Bible

In the Bible room today, we continue reading the summary of the book of 2 Kings with Part 2, chapters 8 through 15.

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2 Kings – Part 2

Chapter 8. Weeping

Knowing the future, Elisha is weeping for the Israelites:

• Elisha makes a visit to Damascus in Aram;
• (See 1 Kings, chap; 19, fulfills a vision given to Elijah;)
• Ben-Hadad, the king, hears that Elisha is in town;
• The Lord tells Elisha the king will soon die;
• Weeping, Elisha explains what he sees;
• Hazael will be king, will do gruesome things to Israelites;
• The next day, Hazael smothers Ben-Hadad with a wet cloth;
• Jehoram begins ruling in Judah after Jehoshaphat;
• Jehoram dies after eight years, Ahaziah, his son, is king;
• At twenty-two years old, Ahaziah reigns but one year;
• He marries into Ahab’s family, is an evil king;
• Ahaziah and Joram ally to war against Hazael of Aram;
• Joram is wounded, Ahaziah visits him at Jezreel.

Chapter 9. Madman

Jehu, an army commander, has a reputation, like a ‘madman:’

• Elisha sends a young prophet to Gilead on a mission:
• He is to take a flask of oil, find Jehu, anoint him king;
• (See 1 Kings, chap; 19, fulfills a vision given to Elijah;)
• The prophet tells Jehu he is to destroy the house of Ahab;
• Jezebel will be eaten by dogs; will not have a funeral;
• Taking his chariot, Jehu drives the road to Jezreel;
• His purpose for the trip:  Kill Joram and Ahaziah;
• A lookout reports that he is driving like a madman;
• Joram sees Jehu is dangerous, warns Ahaziah to stay clear;
• Jehu puts an arrow between Joram’s shoulders, he dies;
• His body is dumped onto the ground once owned by Naboth;
• (See 1 Kings, chap. 21)
• Driving his chariot fast, Ahaziah is wounded, escapes;
• Later, he dies at Megiddo, his servants take him home;
• Jehu goes back to Jezreel to find Jezebel;
• Some eunuchs throw her over the wall to the ground;
• Horses trample her body, her blood spatters everywhere;
• Her flesh is eaten by dogs on Naboth’s former vineyard;
• (See 1 Kings, chap. 21)

Chapter 10. Purge

Jehu sets out to purge all vestiges of Ahab’s family;

• Ahab, his wife, Jezebel, entire family are too evil to live;
• Even Ahab’s friends, priests, all are purged from Israel;
• Jehu kills forty-two men, members of Ahaziah’s family;
• Jehu has a scheme to destroy the prophets of Baal;
• Publicly, he claims to worship Baal, even more than Ahab;
• He calls for a great assembly of all Baal priests, worshipers;
• Jehu places eighty men as guards around the building;
• He orders that not one of the attendees be allowed to escape;
• Then the guards are sent in with swords, kill everyone;
• The temple of Baal is destroyed, converted to a latrine;
• The Lord tells Jehu there will be four kings from his family;
• However, Jehu still allows worship of the golden calf;
• He does not keep all the law of the God of Israel;
• Jehu rules twenty-eight years at Samaria in Israel;
• At his death, his son, Jehoahaz, begins his reign.

Chapter 11. Mother

After the death of Ahaziah, his mother Athaliah, rules Judah:

• Ahaziah is dead; Jehu rules Israel;
• Athaliah, mother of Ahaziah, assumes the throne in Judah;
• She purges all those in her family who pose a threat;
• Her grandson, Joash, son of Ahaziah, is one year old;
• The niece of Joash puts him in hiding at the Lord’s temple;
• For six years his nurse takes care of him in safety there;
• For six years Athaliah, mother of Ahaziah, rules Judah;
• The high priest decides it is time for a change;
• Brought into the temple, Joash is anointed king;
• Everyone shouts, “Long live the King.” Trumpets sound;
• Hearing the commotion, Queen Athaliah runs to the temple;
• “Treason! Treason!” she shouts; they take her into custody;
• Dragged outside the temple, she is put to death by sword;
• Seven-year-old King Joash is placed on the throne in Judah.

Chapter 12. Repairs

The aging temple at Jerusalem needs numerous repairs:

• Joash rules Judah for forty years, did right in God’s sight;
• However, idol worship, false gods, remained in Judah;
• Addressing the need for temple repairs, Joash collects funds;
• Still, after twenty-three years, the temple is not repaired;
• Joash requires that outside labor be hired to do the repairs;
• Money from guilt offerings, sin offerings, goes to priests;
• All other funds are used for repairing the temple;
• At that time, Hazael of Aram comes to attack Jerusalem;
• Joash collects up things of value, pays extortion to Hazael;
• Payment in hand, Hazael’s army withdraws back to Aram;
• Forty years as king, Joash is assassinated by his own people;
• His son, Amaziah, succeeds him as king in Judah.

Chapter 13. Death

Joash’s forty-year reign in Judah sees many leaders to the north;

• In Israel, Jehu passes the kingdom to his son, Jehoahaz;
• He continues as evil in the eyes of the Lord;
• Seventeen years under Jehoahaz, the army is decimated;
• His son, Jehoash, assumes the throne in Samaria in Israel;
• As his father was, so is the son: evil in the eyes of the Lord;
• Jehoash takes over Israel in the thirty-seventh year of Joash;
• Jehoash gets word that Elisha, the prophet, is ill unto death;
• Elisha has some final words to Jehoash, Israel’s king:
• Tells him Israel will defeat Aram three times in battles;
• Elisha dies, placed in a tomb;
• Later, a dead man’s body is allowed to touch Elisha’s bones;
• Immediately the dead man jumps up, comes back to life.

Chapter 14. Justice

At twenty-five years old Amaziah becomes king in Judah;

• After Joash, he will reign in Jerusalem for twenty-nine years;
• A good king, however, he allows idolatry, pagan worship;
• In Israel, Jehoash is succeeded by his son, Jeroboam II;
• For fifteen more years, Amaziah reigns in Judah;
• Like his father, Amaziah is assassinated by his people;
• Sixteen-year-old Azariah, his son, becomes king in Judah;
• Meanwhile, in Israel, Jeroboam II has succeeded his father;
• For forty-one years his reign is evil in the eyes of the Lord;
• However, he restores Israel’s borders to the days of David;
• Even though he does evil things, the Lord would use him;
• He is succeeded by his son, Zechariah, as king in Israel;
• These are the days of Jonah, the prophet.

Chapter 15. Leprosy

In Judah, Azariah follows the footsteps of his father, Amaziah:

• A follower of God, he rules for fifty-two years in Judah;
• But, like his father, he does not stop the pagan worship;
• Azariah spends his life in seclusion, a king with leprosy;
• His son, Jotham, is in charge of the government;
• At Azariah’s death, Jotham becomes king over Judah;
• In Samaria, Zechariah is king of Israel for just six months;
• He does evil before the Lord, is assassinated by Shallum;
• Shallum becomes king, the fourth from Jehu’s family;
• However, his reign would last but one month;
• Menahem kills Shallum, sets himself up as king of Israel;
• A violent man, Menahem rules in Israel for ten years;
• He continues Israel’s evil beliefs and practices;
• Menahem dies, his son, Pekahiah, rules for two years;
• He continues the evil ways of Israel;
• Pekah, an officer, conspires, kills King Pekahiah;
• Seizes the throne in Israel, rules for twenty years;
• Pekah is executed by Hoshea who becomes king;
• Hoshea will be the last king to reign in Israel at Samaria;
• In Judah, Jotham becomes king at twenty-five years old;
• He rules sixteen years, a good king;
• But continues pagan worship; succeeded by son, Ahaz.

END OF PART 2 OF 2 KINGS