<42033E> 207
J. N. Darby.
(Notes and Comments Vol. 2.)
2 Chronicles 6
- 4. This is what we look for, l'David (unto David). David embraces the Lord's character in the days of His flesh, His humiliation, and His conflict until His peaceful glory in the built temple, His enemies being overcome, should be manifested. Then He is also the Church's Husband; during this it is of import that He should be the humbled Man, and it is of the truth, and indeed essence of the faith of the Church that she should also own Him as the Anointed, clinging to and cleaving to Him as Her Beloved. In all this David was a type, and therefore expressed by the Spirit, according to that in which he was made a type, the full development of all that appertained to Him, according to whose order he was spoken of as the beloved, the David (beloved, dear) while he looked out in spirit for that which should belong to his son Solomon, for it was out of the David state, that all the glory of the Solomon state grew; and it was the view and aim of the Solomon state, though unattained, that was the basis of the conduct of the David state, for neither could He have been Solomon without David, nor yet David without Solomon, neither, as regarded God, even "Him for whom" etc., nor Himself "who for the joy" etc., as we see with much other matter begun and ended with in the Hebrews as to mystery.
I conceive therefore, waiting for further proof, that l'David means "upon," "of," or "concerning" the circumstances of the Beloved, i.e., it is the expression of some part of Christ in His character as "Beloved." This, we have seen, embraces from His leaving the glory to His having it again, i.e., from His humiliation to His Solomon state, for He left not His divine nature or glory, but His assumed - He took the Jesus-Glory, and the life of His people, that He might lay it down and take it again as the ground of His and their exaltation, quod nota, as, and so I apprehend, Hebrews 2 states. All the acquirement of the Glory is His David state (specially this applies to the two great times in Jerusalem, in His presence there in Person, and afterwards in Spirit, i.e., in the latter day), the enjoyment of it His Solomon state, when He is manifested to the people.
And so accordingly I receive 1 Chronicles 17 which is immediately connected with this ha-a-adam ham-ma-a-lah (the Man of high degree) but I do not take the Jehovah Elohim (O Lord God) to be more than address, so it is constantly, and here, and is the pledge of the covenant power of God as rested in on this subject.
208 Here also I think we shall find the clue to the ka-hal (congregation, verse 22) and b'ka-halran (in the great congregation, verse 25) in Psalm 22, that very full Psalm. Ka-hal is the David congregation, though as true of the other, Christ's Solomon congregation, or of peace; compare 1 Chronicles 13, etc., and 2 Chronicles 7 and 9, also Psalm 72.
2 Chronicles 7
Note, in the feast kept by Solomon at the dedication of the Temple, that though the feast of Tabernacles be kept, yet the great day of atonement was included in it. The fifteenth was the day of Tabernacles (Lev. 23); they left Egypt on the twenty-third; so that there was that seven days, thus 15 + 7 = 22. But the feast of the dedication of the altar was 7 days to 15 - 7 = 8. So that the great day of atonement fell on the second day of that feast. Did they keep it, or is it passed over in silence on purpose? It having been in the antitype fulfilled long before, now the fruits merely are reaped.
2 Chronicles 15
- 10. The fifteenth year of Asa was thirty-five years from the death of Solomon, or at any rate from Rehoboam's mounting the throne of Judah.
2 Chronicles 16
- 1. Josephus says probably it was in consequence of chapter 15:9, that Baasha built Ramah, and this all together brought on war, for Ramah was hardly built. Baasha died in the twenty-sixth year of Asa, see 1 Kings 15:33, and chapter 16:8.
209 2 Chronicles 21
The eight years of Jehoram, son of Jehoshaphat, include it seems, the time he reigned with his father, who established his other sons out, but made Jehoram king. He seems to have reigned two years and over with his father, five or six after his death.
Jehoram, son of Ahab, began in Jehoshaphat's eighteenth year; in the twenty-third year of Jehoshaphat's reign, or in the fifth year of the reign of Jehoram son of Ahab, Jehoram the son of Jehoshaphat began to reign; six years after Jehu kills Jehoram. Their years do not tally, so that the fifth may be the end, and eleven and over be counted as twelve; in the twenty-third of Jehoshaphat, Jehoram be already in his sixth, but in sum the eight years include his co-reign with Jehoshaphat.
It is said that in the Mesopotamian chronology, "begin to reign" is not counted in the dates which begin with the new year. It is also said that in Palestine part of a year is reckoned a year; thus if one reigned three months more than eleven, it is counted twelve. So that if one were short enough a year might be counted to three kings.
2 Chronicles 22
- 2. It is known that forty-two should be twenty-two, as it is in 2 Kings 8:26.
- 9. I am not anxious about it, additional facts so often clear up difficulties, but I think this verse can be easily reconciled with 2 Kings 9:27. First, the order that he should be buried because he was Jehoshaphat's son was executed by his servants taking him up in the chariot to Jerusalem. When he saw Joram killed he turned and fled and Jehu pursued, not personally at the time for he went on to the palace and had Jezebel cast down, and ate and drank, etc. But he did not let him go any more than the king of Israel; hence he orders others to smite him. Found in Samaria - a natural place for him as Ahab's family was there - thence he sought to escape and took the road to Megiddo and was slain, brought to Jehu, he had him sent up to Jerusalem and buried. But the story is not clear; or, as is more consistent perhaps, they found him in Samaria, brought him to Jehu, and he escaped thence and fled, and was then killed in his chariot, died at Megiddo, and was then taken to Jerusalem and buried. The apparent immediate connection in 2 Kings 9:27, is only in italics. In Chronicles Jehu seeks Ahaziah after killing his brethren; it was on his way to Samaria after the death of Ahab's sons (2 Kings 10:11-13), and then it was in verses 8, 9, of our chapter that he sought and found Ahaziah. This makes the account plain so far that there is no kind of contradiction. If Gur and Ibleam are between Samaria and Megiddo, not Jezreel and Megiddo, it would be almost certainly the true one, and I apprehend this is the case if modern maps are to be trusted, but in another order. From Samaria Ibleam is beyond Megiddo; from Jezreel it is to the right, being north of Megiddo, Samaria south, Jezreel east, but it is the going up, or ascent, to go there, and he got as far as Megiddo though wounded in his chariot and no further. The ascent to Ibleam was the road from Samaria. It is very possible it did not go through Megiddo; there is a range of mountains between Samaria and Megiddo in the map. But from Jezreel nothing would take him to Megiddo. Kings mentions nothing of Ahaziah's going to Samaria, which was quite natural as Ahab's family was there, and it was his way, or nearly so, to Jerusalem, but merely says, Jehu gave orders to smite him too, which was done on his way to Ibleam. Once slain, Jehu made no difficulty about his being buried being Jehoshaphat's son.
210 2 Chronicles 34
- 9. They had been sent, doubtless, round the country, over which it appears Josiah exercised a certain control, see verse 7. It was these who returned to Jerusalem. The three mention in verse 8 managed it with the high priest.
- 14. Not a book but the book. It was a known thing, "the Book of the law of Jehovah by the hand of Moses."
2 Chronicles 35
- 20. This was thirteen years after.