We observe that we have here the "charge to build", the putting of the proclamation

into "writing", and the prayer, "The Lord his God be with him", all of which are

reminiscent of the opening section in connection with David. It is good to "see the end

from the beginning" and to know by the prophetic word that, after many days of apostacy

and rebellion, the time of restitution will surely come.

Returning to the beginning of the record, we come next to the transgression of

Rehoboam and the punishment executed upon him by Shishak king of Egypt, who carried

away the treasures of the house of the Lord.  Rehoboam and his princes humbled

themselves, however, and the Lord granted "some deliverance", or "deliverance for a

little while". Rehoboam's attitude here is in strong contrast with that described at the end

of the book, where we read of the king and his associates that, instead of humbling

themselves and repenting--

The acts of Abijah in chapter 13:, and the acts of Josiah in chapter 34: have this

in common, that both kings were zealous in witnessing against idolatry and in restoring

the worship of God in accordance with the law. Asa and Manasseh come next in the

structure and provide a picture of that mixture of good and bad that is often a link

between the true and the false. Jehoshaphat and Hezekiah are the next corresponding

members and form an obvious pair. In both cases we have the fear of an enemy, an

exhortation not to be afraid, the thought that "the battle is not yours, but God's"; and in

both cases we have the destruction of the enemy either by "ambushments", by angelic

ministry, or by patricidal murder. All these items are indicated in the structure and

should be checked.

We now come to the three central groups in the structure, that provide types of both

Christ and Antichrist. Athaliah and the destruction of the seed royal are a type of Satanic

opposition to the purposes of God in Christ, while the hiding of the infant king for six

years, and his proclamation in the seventh, will need no explanation to those who are

acquainted with prophecy. Ahaz stands in line with Athaliah as a type of Antichrist, and

the "hiding" of the king's son is echoed by the "shutting up" of the doors of the Lord's

house. Hezekiah follows in much the same steps as Joash in the cleansing of the Temple,

the gathering of the Levites, and the setting in order of the Lord's house. All these points

are noted in the outline already given.

The four kings that come centrally in the structure are important because of the way in

which they indicate the various phases of Antichrist's rebellion and opposition. It should

be noted that the name of the evil king of Israel here, is the same as that of the good king

of Judah. This is a fruitful cause of much evil. Satan's deception is carried out by means

of travesty. Let the reader compare, for example, the names of the descendants of Cain

given in Gen. 4: 16-24, with those of the descendants of Adam given in Gen. 5: To

make sure that there is no mistake in connection with Enoch the Scriptures refer to him as