2 Chronicles 27

The Voice

Joash, Amaziah, and Uzziah’s reigns are all similar. Each begins by following God and being rewarded with a powerful reign. Then each sins and is punished with national struggles and an unusual death. None are honored with burials among the former kings. These three men exemplify a common theme in Chronicles: you reap what you sow. When they are faithful to God, He is faithful to them. When they abandon God, He destroys them.

27 Jotham, son of Uzziah and Jerushah (daughter of Zadok), was 25 years old when he became king, and he reigned 16 years in Jerusalem. ²He followed the Eternal as his father had at the beginning of his reign, but he did not enter the Eternal’s temple. In spite of his devotion, the people continued in corrupt lifestyles. ³He built the upper gate of the Eternal’s temple and the large wall of Ophel (the southern hill on the temple mount). ⁴He built cities in Judah’s hill country and fortresses and towers in the forests. ⁵Jotham conquered the Ammonite king, and the Ammonites gave him 7,500 pounds of silver, 62,000 bushels of wheat, and 10,000 of barley for 3 years. ⁶Jotham received all this wealth and power for himself and for the country because he followed the Eternal One, his True God.

⁷All the events of Jotham’s reign, including his battles and other actions, are in the book of the kings of Judah and Israel. ⁸He was 25 when he became king and ruled for 16 years.^[a] ⁹Jotham died, and his bones were gathered and buried along with his ancestors in the city of David, Jerusalem. His son, Ahaz, succeeded him as king.