A Sixteen-Year Reign

Jotham is one of the more obscure kings of Judah, rarely the topic for a rousing Sunday sermon. Yet, there is much to learn from this young king and his short, sixteen-year reign.

We read about Jotham, king of Judah, Uzziah’s son, in two Old Testament passages: 2 Kings 15:32-36 and 2 Chronicles 27:1-9. There are other Jotham’s written about in the Bible, but we are interested in Jotham, king of Judah, Uzziah’s son.

Jotham became king of Judah when he was 25 years old, and he reigned for 16 years, after which he died. That means he lived for 41 years, a short life by anyone’s standards.

Some of the things we learn about Jotham from 2 Kings 15 include:

·         He did what was right in the sight of the Lord.

·         He acted in accordance with everything that his father Uzziah had done.

·         He built the upper gate of the Temple in Jerusalem.

However…

·         He did not eliminate the high places where the people still sacrificed and burned incense to other gods.

Some of the things we learn about Jotham from 2 Chronicles 27 include:

·         He did what was right in the sight of the Lord.

·         He acted in accordance with everything that his father Uzziah had done.

·         He built the upper gate of the Temple in Jerusalem.

·         He built the wall of Ophel extensively.

·         He built cities in the high country of Judah.

·         He built fortresses and towers on the wooded hills.

·         He fought with the king of the Ammonites and prevailed.

·         The Ammonites paid tribute to Jotham in silver, wheat, and barley.

·         He became powerful because “he directed his ways before the Lord his God” (v6).

However…

·         He did not stop the people from acting corruptly (meaning, he did not eliminate the high places where the people worshipped false gods.)

·         He did not enter the Temple of the Lord.

This last point needs some clarification.

Uzziah, Jotham’s father, became very prideful late in his reign. Uzziah entered the Temple to burn incense on the altar of incense, an act that was strictly reserved for the priests of the Temple. Uzziah had no business entering the Temple to burn incense. Azariah, the chief priest, confronted Uzziah about this ungodly act, but Uzziah rejected Azariah’s rebuke. As a result, Uzziah became leprous.

And so, when 2 Chronicles 27 tells us that Jotham “did not enter the Temple of the Lord,” it means that Jotham did not become prideful and burn incense in the Temple as his father, Uzziah, had. Jotham’s not entering the Temple of the Lord (like Uzziah) was a good thing!

It’s significant that, in the Scriptures, Jotham’s life is bracketed with these words:

·         He “did what was right in the sight of the Lord” (2 Kings 15:3)

·         He “directed his ways before the Lord his God” (2 Chronicles 27:6.)

Jotham’s life was short—41 years.

He reigned in Judah for only 16 years.

But Jotham was a godly king who did what was right in God’s sight. Jotham directed his ways before God; that is, he was concerned with what God thought, concerned with God’s ethical standards and God’s ways.

The description of Jotham’s life may be easily overlooked as we read the Bible—12 verses. But his example speaks volumes to us today.