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Introduction
Since 1 and 2 Kings were originally written as one book, the Introduction to 1 Kings serves as an introduction to 2 Kings as well.
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2 Kings 1
Israel (The Northern Kingdom):
Ahaziah’s Messengers To Baal-zebub Encounter Elijah
2 Kgs 1:1-8
The wicked King Ahab of Israel (the Northern Kingdom; aka Samaria) has died. He is survived by his wife Jezebel and succeeded by his son Ahaziah. The son is an apple that has not fallen far from the tree.
2 Kgs 1:1 – The story of Moab’s rebellion is only mentioned in this verse, but it picks up at 2 Kgs 3:4.
2 Kgs 1:2 – Ekron was a Philistine city. The word “Baal” meant “lord, possessor, husband, master, or owner.” In other words, a “god.” Therefore, “Baal” most often simply meant “lord” or “god.” Each city had its own “Baal.” The Baal of Ekron was Baal-zebub, which meant “lord of the flies.”
Over the centuries, Baal-zebub came to be used for Satan or for a high-ranking subordinate of Satan. Over those same centuries, the spelling was altered in the way that spellings often change*, so that in the New Testament we see references like these below.
(*For example, The Declaration of Independence was written only 250 years ago and yet it spells “has shown” as “hath shewn,” “complete” as “compleat,” and “British” as “Brittish.”)
Matt 10:24 “A disciple is not above his teacher, nor a slave above his master.
Matt 10:25 “It is enough for the disciple that he become like his teacher, and the slave like his master. If they have called the head of the house Beelzebul, how much more will they malign the members of his household!
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Matt 12:22 Then a demon-possessed man who was blind and mute was brought to Jesus, and He healed him, so that the mute man spoke and saw.
Matt 12:23 All the crowds were amazed, and were saying, “This man cannot be the Son of David, can he?”
Matt 12:24 But when the Pharisees heard this, they said, “This man casts out demons only by Beelzebul the ruler of the demons.”
Matt 12:25 And knowing their thoughts Jesus said to them, “Any kingdom divided against itself is laid waste; and any city or house divided against itself will not stand.
Matt 12:26 “If Satan casts out Satan, he is divided against himself; how then will his kingdom stand?
Matt 12:27 “If I by Beelzebul cast out demons, by whom do your sons cast them out? For this reason they will be your judges.
Matt 12:28 “But if I cast out demons by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God has come upon you.
To sum up, throughout the Old Testament, we see “Baal” by itself or in combination with another word, as in “Baal-zebub.” And it is usually referencing a false god. In the New Testament, we no longer see the word “Baal” but we do see “Beelzebul” and it usually refers to a demonic being, whether Satan or one of his minions. Of course, these are speaking of two sides of the same coin, for the New Testament makes clear that behind every idol or false god is a demon.
1 Cor 10:18 Look at the nation Israel; are not those who eat the sacrifices sharers in the altar?
1 Cor 10:19 What do I mean then? That a thing sacrificed to idols is anything, or that an idol is anything?
1 Cor 10:20 No, but I say that the things which the Gentiles sacrifice, they sacrifice to demons and not to God; and I do not want you to become sharers in demons.
2 Kgs 1:3-4 – An angel of the Lord sends Elijah to intercept the messengers of Ahaziah in order to call him to account for seeking direction from a false god.
2 Kgs 1:8 – This description of Elijah should sound familiar to us.
Mark 1:4 John the Baptist appeared in the wilderness preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.
Mark 1:5 And all the country of Judea was going out to him, and all the people of Jerusalem; and they were being baptized by him in the Jordan River, confessing their sins.
Mark 1:6 John was clothed with camel’s hair and wore a leather belt around his waist, and his diet was locusts and wild honey.
Indeed, Elijah was a type of John the Baptist. The prophet Malachi had said the following long after Elijah had died.
Mal 4:5 “Behold, I am going to send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and terrible day of the LORD.
Mal 4:6 “He will restore the hearts of the fathers to their children and the hearts of the children to their fathers, so that I will not come and smite the land with a curse.”
About 400 years later, the angel Gabriel said this to Zacharias about John the Baptist before he was born:
Luke 1:17 “It is he who will go as a forerunner before Him in the spirit and power of Elijah, TO TURN THE HEARTS OF THE FATHERS BACK TO THE CHILDREN, and the disobedient to the attitude of the righteous, so as to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.”
And Jesus confirmed what Gabriel had told the father of John the Baptist – that John the Baptist was the “Elijah” Malachi had prophesied in the same way that Jesus was the “David” that Jeremiah (Jer 30:9) and Ezekiel (Ezek 34:23-24) and Hosea (Hos 3:5) had prophesied.
Matt 11:14 “And if you are willing to accept it, John himself is Elijah who was to come.
Israel (The Northern Kingdom):
Elijah Calls Down Fire from Heaven to Consume Captains and Their Fifties
2 Kgs 1:9-16
It is this passage about Elijah calling down fire from heaven against the ancestors of the Samaritans that the sons of Zebedee (James and John) seemed to have had in mind when they asked the Lord what they should do about these Samaritans rejecting of Him.
Luke 9:51 When the days were approaching for His ascension, He was determined to go to Jerusalem;
Luke 9:52 and He sent messengers on ahead of Him, and they went and entered a village of the Samaritans to make arrangements for Him.
Luke 9:53 But they did not receive Him, because He was traveling toward Jerusalem.
Luke 9:54 When His disciples James and John saw this, they said, “Lord, do You want us to command fire to come down from heaven and consume them?”
Luke 9:55 But He turned and rebuked them, [and said, “You do not know what kind of spirit you are of;
Luke 9:56 for the Son of Man did not come to destroy men’s lives, but to save them.”] And they went on to another village.
Jesus refusal to grant His apostles’ the power that Elijah exercised turns on the fact that Elijah was operating under the old covenant and Jesus the new. As Paul said:
Heb 8:6 But now He has obtained a more excellent ministry, by as much as He is also the mediator of a better covenant, which has been enacted on better promises.
Israel (The Northern Kingdom):
Ahaziah Is Succeeded by Jehoram
2 Kgs 1:17-18
This gets very confusing. Both King Ahab of Israel and King Jehoshaphat of Judah had sons named Jehoram (which was sometimes shortened to Joram). And the two succeeded their respective fathers and ruled in roughly the same time frames.
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2 Kings 2
Israel (The Northern Kingdom):
Elijah Taken to Heaven
2 Kgs 2:1-14
The Lord had told Elijah on Mount Horeb that Elisha was to replace him (1 Kgs 19:15-17). Elijah then sought out Elisha and began the process of transferring his knowledge – that is, Elijah took Elisha under his wing to disciple him (1 Kgs 19:19-21). In this chapter, that transfer will be completed.
Israel (The Northern Kingdom):
Elijah Is Replaced by Elisha
2 Kgs 2:15-25
2 Kgs 2:1-6 – Elisha is clinging to Elijah the way Ruth clung to Naomi (Ruth 1:6-18). We should – with the same intensity – cling to the Lord Jesus, for we were made to do so.
Deut 13:4 “You shall follow the LORD your God and fear Him; and you shall keep His commandments, listen to His voice, serve Him, and cling to Him.
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Jer 13:11 ‘For as the waistband clings to the waist of a man, so I made the whole household of Israel and the whole household of Judah cling to Me,’ declares the LORD, ‘that they might be for Me a people, for renown, for praise and for glory; but they did not listen.’
2 Kgs 2:7-8 – This scene was obviously intended to evoke memories in everyone present of Moses crossing the Red Sea and Joshua crossing the same river.
2 Kgs 2:9-10 – This passage foreshadows Jesus ascending into heaven and His promise to do greater things through those who believe in Him than even He Himself had done.
John 14:12 “Truly, truly, I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do, he will do also; and greater works than these he will do; because I go to the Father.
The book of Acts demonstrates fulfillments of this promise because the apostles “kept seeing” Jesus when He “was taken from them.” We should imitate those who “look to Him who is unseen” – like Moses did. For this is faith.
Heb 11:27 By faith he left Egypt, not fearing the wrath of the king; for he endured, as seeing Him who is unseen.
And we should do so even if it seems “a hard thing.”
2 Kgs 2:11-12 – This scene is reminiscent of Moses’ terse statement about the end of Enoch’s life.
Gen 5:24 Enoch walked with God; and he was not, for God took him.
Until Christ, every human being died and descended to Sheol (Hades). Enoch’s and Elijah’s passings from this life are foreshadowings of how Messiah would change things. (Types and Shadows of Christ) It’s not that Enoch or Elijah didn’t die or didn’t descend to Sheol; it’s that their end was depicted uniquely in order to portray what would be distinctive about Messiah. Similarly, Moses’ omission of Melchizedek’s genealogy was not meant to imply that he was not actually born of a women (Heb 7:1-3), but rather to foreshadow the uniqueness of Christ.
2 Kgs 2:11 – Regarding the movie Chariots of Fire (1981) about the 1924 Olympics, Wikipedia says this: “The film’s title was inspired by the line ‘Bring me my Chariot of fire!’ from the William Blake poem adapted into the British hymn and unofficial English anthem “Jerusalem”; the hymn is heard at the end of the film. The original phrase “chariot(s) of fire” is from 2 Kings 2:11 and 6:17 in the Bible.”
Israel (The Northern Kingdom):
Elijah Is Succeeded by Elisha
2 Kgs 2:13-25
2 Kgs 2:13-14 – Elisha is now doing the works of Elijah (2 Kgs 2:7-8).
2 Kgs 2:15 – And may the Spirit of Jesus rest on every man who seeks to love his wife and children as he should. (This is Christianity for men and their families; it is the fastest and most effective way for His Spirit to rest on every member of the family.)
2 Kgs 2:16-18 – They weren’t going to find Elijah’s body for the same reason no one could find Moses’ body – the Lord took them and didn’t want the places of their graves to be known (Deut 34:5-6).
2 Kgs 2:19-22 – Elisha begins to do things even Elijah did not do. But he was only able to do such things because he had been discipled by Elijah.
2 Kgs 2:23-25 – These young men were like the mockers of Sodom, for Bethel housed a golden calf set up for worship by King Jeroboam (The Divided Kingdom).
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2 Kings 3
Israel (The Northern Kingdom) and Judah (The Southern Kingdom):
Jehoram Meets Moab Rebellion
2 Kgs 3:1-27
2 Kgs 3:1 – Jehoram took over from his brother Ahaziah (2 Kgs 1:17-18); both were sons of Ahab.
2 Kgs 3:3 – The sins of Jeroboam mentioned here consisted primarily of the false worship of golden calves set up at Bethel and Dan (The Divided Kingdom), designed to keep the people of Israel penned in and unable to go the temple of the Lord in Jerusalem. In other words, Jeroboam instituted false worship, corrupting the religion God had given the people through Moses. All Jeroboam’s successors maintained this false worship, and this is why the northern kingdom (Samaria) was crushed by the Assyrian Empire in 722 BC.
2 Kgs 3:4-5 – This rebellion of Moab was briefly introduced in 2 Kgs 1:1; the story resumes here.
2 Kgs 3:7 – King Jehoshaphat of Judah agrees to ally with King Jehoram of Israel against Moab just as he agreed to ally with Jehoram’s father King Ahab against Aram in 1 Kgs 22.
2 Kgs 3:9 – Edom (the descendants of Esau) allies with Israel and Judah against Moab. Three kings against one.
2 Kgs 3:11 – As he did with Ahab in 1 Kgs 22, Jehoshaphat asks for a prophet of the Lord to give guidance for the battle.
2 Kgs 3:12 – Jehoshaphat has heard good things about Elisha.
2 Kgs 3:15 – A previous prophet – David – played the harp. Music is often used in conjunction with prophecy and many people find their souls soothed by it. Even the troubled King Saul found such comfort in it (1 Sam 16:23). That said, music is not magical; it can never replace the Spirit, only support it. And as we all know, music can also be used for evil. Songs are just like words in that regard – they can be used for good or evil.
2 Kgs 3:20 – The Lord has granted this miracle through Elisha for Jehoshaphat and despite Jehoram.
2 Kgs 3:21-27 – Moab is routed and its king descends into madness, sacrificing his son to Moab’s god. Israel withdrew because God’s only interest in this battle was to help Judah.
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2 Kings 4
This chapter records five of the miracles that Elisha performed. The miracles of Elijah (1 Kgs 17–2 Kgs 2) and Elisha (2 Kgs 2–13) can be counted in different ways, but one of the most common observations that Bible scholars over the centuries have made is that Elijah performed more miracles than most prophets did…and yet Elisha performed twice as many as Elijah. That’s right; though the men’s miracles can be counted in different ways, Elisha always ends up with twice as many.
Israel (The Northern Kingdom):
The Widow’s Oil Multiplies
2 Kgs 4:1-7
The size of the benefit to the widow was commensurate with the degree of effort she put into following Elisha’s instruction to gather vessels.
Eccl 9:10 Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with all your might…
Israel (The Northern Kingdom):
The Shunammite Woman Bears a Child
2 Kgs 4:8-17
The miracle arose from Elisha’s desire to give a return for a benefit he had received – a righteous thing to do.
2 Chr 32:25 But Hezekiah gave no return for the benefit he received, because his heart was proud; therefore wrath came on him and on Judah and Jerusalem.
And it was a very God-like thing that was done for her – similar to what had been done for Sarah, Hannah, and others.
Ps 113:9 He makes the barren woman abide in the house
As a joyful mother of children.
Praise the LORD!
Israel (The Northern Kingdom):
The Shunammite Woman’s Son Is Raised from the Dead
2 Kgs 4:18-37
In similar fashion, Elijah had raised the son of a widow from the dead in 1 Kgs 17:17-24.
Israel (The Northern Kingdom):
The Poisonous Stew Is Made Edible
2 Kgs 4:38-41
If ever there was going to come a point of discouragement, it would be in the midst of a famine when the thin gruel you’ve scrounged to produce turns out to be poisonous. But Elisha never misses a beat. This man made the most of the tutelage Elijah gave him.
Israel (The Northern Kingdom):
Bread That Multiplies
2 Kgs 4:42-44
The Old Testament which alternately baffles and bores us is, of all places, where Jesus found His inspiration.
Mark 6:34 When Jesus went ashore, He saw a large crowd, and He felt compassion for them because they were like sheep without a shepherd; and He began to teach them many things.
Mark 6:35 When it was already quite late, His disciples came to Him and said, “This place is desolate and it is already quite late;
Mark 6:36 send them away so that they may go into the surrounding countryside and villages and buy themselves something to eat.”
Mark 6:37 But He answered them, “You give them something to eat!” And they said to Him, “Shall we go and spend two hundred denarii on bread and give them something to eat?”
Mark 6:38 And He said to them, “How many loaves do you have? Go look!” And when they found out, they said, “Five, and two fish.”
Mark 6:39 And He commanded them all to sit down by groups on the green grass.
Mark 6:40 They sat down in groups of hundreds and of fifties.
Mark 6:41 And He took the five loaves and the two fish, and looking up toward heaven, He blessed the food and broke the loaves and He kept giving them to the disciples to set before them; and He divided up the two fish among them all.
Mark 6:42 They all ate and were satisfied,
Mark 6:43 and they picked up twelve full baskets of the broken pieces, and also of the fish.
Mark 6:44 There were five thousand men who ate the loaves.
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2 Kings 5
Israel (The Northern Kingdom):
Naaman Is Healed of Leprosy
2 Kgs 5:1-19
Jesus speaks of this story about a leper by the name of Naaman being healed.
Luke 4:16 And He came to Nazareth, where He had been brought up; and as was His custom, He entered the synagogue on the Sabbath, and stood up to read.
Luke 4:17 And the book of the prophet Isaiah was handed to Him. And He opened the book and found the place where it was written,
Luke 4:18 “THE SPIRIT OF THE LORD IS UPON ME,
BECAUSE HE ANOINTED ME TO PREACH THE GOSPEL TO THE POOR.
HE HAS SENT ME TO PROCLAIM RELEASE TO THE CAPTIVES,
AND RECOVERY OF SIGHT TO THE BLIND,
TO SET FREE THOSE WHO ARE OPPRESSED,
Luke 4:19 TO PROCLAIM THE FAVORABLE YEAR OF THE LORD.”
Luke 4:20 And He closed the book, gave it back to the attendant and sat down; and the eyes of all in the synagogue were fixed on Him.
Luke 4:21 And He began to say to them, “Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.”
Luke 4:22 And all were speaking well of Him, and wondering at the gracious words which were falling from His lips; and they were saying, “Is this not Joseph’s son?”
Luke 4:23 And He said to them, “No doubt you will quote this proverb to Me, ‘Physician, heal yourself! Whatever we heard was done at Capernaum, do here in your hometown as well.'”
Luke 4:24 And He said, “Truly I say to you, no prophet is welcome in his hometown.
Luke 4:25 “But I say to you in truth, there were many widows in Israel in the days of Elijah, when the sky was shut up for three years and six months, when a great famine came over all the land;
Luke 4:26 and yet Elijah was sent to none of them, but only to Zarephath, in the land of Sidon, to a woman who was a widow.
Luke 4:27 “And there were many lepers in Israel in the time of Elisha the prophet; and none of them was cleansed, but only Naaman the Syrian.”
Luke 4:28 And all the people in the synagogue were filled with rage as they heard these things;
Luke 4:29 and they got up and drove Him out of the city, and led Him to the brow of the hill on which their city had been built, in order to throw Him down the cliff.
Luke 4:30 But passing through their midst, He went His way.
The small town of Nazareth was situated in the very region of Israel in which Elijah and Elisha had lived: The Northern Kingdom. The two healings Jesus mentions were performed on Gentiles outside the confines of Israel. Jesus’ fellow Nazarenes are incensed that He is comparing them to the wayward Israelites Elijah and Elisha were bypassing to get to more deserving Gentiles.
Familiarity breeds contempt if we do not renew our interest daily in the ones we love – especially in the One we love.
2 Kgs 5:1 – “Aram” and “Syria” are synonymous, as are “Aramean” and “Syrian.” This is why 2 Kgs 5:1 says Naaman was from Aram while Lk 4:27 calls him a Syrian.
Related, Syria (which bordered on Israel) was different from Assyria (which was farther to Israel’s northwest. The capital of Syria (Aram) was Damascus, while the capital of Assyria was Nineveh.
2 Kgs 5:2-3 – It is this little Israelite girl who is the reason God healed Naaman of his leprosy.
Israel (The Northern Kingdom):
Gehazi Gets Greedy
2 Kgs 5:20-27
This is a chilling story. Let us take it to heart lest we yield to greed.
Luke 12:15 Then He said to them, “Beware, and be on your guard against every form of greed…
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2 Kings 6
Israel (The Northern Kingdom):
The Axe Head Recovered
2 Kgs 6:1-7
The miracles performed by Elijah and Elisha were like those performed by Jesus, which is to say that they were all oriented to meeting practical needs of everyday people. They weren’t like magic tricks which are designed to impress and entertain.
Acts 10:38 “You know of Jesus of Nazareth, how God anointed Him with the Holy Spirit and with power, and how He went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with Him.
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Titus 3:14 Our people must also learn to engage in good deeds to meet pressing needs, so that they will not be unfruitful.
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Eph 4:29 Let no unwholesome word proceed from your mouth, but only such a word as is good for edification according to the need of the moment, so that it will give grace to those who hear.
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1 Chr 12:32 Of the sons of Issachar, men who understood the times, with knowledge of what Israel should do…
Israel (The Northern Kingdom):
The Arameans Plot to Capture Elisha
2 Kgs 6:8-23
The rest of this chapter (2 Kgs 6) and all of the next (2 Kgs 7) comprise a signal narrative. It’s a story of Aramean aggression against Israel at a time when Israel was subjected to severe famine. In short, Israel was experiencing the worst of both war and famine, yet God delivered them from both through His prophet Elisha. It’s a great historical narrative, with some great lines along the way. There are points at which you’ll laugh; and others so tragic it will break your heart to even contemplate it. The account describes how God delivered the Israelites from devastating famine by allowing the Arameans to attack them. If that sounds counterintuitive or contradictory, it just means that when we’re experiencing a calamity and another calamity arises, it may be that God’s purpose for the second calamity may be to deliver us from both. If that doesn’t make sense now, it will by the time you reach the end of 2 Kgs 7.
2 Kgs 6:11 – I have to laugh at what the king of Aram says to his guys here.
2 Kgs 6:16 – May you never forget this. Even when you fell the most outnumbered. It’s what enabled David to handle trouble like this.
1 Sam 30:6 Moreover David was greatly distressed because the people spoke of stoning him, for all the people were embittered, each one because of his sons and his daughters. But David strengthened himself in the LORD his God.
This has just been a skirmish with the Arameans compared to what’s to come.
2 Kgs 6:17 – Regarding the movie Chariots of Fire (1981) about the 1924 Olympics, Wikipedia says this: “The film’s title was inspired by the line ‘Bring me my Chariot of fire!’ from the William Blake poem adapted into the British hymn and unofficial English anthem “Jerusalem”; the hymn is heard at the end of the film. The original phrase “chariot(s) of fire” is from 2 Kings 2:11 and 6:17 in the Bible.”
Israel (The Northern Kingdom, aka Samaria):
The Siege of Samaria and Its Famine – Cannibalism
2 Kgs 6:24-33
2 Kgs 6:24 – The Arameans take advantage of the famine in Samaria by sealing it off from any outside aid.
2 Kgs 6:25-29 – It’s hard for me to think of any descriptions of the human condition in the Bible that are more gut-wrenching to read than this.
2 Kgs 6:30-31 – The king is directing his anger at the wrong target. The man he hates is going to save the nation.
2 Kgs 6:32 – The king about whom Elijah is speaking is Jehoram and his father was the wicked Ahab.
2 Kgs 6:33 – Jehoram was impatient in his repentance, such as it was. Now is the time to remember that chapter and verse divisions do not always follow the flow of action. Proceed to the first verse of the next chapter keep reading.
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2 Kings 7
Israel (The Northern Kingdom):
Elisha Promises Food in the Midst of the Famine
2 Kgs 7:1-2
2 Kgs 7:1 – Compare this economic forecast to the current market prices which were spelled out in 2 Kgs 6:25.
2 Kgs 7:2 – The royal officer provides an example of how we should not react to a seemingly impossible promise from God. Elisha responds to him with another seemingly impossible promise: the royal officer will see it with his own eyes, but not partake of it. Stay tuned to see how that fulfillments plays out, too.
Israel (The Northern Kingdom):
Four Lepers Discover the Arameans’ Flight
2 Kgs 7:3-14
2 Kgs 7:3-4 – Those of us who procrastinate need such prods from God. For other such motivators, see Josh 18:3; Judg 18:9; 1 Kgs 18:21. I love how these guys say this. Who can deny the reasonableness of what they’re saying! God loves it when we’re reasonable.
2 Kgs 7:5-8 – God!
2 Kgs 7:9 – Once again, these men have assessed the situation in an very logical way. Godly, too.
Israel (The Northern Kingdom):
Elisha’s Amazing Promise Is Fulfilled
2 Kgs 7:15-20
2 Kgs 7:16 – This is the fulfillment of Elisha’s seemingly impossible promise to the king in 2 Kgs 7:1.
2 Kgs 7:17-20 – This is the fulfillment of Elisha’s seemingly impossible promise to the royal officer in 2 Kgs 7:2
Luke 18:27 But He said, “The things that are impossible with people are possible with God.”
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2 Kings 8
Israel (The Northern Kingdom, aka Samaria):
King Jehoram Restores the Shunammite Woman’s Land
2 Kgs 8:1-6
2 Kgs 8:2 – What the Shunammite woman had to do is like what Naomi, her husband Elimelech, and their two sons had to do – that is, leave their home and country in a time of famine in order to survive. But it led to their meeting Ruth! (Ruth 1:1-4) Facing the trials of life girded with the hope of finding goodness from God in the midst of them is always rewarded.
Israel (The Northern Kingdom, aka Samaria):
Elisha Predicts Evil from Hazael
2 Kgs 8:7-15
The only other time prior to this that we have heard Hazael’s name mentioned is this:
1 Kin 19:15 The LORD said to him, “Go, return on your way to the wilderness of Damascus, and when you have arrived, you shall anoint Hazael king over Aram;
1 Kin 19:16 and Jehu the son of Nimshi you shall anoint king over Israel; and Elisha the son of Shaphat of Abel-meholah you shall anoint as prophet in your place.
1 Kin 19:17 “It shall come about, the one who escapes from the sword of Hazael, Jehu shall put to death, and the one who escapes from the sword of Jehu, Elisha shall put to death.
Thus the ministry of Elijah is extended through Elisha.
Judah (The Southern Kingdom):
Another Jehoram Reigns in Judah
2 Kgs 8:16-23
2 Kgs 8:16 – “Joram” is a shortened form of “Jehoram,” as “Josh” is a shortened form of “Joshua.” It is just a coincidence that the kings of the two kingdoms (The Divided Kingdoms) has the same name (Jehoram) around the same time.
2 Kgs 8:18 – Marrying wrong is a shortcut to a disastrous life. Marrying well is the best decision a man of God ever makes.
2 Kgs 8:19 – #FJOT The Lord was going to preserve the kingdom of Judah in order to keep His promises to David about his descendant the Messiah (2 Sam 7). Once Messiah came, even the kingdom of Judah would be destroyed, as it was in 70 AD. (Key Dates for Ancient Israel)
Judah (The Southern Kingdom):
Jehoram Succeeded by Ahaziah
2 Kgs 8:24-27
King Ahaziah of Judah didn’t fair any better than his father (King Jehoram of Judah) because both were influenced by their in-laws: who came from the house of Ahab (King of the northern kingdom). Ahab was dead by this time but his wife Jezebel was still living, and their sons were perpetuating their parents’ evil ways.
Israel (The Northern Kingdom, aka Samaria) and Judah (The Southern Kingdom):
The Divided Kingdoms Ally against Aram
2 Kgs 8:28-29
The three parties to this battle – Israel and Judah united against Aram – are the same parties that were at war in 1 Kgs 22. However, we are one generation removed because at that time Ahab was king of Israel and Jehoshaphat was the king of Judah.
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2 Kings 9
Israel (The Northern Kingdom, aka Samaria):
Elisha Predicts Evil from Hazael
2 Kgs 9:1-13
The last time we heard about this Jehu was when the Lord commissioned Elijah to prepare for his departure from this life in the following way:
1 Kin 19:15 The LORD said to him, “Go, return on your way to the wilderness of Damascus, and when you have arrived, you shall anoint Hazael king over Aram;
1 Kin 19:16 and Jehu the son of Nimshi you shall anoint king over Israel; and Elisha the son of Shaphat of Abel-meholah you shall anoint as prophet in your place.
1 Kin 19:17 “It shall come about, the one who escapes from the sword of Hazael, Jehu shall put to death, and the one who escapes from the sword of Jehu, Elisha shall put to death.
As we have seen repeatedly, Elisha’s assignments were always an extension of Elijah’s. It is as Jesus said to His disciples:
John 4:37 “For in this case the saying is true, ‘One sows and another reaps.’
John 4:38 “I sent you to reap that for which you have not labored; others have labored and you have entered into their labor.”
Elijah was beginning things that Elisha would finish.
2 Kgs 9:1-3 – Even Elisha himself delegates the task of anointing Jehu.
2 Kgs 9:7-10 – Elijah had pronounced this judgment directly to Ahab, including the part about the dogs and Jezebel in Jezreel.
1 Kin 21:21 “Behold, I will bring evil upon you, and will utterly sweep you away, and will cut off from Ahab every male, both bond and free in Israel;
1 Kin 21:22 and I will make your house like the house of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, and like the house of Baasha the son of Ahijah, because of the provocation with which you have provoked Me to anger, and because you have made Israel sin.
1 Kin 21:23 “Of Jezebel also has the LORD spoken, saying, ‘The dogs will eat Jezebel in the district of Jezreel.’
2 Kgs 9:11-13 – Jehu’s staff declares him to be the king of Israel – which, in effect, means that Joram (Jehoram, the current king of Israel) is being deposed.
Israel (The Northern Kingdom, aka Samaria) and Judah (the Southern Kingdom):
Jehu and His Men Track Down Jehoram (Joram)
2 Kgs 9:14-29
2 Kgs 9:16 – Coincidentally, Ahaziah king of Judah is present with Joram (Jehoram king of Israel) in Jezreel.
2 Kgs 9:17-20 – The watchman’s job is to figure what’s coming – whether it’s going to be friendly or hostile.
2 Kgs 9:21 – How fitting that this showdown is taking place on the property that Ahab and Jezebel had stolen from Naboth. God looks out for the poor and humble.
2 Kgs 9:22 – Since Jehu is one of his commanders, Joram (Jehoram) is still asking “Is it peace?” He’s clinging desperately to a vain hope that his commander Jehu might have come to help him.
2 Kgs 9:23-26 – Joram’s (Jehoram’s) time is up. The word of the Lord prevails.
2 Kgs 9:27-29 – In his zeal, Jehu takes out Ahaziah, too. Ahaziah was related to the house of Ahab by marriage and thus suffered its fate this day.
Israel (The Northern Kingdom, aka Samaria):
Jezebel Finally Gets Something She Deserves
2 Kgs 9:30-37
2 Kgs 9:30 – The modern-day conception of “a Jezebel” as a cunning floozy stems from this verse, but reading the full story about her acts in the Bible shows that there was much more evil in her than just this. ***** As for “painted her eyes,” the prophets Jeremiah (Jer 4:30) and Ezekiel (Ezek 23:40) both used this expression as a metaphor of how the southern kingdom sought the approval of surrounding nations instead of the Lord’s approval. Their point was the Jerusalem was acting like Jezebel.
2 Kgs 9:31 – Jezebel’s sarcastic reference to Jehu as “Zimri” is an allusion to the events of 1 Kgs 16 and an implication that any success Jehu achieved would be short-lived. She was wrong. Zimri only ruled Israel for seven days, but Jehu would rule for 28 years.
2 Kgs 9:32-33 – This is how Jesus chose to use the knowledge of Jezebel in the message he sent to the seven churches through the apostle John.
Rev 2:18 “And to the angel of the church in Thyatira write: The Son of God, who has eyes like a flame of fire, and His feet are like burnished bronze, says this:
Rev 2:19 ‘I know your deeds, and your love and faith and service and perseverance, and that your deeds of late are greater than at first.
Rev 2:20 ‘But I have this against you, that you tolerate the woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophetess, and she teaches and leads My bond-servants astray so that they commit acts of immorality and eat things sacrificed to idols.
Rev 2:21 ‘I gave her time to repent, and she does not want to repent of her immorality.
Rev 2:22 ‘Behold, I will throw her on a bed of sickness, and those who commit adultery with her into great tribulation, unless they repent of her deeds.
Rev 2:23 ‘And I will kill her children with pestilence, and all the churches will know that I am He who searches the minds and hearts; and I will give to each one of you according to your deeds.
Rev 2:24 ‘But I say to you, the rest who are in Thyatira, who do not hold this teaching, who have not known the deep things of Satan, as they call them–I place no other burden on you.
Rev 2:25 ‘Nevertheless what you have, hold fast until I come.
Rev 2:26 ‘He who overcomes, and he who keeps My deeds until the end, TO HIM I WILL GIVE AUTHORITY OVER THE NATIONS;
Rev 2:27 AND HE SHALL RULE THEM WITH A ROD OF IRON, AS THE VESSELS OF THE POTTER ARE BROKEN TO PIECES, as I also have received authority from My Father;
Rev 2:28 and I will give him the morning star.
Rev 2:29 ‘He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.’
2 Kgs 9:34-37 – If God would go to such lengths to fulfill the words of His servant Elijah, how much more would He fulfill the words of God’s greatest servant of all, the Messiah!
***
2 Kings 10
Israel (The Northern Kingdom, aka Samaria):
Jehu Executes Further Judgment on the House of Ahab
2 Kgs 10:1-11
Ahab had been a king, a powerful man. He sired 70 sons and had them parceled out to prominent people would care for them, raise them, and prepare them for a life of prominence. Yet look how quickly and easily their support for Ahab and his sons collapsed. Ahab’s network of allies was a house of cards, built on corruption and bribery. Only righteousness establishes bonds that survive stress.
Israel (The Northern Kingdom, aka Samaria) and Judah (The Southern Kingdom):
Jehu Executes Judgment on the House of Ahaziah
2 Kgs 10:12-14
Ahaziah’s relationship with the house of Ahab was bringing him nothing but inclusion in the punishments due Ahab and Jezebel for their sins.
Israel (The Northern Kingdom, aka Samaria):
Jehu Executes Judgment on the Remainder of the House of Ahab
2 Kgs: 10:15-17
Jehu is fierce and he is thorough.
By the way, are Ahab and Jezebel in heaven? Yes, because Everyone Is Going to Heaven…but would you want to be walking around up there with the reputation they made down here?
Israel (The Northern Kingdom, aka Samaria):
Jehu Destroys Baal Worshipers
2 Kgs 10:18-28
This reminds us of how Samson chose to spend the last part of his life in the temple of the Philistines’ god (Judg 16:22-31).
Israel (The Northern Kingdom, aka Samaria):
Jehu Continues the Sins of Jeroboam
2 Kgs 10:29-33
None of Israel’s (the Northern Kingdom’s, Samaria’s) kings would destroy the golden calves Jeroboam had set up at Bethel and Dan (The Divided Kingdom).
Israel (The Northern Kingdom, aka Samaria):
Jehu Dies
2 Kgs 10:34-36
Jehu showed great respect for the word of the Lord – far more than Ahab, Jehoram (Joram), or Jezebel ever did. But that he would never challenge the most fundamental thing wrong with the nation – the corruption epitomized by Jeroboam’s golden calves – leaves a tarnished legacy for Jehu.
***
2 Kings 11
All the action in this chapter takes place in Judah (The Southern Kingdom).
Judah (The Southern Kingdom):
Athaliah Makes Herself Queen, But…
2 Kgs 11:1-3
2 Kgs 11:1 – Athaliah was the daughter of Ahab and Jezebel, who had ruled Israel (The Northern Kingdom, aka Samaria). Her husband was Jehoram (Joram), king of Judah and the son of Jehoshaphat king of Judah. Ahaziah was the son of Jehoram and Athaliah. When Jehoram died, Athaliah was widowed and Ahaziah became king. Ahaziah’s death gave Athaliah the opportunity to become Queen once she murdered all the royal offspring. That a daughter of Ahab and Jezebel could be this ruthless should surprise no one.
2 Kgs 11:2 – Although Athaliah succeeded in becoming queen of Judah, one of Ahaziah’s sons was preserved and hidden: an infant name Joash (Jehoash).
2 Kgs 11:3 – Joash remained hidden for the first six years of his life, which were the first six years of Athaliah’s seven-year reign as queen.
Judah (The Southern Kingdom):
Jehoiada the Priest Makes Joash King
2 Kgs 11:4-12
Jehoiada the priest devised a plan…and then followed it.
Is 32:7 As for a rogue, his weapons are evil;
He devises wicked schemes
To destroy the afflicted with slander,
Even though the needy one speaks what is right.
Is 32:8 But the noble man devises noble plans;
And by noble plans he stands.
In this case, Athaliah was the rogue, and Jehoiada the noble man.
2 Kgs 11:12 – At this point in history, the king is getting crowned – but he’s still getting anointed as well. (The Lord’s Anointed = The King)
Judah (The Southern Kingdom):
Athaliah Is Executed
2 Kgs 11:13-16
2 Kgs 11:14 – Note how the wicked gaslight…even themselves! Athaliah commits murder and steals the throne, then calls anyone who resists her a traitor to the nation!
2 Kgs 11:15 – Reverence for the house of the Lord seems to be a motivating principle for Jehoiada the priest. For this reason, he resisted the unlawful rule of Athaliah; and for this reason, he installed Jehoash (Joash) as king of Judah. And these are not the only actions we will see him take which seem to reflect this abiding motive.
2 Kgs 11:16 – That the text describes no one following Athaliah to her death implies that she inspired no loyalty. Contrast with Jesus of Nazareth whom people are still following to the death somewhere in the world today.
Judah (The Southern Kingdom):
Judah Reforms
2 Kgs 11:17-21
***
2 Kings 12
Like the previous chapter, all the action in this chapter takes place in Judah (The Southern Kingdom).
Judah (The Southern Kingdom):
Joash (Jehoash) Matures and Reigns as King over Judah
2 Kgs 12:1-3
Though Joash became king at only age 7, he held the throne until he died at age 47.
2 Kgs 12:2 – This is a telling statement. The remainder of the chapter describes Joash’s 40-year reign, and, indeed, shows that its arc was one of heights reached in the early part of his reign and depths reached in the latter part. In other words, Joash started well, but did not finish well. This is not a pattern you and I want to follow. Finish strong!
2 Kgs 12:3 – Moses had taught that sacrifices should only be made at the place of the Lord’s choosing first, the tabernacle and later, the temple. Although we saw in the previous chapter that the people of Judah stopped worshiping false gods (Baal, specifically), they were still worshiping the true God in ways contrary to the way He had instructed them.
Judah (The Southern Kingdom):
King Joash (Jehoash) and the Priests Seek to Restore the Temple
2 Kgs 12:4-16
2 Kgs 12:4-5 – Joash (Jehoash) is here displaying the same sort of concern for the house of the Lord that distinguished his ancestor King David (2 Sam 7:1-3).
2 Kgs 12:6-16 – At this point in his career, Joash (Jehoash) seems to be exhibiting even more zeal for the house of the Lord than Jehoiada the priest.
Judah (The Southern Kingdom):
King Joash (Jehoash) Sacrifices Things of the Lord to Hazael King of Aram
2 Kgs 12:17-18
As was implied at the beginning of this chapter, the latter part of Joash’s (Jehoash’s) reign was tarnished. Here, we see him using the treasures of the Lord’s house as tribute and a payoff to the invading Hazael. Jehoiada is conspicuous by his absence; presumably, he was dead by this time.
Judah (The Southern Kingdom):
King Joash (Jehoash) Is Killed by His Servants and Succeeded by Amaziah
2 Kgs 12:19-21
As an infant, Joash’s (Jehoash’s) life was saved. He did well in many ways. But it’s a sad end when your own house rises up against you. Jesus knows this from personal experience. #FJOT
***
2 Kings 13
All the action in this chapter takes place in Israel (The Northern Kingdom, aka Samaria).
Israel (The Northern Kingdom, aka Samaria):
Jehu Succeeded by Jehoahaz
2 Kgs 13:1-9
Even though Jehoahaz “did evil in the sight of the Lord,” the Lord showed mercy when Jehoahaz entreated Him. When we do evil, we likewise can turn to the Lord and ask for mercy.
1 John 1:9 If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
We just have to be sure that we ourselves are showing forgiveness to those who have sinned against us.
Matt 6:15 “But if you do not forgive others, then your Father will not forgive your transgressions.
Israel (The Northern Kingdom, aka Samaria):
Jehoahaz Succeeded by Jehoash
2 Kgs 13:10-13
Israel (The Northern Kingdom, aka Samaria):
Elisha Dies
2 Kgs 13:14-21
2 Kgs 13:14-19 – Elisha is revealing to the king his half-heartedness, even his laziness in the sight of the Lord. It’s a lesson the Scriptures teach over and over in many different ways.
Eccl 9:10 Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with all your might; for there is no activity or planning or knowledge or wisdom in Sheol where you are going.
***
2 Chr 16:9 “For the eyes of the LORD move to and fro throughout the earth that He may strongly support those whose heart is completely His. You have acted foolishly in this. Indeed, from now on you will surely have wars.”
***
Rev 3:15 ‘I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot; I wish that you were cold or hot.
Rev 3:16 ‘So because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of My mouth.
Rev 3:17 ‘Because you say, “I am rich, and have become wealthy, and have need of nothing,” and you do not know that you are wretched and miserable and poor and blind and naked,
Rev 3:18 I advise you to buy from Me gold refined by fire so that you may become rich, and white garments so that you may clothe yourself, and that the shame of your nakedness will not be revealed; and eye salve to anoint your eyes so that you may see.
Rev 3:19 ‘Those whom I love, I reprove and discipline; therefore be zealous and repent.
When the Lord assigns us a task, let us give it all we’ve got!
2 Kgs 13:20-21 – Wow. The Lord gave Elisha the life of power that he asked for.
2 Kin 2:9 When they had crossed over, Elijah said to Elisha, “Ask what I shall do for you before I am taken from you.” And Elisha said, “Please, let a double portion of your spirit be upon me.”
2 Kin 2:10 He said, “You have asked a hard thing. Nevertheless, if you see me when I am taken from you, it shall be so for you; but if not, it shall not be so.”
2 Kin 2:11 As they were going along and talking, behold, there appeared a chariot of fire and horses of fire which separated the two of them. And Elijah went up by a whirlwind to heaven.
2 Kin 2:12 Elisha saw it and cried out, “My father, my father, the chariots of Israel and its horsemen!” And he saw Elijah no more. Then he took hold of his own clothes and tore them in two pieces.
2 Kin 2:13 He also took up the mantle of Elijah that fell from him and returned and stood by the bank of the Jordan.
2 Kin 2:14 He took the mantle of Elijah that fell from him and struck the waters and said, “Where is the LORD, the God of Elijah?” And when he also had struck the waters, they were divided here and there; and Elisha crossed over.
This posthumous episode (2 Kgs 13:20-21) just puts an exclamation point on Elisha’s doubly empowered life.
Israel (The Northern Kingdom, aka Samaria):
War with Aram
2 Kgs 13:22-25
Because of the patriarchs – Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob – their descendants benefited from God even when they didn’t deserve it given their own behavior. Likewise, we benefit from the grace of Jesus Christ, the ancestor of all those who have been, and will be, raised from the dead.
***
2 Kings 14
Judah (The Southern Kingdom):
King Amaziah Reigns
2 Kgs 14:1-7
Israel (The Northern Kingdom, aka Samaria) and Judah (The Southern Kingdom):
War between Judah and Israel – Judah Loses
2 Kgs 14:8-14
It appears that Amaziah’s victory over Edom (2 Kgs 14:7) inflated his ego and thereby distorted his judgment because the outcome of his decision to attack Israel was that he and his kingdom were humiliated. As Jesus said, no wise man picks fights he can’t win.
Luke 14:28 “For which one of you, when he wants to build a tower, does not first sit down and calculate the cost to see if he has enough to complete it?
Luke 14:29 “Otherwise, when he has laid a foundation and is not able to finish, all who observe it begin to ridicule him,
Luke 14:30 saying, ‘This man began to build and was not able to finish.’
Luke 14:31 “Or what king, when he sets out to meet another king in battle, will not first sit down and consider whether he is strong enough with ten thousand men to encounter the one coming against him with twenty thousand?
Luke 14:32 “Or else, while the other is still far away, he sends a delegation and asks for terms of peace.
Israel (The Northern Kingdom, aka Samaria):
Jehoash (Joash) Succeeded by Jeroboam II
2 Kgs 14:15-16
You won’t see the “II” after this Jeroboam’s name actually in the biblical text, but it’s a way for Bible readers to easily distinguish this Jeroboam from the one that was the first king of Israel (the northern kingdom, aka Samaria). Per Ussher’s chronology, there was about 150 years between the two Jeroboams: the first taking control around 975 BC, per James Ussher.
Judah (The Southern Kingdom):
Amaziah Succeeded by Azariah (Uzziah)
2 Kgs 14:17-22
It was the during the reign of Azariah (Uzziah) that the prophet Isaiah came on the scene. This is from the book of Isaiah:
Is 1:1 The vision of Isaiah the son of Amoz concerning Judah and Jerusalem, which he saw during the reigns of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz and Hezekiah, kings of Judah.
And it was in the year Azariah (Uzziah) died that Isaiah had the profound vision that is quoted at least in part by Jesus in all four Gospels and by Paul in the book of Acts. It is verses 9 and 10 that are the ones quoted but I give them here in their context.
Is 6:1 In the year of King Uzziah’s death I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, lofty and exalted, with the train of His robe filling the temple.
Is 6:2 Seraphim stood above Him, each having six wings: with two he covered his face, and with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew.
Is 6:3 And one called out to another and said,
“Holy, Holy, Holy, is the LORD of hosts,
The whole earth is full of His glory.”
Is 6:4 And the foundations of the thresholds trembled at the voice of him who called out, while the temple was filling with smoke.
Is 6:5 Then I said,
“Woe is me, for I am ruined!
Because I am a man of unclean lips,
And I live among a people of unclean lips;
For my eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts.”
Is 6:6 Then one of the seraphim flew to me with a burning coal in his hand, which he had taken from the altar with tongs.
Is 6:7 He touched my mouth with it and said, “Behold, this has touched your lips; and your iniquity is taken away and your sin is forgiven.”
Is 6:8 Then I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, “Whom shall I send, and who will go for Us?” Then I said, “Here am I. Send me!”
Is 6:9 He said, “Go, and tell this people:
‘Keep on listening, but do not perceive;
Keep on looking, but do not understand.’
Is 6:10 “Render the hearts of this people insensitive,
Their ears dull,
And their eyes dim,
Otherwise they might see with their eyes,
Hear with their ears,
Understand with their hearts,
And return and be healed.”
Is 6:11 Then I said, “Lord, how long?” And He answered,
“Until cities are devastated and without inhabitant,
Houses are without people
And the land is utterly desolate,
Is 6:12 “The LORD has removed men far away,
And the forsaken places are many in the midst of the land.
Is 6:13 “Yet there will be a tenth portion in it,
And it will again be subject to burning,
Like a terebinth or an oak
Whose stump remains when it is felled.
The holy seed is its stump.”
Israel (The Northern Kingdom, aka Samaria):
Jeroboam II Reigns
2 Kgs 14:23-27
2 Kgs 14:25 – This is the Jonah who wrote the book of the same name. He was one of what are called the twelve minor prophets: Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Jonah, Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Haggai, Zechariah, Malachi. Their varied writings were produced over the course of about 500 years.
Israel (The Northern Kingdom, aka Samaria):
Jeroboam II Succeeded by Zechariah
2 Kgs 14:28-29
***
2 Kings 15
Judah (The Southern Kingdom):
King Azariah (Uzziah) Reigns
2 Kgs 15:1-7
Because Azariah (Uzziah) had such a long reign – 52 years – we are going to see a lot of kings of Israel come and during that time. Specifically: Zechariah, Shallum, Menahem, Pekahiah, and Pekah. The accounts of their reigns are short and all appear in this chapter.
Israel (The Northern Kingdom, aka Samaria):
King Zechariah Reigns
2 Kgs 15:8-12
Zechariah was the son of Jeroboam II.
2 Kgs 15:12 – Here is the promise that was made to King Jehu that is being noted as fulfilled:
2 Kin 10:30 The LORD said to Jehu, “Because you have done well in executing what is right in My eyes, and have done to the house of Ahab according to all that was in My heart, your sons of the fourth generation shall sit on the throne of Israel.”
Zechariah was indeed the fourth generation from Jehu because the line of succession was: Jehu, Jehoahaz, Jehoash, Jeroboam II, and Zechariah. Shallum brought an end to Jehu’s line in the kingship.
***** The word of the Lord kept being fulfilled over and over in the Old Testament. Do we think it’s going to fail when it comes to Messiah?
Israel (The Northern Kingdom, aka Samaria):
King Shallum Reigns
2 Kgs 15:13-16
Shallum would only reign one month…but that was all that was necessary to fulfill the word of the Lord above.
Israel (The Northern Kingdom, aka Samaria):
King Menahem Reigns
2 Kgs 15:17-22
2 Kgs 15:19-20 – Assyria would bring an end to the kingdom of Israel (the northern kingdom, aka Samaria) during the reign of King Hoshea (2 Kgs 17). However, we can see an example here of its earlier encroachment, a sign of more trouble to come from a rising empire.
Israel (The Northern Kingdom, aka Samaria):
King Pekahiah Reigns
2 Kgs 15:23-26
Israel (The Northern Kingdom, aka Samaria):
King Pekah Reigns
2 Kgs 15:27-31
2 Kgs 15:29-30 – Another encroachment by the Assyrian Empire.
Judah (The Southern Kingdom):
Azariah (Uzziah) Succeeded by His Son Jotham
2 Kgs 15:32-38
***
2 Kings 16
All the action in this chapter takes place in Judah (The Southern Kingdom).
Judah (The Southern Kingdom):
Jotham Succeeded by His Son Ahaz
2 Kgs 16:1
Judah (The Southern Kingdom):
Ahaz Reigns over Judah
2 Kgs 16:2-4
2 Kgs 16:2 – Note that a common point of comparison for the kings of Judah (the southern kingdom) is David, while the common point of comparison for the kings of Israel (the northern kingdom, aka Samaria) is Jeroboam. Measuring ourselves against a better standard will prod us to do better.
2 Kgs 16:3 – Alas, having the better standard of David didn’t seem to help Ahaz. That’s because, of course, we have to have the desire to achieve the standard; without that, the standard does nothing for us.
Judah (The Southern Kingdom):
Ahaz Seeks the Help of Assyria against Aram and Israel
2 Kgs 16:5-9
Ahaz uses the treasures of the Lord to bribe Assyria to back off.
Judah (The Southern Kingdom):
Damascus Falls
2 Kgs 16:10-18
Ahab continues his perversions of the Lord’s ways by bringing the designs of idol worship into the house of the Lord.
Judah (The Southern Kingdom):
Ahaz Succeeded by His Son Hezekiah
2 Kgs 16:19-20
Hezekiah will do much better than his father Ahaz. We’ll read about his reign in 2 Kgs 18-20.
***
2 Kings 17
All the action in this chapter takes place in Israel (The Northern Kingdom, aka Samaria). In fact, this is the closing chapter on this kingdom. After this chapter, this kingdom is no more.
Israel (The Northern Kingdom, aka Samaria):
King Hoshea Reigns
2 Kgs 17:1-5
Hoshea is the final king to take the throne of Israel (the northern kingdom, aka Samaria).
Israel (The Northern Kingdom, aka Samaria):
Israel Taken Captive
2 Kgs 17:6
Because of this exile, Israel (the northern kingdom, aka Samaria) will come to be called “the ten lost tribes.” The split originally happened right after the death of Solomon (1 Kgs 11:31) but wasn’t finalized until now.
Israel (The Northern Kingdom, aka Samaria):
Why Israel Fell
2 Kgs 17:7-23
No one need wonder why things came to this point. This extensive explanation (verses 7 through 23) could not be clearer.
2 Kgs 17:13 – The books of the Old Testament are ordered in the following way:
- Books of History (17)
- Books of Wisdom (5)
- Books of Prophecy – (17)
While we have read some of the prophets’ warnings in these books of history, there are many more warnings recorded in the 17 books of prophecy. The point is that the people had more than ample warning from God that this is the way things were going to go. Our nation as well has had many warnings from God, and our nation as well has, for the most part, ignored those warnings. God help us!
2 Kgs 17:19-20 – Judah will get its own comeuppance by the end of this book, but it’s not their time right now. This is the northern kingdom’s demise that’s being described and explained.
2 Kgs 17:21-23 – A sad epitaph indeed.
Israel (The Northern Kingdom, aka Samaria):
Cities of Israel Filled with Strangers
2 Kgs 17:24-41
The previous two segments of the chapter – described as “Israel Taken Captive” and “Why Israel Fell” – don’t tell the full story of the northern kingdom’s demise. This last segment of the chapter is needed to fill out that story. It tells of how Assyria brought in hordes of foreigners to re-settle the land. For over seven centuries – ever since Joshua led the battle of Jericho – Israelites had been seeking to drive the Canaanites out of the promised land. Now, with the conquest and dispersion of ten of Israel’s tribes, it’s as if “Canaanites” are being reimported to the land – to make sure the defeat of the northern kingdom cannot be overturned. Such an extensive resettlement would, of course, mean there would be intermarriage…such that even if some of the Israelites remained after exile or some returned, it would be hard to maintain the Jewish race. Judah, Benjamin, and the priestly tribe of Levi to the south would find it possible to maintain social and political cohesion – but not the northern tribes.
This helps explain the situation into which Jesus was born 700 years later. By the first century AD, Israel was a reconstituted nation but entirely under the rule of the Roman Empire. The Romans administered it in three regions.
- Galilee in the north
- Samaria in the center
- Judea in the south
The Judeans – mainly consisting of the descendants Judah, Benjamin, and Levi (especially given that the temple was in Jerusalem, which was Judea’s capital) – looked with disdain on the two regions to the north. This is because the regions to the north represented the remnants of the ten tribes that had rebelled against the house of David and therefore the tribe of Judah. This disdain was particularly acute for the Samaritans who were considered “half-breeds” because of Assyria’s seeding of foreigners in the land that is described in this section of 2 Kgs 17. The context given here helps explain…
- …why the parable of “the good Samaritan,” who proved more righteous than the priest and the Levite, was an unexpected twist to Jews. (Lk 10:30-37)
- …why James and John thought about calling down fire on one of the Samaritan villages when it wasn’t receptive to a visit from Jesus. (Lk 9:51-56)
- …why Jesus had the interactions He had with the Samaritan women at the well in the Samaritan city of Sychar. For one thing, she wanted Jesus to settle the issue of where worship was supposed to take place. This had been an issue ever since Jeroboam had set up two golden calves at Bethel and Dan when the northern kingdom was first established. Jesus, of course, told her that location of worship was a moot point with the coming of Messiah. For one thing, animal sacrifice was going away. (John 4:3-42)
While Judeans also looked down on Galileans, they were not viewed as unfavorably as the Samaritans. Galileans were viewed as less tainted by the political and religious corruption of the northern kingdom and more pure-blooded, in part by migration of Judean Jews to this region during the intertestamental period. This distinction was reinforced by the fact that Galileans were devoted to the temple feasts in Jerusalem (even if they went out of their way to avoid Samaria on the trip) while the Samaritans insisted that Samaria was the place to worship (Jn 4:20). Think of it like this: Judeans viewed Galileans as less sophisticated Jews than themselves and tainted by their location, but both Judeans and Galileans viewed Samaritans as having long ago forsaken their Jewishness and therefore were by nature foreigners and enemies even though they were physically closer to Jerusalem than Galilee was. Jesus, of course, came to transcend all such distinctions of the flesh and geography.
***
Since, at this point, Israel (the northern kingdom, aka Samaria) has been destroyed by Assyria, the remainder of 2 Kings has to do solely with Judah (the southern kingdom). Therefore, I am from this point forward removing the extra chapter segment heading that I have been using since 1 Kings 12 to help keep the two kingdoms straight.
Going forward, the tribe of Judah will be the focus because it is through Judah’s seed – and, more specifically, David’s seed – that God’s promises will be fulfilled. Isaiah is alive at this time in history (722 BC), and the Lord said this through him:
Is 6:13 “Yet there will be a tenth portion in it,
And it will again be subject to burning,
Like a terebinth or an oak
Whose stump remains when it is felled.
The holy seed is its stump.”
The tribe of Judah is the stump of the tree that was Israel under David and Solomon. Through Solomon’s divided heart and Rehoboam’s youthful foolishness the ten tribes were torn away and lost forever in 722 BC when Assyria dispersed them (The Diaspora). Judah also would be conquered and dispersed, in their case by King Nebuchadnezzar and the Babylonians in 586 BC. The remainder of 2 Kings will take us to this point. But unlike the ten tribes, God would restore Judah and make it a reconstituted Israel after 70 years of exile. He would do this through leaders like Ezra and Nehemiah with help from prophets like Haggai, Zechariah, and Malachi. Roughly 400 years after their time, Messiah would be born.
During the time of the divided kingdom, the term “Israel” applied to the northern kingdom and “Judah” to the southern kingdom. From this point forward, however, there will be only one kingdom and it will be called “Israel” as well as Judah. This restoration of name “Israel” to that which is centered in Jerusalem happens very gradually, but by New Testament times it will be complete.
***
2 Kings 18
Hezekiah Reigns over Judah
2 Kgs 18:1-6
With the demise of the northern kingdom, there came a flourishing of the southern kingdom under Hezekiah. This was a surprise given his upbringing. Hezekiah’s father Ahaz had not done well.
2 Kin 16:2 Ahaz was twenty years old when he became king, and he reigned sixteen years in Jerusalem; and he did not do what was right in the sight of the LORD his God, as his father David had done.
By contrast, we read this of Hezekiah:
2 Kin 18:3 He did right in the sight of the LORD, according to all that his father David had done.
We also have this:
2 Kin 18:5 He trusted in the LORD, the God of Israel; so that after him there was none like him among all the kings of Judah, nor among those who were before him.
2 Kin 18:6 For he clung to the LORD; he did not depart from following Him, but kept His commandments, which the LORD had commanded Moses.
We even have three chapters (2 Kgs 18-20) devoted to Hezekiah’s reign. Of course, we won’t see Hezekiah do everything right, just as we didn’t see David do everything right. Only one king of Israel ever did everything right – and you know His name.
2 Cor 5:21 He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.
2 Kgs 18:4 – The incident of Moses and the bronze serpent is recorded in Numbers 21:6-9. Jesus speaks of it, implying that it foreshadowed how He would be used by God.
John 3:14 “As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up;
John 3:15 so that whoever believes will in Him have eternal life.
John 3:16 “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.
John 3:17 “For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world might be saved through Him.
Moses and Hezekiah were separated by about 700 years per Ussher. Hezekiah destroyed the bronze serpent because he saw that the people were misusing it. It had been forged by Moses at the command of the Lord as an instrument of healing and thus foreshadowed the Messiah (Types and Shadows of Christ, #FJOT) who would one day come and bear all our sins on Himself. But the people had turned it into an idol, making it an object of worship. Idols, by nature and by definition, are mute. God is anything but! The whole idea of foreshadowing someone is to communicate something about them. But to worship an object does not edify; rather, it stupefies.
2 Kgs 18:6 – Jeremiah uses the same word for “cling” here that he uses in Jer 13:11. Moses had previously used this word in Deut 10:20 and 13:4 to speak of how the Israelites were the cling to the Lord.
Hezekiah Victorious
2 Kgs 18:7-12
That Hezekiah resisted the Assyrians even though the northern kingdom had succumbed to them was significant. God had finally given up on the northern kingdom, but He was with Hezekiah because Hezekiah was with Him.
2 Chr 15:2 …the LORD is with you when you are with Him. And if you seek Him, He will let you find Him; but if you forsake Him, He will forsake you.
Invasion of Judah
2 Kgs 18:13-37
The Assyrians were aggressive; they kept coming.
2 Kgs 18:13-16 – Like his father Ahaz, alas, Hezekiah gives up the treasures of the Lord in an attempt to pacify the enemy.
2 Kgs 18:17 – Unassuaged by the bribe, the king of Assyria sends his army to confront Hezekiah in Jerusalem.
2 Kgs 18:21 – Egypt is derided as a potential ally for Hezekiah.
2 Kgs 18:22 – Even the Lord is derided as a potential ally for Hezekiah. Sennacherib is here attempting to exploit any sentiment in the population that Hezekiah had been too radical in his reforms (2 Kgs 18:4).
2 Kgs 18:25 – It’s blasphemous to say the Lord sent you to do something when He hasn’t. It’s also taking His name in vain.
2 Kgs 18:30 – #FJOT Let this verse be a parable to us:
- “Hezekiah” ~ Jesus
- “the Lord” ~ God
- “this city” ~ the world
- “the king of Assyria” ~ Satan
The goal of the Assyrian speech was to keep the people from trusting the Lord. The verbal attack on Hezekiah was really an attack on God. The only people who hate Jesus are people who hate God. David prophesied on Jesus’ behalf:
Ps 69:9 For zeal for Your house has consumed me,
And the reproaches of those who reproach You have fallen on me.
The more a human being is like God, the more people who hate God hate that human being. Hezekiah is foreshadowing Jesus in this chapter. (Types and Shadows of Christ)
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2 Kings 19
Isaiah Encourages Hezekiah
2 Kgs 19:1-7
Hezekiah shows himself to be both humble and wise by seeking the aid of Isaiah the prophet.
Sennacherib Defies God
2 Kgs 19:8-13
Sennacherib now criticizes God directly.
Hezekiah’s Prayer
2 Kgs 19:14-19
Hezekiah’s petition is not rooted in his need, but rather in mankind’s need to honor the one true God. We must remember that the ancient nation of Israel not just as God’s vehicle to bring Messiah into the world – it was also supposed to bear witness to God along the way.
God’s Answer through Isaiah
2 Kgs 19:20-37
Sennacherib had bitten off more than he could chew. God outmatched him way more than he outmatched Hezekiah. Remember this exchange between Elisha and his servant for the same odds were at play here.
2 Kin 6:15 Now when the attendant of the man of God had risen early and gone out, behold, an army with horses and chariots was circling the city. And his servant said to him, “Alas, my master! What shall we do?”
2 Kin 6:16 So he answered, “Do not fear, for those who are with us are more than those who are with them.”
2 Kin 6:17 Then Elisha prayed and said, “O LORD, I pray, open his eyes that he may see.” And the LORD opened the servant’s eyes and he saw; and behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha.
Similarly, God has deployed many more to support you than support your enemies. This is how it is for Jesus and His servants.
Matt 26:53 “Or do you think that I cannot appeal to My Father, and He will at once put at My disposal more than twelve legions of angels?
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2 Kings 20
Hezekiah’s Illness and Recovery
2 Kgs 20:1-11
2 Kgs 20:1 – This is actually a good word for all of us to live by: “Set your house in order, for you shall die and not live.” I’m not saying we shouldn’t hope for a long life down here; just that we always have to be ready to adjust to the Lord’s plans…as James said.
James 4:13 Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go to such and such a city, and spend a year there and engage in business and make a profit.”
James 4:14 Yet you do not know what your life will be like tomorrow. You are just a vapor that appears for a little while and then vanishes away.
James 4:15 Instead, you ought to say, “If the Lord wills, we will live and also do this or that.”
After all, Paul would have gone to heaven the day he wrote the Philippians but he knew that he was needed down here.
Phil 1:21 For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain.
Phil 1:22 But if I am to live on in the flesh, this will mean fruitful labor for me; and I do not know which to choose.
Phil 1:23 But I am hard-pressed from both directions, having the desire to depart and be with Christ, for that is very much better;
Phil 1:24 yet to remain on in the flesh is more necessary for your sake.
Phil 1:25 Convinced of this, I know that I will remain and continue with you all for your progress and joy in the faith,
Phil 1:26 so that your proud confidence in me may abound in Christ Jesus through my coming to you again.
Thus our lives are not our own – they are His. And we should be glad to live them for Him…whether down here or up there. After all, we no longer have to go to Sheol like all the people in Bible times had to do. Therefore, let us live according to the battle cry we’ve been given by Paul:
Rom 14:7 For not one of us lives for himself, and not one dies for himself;
Rom 14:8 for if we live, we live for the Lord, or if we die, we die for the Lord; therefore whether we live or die, we are the Lord’s.
Let therefore “[keep] our house in order every day for [sooner or later] we’re going to die and [then really live…forever!]“
2 Kgs 20:5-6 #FJOT It’s interesting what God is promising to Hezekiah here, but even more interesting is what He’s promising to Messiah through His words to Hezekiah. I’m talking about what happened to Jesus on “the third day,” and how He “went up” to the house of the Lord from the house of the dead (Sheol). I’m also talking about the infinite number of years that were added to Jesus’ life, rather than a mere 15.
2 Kgs 20:8-11 – Hezekiah’s request for a sign is being indulged as was Gideon’s similar request about a fleece (Judg 6:36-40). Occasionally, God’s grants such things but they are not a staple of His provision. On the contrary…
Mark 8:12 Sighing deeply in His spirit, He said, “Why does this generation seek for a sign? Truly I say to you, no sign will be given to this generation.”
In any case, Hezekiah got his sign. And it’s still impressive after all these years.
Hezekiah Shows Babylon His Treasures
2 Kgs 20:12-21
2 Kgs 20:12-15 – I think Jesus learned something from this passage.
John 2:24 But Jesus, on His part, was not entrusting Himself to them, for He knew all men,
John 2:25 and because He did not need anyone to testify concerning man, for He Himself knew what was in man.
The types of Christ in the Old Testament – which include people like Hezekiah – were not just for our edification; God also places them there as guiding lights for Himself for the time when He would come here to live as one of us.
Heb 2:17 Therefore, He had to be made like His brethren in all things, so that He might become a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people.
Heb 2:18 For since He Himself was tempted in that which He has suffered, He is able to come to the aid of those who are tempted.
***
Heb 4:15 For we do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but One who has been tempted in all things as we are, yet without sin.
Like an airline pilot uses the landing lights on a runway to help guide his path, so Jesus used the figures of Christ in the Old Testament as lights to help guide His path. We can do the same.
1 Pet 2:21 For you have been called for this purpose, since Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example for you to follow in His steps,
2 Kgs 20:16-19 – There is much to commend Hezekiah. This attitude of his, however, cannot be commended. It is not enough for a man to think about what will take place in his lifetime; he must invest wisely in what will happen beyond it.
2 Kgs 20:20-21 – Consistent with Hezekiah’s myopic attitude as reflected in the previous passage, he did not adequately train his son to rule wisely. Manasseh will reign 55 years and do much evil. Hezekiah cannot be blamed for all that, of course; but we can’t help wishing he’d been more interested in the welfare of his posterity.
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2 Kings 21
Hezekiah Succeeded by Manasseh
2 Kgs 21:1-9
Let us remember why the Lord was giving the land of Canaan to the people of Israel in the first place. Moses made it clear in the book of Deuteronomy.
Deut 9:4 “Do not say in your heart when the LORD your God has driven them out before you, ‘Because of my righteousness the LORD has brought me in to possess this land,’ but it is because of the wickedness of these nations that the LORD is dispossessing them before you.
If the Lord had taken the land of Canaan away from the Canaanites because of their evil deeds, wouldn’t He have to take it away from the Israelites if they committed the same deeds? Yes. Otherwise, he’d be partial…and that is something He is not.
Deut 10:17 “For the LORD your God is the God of gods and the Lord of lords, the great, the mighty, and the awesome God who does not show partiality nor take a bribe.
We saw in the case of the northern kingdom that ten of Israel’s tribes have already been kicked off the land (2 Kgs 17). Only Judah and Benjamin remain (the southern kingdom). They, too, will be removed from the land, and this is described in the remaining five chapters of 2 Kings (2 Kgs 21-25). But their removal will allow a return to the land – but it will be a return only long enough for the advent of the Messiah. God is both just…and faithful to His promises.
In the short term, Manasseh’s reign is inviting God’s judgment.
Manasseh’s Idolatries Rebuked
2 Kgs 21:10-18
God did not remain silent during Israel’s periods of disobedience. He sent prophets to speak His mind and warn His people. We see many of their warnings in the Old Testament’s books of history (like this one), but we also see many more of their words in the Old Testament’s books of prophecy – 17 of them, running from Isaiah through Malachi. Occasionally, people would repent at the preaching of the prophets, but people mainly just ignored them. When judgment finally came, it was vindication of the prophets. God stands behind the men who stand up for Him.
Is 54:17 “No weapon that is formed against you will prosper;
And every tongue that accuses you in judgment you will condemn.
This is the heritage of the servants of the LORD,
And their vindication is from Me,” declares the LORD.
The ultimate vindication of the prophets was the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 AD, the last two prophets giving the warnings being John the Baptist and Jesus of Nazareth. It would have been an unbearably sad day in the world except that ancient Israel was a mother like Rachel, dying in childbirth. For ancient Israel gave birth to the Son of God, Savior of the world. The grief of losing the mother was made bearable by the child she bore.
Manasseh Succeeded by Amon
2 Kgs 21:19-26
You and I must work hard so that if only eight verses can be written about our stewardship of our lives and our families’ lives, they will read better than Amon’s.
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2 Kings 22
Amon Succeeded by Josiah
2 Kgs 22:1-7
In the second verse of this chapter segment, we read that Josiah “walked in all of the way of his father David.” When a king was good, we have often seen this sort of commentary on his reign – that is, a favorable comparison to David. This chapter segment goes on to describe how Josiah dispatched someone to check on the well-being of the house of the Lord. This was definitely a mode of thinking and acting that matched David’s. Recall David’s well-documented concern for the house of the Lord.
2 Sam 7:1 Now it came about when the king lived in his house, and the LORD had given him rest on every side from all his enemies,
2 Sam 7:2 that the king said to Nathan the prophet, “See now, I dwell in a house of cedar, but the ark of God dwells within tent curtains.”
2 Sam 7:3 Nathan said to the king, “Go, do all that is in your mind, for the LORD is with you.”
Even though God’s response in 2 Sam 7 was to redirect David’s long-term attention to the subject of Messiah, who would be the one to build the house of the Lord that would last forever, David’s short-term attention remained on the house of the Lord for which he was responsible – the tabernacle that came from Moses and then the temple that would be Solomon’s. This remained true throughout David’s life. So strong was David’s concern for the house of the Lord that he wrote this:
Ps 69:9 For zeal for Your house has consumed me…
Centuries later, Jesus showed that He – like Josiah – was a true son of David when He took a stand for the sanctity and dignity of the temple of God.
John 2:14 And He found in the temple those who were selling oxen and sheep and doves, and the money changers seated at their tables.
John 2:15 And He made a scourge of cords, and drove them all out of the temple, with the sheep and the oxen; and He poured out the coins of the money changers and overturned their tables;
John 2:16 and to those who were selling the doves He said, “Take these things away; stop making My Father’s house a place of business.”
John 2:17 His disciples remembered that it was written, “ZEAL FOR YOUR HOUSE WILL CONSUME ME.”
Let’s you and I be like David and the “chips off the old block” that descended from him from time to time – like Josiah and, ultimately, Jesus. That is, let us think of our families not as ours but as His, with us being the stewards He has assigned to preserve, protect, and nurture His house with zeal.
If I think of my family as mine, I will care for it; but if I think of it as His, I will care for it even more – if I am loving Him as I should.
The Lost Book
2 Kgs 22:8-13
The Bible is considerably bigger in our day than it was in Josiah’s, but it is just as lost – yet in plain sight. I remember there was one sitting on the living room coffee table in my childhood home, but I never recall a single instance of reading it as a family. And I only recall one or two of my own feeble attempts to open and read it for myself. Even after I grew up, had my own family, and became a pastor, I seldom read the Bible to my own family because I assumed they were getting that from me and others in church and that they were reading it individually. I didn’t read it to them and with them as a family. I’ve written this book to help you succeed where I failed. It’s all about recovering the lost book. Hilkiah and Josiah did it for the nation’s sake; you and I do it for the family’s sake.
2 Kgs 22:13 – Indeed, there is wrath upon us in America today because we have ignored the Bible. We can know it in our day just as surely as King Josiah could know it in his. As I said, our Bible is bigger than Josiah’s. Another difference is that Josiah and his contemporaries were expected to keep the teaching of Moses whereas we are expected to keep the teaching of Jesus. But the principle is the same – we have been given a standard which God expects us to seek. To the degree we don’t, we invite wrath.
The Prophetess Huldah Speaks to King Josiah
2 Kgs 22:14-20
The Lord’s response to Josiah through Huldah was that he would be spared much of the wrath that was still to come. That’s not going to be sufficient for you and me; we have wives and children that must be cared for. What we can expect for our repentance is to find pockets of refuge for our families as we follow the Lord’s still small voice through the storms of life. Read Psalm 91 for a sampling of the promises He makes to guard and protect us.
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2 Kings 23
Josiah’s Covenant
2 Kgs 23:1-3
What Josiah did with his people, you can do with your family. Make a covenant with your family that you will read the Bible every day – collectively and individually – and follow the teaching of Jesus.
Reforms under Josiah
2 Kgs 23:4-20
What reforms will you and your family make? Remember: we are under the law of Jesus, not the law of Moses. Be wise in your reforms. Remember also that reformation is not a once-and-done process. Have periodic times of self-examination and frank family discussions. Always speak the truth to each other in love.
Eph 4:15 but speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in all aspects into Him who is the head, even Christ,
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Eph 4:25 Therefore, laying aside falsehood, SPEAK TRUTH EACH ONE of you WITH HIS NEIGHBOR, for we are members of one another.
Josiah Fulfills the Prophecy That Named Him
2 Kgs 23:15-20
With the demise of the northern kingdom, King Josiah and his people now have regained access to the area immediately north of them – including Bethel, which was a border town between the two kingdoms. This chapter segment in 2 Kgs 23 is describing the fulfillment of what had been prophesied over 300 years earlier in 1 Kgs 12-13. (The chapter division between 1 Kgs 12 and 1 Kgs 13 should be ignored for the purpose of following the narrative.)
1 Kin 12:25 Then Jeroboam built Shechem in the hill country of Ephraim, and lived there. And he went out from there and built Penuel.
1 Kin 12:26 Jeroboam said in his heart, “Now the kingdom will return to the house of David.
1 Kin 12:27 “If this people go up to offer sacrifices in the house of the LORD at Jerusalem, then the heart of this people will return to their lord, even to Rehoboam king of Judah; and they will kill me and return to Rehoboam king of Judah.”
1 Kin 12:28 So the king consulted, and made two golden calves, and he said to them, “It is too much for you to go up to Jerusalem; behold your gods, O Israel, that brought you up from the land of Egypt.”
1 Kin 12:29 He set one in Bethel, and the other he put in Dan.
1 Kin 12:30 Now this thing became a sin, for the people went to worship before the one as far as Dan.
1 Kin 12:31 And he made houses on high places, and made priests from among all the people who were not of the sons of Levi.
1 Kin 12:32 Jeroboam instituted a feast in the eighth month on the fifteenth day of the month, like the feast which is in Judah, and he went up to the altar; thus he did in Bethel, sacrificing to the calves which he had made. And he stationed in Bethel the priests of the high places which he had made.
1 Kin 12:33 Then he went up to the altar which he had made in Bethel on the fifteenth day in the eighth month, even in the month which he had devised in his own heart; and he instituted a feast for the sons of Israel and went up to the altar to burn incense. 1 Kin 13:1 Now behold, there came a man of God from Judah to Bethel by the word of the LORD, while Jeroboam was standing by the altar to burn incense.
1 Kin 13:2 He cried against the altar by the word of the LORD, and said, “O altar, altar, thus says the LORD, ‘Behold, a son shall be born to the house of David, Josiah by name; and on you he shall sacrifice the priests of the high places who burn incense on you, and human bones shall be burned on you.'”
1 Kin 13:3 Then he gave a sign the same day, saying, “This is the sign which the LORD has spoken, ‘Behold, the altar shall be split apart and the ashes which are on it shall be poured out.'”
Everything above has to do with “the man of God who came from Judah” (2 Kgs 23:17). As for “the prophet who came from Samaria” (2 Kgs 23:18), his story was told as the 1 Kgs 13 narrative continued (1 Kgs 13:11-32). It closed with this request from “the prophet who came from Samaria”:
1 Kin 13:31 After he had buried him, he spoke to his sons, saying, “When I die, bury me in the grave in which the man of God is buried; lay my bones beside his bones.
1 Kin 13:32 “For the thing shall surely come to pass which he cried by the word of the LORD against the altar in Bethel and against all the houses of the high places which are in the cities of Samaria.”
This was an amazing prophecy and fulfillment. It reminds us that, indeed, the word of the Lord shall always “surely come to pass.”
More Reforms under Josiah
2 Kgs 23:21-27
2 Kgs 23:21-23 – Josiah revives the Passover.
2 Kgs 23:24 – Josiah cleanses the spiritual landscape.
2 Kgs 23:25-27 – Though Josiah’s reforms were great, they weren’t enough to overcome the effects of Manasseh’s evil. Despite Josiah’s positive contributions, the kingdom of Judah remained on a glide path to destruction.
Pharaoh Neco King of Eygpt Kills Josiah
2 Kgs 23:28-29
Jehoahaz Succeeds Josiah for Three Months
2 Kgs 23:30-33
Pharaoh Neco Replaces Jehoahaz with Jehoiakim (Eliakim)
2 Kgs 23:34-37
What tragic irony that Israel, having escaped slavery in Egypt almost a thousand years before, is once again enslaved to an Egyptian pharaoh! At least, however, they were still on the promised land this time. But not much longer.
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2 Kings 24
Babylon Controls Jehoiakim
2 Kgs 24:1-5
2 Kgs 24:1 – The Assyrian Empire that demolished the northern kingdom of Israel (Samaria) in 722 BC is now, over a century later, in decline. It’s Nebuchadnezzar and the Babylonian Empire that are ascendant in that region to the northeast now. We will hear a lot about King Nebuchadnezzar in the book of Daniel, who is one of the Israelites who will be exiled there.
2 Kgs 24:2 – All the judgment God is bringing on Judah is according to the warnings He previously gave them through the prophets. No calamity came on them by surprise. The prophets had told them everything to expect if they did not repent.
Amos 3:7 Surely the Lord GOD does nothing
Unless He reveals His secret counsel
To His servants the prophets.
Jehoiakim Succeeded by Jehoiachin
2 Kgs 24:6-9
Pharaoh Neco (“the king of Egypt”) was only a blip on the radar – gone as quickly as he came.
Deportation to Babylon – The Beginning of Exile
2 Kgs 24:10-16
The best and the brightest of God’s people were the first to be exiled to Babylon, where they would be put into the king’s service. We will see Daniel, Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-nego in that kind of service in the first six chapters of the book of Daniel. Only the poorest folks remained to tend what was left of the land.
Zedekiah Made King by Nebuchadnezzaar
2 Kgs 24:17-20
2 Kgs 24:20 – The phrase “until He cast them out from His presence” echoes the exile of Adam and Eve from the garden of Eden.
Gen 3:24 So He drove the man out; and at the east of the garden of Eden He stationed the cherubim and the flaming sword which turned every direction to guard the way to the tree of life.
Only when we are planted in Jesus Christ will we be in no fear of being cast out.
John 6:37 “All that the Father gives Me will come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will certainly not cast out.
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2 Kings 25
This last chapter of 2 Kings describes the fall of Jerusalem. At such a low point, it took faith to believe that God would ever be able to resurrect Israel and fulfill all His promises regarding Messiah and the people of God. That faith was built by the prophets who encouraged the people to believe that exile for them would not be like exile for the ten tribes – which was an exile into oblivion. Rather, the Babylonian Exile would only last 70 years.
Nebuchadnezzar Besieges Jerusalem
2 Kgs 25:1-7
2 Kgs 25:1-6 – Utter degradation and defeat.
2 Kgs 25:7 – Chillingly cruel.
Jerusalem Burned and Plundered
2 Kgs 25:8-21
Not content with defeating his enemy and taking the cream of its crop captive, and having removed every object of value from the glorious temple that Solomon had built, Nebuchadnezzar burns the city of Jerusalem and its walls to the ground.
This would happen again in 70 AD at the hands of the Romans, but there would be no exile and return from that destruction. This southern kingdom will be marginally restored in 70 years from this destruction by the Babylonians but then vanquished by the Romans in 70 AD as thoroughly as the northern kingdom was vanquished by the Assyrians in 722 BC. The kingdom of God would be all that was left in the wake of all this destruction…but that kingdom would be more than enough to compensate them and the world for all eternity.
Gedaliah Made Governor
2 Kgs 25:22-30
It’s a sign of the humiliation of the situation that no king is appointed to govern – instead, it’s a “governor.” It was said in 1 Samuel when the Philistines captured the ark of the covenant that ,”the glory is departed.”
1 Sam 4:19 Now his daughter-in-law, Phinehas’s wife, was pregnant and about to give birth; and when she heard the news that the ark of God was taken and that her father-in-law and her husband had died, she kneeled down and gave birth, for her pains came upon her.
1 Sam 4:20 And about the time of her death the women who stood by her said to her, “Do not be afraid, for you have given birth to a son.” But she did not answer or pay attention.
1 Sam 4:21 And she called the boy Ichabod, saying, “The glory has departed from Israel,” because the ark of God was taken and because of her father-in-law and her husband.
1 Sam 4:22 She said, “The glory has departed from Israel, for the ark of God was taken.”
2 Kings 25 does indeed cry out that “the glory of the Lord has departed from Israel.” But it will return in due time in an immeasurable way. An old man will look at an infant presented to him and say by the Spirit of God that this child will be…
Luke 2:32 A LIGHT OF REVELATION TO THE GENTILES,
And the glory of Your people Israel.”
The Duty of a Man 