Southwestern Journal of Theology
Southwestern Journal of Theology
Volume 62, No. 1 – Fall 2019
Managing Editor: W. Madison Grace II
By Troy Cudworth. London: Bloomsbury, 2016. xi + 209 pages. Hardcover, $120.00; Softcover, $39.95
The book of Chronicles consists of retelling parts of Israel’s history, especially those events recorded in Samuel-Kings. As Chronicles retells this history, it emphasizes certain themes. One of these themes is the principle of immediate retribution: God punishes a person’s or group’s disobedience but rewards a person’s or group’s obedience. In this volume of the Library of Hebrew Bible/Old Testament Studies, Troy Cudworth addresses an aspect of retribution in the book of Chronicles. He explores how war narratives relate to the principle of retribution in Chronicles. As part of his answer to this question, he looks to the significant role that the Jerusalem temple and its ritual worship play. As he examines the war narratives in Chronicles, he argues that a king’s faithfulness to worship Yahweh at the Jerusalem temple secures stability and peace for Israel while a king’s unfaithfulness brings about chaos and disaster for Israel.
Cudworth organizes his volume around the accounts of Judah’s kings. He points out the significant role that Israel’s cultic worship plays in each king’s reign and how such worship results in stability and security for Israel. He begins with David. He argues that David’s reign sets the pattern for other kings. At the beginning of David’s reign, he immediately tries to gather all Israel together in Jerusalem to worship Yahweh. Cudworth argues that this desire accounts for David’s military successes (1 Chronicles 14) even after David attempts to transfer the Ark using improper methods (1 Chronicles 13). Once David has successfully deposited the Ark of the Covenant in Jerusalem, he then looks forward to building the temple, gathering and organizing resources for its construction. Only when David attempts to provide Israel with security militarily (1 Chronicles 21) does the land suffer from disaster. These concerns that Cudworth identifies in David’s reign become a pattern that he applies to other kings as well.
He examines the other kings in Chronicles in the following chapters: “Faithful Kings” (e.g. Solomon, Abijah, Hezekiah), “Unfaithful Kings” (e.g. Saul, Ahaz, Zedekiah), “Faithful Kings Who Falter” (e.g. Asa, Amaziah, Uzziah, Josiah), and “Unfaithful Kings Who Repent” (i.e. Rehoboam, Manasseh). As he examines these various kings, he attempts to show that concern for worshiping Yahweh properly at the temple provides peace and stability for all Israel. Any other attempt to secure peace and stability for all Israel fails, whether the attempt involves worshiping other gods (e.g. Amaziah, Ahaz), creating alliances with other nations (e.g. Asa, Jehoshaphat), or bolstering Judah’s military strength (Asa, Amaziah, Uzziah). As he looks at these kings, he attempts to show how Chronicles consistently presents the principle of retribution in relation to the themes of war and temple faithfulness.
This volume provides a consistent analysis of three themes significant for understanding the message of Chronicles: retribution, war, and temple. Cudworth provides innovative readings for several passages in Chronicles where interpreters have noticed tensions in the presentation. For instance, he provides a reason for David’s victories in 1 Chronicles 14 even though David has failed to transfer the Ark according to the regulations of Mosaic Law. He argues that Yahweh rewards David’s desire to unite all Israel in worship at Jerusalem. Conformity to Mosaic Law is a secondary issue; therefore, Yahweh still rewarded David even though his attempt failed.
At the same time, Cudworth’s attempt to present the retribution principle consistently leads to some areas where he seems to press the evidence into greater uniformity than is warranted. For instance, Chronicles records two periods of religious reforms during the reign of Asa (2 Chronicles 14–16). Cudworth relativizes Asa’s first reform because the second set of reforms are more extensive and involve gathering all the people to the temple. Furthermore, following the first reform Asa also builds a large army and fortifies several cities. As a result, Cudworth argues that the first reform is inadequate because Asa’s heart is in the wrong place: Asa first neglected the more extensive reforms “so that he [Asa] could build fortresses and amass a large army” (121). Such a reading expects that each reform corresponds to the pattern he has developed elsewhere; however, it is more likely that Chronicles presents a history with more nuance and complexity.
At a thematic level, this volume is a valuable resource for understanding the message of Chronicles as a whole. At an exegetical level, the volume opens new lines for interpreting several passages that have created tensions for interpreters in the past. Therefore, this volume offers something for readers looking to get a sense of the whole book of Chronicles and those wrestling with specific passages. The volume is a good source for anyone wrestling with the meaning and theology of Chronicles.
