2 Kings 15:1-7
Azariah, son of Amaziah, became king of Judah when he was 16 years old. His name is also translated as Uzziah. Azariah means 'the Lord is my help' and Uzziah means 'the Lord is my strength'. Azariah reigned 52 years and did right in the sight of God. But he didn't clear out all the high places though. We can get more details of his life from 2 Chronicles 26 and verse five of this chapter summarizes his early life:
5 He sought God in the days of Zechariah, who had understanding in the visions of God; and as long as he sought the Lord, God made him prosper.
Then in 2 Chronicles 26:16 we see that his pride led him to do something crazy; he entered the temple and offered incense as if he were a priest. The priest gathered against him to correct him. As he protested against the priest, leprosy broke out on his forehead. He was a leper until his death. His son, Jotham, judged the people people and then became king after his father's death.
2 Kings 15:8-12
Zechariah, son of Jeroboam, became king of Israel for just 6 months. His reign was characterized by evil. Shallum conspired against him and killed him. Zechariah was the 4th generation from Jehu that the Lord said would sit on the throne. (The Lord didn't say how long!) The prophecy is from 2 Kings 10:30.
2 Kings 15:13-16
Shallum acquired the throne through conspiracy, intrigue and murder. The end of his reign came in a similar way in just one month. Menahem came and struck him down and became king in his place. Menahem was probably a military guy.
Menahem went on to strike Tiphsah because they didn't recognize him as king. We get a brieg glimpse of the brutality of these people on the throne from verse 16. Menahem ripped open all the women who were pregnant. This gives us an idea of how far the kingdom had fallen and how close they are to their own destruction.
2 Kings 15:17-22
Menahem reigned 10 years and did evil as all those who had reigned before him. During his reign the King of Assyria came against the northern Kingdom. Menahem tried to buy peace with this king by paying tribute to hom of a thousand talents of silver. This money was raised by heavily taxing the wealthy folks in the land. When he died, his son Pekahiah became king.
2 Kings 15:23-31
Pekahiah reigned for 2 years. He also did evil like all those before him. Pekah, the son of one of his officers, conspired against him and killed him and over fifty other men in order to grab the throne and become king.
Pekah reigned 20 years and did evil in the eyes of the Lord like all those before him. We see the kingdom begin to crumble. The judgment that God had prophecied through Hosea, Amos and others had arrived. Assyria had started to take land from the northern part of the kingdom.
Hoshea then formed a conspiracy against Pekah and killed him and began his reign.
2 Kings 15:32-38
Jotham became king of Judah after his father Uzziah died. He was 25 years old and reigned for 16 years. He did what was right in the eyes of God. His reign was characterized by following the Lord; 2 Chronicles 27:6 says:
6 So Jotham became mighty, because he prepared his ways before the Lord his God.
Jotham became mighty in defeating the Ammonites. They paid tribute to him and increased the wealth of the southern kingdom. The northern Kingdom and Syria were coming against Judah and Jotham's army in these days.
©2016 Doug Ford
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