…Ahaz son of Jotham became king of Judah… He even sacrificed his own son as a burnt offering to idols… King Rezin of Syria and King Pekah of Israel attacked Jerusalem and besieged it, but could not defeat Ahaz. …Ahaz took the silver and gold from the Temple and the palace treasury, and sent it as a present to the emperor. Tiglath
Shallum… became king of Israel, and he ruled in Samaria for one month. Menahem… assassinated Shallum, and succeeded him as king. …Menahem was on his way from Tirzah, he completely destroyed the city of Tappuah, its inhabitants, and the surrounding territory, because the city did not surrender to him. He even ripped open the bellies of all the pregnant women.
How barberic!…
2 Kings 15:13 – 38 Read More »
…Amaziah son of Joash became king of Judah… and… killed ten thousand Edomite soldiers in Salt Valley; he captured the city of Sela in battle and called it Joktheel, the name it still has.
The lense through which men evaluate events. How you think differently, Lord (Isaiah 55:8-9; Hebrews 11).
…Amaziah’s army was defeated, and all his soldiers fled to their homes.
2 Kings 14:1 – 15:12 Read More »
…Jehoahaz son of Jehu became king of Israel… Like King Jeroboam before him, he sinned against the Lord and led Israel into sin…
All the kings of Israel were judged harshly due to the false religion that Jeroboam had put in place. They may well have thought that God would judge them favorably – which makes me wonder how I will be judged?…
Joash became king of Judah, and he ruled in Jerusalem for forty years. …Throughout his life he did what pleased the Lord, because Jehoiada the priest instructed him.
A bit glossed over: 2 Chronicles 24:17-22 tells a different story…
…The priests agreed to this and also agreed not to make the repairs in the Temple.
Then Jehoiada took a box, made a hole in the lid, and placed the box by the altar, on the right side as one enters the Temple.
As soon as King Ahaziah’s mother Athaliah learned of her son’s murder, she gave orders for all the members of the royal family to be killed.
SELF. How barbaric – she was truly a daughter of Jezebel.
…Only Ahaziah’s son Joash escaped. He was about to be killed with the others, but was rescued by his aunt Jehosheba, who was King Jehoram’s daughter and Ahaziah’s half sister.
…There were seventy descendants of King Ahab living in the city of Samaria. Jehu wrote a letter and sent copies to the rulers of the city, to the leading citizens, and to the guardians of Ahab’s descendants. The letter read: “You are in charge of the king’s descendants, and you have at your disposal chariots, horses, weapons, and fortified cities.
…Then the two of them went indoors, and the young prophet poured the olive oil on Jehu’s head and said to him, “The Lord, the God of Israel, proclaims: ‘I anoint you king of my people Israel. You are to kill your master the king, that son of Ahab, so that I may punish Jezebel for murdering my prophets and my other servants.
2 Kings 8:25 – 9:37 Read More »
…Elisha answered, “The Lord has revealed to me that he will die; but go to him and tell him that he will recover.” Then Elisha stared at him with a horrified look on his face until Hazael became ill at ease. Suddenly Elisha burst into tears. “Why are you crying, sir?” Hazael asked.
“Because I know the horrible things you will do against the people of Israel,” Elisha answered.
…Elisha had replied, “You will see it happen, but you won’t get to eat any of the food.” And that is just what happened to him—he died, trampled to death by the people at the city gate.
The word of the Lord always comes to pass (Isaiah 55:10-11). Or was this Elisha “simply” seeing into the future?
…Now Elisha had told the woman who lived in Shunem, whose son he had brought back to life, that the Lord was sending a famine on the land, which would last for seven years, and that she should leave with her family and go and live somewhere else.
2 Kings 7:10 – 8:9 Read More »