2 Chronicles 27:1 - Meaning and Application

There is not much more said here about Jotham than we had already in (2 Kings 15:32). Still, this short account gives us a clear picture of his reign.

He ruled well. He did what was right in the Lord’s sight. His whole course was pleasing to God, whose favor he sought and whose word he used as his guide. This also shows that he acted from a good heart. He prepared his ways before the Lord his God (2 Chronicles 27:6). That is, he walked carefully and wisely. He planned how to avoid evil and do good. He looked ahead and arranged his affairs so that he could manage them in an orderly way. Or, the meaning may be that he fixed his ways firmly before the Lord. In other words, he stayed steady and constant in his duty, with a clear and firm resolve. He was not like some before him who had some good in them, but lost respect because they were inconsistent and unstable. They had run well, but something held them back. It was not so with Jotham.

Two things stand out in his character. First, he corrected what was wrong in his father, Uzziah, also called Azariah. Jotham did everything his father had done well and wisely. But he would not copy his father’s sin. He did not go into the temple of the Lord to burn incense, as his father had done, but learned from his father’s punishment and did not dare such a proud act. We should not copy even the best people any farther than they did what was right. Their failures, and the harm that came from them, should warn us to walk carefully so we do not stumble over the same stone.

Second, what was wrong in the people he could not get them to reform. The people still acted corruptly. This may suggest some fault in him, if he did not do all he could to improve the land. Good people may live rightly themselves and still lack the courage and zeal to press for reform in others. But it certainly places much blame on the people, because they did not use the advantage of such a good reign. They had sound teaching and a good example, yet they refused to change. So even under good kings, as well as bad ones, they were storing up judgment for the day of wrath. They still acted corruptly, and the refiner’s fire was wasted on them.

He also prospered and became highly respected. He built. He began with the gate of the house of the Lord, repairing, beautifying, and strengthening it. Then he fortified the wall of Ophel, a fortified section of Jerusalem, and built cities in the mountains of Judah (2 Chronicles 27:3-4). He took all possible care to strengthen his country and fill it with strength.

He also conquered. He overcame the Ammonites, who had invaded Judah in Jehoshaphat’s time (2 Chronicles 20:1). Jotham triumphed over them and made them pay heavy tribute (2 Chronicles 27:5). He became mighty (2 Chronicles 27:6) in wealth, power, and influence among the surrounding nations. They wanted his friendship and feared his anger. He gained this because he prepared his ways before the Lord his God. The more steady we are in religion, the stronger we are both to resist evil and to do what is good.

He ended his life too soon, but he ended it with honor. He had the sorrow of dying in the middle of his years, but he had the comfort of not outliving his good name, as the last three kings before him had done. He died at forty-one years old (2 Chronicles 27:8), yet his wars and his ways, both his battles abroad and his conduct at home, were so noble that they were written in the book of the kings of Israel, as well as the kings of Judah (2 Chronicles 27:7). The saddest part of the chapter is the last sentence, because it tells us that Ahaz, his son, whose character was the opposite of his father’s in every way, reigned in his place. When the wealth and power that wise men have used for good pass to fools who use them for harm, it is a sorrow that calls for mourning.