies the plans of the altar at Damascus, and tells the priest Uriah to build one just like it in Samaria.
- When Ahaz returns from Damascus, he replaces the original bronze altar with the "great" one, moving the bronze altar to the north of the new one, for Ahaz to "inquire by." Chronicles: [The gods of Aram] "were the ruin of him, and of all Israel."
- He "shuts the doors of the house of the Lord," and desecrates the bronze sea and other equipment "because of the king of Assyria."
- When he dies, he is buried in the city of David, but not in the tombs of the kings of Israel. He is succeeded by his son Hezekiah.
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