2 Kings 15

Introduction

We’ve been studying the kings of Israel and Judah for some time now. In fact I preached on 1 Kings 1 back in January 2023. So, we’ve been studying the kings for some time. We’re not yet at the end of 2 Kings, but we’re getting close to the end. And so, I thought it might be helpful for you if I gave you a little preview of where it’s all heading. So, if you’ve got your Bible open, please turn over a page or two to chapter 17. And if you’re using the NIV, you’ll see it gives the first part of chapter 17 the title, ‘Hoshea Last King of Israel’. He was the last king of Israel in the north, because look at verses 4 and 5 where it says that the king of Assyria seized Hoshea and put him in prison. And the king of Assyria invaded the entire land, marched against Samaria and laid siege to it for three years. And in the ninth year of Hoshea, the king of Assyria captured Samaria and deported the Israelites to Assyria. Hoshea was the last king of Israel, because the king of Assyria put him in prison and took over the land and took the people into exile.

And why did the Lord let the Assyrians do this? Take a look at verse 7: ‘All this took place because the Israelites had sinned against their God…. They worshipped other gods and followed the practices of the nations which the Lord had driven out before them as well as the practices that the kings of Israel had introduced.’ So, because they had sinned against the Lord their God, the Lord let the Assyrians imprison the king and invade the land and take the people into exile.

And now take a look at verse 21 of chapter 17, where our narrator mentions King Jeroboam. There were two Jeroboams in Israel. The narrator is referring here to the first one, who became king of Israel right after the kingdom was divided into two. And in verse 21 it says about him that he enticed Israel away from following the Lord and he caused them to commit a great sin. Jeroboam was the king who set up two golden calves in the north and the south of the kingdom for the people to worship. So, instead of teaching the people to worship the Lord, he taught them to worship idols. That was the great sin they committed because of Jeroboam. And our narrator tells us in verse 22 that the Israelites persisted in all the sins of Jeroboam and did not turn away from them. And because they did not turn away from the sins of Jeroboam, the Lord sent them into exile.

And so, that’s where we’re heading. The king of Israel will be imprisoned; the land will be invaded; and the people will be taken away into exile. And all of that happened because the people in the north did not turn away from the sins of Jeroboam, who taught the people to worship idols instead of the one true and living God who made us and who saves us and who promises us everlasting life.

And though we don’t bow down to golden calves today, we still have idols, don’t we? We still have idols because an idol is anything more important to us than God is. It might be a thing you possess. It might be a person you know. It might be something like power or success or wealth or happiness. It’s what we love and desire more than God. And so, it might be our spouse or our family or our job or a hobby or money or food or pleasure or success or power and influence. If there’s something which we think we must have, because it seems to us that our life will be incomplete or empty or not worth living without it, then that’s our idol. We take something good, which God has created, and we turn it into the most important thing in our life. But instead of putting those things first in our lives, we should always put God first in our lives, because he alone is the true God and because he made us and he sustains us and he sent his only begotten Son to save us.

Today’s passage, chapter 15, can be divided into three main parts. It opens by telling us about one of the kings of Judah in the south. Then it tells us about five kings of Israel in the north. And it closes by telling us about another king of Judah in the south. So, it’s Judah, Israel, then Judah. However, we’ll take the kings of Israel first and then we’ll study what it says about the kings of Judah.

The kings of Israel

And so, let’s turn to verse 8 and the account of Zechariah’s reign. As he normally does, the narrator tells us when he began to reign and for how long. And he didn’t reign for very long, did he? Only six months. And then there’s a brief assessment of his brief reign. And we’re told that he did evil in the eyes of the Lord and that he did not turn away from the sins of Jeroboam. In other words, like Jeroboam, Zechariah was an idolater. Instead of worshipping the one true and living God, he worshipped false gods.

And then our narrator tells us that Shallum conspired against Zechariah and attacked him in front of the people and assassinated him and succeeded him as king. So, that’s why his reign was so brief. He hardly had time to get going before Shallum got rid of him.

And our narrator’s record of his reign ends in the usual way by telling us that the other events of his reign are recorded in the book of the annals. But then there’s one final comment on his reign. It’s in verse 12 where it says:

So the word of the Lord spoken to Jehu was fulfilled: ‘Your descendants will sit on the throne of Israel to the fourth generation.’

Back in chapter 10 God made this promise to King Jehu. And God kept his promise, because after Jehu died, his son Jehoahaz succeeded him. That’s one generation. And after he died, his son Jehoash succeeded him. That’s two generations. And after he died, his son Jeroboam succeeded him. That’s three generations. And after he died, his son Zechariah succeeded him. And that’s four generations.

Other English versions of the Bible translate verse 12 differently and they end the verse with the phrase: ‘And so it came to pass.’ This is the same phrase which is repeated throughout Genesis 1 and is translated: ‘And it was so.’ God said let there be sky; and it was so. God said let there be land and sea; and it was so. And so on. Whatever God said happened. And when God said that four descendants of Jehu would succeed him as king, then it happened just as he said it would. That shows us how foolish the Israelites were for trusting in idols. The golden calves they worshipped could not even speak, let alone do anything to help them. Their idols could not do anything, because they were only statues. But the Lord God — who made the heavens and the earth and who sustains all things and who rules over all things — is mighty and powerful. He only has to speak and it is done. He speaks and it happens. And so, who should we trust? Who should we rely on? On whom should we lean? On an idol that can do nothing? Or on the Lord who speaks and it happens?

That’s Zechariah. And if we thought his reign was brief, then Shallum’s reign is the Liz Truss of Israel, because he reigned for only a month. And his reign came to an end when Menahem came to Samaria and killed him. In verse 15 the narrator includes the normal formula that the other events of his reign are written in the book of the annals. But what other events might there have been since he only reigned for a month? All he had time to do was conspire against Zechariah. And after he conspired against Zechariah, someone conspired against him.

Menahem became king and he reigned for ten years. And he did evil in the eyes of the Lord. During his entire reign, he did not turn away from the sins of Jeroboam. And so, like the rest, he was an idolater who worshipped and trusted idols instead of the true and living God.

And in verses 20 and 21 the narrator highlights for us one event from his reign. Pul, the king of Assyria, who was also known as Tiglath Pileser, invaded the land. Assyria had become a dominant power in those days. But instead of taking over the land, the king of Assyria accepted a payment from Menehem of a thousand talents of silver. And so, instead of taking over the land, the king of Assyria was willing to support Menahem and to strengthen his hold on the kingdom. Where did Menehem get a thousand talents of silver? By taxing the wealthiest men in his kingdom. Each of them was required to contributed fifty shekels. And so, the king of Assyria withdrew and left Israel alone.

And as for the other events of his reign, they’re recorded in the book of the annals. And instead of being assassinated, Menahem died and was succeeded by his son, Pekahiah.

According to verse 23, Pekahiah reigned for two years. And he did what was evil in the eyes of the Lord. He too did not turn away from the sins of Jeroboam. And so, he too was an idolater. And what happened in his reign? One of his chief officers, Pekah, conspired against him and assassinated him and succeeded him as king. And the other events of his reign are written in the book of the annals.

And so, we come to the fifth king of Israel in this chapter. He reigned for twenty years. And he did evil in the eyes of the Lord and he did not turn away from the sins of Jeroboam. And what happened in his reign? What was the stand-out feature of his years as king? Look at verse 29: in the time of his reign, Pul or Tiglath-Pileser, the king of Assyria, invaded the land. And the king of Assyria and his army took over parts of Israel. And not only did he take over parts of the land, but he deported the people to Assyria.

When we were studying chapter 14 before Easter, we saw how some of the people of Judah were taken hostage by the people of Israel. And I said it was a kind of mini-exile. And what we read here in chapter 15 is another mini-exile, because only some of the people of Israel were taken away from the Promised Land. But it was a foretaste of what would happen to the rest of the nation if they did not turn from their sin and rebellion and return to the Lord their God.

These kings of Israel did evil in the eyes of the Lord. They did not turn away from Jeroboam’s idolatry. But their idols would not be able to save them from the coming Assyrians. Their idols could not help them, because an idol can do nothing. It’s a false god. And what the people needed to do was to turn from their false gods and return to the one true and living God, who is mighty and powerful; who only has to speak and it is done; and who is willing and able to save whoever trusts in him.

The kings of Judah

That’s what happened during the reigns of those five kings in Israel. Were things better in the southern kingdom of Judah? Let’s see what it says about Azariah and Jotham.

So, we’re looking now at verses 1 to 7 which tell us about Azariah who is also known in the Bible as Uzziah. And our narrator tells us that he began to reign when he was only sixteen years old and he reigned for 52 years. And according to our narrator, he did what was right in the sight of the Lord, although he did nothing about the high places, where the people offered sacrifices to the Lord, instead of going to Jerusalem.

But then we hear from verse 5 that the Lord afflicted the king with leprosy and he remained that way the rest of his life. And because of his leprosy, he had to live in a separate house. It was the law in those days that lepers had to separate themselves from everyone else. And our narrator tells us that his son had charge of the palace and governed the people on his behalf.

The narrator doesn’t tell us why God afflicted him with leprosy. But 2 Chronicles 26 tells us what happened. It tells us about all the military successes he enjoyed and the building projects he undertook. He had a well-trained army and he made machines designed to shoot arrows and to hurl large stones. It says that his fame spread far and wide, because he was greatly helped by God and became powerful. He sounds a lot like Solomon.

However, 2 Chronicles 26 also tells us that after he became powerful, his pride led to his downfall, because he entered the temple of the Lord to burn incense, which was something only the priests were allowed to do. When the priests confronted him about it, he became angry. It says he raged at the priests. He wanted his own way and didn’t want anyone to stop him. And that’s when the leprosy broke out on his body. The Lord afflicted him, because he entered the temple to burn incence, which only the priests were allowed to do.

That’s what we read in 2 Chronicles. And back in 2 Kings 15, our narrator rounds of his record of Azariah’s reign by telling us that the other events of his reign are written in the book of the annals. And he rested with his fathers and was buried.

Jump down to verse 32 now, where our narrator tells us about Azariah’s son, Jotham, who was the next king of Judah. He was twenty-five years old when he began to reign and he reigned for sixteen years. He did what was right in the eyes of the Lord. But again, he did nothing about the high places.

All the narrator tells us about his reign is that he rebuilt the Upper Gate of the temple. Again, there’s more details in 2 Chronicles. In 2 Chronicles 27 we read about his building projects and military successes. And it says he grew powerful because he walked steadfastly before the Lord.

Back in 2 Kings 15, however, there’s one ominous note. The narrator tells us in verse 37 that in those days the Lord began to send the king of Aram and the king of Israel against Judah. Those two kings joined forces to attack Judah. It doesn’t say why the Lord did this and there’s no indication in 2 Kings or in 2 Chronicles that Jotham had done anything wrong. In other words, there’s no indication that the Lord sent these kings against him to punish him for some sin. The Lord must have sent them against him for some other reason.

Explanation

What are we to make of this chapter? Let’s think of Israel again. It was a very unstable time, wasn’t it? In the course of thirty or so years, there were five kings and there were four conspiracies. Gone are the days when the land was Israel was peaceful and secure and stable. And the kings did evil in the sight of the Lord and instead of worshipping the one true and living God, they worshipped idols. And according to what we read in chapter 17, it wasn’t only the kings who did evil, but the people also sinned against the Lord and did evil in his sight. This nation, which had been chosen by God to be his special people, had become godless.

And we learned from chapter 17 where they were headed. They were headed for exile to Assyria. God was going to send the Assyrians to punish them for their sinfulness which had gone on for years and years and years and years.

But here’s the thing: the Lord is gracious and merciful. And because the Lord is gracious and merciful, he was very patient with them. And so, he did not send them into exile immediately. He did not destroy them straightaway. Instead he put up with their sin and rebellion. He put up with their idolatry. And even when he sent some of them into exile in the days of Pekah, he was being merciful to them at that time, because this was the Lord’s way of warning them. By sending some of them into exile, the Lord was telling the rest that they needed to repent. They needed to repent while there was still time; and they needed to give up their sin and rebellion; and they needed to get rid of their idols; and they needed to return to the Lord with all of their hearts. Sending some of them into exile was God’s way of warning the rest. He was therefore being gracious and merciful to them, warning them and giving them time to repent and to return to him. And if they had returned to him, if they confessed their sins before him and turned from them, then he would have forgiven them. He would have forgiven them all that they had done wrong, because our God is gracious and merciful and he’s willing to remove our sins from us as far as the east is from the west for the sake of Christ the Saviour.

And let’s think of the two kings of Judah again. And we can say that what happened to Azariah was a warning to his son, Jotham. So, Azariah did this wicked thing — offering incense in the temple which only the priests were allowed to do — and the Lord afflicted him with leprosy. And it seems that Jotham paid attention to what happened to his father and he made sure that he walked steadfastly before the Lord. He wasn’t going to do as his father had done. He was going to do what was right. And yet, even though he walked steadfastly before the Lord, the Lord began in those days to send the kings of Aram and Israel against Judah.

So, the Lord sent troubles and trials on this godly king. Why would God send troubles and trials on a godly king? It can’t be to make him repent, because he didn’t need to repent. So, why would God send troubles and trials on a godly king? God sends troubles and trials on those who do what is right to keep them from turning away from him. When all is well in our life, when everything is going well, we can forget the Lord if we’re not careful. We can start to think that we don’t really need God, because everything is going well in my life. I’m doing well. I’m happy. I’ve got everything I want. And when we start to think like that, then it’s easy for us to forget God. And so, God sends troubles and trials into our life in order to keep us from turning away from him. Instead of turning away from him, we turn to him. We turn to his word for comfort and reassurance. We turn to him in prayer to seek his help. When we face troubles and trials, we turn to the Lord to seek from him the help we need. When everything is going well in our lives, when we have everything we need, then we can become complacent and spiritually lazy and we can forget about the Lord. But when we face troubles and trials, we turn to the Lord.

God sends troubles and trials on the Israelites and on those who are doing wrong, so that they will turn back to the Lord. And God sends troubles and trials on Jotham and on those who are doing right, so that they will not turn from him, but will turn to him for his help. And so, whenever you face troubles and trials of your own, what should you do? You should turn to the Lord. If you’re doing something wrong, then you should stop doing it and turn to the Lord to seek his forgiveness and his help to overcome your sins. And if you’re doing what is right, then you should also turn to the Lord so that he will strengthen you for the trial and help you to endure it.

And whoever you are, and whatever you’ve done, you’re able to turn to God for the help you need because of Christ the Saviour, who gave up his life on the cross to make peace for us with God. His body was broken for us. His blood was shed for us. He died to make peace for us with God. And so, for those who believe in Christ, God is your heavenly Father who loves you. And you can go to your heavenly Father in prayer to seek his forgiveness for what you have done wrong and to seek his help when you’re in trouble. You can go to God through Christ, because Christ died to bring you to God. And our God is not an idol who can do nothing. Our God is real and he’s able to help us to cope with our troubles and trials in this life. And then he promises all who trust in him, and who continue to trust in him, everlasting life in the new and better world to come, where there will be no more troubles and trials, no more sorrow or sadness, no more tears, but only perfect peace and rest and happiness for ever.