2 Chronicles 27 Study Notes: Jotham Grows Strong
Jotham follows his father’s good example but stays out of the temple, though the people remain corrupt. He builds the temple gate, cities, and forts, subdues the Ammonites, and grows powerful because he lives faithfully before God, then dies and is succeeded by his son Ahaz.
General
Which of these accomplishments does 27:3-5 record for Jotham?
Answer: He restored the Upper Gate and made Ammon pay tribute
Jotham restored the temple’s Upper Gate and strengthened Ophel’s wall in Jerusalem (27:3). He built towns in Judah’s hill country and forts and lookout towers in wooded areas (27:4). He also fought the Ammonite king and beat him, and received tribute, regular payments of silver and grain, for three years (27:5). The Ammonites had likewise paid tribute to his father Uzziah (26:8). Verse 6 explains where this strength came from, in keeping with the truth that builders labor for nothing without the LORD (Psalm 127:1).
- 2 Chronicles 27:3-5 (BSB)“Jotham rebuilt the Upper Gate of the house of the LORD, and he worked extensively on the wall at the hill of Ophel. He also built cities in the hill country of Judah and fortresses and towers in the forests. Jotham waged war against the king of the Ammonites and defeated them, and that year they gave him a hundred talents of silver, ten thousand cors of wheat, and ten thousand cors of barley. They paid him the same in the second and third years.”Jotham’s building projects and his victory over the Ammonites.
- 2 Chronicles 26:8 (BSB)“The Ammonites brought tribute to Uzziah, and his fame spread as far as the border of Egypt, for he had become exceedingly powerful.”The Ammonites had also brought tribute to Jotham’s father Uzziah.
- Psalm 127:1 (BSB)“A song of ascents. Of Solomon. Unless the LORD builds the house, its builders labor in vain; unless the LORD protects the city, its watchmen stand guard in vain.”Building and guarding succeed only when the LORD is in them.
Theological
Which achievements of Jotham does 27:3-5 report?
Answer: He restored the Upper Gate and made Ammon pay tribute
Jotham restored the temple’s Upper Gate and strengthened the wall at Ophel (27:3), founded towns in the highlands and forts in the woods (27:4), and subdued the Ammonites, who paid him tribute of silver, wheat and barley for three years (27:5), as they had to Uzziah (26:8). Chronicles presents this prosperity as the fruit of Jotham’s faithfulness, explained in 27:6, consistent with Psalm 127:1, that labor succeeds only when the LORD builds.
- 2 Chronicles 27:3-5 (BSB)“Jotham rebuilt the Upper Gate of the house of the LORD, and he worked extensively on the wall at the hill of Ophel. He also built cities in the hill country of Judah and fortresses and towers in the forests. Jotham waged war against the king of the Ammonites and defeated them, and that year they gave him a hundred talents of silver, ten thousand cors of wheat, and ten thousand cors of barley. They paid him the same in the second and third years.”Jotham’s building projects and his victory over the Ammonites.
- 2 Chronicles 26:8 (BSB)“The Ammonites brought tribute to Uzziah, and his fame spread as far as the border of Egypt, for he had become exceedingly powerful.”The Ammonites had also brought tribute to Jotham’s father Uzziah.
- Psalm 127:1 (BSB)“A song of ascents. Of Solomon. Unless the LORD builds the house, its builders labor in vain; unless the LORD protects the city, its watchmen stand guard in vain.”Building and guarding succeed only when the LORD is in them.
General
According to 27:2, how did Jotham’s reign differ from his father Uzziah’s?
Answer: He did not go into the LORD’s temple as Uzziah had
Jotham pleased the LORD as Uzziah had, but unlike Uzziah he never went into the LORD’s temple (27:2). In other words, he followed Uzziah’s good example but did not repeat his father’s great sin of going into the temple to burn incense, a duty that belonged only to the priests (26:16). God had given that service to Aaron’s family alone (Numbers 18:7). Jotham kept to the role God had given a king.
- 2 Chronicles 27:2 (BSB)“And he did what was right in the eyes of the LORD, just as his father Uzziah had done. In addition, he did not enter the temple of the LORD. But the people still behaved corruptly.”Jotham follows his father’s good example without repeating his father’s trespass.
- 2 Chronicles 26:16 (BSB)“But when Uzziah became powerful, his arrogance led to his own destruction. He was unfaithful to the LORD his God, for he entered the temple of the LORD to burn incense on the altar of incense.”Uzziah’s sin had been entering the temple to burn incense.
- Numbers 18:7 (BSB)“But only you and your sons shall attend to your priesthood for everything concerning the altar and what is inside the veil, and you are to perform that service. I am giving you the work of the priesthood as a gift, but any outsider who comes near the sanctuary must be put to death.””God had barred anyone outside Aaron’s family from the priestly service of the sanctuary.
Theological
What distinguishing note does 27:2 add about Jotham in comparison with Uzziah?
Answer: He did not go into the LORD’s temple as Uzziah had
Jotham is credited with doing right as Uzziah had, with the added note that he stayed out of the LORD’s temple (27:2). He imitated his father’s faithfulness without repeating his trespass into the priestly office (26:16), which God had restricted to the house of Aaron (Numbers 18:7). The comparison commends Jotham for respecting the boundary his father had crossed.
- 2 Chronicles 27:2 (BSB)“And he did what was right in the eyes of the LORD, just as his father Uzziah had done. In addition, he did not enter the temple of the LORD. But the people still behaved corruptly.”Jotham follows his father’s good example without repeating his father’s trespass.
- 2 Chronicles 26:16 (BSB)“But when Uzziah became powerful, his arrogance led to his own destruction. He was unfaithful to the LORD his God, for he entered the temple of the LORD to burn incense on the altar of incense.”Uzziah’s sin had been entering the temple to burn incense.
- Numbers 18:7 (BSB)“But only you and your sons shall attend to your priesthood for everything concerning the altar and what is inside the veil, and you are to perform that service. I am giving you the work of the priesthood as a gift, but any outsider who comes near the sanctuary must be put to death.””God had barred anyone outside Aaron’s family from the priestly service of the sanctuary.
General
True or False: According to 27:6, Jotham grew strong because of the way he directed his life before his God.
Answer: True
This is true. The verse says Jotham became powerful because he set his ways in order before his God (27:6). He lived his life in the LORD’s presence, aiming to please Him, and God gave him strength. The same pattern appears in his father’s early years, when Uzziah prospered while he kept seeking the LORD (26:5). Proverbs promises that those who acknowledge the LORD in all their ways will find their paths made straight (Proverbs 3:6), and God says that He honors those who honor Him (1 Samuel 2:30).
- 2 Chronicles 27:6 (BSB)“So Jotham grew powerful because he ordered his ways before the LORD his God.”The chapter gives the reason for Jotham’s strength.
- 2 Chronicles 26:5 (BSB)“He sought God throughout the days of Zechariah, who instructed him in the fear of God. And as long as he sought the LORD, God gave him success.”His father also prospered for as long as he sought the LORD.
- Proverbs 3:6 (BSB)“in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight.”Those who acknowledge the LORD in all their ways find their paths made straight.
- 1 Samuel 2:30 (BSB)“Therefore, the LORD, the God of Israel, declares: ‘I did indeed say that your house and the house of your father would walk before Me forever. But now the LORD declares: Far be it from Me! For I will honor those who honor Me, but those who despise Me will be disdained.”The LORD honors those who honor Him.
Theological
True or False: 27:6 attributes Jotham’s growing power to his having set his ways in order before the LORD.
Answer: True
This is true. Jotham grew strong because he set his ways in order before his God (27:6). His strength is presented as the fruit of a life directed toward God, echoing Uzziah’s prosperity while he kept seeking the LORD (26:5). The principle is stated in Proverbs 3:6, where acknowledging the LORD in all one’s ways brings straight paths, and in God’s word that He honors those who honor Him (1 Samuel 2:30).
- 2 Chronicles 27:6 (BSB)“So Jotham grew powerful because he ordered his ways before the LORD his God.”The chapter gives the reason for Jotham’s strength.
- 2 Chronicles 26:5 (BSB)“He sought God throughout the days of Zechariah, who instructed him in the fear of God. And as long as he sought the LORD, God gave him success.”His father also prospered for as long as he sought the LORD.
- Proverbs 3:6 (BSB)“in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight.”Those who acknowledge the LORD in all their ways find their paths made straight.
- 1 Samuel 2:30 (BSB)“Therefore, the LORD, the God of Israel, declares: ‘I did indeed say that your house and the house of your father would walk before Me forever. But now the LORD declares: Far be it from Me! For I will honor those who honor Me, but those who despise Me will be disdained.”The LORD honors those who honor Him.
General
What does 27:2 say about the people of Judah during Jotham’s reign?
Answer: They kept on acting corruptly
Even though Jotham himself was faithful, the people kept on acting corruptly (27:2). A good king did not automatically mean a faithful nation. The prophet Isaiah, whose ministry ran from Uzziah’s reign through Hezekiah’s (Isaiah 1:1), called Judah a sinful nation whose children acted corruptly and who had forsaken the LORD (Isaiah 1:4). This prepares for the much darker reign of Jotham’s son Ahaz (28:1-2).
- 2 Chronicles 27:2 (BSB)“And he did what was right in the eyes of the LORD, just as his father Uzziah had done. In addition, he did not enter the temple of the LORD. But the people still behaved corruptly.”Jotham’s own faithfulness is contrasted with the people’s ongoing corruption.
- Isaiah 1:1 (BSB)“This is the vision concerning Judah and Jerusalem that Isaiah son of Amoz saw during the reigns of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah.”Isaiah’s ministry spanned the reigns of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah.
- Isaiah 1:4 (BSB)“Alas, O sinful nation, a people laden with iniquity, a brood of evildoers, children who act corruptly! They have forsaken the LORD; they have despised the Holy One of Israel and turned their backs on Him.”Isaiah calls Judah a sinful nation that had forsaken the LORD.
Theological
What contrast does 27:2 draw between Jotham and the people of Judah?
Answer: They kept on acting corruptly
Jotham’s personal faithfulness is set against the persistent corruption of the people (27:2). Royal piety did not produce national reform. Isaiah, whose ministry spanned four reigns from Uzziah to Hezekiah (Isaiah 1:1), indicts Judah as a sinful nation, burdened with guilt, that had forsaken the LORD (Isaiah 1:4). The note prepares for the open apostasy of Ahaz (28:1-2).
- 2 Chronicles 27:2 (BSB)“And he did what was right in the eyes of the LORD, just as his father Uzziah had done. In addition, he did not enter the temple of the LORD. But the people still behaved corruptly.”Jotham’s own faithfulness is contrasted with the people’s ongoing corruption.
- Isaiah 1:1 (BSB)“This is the vision concerning Judah and Jerusalem that Isaiah son of Amoz saw during the reigns of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah.”Isaiah’s ministry spanned the reigns of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah.
- Isaiah 1:4 (BSB)“Alas, O sinful nation, a people laden with iniquity, a brood of evildoers, children who act corruptly! They have forsaken the LORD; they have despised the Holy One of Israel and turned their backs on Him.”Isaiah calls Judah a sinful nation that had forsaken the LORD.