2 KINGS LESSON 15
We will begin this lesson in II Kings 15:1 "In the twenty and
seventh year of Jeroboam king of Israel began Azariah son of Amaziah
king of Judah to reign."
We learned in the last lesson, that Azariah and Uzziah is the
same person.
II Kings 15:2 "Sixteen years old was he when he began to reign,
and he reigned two and fifty years in Jerusalem. And his mother's name
[was] Jecholiah of Jerusalem."
This young man of 16 reigned 52 years, until he was 68 years old.
This is a reign that took the better part of his life. He was king of
Judah, and did right in the sight of the LORD. "Jecholiah" means
Jehovah is strong. She was the wife of Amaziah. In 2 Chronicles, her
name is spelled Jecoliah.
II Kings 15:3 "And he did [that which was] right in the sight of
the LORD, according to all that his father Amaziah had done;"
Azariah was a very good king. He sought the LORD during his
reign. He wanted to please God and man. His judgements of the people
were just.
II Kings 15:4 "Save that the high places were not removed: the
people sacrificed and burnt incense still on the high places."
Azariah did not realize that sacrificing in the high places was a
sin. He had not been taught better. His parents, probably, did not
know better, either.
II Kings 15:5 "And the LORD smote the king, so that he was a
leper unto the day of his death, and dwelt in a several house. And
Jotham the king's son [was] over the house, judging the people of the
land."
This particular thing happened late in his reign. In the book of
Chronicles, we read that God blessed him mightily in his early days as
king. On one occasion, he defeated the Philistines, with the blessing
of the LORD. He defeated the Arabians, and caused the Ammonites to pay
tribute to Judah. He had over 300,000 men in his army. They were well
equipped and well trained. His great sin was when he invaded the
temple, and went into the priest's office, and burned incense at the
golden altar in the holy of holies. The leprosy came, after he had
done this terrible thing. Lepers were thought of as unclean, and he
had to live a separated life. Azariah was ultimate ruler, but Jotham,
his son, represented him before the people.
II Kings 15:6 "And the rest of the acts of Azariah, and all that
he did, [are] they not written in the book of the chronicles of the
kings of Judah?" II Kings 15:7 "So Azariah slept with his fathers; and
they buried him with his fathers in the city of David: and Jotham his
son reigned in his stead."
This book of chronicles is the record book that was kept. There
is, also, a great deal about Azariah in 2 Chronicles in the Bible. He
had an honorable burial in Jerusalem. "Jotham" means Jehovah is
upright. Jotham was a good king, who did right in the sight of the
LORD. He was prosperous and re-built the temple gates.
II Kings 15:8 "In the thirty and eighth year of Azariah king of
Judah did Zachariah the son of Jeroboam reign over Israel in Samaria
six months."
This has jumped back to Israel, again. Zachariah is the son of
Jeroboam the second really. His reign was short, because he was so
evil, and he was killed. "Zachariah" means whom Jehovah remembers.
II Kings 15:9 "And he did [that which was] evil in the sight of
the LORD, as his fathers had done: he departed not from the sins of
Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who made Israel to sin."
It was Jeroboam the first, who set up the two golden calves, and
that is what this is speaking of, again. He is the last of the house
of Jehu to reign. God had fulfilled his promise to Jehu, that his sons
would reign to the 4th generation.
II Kings 15:10 "And Shallum the son of Jabesh conspired against
him, and smote him before the people, and slew him, and reigned in his
stead."
It appears, that Shallum killed Zachariah in front of the people.
II Kings 15:11 "And the rest of the acts of Zachariah, behold,
they [are] written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of
Israel." II Kings 15:12 "This [was] the word of the LORD which he
spake unto Jehu, saying, Thy sons shall sit on the throne of Israel
unto the fourth [generation]. And so it came to pass."
The mention of this record book is for each king in succession.
Even though this king lasted only 6 months, God had fulfilled his
promise.
II Kings 15:13 "Shallum the son of Jabesh began to reign in the
nine and thirtieth year of Uzziah king of Judah; and he reigned a full
month in Samaria." II Kings 15:14 "For Menahem the son of Gadi went up
from Tirzah, and came to Samaria, and smote Shallum the son of Jabesh
in Samaria, and slew him, and reigned in his stead."
This is a short lived reign. Live by the sword, and you shall die
by the sword, was certainly fulfilled here. He died almost as soon as
he got into office. This, alone, shows the evil that was rampant in
Israel. At this point in time, it appeared the way to get the office
of king, was to kill the king. Menahem was, probably, commander in
chief of the army, when he killed Shallum.
II Kings 15:15 "And the rest of the acts of Shallum, and his
conspiracy which he made, behold, they [are] written in the book of
the chronicles of the kings of Israel."
There could not have been much to record on him, since he was in
office just a month.
II Kings 15:16 "Then Menahem smote Tiphsah, and all that [were]
therein, and the coasts thereof from Tirzah: because they opened not
[to him], therefore he smote [it; and] all the women therein that were
with child he ripped up."
"Tiphsah" means passage, or fordway. This could have been
speaking of a particular passage-way that Menahem took. He was a very
vicious king, as we see by his treatment of the pregnant women. It
appears, the army had fought bitterly against Menahem, and he felt
justified in his cruelty, because of their resistance.
II Kings 15:17 "In the nine and thirtieth year of Azariah king of
Judah began Menahem the son of Gadi to reign over Israel, [and
reigned] ten years in Samaria."
Samaria was the capital city of Israel. His reign of ten years
was a reign of cruelty and idolatry.
II Kings 15:18 "And he did [that which was] evil in the sight of
the LORD: he departed not all his days from the sins of Jeroboam the
son of Nebat, who made Israel to sin."
Over and over, we see the mention of the terrible sin of
worshipping the golden calf. It is always mentioned in association
with Jeroboam, who had established this worship in Bethel and Dan. It
seemed, that each king, from the time of Jerobaoam, accepted the
worship of the two golden calves. Menahem's sins extended much further
than just the worship of the calves. He was evil in every aspect of
his life.
II Kings 15:19 "[And] Pul the king of Assyria came against the
land: and Menahem gave Pul a thousand talents of silver, that his hand
might be with him to confirm the kingdom in his hand."
Pul was the king of Assyria. Some believe Pul to be Tiglath-
pileser. There is very little known of him. We do see in this
Scripture, that he led an army against Menahem in Israel, and Pul won.
Menahem arranged for Israel to be redeemed from the conquest of Pul by
giving him 125,000 pounds of silver. Pul received the money, and left
Menahem as king of Israel.
II Kings 15:20 "And Menahem exacted the money of Israel, [even]
of all the mighty men of wealth, of each man fifty shekels of silver,
to give to the king of Assyria. So the king of Assyria turned back,
and stayed not there in the land."
We can see, from this, that Menahem got this silver by taxing the
men who had it. He taxed the wealthy. This means that each of these
men gave the king 25 ounces of silver. This is slightly over 2 pounds
per person. This means that about 60,000 people each gave this amount
of silver, to buy the freedom of Israel.
II Kings 15:21 "And the rest of the acts of Menahem, and all
that he did, [are] they not written in the book of the chronicles of
the kings of Israel?" II Kings 15:22 "And Menahem slept with his
fathers; and Pekahiah his son reigned in his stead."
In the ten years of his reign, there were, probably, many things
that happened and were recorded. This record book was for the civil
record. It appears, that Pekahiah was no better than his evil father,
and he will be killed by his own general.
II Kings 15:23 "In the fiftieth year of Azariah king of Judah
Pekahiah the son of Menahem began to reign over Israel in Samaria,
[and reigned] two years." II Kings 15:24 "And he did [that which was]
evil in the sight of the LORD: he departed not from the sins of
Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who made Israel to sin."
This was a very short reign. Each time a new king takes the
throne, it seems that he gives his approval afresh to the worship of
the golden calves of Jeroboam.
II Kings 15:25 "But Pekah the son of Remaliah, a captain of his,
conspired against him, and smote him in Samaria, in the palace of the
king's house, with Argob and Arieh, and with him fifty men of the
Gileadites: and he killed him, and reigned in his room." II Kings
15:26 "And the rest of the acts of Pekahiah, and all that he did,
behold, they [are] written in the book of the chronicles of the kings
of Israel."
We find that each of these evil kings seemed to come to a violent
death at the hands of their own people. It seems, that Remaliah, the
father of Pekah, was better known than Pekah, himself. One of the
notable things that Pekah did was described by the following
Scripture. II Chronicles 28:6 "For Pekah the son of Remaliah slew in
Judah an hundred and twenty thousand in one day, [which were] all
valiant men; because they had forsaken the LORD God of their fathers."
II Kings 15:27 "In the two and fiftieth year of Azariah king of
Judah Pekah the son of Remaliah began to reign over Israel in Samaria,
[and reigned] twenty years."
It seems, that every time Pekah is mentioned, that Remaliah is
mentioned with him. It was toward the last of the reign of Azariah,
that Pekah began to reign.
II Kings 15:28 "And he did [that which was] evil in the sight of
the LORD: he departed not from the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat,
who made Israel to sin."
There was not one king in Israel that truly lived for the LORD.
They each permitted the worship of the golden calves. This king was
more evil than most of the kings. Isaiah shows that he made treaties
with foreigners, to come against his Hebrew brothers, in Judah. He
actually had a great deal to do with the battles of his day against
Judah.
II Kings 15:29 "In the days of Pekah king of Israel came Tiglath-
pileser king of Assyria, and took Ijon, and Abel-beth-maachah, and
Janoah, and Kedesh, and Hazor, and Gilead, and Galilee, all the land
of Naphtali, and carried them captive to Assyria."
This attack by the Assyrians really affected the greater part of
the territory of Israel east of the Jordan river. This is speaking of
the land of Gad, Reuben, and Manasseh. This Tiglath-pileser was the
same one that was paid to retreat by Azariah. The land of Naphtali was
included in the tribes east of the Jordan, where the people were
carried captive back into Assyria.
II Kings 15:30 "And Hoshea the son of Elah made a conspiracy
against Pekah the son of Remaliah, and smote him, and slew him, and
reigned in his stead, in the twentieth year of Jotham the son of
Uzziah." II Kings 15:31 "And the rest of the acts of Pekah, and all
that he did, behold, they [are] written in the book of the chronicles
of the kings of Israel."
We must remember that Uzziah and Azariah is the same person. It
helps us keep the events straight. We will find in all of this, we
will run out of kings in Israel, before we run out of kings in Judah,
because Israel goes into Assyrian captivity long before Judah is taken
captive by the Babylonians. Hoshea will be the last of the kings of
Israel. Hoshea would be king, when Israel is completely overrun.
Again, we see that more is found in the civil records of the kings.
II Kings 15:32 "In the second year of Pekah the son of Remaliah
king of Israel began Jotham the son of Uzziah king of Judah to reign."
For part of their reign, Jotham of Judah and Pekah of Israel are
contemporaries. Jotham was a good king. He did right in the sight of
the LORD. During his reign, the temple gates were rebuilt.
II Kings 15:33 "Five and twenty years old was he when he began to
reign, and he reigned sixteen years in Jerusalem. And his mother's
name [was] Jerusha, the daughter of Zadok."
He reigned from the age of 25 to the age of 41. Zadoc was a
popular name. The only claim to fame this Zadoc had, was the fact that
he was father of Jerusha. Jerusah was, also, the wife of Uzziah
{Azariah}. The capital of Judah was Jerusalem. Judah's life centered
around the temple worship.
II Kings 15:34 "And he did [that which was] right in the sight of
the LORD: he did according to all that his father Uzziah had done."
II Kings 15:35 "Howbeit the high places were not removed: the people
sacrificed and burned incense still in the high places. He built the
higher gate of the house of the LORD."
It is very obvious, that his desire was to please God. He was not
totally aware, that the high places were offending God. He, possibly,
realized the Assyrians were overwhelming Israel and he wanted the
house of the LORD to be safe. He built a stronger and a taller gate to
protect it.
II Kings 15:36 "Now the rest of the acts of Jotham, and all that
he did, [are] they not written in the book of the chronicles of the
kings of Judah?"
Again, we see there was a civil record kept of the actions of the
kings of Judah, as there was of the kings of Israel. The Hebrews were
great record keepers.
II Kings 15:37 "In those days the LORD began to send against
Judah Rezin the king of Syria, and Pekah the son of Remaliah."
Pekah thought it might help him, if he helped Rezin to come
against Judah. Isaiah 7:1 "And it came to pass in the days of Ahaz the
son of Jotham, the son of Uzziah, king of Judah, [that] Rezin the king
of Syria, and Pekah the son of Remaliah, king of Israel, went up
toward Jerusalem to war against it, but could not prevail against it."
II Kings 15:38 "And Jotham slept with his fathers, and was buried
with his fathers in the city of David his father: and Ahaz his son
reigned in his stead."
"Ahaz" means possessor, or possession. Ahaz is, also, known by
Achaz and Jehohoahaz. Ahaz will not be like his father, Jotham who did
right. Ahaz is an evil king. We will find that Ahaz walks in the ways
of the kings of Israel. We will read more of him in the next lesson.
2 Kings 15 Questions
1. Who is the same person as Azariah?
2. How old was Azariah, when he began to reign?
3. What does "Jecholiah" mean?
4. What kind of king was he?
5. What was one thing the LORD had against him?
6. When did he become a leper?
7. What sin did he commit, that caused him to be leprous?
8. Who represented Azariah before the people in the last of his
reign?
9. What does "Jotham" mean?
10. What outstanding thing did he do?
11. How long did Zachariah reign?
12. Who killed Zachariah, and reigned in his stead?
13. How long did Shallum reign?
14. What happened to him?
15. What does "Tiphsah" mean?
16. What terrible thing did Menahem do to the pregnant women?
17. The worship of the golden calves is always mentioned in connection
with what king?
18. Pul was king of _____________.
19. Who do some believe Pul to be?
20. How much silver did Pul get from Menahem?
21. Where did Menahem get the silver?
22. How long did Pekahiah reign?
23. Who reigned after Pekahiah?
24. How many did Pekah kill in one day in Judah?
25. How long did Pekah reign?
26. Who did the Assyrians attack, in verse 29, affect?
27. Who would be the last king of Israel to reign?
28. Who was Jerusha's son?
29. Who built the higher gate at the house of the LORD?
30. Who came against Judah in those days?
31. What does "Ahaz" mean?
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