II KINGS 13-18 OBSERVATIONS

CHAPTER 13

Jehoahaz Reigns in Israel

· Jehoahaz became king over Israel

o In 23^rd year of Joash (son of Ahaziah-king of Judah)

o Son of Jehu

o Reigned 17 years

o Did evil in sight of the Lord

· Anger of the Lord was aroused against Israel

· Lord delivered them

o into hand of Hazael (king of Syria)

o Into hand of Ben-Hadad son of Hazael all their days

· Jehoahaz pleaded with the Lord

· Lord listened (He saw the oppression of Israel by Syria)

· Lord gave Israel a deliverer, so that they escaped from the hand of the Syrians

· BUT Israel

o did not depart from the sins of the house of Jeroboam

o walked in his ways

o kept the wooden image in Samaria

· Lord used Syria to reduce Israel to

o 50 horsemen

o 10 chariots

o 10,000 foot soldiers

Jehoash Reigns in Israel

· Jehoash reigns in Israel

o In 37^th year of Joash (king of Judah)

o Son of Jehoahaz

o Reigned 16 years

o Did evil in sight of Lord

o Did not depart from sins of Jeroboam

Elisha Dies

· Elisha got sick

· Joash (king of Israel) visited him

o 2 Kings 13:14 - 15 (NASB) ¹⁴When Elisha became sick with the illness of which he was to die, Joash the king of Israel came down to him and wept over him and said, “My father, my father, the chariots of Israel and its horsemen!” ¹⁵Elisha said to him, “Take a bow and arrows.” So he took a bow and arrows.

· Elisha tells him to take a bow and arrow, open the window…shoot an arrow…and claimed that the arrow was the deliverance of the Lord over Syria

· Then he asked him to take another arrow and strike the ground

o Observation: he seems to have intended him to strike it with some intensity…in the way he told him to strike the ground.

o Observation: the context in which he had him take the arrow and strike it was in the context of his actions towards Syria…so he should have known in which context this request was given.

· Joash struck the ground 3 times

· Elisha was angry saying

o 2 Kings 13:19 (NASB) ¹⁹So the man of God was angry with him and said, “You should have struck five or six times, then you would have struck Aram until you would have destroyed it. But now you shall strike Aram only three times.”

· Elisha died and they put him down in a tomb

· Now it so happened that a band of raiding Moabites took a man they were wanting to bury and dropped him down into Elisha’s tomb.

o When this dead man’s bones touched Elisha’s bones, the man REVIVED and STOOD ON HIS FEET!!

o WOW!! Now that’s some power.

Israel Recaptures Cities From Syria

· Hazael oppressed Israel

· Lord was gracious to Israel because of Abraham, Isaac & Jacob

· Hazael died

· Ben-Hadad reigned in his place

· Jehoash (son of Jehoahaz) then recaptured the cities that Syria had taken from Jehoahaz (his father)

Jehoahaz defeated them 3 times and recaptured the citis of Israel.

CHAPTER 14

Amaziah Reigns in Judah

· Amaziah reigns in Judah

o In 2^nd year of Joash (son of Jehoahaz king of Israel)

o 25 years old

o Reigned 29 years

o Good king

o But not as good as David

o He did all his father (Joash) had done

o BUT he did not take away the ‘high places’ of worship

· He executed servants who killed his father but did not kill their children. Why?

o 2 Kings 14:6 (NASB) ⁶But the sons of the slayers he did not put to death, according to what is written in the book of the Law of Moses, as the LORD commanded, saying, “The fathers shall not be put to death for the sons, nor the sons be put to death for the fathers; but each shall be put to death for his own sin.”

· Amaziah (Judah) wanted to go to war with Jehoash (Israel)

o Jehoash said:

2 Kings 14:9 - 10 (NASB) ⁹Jehoash king of Israel sent to Amaziah king of Judah, saying, “The thorn bush which was in Lebanon sent to the cedar which was in Lebanon, saying, ‘Give your daughter to my son in marriage.’ But there passed by a wild beast that was in Lebanon, and trampled the thorn bush. ¹⁰“You have indeed defeated Edom, and your heart has become proud. Enjoy your glory and stay at home; for why should you provoke trouble so that you, even you, would fall, and Judah with you?”

· But Amaziah would not listen

· Judah was defeated.

· Jehoash took all the temple gold, silver etc to Samaria

Jeroboam II Reigns in Israel

· Jeroboam II

o In 15^th year of Amaziah (son of Joash)

o Reigned 41 years

o Did evil

CHAPTER 15

Azariah Reigns in Judah

· Azariah (Judah)

o In 27^th year of Jeroboam (Israel)

o 16 years old

o Reigned 52 years in Jerusalem

o Did good

o …Except he did not remove the ‘high places’ (of worship)

o Became a leper

· Died

· Jotham (son) reigned in his place

Zechariah Reigns in Israel

· Zechariah reigns in Israel

o In 38^th year of Azariah (Judah)

o Son of Jeroboam

o Did evil

o Reigned 6 months

· Shallum (son of Jabesh) killed him

Shallum Reigns in Israel

· Shallum king in Israel

o Son of Jabesh

o 39^th year of Uzziah (Judah)

o Reigned 1 month

o Menahem killed him

o Led a conspiracy

o Ripped open women with child

Menahem reigns in Israel

· Menahem (Israel)

o Son of Gadi

o In 39^th year of Azariah

o Reigned 10 years

o Did evil

· Pul (king of Assyria) attacked Israel

· Menahem gave in and became a vassal of Pul

· When he died, Pekahiah became king inkah Israel

Pekahiah Reigns in Israel

· Pekahiah king in Israel

o In 50^th year of Azariah (Judah)

o Son of Menahem

o Reigned 2 years

o Did evil

Pekah Reigns in Israel

· Pekah king in Israel

o In 52^nd year of Azariah (Judah)

o Son of Remaliah

o Reigned 20 years

o Did evil

· In his reign, Tiglath-Pileser (king of Assyria) came and began to take peope and cities of Israel captive

· Then Hosea (son of Elah) led a conspiracy and killed Pekah

o In 20^th year of Jotham (son of Uzziah)

Jotham Reigns in Judah

· Jotham (son of Uzziah-Judah) king in Judah

o In 2^nd year of Pekah

o 25 years old

o Reigned 16 years

o Did good in sight of God, like his father Uzziah

· BUT he did not tear down the high places

· Then God began to send Rezin (king of Syria) and Pekah (son of Remaliah) against Judah

· Jotham died

Ahaz (his son) became in king in Judah

CHAPTER 16

Ahaz Reigns in Judah

· Ahaz king in Judah

o In 17^th year of Pekah (Judah)

o 20 years old

o Reigned 16 years in Jerusalem

o Did evil

· Made his son pass through the fire (according to the abominations of the nations)

· Sacrificed and burned incense on the high places

· Then Rezin (king of Syria) and Pekah (king of Israel) made war on him

· Ahaz gave in to Tiglath-Pileser (Syria)

o 2 Kings 16:7 - 9 (NASB) ⁷So Ahaz sent messengers to Tiglath-pileser king of Assyria, saying, “I am your servant and your son; come up and deliver me from the hand of the king of Aram and from the hand of the king of Israel, who are rising up against me.” ⁸Ahaz took the silver and gold that was found in the house of the LORD and in the treasuries of the king’s house, and sent a present to the king of Assyria. ⁹So the king of Assyria listened to him; and the king of Assyria went up against Damascus and captured it, and carried the people of it away into exile to Kir, and put Rezin to death.

· Ahaz went to Damascus, saw an altar he liked, came back and had Urijah build one just like it…then offered sacrifices on it.

· Urijah did all that Ahaz commanded

o NOTE: THIS IS BACKWARDS…THE PRIEST SHOULD BE LEADING THE KING, NOT THE KING THE PRIEST.

CHAPTER 17

Hoshea Reigns in Israel

· Hoshea king in Israel

o In 12^th year of Ahaz (Judah)

o Son of Elah

o Reigned 9 years

o Did evil

· Shalmaneser (king of Assyria) made war against him

· Hosea gave in easily and began paying tribute $$ to Assyria

· Shalmaneser uncovered a conspiracy by Hosea w/ king of Egypt.

· So Shalmaneser put him in prison.

Israel Carried Away Captive to Assyria (722BC)

· In 9^th year of Hoshea, the king of Assyria took Samaria and carried Israel away to Assyria

· WHY?

· The Children of Israel had:

1) Sinned against the Lord their God (even after He brought them up from Egypt)

2) Feared other gods

3) Walked in the statues of other nations that God had expelled before the children of Israel

4) Secretly did wrong things against God

5) Built high places (for worshiping other gods) in all their cities

6) Set up sacred pillars and wooden images on every hill

7) Burned incense (for worship) on all the high places, like the other nations

8) Did wicked things that provoked the Lord to anger

9) Served the very idols the Lord had told them not to serve

· So what did God do?

· He testified against them through all His prophets saying:

o TURN

o KEEP MY COMMANDMENTS & STATUES

· NEVERTHELESS---Israel:

1) Would not hear

2) Stiffened their necks

3) Rejected His statutes & covenant He made with their forefathers

4) Followed idols

5) Became idolators

6) Went after the nations

7) Left the commandments of the Lord

8) Made molded images, 2 calves, wooden images

9) Worshiped stars of heaven

10) Served Baal

11) Made their sons and daughters pass through the fire

12) Practiced Witchcraft and soothsaying

13) Sold themselves to do evil in the Lord’s sight

· THEREFORE, the Lord was angry with Israel; removed them from His sight; only left the tribe of Judah

· BUT even Judah did not keep commandments of Lord,

· SO Lord

o Brought in nations to plunder them

o Cast them out of His sight

o Tore Israel from house of David

· SO ISRAEL WAS CARRIED AWAY FRt OM THEIR OWN LAND TO ASSYRIA…

Assyria Resettles Samaria

· King of Assyria brought in people from neighboring countries to populate the promised land…

· BUT because they did not know what God required of the land, the rules and statues, God sent lions in to plague them

· So king called for one of the priests of Israel to come back into the land to teach the people the ways of God (literally the rituals of the Lord)

· But the nations continued to make idols of their gods and worship them…

· THEY APPOINTED FOR THEMSELVES PRIESTS of the High Places

o This had to be an affront to the Lord…it is He who does the appointing not we!!

· THEY FEARED THE LORD, YET SERVED THEIR OWN GODS.

o MY PRAYER: God help me not to get caught in the deception of “fearing You” yet serving my own ‘gods’…give me a WHOLE heart for You…not a divided heart for You….and God, give me in my family those that also have a whole heart for You.

CHAPTER 18

Hezekiah Reigns in Judah

· Hezekiah king in Judah

o In the 3^rd year of Hoshea (Israel)

o Son of Ahaz

o 25 years old

o Reigned 29 years

o Did GOOD

Removed high places

Broke sacred pillars

Cut down wooden images

Broke in pieces the bronze serpent Moses had made because they had burned incense to it…and called it Nehushtan.

Trusted God more than any before or following him

2 Kings 18:5 - 6 (NASB) ⁵He 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. ⁶For he clung to the LORD; he did not depart from following Him, but kept His commandments, which the LORD had commanded Moses.

PRAYER: God help me to trust You completely, cling to You and give me wisdom and strength to keep what You’ve ask of me…and also Lord, give me my family with a full heart to follow You. Yes: Karen, Jenny (and family), Kirsten and Trevor..

Rebelled against the king of Assyria—did not serve him.

Subdued the Philistines.

· In his 4^th year:

o Shalmaneser (Assyria) besieged Samaria

o For 3 years

o At end of 3 years they captured Samaria

o This was 9^th year of Hosea (Israel)

o This was in 722 BC

· WHY CARRIED AWAY?

· BECAUSE they:

o Did not heed the voice of Lord

o Transgressed His covenant and all that Moses had commanded

o Neither HEAR or DO them.

· In 14^th year :

o Sennacherib (Assyria) took cities of Judah

o Hezekiah gave in and gave him all gold etc from temple.

Sennacherib Boasts Against the Lord

· What confidence do you have in a god who cannot stand against me?

o 2 Kings 18:19 - 25 (NASB) ¹⁹Then Rabshakeh said to them, “Say now to Hezekiah, ‘Thus says the great king, the king of Assyria, “What is this confidence that you have? ²⁰“You say (but they are only empty words), ‘I have counsel and strength for the war.’ Now on whom do you rely, that you have rebelled against me? ²¹“Now behold, you rely on the staff of this crushed reed, even on Egypt; on which if a man leans, it will go into his hand and pierce it. So is Pharaoh king of Egypt to all who rely on him. ²²“But if you say to me, ‘We trust in the LORD our God,’ is it not He whose high places and whose altars Hezekiah has taken away, and has said to Judah and to Jerusalem, ‘You shall worship before this altar in Jerusalem’? ²³“Now therefore, come, make a bargain with my master the king of Assyria, and I will give you two thousand horses, if you are able on your part to set riders on them. ²⁴“How then can you repulse one official of the least of my master’s servants, and rely on Egypt for chariots and for horsemen? ²⁵“Have I now come up without the LORD’S approval against this place to destroy it? The LORD said to me, ‘Go up against this land and destroy it.’”’”

· Eliakim then asked them to speak in Hebrew so the people wouldn’t hear and loose heart.

· Instead Rabshakeh shouted out to the Hebrews on the wall:

o 2 Kings 18:29 - 35 (NASB) ²⁹“Thus says the king, ‘Do not let Hezekiah deceive you, for he will not be able to deliver you from my hand; ³⁰nor let Hezekiah make you trust in the LORD, saying, “The LORD will surely deliver us, and this city will not be given into the hand of the king of Assyria.” ³¹‘Do not listen to Hezekiah, for thus says the king of Assyria, “Make your peace with me and come out to me, and eat each of his vine and each of his fig tree and drink each of the waters of his own cistern, ³²until I come and take you away to a land like your own land, a land of grain and new wine, a land of bread and vineyards, a land of olive trees and honey, that you may live and not die.” But do not listen to Hezekiah when he misleads you, saying, “The LORD will deliver us.” ³³‘Has any one of the gods of the nations delivered his land from the hand of the king of Assyria? ³⁴‘Where are the gods of Hamath and Arpad? Where are the gods of Sepharvaim, Hena and Ivvah? Have they delivered Samaria from my hand? ³⁵‘Who among all the gods of the lands have delivered their land from my hand, that the LORD should deliver Jerusalem from my hand?’”

· But the people held their peace:

o 2 Kings 18:36 (NASB) ³⁶But the people were silent and answered him not a word, for the king’s commandment was, “Do not answer him.”