Jeremiah lamenting the destruction of Jerusalem, by Rembrandt 1630. Public domain.
2 Kings 23:39-25:30 History recap/outline
--On the death of king Josiah, his 23 yr old son Jehoahaz is made king After 3 mos Pharaoh-nechoh took him captive to Egypt, made Jerusalem tributary --Pharaoh makes 25 yr old Jehoiakim, brother of Jehoahaz king in Jerusalem 11 yr reign; Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon makes him tributary After 3 years he rebels, Chaldees/Syrians/Moabites/Ammonites sent vs Judah --at the death of Jehoiakim, his 18 yr old son Jehoiachin made king (Babylon has taken all Egypt’s holdings from the river of Egypt to the Euphrates) Reigned 3 mos, Nebuchadnezzar’s servants besiege Jerusalem 8th year of Nebuchadnezzar, Jehoiakim, the elites, the Temple & king’s treasures, & craftsmen: 10K carried away to Babylon. https://biblehub.com/2_kings/24-12.htm --21 yr old Zedekiah (Jehoiachin’s uncle) is made king by Nebuchadnezzar 11 yr reign; rebels vs Nebuchadnezzar, 9th yr Jerusalem besieged by Babylonians 11th year no bread/famine, city broken up, Chaldees are surrounding the city Zedekiah & soldiers flee, but he is captured, his army scattered Zedekiah’s sons killed in front of him, then his eyes are put out; he is taken to Babylon --The Temple, the king’s house, and all the great houses in Jerusalem are burned, the walls broken The rest of the people in Jerusalem, and the fugitives that joined the Babylonians are carried to Babylon. The poor are left to work the vineyards. Gedaliah is made governor. A conspiracy kills Gedaliah, the people flee in fear to Egypt. --37th year of captivity, Jehoiachin is released from prison & lives on the king of Babylon’s allowance the rest of his life.
2 Chron 36 History recap/outline (there are a few differences to that above) --the people make 23 yr old Jehoahaz king after Josiah’s death Reigned 3 mos, king of Egypt takes him captive to Egypt; makes Jerusalem tributary --king of Egypt makes Jehoahaz’ 25 yr old brother Jehoiakim king of Judah/Jerusalem Reigned 11 yrs; Nebuchadnezzar carries him & the Temple treasures to Babylon --8 yr old Jehoiachin, son of Jehoiakim, reigns 3 mos; carried captive to Babylon --Nebuchadnezzar makes 21 yr old Zedekiah (Jehoiachin’s brother) king of Judah/Jerusalem Reigned 11 years, wouldn’t humble himself before Jeremiah, speaking for the Lord Rebelled vs his oath & vs Nebuchadnezzar
14 ¶ Moreover all the chief of the priests, and the people, transgressed very much after all the abominations of the heathen; and polluted the house of the Lord which he had hallowed in Jerusalem. 15 And the Lord God of their fathers sent to them by his messengers, rising up betimes, and sending; because he had compassion on his people, and on his dwelling place: 16 But they mocked the messengers of God, and despised his words, and misused his prophets, until the wrath of the Lord arose against his people, till there was no remedy.
Temple & king’s treasures, the king & princes taken captive to Babylon The Temple & palaces in Jerusalem are burned, the walls broken down --Those who weren’t killed were taken captive to Babylon & served there until Persia arose Jeremiah’s prophecies fulfilled, the land enjoyed sabbaths, for 70 years --1st year of Cyrus, king of Persia Jeremiah’s prophecies accomplished: The Lord inspired Cyrus to proclaim that God had given him the kingdoms of the earth And charged him to build God’s house in Jerusalem. Whoever of the Jews wish to, can go. (it is most probable that someone presented Cyrus with God’s word/Jeremiah’s prophecies).
Lamentations, 5 chapters mourning the suffering of Judah & Jerusalem in the Babylonian conquest
Lam 1 The kingdom of Judah, Jerusalem as the capital, is likened to a bereft woman 1 How doth the city sit solitary, that was full of people! how is she become as a widow! she that was great among the nations, and princess among the provinces, how is she become tributary! 2 She weepeth sore in the night, and her tears are on her cheeks: among all her lovers [allies and idols] she hath none to comfort her: all her friends have dealt treacherously with her, they are become her enemies.
4 The ways [streets/roads] of Zion do mourn, because none come to the solemn feasts: all her gates are desolate: her priests sigh, her virgins are afflicted, and she is in bitterness. [Priests & virgins would be employed in celebrations/holy days.] 5 Her adversaries are the chief, her enemies prosper; for the Lord hath afflicted her for the multitude of her transgressions: her children are gone into captivity before the enemy. 6 And from the daughter of Zion all her beauty is departed: her princes are become like harts [deer] that find no pasture, and they are gone without strength before the pursuer.
In such a way the Lamentations continue, personifying Judah/Jerusalem as a woman remembering what life was like for her before her desolation, which the Lord allowed to come upon her for her wickedness. “The adversary hath spread out his hand upon all her pleasant things . . .”, that is, her enemies have grabbed/looted all her treasures. “Is it nothing to you, all ye that pass by? behold, and see if there be any sorrow like unto my sorrow, which is done unto me, wherewith the Lord hath afflicted me in the day of his fierce anger.”
17 Zion spreadeth forth her hands, and there is none to comfort her: the Lord hath commanded concerning Jacob, that his adversaries should be round about him: Jerusalem is as a menstruous woman among them. [There was just about nothing that was considered as disgusting to the ancients as a menstruous woman or her clothing.] 18 ¶ The Lord is righteous; for I have rebelled against his commandment: hear, I pray you, all people, and behold my sorrow: my virgins and my young men are gone into captivity. 19 I called for my lovers [allies & idols], but they deceived me: my priests and mine elders gave up the ghost in the city, while they sought their meat to relieve their souls. [They died in the famine associated with siege warfare.]
Judah/Jerusalem is put to shame and laments that there is no one to comfort her. All her enemies laugh at her troubles, and are glad for them. She retorts that they will be just like her, punished for their sins/transgressions.
Lam 2 The Lord has finally had enough, and brings the curses He promised via Moses in The Law “How hath the Lord covered the daughter of Zion with a cloud in his anger, and cast down from heaven unto the earth the beauty of Israel, and remembered not his footstool [Jerusalem] in the day of his anger!” In grief/mourning the elders have put dust on their heads and dressed in sackcloth. Their innards are full of grief. Children cry for hunger in their mothers’ embrace. Instead of teaching the people to repent and avoid calamity, the prophets pretended to vain and foolish visions, that would cause the people to be banished from their homeland. “The Lord hath done that which he had devised; he hath fulfilled his word that he had commanded in the days of old: he hath thrown down, and hath not pitied: and he hath caused thine enemy to rejoice over thee, he hath set up the horn [that calls people to battle] of thine adversaries.” Each night was divided into “watches” (shifts) for the soldiers—and now they are full of prayers/petitions/pleadings with the Lord for the sake of starving children in the streets. Starving women become willing to eat their own infants (the unit of measure called a “span” is the widest that a hand can stretch out from tip of thumb to pinky, perhaps about 9”).
Lam 3 Lamenting all the Lord has done in consequence of wickedness, the prophet remembers that God is merciful and compassionate. 21 This I recall to my mind, therefore have I hope. 22 ¶ It is of the Lord’s mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not. 23 They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness. 24 The Lord is my portion, saith my soul; therefore will I hope in him. 25 The Lord is good unto them that wait for him, to the soul that seeketh him. 26 It is good that a man should both hope and quietly wait for the salvation of the Lord.
A man will put his face in the dust (in prayer), with the hope of God’s mercy. He puts up with physical abuse from those who accuse him, trusting that “the Lord will not cast [him] off for ever . . .”
32 But though he [God] cause grief, yet will he have compassion according to the multitude of his mercies. 33 For he doth not afflict willingly nor grieve the children of men.
Like a good parent, God doesn’t delight in punishing the bad deeds of His children, yet He knows He must hold them accountable, for their own sakes. Jeremiah asks rhetorically of God’s all-powerfulness. Whatever He says, good or bad, will happen. And why should a man complain at being punished for his own sins. In suffering, God’s people ought to do some soul-searching and turn to the Lord, praying for His mercy/pardon/forgiveness. Jeremiah recalls his experience in prison, and how he called on the Lord for help. God listened to him then, so he calls on Him again to recompense his enemies.
Lam 4 A lament for the horrors of a besieged city. “The precious sons of Zion, comparable to fine gold, how are they esteemed as earthen pitchers, the work of the hands of the potter!” Gold lasts, pottery is temporary. Gold is precious, pottery is not. Even mother whales give milk to their babies, yet women of God’s people have become as careless of their young as ostriches. Young children go hungry and thirsty in the besieged city. Those who used to eat all sorts of delicacies are now desolate. Those who used to dress so fine sit in poop. Sinful Sodom didn’t suffer this much, because it was destroyed quickly. The people of Jerusalem, who used to have every sign of health are now skin and bones. Those that were killed by the sword were better off than those dying of hunger, and women cook their own children to eat. No one would have believed that Jerusalem would be overrun so by its enemies. The prophets and priests (who should be the epitome of Justice) shed the blood of just/good/righteous people. Thus the Lord caused that the conquering army gave the prophets and priests no special treatment (as they would be used to). People waited for help from another nation (Egypt) in vain. The conquerors hunt out and pursue those that flee to the mountains or wilderness, including the king (the Lord’s anointed), whom they thought would still be over them even in captivity. Speaking ironically, Jeremiah invites Edom to be glad at Jerusalem’s destruction, because Edom will drink from the same cup and offer all she has to the conquerors. There will at last come an end to Zion’s punishment, and it will be Edom’s turn to be punished for her sins.
Lam 5 Jeremiah lists the things his people have suffered, and his belief in God, but ends on a sad note Jeremiah tells the things his people have suffered, asking “Remember, O Lord, what is come upon us: consider, and behold our reproach . . .” Strangers have taken their inheritances, the people are orphaned/fatherless (left without protectors/providers), their mothers widowed. Instead of gathering wood and bringing water from the well, they have to pay for both. They no longer have the benefits employees would, rather, they work like slaves. They’ve paid the Egyptians & Assyrians for help with the money that could have bought them food. The people of Judah suffer for the wickedness of their fathers. Instead of being governed by people with the right to rule, they are ruled over by servants (of Nebuchadnezzar). No one is delivering them from their fate. They’ve suffered terrible famine. Their women, even young women, were raped. Princes were hanged by their hands. The elders/elderly were given no respect. Young men and children were set to work grinding grains and gathering wood (chores they would have thought beneath them). The elders no longer sit at the gates of the city (a sign of wealth/leisure and honor/importance), and the young men no longer party or dance to the music. All joy is ceased and turned to mourning. Instead of living like kings, they are full of woes, suffering because of their sins. Their hearts are faint, their eyes dim (vs bright with hope/energy/anticipation . . .) Their precious Zion is become a wilderness where foxes live. Jeremiah pleads,
19 Thou, O Lord, remainest for ever; thy throne from generation to generation. 20 Wherefore dost thou forget us for ever, and forsake us so long time? 21 Turn thou us unto thee, O Lord, and we shall be turned; renew our days as of old.
But then he laments, “thou hast utterly rejected us; thou art very wroth [angry] against us.” Thus ends this set of Jeremiah's writing. It doesn't mean that it's the last he thought or wrote.
The Book of Habakkuk “He spoke often of an imminent Babylonian invasion (Habakkuk 1:6; 2:1; 3:16), an event that occurred on a smaller scale in 605 BC before the total destruction of Judah’s capital city, Jerusalem, in 586 BC. The way Habakkuk described Judah indicates a low time in its history. If the dating is to remain close to the Babylonian invasion, Habakkuk likely prophesied in the first five years of Jehoiakim’s reign (609–598 BC) to a king who led his people into evil.” https://www.insight.org/resources/bible/the-minor-prophets/habakkuk The book of Habakkuk has only 3 chapters. He bemoans the wickedness of his time, “Therefore the law is slacked, and judgment doth never go forth: for the wicked doth compass about the righteous; therefore wrong judgment proceedeth.” He speaks of the rise of the Chaldeans (Babylonians). While their king thinks his god has given him his power, Habakkuk says that God is using him as a form of correction for His people. He uses fishing metaphors to capture the attention of his hearers/readers. As far as God’s character/nature, he says, “Thou art of purer eyes than to behold evil, and canst not look on iniquity: wherefore lookest thou upon them that deal treacherously, and holdest thy tongue when the wicked devoureth the man that is more righteous than he?” In other words, though God is too pure to countenance evil, yet He postpones judgment/punishment (until the time is right). Habakkuk describes himself as a watchman on the tower. God tells him to write his vision, and when it is time, it’s truth will be revealed. The conqueror is greedy to expand his empire, but “Woe to him that buildeth a town with blood, and stablisheth a city by iniquity!” Highlights: “the just shall live by his faith,” and “the earth shall be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea.” The third chapter is a prayer/psalm, which some have thought indicates he could have been a Temple priest. (see reference cited above). In his psalm of praise Habakkuk refers to God’s hand in Israel’s history, especially in the Exodus. No matter what disasters occur, Habakkuk says, “Yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will joy in the God of my salvation. The Lord God is my strength, and he will make my feet like hinds’ feet, and he will make me to walk upon mine high places.”
The Book of Obadiah The book of Obadiah is the shortest in the Old Testament, only 1 chapter. “The vision of Obadiah. Thus saith the Lord God concerning Edom . . .” The time is unreferenced, except that the Edomites thought to profit by the calamities befallen the Jewish nation. The Lord through Obadiah promises that Zion/the House of Jacob will one day be delivered and re-possess their lands, and the kingdom of Esau/Edom will be destroyed. The rule of the enemies of the Jews will be overturned. Holiness will return to the Jewish nation.
King Josiah alarmed as he hears the Torah found in the Temple when he had it restored
Hezekiah's son and heir Manasseh undid all his reforms, and his grandson continued in that. The nation of Judah seemed hopelessly lost in utter wickedness. Then Josiah is made king at only 8 years of age. He turns his heart to God, purges the kingdom of idolatry, renovates the Temple. The Torah is found therein, and when it is read to him, he is so affected by it that he becomes even more determined to right all the wrongs his predecessors have committed. There was never a king like him! And then his heirs bring ruin, and the kingdom is destroyed and taken captive by Babylon.
Manasseh--heir of Hezekiah, 2 Kings 21:1-18, 2 Chron 33:1-20
“Manasseh was twelve years old when he began to reign, and reigned fifty and five years in Jerusalem.”
It seems amazing that after all the good that his father Hezekiah did, Manasseh could go so wrong! Was he rebelling like a Bishop’s son? Was he influenced by bad friends? Was he an admirer of the wealth & power of Assyrian kings who reigned in Nineveh, or was he turned by the bribery of Assyrian spies or infiltrators as indicated in Nahum 3? He was only 12, so no doubt he was led by counselors. Did they turn him bad, or did he go bad when he came of age?
Manasseh’s crimes:
1. Abominations of the heathens/Amorites whom the Lord cast out before Israel
2. Built up the high places for idolatrous worship his father had destroyed
3. Reared up altars and a grove for Baal (plural Baalim), like Ahab, king of Israel, who had married Jezebel--such an adversary to Elijah the Prophet
4. Worshipped all the host of heaven (all kinds of false gods), and served them
5. Built altars for all the host of heaven in the Lord’s Temple
6. Made his son/children pass through the fire (burnt him in sacrifice to a false god)
7. Used sorcery
8. Directly rebelled against the instructions of the Lord to Kings David & Solomon, and Moses
9. Led his people astray (“seduced them to do more evil than did the nations whom the Lord destroyed before the children of Israel.” And/or coerced them through his power.) It’s one thing to do evil, far worse to seduce/persuade/coerce others to do evil.
10. Filled Jerusalem “from one end to another” with the shedding of innocent blood (probably sacrificing children to idols, but could just as well be killing like the mafia for profit, or both).
The Lord sends prophets to warn about the consequences of Manasseh’s evils. Yet He allows Manasseh a good long reign, so no doubt people failed to take the Lord seriously. The Lord warns that Jerusalem (capital of the kingdom of Judah) will suffer the fate of Samaria (capital of the northern kingdom of Israel, that had been conquered & carried away captive by the Assyrians). They’ll be wiped out like a dirty dish is wiped clean and turned upside down to dry. All the accumulated rebellions since the Exodus from Egypt will come to a reckoning.
2 Chron 33:11-19 says that the Assyrians came and took Manasseh in chains back to Babylon (under Assyrian rule at the time, it seems). Through his afflictions Manasseh humbles himself, repents, and prays for forgiveness. The Lord has mercy on him and Manasseh is reinstated on his throne in Jerusalem. He recognizes the hand of the Lord, rebuilds Jerusalem’s walls and reinforces all the walled cities of Judah with soldiers. He tries to rectify his atrocities by cleaning the idols out of the Temple, repairing the altar, and renewing the worship of God there. He commands his people to serve the Lord God of Israel. The people still sacrificed in the high places (hills outside Jerusalem), but at least it was in worship of the Lord only.
Amon—inherits the kingdom of Judah from his father Manasseh, 2 Kings 21:19-26, 2 Chron 33:20-25
“Amon was twenty and two years old when he began to reign, and he reigned two years in Jerusalem.”
Amon follows in his father’s wicked footsteps. But his servants conspire and kill him in his own house. The people of the land kill the conspirators and make Amon’s son Josiah king.
Josiah--2 Kings 22-23, 2 Chron 34-36
1 Josiah was eight years old when he began to reign, and he reigned thirty and one years in Jerusalem. And his mother’s name was Jedidah, the daughter of Adaiah of Boscath.
2 And he did that which was right in the sight of the Lord, and walked in all the way of David his father, and turned not aside to the right hand or to the left.
Josiah
Age 8—becomes king
+18 yrs—(Josiah age 26; 2 Chron 34 says he was only 16 when he turned to the Lord, and 20 when he
began to purge Judah & Jerusalem from idolatry, 26 when he had the Temple repaired with
monies gathered by the Levites from the remnant of Israel after the Assyrian captivity) Josiah
sends his scribe to Hilkiah the High Priest to give the silver people have offered at the Temple
door to those in charge to have the Temple repaired (no reckoning/oversight was made because
they were honest)
--Hilkiah finds the Torah in the Temple and sends it to King Josiah; when Josiah hears his scribe
read the book, he rends/tears his clothes in anguish:
“Go ye, inquire of the Lord for me, and for the people, and for all Judah, concerning the words
of this book that is found: for great is the wrath of the Lord that is kindled against us, because
our fathers have not hearkened unto the words of this book, to do according unto all that which
is written concerning us.”
--Hilkiah & a set of envoys go to Huldah the prophetess (wife of the grandson of a court
attendant, who lives in the court complex at Jerusalem). She affirms the prophecies of ill for
Jerusalem for the sins of the people, but because King Josiah is humble and tender-hearted he
will die in peace before the destruction prophesied.
--King Josiah gathers all the elders of the people, then brings them, the priests & prophets, and
the people (small and great) to the Temple and reads the words of the Torah/Covenant to them.
First he covenants to live the Law of God, then the people in turn covenant likewise.
--King Josiah cleans out all the false gods & vessels of their worship from the Temple and has
them burned at Kidron, the ashes taken to Bethel. He puts down all the priests of false worship.
He breaks down the houses of the sodomites next to the Temple (a hint of the kind of idol
worship that had gone on). He defiles all the places of idol worship throughout Judah, including
where people had sacrificed their children in the fire to Molech. He clears away the horses &
chariots offered to the sun god, and stamps to dust the idolatrous altars King Ahaz & Manasseh
had made in the Temple. He defiles with bones the high places King Solomon had built to
Ashtoreth, Chemosh, and Milcom, for his foreign wives. Likewise he destroys the places of false
worship King Jeroboam had long ago created when he separated the northern tribes of Israel
from the kingdom of Judah, and all the houses of false worship in Samaria and their priests. He
purges the idols from the cities of the tribes of Manasseh, Ephraim, Simeon, & Naphtali as well.
--King Josiah calls a great Passover celebration, the greatest since the days of the Judges
--King Josiah puts away all the sorcerers and their like
--"And like unto him was there no king before him, that turned to the Lord with all his heart, and
with all his soul, and with all his might, according to all the law of Moses; neither after him arose
there any like him.”
Age 39—King Josiah is killed in battle at Megiddo when the Egyptian Pharoah goes against Assyria, even
to the river Euphrates (more details 2 Chron 35:20-27, including Jeremiah’s lament for him) Perhaps he should not have involved his people in a fight that would embroil them in the conflict of the contemporary superpowers, Egypt & Assyria. Let them fight their own battles.
The Book of Zephaniah
“The word of the Lord which came unto Zephaniah the son of Cushi, the son of Gedaliah, the son of Amariah, the son of Hizkiah, in the days of Josiah the son of Amon, king of Judah.”
The book of Zephaniah is only 3 chapters long. It is full of dire warnings of the destruction of Judah & Jerusalem, and their neighbors of the Near East. Maybe his prophecies had some effect on Josiah’s reforms. In chapter 3 hope is held out, Zeph 3:9-20
13 The remnant of Israel shall not do iniquity, nor speak lies; neither shall a deceitful tongue be found in their mouth: for they shall feed and lie down, and none shall make them afraid.
14 ¶ Sing, O daughter of Zion; shout, O Israel; be glad and rejoice with all the heart, O daughter of Jerusalem.
15 The Lord hath taken away thy judgments [the calamities brought on by thier wickedness], he hath cast out thine enemy: the king of Israel, even the Lord, is in the midst of thee: thou shalt not see evil any more.Josiah’s heirs--2 Kings 23:30-24:16, 2 Chron 36:1-10
Josiah’s 23 year old wicked son Jehoahaz is anointed by the people as his successor. He only reigns 3 months when Pharaoh-hechoh imprisons him in Egypt (where he eventually dies), installs his likewise wicked 25 year old brother Eliakim (whom he renames Jehoiakim) as a puppet king, and forces Judah to pay a heavy tribute. Jehoiakim reigns 11 years. Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, carries him and the treasures of Temple, “all” of Jerusalem (the princes, military, craftsmen: 10,000 people) to Babylon, leaving only the poorest people in the land. Jehoiakim’s son Jehoiachin, only 8 years old, then evilly reigns for 3 months (no doubt with wicked influencers), before he is also carried away captive into Babylon with more treasures from the Temple. King Nebuchadnezzar makes his brother Mattaniah (renamed Zedekiah), age 21, king in his place.
Elisha (background: 1 Kings 19-2 Kings 13)
Elisha was anointed Elijah’s companion after Elijah’s extreme despondency over the wickedness of Israel, and his cave experience where God taught him through the still small voice. (1 Kings 19) Elisha succeeded Elijah in 2 Kings 2.
2 Kings 2
After Elisha returns to Jericho, the men of the city say, This city is in a pleasant location, but the waters are bad, so the ground is a waste. Elisha says, Bring me a container of salt. He tosses the salt into the local spring and promises there won’t be any more death or barren land. The waters were healed ever after.
As Elisha went from there to Beth-el, some kids came out of a town and were making fun of him for his baldness. He turns to look at them, and curses them in the name of God. Two female bears come from the wood and mangle 42 of them.
From there Elisha went to Mt Carmel (where Elijah had rebuilt God’s altar and had the showdown with the priests of Baal), then he back to Samaria, capital city of the northern kingdom of Israel.
2 Kings 3Jehoram the son of Ahab began his reign over the kingdom of Israel in the 18th year of Jehoshaphat, king of Judah. Jehoram’s reign lasted 12 years. He was a bad guy, but not as bad as his parents, Ahab & Jezebel. He gets rid of the image of Baal his father had put up. Still, Jehoram follows in the sins of Jeroboam (worshipping a golden calf set up in 2 places).
Once Ahab has died, the Moabite king Mesha rebels from Israel’s subjection (which has costed 100,000 lambs, 100,000 rams, and the wool thereof). Jehoram sends to Jehoshaphat requesting a joint operation. Jehoshaphat says, I’m all in.
They pass through Edom, and gather that army, but after 7 days’ journey they have no access to water. The king of Israel laments that they’ll all perish. The king of Judah says let’s inquire of a prophet of God. One of Jehoram’s servants says, Here’s Elisha, who was Elijah’s caretaker. They go to him.
Elisha responds to Jehoram, What do you want? Go ask your parents’ prophets. Jehoram says, This is God’s doing, to bring we three kings to defeat by the hand of Moab. Elisha replies, If it weren’t for Jehoshaphat I’d ignore you. Bring a musician here. As the musician performs, Elisha is inspired to give them instructions to fill the valley with ditches. He tells them, You won’t see any wind or rain, and yet the valley will be filled with water for yourselves and animals. And that’s nothing to the Lord, he will make you victorious over the Moabites, cutting down every fenced/walled city, every good tree, blocking up all their wells, and ruining every good piece of land with stones. Next morning during the meat offering/sacrifice water comes from Edom and fills the area.
The Moabites come to the fight with all that could wear armor. When they rise with the morning, they see the water red as blood from the reflection of the sun. They figure their adversaries have fallen out amongst themselves and wiped each other out, so they head for the booty. When the Moabites reach the Israelite camp, the Israelites rise up and come off victors, chasing them through their land, beating down the cities, ruining the good land (every man tossing a stone on it), blocking the wells, cutting down the good trees.
The king of Moab sees he’s hopelessly lost and he takes 700 of his men to try to get to the king of Edom, but can’t manage it. He takes his eldest son and heir, and offers him as a sacrifice on the city wall. Israel’s allies are disgusted and return home.
Chapter 4
A widow of one of the sons of the prophets comes to Elisha saying, My husband is dead, and you know he was a good man. But the creditor is come to take our 2 sons and sell them into slavery to pay the debt.
Elisha says, What do you want me to do? What do you have left in the house? She replies, I haven’t got anything but a pot of oil. Elisha then tells her to go to her neighbors and borrow a bunch of empty pots. When she gets home she is to close the doors and pour the oil she has into all of them. She does as told, and when the last vessel/container is full, that’s the end of the oil. She goes to Elisha and tells him, and he tells her to sell the oil, pay her debts, and live with her sons on the rest of the income.
One day when Elisha passes through Shunem (near Jezreel), a woman of some worth insists that he stop and eat. So whenever he passes that way, he eats at her home. She tells her husband that this guy who keeps coming by is a holy man of God, and they should make up a room for him. That way he’ll always have a place to stop. (No doubt she is thinking that he will be a blessing to them).
Elisha has a servant named Gehazi, and he tells him one time as they are staying there, to go to the woman. As she stands before him, he asks her what she’d like as a return for her kindnesses. A good word to the king or his top military man? She replies that she’s living with her own people. But Gehazi tells Elisha that she has no children, and her husband is old.
Elisha has her come to his door and promises that in about a year she will have a son. She says, Please, O man of God, don’t give me false hope, But it happens just as Elisha had promised.
One day the boy goes out to his father while the reapers are at work. The text doesn’t give the details, but for some reason the child cries out to his father about his head—whether he got cut with the tools of reaping or what. The father has the servants carry him home to his mother. She holds him on her lap ‘til noon, when he dies. She takes him up to Elisha’s room and lays the child on Elisha’s bed, goes out and shuts the door.
The woman goes to her husband asking for a young man and an ass to go see the man of God, then she’ll return. Her husband asks, Why today? It’s not a holy day. She says, All is going to be ok.
She gets on the saddled ass and tells the servant to drive the animal as fast as possible, not slacking up for her sake unless she says so. They go to Mt Carmel, and when Elisha sees her afar off, he sends Gehazi to meet her quickly and ask if all is well with herself, her husband, and her son. She responds to Gehazi that everything is fine, but when she reaches Elisha she catches him by the feet. Gehazi is about to push her away, but Elisha says to leave her alone, because she is so upset, and “the Lord hath hid it from me, and hath not told me.”
When she can speak, the woman says, Did I ask you for a son? Didn’t I say not to deceive me? Elisha sends Gehazi with his staff, tells him not to stop to greet or be greeted by anyone, and lay the staff on the child’s face. The mother says to Elisha with a vow, I won’t leave you.
So Elisha goes with her, Gehazi going on ahead and laying the staff on the child’s face. The child doesn’t seem to respond, and Gehazi goes back to tell Elisha so. When Elisha arrives he shuts the door on himself and the child and prays. He lays on the child, mouth to mouth, eyes to eyes, hands to hands. The child’s flesh warms. He goes down into the main house and walks to and fro, then goes back up to check on the child. Elisha repeats his efforts, the child sneezes 7 times (was it the field dust that had afflicted the child?), then opens his eyes.
Elisha sends Gehazi to call for the woman, and Elisha tells her to take her son. She falls at Elisha’s feet in thanks, then takes back her son.
Elisha comes to Gilgal, and there’s a famine. The sons of the prophets are sitting before him. He has his servant Gehazi set on a great pot to make pottage for them. One goes to gather herbs (or vegetables) and finds a wild gourd vine. He brings a lap full of the gourds, which are shredded into the pot unbeknownst to the others.
When the sons of the prophets are served, they cry out that the pot of pottage is deadly, they can’t eat it. Elisha asks for some meal (milled grain), which he tosses into the pot. He then has the people served, and there is no longer any problem in it.
A man comes bringing bread from his firstfruits/harvest: 20 barley loaves, and full ears of grain still in the husk. Elisha says to set it before the people. The man says, What, can this feed 100 men? Elisha reiterates his instruction with the promise that God has said they would all eat and there would be leftovers. (Reminds one of Jesus feeding the 5000).
2 Kings 5
This is the well-known story of Naaman, the Syrian general who was a leper, but a good and honorable man, a valiant man. His wife’s little captive Israelite servant girl was a believer in God, as well as the goodness of her master. She wishes her master could go to the prophet in Samaria and be healed.
The general is told of her words, and he gets permission from the Syrian king to go, carrying a letter to give to the Israelite king. Naaman takes 10 talents of silver, 6000 pieces of gold, and 10 sets of clothes. He brings the letter to the king of Israel, who is distraught. He figures the Syrian king is just seeking a quarrel as a pretext to invade--and maybe the Syrian king is hoping for that.
Elisha hears about the king tearing his clothes in dismay. He sends the king a message that he should send Naaman to him, and he will know there is a prophet in Israel.
Naaman comes with all his retinue to Elisha’s door. Elisha sends a message to him to wash in the Jordan river 7 times, and he’ll be made clean. Naaman leaves angrily. He reasons, The guy should have come out to me, called on his God, hit his hand on the leprosy. Aren’t the 2 rivers of Damascus (capital of Syria) better than all the waters of Israel? Why shouldn’t I wash in them and be clean?
But Naaman’s servants come to him respectfully, saying, If he had asked you to do some great thing, wouldn’t you have done it? How much rather then, if you do this simple thing? Naaman is humble enough, or wise enough to listen to them, follows Elisha’s instructions, and comes out with skin clean as a little child. He takes all his retinue back to Elisha, saying,
“Behold, now I know that there is no God in all the earth, but in Israel: now therefore I pray thee, take a blessing [gratuity] of thy servant.” Elisha refuses to take any gift. Naaman asks then for 2 mule-loads of Israelite soil to take back home on which he will sacrifice to God alone. Yet he asks pardon that when he is required to attend his king in worship of the Syrian god of wind, rain, and storm, God will not be angry. Elisha sends him away in peace.
When Naaman is gone just a little way, Elisha’s servant Gehazi is determined to get something from the rich guy. When Naaman sees Gehazi running after him, he gets down out of his chariot and asks if everything is ok. Gehazi lies and says that 2 sons of the prophets have just shown up, and would Naaman give a silver talent and two sets of clothes for them. Naaman generously gives 2 talents along with the changes of clothes. He sends them with 2 of his servants to carry them. When they come to the tower (of the town?), Gehazi takes the gifts from them and puts them away in the house, then lets the servants go.
Elisha asks Gehazi where he’s been. Gehazi again lies, saying he hasn’t gone anywhere. Elisha reproves him for taking gifts: “Is it a time to receive . . .? The leprosy therefore of Naaman shall cleave unto thee, and unto thy seed fore ever.” Gehazi leaves as a leper.
2 Kings 6
The sons of the prophets come to Elisha saying, This dwelling is too small for us. Let us go to the Jordan (a source of wood) and each bring home a beam to make a bigger place to live. Elisha says, Go ahead. One of them asks that Elisha accompany them, and he agrees to go with them.
But while they are cutting down wood, one of the axe heads falls into the water. Oh no! The man cries out, it was borrowed! An axe head would be rather expensive in those days, and these men are poor.
Elisha asks to be shown where it fell. He cuts down a stick and tosses it in the spot, “and the iron did swim.” The man retrieves it.
The king of Syria decides to make a war with Israel after all. He proposes a plan and place from which to attack. Elisha sends a message to the king about where the Syrians will come. Three times, it seems, Elisha thus saves his nation. The Syrian king deduces that he’s got a leak, a traitor, amongst his top military command or counselors. One of his servants says that Elisha the prophet must be telling the Israelite king, even things that he speaks in the privacy of his own bedroom.
So the Syrian king sends someone to spy out where Elisha is. They find out he’s in Dothan (where hundreds of years earlier Joseph’s brothers were grazing their flocks, and when he came to check on them they tossed him in a pit, threatening to kill him, but then sell him into slavery instead—about Dothan, see https://www.gotquestions.org/Dothan-in-the-Bible.html ). A Syrian army, including chariots, is sent to Dothan, and encircles the city by night.
When Elisha’s servant rises early next morning he sees the situation and asks Elisha, What shall we do? Elisha’s classic answer is “Fear not: for they that be with us are more than they that be with them.” Elisha prays that God will open the young man’s eyes. The servant sees the mountain full of horses and chariots of fire to protect Elisha. Elisha then prays that the opposing army be smitten with blindness, and it is done. Possibly their blindness was in not being able to recognize Elisha.
Elisha tells his opponents that he will lead them to the guy they are seeking, but he takes them to Samaria (Israelite capital). When they are inside the city Elisha prays God that their eyes be opened, which He does. The Israelite king asks Elisha if he should kill them. Elisha says, No, would you do that if you had captured them in battle? Sit them down to bread and water, and send them home. One wonders if Naaman is among them. Israel’s king provides well for his captives and sends them home. Perhaps it was only the officers, because how could thousands fit in the city and be fed? But maybe . . .
After that, the Syrians leave Israel alone.
Yet, king Ben-hadad in the next breath gathers all his armies and besieges Samaria such that the famine was so bad that the head of an ass is selling for 80 pieces of silver, and even a quarter of a cab (bulb?) of “dove’s dung” sells for 5 pieces of silver. Explanations/commentary at
https://www.biblegateway.com/resources/encyclopedia-of-the-bible/Doves-Dung
And https://biblehub.com/commentaries/2_kings/6-25.htm
And https://www.bibliaplus.org/en/dictionaries/4/american-tract-society-bible-dictionary/doves-dung
The king of Israel, walking along the wall, is accosted by a woman asking for help. He says to her, “If the Lord do not help thee, whence shall I help thee?” He sarcastically asks if she wants help out of the barnfloor or the winepress (this during a famine). Then he asks what’s her problem. She explains that she and another woman had agreed that they would kill and eat her son first, then the other woman’s son. They boiled and ate her son, but the other woman hid her son.
When the king hears that, he tears his clothes, and it is seen that he wears sackcloth against his skin, rough underwear! He vows to take Elisha’s head (obviously blaming Elisha for the whole trouble). He sends a messenger for him.
Elisha is sitting with the elders in his house, and before the messenger arrives he announces, “See ye how this son of a murderer hath sent to take away mine head?” He bids them shut the door and not let the messenger nor his master behind him in. While he’s still talking the messenger arrives, and Elisha says, “Behold, this evil is of the Lord; what should I wait for the Lord any longer?”
2 Kings 7
Elisha then speaks, “Hear ye the word of the Lord . . .” by this time tomorrow a measure of fine flour will sell for a shekel, and 2 measures of barley for shekel at the gate of Samaria. This is astounding, considering the exorbitant price for the worst food today. One of the nobles that the king leans on replies sarcastically, How could such a thing happen, even if the Lord opened the windows of heaven? Elisha affirms, you will see it with your eyes, but won’t get to eat it.
One could chuckle at how this occurred (since we are far from the desperation of the situation). Four lepers sit at the city gate. They reason, Why should we sit here ‘til we die? If we go into the city, we’ll die of the famine there. If we stay here we’ll die. Let’s go to the Syrian army, and if they don’t kill us, we’ll live. If they kill us, we’ll die just as we would here anyway. At twilight they go to the edge of the Syrian camp, but no one is there! God had made the Syrian army hear a noise that sounded like a huge army with chariots and horses. They assumed the king of Israel had hired mercenaries from the Hittites and Egyptians, so they left everything and skidaddled!
The lepers help themselves to eat and drink and hide a bunch of booty. But then they consider, “We do not well: this day is a day of good tidings, and we hold our peace: if we tarry till the morning light, some mischief will come upon us: now therefore come, that we may go and tell the king’s household.” They call the city porter and let him know. Word gets to the king’s house.
The king thinks it’s a trick the Syrians have played to draw them out of the city so they can ambush them and get into the city. One of his servants suggests sending the 5 last horses left in the city to go see. The king sends 2 chariot horses to check out the situation. They follow the fleeing army all the way to the Jordan River, and all along the way are clothes and vessels the Syrian army has left in their hurry to get away. The messengers return, the people go out and spoil the Syrian encampment, and the prophecy is fulfilled.
The king had put the doubting/sarcastic noble in charge of keeping order at the gate, but he was trampled by the people desperate to get food.
2 Kings 8
Elisha warns the woman whose son he had healed of an impending 7 year famine. She goes to live amongst the Philistines for those 7 years. When she returns, she has to petition the king for her house & land to be restored to her. It happens that the king was just then listening to Gehazi, who was servant to Elisha, retell (at the king’s request) some of the things Elisha has done, including raising the woman’s dead son. The king orders her lands, and even the income of them while she was gone, to be restored to her.
Elisha comes to Damascus, the Syrian capital. King Ben-hadad is sick, and when he hears of Elisha being in town, he sends Hazael with a gift requiring 40 camels to carry it all—the best of Syria—asking if he will live. Elisha tells him to tell the king he will recover, and yet he will die. He prophecies that Hazael will reign in his place and commit horrendous atrocities. Hazael denies that he’s that kind of guy.
Hazael returns to Ben-hadad and gives him the news that he’ll recover, but then next day he soaks a thick cloth with water and uses it to smother Ben-hadad, becoming his successor.
Jehoshaphat’s sonJehoram begins his reign in Judah in the 5th year of Ahaz’s son Jehoram in Israel. He is 32, and reigns 8 years. His wife is Ahab’s (or Omri’s) daughter Athaliah, and he carries on just like his wife’s family.
Edom revolts from the rule of Judah, and sets up their own king. Jehoram gives them battle, but is unsuccessful. Libnah likewise revolts.
When Jehoram of Judah dies, his son 22 year old Ahaziah is made king of Judah, in the 12th year of the Israelite king Jehoram, son of Ahab. Ahaziah, son of Athaliah, only lasts a year. Ahaziah had allied with the Israelite king Jehoram against Hazael king of Syria. Jehoram is wounded and returns to Jezreel to heal, Ahaziah goes to see him.
2 Chron 22
Ahaziah age 42 (note discrepancy of his age), last remaining son of Jehoram is made king in Judah. His mother was Athaliah, daughter of Omri. She influences him to follow the example of wicked king Ahab of Israel. He only lasts 1 year. He joins Jehoram, son of Ahab, king of Israel in a war against Hazael, king of Syria. Jehoram is wounded and returns to Jezreel to heal. Ahaziah goes to see him, and he and his ministers are killed, along with Jehoram of Israel and all the house of Ahab, by Jehu.
2 Kings 9
Elisha calls one of the children of the prophets to go secretly anoint Jehu (son of Jehoshaphat, son of Nimshi) next king of Israel, then to quickly flee. Jehu is sitting in counsel with other military leaders, and excuses himself. He is not only anointed next king, but tasked with destroying all the posterity of Ahab, as well as Jezebel. When the man flees, Jehu returns to his fellow officers. They ask him what’s up. He says he’s been anointed king of Israel and they all immediately proclaim Jehu king, but keep word from reaching Jehoram of Israel recovering in Jezreel.
The watchman on the tower of Jezreel sends word of the coming army of Jehu to Jehoram the king of Israel. The king sends a messenger out to ask if they come in peace. Jehu says, You’d better get in line and join us. The watchman sends word that the messenger hasn’t returned. The king sends another, and the same happens. And the watchman says, “… the driving is like the driving of Jehu the son of Nimshi; for he driveth furiously.”
So the kings of Israel and Judah (who was visiting the king of Israel) meet Jehu and his men in the old field of Naboth (whose land Jezebel conspired to get for her husband Ahab). Jehoram asks Jehu if he comes in peace, and Jehu replies there will be no peace because of the whoredoms and witchcrafts of Jezebel.
Jehoram flees with a warning to Ahaziah. Jehu draws a bow and shoots Jehoram so that it exits through his heart. He orders the king tossed off into Naboth’s field, as had been prophesied.
Ahaziah also tries to flee, but he is wounded on his way and dies in Megiddo. His body is taken back to Jerusalem for burial.
Jezebel hears tidings of all this, and paints her face and has her hair done up. She sees Jehu entering the gate and calls to him, “Had Zimri peace, who slew his master?” In other words, Zimri killed his king and didn’t die in peace, do you expect any different? Jehu looks up and asks who is on his side. Two or three of Jezebel’s eunuch servants toss her out the window at the behest of Jehu. Her blood splatters on the wall and on the horses, and Jehu rides his horse over her corpse.
While Jehu is eating and drinking inside afterward, he says, Despite herself, she was, after all, a king’s daughter. Go bury her. But they only found her skull and the feet and palms of her hands. Jehu rehearses Elijah’s prophetic words that her carcass would be eaten by the dogs. Thus she could never have a burial spot by which to be remembered.
2 Kings 10
Jehu sends to the guardians of Ahab’s 70 sons, and the rulers and elders of Samaria & Jezreel that they enthrone the most likely of candidates as next king and defend him with their horses, chariots, armor, and the city defenses. But they are all in fear, knowing he has just bested 2 kings (Israel and Judah). They all surrender to Jehu. He sends them a second letter asking for the sons’ heads. They send them to him in baskets. He has them put in heaps at the city gate.
Next morn, Jehu says, Yes, I conspired against my master, but who killed all these? They know of course that they are complicit. Jehu cites the prophecies of the Lord through Elijah about the house of Ahab. Then he kills all the relatives, counselors, and priests of Ahab.
On his way back to Samaria, capital city of Israel, he meets the brethren (either blood brothers, or the elders of Judah) of Ahaziah, king of Judah. They are going to greet the children of the king and queen (Ahab & Jezebel’s posterity, I suppose, thinking among them is the heir to the throne of Israel, with whom they intend to renew an alliance). Jehu says to take them alive, and then he has them all killed—42 men.
Jehu consolidates his power, then says “Ahab served Baal a little; but Jehu shall serve him much.” He calls together all the prophets of Baal for a grand sacrifice. Any who don’t come are to be executed. A proclamation is sent throughout Israel, and the house of Baal is full to the brim. He has the priestly clothing brought out for them. He has a search made that only prophets of Baal are there, none of God’s. It’s all been a ruse, for now he sets 80 men on guard around the house, and orders them to kill every one of them when the offerings are over. They bring out the images of Baal and burn them, break down the house of Baal, and destroyed it all. “Thus Jehu destroyed Baal out of Israel.”
But Jehu yet worships the golden calves Jeroboam had set up in Beth-el and Dan.
God rewards Jehu’s destruction of Baal worship allowing his lineage on the Israelite throne for 4 generations. “But Jehu took no heed to walk in the law of the Lord God of Israel with all his heart: for he departed not from the sins of Jeroboam, which made Israel to sin.” I suppose, like Jeroboam, he felt it politically expedient to keep his people from any loyalty to the worship of God in Jerusalem.
32 ¶ In those days the Lord began to cut Israel short: and Hazael smote them in all the coasts of Israel . . .”
Jehu is succeeded after 28 years by his son Jehoahaz
2 Kings 13
It was in the 23rd year of Joash, son of Azariah, king of Judah, that Jehu began to reign in Samaria, capitol of Israel. He reigns 17 years. “And the anger of the Lord was kindled against Israel, and he delivered them into the hand of Hazael king of Syria, and into the hand of Ben-hadad the son of Hazael, all their days.” Apparently this Ben-hadad was the grandson of Ben-hadad, the father of Hazael. (Something seems off here, didn't Jehu begin his reign when Athaliah did? Maybe he wasn't able to consolidate his power until some years later?)
2 Chron 22
When Athaliah, mother of Ahaziah, hears of his death, she kills all the royals and takes power. But one of the daughters of Ahaziah saves Joash from “among the king’s sons that were slain, and put him and his nurse in a bedchamber. So Jehoshabeath, the daughter of king Jehoram, the wife of Jehoiada the priest, (for she was the sister of Ahaziah,) hid him from Athaliah . . . And he was with them hid in the house of God six years: and Athaliah reigned over the land.
2 Chron 23
Jehoiada the priest strengthens his position, gets the military behind him, and the Levites out of all the cities of Judah, and the elders of the people, and before all the people announces Joash age 7 as king. He arms the Levites and makes them constant guards of Joash, whom he keeps in the Temple—allowing only the Levites & priests into the Temple.
2 Kings 11
In the 7th year the priest Jehoida brings about the overthrow of Athaliah, and has Joash, the son of Ahaziah, crowned king. Athaliah hears all the noise, and comes to the Temple to see what’s going on, as the trumpets blare and the people clap for joy. She tears her clothes and cries, Treason!
Jehoida has her taken out of the Temple and killed (not to profane the sacred ground).
17 ¶ And Jehoiada made a covenant between the Lord and the king and the people, that they should be the Lord’s people; between the king also and the people.
18 And all the people of the land went into the house of Baal, and brake it down; his altars and his images brake they in pieces thoroughly, and slew Mattan the priest of Baal before the altars. And the priest appointed officers over the house of the Lord.
Jehoida has the military bring Joash/Jehoash, age 7, brought to the king’s house, and “all the people of the land rejoiced, and the city was in quiet”.
2 Chron 23
The people destroy the house of Baal and his altars and images, kill the priest of Baal. Jehoiada reinstitutes the priestly offices that King David had set for the Temple worship, as written in the Law of Moses “with rejoicing and with singing, as it was ordained by David.”
Jehoiada has all the military, nobles, governors, and the people accompany Joash to the throne. “And all the people of the land rejoiced: and the city was quiet, after that they had slain Athaliah with the sword.”
2 Kings 12
“And Jehoash did that which was right in the sight of the Lord all his days wherein Jehoiada the priest instructed him. But the high places were not taken away: the people still sacrificed and burnt incense in the high places.”
Joash/Jehoash orders a collection be made for repairing the Temple, but after 3 years the Temple has not been repaired. Joash confronts Jehoida, and they set a chest with a hole at the door of the Temple (perhaps the previous effort wasn’t successful). When much had been collected in this way the king’s scribe and the high priest count the money and hire the work to be done: carpenters, builders, masons, stone hewers, stone and timber. The construction workers are so honest and faithful that they are not audited.
The Syrian King Hazael has conquered Gath and is headed for Jerusalem. But Joash/Jehoash buys him off with the sacred treasures 3 generations of his ancestors had dedicated to the Temple, as well as the treasures of his own house.
2 Chron 24
“And Joash did that which was right in the sight of the Lord all the days of Jehoiada the priest.” He reigned from age 7, for 40 years. He decides to repair the Temple, so orders the Levites & priests to go out among all the cities of Judah to gather funds. They delay, so he confronts Jehoiada, and they set up a chest at the gate of the Temple with a proclamation for all to bring funds required by the Law of Moses. The people joyfully respond, and work gets done.
But when Jehoiada dies at age 130 years old, The princes come and convince Joash to let them return to serving other gods. God sends prophets to warn them, but they ignore them. Jehoiada’s son rebukes them, but they stone him by order of the king in the Temple.
God sends Syria against Jerusalem, and with a small force they defeat Judah’s great army.
Joash is killed by conspiracy in his sickbed. He is buried in Jerusalem, but not in the sepulchres of the kings.
2 Kings 13Jehoahaz, son of Jehu, king of Israel, beseeches God for his kingdom’s sake, and God helps them out, but only 10 chariots, 50 horsemen, and 10,000 foot soldiers are left. And Israel continues “the sins of the house of Jeroboam, who made Israel sin, but walked therein: and there remained the grove also in Samaria.”
Jehoahaz of Israel is succeeded by his son Joash in the 37th year of Joash king of Judah. He reigns 16 years. . It’s no wonder that the names of kings become confusing . . . The kings of Israel and Judah are all interrelated and named after each other, beside differences in spelling the same man’s name.
Joash/Jehoash, son of Jehoahaz, is a mere side note in this chapter, only that he continued the worship of the golden calves, and that he warred against Amaziah, king of Judah.
2 Chron 25Amaziah age 25, son of Joash, succeeds him. He reigns in Judah 29 years. “And he did that which was right in the sight of the Lord, but not with a perfect heart.”
Amaziah puts the conspirators who had killed his father to death, but not their children, as written in the Law of Moses: “The fathers shall not die for the children, neither shall the children die for the fathers, but every man shall die for his own sin.”
Amaziah gathers an army of 300,000 good men of war from Judah, and then hires 100,000 mercenaries from Israel/Ephraim for 100 silver talents. A man of God comes to him and encourages him to battle, but not to include the mercenaries. The king says, But I’ve already paid! The man of God says, Don’t worry, “The Lord is able to give thee much more than this.”
So Amaziah sends the mercenaries home, and they are angry about it. Amaziah is victorious against Edom (killing 20,000 in total), but the mercenaries hit several cities of Judah, kill 3000, and take “much spoil.”
Unfortunately, Amaziah brings back the gods of Edom and worships them. God is not happy about this, and sends a prophet, who says, Why would you worship these gods who couldn’t even save their own people from you? The king says, Hold your peace, why should you be killed? The prophet leaves him with one last word, “I know that God hath determined to destroy thee, because thou hast done this, and hast not hearkened unto my counsel.”
Under advisement, Amaziah decides to make war with Jehoahaz, son of Jehu, king of Israel. He sends an invitation to the Israelite king, who replies with a metaphor that the thistle said to the cedar, Give your daughter to my son as wife, but a wild beast stomped the thistle to nothing. You think you’re so great for your victory over Edom, but let that suffice. Why stir up your own trouble?
Amaziah disregards the warning, and he and the king of Israel meet for battle. Judah is defeated, the Israelite king brings Amaziah back to Jerusalem, breaks a great breach in the wall, takes all the treasures out of the Temple and the king’s house, as well as hostages, and returns to Samaria, his capital.
Amaziah outlives the Israelite king 15 years, but a conspiracy had developed from the time he turned away from God, and at last he has to flee to Lachish. He was followed and killed, brought back to Jerusalem to be buried.
2 Kings 13Elisha falls sick. Joash, king of Israel comes to see him, weeping for him. How different from Ahab & Jezebel vs Elijah, Elisha’s predecessor! Elisha tells the king to take a bow and put Elisha’s hands on the king’s hands (as a blessing). Then Elisha has the king shoot an arrow out the window, and prophecies the deliverance of Israel from Syria. Elisha says to take the other arrows and hit the ground with them. The king hits the ground 3 times, but Elisha angrily rebukes him for not doing it 5-6 times, wherein Syria would have been destroyed. Since it was only 3, Israel will only be victorious 3 times against Syria. Joash/Jehoash would be able to recover the Israelite cities that the Syrians had taken.
Elisha dies of his sickness and is buried.
At the beginning of a new year the Moabites invade. A little anecdote is told of a man being buried when they see the invading force. They toss his body into Elisha’s sepulchre (and run, no doubt), whereupon the man is revived.
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