93652.2 2 Kings

A. Background and Theme. Second Kings continues the narrative of the kings of Israel and Judah and ends with the overthrow of Israel and Judah and deportation to Assyria and Babylon. Both kingdoms rebelled against God and turned to false gods and idols, incurring God’s righteous wrath.

1. All the kings of Israel are evil in that they encouraged worship of false gods, culminating in its destruction by the Assyrians, beginning about 740 BC by King Pul (1 Chronicles 5:26). He captured and took into exile the tribes of the Reubenites, the Gadites, and the half-tribe of Manasseh who were located east of the Jordan River. In 722 BC, the capital city of Israel Samaria was overthrown by King Shalmaneser V after a three-year siege (2 Kings 17:5-6) who carried away the Israelites to Assyria. In 701 BC, Sennacherib marched into Judah destroying many cities but was unable to take Jerusalem due to the Lord’s intervention (2 Chronicles 32:22).
2. The few good kings of Judah were not enough to stop its decline into idolatry. King Nebuchadnezzar overthrew Jerusalem in several conquests ultimately destroying the city in 586 BC. This began the 70-year Babylonian captivity foretold by the prophet Jeremiah (Jeremiah 25:12).
3. The book reveals that God will punish His people when they rebel and turn their backs upon Him. The book also demonstrates that true prophets of God speak for Him and their predictions come true.

B. Chapter one describes how the son of Ahab, Ahaziah, who replaced Ahab as king, fell through a lattice and was gravely injured. He attempts to inquire of Baal-Zebub, the god of Ekron if he will recover. An angel of the Lord goes to Elijah and instructs him to tell the messengers of Ahaziah that because he is inquiring of a false god, that he will not recover, but will die (vs. 1:4). Ahaziah realizes that the man is Elijah and he sends three successive parties of 50 men under a captain to bring him to his presence. The first two groups are destroyed by fire from heaven after arrogantly ordering Elijah to come with them. The final captain humbles himself and pleads that Elijah go with him. Elijah agrees and tells Ahaziah that he will die because he desired to inquire of a false god. Ahaziah dies and Jehoram becomes king as Ahaziah had no son (Vs. 1:17).

C. Chapter two describes Elijah taken up alive by a whirlwind into heaven (Vs. 2:11). Elisha succeeds Elijah as prophet. As he was traveling to Bethel, a group of young men jeered him saying “go up you baldhead”. Elisha curses them and two she-bears come out of the woods and maul 42 of them. Elisha returns to Samaria via Mount Carmel (Vs. 2:23-25).

D. Chapter three describes a war between Israel and Moab that also included an alliance with Judah.

E. Chapter four gives details about three miracles that Elisha performed. The first was the miraculous multiplication of oil for a widow who had a large debt to pay and faced the enslavement of her children. Elisha told her to gather pots from her neighbors and miraculously, oil filled all the pots which were sold to pay her debt. The second was a Shunammite woman who was childless. Elisha told her that she would have a son. The son later died and Elisha raised him from the dead. The third miracle was the purification of a deadly stew.

F. Chapter five is the story of Naaman who was a leper.

1. He was a mighty man of valor and commander of the Syrian army. He had high favor with the king of Syria, as he had brought many victories to Syria. In his household was an Israeli slave girl who told Naaman’s wife of the prophet Elisha. Naaman comes to Elisha who tells him to wash seven times in the Jordon. At first, this angers Naaman, but he is persuaded by one of his servants to do as the prophet instructs him. He is healed and then returns and confesses: “Behold, I know that there is no God in all the earth but in Israel” (vs. 5:15b).
2. He offers Elisha gifts but, Elisha refuses the gifts. Naaman asks for two mule loads of dirt to take back to Syria. He asks that he be pardoned when he goes in with his master to the false god Rimmon and bow to him (vs. 5:18). Many Bible teachers postulate that the dirt he takes back will be used to create a space for Naaman to worship the true God of Israel. Elisha’s servant Gehazi sins by running after Naaman and requesting gifts under the guise that two sons of the prophets have come. Elisha knows of his greed and deceit and Gehazi’s punishment is that he receives the disease of leprosy.

G. Chapters six and seven.

1. The chapter begins with an iron axe head that is made to float which had fallen into the Jordan.
2. The king of Syria plotted against Israel, but Elisha is given the information of his intentions by the Lord and relays it to the king of Israel. The king of Syria believes it is a traitor in their midst, but one of his servants tells him: “Elisha, the prophet who is in Israel, tells the king of Israel the words that you speak in your bedroom” (Vs. 6:12b). The king of Syria attempts to capture Elisha and surrounds the city of Dothan at night where Elisha resides. Elisha’s servant rises the next morning and is terrified at the sight of the great army of Syria. Elisha prays to the Lord to open the young man’s eyes, and he sees that there were horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha (Vs. 6:17). Elisha prays and the Lord strikes the Syrian army with blindness. He then leads them to Samaria where the king of Israel asks if he should strike them down. Elisha tells him instead to hold a great feast, which he does, and the army goes back to Syria and does not make raids into Israel for some time.
3. Later, Ben-hadad, king of Syria, mustered his entire army and went up and besieged Samaria (Vs. 6:24). This causes a great famine in the city where two women fought over the intent to eat their sons. One woman boiled her son and they ate it but the other woman hid hers. This came to the attention of the king of Israel and he is greatly distressed. He vows to kill Elisha and sends a messenger to do so.
4. Elisha tells the messenger that the next day there will be an abundance of food but that he will see it but not eat of it (Vs. 7:1-2). Four lepers who were at the gate determined that there was no recourse but to go out to the camp of the Syrians who would either kill them or feed them. When they go, they find that the Lord had made the Syrians hear the noise of a great army. The Syrians fled, leaving all their provisions. The lepers go back and tell the king who set his messenger at the gate. When the people found out that the Syrians had fled, they trampled the messenger in their haste to get the food in the Syrian camp. He died fulfilling the prophecy of Elisha (Vs. 7:17).

H. Chapter eight. The chapter opens with a narrative about the same Shunammite woman for whom Elisha raised her son. The chapter continues with how the king of Syria, Ben-hadad was killed by Hazael who replaced him as king. The chapter concludes with a narrative of the two kings of Israel and Judah who shared the same name (Jehoram/Joram). Joram is a shortened form of Jehoram. The two names are used of the same person in this chapter (see 8:16 and 8:24). They also were brothers-in-law making it even more complicated. The first Jehoram/Joram, was the son of King Jehoshaphat who ruled in the southern kingdom of Judah from 853 to 841 BC. The other King Jehoram/Joram, was the son of the wicked King Ahab who ruled in the northern kingdom of Israel from 852 to 841 BC.

1. Elisha tells the Shunammite woman to leave Israel with her household as a seven-year famine is coming. She does so and when she returns, she goes to the king to have her property restored. Gehazi, Elisha’s servant is relating to the king all of the miraculous things Elisha has done, including raising the dead. Just at that moment, the Shunammite woman, whose son Elisha had raised comes in. When the king hears of the miracle, he orders her property restored to her (Vs. 8:6).
2. Elisha comes to Damascus where Ben-hadad, the king of Syria lay sick. The king asks Hazael to go to him with gifts and ask if he will recover. Elisha tells him to inform the king that he will recover but that the Lord has revealed to him that he will actually die (Vs. 8:10). Elisha looks at Hazael and begins to weep. He tells Hazael that he will become king of Syria and will commit many atrocities against Israel (8:12). Hazael returns to the king and tells him that he will recover. But, the next day, he takes a wet bed cloth and puts it over the king’s face until he dies. He then becomes king in his place.
3. Jehoram/Joram begins to reign in Judah. He does evil, no doubt, because his wife is the daughter of Ahab (Vs. 8:18). But God does not destroy him for the sake of his promise to David to keep his house intact (Vs. 8:19).
4. Edom revolts and Jehoram/Joram, king of Israel, attempts to quash the rebellion by invading Edom. The invasion is a failure and JehoramtiJoram escapes, returning to Judah. He dies and is replaced by his son Ahaziah (Vs. 8:24). Ahaziah rules for only one year, and he did evil. He and Jehoram/Joram, king of Israel, unite to fight against Hazael king of Syria. Jehoram/Joram is wounded by the Syrians and returns to Jezreel to be healed where he is visited by Ahaziah (Vs. 8:28-29).

I. Chapter nine.

1. Elisha instructs a son of a prophet to go to Jehu and anoint him king of Israel. He does so and the commanders of the Israel army support him. Jehu then rides to Jezreel where Joram, king of Israel was recovering from his wounds. He kills him and throws his body in the vineyard; the same vineyard where Ahab had taken it from Naboth bringing the Lord’s pronouncement that He would repay Ahab for his sins.
2. Jehu also kills Ahaziah who had come down to visit Joram. Jehu goes into Jezreel where he has three eunuchs throw Jezebel from a window and she dies. Dogs eat her flesh leaving only her skull and the palms of her hands fulfilling the word of Elijah (Vs. 9:36).

J. Chapter ten.

1. Jehu consolidates his kingship by killing all of the house of Ahab, including his seventy sons, his great men and close friends (Vs. 10:11). He wipes out all the priests of Baal and has the pillar of Baal burned (Vs. 10:25-27).
2. But Jehu did not turn from the sins of Jeroboam, by having the people worship the golden calves in Bethel and Dan. The Lord tells him: “Because you have done well in carrying out 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” (Vs. 10:30).
3. The chapter concludes by saying: “In those days the LORD began to cut off parts of Israel. Hazael defeated them throughout the territory of Israel: from the Jordan eastward, all the land of Gilead, the Gadites, and the Reubenites, and the Manassites, from Aroer, which is by the Valley of the Arnon, that is, Gilead and Bashan (Vs. 10:32-33). Jehu dies, he is buried in Samaria and Jehoahaz, his son, reigns in his place. He had reigned 28 years in Samaria (Vs. 10:35-36).

K. Chapter Eleven.

1. When Athaliah, the mother of Ahaziah, saw that her son was dead, she destroys all the royal family and takes possession of the throne. But Jehosheba, the daughter of King Joram, sister of Ahaziah, took Joash the son of Ahaziah and stole him away from among the king’s sons who were being put to death, and she put him and his nurse in a bedroom (Vs. 11:1-2). Joash remains hidden for six years.
2. Jehoiada the priest, brings in the captains of the guards and shows him the boy. They are instructed to guard him and allow no one to approach him. Jehoiada brings the boy out and crowns him king to the shouts of “Long live the King”. Athaliah hears of the tumult and cries “treason”. She is killed and was the only woman to rule Judah or Israel.
3. Jehoiada makes a covenant between the Lord, the people and the king that they should be his people (Vs. 11:17). The people go into the house of Baal and tear down his altars and images. Joash was seven years old when he began to reign (Vs. 11:21).

L. Chapter twelve.

1. Joash reigned forty years and did right all his days because Jehoiada the priest instructed him. However, the high places were not taken away and the people continued to make sacrifices and offerings there (Vs. 12:1-3).
2. He issues orders to repair the house of the Lord. Hazael, king of Syria, plans to attack Jerusalem. Joash gives him the gifts of his fathers, and his own, as well as all the gold found in the treasuries of the house of the Lord and the King’s house. Hazael goes back to Syria (Vs. 12:17-18). But Joash’s servants make a conspiracy and kill him (Vs. 12:20).

M. Chapter thirteen.

1. Jehoahaz, son of Jehu, begins his reign of 17 years. He does evil and because of this, the Lord gives Israel continually into the hands of the kings of Syria. Jehoahaz seeks the Lord’s favor and He gives them relief from the Syrians. However, Israel does not change from their idolatry. Jehoahaz dies and his son, Jehoash reigns in his place for sixteen years.
2. Elisha dies (during the reign of Joash) and is buried. As a man was being buried, a marauding band of Moabites is seen. The man is hastily thrown into Elisha’s grave. The man revives as soon as his body touches the bones of Elisha and he stands up (Vs. 13:20-21).

N. Chapter fourteen.

1. The chapter begins with the beginning of the reign of Amaziah, the son of Joash, who was twenty-five and who reigned for twenty-nine years. He did what was right in the eyes of the Lord, but not to the extent of King David. The people still sacrificed to idols and the high places were not removed (Vs. 14:3-4).
2. He became proud and challenged Jehoash, king of Israel to battle. Judah was defeated and Jehoash captured Jerusalem, broke down part of the wall, took plunder of gold, silver and some of the vessels of the temple as well as captured Amaziah. Amaziah later fled to Lachish where conspirators from Jerusalem found and killed him placing his son Azariah on the throne.
3. The chapter concludes with the reign of Jeroboam II who was evil and reigned forty-one years. It was bitter times and there was no one to help Israel. “But the LORD had not said that he would blot out the name of Israel from under heaven, so he saved them by the hand of Jeroboam the son of Joash” (Vs. 14:27).

O. Chapter fifteen.

1. Azariah, the son of Amaziah began to reign in Judah after the death of his father. He was sixteen years old and reigned for fifty-two years in Jerusalem. He did what was right in the Lords eyes but, the people still worshiped and made sacrifices on the high places. The Lord “touched him” and he became a leper and lived in a separate house until his death (Vs 15:5), His son Jotham then reigned in his place.
2. The chapter then describes a series of evil kings of Israel, most of whom had short reigns. One particular note is made of Menahem who overthrew Shallum, who reigned for only one month. Menahem sacked one of the territories because they did not “open to him” including ripping open the women who were pregnant (Vs. 15:16).
3. The chapter concludes with Jotham, king of Judah who was twenty-five when he began his reign of sixteen years. He did what was right in the Lord’s eyes but, the people still made sacrifices on the high places. In those days, the Lord began to send the kings of Syria against Judah (Vs. 15:37). Jotham dies and his son, Ahaz begins to reign in his place.

P. Chapter sixteen describes the reign of Ahaz who was twenty at the beginning of his sixteen-year reign in Jerusalem. He did what was evil in the Lord’s eyes. He made a treaty with Tiglath-Pileser of Assyria to rescue Judah from the Syrians. He gave the treasures of the temple and his own house to Tiglath-Pileser who marched against Syria and took Damascus and its people captive. Ahaz went to Damascus to meet with Tiglath-Pileser and saw an altar which he had copied by Uriah the high priest. He replaced the bronze altar in front of the temple in Jerusalem with the copy of the one in Damascus. He also made alterations to other fixtures in the outer court of the temple. He died and Hezekiah, his son reigned in his place.

Q. Chapter seventeen.

1. Hoshea the son of Elah, began his reign of nine years in Israel. He did evil but not to the extent of the Israeli kings before him. But Shalmaneser king of Assyria, came up against Israel and put Hoshea in prison. He besieged Sameria for three years and carried off its inhabitants to Assyria. He then placed inhabitants of various countries that Assyria had conquered into the cities of Samaria.
2. The chapter includes a lengthy discussion of the sins of the people of Israel as to why the Lord allowed these things to happen. Their sins included false worship, sacrifice of their children, divination and use of omens.
3. The people that Assyria had resettled in Samaria worshiped their gods and the Lord sent lions among them which killed many. The king of Assyria was told of this and he sent a priest of Israel there who attempted to instruct them in the way of the Lord. But the people would not listen but did according to their former manner (Vs. 17:40).

R. Chapter eighteen.

1. This chapter focuses on King Hezekiah who was twenty-five when he began his reign of twenty-nine years in Jerusalem. The Word describes him as one who did all that was right in the eyes of the Lord. He trusted in the LORD, the God of Israel, so that there was none like him among all the kings of Judah after him, nor among those who were before him. “For he held fast to the LORD. He did not depart from following him, but kept the commandments the LORD commanded to Moses” (Vs. 18:5-6).
2. In the fourth year of Hezekiah’s reign, Sennacherib, king of Assyria invaded Judah and conquered all the for7fied ci7es. Hezekiah attempted to pay tribute to him but, Sennacherib sent his emissaries and a great army against Jerusalem. They mocked the representatives of Hezekiah who then went to the king with torn clothing in anguish.

S. Chapter nineteen.

1. The narrative continues with Hezekiah also going with torn clothes in anguish to the house of the Lord. His servants consult Isaiah who tells them “Say to your master, ‘Thus says the LORD: Do not be afraid because of the words that you have heard, with which the servants of the king of Assyria have reviled me. Behold, I will put a spirit in him, so that he shall hear a rumor and return to his own land, and I will make him fall by the sword in his own land’” (Vs. 19:5b-7).
2. The servants of Sennacherib send a letter to Hezekiah mocking the Lord and telling Hezikiah not to trust in God. Hezekiah goes into the temple and spreads the letter before the Lord pleading with Him for deliverance so that all the kingdoms of the earth may know that “You, O Lord are God alone” (Vs. 19:19).
3. Isaiah sends word to Hezikiah that the Lord has heard his prayer. The chapter closes with an angel of the Lord killing 185,000 in the camp of the Assyrians. Sennacherib returns home to Nineveh where he is assassinated by two of his sons while he is worshipping his god.

T. Chapter twenty.

1. Hezekiah becomes sick and Isaiah initially tells him that he will die. Hezekiah prays to the Lord telling Him of his faithfulness to Him. Isaiah is stopped by the Lord before he exits the middle court and instructed to return and tell Hezekiah that his prayers have been answered and that He will spare Jerusalem from the Assyrians for His namesake and for David’s sake and give Hezekiah fiVeen more years of life. Hezekiah asks for a sign be given to him to prove that this is true. He is given a choice of having the sun’s shadow go down ten steps or go backward ten steps. Hezekiah chooses ten backwards steps as it would be more difficult. The shadow goes backward ten steps and Hezekiah recovers from his illness.
2. The king of Babylon sends envoys and presents to Hezekiah as he heard that he had been sick. Hezekiah shows the envoys all the treasures of the storehouses. Isaiah hears of this and chastises Hezekiah for his foolishness in revealing all of this. He then tells Hezekiah that all of these treasures will be carried away to Babylon as well as some of his sons who will be made eunuchs in the palace of the king of Babylon. Hezekiah is comforted by the thought that all of this will happen after he dies and that he will have security and peace. Hezekiah dies and is replaced by his son Manasseh.

U. Chapter twenty-one.

1. Manasseh was twelve years old when he began to reign. He reigned fifty-five years and did evil in the sight of the Lord. He rebuilt the high places that Hezekiah had destroyed, built altars for Baal, made his son pass through fire, used mediums and necromancers and other detestable things. Due to his evil, the Lord said “And I will forsake the remnant of my heritage and give them into the hand of their enemies, and they shall become a prey and a spoil to all their enemies” (Vs. 20:14).
2. Manasseh dies and his son Amon ascends to the throne at age twenty-two. He also does evil in the sight of the Lord and his servants conspire against him and kill him after two years. The people of the land kill those who had conspired against Amon and make his son Josiah king.

V. Chapter twenty-two.

1. Josiah was eight years old when he began his thirty-one-year reign in Jerusalem. He did what was right in the eyes of the Lord. He began repairs of the temple and Hilkiah discovered a scroll of the law who gave it to Shaphan, the kings secretary who read it to the King. When the King heard the words of the law, he tore his clothes in anguish as he heard of the wrath of the Lord due to Jerusalem for all that they had done in disobedience to Him.
2. Hilkiah, Shaphan and others consulted a prophetess who told them that the Lord will bring His wrath against Jerusalem but since Josiah humbled himself that he would die without seeing the disaster that would come upon Jerusalem.

W. Chapter twenty-three.

1. Josiah summons the elders of Jerusalem and Judah and reads to them from the book of the covenant found during repairs of the temple. “And the king stood by the pillar and made a covenant before the LORD, to walk after the LORD and to keep his commandments and his testimonies and his statutes with all his heart and all his soul, to perform the words of this covenant that were written in this book. And all the people joined in the covenant” (Vs. 23:3).
2. Josiah embarks on an intense campaign to rid Judea and the cities of Samaria of all the evil things that had accumulated since the time of Solomon. He also reinstated the observance of the Passover which had not been kept since the days of the Judges. “Still the LORD did not turn from the burning of his great wrath, by which his anger was kindled against Judah, because of all the provocations with which Manasseh had provoked him. 27 And the LORD said, “I will remove Judah also out of my sight, as I have removed Israel, and I will cast off this city that I have chosen, Jerusalem, and the house of which I said, My name shall be there” (Vs. 23:26-27).
3. Pharaoh Neco of Egypt came up to the king of Assyria at the river Euphrates. The Pharaoh killed Josiah at Megiddo and Josiah’s servants brought him back to Jerusalem and buried him and Jehoahaz was made king in his place.
4. Jehoahaz was twenty-three when he became king and ruled for only three months doing evil before Pharaoh Neco had him imprisoned. Pharaoh Neco made Eliakim, Josiah’s son king changing his name to Jehoiakim. Jehoahaz was taken back to Egypt where he died. Jehoiakim was twenty-three years old when he began his reign for eleven years doing evil in the sight of the Lord.

X. Chapter twenty-four.

1. Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon captured Jerusalem in the eighth year of the reign of Jehoiakim taking him, his wives, servants and palace officials plus the treasures of the temple back to Babylon making his uncle Mattaniah king in his place after changing his name to Zedekiah.
2. Zedekiah was twenty-one years old when he became king ruling eleven years in Jerusalem doing evil in the sight of the Lord. He then rebelled against Nebuchadnezzar.

Y. Chapter twenty-five.

1. In the ninth year of Zedekiah’s reign, Nebuchadnezzar came to Jerusalem with all his army and besieged it. The siege was so severe that by the eleventh year of Zedekiah’s reign, all the food in the city was gone. A breach was made in the wall and Zedekiah fled with his army. But the Chaldean’s overtook him and brough him before Nebuchadnezzar who killed his sons before him, put out his eyes and brought him captive to Babylon.
2. The great houses of Jerusalem were burned, the pillars of bronze of the temple were taken to Babylon. The high priest and sixty men including some officials that were left in the city were taken to Nebuchadnezzar who had them killed. He then appointed Gedaliah governor. Gedaliah was later killed by Ishmael, of the royal family. They then fled to Egypt as they were afraid of the Chaldeans.
3. The chapter and book close with Jehoiachin, who was the rightful king of Judah, being freed from prison by Evil-Merodach, the then king of Babylon in the first year of his reign. Jehoiachin is given a place at the kings table and a regular allowance as long as he lived. This latter biblical passage was confirmed by excavations in Babylon where clay tablets were discovered in a warehouse of that period confirming the rations given to Jehoiachin. Jehoiachin (Jechoniah) is reference in Matthew chapter one as an ancestor of Jesus fulfilling God’s promise to David that his house would not perish until Messiah would come.

Z. Discussion Questions and Application.

1. Not all of God’s promises are pleasant. His covenants with the Jews depended upon their faithfulness to Him as their only God. What can we learn from the Jewish history that led to the destruction and captivity of Israel and Judea?
2. Which of the Ten Commandments was the chief reason that brought God’s wrath upon Israel and Judea?
3. The destruction of the northern nation of Israel comprised of ten tribes has given rise to the popular term “the ten lost tribes of Israel”. However, in Micah 2:12a, the Lord says “I will surely assemble all of you, O Jacob; I will gather the remnant of Israel; I will set them together like sheep in a fold”. The phrase “all of you, O Jacob” means all of the ten tribes. Archeological excavations around Jerusalem have revealed that during the reign of Hezekiah, refugees from the ten tribes of Israel came to Jerusalem where they received shelter from Assyria’s destruction. The gathering of the remnant of Jacob has occurred since the Nation of Israel was reborn in 1948. This is an unprecedented event in history where a people lost its geographical home yet was restored almost 2,000 years later. What does this do to your faith in God’s promises?