2 Kings Chapters 15,16,17 Commentary

Second Kings Chapters 15-17 Chapter 15 15:1-2 Judah’s tenth king was Azariah, known also as Uzziah. “Azariah had been made coregent at the time of Amaziah’s ill-conceived campaign against Jehoash (14:8-14; 2 Chron. 25:17-24). After Amaziah’s release at the death of Jehoash in 782 B.C. and subsequent assassination in 767, Azariah took the throne in his own right and ruled until 740. Thus, counting his coregencies, Azariah ruled some fifty-two years” (Gaebelein p. 233). His mother’s name was “Jecoliah” (jek uh LIGH uh).

15:3 Azariah (Uzziah) was a very successful ruler and he did what was right in the sight of God. In the parallel account, Second Chronicles tells how he elevated Judah to great earthly power and prosperity, waging successful wars against the Philistines and the Arabs, rebuilding the wall of Jerusalem and adding strong towers, constructing watchtowers in the desert, constructing cisterns, and developing vineyards and other agricultural interests (2 Chron. 26:5ff). As with his counterpart in the north (Jeroboam II), life was good for Azariah. The nation of Assyria was in a temporary state of decline, so they didn’t have to worry about this enemy. Relations between Azariah and Jeroboam II were cordial so that together the two nations were able eventually to acquire nearly the same territory as in the days of the united kingdom. Third, and most important, this king was faithful to God (2 Chron. 26:6-15).

15:4 Yet the unauthorized places of worship were tolerated (see 12:3; 14:3-4).

“Times of plenty and ease too often lead to spiritual lethargy. God’s abundant blessings can all too readily be taken for granted and become commonplace. In such circumstances a people’s religious experience can degenerate into an empty formalism, or, worse, erupt into open apostasy and moral decadence. So it was in eighth century Israel. Hosea (775-725 B.C.) warned of the misuse of wealth and the twin dangers of apostasy and loose morality. Joel (770-765) cried out against Judah’s superficial religion. Amos (765-755) spoke a similar message” (Gaebelein p. 233).

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15:5 Second Chronicles reveals that Uzziah’s pride led to his downfall (26:15-16).

“Uzziah, like many of the rest of us, could not be trusted with too much success or too much power. We may not like it when some inadequacies or weaknesses prevent us from flying high, but we may be better off when God keeps us on a short leash. Then, in dependence on Him, we may do really effective work (2 Corinthians 12:9)” (Vos pp. 183-184). Uzziah in his pride tried to usurp priestly powers and offer incense in the temple, even though courageous priests tried to stop him. For this sin God smote him with leprosy for the rest of his life.

Once again we learn that time and culture do not alter Biblical commands. Even though Uzziah lived in another culture and in another time, the requirements of the Law were still in force for him as well as anyone else (Leviticus 16:40). Note the motive! Often people try to justify an unscriptural practice by appealing to some noble “sounding” reason, i.e., “This really makes our worship more inspiring”, but God gets down to the heart. Pride, self-will and arrogance are the motives behind introducing unscriptural practices or human traditions into God’s worship. Uzziah may have reasoned that he just wanted to praise God, but in reality, Uzziah wasn’t caught up in glorifying God, rather, he was caught up in his own self-importance. Due to his leprosy, Uzziah was confined or isolated in separate quarters. His son Jotham then governed as coregent.

15:6-7 “An Aramaic inscription uncovered near Jerusalem in 1931 reads, ‘Hither we brought the bones of Uzziah, do not open’. This supports the passage in 2 Chron. 26:23, which suggests that his remains were easily identifiable because he had been buried apart from the regular royal tombs” (Dilday p. 397). Uzziah’s sin and the beginning of Jotham’s coregency took place about 750 B.C. The year that Uzziah died (740 B.C.), is the same year that Isaiah was called to be a prophet (Isaiah 6:1).

Zechariah’s Evil Reign in Israel “The sacred historian now hurries through brief sketches of the last kings of Israel. The high point of success under Jeroboam II was…short lived. Tiglath -pileser III (744-727) of Assyria restored the power of the monarchy there and launched an aggressive expansion that included moves into Syria and Palestine.

Israel, was ripe for judgment as a result of her long apostasy….As is clear from the rest of this chapter, however, that Israel’s greatest problems were not external” (Vos p. 184).

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15:8 Zechariah, the son of Jeroboam II, came to the throne late in 753 B.C.. After only six months on the throne, he was assassinated. This was the last king descended from Jehu (2 Kings 9:30). 15:9 As with all of the other Israelite kings, he continued the support of the golden calves which Jeroboam I had established.

Once apostasy gets a foothold it can remain for centuries! In addition, God isn’t going to instantly remove false religions God will allow this one to prevail for a couple of centuries.

15:10 A man by the name of “Shallum” (SHAL uhm) became the 16th king of Israel by assassinating Zechariah. Evidently, he had the support of the people, for this assassination apparently took place in a public place. The Hebrew word translated “in front of the people”, is actually one word, and could also be a place name, i.e. “Ibleam”. If this is true, then Zechariah the last descendant of Jehu was murdered at the same location where Jehu massacred the princes of the royal family (2 Kings 10:14). Hence, the dynasty of Jehu began and ended at the same place. 15:12 Despite the wickedness of Jehu’s descendants, God did keep His promise to Jehu.

Shallum 15:13 Shallum’s term was a joke, he only reigned one month. “Having stepped on the slippery slope of apostasy and disobedience, Israel was careening with accelerating speed toward…destruction and captivity. Within the next fortythree years half a dozen ‘pseudo-kings’ would reign in rapid succession, one murderer replacing another on the throne” (Dilday p. 401). Just look at the national turmoil which happens when evil men rule.

15:14 Shallum is murdered by Menahem (MEN ah him). This man may have been a general in the Israelite army (according to Josephus). He had been stationed in Tizrah, the former capital of Israel (1 Kings 15:21). “Assyrian records identify Israel’s King Shallum as ‘the son of nobody’” (Dilday p. 403).

15:15-16 Apparently, the people of Tiphsah (TIF suh) (which is believed to have been located about 6.5 miles SW of Shechem), had supported Shallum, so Menahem destroyed the city with uncommon cruelty, but such atrocities were characteristic of pagan invaders. Without God people will become cruel and barbaric (2 Timothy 3:1ff; Romans 1:18-32). The above was probably done to intimidate other towns into subjection. Let us always remember that the Word of God brings out kindness and compassion in people. One of the great myths of

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our culture is that people who don’t embrace the Bible are actually nicer, gentler, and kinder than professed Christians, and that we will all become really nice people if we just get rid of Christianity.

15:19-22 “Pul” (pool), is the same person as Tiglath-Pileser, which was the throne name this man bore as king of Assyria. “Pul” was the throne-name he bore in Babylonia as king of Babylon. “Because he needed Assyria’s help to strengthen his hold on the throne, Menahem willingly paid tribute to TiglathPileser III, even though this meant that Israel became a vassal state. Here in verse 19, the nation of Assyria makes its first contract with Israel, which it eventually destroyed…The amount of the tribute was enormous. A thousand talents (37 tons) is equal to 844,800 ounces of silver. At a price of $5 an ounce, the tribute would be equivalent to $4,224,000” (Dilday p. 404). Since this king exacted fifty shekels from each wealthy man, this means that sixty thousand upper class persons existed in Israel at this time.

Pekahiah 15:22-26 Menahem’s son Pekahiah (pek uh HIGH uh), assumed the throne after the death of his father, but only reigned two years (ca. 742-740 B.C.). Pekahiah was assassinated by his military captain, Pekah. Once again the rebellion started in the military. With the help of fifty Gileadites (Israelites from across the Jordan), Pekah boldly assaulted the fortified wing of the royal palace in Samaria and put the king to death. Note the irony, Menahem arose to power by assassinating the king, his son is removed from power by being assassinated.

15:25 “Argob” (AR gob), and “Arieh” (a RIE ee), apparently were two men who supported Pekah in this rebellion.

Pekah 15:27-31 Pekah was radically anti-Assyrian in his foreign policy. He joined with Rezin of Damascus in forming a coalition of western states which hoped to be able to withstand further Assyrian incursions into the area ( 1 Kings 15:37). As a result of this, in 734 B.C., Tiglath-pileser III swept out of Assyria on a second western campaign. By 732 the alliance was thoroughly broken and Damascus (the Syrian capital) had fallen. The battle against Israel centered in Galilee: Ijon, Abel Beth Maacah, Janoah, Kedesh, and Hazor are all towns in Galilee.

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Assyrian’s invasion here is also referred to in several other inscriptions, including one in Tiglath-pileser’s royal annals 15:30 The above inscription also says, “They overthrew their king Peqaha and I placed Ausi (Hoshea) (hoe SHEE ah) as king over them”. This indicates that the Assyrian king may have actually participated in Hoshea’s conspiracy to kill King Pekah. Archaeological evidence of the invasion has also been unearthed in the excavations at Hazor. “These were dark days for Israel, her territory now reduced to a tiny kingdom only thirty miles wide by forty miles long” (Dilday p.

407). Yet, nobody is crying out to God for mercy and no one seems intent upon turning to God in repentance. “Indeed, with all the conspiracies in this chapter one could almost say Israel has more assassins than kings” (Dale Ralph Davis p.

223).

Jeroboam’s Sin “Because we meet with five Israelite kings within the confines of one chapter we can’t help but notice the repeated ‘sins of Jeroboam’ formula. In appears four times (15:9,18,24,28)…Two hundred years have passed since Jeroboam instigated his devious cult (931-732 B.C.) and its grip is undiminished, its poison still lethal” (Dale Ralph Davis pp. 224,225).

Jotham in Judah 15:32-38 Jotham’s spiritual commitments are similar to those of Uzziah, Amaziah, and Joash. Second Chronicles 27:3-5 offers some further details about Jotham’s building programs. Before his death, he begins to face the threat posed

by Rezin of Syria and Pekah of Israel. Like the other kings in Judah, Jotham is pro-Assyrian, which infuriates Rezin and Pekah. “Judah’s ultimate downfall only occurs more slowly than Israel’s because its kings adopt a consistently proAssyrian policy. Otherwise, it is safe to say that Judah is weaker than Israel, almost as corrupt, and certainly no wiser than the Northern Kingdom” (House p.

333).

Chapter 16 16:1-4 In 732, Ahaz began his 16-year reign, which continued to 715. Under his predecessors, Uzziah and Jotham, Judah had enjoyed almost unparalleled prosperity. Reveling in luxury and self-security, however, she soon forgot Jehovah (Isaiah 5:24). Among other things, Ahaz practiced child sacrifice. “Ahaz

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was the consummate syncretist. He tried anything from anybody’s religion that might give him any kind of advantage. Bored by what he considered to be the humdrum routine of the faith of his forefathers, Ahaz wildly experimented….He seemed drawn to the most lurid elements in the pagan religions around him” (Dilday p. 412). Compare with 2 Chronicles chapter 28. “The perversions of Israel do not satisfy Ahaz; he had to practice the horrors of paganism—child sacrifice” (Dale Ralph Davis p. 228).

Some suspect that Ahaz was turning to all these idolatrous practices out of desperation, but like so many people today, people in tough situations seem willing to try anything, to endure anything—accept what the Bible says to do.

Ahaz turns to every thing—but the true God. He tries everything, even things that will cost him the lives of his own sons—except obedience to the will of God. Sometimes people reason that Christianity is too hard and that is why so few people try it or stay with it. I deny that. Living outside of Christ is just as hard as living the Christian life; in fact, people outside of Christ are often making greater sacrifices. The real reason why Christianity is not very attractive to most people is because it demands unselfishness. Many people would rather do what they want to do and suffer tremendously, than do what God says and find peace.

“Ahaz walks the way of human ingenuity. It may be royal human ingenuity, but it is still human ingenuity. This thinking says to itself, ‘My troubles are too complex for me to lean upon Yahweh’s assurances, but I see a clear and very obvious way to solve this problem…Shucked to the bone, the choice is between pragmatism or promise. Ahaz had Yahweh’s promise of deliverance through Isaiah (Isaiah 7:3-9). Do I go with what I am sure with work or wait for what God offers? Do I jump on an immediate solution or submit to what God requires?...There are legions of ways we can become disciples of Ahaz. We simply say of any situation, ‘My wisdom must handle this’, rather than, “My Father will give me what is good’ (Matthew 7:11)” (Dale Ralph Davis pp. 230,231).

16:5 Because of the apostasy of King Ahaz, God brought great suffering upon Judah in the form of invasion and rebellion (2 Chronicles 28:5,19). Syria and Israel attacked Judah, because Judah refused to join in on their coalition against Assyria. Although Judah suffers heavy casualties (2 Chron. 28:5-15), Jerusalem isn’t taken. The fortifications of Uzziah (2 Chron. 26:9) and Jotham (27:3) had, no doubt, greatly strengthened the city since the time it was captured so easily by Jehoash (2 Kings 14:13). 16:6 The Syrian king Rezin came along the eastern portion of Judah, driving down to the key seaport of Elath and taking it.

Surrounded by hostile enemies on all sides, Ahaz received God’s prophet Isaiah 6

(Isaiah 7:2ff). He assured Ahaz that the enemy would fail; God Himself would see to that. However, Ahaz refused to listen to Isaiah and preferred to rely on his own resourcefulness.

16:7-9 Instead of turning to God, Ahaz turned to Tiglath-pileser of Assyria for protection from the invaders. “Sacred and royal treasuries were drained in order to send to Nineveh the appropriate gift which would seal the alliance between the two countries. In 732 B.C. the Assyrians attacked and captured the city of Damascus” (Smith p. 607). The immediate threat to Judah from Syria and Israel had ceased, but Ahaz had sold his soul for temporary and short-lived security.

Note, the tribute or bribe which Ahaz paid to Assyria at this time is recorded on the Assyrian palace wall at Nimrud.

16:10-16 While in the city of Damascus, Ahaz saw an altar which struck his fancy. Apparently, this was done to curry the favor of the gods which the Assyrian’s worshipped. Ahaz was a very shallow man, and if a nation was successful on the field of battle he immediately assumed that their gods were stronger (2 Chronicles 28:23). Ahaz reminds me of professed believers today who are willing to incorporate any unscriptural practice into the work or worship of the church, because it appears to “work”. Ahaz will be Judah’s “Jeroboam”. “It is simply that travel has ‘broadened’ Ahaz’s mind. He has gained some new ideas---Ahaz is presented as a king who is open to foreign influence in his religious policy…Ahaz apparently thought temple worship could be improved, that is lacked something, that an ‘upgrade’ was in order” (Dale Ralph Davis p. 234).

16:10 Sadly, Urijah (you RYE jah), without any sort of protest complied. 16:13-14 Ahaz apparently moved God’s altar to the north, making his pagan replica the one used for the morning and evening sacrifices. This new pagan altar was placed directly in front of the temple entrance. 16:15 Eventually God’s altar was removed from its place of prominence, and all temple sacrifices were offered on the Assyrian altar. Ahaz saved God’s altar for “inquiring by”, i.e., for his practices of divination.

16:16-20 In the course of time, temple court objects were stripped of decorative accessories probably to meet Judah’s tribute obligations to the Assyrians.

Eventually Ahaz will close down the temple and suspend the sacrificial offerings and burnings of incense (2 Chronicles 28:24). To replace the temple worship he erected altars in every corner of Jerusalem (2 Chronicles 29:7). Notice the expression in 16:18 “because of the king of Assyria”. “But if Ahaz thought he 7

could gain a solid and lasting friendship with Assyria by such means, he was utterly mistaken. He was now in the ‘big leagues’ of international intrigue and political depravity, where truth, honesty, faithfulness, and love were unknown entities. Having deliberately abandoned Jehovah, he and his little kingdom (the remaining refuge for God’s people in the world) were now hopelessly enmeshed in Satan’s web” (Whitcomb p. 110).

What irony, the treasures dedicated to God are being used as protection money, when in reality, God would have protected Judah if they would have simply trusted in Him. In addition, all of the above was done probably for the purpose of making sure that nothing would be practiced in Jerusalem which would offend the Assyrian king. Beware, when you try to please the world, men, or your peers you will end up becoming the slave of those whom you are trying to please or impress.

Chapter 17 17:1-2 Hoshea ruled for nine years in Israel (732-723 B.C.). He was evil, but not as evil as the kings who had come before him. 17:3 When Tiglath-pileser died in 727 B.C., Hoshea tired to regain his independence by withholding the annual tribute money. The new Assyrian king, Shalmaneser (shal muh NEE zur), came up against him and forced him to resume his position as a vassal.

17:4 Hoshea searched for some other means by which he might free himself from the Assyrian grip. Instead of trusting in God, he was persuaded to enter into an alliance with So, the king of Egypt. This act of rebellion brought down the wrath of the Assyrians upon Hoshea and Israel. “So” the Egyptian king was either “Shabaka”, the Ethiopian ruler who founded the twenty-fifth Egyptian dynasty, or, Sibi whom Sargon defeated at Raphia in 720 B.C. 17:5-6 According to the Hebrew mode of reckoning parts of years as full years, the siege lasted three years. Actually the siege need not have lasted longer than one full year and the parts of two other ones. Samaria held out as long as it could, awaiting the promised aid from Egypt. Finally in 722 B.C. Samaria fell to the king of Assyria. “The Assyrian records related that 27,290 persons were carried captive from Samaria. It was the Assyrian practice to take such captives, remove them from their land, and distribute them in the distant eastern provinces of the Assyrian empire. The Assyrians then would repopulate the land with people from other parts of their empire (17:24).

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“The fact that it took Assyria that long to break Samaria’s resistance is a testimony to the good wall Omri and Ahab had built around the capital city.

Samaria also had an inner wall laid on rock-hewn foundation trenches around the palace and citadel itself” (Dilday p. 417). The location of “Gozan is (probably area of Tell Halah) on the Khabur River, an important tributary of the Euphrates; in Halah, either an alternative spelling of Calah, or possibly Chalchitis on the west bank of the Tigris; and in the mountains of Media, east of Mesopotamia” (Vos p. 191).

The Reason for the Captivity 17:7-17 The kings and the people of Israel had received abundant warning that their departure from the will of God would result in destruction of their kingdom and captivity in a foreign land. When God has to punish someone, He isn’t being overly harsh, cruel or simply making a knee-jerk reaction. God had demonstrated centuries of longsuffering with Israel and had given them many warnings. The basic cause of all this unfaithfulness and sin was that Israel didn’t trust God (17:14). “They did not reckon Him to be reliable or worthy of their trust or confidence” (Vos p. 192). Israel tried to keep their wrong-doings secret (17:9). Note the spiritual diseases that killed this nation: (1) Conforming to pagan culture (17:8). (2) Playing with sin in secret, dabbling with sin on the side, sneaking around (17:9). (3) Serving something other than God, giving their time, energy, and allegiance to idolatry (17:10-12). (4) Refusing to listen to sound doctrine (17:13-14). (5) Sin is empty and it will make you empty! (17:15) “The idea is that they became like the gods they worshipped. They bowed down to nothingness and became nothing…And the tragedy was that the followers of that empty religion had become empty themselves: their lives lacked substance, their personalities became trivial, their characters lacked depth. As one man described his friend, ‘Deep down, he’s shallow!’” (Dilday pp. 419-420). You will become like what you serve and worship!

Here God lists about twenty reasons why His judgment upon Israel was so richly deserved. God was not helpless to rescue Israel from her enemies. In fact, He was the One who had brought them out of Egyptian bondage and now He was bringing Assyria to punish them. Nor, had He broken His promises to Israel, rather, in punishing them, He was keeping His promises (Deuteronomy 28-29).

All the sins mentioned here were a matter of choice, “they sold themselves to do evil” (17:17).

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“A great deal of speculation has arisen about the fate of the northern tribes. At the time the Book of Kings was written, they were still scattered throughout the Assyrian empire (17:23). Some of the former citizens of the northern kingdom returned to Palestine with Zerubbabel in 538 B.C., and others with Ezra in 458 B.C. (Ezra 2:70; 3:1; 6:16,17; 8:35). Those who remained in the lands of the captivity either united with the Jewish colonies which were later established there (Acts 2:9), or else simply adopted fully the practices of the heathen, intermarried with them, and disappeared as a distinct people” (Smith p. 611).

Judah Alone 17:18-19 But even the southern kingdom was unfaithful to God and didn’t seem to learn anything by what had happened to their northern brethren. “Judah had been left to ponder her own spiritual condition before God. Unfortunately she would not learn from the lesson of Israel” (Gaebelein p. 249). Judah was to survive for 136 more years. 17:20-23 These verses make it very clear: 1. God hates sin. 2. God is no respector of persons, and He will even punish His own people if they become unfaithful. 3. You can lose your salvation. 4. What God has said, including His threats, He will perform. God won’t act any differently than He has revealed through His inspired spokesmen.

17:24-28 “In accordance with the deportation system used so fully by Tiglathpileser III and followed by his successors, a vast transplantation of populaces occurred. Israelites were sent to Mesopotamia and even beyond; Babylonians and Arameans were transferred to Israel. Not only did the Assyrian monarchs hope to make the repopulated and reconstituted districts more manageable, but they hoped to train and encourage the citizenry to transfer their loyalties to the Assyrian Empire” (Gaebelein p. 251). Attacks by lions led the populace to inform the king of Assyria that the misfortunes had befallen them because they did not know the ways of the local “god” in the land. The king of Assyria permitted a priest to return and instruct the people. The priest and his entourage returned to Bethel, the religious capital of the old Kingdom of Israel.

17:29-41 Those who settled in the region of Samaria worshipped many different gods. In spite of the teaching of the previously mentioned priest, the people continued to worship their native deities. Notice that this situation provided an excellent opportunity to turn to the Lord fully, but they wasted this chance. They were more interested in rites and practices that would keep the lions away (help them cope with the problems of life), rather than truly love and serve God.

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These passages demonstrate the futility of false religion: 1. False religion is a religion of fear. These people would have never turned to God if it had not been for the plague of lions that threatened their lives. They feared the Lord superstitiously (17:32), but they didn’t have a wholesome respect for Him (17:34).

2. False religion is a religion of form. These people believed that acceptable religion depended on practicing the appropriate rituals, that is, if the formalities were performed correctly, then the god would be pleased.

3. False religion is a religion of facilitation. This is a religion that compromises, makes allowances for all viewpoints, and seeks the lowest common denominator.

4. False religion also doesn’t pay any attention to God’s instructions or qualifications for certain offices (17:32).

5. False religion is often very ecumenical, “you can worship God and serve your own favorite gods”.

“The religious development portrayed here provides a backdrop for the understanding of conditions at the time of the restoration as recorded in Ezra and Nehemiah and for an appreciation of why orthodox Jews later would shun the Samaritan faith with its various aberrations” (Vos p. 192). “Readers are warned that such worship is not worship at all. They must adhere to their Lord and to the covenant” (House p. 343).

Thus in modern times, “What is true” takes second place to “What I enjoy”.

“What I like” rules. “So pagan religion crates what it likes; biblical faith receives what is revealed. Pagans worship based on what they prefer; Biblicists must worship based on what God declares. The biblical worshiper must submit; the pagan worshiper may concoct” (Dale Ralph Davis p. 251). And sin will always result in exile, and there are exiles far worse than Assyrian captivity, the real exile we need to fear is eternal separation from God (2 Thess. 1:7-9).

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