Overview of 2 Chronicles 13:1–16:14

The reigns of Abijah¹ and Asa provide further examples, unique to Chronicles, of God’s favorable actions as people turn to and worship him alone (1 Kings 15:1–24, covering both kings, is much shorter; cf. table 3.12). The account of Abijah’s brief reign includes a single incident, victory against the northern kingdom’s larger force (2 Chron. 13:3–21). Asa’s long reign is recounted in two contrasting sections. The first tells of his prospering, his victory over a huge Ethiopian army, and his religious reforms, with encouragement from God through the prophet Azariah (14:2–15:19); in the second, the Chronicler uses material from Kings describing a military success near the end of Asa’s reign, adding words of judgment from the prophet Hananiah and also Asa’s response (16:1–14).

Tying the three sections together as a literary unit are the only instances in Chronicles of “rely, depend on” (Hb. form of shaʻan): “the men of Judah” and Asa are commended because “they relied on the Lord” (13:18), as Asa initially did (14:11); in the third event, however, the prophet Hananiah warned Asa because “You relied on the king of Syria, and did not rely on the Lord,” reminding him that earlier he had defeated the Ethiopians “because you relied on the Lord” (16:7, 8).² The Hebrew verb shaʻan commonly describes physical “leaning” on something or someone for support, with its figurative use limited to Chronicles and the prophets (e.g., Isa. 3:1; 10:20; Mic. 3:11). Reliance on anyone or anything other than the Lord always has negative overtones of futility or danger.³

The motif of “relying” adds another element to the cluster of words in Chronicles describing human actions in relating to God. Here it accompanies “seeking” (darash: 2 Chron. 14:4, 7 [2x]; 15:2, 12, 13; 16:12; biqqesh: 15:4, 15), “turning” (15:4), and “forsaking” (13:10, 11; 15:2), and when God is sought he is “found” (15:2, 4, 15; cf. comments on 7:13–16 and 1 Chron. 28:9–10). Following God’s ways is also the way “to succeed, prosper” (tsalakh), as in 2 Chronicles 14:7 and in contrast to 13:7 (cf. comment on 1 Chron. 22:11–16, and Introduction: Theology of 1–2 Chronicles: Divine Reward and Punishment).