History of Trespass

William Johnstone observes in his study of Exodus and Chronicles that the Chronicler blames the death of Saul on the ma’al by which he ma’aled against the Lord (95; 1 Chronicles 10:13-14). It’s the same term used earlier in Chronicles, and in each case it “punctuates the decisive periods of Israel’s history; from first to last, on West Bank and on East, in North and in South. Israel in its occupation of the land has been characterized by ma’al” (96).

The genealogy of Judah is interrupted by a reference to the ma’al of Achan, the troubler of Israel who seized Yahweh’s plunder and brought disaster on the nation (1 Chronicles 2:3). The Chronicler claims that the transJordanian tribes likewise committed ma’al (1 Chronicles 5:25). Ultimately, this history of ma’al ends in exile (1 Chronicles 9:2).

After 1 Chronicles 10, “there is a long gap, but there are a further 12 occurrences [of the word] in 2 Chronicles” (96). The gap corresponds to the reigns of David and Solomon, which the Chronicler presents as a rare un-ma’al period of Israel’s history. The earlier tendency resumes with the reign of Solomon’s son Rehoboam, and continues through Uzziah, Ahaz, Manasseh, and finally spreads to the entire nation under king Zedekiah (97). As Johnstone puts it, “The Chronicler’s message is clear: his explanation for why Israel is ‘in exile’ is that from beginning to end of its occupation of the land . . . Israel has been guilty of ma’al and paid the penalty for it” (97).

What is ma’al? Achan is a paradigmatic case: He violates herem, seizes God’s holy things as his own, commits trespass and sacrilege. Johnstone sees the concept as “double-sided”: “ma’al is not only to deprive God of that which is rightfully his; it is also to misapply what has thus been wrongfully gained to one’s own profit.” It can be an individual or national trespass. As a nation, Israel owes God “exclusive obedience and utter reliance,” and exhibits ma’al when she turns “to other gods” thereby “defrauding God and misapplying that which is holy” (97-98). The results can be catastrophic: Uzziah becomes leprous, Saul dies, the people are sent away, the land is devastated: “in a word, forfeiture of status, life or land” (98).

Chronicles is not only about Israel’s history of ma’al, but about the atonement that undoes the trespass and restores Israel’s fortunes. Johnstone points to the rededication covenant-making of Hezekiah, whose ceremony includes king, priests, prophets, and people “harmoniously integrated with one another in a national act of atonement,” an act of un-ma’aling.