Immanuel Lutheran Church ~ Mankato, MN
Fall 2000 Bible Study
Lesson 09 — November 26, 2000
JEROBOAM II / AMAZIAH & AZARIAH(UZZIAH)
2 Kings: 14:1-15:31; 2 Chronicles 25-26
Note: Both Israel and Judah were ruled by a king named
Jehoash/Joash. Jeroboam II is the son of Joash king of Israel. Amaziah is the son of
Joash king of Judah (Lesson 8).
The Kingdom of ISRAEL – Joash through Pekah
| King |
Length of Reign |
Evaluation of Reign |
End of Reign |
| Jeroboam II |
41 years |
"He did evil in the sight
of the Lord; he did not depart from all the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who had
made Israel sin" (14:24). |
Died naturally. |
| Zechariah |
6 months |
"He did evil in the sight
of the Lord, as his fathers had done; he did not depart from the sinf of Jeroboam the
son of Nebat who made Israel sin" (15:9). |
Killed in the conspiracy of Shallum.
This ended the reign of Jehu’s family as prophesied by God (15:12). |
| Shallum |
1 month |
"…the conspiracy which he
committed" (15:15). |
Killed by Menahem. |
| Menahem |
10 years |
"He did evil in the sight
of the Lord; he did not depart all his days from the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat,
who had made Israel sin" (15:18). |
Died naturally. |
| Pekahiah |
2 years |
"He did evil in the sight
of the Lord; he did not depart from the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat who had made
Israel sin" (15:24). |
Killed in the conspiracy of
Pekah. |
| Pekah |
20 years |
"He did evil in the sight
of the Lord; he did not depart from the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who had made
Israel sin" (15:28). |
Killed in the conspiracy of
Hoshea. |
Jeroboam II
- Despite his wickedness (see above) he benefitted Israel through
the restoration of territory (15:25,28).
- READ 15:26-27
- Israel’s time of grace was not yet to an end
- cf: 2 Kings 13:5, 23
- cf: Deuteronomy 32:36
- The prophet Jonah mentioned in 14:25 is the Jonah of the book of
Jonah. Here he prophesied concerning Israel—a prophecy not directly recorded in
Scripture. In the book, Jonah, his prophesy speaks to Nineveh (Assyria).
The Kingdom of JUDAH – Amaziah & Azariah(Uzziah)
AMAZIAH (2 Chronicles 25):
- Began to reign at age 25; reigned for 29 years
- Executed the conspirators who had killed his father Joash; BUT he observed the Law of God in
doing so – 2 Chronicles 25:4
- He was a good king BUT – 2 Kings 14:2-4
- The root cause for his failure was – 2 Chronicles 25:2
- The Successful War with Edom – 2 Chronicles 25:5-16
- 300,000 war-capable men, 20 years and above, under the leadership of captains over 1,000 men and
captains over 100 men
- He hired 100,000 mercenaries from Israel for 100 talents silver
- Hiring help for battle was contrary to the Lord’s will – 2 Chronicles 25:7-10,13
- The Lord fulfilled His Word – 2 Chronicles 25:11-12
- Amaziah’s sin – 2 Chronicles 14-17
- What was the height of foolishness in Amaziah’s action?
- Recall similar foolishness in the earlier history of Israel
- What was the king’s reaction to the prophet’s words? How is this parallel with the
reaction of any unrepentant sinner?
- What was the criterion for the prophet to conclude that God’s judgment would fall
upon the king?
- The Unsuccessful War with Israel – 2 Chronicles 25:17-28
- Amaziah sends word to Joash, king of Israel, saying: "Let’s go to war."
- Joash does his best to dissuade Amaziah. Joash sees Amaziah’s action for what it is, namely,
self-reliant PRIDE! -- 2 Chronicles 25:18-19
- Amaziah goes to battle despite the warning from Joash. This is a judgement of God upon Amaziah
for his idolatry – 2 Chronicles 25:20 – Does this bring to mind a similar act of God upon another king?
- Israel and Judah went to war at Beth Shemesh. Judah was soundly defeated. Joash captured Amaziah,
took him to Jerusalem, broke down about 600 feet of Jerusalem’s wall. When Joash went back to Samaria, he took all the
gold & silver from the Temple and the king’s house and he took hostages.
- Amaziah lived 15 years after Joash of Israel died. In the end, there was a conspiracy against
Amaziah (this too is connected to Amaziah’s unfaithfulness, cf: 2 Chronicles 25:27). He fled to Lachish, but the
conspirators found him there and killed him.
AZARIAH (2 Chronicles 26):
- Also known as Uzziah
- Son of Amaziah, made king at the age of 16 after Amaziah was killed.
- He was a good king, BUT he had the same failings as his forefathers – 2 Kings 15:3-4;
2 Chronicles 26:4
- Accomplishments by the blessing of God – 2 Chronicles 26:2-15
- At 52 years, his reign was the longest of any king in Israel or Judah (2 Kings 15:2)
- Restored the city of Elath to Judah (26:2)
- Subdued the Philistines, Arabians, Meunites, and Ammonites (26:6-8)
- Fame spread even as far as Egypt and he became exceedingly strong (26:8)
- Rebuilt the wall of Jerusalem (cf: above) and fortified it (26:9)
- He built towers and wells in the desert; had much livestock, farmers, vineyards (26:10)
- He had a well-trained, well-organized, very capable army (26:11-15)
- All of this accomplishment & success was from the Lord – 2 Chronicles 26:5
- Azariah’s sin & consequence – 2 Chronicles 26:16-21
- What is consistently the downfall of the kings?
- How true does this remain today not only with rulers, but anyone who has success?
- The prophet Isaiah was called into his prophetic office in the year that Uzziah died
(Isaiah 6:1; cf: 2 Chronicles 26:22). The judgments from God which Isaiah speaks against Israel are, in part,
against Uzziah’s Judah (Isaiah 1:1ff). Thus, we can see that despite Judah’s external success, she was still a
nation rotting from within as she drifted ever further from the Lord.
{WCE}
Coming Next Week….
Israel’s End / Jotham-Ahaz
2 Kings 15:32-17:41; 2 Chronicles 27-28
2000
Celebrating 40 years of God’s Grace