Category: <span>Commentary</span>

The legacy of King Hezekiah cast a shadow over his great grandson Josiah. Like him, Josiah “did what was right in the LORD’s sight and walked in all the ways of his ancestor David; he did not turn to the right or to the left” (2 Kgs 22:2; see 2 Kgs 18:5-6). The author wrote of Josiah, “Before him there was no king like him who turned to the LORD with all his mind and with all his heart and with all his strength according to all the law of Moses, and no one like him arose after him” (2 Kgs 23:25).

Initially, King Josiah displayed covenant loyalty similar to King Joash in that he was concerned for the physical maintenance of the Lord’s temple (2 Kgs 22:3-7; see 2 Kgs 12:4-16). During the repairs, “Hilkiah the high priest told Shaphan the court secretary, ‘I have found the book of the law in the LORD’s temple,’ and he gave the book to Shaphan, who read it” (2 Kgs 22:8). Upon hearing Shaphan’s reading of the law, Josiah tore his clothes and commanded his administration to “go and inquire of the LORD for me, the people, and all Judah about the instruction in this book that has been found. For great is the LORD’s wrath that is kindled against us because our ancestors have not obeyed the words of this book” (2 Kgs 22:13).

Josiah’s officials visited Huldah the prophetess, who told them that the Lord’s judgment would come upon His people for the sins of the fathers (2 Kgs 22:15-17). Yet, Huldah sent the delegation back to the king with a word of encouragement for him personally informing Josiah that because he had humbled himself he would not see destruction that would come upon Judah (2 Kgs 22:19-20).

Josiah’s reforms had only begun. In 2 Kings 23, the author cataloged the king’s faithful acts. Josiah led Judah in covenant renewal (2 Kgs 23:1-3); cleansed the temple of idolatry and immorality (2 Kgs 23:4-7); defiled the high places of the land, where Israel’s priests had burned incense to pagan gods (2 Kgs 23:8-10, 13-14); defiled the place where the people had gone to sacrifice to the pagan god Molech by making their son or daughter pass through the fire (2 Kgs 23:10); tore down the pagan altars Manasseh had constructed in the Lord’s temple (2 Kgs 23:12); and initiated the most devout Passover celebration Judah had known since the days of the judges (2 Kgs 23:21-23). Despite the glory of King Josiah’s reign, the Lord did not relent from the condemnation He had issued upon Jerusalem and the temple (2 Kgs 23:26-27). While Josiah experienced none of it, the king did endure a measure of the Lord’s wrath when he rebelled against the word of God and was killed by Pharaoh Neco of Egypt (2 Kgs 23:28-30).

God’s word to Josiah concerning what would come for Judah demonstrates the Lord’s justice and sovereignty. The Lord stayed His judgement upon Judah during Josiah’s lifetime but the sins of the people that preceded and followed Josiah had to be dealt with according to God’s holy standards. The authors of the Old and New Testaments described God’s sovereignty over creation as a way of underscoring His sovereignty over the salvation or condemnation of His people. Since God created and sustains the universe, He is able to deliver those who turn to Him and repent. The psalmist wrote of this in Ps 146:5-6, “Happy is the one whose help is the God of Jacob, whose hope is in the LORD his God, the Maker of heaven and earth, the sea and everything in them. He remains faithful forever.” During Paul’s first missionary journey, he healed a lame man in Lystra. The crowds who witnessed the miracle rushed upon Paul and Barnabas, acclaiming them as Zeus and Hermes (Acts 14:8-12). Paul and Barnabas took up Ps 146:6, saying, “We are men also, with the same nature as you, and we are proclaiming good news to you, that you should turn from these worthless things to the living God, who made the heaven, the earth, the sea, and everything in them” (Acts 14:15).

Judah enjoyed a prolonged stay in the Promised Land in part because of Hezekiah’s loyalty to the Lord during the siege of Jerusalem. In time, Hezekiah’s faithfulness waned. Near the end of his life, and during the days of King Manasseh his son, the Lord announced that Judah’s residence in the land was about to end.

King Hezekiah had enjoyed great success with the Lord, so when he became ill and the prophet Isaiah announced his imminent death, Hezekiah had the faith necessary to seek the Lord’s favor and extend his days (2 Kgs 20:1-11). Yet, Hezekiah’s transparency and possible capitulation before the cohort from Merodach-baladan, son of Baladan king of Babylon, proved costly. Baladan had also been at war with Assyria and sent emissaries with a gift for the ailing king of Judah. These Babylonians spied on Judah to know of its strengths. Hezekiah, either lacking the shrewdness of a successful king or desiring to form an alliance with the Babylonians, “showed them his whole treasure house—the silver, the gold, the spices, and the precious oil—and his armory, and everything that was found in his treasuries” (2 Kgs 20:13). Upon hearing of the Babylonian entourage, Isaiah immediately asked the king, “What have they seen in your palace?” (2 Kgs 20:15). Isaiah announced the word of the Lord that Hezekiah’s treasures and children would soon be carried off to Babylon (2 Kgs 20:16-19).

After Hezekiah, his son Manasseh became king (2 Kings 21). The boy was not like his father. Manasseh “did what was evil in the LORD’s sight, imitating the abominations of the nations that the LORD had dispossessed before the Israelites” (2 Kgs 21:2); “rebuilt the high places that his father Hezekiah had destroyed and reestablished the altars for Baal” (2 Kgs 21:3); “made his son pass through the fire, practiced witchcraft and divination, and consulted mediums and spiritists” (2 Kgs 21:6); “set up the carved image of Asherah he made in the temple that the LORD had spoken about to David and his son Solomon” (2 Kgs 21:7, 9); and “shed so much innocent blood that he filled Jerusalem with it from one end to another” (2 Kgs 21:16).

In light of the conditions Manasseh established in his 55-year reign in Judah, destruction was inevitable. The unnamed prophets announced the word of the Lord, “I will abandon the remnant of My inheritance and hand them over to their enemies. They will become plunder and spoil to all their enemies, because they have done what is evil in My sight and have provoked Me from the day their ancestors came out of Egypt until today” (2 Kgs 21:14-15). The Chronicler recorded that Manasseh’s later years included a time of genuine repentance and devout spiritual leadership (2 Chron 33:10-17). That Manasseh’s son Amon walked unfaithfully as Manasseh had during his earlier reign reveals that Manasseh’s latter-day reforms were either superficial or ineffective or both (2 Kgs 21:19-26).

After Hezekiah’s folly with the envoy from Babylon, Isaiah prophesied that Judah would soon be taken over by this powerful nation. In the macro-narrative of Scripture, the nation of Babylon represents the ultimate national foe of God’s people. John employed the nation of Babylon metaphorically. To Babylon, John heard a mighty angel say, “The blood of the prophets and saints, and all those slaughtered on earth, was found in you” (Rev 18:24). Babylon was “a dwelling for demons, a haunt for every unclean spirit, a haunt for every unclean bird, and a haunt for every unclean and despicable beast” (Rev 18:2) because, “all the nations have drunk of the wine of her immorality, which brings wrath. The kings of the earth have committed sexual immorality with her, and the merchants of the earth have grown wealthy from her excessive luxury” (Rev 18:3). This is why John witnessed such jubilation amongst the heavenly throng when the destruction of Babylon was in view. The heavenly throng sang, “Hallelujah! Salvation, glory, and power belong to our God, because His judgments are true and righteous, because He has judged the notorious prostitute who corrupted the earth with her sexual immorality; and He has avenged the blood of His servants that was on her hands” (Rev 19:1b-2). Her defeat was realized when John saw heaven open and a white horse come forth whose rider is called “Faithful and True” (Rev 19:11), “king of kings and lord of lords” (Rev 19:16b).

While Israel was exiled during the reign of Hoshea, Hezekiah became king in Judah. During his 29 years in power, “He did what was right in the LORD’s sight just as his ancestor David had done” (2 Kgs 18:3). Hezekiah was so outstanding to the author because Hezekiah trusted in the Lord during the threat of Sennacherib, the Assyrian king who followed in the quest for domination that had characterized both Tiglath-pileser (2 Kgs 15:29-16:18) and Shalmaneser (2 Kgs 17:1-6) before him.

The drama of Hezekiah’s reign recorded in 2 Kings 18-19 began when “Sennacherib king of Assyria attacked all the fortified cities of Judah and captured them” (2 Kgs 18:13). Hezekiah’s initial reaction resembled his weak-kneed contemporary Ahaz in the north (2 Kgs 16:7-18) and he gave the Assyrian king the plunder of the Lord’s temple (2 Kgs 18:14-17).

Sennacherib, having whetted his appetite with the gold from the Lord’s temple, sent a massive envoy to besiege Jerusalem (2 Kgs 18:17-18). Among the troops was the Rabshakeh, a high-ranking official who sought to intimidate Hezekiah and Jerusalem into an easy surrender. He questioned Hezekiah’s resources to endure the siege. By speaking in Hebrew, the Rabshakeh hoped his words would persuade all the besieged inhabitants to surrender the city and enjoy the abundant life of Assyrian subjects (2 Kgs 18:19-32). Hezekiah was desperate. He “tore his clothes, covered himself with sackcloth and went into the LORD’s temple” (2 Kgs 19:1). The king sent for the prophet Isaiah in hopes that the prophet’s prayer would incite God’s wrath against those so brazenly opposed to Israel’s God.

When Hezekiah heard the word of the Lord through Isaiah the prophet, Hezekiah prayed, “Listen closely, LORD, and hear; open Your eyes, LORD, and see; hear the words that Sennacherib has sent to mock the living God (2 Kgs 19:16). Isaiah prophesied the word of the Lord to the Assyrian king saying, “I will put My hook in your nose and My bit in your mouth; I will make you go back the way you came” (2 Kgs 19:28). And it happened: “That night the angel of the LORD went out and struck down 185,000 in the camp of the Assyrians” (2 Kgs 19:35). Sennacherib was eventually assassinated by his own sons in an idol’s temple (2 Kgs 19:37).

The Lord’s covenant with David, coupled with Hezekiah’s faithfulness, prolonged the place of Judah in the Promised Land. Israel was overtaken by the Assyrians because of their idolatry. Although Judah “did not keep the commandments of the LORD their God but lived according to the customs Israel had introduced” (2 Kgs 17:19), Judah remained in the land longer than Israel. This was at least in part because of Hezekiah. When Hezekiah was threatened by the Assyrians, he turned to the Lord for aid. The prophet Isaiah spoke the Lord’s answer to the prayer of Hezekiah. Isaiah emphasized the Lord’s zeal for the preservation of Jerusalem, Mount Zion, the city of David, saying, “‘He [Sennacherib] will go back on the road that he came and he will not enter this city,’ declares the LORD. ‘I will defend this city and rescue it for My sake and for the sake of My servant David’” (2 Kgs 19:33-34). Nonetheless, because of the unfaithfulness of Judah after the reign of Hezekiah, even Jerusalem was destroyed (2 Kings 25).

To properly understand the Lord’s answer to Hezekiah’s prayer, it is imperative to view it as part of the the Lord’s progressive revelation in the Old and New Testaments. The Lord’s concern for Jerusalem and the legacy of His servant David was ultimately fulfilled in the Messiah, Jesus Christ, not Hezekiah or any king of Judah before him. In the flow of redemptive history, the great threat to God’s people was not a foreign king but the Devil. He was the spiritual force enticing Israel’s inclinations to idolatry and selfishness. Thus, when Jesus came to reconcile humanity to God, it was necessary for Jesus to defeat the Devil. Jesus was victorious over the Devil’s temptations, even when the Devil quipped Ps 91:11-12 at Jesus, “If You are the Son of God, throw Yourself down. For it is written: ‘He will give His angels orders concerning you,’ and ‘they will support you with their hands so that you will not strike your foot against a stone’” (Matt 4:6//Luke 4:10-11). Jesus replied, “Do not test the Lord your God” (Matt 4:7//Luke 4:12; Deut 6:16).

God had promised His people His blessing in His land, but they had rejected the covenant (cf. Gen 12.1-3; 15.1-21; Deuteronomy 28-30).  What Tiglath-peleser king of Assyria had begun during the reign of Pekah, when he “came and captured Ijon, Abel-beth-maacah, Janoah, Kedesh, Hazor, Gilead, and Galilee—all the land of Nephtali—and deported the people to Assyria” (2 Kgs 15.29b), his successor Shalmaneser would finish.  Israel’s situation in 2 Kings 17 is illustrative of what the writer of Proverbs said, “Pride comes before destruction, and an arrogant spirit before a fall” (16.18).

Hoshea was the final Israelite king.  While the evil of his reign was “not like the kings of Israel who preceded him” (2 Kgs 17.2), when King Shalmaneser of Assyria became an immanent threat, Hoshea sought assistance from the king of Egypt; he should have sought the LORD’s help!  Shalmaneser was outraged.  He imprisoned Hoshea—and after laying siege to Samaria for three years:

“The king of Assyria deported the Israelites to Assyria and put them in Halah and by the Habor, Gozan’s river, and in the cities of the Medes, because they did not listen to the voice of the LORD their God but violated His covenant—all He had commanded Moses the servant of the LORD.  They did not listen, and they did not obey” (2 Kgs 18.11-12; cf. 17.6).  

In 2 Kings 17, the inspired writer catalogued the specific transgressions of Israel; among other things, the northern kingdom was exiled:

1. “because the people of Israel had sinned against the LORD their God who had brought them out of the land of Egypt from the power of Pharaoh king of Egypt” (v .7)
2. “because they had worshiped other gods” (v. 7)
3. because, “They had lived according to the customs of the nations that the LORD had dispossessed before the Israelites” (v. 8)
4. because, “The Israelites secretly did what was not right against the LORD their God.   They built high places in all their towns from watchtower to fortified city” (v. 9)
5. because, “They set up for themselves sacred pillars and Asherah poles on every high hill and under every green tree” (v. 10)
6. because, “They burned incense on all the high places just like those nations that the LORD had driven out before them” (v. 11)
7. because, “They did evil things, provoking the LORD” (v. 11)

Following the historical flow of the kings of Israel, one can see that the nation had never recovered from the first northern king, Jeroboam I.  Indeed, Ahijah the prophet had told the wife of Jeroboam I:

“The LORD will raise up for Himself a king over Israel, who will eliminate the house of Jeroboam.  This is the day, yes even today!  For the LORD will strike Israel and the people will shake as a reed shakes in water.  He will uproot Israel from this good soil that He gave to their forefathers.  He will scatter them beyond the Euphrates because they made their Asherah poles, provoking the LORD.  He will give up Israel, because of Jeroboam’s sins that he committed and caused Israel to commit” (1 Kgs 14.14-16).  

Even though the people of Israel were defiled and deported, the land yet belonged to the LORD—and He would see to it that any who occupied His sacred space were required to remember and reverence Him.  Thus, when Shalmaneser brought foreign refugees—who did not fear the LORD—to inhabit Canaan, “the LORD sent lions among them, which killed some of them” (2 Kgs 17.25).  Even though an Israelite priest was drafted to return and teach the ways of the LORD to the inhabitants of Canaan, the foreign nations responded in accord with Israel: “They feared the LORD, but they also worshiped their own gods according to the custom of the nations where they had been deported from” (2 Kgs 17.33).  Thus, Israel’s behavior in the Promised Land was no better than the peoples who had not experienced the gifts God had given to His covenant people!

The scenes of 2 Kings 17 have great import for the storyline of Scripture.  God had made a covenant with Abraham, promising him lineage and land (Gen 12.1-3; 15.1-21), and reiterated the same through Moses to Israel at Mt Sinai (Exodus 20; Deuteronomy 4-5).  In the Mosaic covenant, the LORD stipulated that Israel’s inheritance in the land was conditioned upon their faithfulness to His commands; if they obeyed they would prosper there, if they surrender to the idolatry of the nations they would be dispossessed (Deuteronomy 28-30; Joshua 24).  Shalmaneser and the Assyrian forces were God’s instrument of discipline; while Israel was unfaithful to the word of the LORD, the LORD was not unfaithful to what He had said.  The apostle Paul looked back over the history of Israel and wrote that the purpose of the Mosaic law was to curb the sin of Israel as they lived in the land, and account the sins of the people when they rebelled (Rom 5.12-14; 7.7-10; Gal 4.19-26).  Even as early as 2 Kings 17, the Biblical author used the law to show Israel their sin; they were expelled from the land because of their idolatry.  This is what the author to the Hebrews meant when he said that God had found fault with His people (Heb 8.7), ultimately giving rise to the inauguration of the new covenant in Christ.  This arrangement was foretold by the prophet Jeremiah in Jer 31.31-34, and the author to the Hebrews quoted the word of the LORD through the prophet saying: “I will put My laws into their minds, and I will write them on their hearts, and I will be their God, and they will be My people” (Heb 8.10); and, “(I will) be merciful to their wrongdoing, and I will never again remember their sins” (Heb 8.12).  

*For a complete list of references, please see scripturestoryline.com

The kings of Judah more regularly displayed covenant loyalty than the kings of Israel. Yet the record of 2 Kings shows that their lives too were often a mixed bag of devotion. Amaziah son of Joash became king of Judah (2 Kgs 14:1-14) and, “He did what was right in the LORD’s sight, but not like his ancestor David. He did everything his father Joash had done” (2 Kgs 14:3). Yet, after success against the Edomites, Amaziah instigated a civil war against Jehoash and Israel (2 Kgs 14:9-11). Judah was routed in the battle. Jehoash plundered the temple and took captives to Israel (2 Kgs 14:13b-14).

Following Amaziah, Azariah, also known as Uzziah (2 Kgs 15:13, 30, 32, 34; Isa 1:1; 6:1), reigned in Judah for 52 years. Uzziah “did what was right in the LORD’s sight just as his father Amaziah had done” (2 Kgs 15:3). But after Uzziah grew proud of his military exploits, “He acted unfaithfully against the LORD his God by going into the LORD’s sanctuary to burn incense on the incense altar” (2 Chron 26:16), an act reserved for the priests. As a result, “the LORD afflicted the king, and he had a serious skin disease until the day of his death” (2 Kgs 15:5).

The next two kings of Judah were Jotham (2 Kgs 15:32-38) and Ahaz (2 Kgs 16:1-20). The former walked in the more upstanding ways of the kings of Judah, but Ahaz committed abominations (2 Kgs 16:2-3). During Ahaz’s reign, the threat of Tiglath-Pileser of Assyria was so severe in the north that Aram’s King Rezin and Israel’s King Pekah came against Judah, hoping to force the southern kingdom into an alliance against the Assyrian power. Instead of trusting in the Lord according to the word of Isaiah the prophet (Isa 7:1-12), Ahaz surrendered straightaway to the Assyrian king and said, “I am your servant and your son” (2 Kgs 16:7). Judah would never fully recover from the cowardliness of Ahaz.

In the north, the situation was quickly declining beyond hope. King Jehoash of Israel named his son after the first northern king, Jeroboam, and Jeroboam II walked in the ways of his ancestor (2 Kgs 14:23-29). Despite Jeroboam II’s unfaithfulness, the Lord empowered him to restore Israel’s borders—a great military accomplishment (2 Kgs 14:25, 28). The success of Jeroboam II was according to the word of the prophet Jonah (2 Kgs 14:25). Grasping Jonah’s zeal for Israel during the reign of Jeroboam II explains why the prophet so disdained the thought of preaching the good news to Nineveh, the capital city of Israel’s enemy. Jonah was enthusiastic to serve Israel’s expansion but reluctant to give his enemies an opportunity for repentance.

After the brief but wicked reigns of Zechariah (2 Kgs 15:8-12) and Shallum (2 Kgs 15:13-15) in the north, Israel’s unfaithfulness again warranted censure from the Lord. He again employed the Assyrians as the means to His end. Assyria’s Tiglath-Pileser, also called “Pul” (2 Kgs 15:19), attacked Israel during the reign of King Pekah (2 Kgs 15:27-31). The Assyrians captured “all the land of Naphtali—and deported the people to Assyria” (2 Kgs 15:29). The exile had begun.

King Ahaz’s refusal to trust the word of the Lord through Isaiah the prophet has no small implication for the storyline of Scripture. The Lord was offering Judah one last chance at life in the land. After challenging King Ahaz to rely on the Lord saying, “If you do not stand firm in your faith, then you will not stand at all” (Isa 7:9), Isaiah even urged Ahaz to ask for a sign from the Lord that He would deliver Judah from the northern threat (Isa 7:11). Although Ahaz would not, it would not matter. Isaiah replied, “Listen, house of David! Is it not enough for you to try the patience of men? Will you also try the patience of my God? Therefore, the Lord Himself will give you a sign: The virgin will conceive, have a son, and name him Immanuel” (Isa 7:13-14). While Assyria was threatening Israel, God spoke to them of the promise of His Son. Ultimately, Jesus alone would be the source of deliverance. In Matt 1:20-21, the angel informed Joseph that he and Mary and the baby in her womb were a part of God’s historical plan. Matthew commented, “Now all this took place to fulfill what was spoken by the Lord through the prophet: See, the virgin will become pregnant and give birth to a son, and they will name Him Immanuel, which is translated ‘God with us’” (Matt 1:20b-23).

On the whole, the leaders of Judah were more faithful than their contemporaries in the north. This disparity surfaced again in the events recorded in 2 Kings 11-13. After King Jehu of Israel killed Athaliah’s son, Ahaziah king of Judah, she annihilated “all the royal heirs” (2 Kgs 11:1) and took control of the nation by force. If Athaliah would have been successful, she would have thwarted God’s promise to maintain an heir on David’s throne. She was not. Jehosheba, Ahaziah’s sister, secretly rescued her nephew, Joash, and his nurse from Athaliah’s wrath. God’s promise to David (2 Sam 7:16; 1 Chron 17:11-12) would not be compromised. After Joash had remained in the Lord’s temple six years, Jehoida the priest arranged for Ahaziah’s remaining heir to be anointed king (2 Kgs 11:4-13) and the boy’s grandmother executed (2 Kgs 11:15-16).

During Joash’s reign in Judah, Jehoida served faithfully as the spiritual leader of the nation. Jehoida “made a covenant between the LORD, the king, and the people that they would be the LORD’s people and another one between the king and the people” (2 Kgs 11:17). Further, Jehoida “appointed guards for the LORD’s temple…and they brought the king from the LORD’S temple. They entered the king’s palace by way of the guard’s gate. They sat Joash on the throne of the kings. All the people of the land rejoiced” (2 Kgs 11:18b, 19-20a). The author of 2 Kings evaluated Jehoida’s ministry by noting that, “Throughout the time of Jehoiada the priest instructed him, Joash did what was right in the LORD’s sight” (2 Kgs 12:2).

King Joash was also concerned for the well-being of the temple. He assigned the priests to use the funds brought to the temple for structural repairs (2 Kgs 12:4-15). Sadly though, when pressed by a threat from Hazael king of Aram, Joash gave him the consecrated items of the temple as tribute so that he would withdraw from Judah (2 Kgs 12:17-18). Though Judah was able to endure as a nation, Joash was defeated from within, assassinated by his servants (2 Kgs 12:20-21). The Chronicler proposed that Aram’s advance as far south as Judah during the days of Joash was a result of idolatry among the people (2 Chron 24:23-25). During the period Joash ruled in Judah, Jehoahaz and Jehoash reigned in Israel (2 Kings 13). Neither Israelite king walked consistently in covenant faithfulness and thus both had to endure the Lord’s punitive discipline through the king of Aram.

In 2 Kings 11-13, the author noted two themes formative for Scripture’s storyline.

(1) The Abrahamic covenant and life in the Promised Land. Despite the escalating paganism and unfaithfulness of His people, God’s mercy preserved His people form Aram. This was in part “because of His covenant with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. He was not willing to destroy them” (2 Kgs 13:23). In light of the promises the Lord made to the forefathers, He was patient with His wandering people. But His patience would wane with their increasing unfaithfulness. Eventually the Lord allowed Israel’s northern neighbor to overtake them. Israel was defeated because of idolatry (2 Kgs 17:6-23). About 200 years later the Lord would hand Judah over to the Babylonians for the same offense (2 Kings 24).

(2) The significance of the temple. When Jehoida was serving as priest, the temple was in ruins because the children of Athaliah, King Ahaziah and his siblings, had renovated Solomon’s temple to accommodate Baal. The Chronicler wrote, “The sons of that wicked Athaliah broke into the LORD’s temple and even used the sacred things of the LORD’s temple for the Baals” (2 Chron 24:7). After Jehoiada had ordered Athaliah’s execution, “The priest appointed guards for the LORD’s temple” (2 Kgs 11:18b). Jehoiada wanted to be sure that the temple would be preserved. Eventually it was destroyed, burned by Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon (2 Kgs 25:9). The relative frailty of even Solomon’s temple serves as a foil for the permanent, enduring, fortified temple in John’s vision in Revelation—a temple inhabited by a renewed people who worship Jesus. John wrote, “Nothing profane will even enter it: no one who does what is vile or false, but only those written in the Lamb’s book of life” (Rev 21:27).

These chapters of 2 Kings present the slow deterioration of Israel and Judah. The failure of God’s people was declared by the prophets. Thus, Elisha was able to protect the Shunammite woman from the approaching famine (2 Kgs 8:1-7) and weep at the vision of the onslaught the king of Aram would administer to Israel (2 Kgs 8:7-15). Elisha explained his anguish to Hazael of Aram saying, “I know the evil you will do to the people of Israel. You will set their fortresses on fire. You will kill their young men with the sword. You will dash their little ones to pieces. You will rip open their pregnant women” (2 Kgs 8:12).

The excessive aggression of Jehu in 2 Kings 9-10 contributed to the demise of Israel. According to the word of Elisha, Jehu was anointed king in Israel and immediately conspired against King Joram (2 Kgs 9:1-15). Jehu’s reply to the messengers of Joram, “What do you have to do with peace?” (2 Kgs 9:18, 19), revealed Jehu’s zeal for power. Jehu confronted Israel’s king saying, “What peace can there be as long as there is so much prostitution and witchcraft from your mother Jezebel?” (2 Kgs 9:22). Besides Joram, Jehu annihilated King Ahaziah of Judah (2 Kgs 9:27-29), King Ahab’s wife Jezebel—whose death fulfilled the word of Elijah (2 Kgs 9:30-37; 1 Kgs 21:17-19)—those who remained of the house of Ahab (2 Kgs 10:1-17), and the prophets of Baal (2 Kgs 10:18-27).

On the surface, Jehu’s fury seemed an apt response to the Lord’s call on his life (2 Kgs 9:6-10, 24-26, 36-37; 10:17). “Jehu eliminated Baal worship from Israel” (2 Kgs 10:28) and the Lord said to him, “Because you have done well in carrying out what is right in My sight and have done to the house of Ahab all that was in My heart, four generations of your sons will sit on the throne of Israel” (2 Kgs 10:30). Yet, Hosea spoke of the Lord’s judgment upon the house of Jehu to “avenge the bloodshed of Jezreel” (Hos 1:4). Jehu carried out the word of the Lord, yet the manner of his reign was ungodly. Jehu put the leaders of Samaria in a compromising situation by asking them to execute Ahab’s sons, as opposed to fulfilling the word of the Lord himself (2 Kgs 10:1-7). Further, Jehu had the heads of Ahab’s sons piled at the city gate, where he left them overnight, only to boast of his actions in the morning (2 Kgs 10:8-11).

In 2 Kings, Israel’s weakened political strength expresses the spiritual decline of the nation, especially its leaders. Because of the unfaithfulness of King Jehoram of Judah—who “walked in the way of the kings of Israel, as the house of Ahab had done, for Ahab’s daughter was his wife. He did what was evil in the LORD’s sight” (2 Kgs 8:18)—the southern tribe was no longer able to control Edom (2 Kgs 8:20-22). Further, at the end of Jehu’s reign the author noted, “In those days the LORD began to reduce the size of Israel. Hazael defeated the Israelites throughout their territory: from the Jordan eastward, all the land of Gilead—the Gadites, the Reubenites, and the Manassites—from Aroer which is by the Arnon Valley through Gilead to Bashan” (2 Kgs 10:32-33).

This statement has significance for understanding the storyline of Scripture. The Transjordan territories allotted to the two-and-a-half tribes were the first to be taken by foreigners. Moses and Joshua had approved these territories for Reuben, Gad, and the half tribe of Manasseh (Numbers 32, Joshua 13) and the Lord had promised that the land was theirs as long as they would remain faithful to Him (Deut 28:1, 8-9). It was thus during Jehu’s reign that Israel began to experience the Lord’s punitive discipline upon their idolatry. The Mosaic covenant was failing because the Lord found fault with His people. Not until He changed their hearts—causing them to love Him with all of their heart and soul (Deut 30:6; Rom 2:29)—not until the days of the new covenant (Jer 31:31-34; Heb 8:7-13), would they live before Him.

Famine was a common phenomenon in the Old Testament (Gen 12:10, 43:1; 2 Sam 21:1; 1 Kgs 18:2). At times the Lord sent famine as a way of disciplining His wayward people (Deut 11:13-25; 28:15-26). And famine provides the backdrop for Elisha’s ministry in 2 Kings 4-7.

When one of Elisha’s fellow prophets died, the widow pleaded with Elisha for help and her need was supplied (2 Kgs 4:1-7). Likewise, when a pot of stew was rotten, Elisha’s counsel to add some meal made the food edible (2 Kgs 4:38-41). When Elisha’s fellow prophets were expanding their living quarters, an axe head fell into the Jordan. Elisha intervened and showed God’s sovereignty in raising the axe head from the water (2 Kgs 6:1-7). Elisha was even able to multiply bread for the faithful who were with him (2 Kgs 4:42-44).

Elisha’s miraculous benevolence extended beyond the sphere of his fellow prophets. He made provisions for the Shunamite woman and others who were in need. When the Shunamite provided hospitality to Elisha, she in turn received the ability to have a son (2 Kgs 4:8-17). And when the boy was mortally wounded, Elisha restored him to life (2 Kgs 4:18-37). This set of miracles for the Shunamite woman was intended to reflect the work of Elijah in 1 Kgs 17:8-24; there could be no doubt that Elisha had taken his place.

Elisha healed the skin disease of the commander of the Aramean army. Elisha testified of the Lord’s power and goodness to Naaman, one who was not of Israel. Yet, the commander had to renounce his national pride before he would be healed (2 Kgs 5:8-14). His statement, “I know there’s no God in the whole world except in Israel” (2 Kgs 5:15), was remarkable.

During the war with the Arameans (2 Kgs 6:8-7.20), Elisha announced the Lord’s provision for His people. Through his prophetic word, Elisha protected Israel from the Aramean raiders (2 Kgs 6:8-24). Elisha told his assistant, “Don’t be afraid, for those who are with us outnumber those who are with them” (2 Kgs 6:16). When the servant’s eyes were opened, “He looked and saw that the mountain was covered with horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha” (2 Kgs 6:17). Yet when King Ben-hadad brought siege against Israel, things were so bad that “a donkey’s head sold for 80 silver shekels, and a cup of dove’s dung sold for five silver shekels” (2 Kgs 6:25). Parents even took turns boiling their children for food (2 Kgs 6:26-29). In this situation, Elisha prophesied, “Hear the word of the LORD! This is what the LORD says: ‘About this time tomorrow at the gate of Samaria six quarts of fine meal will sell for a shekel and 12 quarts of barley will sell for a shekel’” (2 Kgs 7:1). And these exchanges came about just as Elisha prophesied (2 Kgs 7:16).

Statements from Psalm 82 and 2 Kings 5 serve as specific reference points for understanding Jesus’ ministry in Scripture’s storyline.

(1) Psalm 82 describes the exalted place of Israel’s God in the midst of lesser rulers, human or angelic, that might be thought influential in the psalmist’s day. The psalmist describes these lesser beings as unjust and oppressive (Ps 82:2-5). Despite the fact that they were addressed as gods, they were mortal (Ps 82:6-7). When the Jews wanted to stone Jesus for claiming that He and the Father are one (John 10:30), Jesus quoted Ps 82:6 saying, “Isn’t it written in your law, I said, you are gods? If He called those whom the word of God came to ‘gods’—and the Scripture cannot be broken—do you say, ‘You are blaspheming’ to the One the Father set apart and sent into the world, because I said: I am the Son of God?” (John 10:34-36).

(2) When Elisha testified to Naaman, commander of the Aramean army, he commanded Naaman to wash seven times in the Jordan river—as opposed to the rivers of Damascus (2 Kgs 5:1-19). Early in Jesus’ ministry, many in His hometown of Nazareth were perplexed by His teaching, and failed to recognize Him as Messiah. After taking and reading the scroll of Isaiah in the synagogue of Nazareth, He sensed a cool response in the crowd. Rejected by His own, Jesus would give special attention to the outsiders—just as Elisha did when he went to Naaman. “In the prophet Elisha’s time,” Jesus said, “there were many in Israel who had serious skin diseases, yet not one of them was healed—only Naaman the Syrian” (Luke 4:27).

King Ahaziah’s sickness, recorded in 2 Kings 1, provides the backdrop for the prophetic ministry of Elijah that dominated the end of 1 Kings. Elijah was a man with a focused message, proclaiming that Israel should consider and follow the Lord their God alone. When Ahaziah the son of Ahab was injured, he wished to inquire of Baal-zebub, the god of Ekron, instead of the Lord. Accordingly, as Ahaziah’s messengers left Samaria, “The angel of the LORD said to Elijah the Tishbite, ‘Go and meet the messengers of the king of Samaria and ask them, “Is it because there is no God in Israel that you are going to inquire of Baal-zebub, the god of Ekron?”’” (2 Kgs 1:3).

Ahaziah was further hardened by the word of the Lord, twice sending military delegations of fifty men to capture the prophet (2 Kgs 1:4-9). On both occasions, Elijah beckoned fire from heaven to destroy the soldiers, confirming that he was in fact “a man of God” (2 Kgs 1:10, 12). When Ahaziah sent a third delegation, they feared for their lives as they approached the hill where Elijah was sitting (2 Kgs 1:13-14). Elijah accompanied these men back to the king’s palace and prophesied Ahaziah’s death even to the king’s face (2 Kgs 1:16).

Following Elijah’s prophecy of Ahaziah’s death, in 2 Kings 2 the author recorded the transition of leading prophet from Elijah to Elisha. A chariot and horses of fire separated Elijah from Elisha, and Elijah was taken into heaven in a whirlwind (2 Kgs 2:11-12). Immediately, Elisha performed miracles that confirmed him as Elijah’s successor. Elisha parted the waters of the Jordan with Elijah’s mantle, cured the water at the spring near Jericho, and cursed the mocking boys from Bethel (2 Kgs 2:13-25).

Like Elijah, Elisha prophesied to Israel’s kings. First Kings 3 records Moab’s rebellion against Israel. Their initial defiance included cessation of tribute, which they previously gave as a nation in subjection to Israel (2 Kgs 3:4-5). Israel’s King Joram responded without delay, mobilizing the Israelite troops and inquiring of Jehoshaphat, king of Judah, for support. Together with the king of Edom, Joram and Jehoshaphat set out to attack Moab and enforce Moab’s subjection to Israel. Their first battle was against natural elements: they ran out of water (2 Kgs 3:9-10). When the hand of the Lord came upon Elisha, he prophesied that water would fill up the ditches they had burrowed—something that was “easy in the LORD’s sight” (2 Kgs 3:18)—and that He would hand Moab over to them. In the end God accomplished the latter through the former, causing the Moabites to think that the sunlight on the water (shining red) was actually the blood of a battle between the three kings (2 Kgs 3:21-23). The Moabites came out looking to take the spoils of what they thought was a civil war only to be met by the coalition of the three kings (2 Kgs 3:24-25).

Elijah’s prophetic ministry was remarkable. He performed many miracles and witnessed the Lord’s jealousy for His people. He did not die but was taken (2 Kgs 2:11-12; Heb 11:5). Elijah became a figure of renown even for the post-exilic prophet Malachi. Malachi prophesied the word of the Lord, “Look, I am going to send you Elijah the prophet before the great and awesome Day of the LORD comes” (Mal 4:5). The historical record of Elijah in 1 and 2 Kings, together with Malachi’s prophecy about Elijah, serve as cohesive stitches in the storyline of Scripture. According to the New Testament, John the Baptist fulfilled Malachi’s prophecy about Elijah (Matt 11:10//Mark 1:2//Luke 7:27). John was known as the forerunner of Jesus, the one sent to prepare the people for the coming of the Messiah. John’s messages resembled Elijah’s in that both confronted their audiences boldly, calling them to repent and turn to God with a singleness of heart. But John’s ministry went beyond that of Elijah. John said that while he baptized with water, Jesus would baptize with the Holy Spirit and condemn to eternal punishment any who would reject Him (Matt 3:11-12//Mark 1:7//Luke 3:16-17).