Jehoshaphat grew great exceedingly; and he built fortresses and store cities in Judah. He had many works in the cities of Judah; and men of war, mighty men of valor, in Jerusalem. This was the numbering of them according to their fathers’ houses: From Judah, the captains of thousands: Adnah the captain, and with him three hundred thousand mighty men of valor; and next to him Jehohanan the captain, and with him two hundred eighty thousand; and next to him Amasiah the son of Zichri, who willingly offered himself to Yahweh, and with him two hundred thousand mighty men of valor. From Benjamin: Eliada, a mighty man of valor, and with him two hundred thousand armed with bow and shield; and next to him Jehozabad, and with him one hundred eighty thousand ready and prepared for war. These were those who waited on the king, in addition to those whom the king put in the fortified cities throughout all Judah.
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Jehoshaphat his son reigned in his place, and strengthened himself against Israel. He placed forces in all the fortified cities of Judah, and set garrisons in the land of Judah, and in the cities of Ephraim, which Asa his father had taken. Yahweh was with Jehoshaphat, because he walked in the first ways of his father David, and didn’t seek the Baals, but sought to the God of his father, and walked in his commandments, and not in the ways of Israel. Therefore Yahweh established the kingdom in his hand. All Judah brought tribute to Jehoshaphat, and he had riches and honor in abundance. His heart was lifted up in the ways of Yahweh. Furthermore, he took away the high places and the Asherah poles out of Judah. Also in the third year of his reign he sent his princes, even Ben Hail, Obadiah, Zechariah, Nethanel, and Micaiah, to teach in the cities of Judah; and with them the Levites, even Shemaiah, Nethaniah, Zebadiah, Asahel, Shemiramoth, Jehonathan, Adonijah, Tobijah, and Tobadonijah, the Levites; and with them Elishama and Jehoram, the priests. They taught in Judah, having the book of Yahweh’s law with them. They went about throughout all the cities of Judah and taught among the people. The fear of Yahweh fell on all the kingdoms of the lands that were around Judah, so that they made no war against Jehoshaphat. Some of the Philistines brought Jehoshaphat presents and silver for tribute. The Arabians also brought him flocks, seven thousand seven hundred rams, and seven thousand seven hundred male goats. Jehoshaphat grew great exceedingly; and he built fortresses and store cities in Judah. He had many works in the cities of Judah; and men of war, mighty men of valor, in Jerusalem. This was the numbering of them according to their fathers’ houses: From Judah, the captains of thousands: Adnah the captain, and with him three hundred thousand mighty men of valor; and next to him Jehohanan the captain, and with him two hundred eighty thousand; and next to him Amasiah the son of Zichri, who willingly offered himself to Yahweh, and with him two hundred thousand mighty men of valor. From Benjamin: Eliada, a mighty man of valor, and with him two hundred thousand armed with bow and shield; and next to him Jehozabad, and with him one hundred eighty thousand ready and prepared for war. These were those who waited on the king, in addition to those whom the king put in the fortified cities throughout all Judah.
Parallel Translations
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Jehoshaphat grew great exceedingly; and he built fortresses and store cities in Judah.
He had many works in the cities of Judah; and men of war, mighty men of valor, in Jerusalem.
This was the numbering of them according to their fathers’ houses: From Judah, the captains of thousands: Adnah the captain, and with him three hundred thousand mighty men of valor;
and next to him Jehohanan the captain, and with him two hundred eighty thousand;
and next to him Amasiah the son of Zichri, who willingly offered himself to Yahweh, and with him two hundred thousand mighty men of valor.
From Benjamin: Eliada, a mighty man of valor, and with him two hundred thousand armed with bow and shield;
and next to him Jehozabad, and with him one hundred eighty thousand ready and prepared for war.
These were those who waited on the king, in addition to those whom the king put in the fortified cities throughout all Judah.
-
And Jehoshaphat waxed great exceedingly; and he built in Judah castles, and cities of store.
And he had much business in the cities of Judah: and the men of war, mighty men of valour, were in Jerusalem.
And these are the numbers of them according to the house of their fathers: Of Judah, the captains of thousands; Adnah the chief, and with him mighty men of valour three hundred thousand.
And next to him was Jehohanan the captain, and with him two hundred and fourscore thousand.
And next him was Amasiah the son of Zichri, who willingly offered himself unto the LORD; and with him two hundred thousand mighty men of valour.
And of Benjamin; Eliada a mighty man of valour, and with him armed men with bow and shield two hundred thousand.
And next him was Jehozabad, and with him an hundred and fourscore thousand ready prepared for the war.
These waited on the king, beside those whom the king put in the fenced cities throughout all Judah.
Show all 3 translations
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And Jehoshaphat waxed great exceedingly; and he built in Judah castles and cities of store.
And he had many works in the cities of Judah; and men of war, mighty men of valour, in Jerusalem.
And this was the numbering of them according to their fathers' houses: of Judah, the captains of thousands: Adnah the captain, and with him mighty men of valour three hundred thousand;
and next to him Jehohanan the captain, and with him two hundred and fourscore thousand;
and next to him Amasiah the son of Zichri, who willingly offered himself unto the LORD, and with him two hundred thousand mighty men of valour;
and of Benjamin: Eliada a mighty man of valour, and with him two hundred thousand armed with bow and shield;
and next to him Jehozabad, and with him a hundred and fourscore thousand ready prepared for war.
These were they that waited on the king beside those whom the king put in the fortified cities throughout all Judah.
Cross-references (34)
- Judges 5:9 (v16) My heart is toward the governors of Israel, who offered themselves willingly among the people. Bless Yahweh!
- Judges 5:2 (v16) “Because the leaders took the lead in Israel, because the people offered themselves willingly, be blessed, Yahweh!
- 1 Chronicles 29:9 (v16) Then the people rejoiced, because they offered willingly, because with a perfect heart they offered willingly to Yahweh; and David the king…
- 2 Chronicles 8:2-6 (v12) Solomon built the cities which Huram had given to Solomon, and caused the children of Israel to dwell there. Solomon went to Hamath Zobah,…
- 2 Chronicles 14:6-7 (v12) He built fortified cities in Judah; for the land was quiet, and he had no war in those years, because Yahweh had given him rest. For he…
Show all 33 cross-references
- 2 Chronicles 17:2 (v19) He placed forces in all the fortified cities of Judah, and set garrisons in the land of Judah, and in the cities of Ephraim, which Asa his…
- 2 Chronicles 18:1 (v12) Now Jehoshaphat had riches and honor in abundance; and he allied himself with Ahab.
- 2 Chronicles 27:4 (v12) Moreover he built cities in the hill country of Judah, and in the forests he built fortresses and towers.
- 2 Chronicles 32:5 (v12) He took courage, built up all the wall that was broken down, and raised it up to the towers, with the other wall outside, and strengthened…
- 2 Chronicles 32:27-29 (v12) Hezekiah had exceedingly much riches and honor. He provided himself with treasuries for silver, for gold, for precious stones, for spices,…
- 1 Chronicles 27:25-31 (v13) Over the king’s treasures was Azmaveth the son of Adiel: and over the treasures in the fields, in the cities, and in the villages, and in…
- 2 Chronicles 26:6-9 (v12) He went out and fought against the Philistines, and broke down the wall of Gath, the wall of Jabneh, and the wall of Ashdod; and he built…
- 2 Chronicles 26:10-15 (v13) He built towers in the wilderness, and dug out many cisterns, for he had much livestock; in the lowland also, and in the plain. He had…
- 2 Chronicles 14:8 (vv14, 17) Asa had an army of three hundred thousand out of Judah who bore bucklers and spears, and two hundred eighty thousand out of Benjamin who…
- Genesis 12:2 (v14) I will make of you a great nation. I will bless you and make your name great. You will be a blessing.
- Genesis 13:16 (v14) I will make your offspring as the dust of the earth, so that if a man can count the dust of the earth, then your offspring may also be…
- Genesis 15:5 (v14) Yahweh brought him outside, and said, “Look now toward the sky, and count the stars, if you are able to count them.” He said to Abram, “So…
- Numbers 1:2 (v14) “Take a census of all the congregation of the children of Israel, by their families, by their fathers’ houses, according to the number of…
- Numbers 1:18 (v14) They assembled all the congregation together on the first day of the second month; and they declared their ancestry by their families, by…
- 2 Samuel 1:21-22 (v17) You mountains of Gilboa, let there be no dew or rain on you, and no fields of offerings; For there the shield of the mighty was defiled and…
- 1 Chronicles 29:14 (v16) But who am I, and what is my people, that we should be able to offer so willingly as this? For all things come from you, and we have given…
- 1 Chronicles 29:17 (v16) I know also, my God, that you try the heart, and have pleasure in uprightness. As for me, in the uprightness of my heart I have willingly…
- 1 Chronicles 29:25 (v12) Yahweh magnified Solomon exceedingly in the sight of all Israel, and gave to him such royal majesty as had not been on any king before him…
- 2 Chronicles 11:1 (v14) When Rehoboam had come to Jerusalem, he assembled the house of Judah and Benjamin, one hundred eighty thousand chosen men who were…
- 2 Chronicles 11:5-12 (v12) Rehoboam lived in Jerusalem, and built cities for defense in Judah. He built Bethlehem, Etam, Tekoa, Beth Zur, Soco, Adullam, Gath,…
- 2 Chronicles 11:12 (v19) He put shields and spears in every city, and made them exceedingly strong. Judah and Benjamin belonged to him.
- 2 Chronicles 11:23 (v19) He dealt wisely, and dispersed of all his sons throughout all the lands of Judah and Benjamin, to every fortified city. He gave them food…
- 2 Chronicles 13:3 (v14) Abijah joined battle with an army of valiant men of war, even four hundred thousand chosen men; and Jeroboam set the battle in array…
- 2 Chronicles 17:12 (v19) Jehoshaphat grew great exceedingly; and he built fortresses and store cities in Judah.
- 2 Chronicles 26:13 (v14) Under their hand was an army, three hundred seven thousand five hundred, who made war with mighty power, to help the king against the enemy.
- Psalms 110:3 (v16) Your people offer themselves willingly in the day of your power, in holy array. Out of the womb of the morning, you have the dew of your…
- 2 Corinthians 8:3-5 (v16) For according to their power, I testify, yes and beyond their power, they gave of their own accord, begging us with much entreaty to…
- 2 Corinthians 8:12 (v16) For if the readiness is there, it is acceptable according to what you have, not according to what you don’t have.
33 distinct cross-references across this passage (34 total citations).
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
Explain this passage (19 sources)
Historical commentary, presented as a primary source — not an endorsement.
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Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain On vv14, 15, 16, 19 Hebrew, in his hand.
Hebrew, in his hand.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain On vv12, 13, 14, 16, 17, 18, 19 2Ch 17:12 And Jehoshaphat waxed great exceedingly; and he…
2Ch 17:12 And Jehoshaphat waxed great exceedingly; and he built in Judah castles, and cities of store.
Ver. 12. And Jehoshaphat waxed great exceedingly.] Heb., He was going and growing. "By humility and the fear of the Lord are riches, and honour, and life." {Pro 22:4}
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And he built in Judah castles.] Bironeoth, πυργους, turres. So did the Burgundians, and thence had their names
And cities of store.] Granaries; in the Hebrew they have their name from their utility or usefulness.
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain On vv13, 15, 16, 19 He had much business in the cities of Judah;…
He had much business in the cities of Judah; partly to repair and fortify them, and furnish them with all necessary provisions; and partly to purge out all the relies and seeds of idolatry and injustice, which were more secretly and subtlely managed in the cities than in the country, and which were first and most in the cities, and thence spread their infection into the country about them. See Jer 2:28.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain On vv12–19 And Jehoshaphat waxed great exceedingly,.... In wealth and riches,…
And Jehoshaphat waxed great exceedingly,.... In wealth and riches, power and authority, in his forces and fortifications:
and he built in Judah castles, and cities of stores; castles for the defence of his kingdom, and store cities to lay up corn, and wine, and all provisions, in case of an invasion, or against a time of war.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley 1765 · Public Domain On vv13, 19 Business - To repair and fortify them, and furnish…
Business - To repair and fortify them, and furnish them with provisions: and to purge out all their relicks of idolatry and injustice.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain On vv13, 14, 19 Verse 13. He had much business in the cities]…
Verse 13. He had much business in the cities] He kept the people constantly employed; they had wages for their work; and by their labours the empire was both enriched and strengthened.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Joseph Benson 1811 · Public Domain On vv13, 19 2Ch 17:13. He had much business in the cities…
2Ch 17:13. He had much business in the cities of Judah — To repair and fortify them, and furnish them with provisions; and to purge out all the relics of idolatry and injustice, which were more secretly and craftily managed in the cities than in the country, and which were first and most prevalent in the cities, and thence spread their infection into the country around them.
Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Albert Barnes 1834 · Public Domain On v14 The captains of thousands; Adnah the chief - literally,…
The captains of thousands; Adnah the chief - literally, “princes of thousands, Adnah the prince.” The writer does not mean that Adnah (or Johohanan, 2Ch 17:15) was in any way superior to the other “princes,” but only that he was one of them.
Three hundred thousand - This number. and those which follow in 2Ch 17:15-18, have been with good reason regarded as corrupt by most critics. For:
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(1) They imply a minimum population of 1,480 to the square mile, which is more than three times greater than that of any country in the known world (circa 1880’s).
(2) they produce a total just double that of the next largest estimate of the military force of Judah, the 580, 000 of 2Ch 14:8.
(3) they are professedly a statement, not of the whole military force, but of the force maintained at Jerusalem (2Ch 17:13; compare 2Ch 17:19).
It is probable that the original numbers have been lost, and that the loss was suppplied by a scribe, who took 2Ch 14:8 as his basis.
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary 1859 · Public Domain On vv12, 14, 16, 17, 19 Houses. Prot. "castles." Heb. biraniyoth. Birah is properly a…
Houses. Prot. "castles." Heb. biraniyoth. Birah is properly a Chaldean word, and is added after susan, to imply that it was a royal castle, (C.) or palace. (H.) Esdras i. 1. --- Sept. often use baris in the same sense. C. --- It became a provincial word in Palestine, for a place shut up on all sides and built like a tower. S. Jerom ad Princep. --- David calls the temple a palace (habbirah) for God, 1 Paralipomenon xxix. 1. C. --- Josaphat employed his immense riches in beautifying the country, and erecting storehouses, v. 5. --- Walled. Prot. "cities of store." H. See C. xv. 4.
George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown 1871 · Public Domain On v14 HIS GREATNESS, CAPTAINS, AND ARMIES. (Ch2 17:12-19)
HIS GREATNESS, CAPTAINS, AND ARMIES. (Ch2 17:12-19)
these are the numbers--The warriors were arranged in the army according to their fathers houses. The army of Jehoshaphat, commanded by five great generals and consisting of five unequal divisions, comprised one million one hundred and sixty thousand men, without including those who garrisoned the fortresses. No monarch, since the time of Solomon, equalled Jehoshaphat in the extent of his revenue, in the strength of his fortifications, and in the number of his troops.
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Next: 2 Chronicles Chapter 18
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain On v14 14. Three hundred thousand — The numbers in this…
14. Three hundred thousand — The numbers in this verse and the four verses following are generally regarded as corrupt. “They imply,” observes the writer last quoted, “a minimum population of 1480 to the square mile, which is more than three times greater than that of any country in the known world. It is probable that the original numbers have been lost, and the loss supplied by a scribe who took 2Ch_14:8, as his basis.”
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain On vv12–19 12. castles] Heb. bîrâniyyôth; cp. 2Ch_27:4 (same word); and…
12. castles] Heb. bîrâniyyôth; cp. 2Ch_27:4 (same word); and 2Ch_26:10 (“towers”). Such small castles or towers lie scattered along the pilgrim-road from Damascus to Mecca at the present day to make the way safe.
cities of store] Cp. 2Ch_11:11-12.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain On vv12–19 (12) And Jehoshaphat waxed great.—Literally, And Jehoshaphat was going…
(12) And Jehoshaphat waxed great.—Literally, And Jehoshaphat was going on and waxing great, i.e., became greater and greater. (Comp. 1Ch_11:9.)
Exceedingly.—‘Ad lĕmà’lah. This phrase occurs again in 2Ch_16:12; 2Ch_26:8, and nowhere else in the Old Testament. (See on 1Ch_14:2.)
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And he built.—Like his predecessors—Solomon, Rehoboam, Asa—he displayed his wealth and power in great public works. The records of the Assyrian and Babylonian sovereigns are largely taken up with similar accounts of temple and palace building.
Castles.—Biranîyôth, a derivative from birah (1Ch_29:1; 1Ch_29:19; comp. Syriac here, birôthô). It only recurs at 2Ch_27:4. It is an Aramaic term. (Comp. bîranyâthâ, which in the Targums means “palaces.”)
Cities of stores.—Comp. 2Ch_8:4; 2Ch_16:4; Exo_1:11.
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain On vv12–19 Castles. This rendering, better than palaces" (margin), wound bear…
Castles. This rendering, better than palaces" (margin), wound bear improving to the rather stronger word "fortresses," Hebrew, twOYniryBi, found only here and in 2Ch_27:4, plur. of tyniryBi connected with the Chaldee and later Hebrew, hryBi, of Ezr_6:2; Neh_1:1; Est_1:2; Dan_8:2, Cities of store (see note 2Ch_8:4; see also 1Ki_9:19; Exo_1:11)
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Biblical Illustrator 1887 · Public Domain On v16 Who willingly offered himself unto the Lord.
2Ch_17:16
Who willingly offered himself unto the Lord.
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Wanted, volunteers
I. Amasiah made it his life-work to serve the Lord. This service is--
1. Reasonable.
2. Honourable.
3. Remunerative.
4. Safe.
II. Amasiah was a ready volunteer.
1. He needed no pressing.
2. He needed no hunting out.
3. He needed no looking after.
4. He needed no leader.
III. Amasiah offered HIMSELF to the Lord.
1. He made no reserve as to what he had.
2. He made no reserve as to what he did.
3. He made no reserve as to when it should be.
4. He made no reserve as to how that service should be rendered.
IV. When Amasiah willingly offered himself unto the Lord, he did this in a secular calling.
1. He did not stipulate to be a prophet.
2. His was a difficult calling.
3. He rose to eminence in it.
4. He left an honourable record.
V. Amasiah not only served the Lord himself, but he is an example to others.
1. To the young.
2. To men of position.
3. To men who are rising in the world. (C. H. Spurgeon.)
.
The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Alexander MacLaren 1905 · Public Domain On v16 2 Chronicles
2 Chronicles
AMASIAH
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2Ch 17:16.
This is a scrap from the catalogue of Jehoshaphat’s ‘mighty men of valour’; and is Amasiah’s sole record. We see him for a moment and hear his eulogium and then oblivion swallows him up. We do not know what it was that he did to earn it. But what a fate, to live to all generations by that one sentence!
I. Cheerful self-surrender the secret of all religion.
The words of our text contain a metaphor naturally drawn from the sacrificial system. It comes so easily to us that we scarcely recognise the metaphorical element, but the clear recognition of it gives great additional energy to the words. Amasiah was both sacrificer and sacrifice. His offering was self-immolation. As in all love, so in that noblest kind of it which clasps God, its perfect expression is, ‘I give Thee my living, loving self.’ Nor is it only sacrifice and sacrificer that are seen in deepest truth in the experience of the Christian life, but the reality of the Temple is also there, for ‘Ye also . . . are built up a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices.’ Only when God dwells in us, shall we have the nerve and the firmness of hand to take the knife and ‘slay before the Lord,’ the awful Guest in the sanctuary within, the most precious of the children of our spirits.
The essence of the sacrifice of self is the sacrifice of will. In the Christian experience ‘willingly offered’ is almost tautology, for unwilling offerings are a contradiction and in fact there are no such things. The quality of unwillingness destroys the character of the offering and robs it of all sacredness. Reluctant Christianity is not Christianity. That noun and that adjective can never be buckled together.
The submission of will and the consequent surrender of myself and my powers, opportunities, and possessions, so that I do all, enjoy all, use all, and when need is, endure all with glad thankful reference to God is only possible to me in the measure in which my will is made flexible by love, and such will-subduing love comes only when we ‘know and believe the love that God hath to us.’ There is the point at which not a few moral and religious teachers go wrong and bewilder themselves and their disciples. There, too, is the point at which Christ and the Gospel of salvation through faith in Him stand forth as emancipating humanity from the dreary round of efforts and vain attempts to work up the condition needful for achieving the height of self-surrender, which is seen to be indispensable to all true nobleness of living, but is felt to be beyond the reach of the ordinary man. There, too, is the point at which many good people mar their lives as Christians. They waste their strength in trying to bring the jibbing horse up to the leap. They try to blow up a fire of devotion and to make themselves priests to offer themselves, but all the while the mutinous self recoils from the leap, and the fire burns smokily, and their sacrifice is laid on the altar with little joy, because they have not been careful and wise enough to begin at the beginning and to follow God’s way of melting their wills, by love, the reflection of the Infinite love of God to them. God’s priests offer themselves because they offer their wills; they offer their wills because they love God; they love God because they know that God loves them. That is the divine order. It is vain to try to accomplish the end by any other.
II. This willing offering hallows all life.
No syllable is left to tell us what Amasiah did to win this praise. Probably the words enshrine some now forgotten memory of his cheerful courage, some heroic feat on an unrecorded battlefield. Particulars are not given nor needed. Specific actions are unimportant; the spirit of a life can be told with very incomplete details, and it, not the details, is the important thing. Sometimes, as in many modern biographies, one ‘cannot see the wood for the trees,’ and misses the main drift and aim of a life in the chaos of a bewildering mass of nothings. How much more happy the lot of this man of whom we have only the generalised expression of the text, unweighted and undisturbed by petty incidents! It takes tons of rose leaves to make a tiny phial of otto of roses, but the fragrance is far more pungent in a drop of the distillation than in armfuls of leaves. Every life shrinks into very small compass, and the centuries do not tolerate long biographies. Shall we not seek to order our life so that Amasiah’s epitaph may serve for us? It will be blessed if this-and nothing else-is known about us, that we ‘willingly offered ourselves to the Lord.’ My friend: will that be a true epitome of your life?
III. This willing offering is accepted by God.
We may hear a mightier voice behind the chronicler’ s, and the judgment of the Judge of all pronounced by His lips. It matters little what men say of one another, but it matters everything what God says of us. We are but too apt to forget that He is now saying something as to each of us, and that we have not to wait for death to put a final period to our activities, before our lives become fit subjects for God’s judgment, Moment by moment we are writing our own sentences. But while it is good for us to remember the continuous judgment of God on each deed, it is not good to let dark thoughts of the principles of that judgment paralyse our activity or chill our confidence in His forgiving and accepting mercy. There is often a dark suspicion, like that of the one-talented servant, which blackens God’s fair fame as being ‘an austere Man,’ making demands rather than imparting power, and the effect of such an ugly conception of Him is to cut the nerve of service and bury the talent, carefully folded up, it may be, but none the less earning nothing. ‘If we call on Him as Father, who without respect of persons judgeth according to every man’s work,’ let us be sure that it will be a Fatherly judgment that He will pass upon us and our offerings. There is a wonderful collection on His altar of what many people would think rubbish, just as many a mother has laid away among her treasures some worthless article which her child had once given her-a weed plucked by the roadside in a long past summer day, some trifle of rare preciousness in the child’s eyes, and of none in any others than her own. She opens her drawer and brings out the poor little thing, and her eyes fill and her heart fills as she looks. And does not God keep His children’s gifts as lovingly, and set them in places of honour in the day when He ‘makes up His jewels’? There are cups of cold water and widows’ mites and much else that a supercilious world would call ‘trash’ stored there. Thank God! He accepts imperfect service, faltering faith, partial consecration, a little love. Even our poor offering may be an ‘odour of a sweet smell,’ ministering fragrance that is a delight to Him, if it is offered with the much incense of the great Sacrifice and through the mediation of the great High Priest.
The world forgot Amasiah, or never knew him, an obscure soldier in an obscure kingdom, but God did not forget, and here is his epitaph, and this is his memorial to all generations. Men’s chronicles have no room for all the names that their wearers are eager to have inscribed on their crumbling and crowded pages, ‘but the Lamb’s Book of Life’ has ample space on its radiant pages for all who desire to set their names there, and if ours are there, we need not envy the proudest whose titles and deeds fill the most conspicuous pages in the world’s records. ‘Then shall every man have praise of Christ,’ and he who wins that guerdon needs nothing more, and can have nothing more to swell his blessedness.
Alexander MacLaren, Expositions of Holy Scripture (1904–1910) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
C. I. Scofield 1917 · Public Domain On v14 three hundred thousand
three hundred thousand
(See Scofield "1Co 10:8").
The Scofield Reference Bible (1917 edition), notes by C. I. Scofield — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
unfoldingWord translationNotes 2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On vv12, 14, 17 He built fortresses and store cities
He built fortresses and store cities
Jehoshaphat did not build these things himself, rather he commanded his workers to build them. AT: "His workers built fortresses and store cities" (See: Metonymy)
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translationWords
power
stronghold
Jerusalem
unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.
Tyndale Open Study Notes 2022 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On v12 17:12-19 Jehoshaphat’s international status, building enterprises, and army characterized…
17:12-19 Jehoshaphat’s international status, building enterprises, and army characterized his great rule. Archaeological excavations have revealed a line of highway forts in the Jordan Valley near the Dead Sea dating to his time. • The number of troops in his army—totaling more than a million in Jerusalem—seems unreasonably high. Because the leaders were based on tribal divisions (17:14), it is possible that the term translated as “thousand” (’elep) should instead be translated as “squad” or “platoon,” a much smaller military unit. The totals might also include reserve divisions that served on rotation (see 1 Chr 27:1-15). The number of troops credited to Jehoshaphat is approximately triple those of Abijah (2 Chr 13:3), Asa (14:8), Amaziah (25:5), and Uzziah (26:11-15). It is comparable to the number of warriors at the time of David’s census (1 Chr 21:5), when soldiers from the northern tribes were counted. A large army was an indication of God’s blessing.
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.