Today’s post is another “list” from 2 Chronicles. I wasn’t going to include this but the more I look at it the more helpful I think it can be. Take a few moments to wander through the list and we will make some comments afterwards. In the list, we give a passage, the king of Judah, and then the enemy or enemies. (As always, NK stands for Northern Kingdom of Israel.)
JUDAH’S ENEMIES during divided kingdom
1.
12:3: Rehoboam: Egypt + Lubim (Lybia) + Sukkiim +
Ethiopians
2.
13:2ff: Abijah: Jeroboam, NK
3.
14:9: Asa: Zerah the Ethiopian; 16:8: Lubim (took the
fortified cities, Mareshah [Valley of Zephathah], came to Jerusalem). Then no
war until 35th year.
o
16:1: Asa: Baasha, NK
o
16:2: Asa: Syria (Ben-Hadad)
4.
20:1,22: Jehoshaphat: Moab, Ammon, Mt. Seir
5.
21:10: Jehoram: Edom, Libnah
o
21:16: Jehoram: Philistines, Arabians
6.
Ahaziah (none)
7.
24:23-25: Joash: Syria
8.
25:11-12: Amaziah: Mt. Seir/Edom
o
25:13,17-24: Amaziah: Israel
9.
26:6-10: Uzziah: Philistines, Arabians, Meunites
10.
27:5: Jotham: Ammon
11.
28:5: Ahaz: Syria, Israel
o
28:17-18: Ahaz: Edomites, Philistines
o
28:20: Ahaz: Assyrians
12.
Ch. 32: Hezekiah: Assyria
13.
33:11: Manasseh: Assyria
14.
Amon (none)
15.
35:20: Josiah: Egypt
16.
36:3: Jehoahaz: Egypt
17.
36:6: Jehoiakim: Babylon
18.
36:10: Jehoiachin: Babylon
19.
36:17: Zedekiah: Babylon (although technically it was
the LORD; He was Israel’s enemy… “HE brought against them the king of the
Chaldeans)
You will note that in the early days of the
divided nation the enemies of Judah were the NK, of course, and also the Ethiopians
who were linked to Egypt, the Lubim (Libya) and the Sukkiim (uncertain). First,
the Egyptians were in the lead; later the Ethiopians had the lead. However, from the time they were
defeated by Asa, the Ethiopians seemed to fade as far as being a regional power
in the NE African continent.
In the later years of Asa, Syria becomes a thorn
in the side for Judah. Syria was the
first enemy to take land and captives when they gained control over the area of
the two and a half tribes east of the Jordan (2 Kings 10:32-33). Later, in the time of Ahaz, Syria was tied to
the NK and together they sought to control Judah.
Ahaz sought the help of the Assyrians who, of course, responded by
rendering Syria and the NK not only powerless but non-existent. This event is important background for the
prophecy of Amos.
The Assyrians were the ruling power for a
period of time. But they were weakened
in the time of Hezekiah, a story told in 2 Kings 18-19, 2 Chronicles 32 and
Isaiah 36-37. As Assyria was weakened, Babylon
was rising in power and become the “neighborhood bully” after defeating
the Assyrians at Carchemish around the time of Josiah.
When we speak of these enemies we must keep in
mind that they are all part of God’s dealings with His people. Lev. 26 promised that continued disobedience
by Israel/Judah would eventually result in being defeated by their enemies and
then being taken captive and removed from the land for a time.
No comments:
Post a Comment