Bible Commentaries
2 Kings 15

Introduction

Second Kings Chapter 15

2 Kings 15:1 "In the twenty and seventh year of Jeroboam king of Israel began Azariah son of Amaziah king of Judah to reign."

We learned in the last chapter, that Azariah and Uzziah is the same person.

2 Kings 15:2 "Sixteen years old was he when he began to reign, and he reigned two and fifty years in Jerusalem. And his mother’s name [was] Jecholiah of Jerusalem."

This young man of 16 reigned 52 years, until he was 68 years old. This is a reign that took the better part of his life. He was king of Judah, and did right in the sight of the LORD. "Jecholiah" means Jehovah is strong. She was the wife of Amaziah. In 2 Chronicles, her name is spelled Jecoliah.

2 Kings 15:3 "And he did [that which was] right in the sight of the LORD, according to all that his father Amaziah had done;"

Azariah was a very good king. He sought the LORD during his reign. He wanted to please God and man. His judgments of the people were just.

2 Kings 15:4 "Save that the high places were not removed: the people sacrificed and burnt incense still on the high places."

Azariah did not realize that sacrificing in the high places was a sin. He had not been taught better. His parents, probably, did not know better, either.

2 Kings 15:5 "And the LORD smote the king, so that he was a leper unto the day of his death, and dwelt in a several house. And Jotham the king’s son [was] over the house, judging the people of the land."

This particular thing happened late in his reign. In the book of Chronicles, we read that God blessed him mightily in his early days as king. On one occasion, he defeated the Philistines, with the blessing of the LORD. He defeated the Arabians, and caused the Ammonites to pay tribute to Judah. He had over 300,000 men in his army. They were well equipped and well trained. His great sin was when he invaded the temple, and went into the priest’s office, and burned incense at the golden altar in the holy of holies. The leprosy came, after he had done this terrible thing. Lepers were thought of as unclean, and he had to live a separated life. Azariah was ultimate ruler, but Jotham, his son, represented him before the people.

2 Kings 15:6 "And the rest of the acts of Azariah, and all that he did, [are] they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah?"

2 Kings 15:7 "So Azariah slept with his fathers; and they buried him with his fathers in the city of David: and Jotham his son reigned in his stead."

This book of chronicles is the record book that was kept. There is, also, a great deal about Azariah in 2 Chronicles in the Bible. He had an honorable burial in Jerusalem. "Jotham" means Jehovah is upright. Jotham was a good king, who did right in the sight of the LORD. He was prosperous and re-built the temple gates.

2 Kings 15:8 "In the thirty and eighth year of Azariah king of Judah did Zachariah the son of Jeroboam reign over Israel in Samaria six months."

This has jumped back to Israel, again. Zachariah is the son of Jeroboam the second really. His reign was short, because he was so evil, and he was killed. "Zachariah" means whom Jehovah remembers.

2 Kings 15:9 "And he did [that which was] evil in the sight of the LORD, as his fathers had done: he departed not from the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who made Israel to sin."

It was Jeroboam the first, who set up the two golden calves, and that is what this is speaking of, again. He is the last of the house of Jehu to reign. God had fulfilled his promise to Jehu, that his sons would reign to the 4th generation.

2 Kings 15:10 "And Shallum the son of Jabesh conspired against him, and smote him before the people, and slew him, and reigned in his stead."

It appears, that Shallum killed Zachariah in front of the people.

2 Kings 15:11 "And the rest of the acts of Zachariah, behold, they [are] written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel."

2 Kings 15:12 "This [was] the word of the LORD which he spake unto Jehu, saying, Thy sons shall sit on the throne of Israel unto the fourth [generation]. And so it came to pass."

The mention of this record book is for each king in succession. Even though this king lasted only 6 months, God had fulfilled his promise.

2 Kings 15:13 "Shallum the son of Jabesh began to reign in the nine and thirtieth year of Uzziah king of Judah; and he reigned a full month in Samaria."

2 Kings 15:14 "For Menahem the son of Gadi went up from Tirzah, and came to Samaria, and smote Shallum the son of Jabesh in Samaria, and slew him, and reigned in his stead."

This is a short lived reign. Live by the sword, and you shall die by the sword, was certainly fulfilled here. He died almost as soon as he got into office. This, alone, shows the evil that was rampant in Israel. At this point in time, it appeared the way to get the office of king, was to kill the king. Menahem was, probably, commander in chief of the army, when he killed Shallum.

2 Kings 15:15 "And the rest of the acts of Shallum, and his conspiracy which he made, behold, they [are] written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel."

There could not have been much to record on him, since he was in office just a month.

2 Kings 15:16 "Then Menahem smote Tiphsah, and all that [were] therein, and the coasts thereof from Tirzah: because they opened not [to him], therefore he smote [it; and] all the women therein that were with child he ripped up."

"Tiphsah" means passage, or fordway. This could have been speaking of a particular passage-way that Menahem took. He was a very vicious king, as we see by his treatment of the pregnant women. It appears, the army had fought bitterly against Menahem, and he felt justified in his cruelty, because of their resistance.

2 Kings 15:17 "In the nine and thirtieth year of Azariah king of Judah began Menahem the son of Gadi to reign over Israel, [and reigned] ten years in Samaria."

Samaria was the capital city of Israel. His reign of ten years was a reign of cruelty and idolatry.

2 Kings 15:18 "And he did [that which was] evil in the sight of the LORD: he departed not all his days from the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who made Israel to sin."

Over and over, we see the mention of the terrible sin of worshipping the golden calf. It is always mentioned in association with Jeroboam, who had established this worship in Bethel and Dan. It seemed, that each king, from the time of Jerobaoam, accepted the worship of the two golden calves. Menahem’s sins extended much further than just the worship of the calves. He was evil in every aspect of his life.

2 Kings 15:19 "[And] Pul the king of Assyria came against the land: and Menahem gave Pul a thousand talents of silver, that his hand might be with him to confirm the kingdom in his hand."

Pul was the king of Assyria. Some believe Pul to be Tiglath-pileser. There is very little known of him. We do see in this Scripture, that he led an army against Menahem in Israel, and Pul won. Menahem arranged for Israel to be redeemed from the conquest of Pul by giving him 125,000 pounds of silver. Pul received the money, and left Menahem as king of Israel.

2 Kings 15:20 "And Menahem exacted the money of Israel, [even] of all the mighty men of wealth, of each man fifty shekels of silver, to give to the king of Assyria. So the king of Assyria turned back, and stayed not there in the land."

We can see, from this, that Menahem got this silver by taxing the men who had it. He taxed the wealthy. This means that each of these men gave the king 25 ounces of silver. This is slightly over 2 pounds per person. This means that about 60,000 people each gave this amount of silver, to buy the freedom of Israel.

2 Kings 15:21 "And the rest of the acts of Menahem, and all that he did, [are] they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel?"

2 Kings 15:22 "And Menahem slept with his fathers; and Pekahiah his son reigned in his stead."

In the ten years of his reign, there were, probably, many things that happened and were recorded. This record book was for the civil record. It appears, that Pekahiah was no better than his evil father, and he will be killed by his own general.

2 Kings 15:23 "In the fiftieth year of Azariah king of Judah Pekahiah the son of Menahem began to reign over Israel in Samaria, [and reigned] two years."

2 Kings 15:24 "And he did [that which was] evil in the sight of the LORD: he departed not from the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who made Israel to sin."

This was a very short reign. Each time a new king takes the throne, it seems that he gives his approval afresh to the worship of the golden calves of Jeroboam.

2 Kings 15:25 "But Pekah the son of Remaliah, a captain of his, conspired against him, and smote him in Samaria, in the palace of the king’s house, with Argob and Arieh, and with him fifty men of the Gileadites: and he killed him, and reigned in his room."

2 Kings 15:26 "And the rest of the acts of Pekahiah, and all that he did, behold, they [are] written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel."

We find that each of these evil kings seemed to come to a violent death at the hands of their own people. It seems, that Remaliah, the father of Pekah, was better known than Pekah, himself. One of the notable things that Pekah did was described by the following Scripture. 2 Chronicles 28:6 "For Pekah the son of Remaliah slew in Judah an hundred and twenty thousand in one day, [which were] all valiant men; because they had forsaken the LORD God of their fathers."

2 Kings 15:27 "In the two and fiftieth year of Azariah king of Judah Pekah the son of Remaliah began to reign over Israel in Samaria, [and reigned] twenty years."

It seems, that every time Pekah is mentioned, that Remaliah is mentioned with him. It was toward the last of the reign of Azariah, that Pekah began to reign.

2 Kings 15:28 "And he did [that which was] evil in the sight of the LORD: he departed not from the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who made Israel to sin."

There was not one king in Israel that truly lived for the LORD. They each permitted the worship of the golden calves. This king was more evil than most of the kings. Isaiah shows that he made treaties with foreigners, to come against his Hebrew brothers, in Judah. He actually had a great deal to do with the battles of his day against Judah.

2 Kings 15:29 "In the days of Pekah king of Israel came Tiglathpileser king of Assyria, and took Ijon, and Abel-beth-maachah, and Janoah, and Kedesh, and Hazor, and Gilead, and Galilee, all the land of Naphtali, and carried them captive to Assyria."

This attack by the Assyrians really affected the greater part of the territory of Israel east of the Jordan river. This is speaking of the land of Gad, Reuben, and Manasseh. This Tiglath-pileser was the same one that was paid to retreat by Azariah. The land of Naphtali was included in the tribes east of the Jordan, where the people were carried captive back into Assyria.

2 Kings 15:30 "And Hoshea the son of Elah made a conspiracy against Pekah the son of Remaliah, and smote him, and slew him, and reigned in his stead, in the twentieth year of Jotham the son of Uzziah."

2 Kings 15:31 "And the rest of the acts of Pekah, and all that he did, behold, they [are] written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel."

We must remember that Uzziah and Azariah is the same person. It helps us keep the events straight. We will find in all of this, we will run out of kings in Israel, before we run out of kings in Judah, because Israel goes into Assyrian captivity long before Judah is taken captive by the Babylonians. Hoshea will be the last of the kings of Israel. Hoshea would be king, when Israel is completely overrun. Again, we see that more is found in the civil records of the kings.

2 Kings 15:32 "In the second year of Pekah the son of Remaliah king of Israel began Jotham the son of Uzziah king of Judah to reign."

For part of their reign, Jotham of Judah and Pekah of Israel are contemporaries. Jotham was a good king. He did right in the sight of the LORD. During his reign, the temple gates were rebuilt.

2 Kings 15:33 "Five and twenty years old was he when he began to reign, and he reigned sixteen years in Jerusalem. And his mother’s name [was] Jerusha, the daughter of Zadok."

He reigned from the age of 25 to the age of 41. Zadoc was a popular name. The only claim to fame this Zadoc had, was the fact that he was father of Jerusha. Jerusah was, also, the wife of Uzziah {Azariah}. The capital of Judah was Jerusalem. Judah’s life centered around the temple worship.

2 Kings 15:34 "And he did [that which was] right in the sight of the LORD: he did according to all that his father Uzziah had done."

2 Kings 15:35 "Howbeit the high places were not removed: the people sacrificed and burned incense still in the high places. He built the higher gate of the house of the LORD."

It is very obvious, that his desire was to please God. He was not totally aware, that the high places were offending God. He, possibly, realized the Assyrians were overwhelming Israel and he wanted the house of the LORD to be safe. He built a stronger and a taller gate to protect it.

2 Kings 15:36 "Now the rest of the acts of Jotham, and all that he did, [are] they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah?"

Again, we see there was a civil record kept of the actions of the kings of Judah, as there was of the kings of Israel. The Hebrews were great record keepers.

2 Kings 15:37 "In those days the LORD began to send against Judah Rezin the king of Syria, and Pekah the son of Remaliah."

Pekah thought it might help him, if he helped Rezin to come against Judah. Isaiah 7:1 "And it came to pass in the days of Ahaz the son of Jotham, the son of Uzziah, king of Judah, [that] Rezin the king of Syria, and Pekah the son of Remaliah, king of Israel, went up toward Jerusalem to war against it, but could not prevail against it."

2 Kings 15:38 "And Jotham slept with his fathers, and was buried with his fathers in the city of David his father: and Ahaz his son reigned in his stead."

"Ahaz" means possessor, or possession. Ahaz is, also, known by Achaz and Jehohoahaz. Ahaz will not be like his father, Jotham who did right. Ahaz is an evil king. We will find that Ahaz walks in the ways of the kings of Israel. We will read more of him in the next chapter.

2 Kings 15 Questions

1. Who is the same person as Azariah?

2. How old was Azariah, when he began to reign?

3. What does "Jecholiah" mean?

4. What kind of king was he?

5. What was one thing the LORD had against him?

6. When did he become a leper?

7. What sin did he commit, that caused him to be leprous?

8. Who represented Azariah before the people in the last of his reign?

9. What does "Jotham" mean?

10. What outstanding thing did he do?

11. How long did Zachariah reign?

12. Who killed Zachariah, and reigned in his stead?

13. How long did Shallum reign?

14. What happened to him?

15. What does "Tiphsah" mean?

16. What terrible thing did Menahem do to the pregnant women?

17. The worship of the golden calves is always mentioned in connection with what king?

18. Pul was king of _____________.

19. Who do some believe Pul to be?

20. How much silver did Pul get from Menahem?

21. Where did Menahem get the silver?

22. How long did Pekahiah reign?

23. Who reigned after Pekahiah?

24. How many did Pekah kill in one day in Judah?

25. How long did Pekah reign?

26. Who did the Assyrians attack, in 2 Kings 15:29, affect?

27. Who would be the last king of Israel to reign?

28. Who was Jerusha’s son?

29. Who built the higher gate at the house of the LORD?

30. Who came against Judah in those days?

31. What does "Ahaz" mean?

Verse 1

2Ki 15:1