Week 19: 2 Kings 8 – 25

[Vinna TanModerator]

2 Kings 8 – 25 – Study Guide

8:1-6 – The Shunammite woman goes away because of a seven year famine, has her land taken while she was away, but it is restored through the influence of her association with Elisha.
8:7-15 – King Ben-hadad of Aram is murdered by Hazael, who succeeds him as king.

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8:16-24 – King Jehosphat is replaced by his son Jehoram as king of Judah, whose evil reign is eight years. Through a marriage alliance his wife is Athaliah, a daughter of Ahab of Israel.
8:25-29 – Ahaziah will reign only one year. He goes to war alongside King Joram of Israel, who is wounded in battle.
9:1-13 – A prophet anoints Jehu king of Israel and instructs him to wipe out the house of Ahab.
9:14-29 – Jehu is responsible for the deaths of both King Joram of Israel and King Ahaziah of Judah. He then is involved in the violent death of Jezebel at Jezreel. Evil is avenged.
10:1-17 – Jehu arranges the killing of Ahab’s 70 sons. He happens to meet relatives of King Ahaziah and kills them also, then eliminates Ahab’s people in Samaria.
10:18-27 – Jehu schemes to kill the worshippers of Baal and destroy the temple of Baal.
10:28 -36 – Jehu reigned 28 years and was succeeded by his son Jehoahaz as king of Israel.
He had carried out the LORD’s commission against Ahab’s house but in other ways had exceeded his mandate (see Hosea 1:4).
11:1-3 – Athaliah kills her own grandchildren and begins to reign over Judah. But one grandson, Joash, survives when he is hidden for six years by Jehosheba, daughter of the priest Jehoiada (see 2 Chronicles 22:1012).
11:4-21 – The priest Jehoiada brings the boy Joash (or Jehoash) out at seven years of age (v. 21) and has him proclaimed king of Judah. Athaliah is put to death. A covenant is made between the LORD, the king, and the people that they should be the LORD’S people (v. 17).
12:1-21 – King Jehoash (Joash) of Judah reigns 40 years. Through the guidance of the priest Jehoiada the LORD was honoured in Jehoash’s reign.
12:4-16 – The temple is repaired.
12:17-21 – Jehoash became unfaithful after the death of Jehoiada (see 2 Chr. 24:17,18). King Hazael of Aram attacked Jerusalem; was paid of with sacred items from the temple. Jehoash was assassinated by his own servants. His son Amaziah succeeded him in Judah.
13:1-9 – King Jehoahaz of Israel, an evil king, reigned 17 years king and suffered at the hands of enemy kings. When he turned to the LORD a deliverer (whom or what we don’t know) was provided. His son Joash succeeded him as king of Israel.
13:10-13 – King Joash reigned over Israel 16 years, another evil ruler. Jereboam II succeeded him on the throne.
13:14-19 – Elisha and the LORD’S arrows of victory.
13:20,21 – The death and burial of Elisha (after about 60 years of service to God).
13:22-25 – Elisha’s prediction of three victories for King Joash of Israel comes true.
14:1-7 – King Amaziah rules Judah for 29 years. A basically good king, he remembers instructions in the law of Moses.
14:8-14 – The king of Judah challenges the king of Israel to battle — and is soundly defeated. Jerusalem is taken, part of its wall destroyed, the temple and king’s palace sacked.
14:17-22 – King Amaziah of Judah is assassinated and replaced by his son Azariah, only 16.

14:23-29 – Jereboam II was the longest reigning king of Israel, reclaiming land that had been lost. God was merciful and did not destroy at that time an evil kingdom. A time of prophets of God: note Jonah (v. 25), and Amos and Hosea also preached during his reign.
15:1-7 – The 52 year reign of King Azariah (also called Uzziah) of Judah. He was a godly king until he became proud and made a disastrous mistake (v. 5; see 2 Chr. 26:16-21).
15:8-12 – King Zechariah of Israel, last of Jehu’s line. Assassinated after six months by Shallum.
15:13-16 – After a reign of only one month, King Shallum of Israel is assassinated by Menahem, a man guilty of atrocities.
15:17-22 – King Menahem of Israel has to pay tribute to King Pul of Assyria (also known as Tiglath-pileser III).
15:23-26 – Pekahiah, son of Menahem, reigns six years, then is assassinated by one of his officials.
15:27-31 – King Pekah of Israel reigned 20 years. During his reign the king of Assyria captured a good portion of the kingdom and took captives to Assyria (735 BC). Pekah was assassinated by Hoshea, who became the last king of Israel (see chapter 17).
15:32-38 – The 25 year reign of King Jotham of Judah. Succeeded by his son Ahaz.
16:1-4 – King Ahaz of Judah was an evil king, even sacrificing a son to pagan deities.
16:5-9 – Ahaz paid tribute to King Tiglath-pileser of Assyria to be rescued from attackers Aram and Israel. But Ahaz and Judah paid a great price for this help (see 2 Chr. 28:20,21).
16:10-20 – Ahaz had a pagan altar he had seen in Damascus copied and placed in the temple, with the help of the priest Uriah, moving the original altar to the side.
17:1-6 – King Hoshea, the last king of Israel, was not as evil as some previous kings in Israel, but it was too late to change the destiny of the kingdom. Assyrian armies came, captured the capital Samaria and carried the people of Israel captive to Assyria (late 722 or early 721 BC).
17:7-23 – The sins of Israel that brought judgment. Notice “because” (v. 7) and “therefore” or “so” (v. 18). There had been warnings (v. 13). A warning re Judah (v. 19).
17:24-41 – Pagan peoples from some distance were brought to resettle the land of the northern kingdom of Israel. A priest from the exiled Israelites was sent to tell them about Israel’s God, but they continued for a while to also to worship their own gods (see v. 29-32. 41). Thus we have the origin of the Samaritans we read about in the New Testament. In time they returned to the teachings of Moses and monotheism and built their own temple on Mount Gerizim (a temple destroyed by Jews before the time of Jesus).
18:1-8 – King Hezekiah leads a reformation in Judah. Notice what had happened to the bronze serpent from Moses’ day (v. 4). A strong affirmation (v. 5,6).
18:13-37 – The Assyrians invade Judah (701 BC). Assyrian threats. Is the God of Israel really God alone or can He be demoted to just another empty deity?
19:1-19 – Hezekiah humbles himself, sends for Isaiah, goes to the temple and prays.
19:20-37 – Isaiah brings the LORD’S answer to Hezekiah’s prayer. The king of Assyria will not come into Jerusalem. He will return the way he came.
19:35-37 – Devine deliverance. The king of Assyria killed by his own sons. (Do you remember from your school days Byron’s “The Destruction of Sennacherib”?!)
20:1-11 – Hezekiah’s illness. His prayer and Isaiah’s answer. The sign of the shadow.
20:12-21 – Hezekiah’s foolishness before the envoys of Babylon. Isaiah looks some 115 years into the future (v. 16-18).
21:1-18 – The evil 55 year reign of Manassah. The fall of Jerusalem and Judah predicted.
21:19-26 – The evil two year reign of Amon; assassinated by his servants.
22:1-23:30 – The faithful 31 year reign of Josiah. Repairing the temple and finding the book of the law. Josiah’s reaction and the words of Huldah the prophetess. The renewal of the covenant (23:1-6). The extensive reforms of Josiah (23:4-14). The bones of the man of God
23:15-20 (see 1 Kings 13:1,2). Keeping the Passover (23:21-23). The zeal of Josiah (23:24- 25). God’s anger not completely turned away (23:26-27). Josiah dies in battle (23:28-30).
23:36-24:7 – The 11 year evil reign of Jehoiakim. Invasion by the Babylonians (606/605 BC).
24:8-16 – The evil reign of Jehoiachin. Jerusalem taken by Babylon, Jehoiachin taken prisoner to Babylon. The temple and king’s house looted, captives taken to Babylon, leaving only the poorest of the land in Judah (597 BC).
24:17-25:7 – Zedekiah put on the throne by the king of Babylon. Then he rebels against Babylon and Jerusalem is besieged and taken. Zedekiah taken, sons blinded in his sight, then he is blinded and taken in shekels to Babylon.
25:8-21 – The temple is burned, Jerusalm’s wall broken down, the city destroyed, the population carried into exile with only the poorest of the land left, the chief men of the city put to death. “So Judah went into exile out of its land.” (586 BC)
25:22-26 – The Babylonians appoint Gedaliah as governor of those left in the land. But he is murdered by some of the Israelites, and then they all flee to Egypt for fear of the Chaldeans.
25:27-30 – In his 37th year of captivity King Jehoiachin was released from prison, given a place at the table of the king of Babylon, and provided for the rest of his life.

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