2 Kings 14:23-15:38 "An Evil Savior and the Coming of Assyria" January 28, 2007 We're back to the short, swift, boring narrative. One king after another. There are two periods in Israel's history where you see this rapid-fire style: 1 Kings 15-16 and 2 Kings 14-16. Both start with a Jeroboam, and then run quickly through seven kings. There are lots of conspiracies, coups, and dynasty changes. Israel is in turmoil. But of course, if you look at the layout of the book of Kings, we were due for another boring section! Remember the three stories of the book of Kings? 1. The rise of the house of David 2. The rise of the northern kingdom of Israel (Jeroboam followed by six rapid-fire kings) 3. The rise of the house of Omri and the ministry of Elijah 3. The death of the house of Omri and the ministry of Elisha (Jeroboam II followed by six rapid-fire kings) 2. The death of the northern kingdom 1. The death of the house of David We are rapidly approaching the end of the northern kingdom of Israel, and the rapid succession of northern kings signals that after the death of Jeroboam II, the doom of Israel is near. It is very easy in this day of apostasy and declension to see ourselves in the narrative. Today the sin of Jeroboam (denominational pride) is praised as something good! The Word of the LORD is set aside as something optional, and the people of God are more afraid of what the nations think, than what God thinks. Prophet and priest alike all have become corrupt and my people love it this way! 1. Jeroboam II and the Reunion of Israel and Judah (14:23-29) Jeroboam II appears to have been the most powerful of all the kings of Israel. Not only did he reign for 41 years (itself an impressive testimony to his power, since it was nearly twice as long as any other king in Israel), but the archeological evidence suggests that Jeroboam II engaged in the most extravagant building projects in the history of Israel. This fits with what we hear of Jeroboam in verses 25-28. He was an immensely powerful king who happened to benefit from the weakness of the Assyrian empire. The Assyrians were the dominant power in the region. In 805 BC (around the beginning of the reign of Jeroboam's father, Jehoash) Assyria defeated the Syrians and conquered Damascus. In fact, 20-30 years earlier, Jeroboam's great-grandfather, Jehu, had bowed to King Shalmaneser of Assyria (there is an Assyrian inscription showing this). While Kings makes no reference to the Assyrians until chapter 15, the Assyrian threat in the east was looming over Israel throughout the whole century of the house of Jehu. But during the reign of Jeroboam II (roughly 793 BC to 753 BC), Assyria was severely weakened by attacks from northern enemies leaving Israel the strongest power in the region. Only after Jeroboam's reign (ca. 745 BC) will Assyria begin to regain dominance in the region. Therefore Jeroboam II was able to restore the border of Israel from Lebo-hamath as far as the sea of the Arabah, according to the word of the LORD, the God of Israel, which he spoke by his servant Jonah the son of Amittai, the prophet, who was from Gath-hepher. This is the same Jonah who went to Ninevah, the capital of the Assyrian empire, and proclaimed the coming judgment of God upon Ninevah. Yet Ninevah repented. We don't know exactly when Jonah prophesied. Was it in the early years of Jeroboam II's reign? Or was it earlier? Somewhere in the first half of the 8th century BC in the midst of Ninevah's weakness Jonah had gone to the beleaguered capital of Assyria and called them to repentance. The prophecy of Jonah referred to here in 2 Kings 14:25 probably came first. Jonah had predicted that God would deliver his people from the hand of the Assyrians. And Jeroboam II was the deliverer the savior of God's people. Jeroboam I had divided the kingdom, and led the northern kingdom into the idolatrous worship of Yahweh with the golden calves. Jeroboam II now unites the kingdom, but he does not depart from the sin of his namesake. His ecumenical movement is, in the end, a movement of antichrist, because it usurps the throne of the Christ! Why do I say that? Well, 14:17 says that Amaziah of Judah lived fifteen years after the death of Jehoash of Israel. And 14:23 says that Jeroboam II became king immediately after the death of Jehoash of Israel. So you would expect to hear that Azariah of Judah became king in the fifteenth year of Jeroboam II. But 15:1 says that Azariah became king in the 27th year of Jeroboam II. There are several gaps of this sort in the chronologies of Israel and Judah. Many try to solve them by proposing "co-regencies" (so for instance, it is proposed that Jeroboam II was actually crowned king twelve years before his father died in which case the discrepancy disappears.) And quite frankly, if a king became ill, he very well might anoint his son king in order to ensure a smooth succession; but then, upon regaining his health, they would rule together for many years. But another option, especially in this case, is the youth of the son of the king. If Azariah was 16 in the 27th year of Jeroboam, then he would have been 4 years old when his father died. And especially since we are told in 14:14 that Jehoash of Israel conquered Jerusalem, took Amaziah captive, and brought hostages back to Samaria, it would be quite natural to read this as the subjugation of Judah. If Amaziah died while a vassal to Jeroboam II, with only a four-year old son, it would make perfect sense for Jeroboam II to take over the rule of Judah until Azariah was old enough to rule. And that seems to be what is suggested in verse 28: how he fought and how he restored Damascus and Hamath to Judah in Israel. Hamath and Damascus are both northern cities so why does he restore them to "Judah in Israel" unless he has united the two kingdoms under one head? But this indicates the extent of Jeroboam's domain: From Damascus in the north to the sea of the Arabah (the Dead Sea) in the South, Jeroboam ruled over all the territory of Israel and Judah. No king since the days of Solomon had such a territory. But this mighty king, who was God's instrument in saving Israel, and who united the kingdoms of Israel and Judah, is nonetheless said to have done "what was evil in the sight of the LORD." This is a good reminder that not every ecumenical effort is a good thing. We have seen that the sin of Jeroboam is a sort of denominational pride. If we are seeking to unite for the sake of increasing our power and position, then that is an Antichristian union. But if we are seeking to unite for the sake of our Lord Jesus Christ and the furtherance of his kingdom, then that is the sort of union that is pleasing to God. 2. Azariah and Jotham: Stability of a Sort in Judah (15:1-7, 32-38) Chapter 15 opens and closes with the accounts of Azariah (also known as Uzziah), and his son Jotham of Judah. The accounts of these two kings of Judah bracket six kings of Israel. Azariah reigned for 52 years and Jotham reigned from 16 years and they did what was right in the eyes of the LORD (in other words, they worshiped Yahweh in the temple-- even though they did not insist that their people join them). Verse 5 makes it clear that there was a period of co-regency at the end of Uzziah's reign. We have pretty clear evidence that the year of Uzziah's death was 740 BC, and we know that Jotham was dead by 732, so it would appear that the co-regency lasted from 748-740. Why did the LORD touch Azariah? (Verse 5) Kings does not tell us. 2 Chronicles 26:16-21 tells us the whole story. (He tried to offer incense in the temple) Perhaps that helps us understand why Isaiah says "in the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the LORD." Uzziah had been proud and sought to exalt himself in the temple of Yahweh, and he was struck with leprosy. So Isaiah humbles himself before the LORD, so the angel of the LORD touched Isaiah as well touching his lips with a coal from the altar, and calling him to bring the word of the LORD to Judah. But while Azariah and Jotham are good kings, who worship Yahweh in his temple, they are not able to stem the tide of rebellion. Verses 4 and 35 are virtually identical: Nevertheless, the high places were not taken away. The people still sacrificed and made offerings on the high places. It is not enough to have a good king. We need a king who will not only do what is right in the eyes of the LORD, but who will lead us to do what is right in the eyes of the LORD. We saw back in Samuel that God had called David (and his sons) to succeed where Israel failed. Israel was the son of God but Israel did not live up to their high calling, and so God declared that the son of David would be his son. But even the sons of David fell short. We have now had four straight good kings. Joash, Amaziah, Azariah, and Jotham all do right in the eyes of the LORD. But Judah still remains weak and impotent at least in part because they are divided from Israel. If the people of God will not follow the Christ, then what do you expect? This is why we need a king who will not only do what is right and conquer our enemies, but indeed a king who will subdue us to his will! After all, what God is showing us in the history of Israel and Judah is that it is not enough to have a good king! If the people will not follow their king, and the king is unable to draw them after himself to worship Yahweh in his temple, then there is no future for the people of God. But our Lord Jesus Christ has drawn us after himself into the heavenly temple, so that we might worship the Father in Spirit and in truth! 3. The Definition of Instability: Six Kings in Thirteen Years in Israel (15:8-31) In the middle of chapter 15 we have five kings in Israel. If you include the last months of Jeroboam II, we have six kings in Israel in a span of about 13 years. Chapter 14 pointed out that God was merciful to Israel in spite of their sin and rebellion. Chapter 15 now shows the chaos that results from rebellion. Jeroboam's son, Zechariah, reigned for six months before being assassinated by Shallum. God has promised that Jehu's descendants would rule for four generations and the fourth generation (Zechariah) lasted for all of six months! But Shallum only lasted for a month, before he was assassinated by Menahem. Menahem ruled for ten years the only king of Israel in this list to die a natural death! His son Pekahiah reigned two years before Pekah, his captain, conspired against him and struck him down. Pekah ruled for twenty years before Hoshea conspired against him and struck him down. As we'll hear next time, Hoshea is the last king of Israel. Jeroboam II reigned for 41 years. The last six kings of Israel all together reigned for 32 years. This instability is not good for a country. Some historians have tried to argue that there seems to have been a fair amount of continuity between the various dynasties in Israel. That may well be true. But as the much more detailed story of the transition from Saul to David points out, it still takes time for a new dynasty to consolidate power and pacify those who were opposed to the new king. Verses 19 and 29 refer to Assyrian incursions verse 19 says that Pul, the king of Assyria, came against the land. Pul appears to be another name for Tiglath-Pileser (verse 29). Tiglath-pileser took the throne around 745 BC and quickly rebuilt Assyrian power. Verse 19 says that Tiglath-pileser helped Menahem gain power in Israel and Menahem responded by paying tribute to Assyria (verse 20). Around 735, Pekah the son of Remaliah, appears to have rebelled against Assyrian dominance, forming an alliance with Rezin of Damascus (as verse 37 tells us). Syria and Israel had been enemies for a long time, but with the Assyrian power rising in the east, old enemies find common cause! Angered, the Assyrians came and overthrew the Syrian capital of Damascus in 732, and captured the northern and eastern half of Israel (the regions of Gilead and Galilee), taking the northern half of Israel into exile. Jeroboam II had restored the borders of Israel, restoring the 2 « tribes on the east side of the Jordan that had been taken by Syria. But now, not only is the land of Gilead (the east side of the Jordan) captured, but also Naphtali on the west side of the Jordan. Tiglath-pileser takes a third of Israel captive (The Assyrian model of world domination involved taking captives out of their homeland and moving them into a new area mixing them with other peoples on the supposition that if you mingled ethnicities, they would probably not be as rebellious as if you left them in their own land.) Jeroboam II left the throne around 753 with the kingdom of Israel experiencing the greatest glory in its history (the archeology suggests that in terms of outward wealth, it may have been more powerful even than the days of Solomon). Thirty-two years later, there is no such thing as the kingdom of Israel. Shalmaneser will come in 722 BC and finish the job that Tiglath-pileser started. Israel will be sent into exile never to return. We still do not know what happened to all of the ten tribes. Genetic testing has identified certain pockets of these peoples throughout the middle east. But this is a sobering reminder of what happens when the people of God rebel against him. Those who refuse to look to the Christ the LORD's anointed will be scattered. I would like to close by pointing to one line in the reign of Jotham: the last phrase of verse 35: He built the upper gate of the house of the LORD. Jotham reigned approximately from 748-732 (the first eight years, in this scenario, during the leprosy of his father, Uzziah). In these years, Tiglath-pileser is wreaking havoc in the north. The Assyrians are coming. And verse 37 says that Israel and Syria have allied against Jotham, as they build a northern alliance against the Assyrians. But rather than join the northern alliance, and rather than build fortifications and develop an army, Jotham is building another gate for the temple. (Now Chronicles tells us that Jotham did build fortifications, which makes the account in Kings all the more interesting). Because Kings does not want us to see Jotham as a military strategist. Kings wants us to see that Jotham trusted in the LORD. It is not his military fortifications that matter, but the honor that he showed to Yahweh, in building up the temple of the LORD even in the midst of trial and tribulation. And of course, that is what our Lord Jesus Christ has done. He is the Son of David who when faced with the onslaught of his foes, did not seek refuge in military fortifications, but sought refuge in his heavenly Father. And our Lord Jesus Christ has become the gate of the heavenly temple. He is the door through which we come before the Father and give praise to him. And now we have been built into that spiritual house that holy temple a dwelling place for God. Jesus Christ is the son of David who has established his church his temple because our safety is not in chariots or horses, or mighty battlements. Our refuge is the Lord Jesus Christ!