365 Reflections

When the Northern nation of Israel is deported into Assyria, the king of Assyria repopulates the land with exiles of other nations. This was a strategic practice of ancient kings to remove people from their land and resettle it with strangers. Why? Because gods of the ancient world were considered territorial deities. An ancient king would, therefore, consider the captive people totally powerless to rise up if he displaced them from their land. When this happens, the resettled immigrants are oblivious to Israel's laws and they suffer immediately at the hand of the Lord for their pagan ways.  2 Kings 17:25 (ESV) And at the beginning of their dwelling there, they did not fear the LORD. Therefore the LORD sent lions among them, which killed some of them. The king of Assyria decides to remedy this problem by sending a priest from Israel back to teach them how to worship the God of Israel so as to keep peace in the land. The result of this is a religiously mixed group of people who wor...

2 Kings 17:6–8 (ESV) In the ninth year of Hoshea, the king of Assyria captured Samaria, and he carried the Israelites away to Assyria and placed them in Halah, and on the Habor, the river of Gozan, and in the cities of the Medes. 7 And this occurred because the people of Israel had sinned against the LORD their God, who had brought them up out of the land of Egypt from under the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt, and had feared other gods 8 and walked in the customs of the nations whom the LORD drove out before the people of Israel, and in the customs that the kings of Israel had practiced. The final straw for the Northern Kingdom of Israel comes in 2 Kings 17. One wicked king after another has slowly led them away from the Lord. Hoshea is now king and his decisions lead Israel into the bondage of the Assyrians. What was it that Hoshea did that catalyzed this epic downfall? He turned the people of Israel back to the Egyptians.  If we back up in the chapter we see the pressure Assyria ...

The 16th chapter of 2 Kings introduces us to Ahaz, perhaps one of the most wicked kings of the southern kingdom of Judah. He was vile and disreputable. He practiced not only the in vogue sins of high place worship his forefathers practiced, he even revived the practices of the pagan nations that pre-dated Israel's occupation of the land.  2 Kings 16:2–3 (ESV) Ahaz was twenty years old when he began to reign, and he reigned sixteen years in Jerusalem. And he did not do what was right in the eyes of the LORD his God, as his father David had done, 3 but he walked in the way of the kings of Israel. He even burned his son as an offering, according to the despicable practices of the nations whom the LORD drove out before the people of Israel. We notice first this fact of Ahaz: He sought to be liked.  First, we see that he wanted to be like the hedonistic kings of Israel. Verse 3 states, "he walked in the way of the kings of Israel." It's ironically similar to what happens ...

The common theme through 1 and 2 Kings is this, the king that honors the Lord is stronger for the long haul. The king that doesn't is found short on time.  In 2 Kings 15, we come to one of the great kings of Israel. His name is Azariah. Isaiah refers to him as Uzziah. Uzziah's accomplishments are incredible and they are listed in 2 Chronicles 26. The list is impressive as Uzziah was blessed in every endeavor he set out to accomplish. Why? Because he pursued the God of heaven.  2 Chronicles 26:5 (ESV) He set himself to seek God in the days of Zechariah, who instructed him in the fear of God, and as long as he sought the LORD, God made him prosper. The book of 2 Kings briefly sums up his success with this introduction: 2 Kings 15:1–2 (ESV) In the twenty-seventh year of Jeroboam king of Israel, Azariah the son of Amaziah, king of Judah, began to reign. 2 He was sixteen years old when he began to reign, and he reigned fifty-two years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Jecoliah...

2 Kings 14:23–24 (ESV) In the fifteenth year of Amaziah the son of Joash, king of Judah, Jeroboam the son of Joash, king of Israel, began to reign in Samaria, and he reigned forty-one years. 24 And he did what was evil in the sight of the LORD. He did not depart from all the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, which he made Israel to sin. The Lord's patience with Israel is on full display during the reign of Jeroboam II. He is a wicked king. He does not even try to seek the Lord. Yet, in spite of this, the Lord will help him expand territory and rebuild Israel. Now, this is how the Bible fits together. There are two prophets prophesying to the Northern territory of Israel during this time. One is mentioned in the text - Jonah and the other isn't but mentions the events of 2 Kings 14. His name is Amos. First, let's look at the "success" of Israel under the evil Jerobam II: 2 Kings 14:25 (ESV)  He restored the border of Israel from Lebo-hamath as far as the Sea of t...

Pride is popular today. We see our world celebrate it, rejoice in it, and base their entire lives on it.  But pride is deadly.  The 14th chapter of 2 Kings introduces us to one half-hearted king after another. The names are hard to follow because many of them repeat and the narrative keeps moving back and forth from the Northern 10-tribe nation of Israel to the Southern 2-tribe nation of Judah. I will do my best to simplify the story for you. We start in the South with Amaziah.  2 Kings 14:1–2 (ESV) In the second year of Joash the son of Joahaz, king of Israel, Amaziah the son of Joash, king of Judah, began to reign. 2 He was twenty-five years old when he began to reign, and he reigned twenty-nine years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Jehoaddin of Jerusalem. Amaziah will follow the Lord half-heartedly. His moderate commitment is still blessed as he will have great success against the Edomites dwelling in the south, that ancient rival nation descended from Esau.  ...

2 Kings 13:20–21 (ESV) So Elisha died, and they buried him. Now bands of Moabites used to invade the land in the spring of the year. 21 And as a man was being buried, behold, a marauding band was seen and the man was thrown into the grave of Elisha, and as soon as the man touched the bones of Elisha, he revived and stood on his feet. For 50 years, Elisha had been Israel's lifeline. Now, as the nation continues its descent into immorality and pagan heathenism, he dies. Imagine this moment if you will. Your nation seems to be on an irreversible course toward exile. God had already promised such in 1 Kings 14: 1 Kings 14:15–16 (ESV) the LORD will strike Israel as a reed is shaken in the water, and root up Israel out of this good land that he gave to their fathers and scatter them beyond the Euphrates, because they have made their Asherim, provoking the LORD to anger. 16 And he will give Israel up because of the sins of Jeroboam, which he sinned and made Israel to sin.” You have to th...

We come to 2 Kings 13 and the narrative moves back to focusing on the northern kingdom of Israel where a new king is on the throne, Jehoahaz, the son of Jehu. But he's not exactly a noble leader... 2 Kings 13:2–3 (ESV)  He did what was evil in the sight of the LORD and followed the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat , which he made Israel to sin; he did not depart from them . 3 And the anger of the LORD was kindled against Israel, and he gave them continually into the hand of Hazael king of Syria and into the hand of Ben-hadad the son of Hazael. This is a familiar refrain for Israel, their king commits idolatry and the people fall in line. God brings judgment in the manner of Hazael, king of Syria as he attacks and defeats them " continually ".  Jehoahaz gets a wake-up call during all this and turns back to God.  2 Kings 13:4 (ESV) Then Jehoahaz sought the favor of the LORD, and the LORD listened to him, for he saw the oppression of Israel, how the king of Syria oppress...

We can say we love God and say we believe and truth Him, but the rubber hits the road when we give to and go to work on His house - the Church. In 2 Kings 12, we have a righteous king on the throne following the debacle that was the wicked queen Athaliah. 2 Kings 12:2–3 (ESV) And Jehoash did what was right in the eyes of the LORD all his days, because Jehoiada the priest instructed him. 3 Nevertheless, the high places were not taken away; the people continued to sacrifice and make offerings on the high places. Now Jehoash's first move as the king in the narrative is incredible. He decides to call for a rebuilding campaign over the Temple. 2 Kings 12:4–5 (ESV) Jehoash said to the priests, “All the money of the holy things that is brought into the house of the LORD, the money for which each man is assessed—the money from the assessment of persons—and the money that a man’s heart prompts him to bring into the house of the LORD, 5 let the priests take, each from his donor, and let them...