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Jotham Reigns in Judah
27 Jotham was twenty-five years old when he began to reign, and he reigned sixteen years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Jerushah the daughter of Zadok. And he did what was right in the eyes of the LORD according to all that his father Uzziah had done, except he did not enter the temple of the LORD. But the people still followed corrupt practices. He built the upper gate of the house of the LORD and did much building on the wall of Ophel. Moreover, he built cities in the hill country of Judah, and forts and towers on the wooded hills. He fought with the king of the Ammonites and prevailed against them. And the Ammonites gave him that year 100 talents of silver, and 10,000 cors of wheat and 10,000 of barley. The Ammonites paid him the same amount in the second and the third years. So Jotham became mighty, because he ordered his ways before the LORD his God. Now the rest of the acts of Jotham, and all his wars and his ways, behold, they are written in the Book of the Kings of Israel and Judah. He was twenty-five years old when he began to reign, and he reigned sixteen years in Jerusalem. And Jotham slept with his fathers, and they buried him in the city of David, and Ahaz his son reigned in his place.
(ESV)
2 Chronicles 27 Commentary
by Brad Boyles
The people continued in rebellion under Jotham. Although he was a faithful king, he did have one flaw that stood against him outlined in 2 Kings 15.
“He did what was right in the sight of the LORD; he did according to all that his father Uzziah had done. 35 Only the high places were not taken away; the people still sacrificed and burned incense on the high places. He built the upper gate of the house of the LORD.”
2 Kings 15:34-35 NASB
Sometimes I dislike pointing these out because many commentaries simply focus on the flaws of the kings rather than the whole picture. It’s true that Jotham followed the Lord. But, for whatever reason, he failed to take away the one thing that was leading the people away from God – idols. It’s possible nothing would have changed. We are stubborn and determined to go our own way when we want to. However, this was more about Jotham in the end.
The phrasing of the 2 Kings passage presents to us a failure to follow through. Was he frightened by the backlash? Was he a people-pleaser? Or, was he just sick and tired of dealing with stubborn people? We don’t know for certain. What we do know is that it was Jotham’s role to put the nation in the best possible position to worship the Lord. On many accounts, he did this. In one area, he did not.
Again, we can look at the overall picture and think that the king did pretty well. However, if God was speaking to him to remove the high places and he refused to do so (for whatever reason), he was leading in disobedience. This leads me personally to think about all of what God has been speaking to me lately. Am I following through or am I dragging my feet?
If I’m honest, there has been something that I’ve resisted recently. Just last week, though it was difficult, I was wrestled down by Jesus to move forward with a difficult decision. This decision will cost me a lot, but I will be walking in faithfulness. We must remember that obedience will always trump cost. There is nothing you will give away for Jesus that you will ever want back! What is it today that He’s asking of you and where are you resisting?