Kings of Israel 4
Last week we ended class by introducing Jehu as the latest king of Israel. You will remember that Jehu was different from the kings that came before him because? He was anointed king.
Jehu’s first act was to kill Joram, Ahaziah, and Jezebel.
Now Ahab had 70 sons. Do you remember what God’s judgment against Ahab was? That he would not have a long line of descendants on the throne. These sons were each assigned to a court official to act as tutor/mentor. Jehu sent each official a letter saying…
2 Kings 10 2 “As soon as this letter reaches you, since your master’s sons are with you and you have chariots and horses, a fortified city and weapons, 3 choose the best and most worthy of your master’s sons and set him on his father’s throne. Then fight for your master’s house.”
In other words, “you decide which son is to become king, and then meet me on the battlefield.” Instead of picking up the challenge, the officials decided to side with Jehu. So Jehu sent them a second letter.
6 Then Jehu wrote them a second letter, saying, “If you are on my side and will obey me, take the heads of your master’s sons and come to me in Jezreel by this time tomorrow.”
7 When the letter arrived, these men took the princes and slaughtered all seventy of them. They put their heads in baskets and sent them to Jehu in Jezreel. 8 When the messenger arrived, he told Jehu, “They have brought the heads of the princes.”
Then Jehu ordered, “Put them in two piles at the entrance of the city gate until morning.”
9 The next morning Jehu went out. He stood before all the people and said, “You are innocent. It was I who conspired against my master and killed him, but who killed all these? 10 Know then, that not a word the Lord has spoken against the house of Ahab will fail. The Lord has done what he promised through his servant Elijah.”
Look what happened next,
11 So Jehu killed everyone in Jezreel who remained of the house of Ahab, as well as all his chief men, his close friends and his priests, leaving him no survivor.
I need to point out that he did this on his own. He went beyond God’s directions. You will remember that our main purpose in studying kings is to glean warnings. What we need to glean here is that although someone may be God’s anointed, he or she is still human – and therefore capable of becoming over zealous in doing their job.
In the next few verses we see that Jehu go caught up in this killing spree.
In v. 14 he captures the cousins and nephews of Ahaziah only to slaughter them in v. 17.
On his way to Samaria
15 After he left there, he came upon Jehonadab son of Recab, who was on his way to meet him. Jehu greeted him and said, “Are you in accord with me, as I am with you?”
“I am,” Jehonadab answered.
“If so,” said Jehu, “give me your hand.” So he did, and Jehu helped him up into the chariot. 16 Jehu said, “Come with me and see my zeal for the Lord.” Then he had him ride along in his chariot.
Jehonadab was a holy man. Recabites were an early version of Nazarites. They didn’t plant vineyards or drink wine. They lived a very austere life.
When he got to Samaria
18 Then Jehu brought all the people together and said to them, “Ahab served Baal a little; Jehu will serve him much. 19 Now summon all the prophets of Baal, all his ministers and all his priests. See that no one is missing, because I am going to hold a great sacrifice for Baal. Anyone who fails to come will no longer live.” But Jehu was acting deceptively in order to destroy the ministers of Baal.
20 Jehu said, “Call an assembly in honor of Baal.” So they proclaimed it. 21 Then he sent word throughout Israel, and all the ministers of Baal came; not one stayed away. They crowded into the temple of Baal until it was full from one end to the other.
22 And Jehu said to the keeper of the wardrobe, “Bring robes for all the ministers of Baal.” So he brought out robes for them.
23 Then Jehu and Jehonadab son of Recab went into the temple of Baal. Jehu said to the ministers of Baal, “Look around and see that no servants of the Lord are here with you—only ministers of Baal.” 24 So they went in to make sacrifices and burnt offerings. Now Jehu had posted eighty men outside with this warning: “If one of you lets any of the men I am placing in your hands escape, it will be your life for his life.”
25 As soon as Jehu had finished making the burnt offering, he ordered the guards and officers: “Go in and kill them; let no one escape.” So they cut them down with the sword. The guards and officers threw the bodies out and then entered the inner shrine of the temple of Baal. 26 They brought the sacred stone out of the temple of Baal and burned it. 27 They demolished the sacred stone of Baal and tore down the temple of Baal, and people have used it for a latrine to this day.
28 So Jehu destroyed Baal worship in Israel. 29 However, he did not turn away from the sins of Jeroboam son of Nebat, which he had caused Israel to commit—the worship of the golden calves at Bethel and Dan.
30 The Lord said to Jehu, “Because you have done well in accomplishing what is right in my eyes and have done to the house of Ahab all I had in mind to do, your descendants will sit on the throne of Israel to the fourth generation.”
Despite that
31 Yet Jehu was not careful to keep the law of the Lord, the God of Israel, with all his heart. He did not turn away from the sins of Jeroboam, which he had caused Israel to commit.
32 In those days the Lord began to reduce the size of Israel. Hazael [King of Aram or Syria] overpowered the Israelites throughout their territory 33 east of the Jordan in all the land of Gilead (the region of Gad, Reuben and Manasseh), from Aroer by the Arnon Gorge through Gilead to Bashan.
35 Jehu rested with his fathers and was buried in Samaria. And Jehoahaz his son succeeded him as king. 36 The time that Jehu reigned over Israel in Samaria was twenty-eight years.
Over to Judah
11 When Athaliah the mother of Ahaziah saw that her son was dead, she proceeded to destroy the whole royal family.
Why do we have a queen? 2 Chronicles 21:17 tells us that the Philistines killed all of Ahaziah’s brothers in battle, and we just heard that Jehu had slaughtered all Ahaziah’s cousins & nephews on the road to Samaria. Here we see that (11:1) Athaliah killed any remaining male family member who was left in Judah.
2 But Jehosheba, the daughter of King Jehoram and sister of Ahaziah, took Joash son of Ahaziah and stole him away from among the royal princes, who were about to be murdered. She put him and his nurse in a bedroom to hide him from Athaliah; so he was not killed. 3 He remained hidden with his nurse at the temple of the Lord for six years while Athaliah ruled the land.
God always preserves a remnant. Remember this is the line of David.
4 In the seventh year Jehoiada [the priest] sent for the commanders of units of a hundred, the Carites and the guards and had them brought to him at the temple of the Lord.
Carites are the king’s body guards.
He made a covenant with them and put them under oath at the temple of the Lord. Then he showed them the king’s son. 5 He commanded them, saying, “This is what you are to do: You who are in the three companies that are going on duty on the Sabbath—a third of you guarding the royal palace, 6 a third at the Sur Gate, and a third at the gate behind the guard, who take turns guarding the temple— 7 and you who are in the other two companies that normally go off Sabbath duty are all to guard the temple for the king. 8 Station yourselves around the king, each man with his weapon in his hand. Anyone who approaches your ranks must be put to death. Stay close to the king wherever he goes.”
So they did this. Then…
12 Jehoiada brought out the king’s son and put the crown on him; he presented him with a copy of the covenant and proclaimed him king. They anointed him, and the people clapped their hands and shouted, “Long live the king!”
13 When Athaliah heard the noise made by the guards and the people, she went to the people at the temple of the Lord. 14 She looked and there was the king, standing by the pillar, as the custom was. The officers and the trumpeters were beside the king, and all the people of the land were rejoicing and blowing trumpets. Then Athaliah tore her robes and called out, “Treason! Treason!”
15 Jehoiada the priest ordered the commanders of units of a hundred, who were in charge of the troops: “Bring her out between the ranks and put to the sword anyone who follows her.” For the priest had said, “She must not be put to death in the temple of the Lord.” 16 So they seized her as she reached the place where the horses enter the palace grounds, and there she was put to death.
The king and the people renew their covenant to follow God alone. They tear down the temple of Baal.
They kill Baal’s priest.
They install Joash on the throne
20 and all the people of the land rejoiced. And the city was quiet, because Athaliah had been slain with the sword at the palace.
21 Joash was seven years old when he began to reign.
12 In the seventh year of Jehu, Joash became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem forty years. His mother’s name was Zibiah; she was from Beersheba. 2 Joash did what was right in the eyes of the Lord all the years Jehoiada the priest instructed him. 3 The high places, however, were not removed; the people continued to offer sacrifices and burn incense there.
Joash instituted a building campaign. He told the priests to use the offering money and the temple tax to repair the temple.
6 But by the twenty-third year of King Joash the priests still had not repaired the temple.
- One source I read said that they didn’t collect enough money to do this.
- Another source said that after the priests to their share to live on there wasn’t enough left over.
- And then a third source said that for what ever reason, the priest didn’t perform the repairs.
So Joash came up with another plan. They put a chest with a hole on the top by the altar and everyone put their offerings and temple tax there. Only the temple treasurer had a key. When the box was full of money, he would open in, hire and pay the repairmen.
What about the priests?
16 The money from the guilt offerings and sin offerings was not brought into the temple of the Lord; it belonged to the priests.
Now we would think that Joash’s reign would be peaceful. It wasn’t. 2 Chron 24 tells us that Hazael attacked Jerusalem and many of Joash’s generals were killed. So to stem off further attacks, Joash took some of the pieces the kings before him and some of the pieces he himself had dedicated to the temple and gave them to Hazael.
19 As for the other events of the reign of Joash, and all he did, are they not written in the book of the annals of the kings of Judah? 20 His officials conspired against him and assassinated him at Beth Millo, on the road down to Silla. 21 The officials who murdered him were Jozabad son of Shimeath and Jehozabad son of Shomer. He died and was buried with his fathers in the City of David. And Amaziah his son succeeded him as king.
13 In the twenty-third year of Joash son of Ahaziah king of Judah, Jehoahaz son of Jehu became king of Israel in Samaria, and he reigned seventeen years. 2 He did evil in the eyes of the Lord by following the sins of Jeroboam son of Nebat, which he had caused Israel to commit, and he did not turn away from them. 3 So the Lord’s anger burned against Israel, and for a long time he kept them under the power of Hazael king of Aram and Ben-Hadad his son.
The last time we saw those words was in Josh 7 in reference to Achan. Remember that Achan kept some of the spoils from Jerico and buried them under his tent. When the Lord exposed his sin, there was an earthquake, and the ground split, and his whole family fell in.
4 Then Jehoahaz [Jehu’s son] sought the Lord’s favor, and the Lord listened to him, for he saw how severely the king of Aram was oppressing Israel. 5 The Lord provided a deliverer for Israel, and they escaped from the power of Aram. So the Israelites lived in their own homes as they had before. 6 But they did not turn away from the sins of the house of Jeroboam, which he had caused Israel to commit; they continued in them. Also, the Asherah pole remained standing in Samaria.
7 Nothing had been left of the army of Jehoahaz except fifty horsemen, ten chariots and ten thousand foot soldiers, for the king of Aram had destroyed the rest and made them like the dust at threshing time.
9 Jehoahaz rested with his fathers and was buried in Samaria.
And Jehoash his son succeeded him as king.
10 In the thirty-seventh year of Joash king of Judah, Jehoash son of Jehoahaz became king of Israel in Samaria, and he reigned sixteen years. 11 He did evil in the eyes of the Lord and did not turn away from any of the sins of Jeroboam son of Nebat, which he had caused Israel to commit; he continued in them.
Jump down to 14
14 Now Elisha was suffering from the illness from which he died.
The last time were read about Elisha was in chapter 9 - which means that 40 years had passed.
Jehoash king of Israel went down to see him and wept over him. “My father! My father!” he cried. “The chariots and horsemen of Israel!”
Did he see them? I don’t think so. I believe he was just acknowledging the prophet’s anointing.
15 Elisha said, “Get a bow and some arrows,” and he did so. 16 “Take the bow in your hands,” he said to the king of Israel. When he had taken it, Elisha put his hands on the king’s hands.
17 “Open the east window,” he said, and he opened it. “Shoot!” Elisha said, and he shot. “The Lord’s arrow of victory, the arrow of victory over Aram!” Elisha declared. “You will completely destroy the Arameans at Aphek.”
18 Then he said, “Take the arrows,” and the king took them. Elisha told him, “Strike the ground.” He struck it three times and stopped. 19 The man of God was angry with him and said, “You should have struck the ground five or six times; then you would have defeated Aram and completely destroyed it. But now you will defeat it only three times.”
20 Elisha died and was buried.
22 Hazael king of Aram oppressed Israel throughout the reign of Jehoahaz. 23 But the Lord was gracious to them and had compassion and showed concern for them because of his covenant with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. To this day he has been unwilling to destroy them or banish them from his presence.
24 Hazael king of Aram died, and Ben-Hadad his son succeeded him as king.
What was the name of the king Hazael smothered to become king? Ben Hadad. What did he name his own son? Ben Hadad.
25 Then Jehoash son of Jehoahaz recaptured from Ben-Hadad son of Hazael the towns he had taken in battle from his father Jehoahaz. Three times Jehoash defeated him, and so he recovered the Israelite towns.
Back up to v. 13
13 Jehoash rested with his fathers, and Jeroboam succeeded him on the throne. Jehoash was buried in Samaria with the kings of Israel.
Over to Judah…
14 In the second year of Jehoash son of Jehoahaz king of Israel, Amaziah son of Joash king of Judah began to reign. 2 He was twenty-five years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem twenty-nine years. His mother’s name was Jehoaddin; she was from Jerusalem. 3 He did what was right in the eyes of the Lord, but not as his father David had done. In everything he followed the example of his father Joash. 4 The high places, however, were not removed; the people continued to offer sacrifices and burn incense there.
5 After the kingdom was firmly in his grasp, he executed the officials who had murdered his father the king.
6 Yet he did not put the sons of the assassins to death, in accordance with what is written in the Book of the Law of Moses where the Lord commanded: “Fathers shall not be put to death for their children, nor children put to death for their fathers; each is to die for his own sins.” (Deut 24:13)
7 He was the one who defeated ten thousand Edomites in the Valley of Salt and captured Sela in battle, calling it Joktheel, the name it has to this day.
8 Then Amaziah sent messengers to Jehoash son of Jehoahaz, the son of Jehu, king of Israel, with the challenge: “Come, meet me face to face.”
Basically, he declared war on Israel.
9 But Jehoash king of Israel replied to Amaziah king of Judah: “A thistle in Lebanon sent a message to a cedar in Lebanon, ‘Give your daughter to my son in marriage.’ Then a wild beast in Lebanon came along and trampled the thistle underfoot. 10 You have indeed defeated Edom and now you are arrogant. Glory in your victory, but stay at home! Why ask for trouble and cause your own downfall and that of Judah also?”
But Amaziah didn’t take the warning and went to war.
12 Judah was routed by Israel, and every man fled to his home. 13 Jehoash king of Israel captured Amaziah king of Judah, the son of Joash, the son of Ahaziah, at Beth Shemesh. Then Jehoash went to Jerusalem and broke down the wall of Jerusalem from the Ephraim Gate to the Corner Gate—a section about six hundred feet long. 14 He took all the gold and silver and all the articles found in the temple of the Lord and in the treasuries of the royal palace.
Which didn’t really amount to much, since previous kings had lost much of the wealth in earlier wars.
14b He also took hostages and returned to Samaria.
16 Jehoash rested with his fathers and was buried in Samaria with the kings of Israel. And Jeroboam his son succeeded him as king.
17 Amaziah son of Joash king of Judah lived for fifteen years after the death of Jehoash son of Jehoahaz king of Israel.
19 [His own people] conspired against him in Jerusalem, and he fled to Lachish, but they sent men after him to Lachish and killed him there. 20 He was brought back by horse and was buried in Jerusalem with his fathers, in the City of David.
We have a change in format here. Instead of pages of information about the kings we have only a paragraph or two.
21 Then all the people of Judah took Azariah, who was sixteen years old, and made him king in place of his father Amaziah.
Notice he wasn’t anointed. He was a military leader who gained back the seaport of Elath.
Over to Israel…
23 In the fifteenth year of Amaziah son of Joash king of Judah, Jeroboam son of Jehoash king of Israel became king in Samaria, and he reigned forty-one years.
Another military leader, who regained the territories that had been lost between Solomon and himself, excluding Judah of course. It was a very prosperous time for Israel.
So what words do we expect to follow?
24 He did evil in the eyes of the Lord and did not turn away from any of the sins of Jeroboam son of Nebat, which he had caused Israel to commit.
29 Jeroboam rested with his fathers, the kings of Israel. And Zechariah his son succeeded him as king.
Over to Judah…
15 In the twenty-seventh year of Jeroboam king of Israel, Azariah son of Amaziah king of Judah began to reign. 2 He was sixteen years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem fifty-two years. His mother’s name was Jecoliah; she was from Jerusalem. 3 He did what was right in the eyes of the Lord, just as his father Amaziah had done. 4 The high places, however, were not removed; the people continued to offer sacrifices and burn incense there.
5 The Lord afflicted the king with leprosy until the day he died, and he lived in a separate house. Jotham the king’s son had charge of the palace and governed the people of the land.
7 Azariah rested with his fathers and was buried near them in the City of David. And Jotham his son succeeded him as king.
Over to Israel…
8 In the thirty-eighth year of Azariah king of Judah, Zechariah son of Jeroboam became king of Israel in Samaria, and he reigned six months. 9 He did evil in the eyes of the Lord, as his fathers had done. He did not turn away from the sins of Jeroboam son of Nebat, which he had caused Israel to commit.
10 Shallum son of Jabesh conspired against Zechariah. He attacked him in front of the people, assassinated him and succeeded him as king.
12 So the word of the Lord spoken to Jehu was fulfilled: “Your descendants will sit on the throne of Israel to the fourth generation.”
13 Shallum son of Jabesh became king in the thirty-ninth year of Uzziah king of Judah, and he reigned in Samaria one month.
14 Then Menahem son of Gadi [another military leader] went from Tirzah up to Samaria. He attacked Shallum son of Jabesh in Samaria, assassinated him [in a very bloody battle] and succeeded him as king.
17 In the thirty-ninth year of Azariah king of Judah, Menahem son of Gadi became king of Israel, and he reigned in Samaria ten years. 18 He did evil in the eyes of the Lord. During his entire reign he did not turn away from the sins of Jeroboam son of Nebat, which he had caused Israel to commit.
During his reign Assyria attacked Israel. To save the nation Menahem levied a very large tax - 50 shekels of silver/man to raise 37 tons of silver. The king of Assyria took his money and left Israel alone.
22 Menahem rested with his fathers. And Pekahiah his son
succeeded him as king.
23 In the fiftieth year of Azariah king of Judah, Pekahiah son of Menahem became king of Israel in Samaria, and he reigned two years. 24 Pekahiah did evil in the eyes of the Lord. He did not turn away from the sins of Jeroboam son of Nebat, which he had caused Israel to commit. 25 One of his chief officers, Pekah son of Remaliah, conspired against him. Taking fifty men of Gilead with him, he assassinated Pekahiah, along with Argob and Arieh, in the citadel of the royal palace at Samaria. So Pekah killed Pekahiah and succeeded him as king.
We’re going to pick up here next week.