Readings for this week
Monday: 2 Kings 7
Tuesday: 2 Kings 8
Wednesday: 2 Kings 9
Thursday: 2 Kings 10
Friday: 2 Kings 11
Saturday: 2 Kings 12
Sunday: 2 Kings 13
Tuesday: 2 Kings 8
Wednesday: 2 Kings 9
Thursday: 2 Kings 10
Friday: 2 Kings 11
Saturday: 2 Kings 12
Sunday: 2 Kings 13
Introduction to 2nd Kings 7-13
Four lepers leave the starving and besieged city of Samaria to surrender to the Arameans, but they find the Aramean camp is deserted. God had caused the army to hear the sound of chariots so they quickly fled and left everything behind, assuming the Egyptians and Hittites had come to rescue Israel. The lepers start to eat the abandoned food and gather the gold left behind. But they then feel guilty for hoarding and go back to share the good news with the rest of the starving city. The king thinks it might be a trap so he sends his officers out to investigate. But then all the people rush out of the city to get food. And the officer who had scoffed at Elisha is trampled in the stampede and dies.
Later, Elisha journeys to Damascus, the capital of Aram. The king, Ben-Hadad, is very ill, and he sends his servant Hazael to inquire of Elisha. Elisha says, “Your master will die, but tell him he’ll live.” He then stares intently at Hazael until he feels embarrassed. Elisha starts weeping, and he claims knowledge of Hazael’s future crimes against Israel, and he tells Hazael he will replace Ben-Hadad as king of Aram. Hazael returns, and tells Ben-Hadad he will recover. The next day, he takes a wet cloth and suffocates Ben-Hadad.
Elisha sends his servant to anoint Jehu king over Israel. The servant runs into the house, pours oil on Jehu’s head, tells him he must destroy Ahab’s house, and runs off. Jehu’s friends ask what that “maniac” wanted, Jehu’s like, “Oh, you know…” His friends press him, and he confesses he’s now king, and they honor him.
King Joram spies an army coming towards his palace. He sends a messenger, saying, “Do you come in peace?” The messenger returns, saying, “The man in charge must be Jehu – he’s driving like a maniac as usual! He says, ‘What do you have to do with peace, Joram?’” Joram flees, but is shot down by Jehu. Joram’s body is tossed into what was once Naboth’s vineyard. Jehu also kills Ahaziah King of Judah who had been visiting Joram at the time.
We then hear about the death of Jezebel. Jezebel puts on makeup, sits in the second story window, and calls to Jehu, “Have you come in peace, you Zimri, you murderer of your master?” Jezebel’s eunuchs side with Jehu and throw her out the window. Jezebel hits the ground and “her blood spattered on the wall.” Jehu and his men go inside to eat lunch, and their horses trample her. When they return to bury her, they only find her skull, hands, and feet. Elijah’s prophecy is affirmed – “dogs will devour Jezebel...”
The royal servants side with Jehu, and they behead Ahab’s 70 sons, and send the heads in baskets to Jehu, and Jehu piles them up at the gate of Jezreel. Jehu kills all of Ahab’s friends and priests. On the side, he also kills some relatives of Judah’s now former king.
Jehu tells the priests of Baal he will serve Baal more faithfully than Ahab did, and he invites them all to come to a great sacrifice. After the sacrifice, Jehu slaughters the priests. God promised to reward Jehu for his faithfulness. However, the text says that sometimes Jehu was unfaithful by worshiping the golden calves. Jehu reigned over Israel for 28 years. When he died, his son Jehoahaz succeeded him as king.
Jehoahaz reigned over Israel for 17 years, but he was evil. Israel still refused to repent even after God allowed the Arameans to wipe out most of their army.
Jehoash reigned over Israel for 16 years, but he was also evil. Jehoash visits Elisha who had been sick for a long time and would soon die. Jehoash weeps in Elisha’s presence, saying, “My father! My father! The chariots and horsemen of Israel!”
Elisha’s last message: “Take your bow and shoot towards Aram – you will defeat them! …Strike the ground with your arrows.”
Jehoash strikes the ground three times, but stops. Elisha is angry, and tells him if he had struck it more times he would have had a greater victory, but now “You will only have three victories before Aram returns.”
Elisha dies and is buried in a tomb. Sometime later, Moabite raiders show up during another funeral for a different family. The family quickly throws the body into Elisha’s tomb and runs. The text says, “When the body touched Elisha’s bones, the man came to life and stood up on his feet.” The text says that later Jehoash was only able to defeat the Arameans three times, but God was still compassionate towards His sinful people for the sake of His covenant with Abraham.
Later, Elisha journeys to Damascus, the capital of Aram. The king, Ben-Hadad, is very ill, and he sends his servant Hazael to inquire of Elisha. Elisha says, “Your master will die, but tell him he’ll live.” He then stares intently at Hazael until he feels embarrassed. Elisha starts weeping, and he claims knowledge of Hazael’s future crimes against Israel, and he tells Hazael he will replace Ben-Hadad as king of Aram. Hazael returns, and tells Ben-Hadad he will recover. The next day, he takes a wet cloth and suffocates Ben-Hadad.
Elisha sends his servant to anoint Jehu king over Israel. The servant runs into the house, pours oil on Jehu’s head, tells him he must destroy Ahab’s house, and runs off. Jehu’s friends ask what that “maniac” wanted, Jehu’s like, “Oh, you know…” His friends press him, and he confesses he’s now king, and they honor him.
King Joram spies an army coming towards his palace. He sends a messenger, saying, “Do you come in peace?” The messenger returns, saying, “The man in charge must be Jehu – he’s driving like a maniac as usual! He says, ‘What do you have to do with peace, Joram?’” Joram flees, but is shot down by Jehu. Joram’s body is tossed into what was once Naboth’s vineyard. Jehu also kills Ahaziah King of Judah who had been visiting Joram at the time.
We then hear about the death of Jezebel. Jezebel puts on makeup, sits in the second story window, and calls to Jehu, “Have you come in peace, you Zimri, you murderer of your master?” Jezebel’s eunuchs side with Jehu and throw her out the window. Jezebel hits the ground and “her blood spattered on the wall.” Jehu and his men go inside to eat lunch, and their horses trample her. When they return to bury her, they only find her skull, hands, and feet. Elijah’s prophecy is affirmed – “dogs will devour Jezebel...”
The royal servants side with Jehu, and they behead Ahab’s 70 sons, and send the heads in baskets to Jehu, and Jehu piles them up at the gate of Jezreel. Jehu kills all of Ahab’s friends and priests. On the side, he also kills some relatives of Judah’s now former king. Jehu tells the priests of Baal he will serve Baal more faithfully than Ahab did, and he invites them all to come to a great sacrifice. After the sacrifice, Jehu slaughters the priests. God promised to reward Jehu for his faithfulness. However, the text says that sometimes Jehu was unfaithful by worshiping the golden calves. Jehu reigned over Israel for 28 years. When he died, his son Jehoahaz succeeded him as king.
Jehoahaz reigned over Israel for 17 years, but he was evil. Israel still refused to repent even after God allowed the Arameans to wipe out most of their army.
Jehoash reigned over Israel for 16 years, but he was also evil. Jehoash visits Elisha who had been sick for a long time and would soon die. Jehoash weeps in Elisha’s presence, saying, “My father! My father! The chariots and horsemen of Israel!”
Elisha’s last message: “Take your bow and shoot towards Aram – you will defeat them! …Strike the ground with your arrows.”
Jehoash strikes the ground three times, but stops. Elisha is angry, and tells him if he had struck it more times he would have had a greater victory, but now “You will only have three victories before Aram returns.”
Elisha dies and is buried in a tomb. Sometime later, Moabite raiders show up during another funeral for a different family. The family quickly throws the body into Elisha’s tomb and runs. The text says, “When the body touched Elisha’s bones, the man came to life and stood up on his feet.” The text says that later Jehoash was only able to defeat the Arameans three times, but God was still compassionate towards His sinful people for the sake of His covenant with Abraham.
Meanwhile in the southern kingdom of Judah…
Jehoram reigned in Jerusalem for 8 years. He was evil. He married one of Ahab’s daughters. Edom rebelled during his reign.
Ahaziah reigned for one year. He was bad, too. He teamed up with Israel and went to war against Hazael of Aram, but he died in battle.
After Ahaziah was killed, his mother Athaliah declared herself Queen of Judah. Athaliah was the granddaughter of King Omri of Israel and was Ahab’s cousin. Athaliah made it her goal to kill all of David’s descendants. Joash was the only boy left alive from the house of David. His aunt Jehosheba hid him in the Temple for six years from his crazy grandma Athaliah. The priests proclaimed Joash king on his seventh birthday, and revealed him to the worshipers. They placed a crown placed on head, and gave him a copy of The Law. Athaliah came to the Temple and tried to make a scene, but the Temple guards arrested her and put her to death outside of the Temple. The High Priest Jehoiada made a covenant between the king and the people and between the king and God. The people then destroyed Baal’s temple, and the land had peace.
Joash reigned in Jerusalem for 40 years. He did what was right in God’s sight. Joash set up a fund for Temple repairs. When he turned 30, he saw that the priests had not done a good job in repairing damages at the Temple, so he told the priests to use the money to hire workers who knew what they were doing, and in this way the Temple was finally repaired.
Hazael King of Aram attacked Jerusalem, and Joash emptied the Temple treasury and the royal treasury and gave it all to Hazael to make him go away. One day, as Joash was walking down the road, some of his own officials attacked him and killed him. Joash’s son Amaziah succeeded him as king, and the Davidic Dynasty continued.
Ahaziah reigned for one year. He was bad, too. He teamed up with Israel and went to war against Hazael of Aram, but he died in battle.
After Ahaziah was killed, his mother Athaliah declared herself Queen of Judah. Athaliah was the granddaughter of King Omri of Israel and was Ahab’s cousin. Athaliah made it her goal to kill all of David’s descendants. Joash was the only boy left alive from the house of David. His aunt Jehosheba hid him in the Temple for six years from his crazy grandma Athaliah. The priests proclaimed Joash king on his seventh birthday, and revealed him to the worshipers. They placed a crown placed on head, and gave him a copy of The Law. Athaliah came to the Temple and tried to make a scene, but the Temple guards arrested her and put her to death outside of the Temple. The High Priest Jehoiada made a covenant between the king and the people and between the king and God. The people then destroyed Baal’s temple, and the land had peace.
Joash reigned in Jerusalem for 40 years. He did what was right in God’s sight. Joash set up a fund for Temple repairs. When he turned 30, he saw that the priests had not done a good job in repairing damages at the Temple, so he told the priests to use the money to hire workers who knew what they were doing, and in this way the Temple was finally repaired.
Hazael King of Aram attacked Jerusalem, and Joash emptied the Temple treasury and the royal treasury and gave it all to Hazael to make him go away. One day, as Joash was walking down the road, some of his own officials attacked him and killed him. Joash’s son Amaziah succeeded him as king, and the Davidic Dynasty continued.
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