The Book of 2 Chronicles

Word Study

"corruptly," Hebrew mashchitim from shachat (שָׁחַת), to act corruptly, to ruin, to spoil. Jotham "did that which was right in the sight of the LORD, according to all that his father Uzziah did", he followed the good in his father's reign. But then a pointed exception: "howbeit he entered not into the temple of the LORD." Jotham learned from his father's fatal mistake. Uzziah's pride had driven him to intrude into the priest's office and burn incense, and he was struck with leprosy (chapter 26). Jotham deliberately did not repeat that presumption. He imitated his father's virtues but avoided his sin, wisdom indeed, to learn from a parent's failure as well as his example. Yet the verse ends on a sober note: "And the people did yet corruptly (shachat)." Despite the king's personal faithfulness, the people remained morally corrupt. A godly leader cannot compel a people's hearts; Jotham was faithful, but he could not make the nation faithful. This is a realistic and humbling picture: a good king reigning over a bad people. Jotham's own righteousness stands out all the brighter against their corruption, for he held to what was right even when those around him did not.

Explanation

Jotham was a good king who did what was right, following the good example of his father Uzziah, but he wisely avoided Uzziah's great sin: he did not enter the temple to usurp the priests' role, as his father had done. He learned from his father's downfall. However, the people of Judah continued in their corrupt ways despite the king's faithfulness. Jotham could set a godly example and rule rightly, but he could not force the people's hearts to follow God. His personal righteousness shone against the backdrop of a nation that remained morally corrupt.

Gospel Focus

Jotham teaches two quiet but important lessons. First, wisdom learns from others' failures, not only their virtues. He "did... according to all that his father Uzziah did," but "he entered not into the temple", he embraced his father's good and refused his father's sin. We are wise when we learn from the falls of those before us, "now all these things happened unto them for ensamples: and they are written for our admonition" (1 Corinthians 10:11). Second, personal faithfulness is possible and required even when those around us are corrupt. "The people did yet corruptly," yet Jotham "did that which was right." We are not excused from godliness because our culture or even our community is ungodly; we are called to be "blameless and harmless, the sons of God, without rebuke, in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation, among whom ye shine as lights" (Philippians 2:15). A leader cannot force hearts, and we are each responsible for our own walk with God regardless of the crowd. Jotham could not make Judah faithful, but he could be faithful himself, and God honored it. Learn from the failures of others, hold fast to what is right even when few do, and shine as a light in a corrupt generation.

Word Study

"prepared," Hebrew hekhin from kun (כּוּן), to establish, make firm, order, fix. In a single sentence the Chronicler gives the secret of Jotham's success: "Jotham became mighty (chazaq, strong), because he prepared (kun) his ways before the LORD his God." His might was not the cause but the effect. This is the same word used of Rehoboam, negatively, who "prepared not his heart to seek the LORD" (chapter 12:14), and here it is the making of Jotham. And "because" of that, he "became mighty." Strength, stability, and success flowed from a life ordered before God.

"his ways," derakhav (דְּרָכָיו), his paths, his conduct of life. The root of Jotham's might was that he "prepared his ways before the LORD." To "prepare one's ways" is to order and establish the whole direction and conduct of life deliberately in God's sight, to fix one's paths firmly toward Him. His life was consciously arranged before God, his ways set and settled in the LORD's presence. This is the Chronicler's recurring theme, stated here at its simplest: those who set their ways before the LORD are established by Him. Jotham did not become mighty and then, being secure, grow proud like his father; his might came from and rested on his deliberate walk before God.

Explanation

The Chronicler sums up the reason for Jotham's strength and success in one sentence: he became mighty because he deliberately ordered his life before God. His power was the result of his devotion, not the other way around. Unlike his father Uzziah, whose strength led to prideful ruin, Jotham's might flowed from and rested on his consistent, purposeful walk with the LORD. He arranged his ways, his conduct and direction, in God's sight, and God made him strong.

Gospel Focus

"Jotham became mighty, because he prepared his ways before the LORD his God" is a compact statement of a great truth: true strength and stability come from a life deliberately ordered before God. To "prepare our ways before the LORD" is to live consciously in His sight, to set the direction of our lives, our habits, choices, and conduct, toward Him on purpose. "Commit thy works unto the LORD, and thy thoughts shall be established" (Proverbs 16:3); "in all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths" (Proverbs 3:6). This is the opposite of drifting or of the self-reliant strength that ruined Uzziah; it is a settled, God-ward ordering of life that God Himself establishes. And it stands in deliberate contrast to Rehoboam, who "prepared not his heart to seek the LORD" and did evil (chapter 12:14). The difference between the two kings was the difference between a life prepared before God and one that was not. Under the new covenant this is our calling too: to "walk circumspectly, not as fools, but as wise" (Ephesians 5:15), living all of life coram Deo, before the face of God. If you would be spiritually strong and stable, do not seek strength directly; prepare your ways before the LORD, order your life in His sight, and He will establish and strengthen you, as He did Jotham.