Hoshea, the last king of the Northern Kingdom (Israel), takes steps with Egypt to escape paying tribute to Assyria. Assyria finds out and imprisons him and that is last we hear of the last King of the North. Then Assyria besieges the capital city, finally conquers it and takes away all of the northern kingdom’s people to foreign lands. It is because of their idolatry, and disobedience, including child sacrifice, that God judged them using Assyria. The historian in this chapter unleashes a scathing sermon rebuking the loss of the kingdom because of their astounding apostasy for the sake of future generations.
Because of Him !
This king, Ahaz, was the son and grandson of two good kings and yet he is forever know as the king who “brought Judah low,” and the one who “had encouraged moral decline in Judah and had been continually unfaithful to the LORD.” Not only did he see a pagan altar in Syria and had a duplicate made to replace the brazen altar in God’s temple in Jerusalem, but he also practiced child sacrifice. Rather than repent before God when chasten through defeat, he increased his animosity towards God in outward pagan displays.
The Killer Kings
The first king in this section was Judean, he came to the throne after his father was assassinated, and became one of Judah’s great kings. Of the five kings of the Northern Kingdom listed here four of them killed their king to become king. This is the noxious fruit from almost three hundred years of apostasy in that kingdom. Some of these killer kings brought material prosperity to their kingdom without a drop of godliness.
The Thistle King
Even though the names and chronological order is very confusing in this chapter, the lessons from the Holy Spirit abound! First there is the southern kingdom’s King Amaziah. Just like his father Joash, he had every opportunity to do well as a godly king and completely ruined it. He was called a thistle compared to a cedar by the king in the north (Jehoash), who defeated Amaziah, but he himself was also an apostate idolater.
Elisha Dies
The story moves back in time, from King Joash of Judah, to kings in Israel (northern kingdom). Then we come to the death of one of Israel’s greatest prophets, Elisha. News reaches the palace of king Joash (northern kingdom), and he visits Elisha. In a heartfelt meeting the king honored the prophet but not the prophet’s God. Elisha, terminally ill, gave instructions to the king which were done without zeal enough.
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