2 Kings 13:10

In the thirty-seventh year of Joash king of Judah, Jehoash son of Jehoahaz became king of Israel in Samaria, and he reigned sixteen years.

I know that’s a lot of names and a lot of countries, but I told you that if you want to do a really great study, go through and track the kings—who they are and what they are. In Judah, the king was Joash. In his 37^th year, in Israel, Jehoash became king.

2 Kings 13:11

He did evil in the eyes of the LORD and did not turn away from any of the sins of Jeroboam son of Nebat, which he had caused Israel to commit; he continued in them.

It always gives you a king and then a summary of his reign.

We’re coming to the chronological end of the Old Testament. I’ve been telling you that. We’re going to be getting to the end pretty soon. With that in mind, we have the final exam this morning.

Try this. Everyone turn to the end of Esther (Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther, and Job). Put a finger there. Now turn to the beginning of Isaiah (right after Song of Solomon). Put a finger there. Don’t lose it. You should have Job through Song of Solomon between your fingers. Now turn to the beginning of Hosea (right after Daniel). Put a finger there. Finally, turn to Matthew (the first book of the New Testament, right after Malachi). You should now have those four places marked. Here’s what it is:

• 2 Kings to Esther: the chronological end of the Old Testament.
• Job to Song of Solomon: the Books of Wisdom (written in Genesis and during the time of David and Solomon).
• Isaiah to Daniel: the Major Prophets (big books).
• Hosea to Malachi: the Minor Prophets.

Those are sections of the Old Testament. It’s a real easy way to tell where you are. "Where am I? Well, I’m in a book of wisdom, the major prophets, or the minor prophets." They were all written during the times of the other books (Genesis to 2 Chronicles).

Let’s take a look at Hosea while we’re there. Hosea is a "minor prophet." It’s the first one in this section.

Hosea 1:1

The word of the LORD that came to Hosea son of Beeri during the reigns of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz and Hezekiah, kings of Judah, and during the reign of Jeroboam son of Jehoash king of Israel:

We just read about Jehoash. This is how you can figure out which prophet was with which king. It will tell you. It’s really not that hard. It will tell you when they prophesied. This is how you can figure out the Old Testament very easily. If you get to a book past Esther (the chronological end), ask yourself, "Well, when and where was it written?" When we get to Job, you’ll read some things that place it in the time of Genesis. As a matter of fact, Job was probably the first book written in the Old Testament.

Let’s close Hosea and go back to 2^nd Kings. Now we know that there will be a prophet in Israel during the time of Jehoash.

2 Kings 13:11

He did evil in the eyes of the LORD and did not turn away from any of the sins of Jeroboam son of Nebat, which he had caused Israel to commit; he continued in them.

Prophets were telling the people under the king, "Turn from your ways. Repent. Come back to God. Get rid of the high places and idols." That’s what a prophet would be doing. So when you read Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, etc., all those prophets are telling the people, "Here’s what you’re doing wrong. Here’s why you should turn to God. And here’s what’s going to happen if you don’t." That’s why they were called prophets.

That’s why a lot of people don’t like the prophets. They don’t understand them because they are stuck over there at the end of the Old Testament. It’s like, "Well, there is no war going on or any action. It’s all this symbolic language." By the time we finish, I hope you will understand the prophets more and want to really get into them. They are really beautiful in looking at the times in which they were living and describing them from a spiritual point of view. That’s what the prophets will do.

2 Kings 14:23-24

In the fifteenth year of Amaziah son of Joash king of Judah, Jeroboam son of Jehoash king of Israel became king in Samaria, and he reigned forty-one years. He did evil in the eyes of the LORD and did not turn away from any of the sins of Jeroboam son of Nebat, which he had caused Israel to commit.

We just read that Hosea was there also.

Do you all see the pattern here? If you’ve read or studied outside of class, this is boring to you because you say, "OK, teacher, get on with it. I know it’s there." Well, it is there.

Right here you can go and read Amos. Amos was another minor prophet. You’ll find that Amos was here, preaching to the Northern Kingdom, Israel, saying, "You have to repent. You have to change your ways. It has to happen."

Does everybody see what I’m doing here? I’m in 2^nd Kings but I’m jumping over to the prophets and saying, "Here’s the prophet who was around during this time." How do I know? You go and read it. Go read Amos and you’ll find out.

I’m skipping a lot but I want to show you this.

2 Kings 15:32

In the second year of Pekah son of Remaliah king of Israel, Jotham son of Uzziah king of Judah began to reign.

I know there are a lot of names. Just write them down and you’ll follow them. Don’t get confused. Just follow the names. Don’t get worked up over all these really weird names. If we went back there and told them our names, like "Carlton," they’d say, "Oh, man, that’s a really weird name." Oh, wait a minute; maybe that’s a weird name today, isn’t it? You know what I mean. They would think some of our names were unusual.

2 Kings 15:33-35

He was twenty-five years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem sixteen years. His mother's name was Jerusha daughter of Zadok. He did what was right in the eyes of the LORD, just as his father Uzziah had done. The high places, however, were not removed; the people continued to offer sacrifices and burn incense there. Jotham rebuilt the Upper Gate of the temple of the LORD.

There’s another king. But he did right. But he didn’t remove the high places. So there are some things he did right and some things he did wrong. The prophet during this time is an interesting prophet. His name is "Micah." Micah prophesied for both Israel and Judah. Micah is also the one who said that the Messiah would be born in Bethlehem. Micah prophesied during the time we just read about in 2^nd Kings 15.

2 Kings 16:1-4

In the seventeenth year of Pekah son of Remaliah, Ahaz son of Jotham king of Judah began to reign. Ahaz was twenty years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem sixteen years. Unlike David his father, he did not do what was right in the eyes of the LORD his God. He walked in the ways of the kings of Israel and even sacrificed his son in the fire, following the detestable ways of the nations the LORD had driven out before the Israelites. He offered sacrifices and burned incense at the high places, on the hilltops and under every spreading tree.

They were sacrificing their children to some god.

What kind of king was he? Bad. We don’t like this. This is a bad king. The prophet during this time is a very key prophet in the Old Testament (we’ll spend at least a week or two on him alone): Isaiah. Isaiah was prophesying during this time. Do you understand why we needed a prophet at this time with what was going on? You can understand that things were bad. It was detestable.

Now look at chapter 17. 2^nd Kings 17 is one of those major breaks in the Old Testament; a major event happens.

2 Kings 17:1-3a

In the twelfth year of Ahaz king of Judah, Hoshea son of Elah became king of Israel in Samaria, and he reigned nine years. He did evil in the eyes of the LORD, but not like the kings of Israel who preceded him. Shalmaneser king of Assyria came up to attack Hoshea,

Assyria was just north of Babylon and Iraq, today. The capital of Assyria was Nineveh. You’ve all heard of Nineveh. Two minor prophets were in Nineveh: Jonah and Nahum. That’s why you’re in this class—to learn these kinds of things. It’s a wonderful story. Jonah went over and preached to them and said, "God told me to come over but you’re never going to repent," but they did repent. About 150 years passed, they went back to their old ways, and started doing all kinds of things. Nahum said, "God is going to pronounce judgment. You’ll be wiped out." And today there is no such thing as Nineveh.

This is what we’re talking about. Today when you go home and turn on the war news, you’ll see Iraq and Baghdad. We are in the midst of this with 2^nd Kings. We see this country over here, Assyria, invading Samaria in the Northern Kingdom. This is what’s in chapter 17.

2 Kings 17:3

Shalmaneser king of Assyria came up to attack Hoshea, who had been Shalmaneser's vassal and had paid him tribute.

In other words they have become so weak that they were giving him money or valuables and saying, "Don’t attack us. Don’t wipe us out. Here’s the money."

They go to Egypt to make a deal. Shalmaneser and Assyria find out, and say, "Well, you just blew it," and come over to wipe them off the face of the earth. This was the ten tribes of the Northern Kingdom. They are taken into captivity, dispersed, etc. This occurs around 720 BC. Secular history confirms this.

2 Kings 17:7-11a

All this took place because the Israelites had sinned against the LORD their God, who had brought them up out of Egypt from under the power of Pharaoh king of Egypt. They worshiped other gods and followed the practices of the nations the LORD had driven out before them, as well as the practices that the kings of Israel had introduced. The Israelites secretly did things against the LORD their God that were not right. From watchtower to fortified city they built themselves high places in all their towns. They set up sacred stones and Asherah poles on every high hill and under every spreading tree. At every high place they burned incense, as the nations whom the LORD had driven out before them had done.

Do you all get the picture here? This is a summary of all the kings you’ve been reading about up to this point in Israel, the Northern Kingdom. You have to make that distinction. It wasn’t all of Israel as we know it today—just the Northern Kingdom.

2 Kings 17:14-16

But they would not listen and were as stiff-necked as their fathers, who did not trust in the LORD their God. They rejected his decrees and the covenant he had made with their fathers and the warnings he had given them. They followed worthless idols and themselves became worthless. They imitated the nations around them although the LORD had ordered them, "Do not do as they do," and they did the things the LORD had forbidden them to do. They forsook all the commands of the LORD their God and made for themselves two idols cast in the shape of calves, and an Asherah pole. They bowed down to all the starry hosts, and they worshiped Baal.

Do you see who these people are? These are the people God brought up out of Egypt. Ten of the original tribes. Look what they’re doing. Does everybody see this? These people are the descendants of everybody that came out of Egypt and they’ve gotten to this point in their relationship.

2 Kings 17:17

They sacrificed their sons and daughters in the fire. They practiced divination and sorcery and sold themselves to do evil in the eyes of the LORD, provoking him to anger.

We just read about some kings that did this.

2 Kings 17:24a

The king of Assyria brought people from Babylon, Cuthah, Avva, Hamath and Sepharvaim and settled them in the towns of Samaria to replace the Israelites.

Do you all see what happened? The king of Assyria brought people in to replace the Israelites.

2 Kings 17:24b-26

They took over Samaria and lived in its towns. When they first lived there, they did not worship the LORD; so he sent lions among them and they killed some of the people. It was reported to the king of Assyria: "The people you deported and resettled in the towns of Samaria do not know what the god of that country requires. He has sent lions among them, which are killing them off, because the people do not know what he requires."

The lions are killing them off because people do not know God. Does everybody see this story? In other words, they’re saying, "We don’t know how to worship this Jehovah, God, and He’s sending lions to kill us." They don’t know what to do.

2 Kings 17:27-29

Then the king of Assyria gave this order: "Have one of the priests you took captive from Samaria go back to live there and teach the people what the god of the land requires." So one of the priests who had been exiled from Samaria came to live in Bethel and taught them how to worship the LORD. Nevertheless, each national group made its own gods in the several towns where they settled, and set them up in the shrines the people of Samaria had made at the high places.

The reason I bring this story out is that between the Old and New Testament and in the New Testament, do you remember the Jews’ attitudes toward the people of Samaria? They hated them. But the Samaritans called themselves "Jews" also. They called themselves worshippers of God, Jehovah. Do you see why they did that? Do you see that we’re looking at the source of the environment that we find between the Old and New Testament on why the Jews in Judah did not like the Samaritans? They said, "You have a contaminated religion. Your religion is not pure."

When Jesus approached the woman at the well, you remember that she asked, "How can a Jewish man talk to a Samaritan woman like this? Where do you worship God?" Jesus said that you don’t worship God on a mountain but you worship Him in Spirit. They would cross the Jordan River, head north, and cross back over just to avoid Samaria. This is why. There were mixed up people there. They learned about God and the worship of God but it was all mixed up. Jews felt like Samaritan beliefs were contaminated. This continued through the centuries until we get to the time between the Old and New Testament. If you study this time, you’ll understand how bad things were such that when we get to the New Testament, you’ll see why the Jews hated the Samaritans. I find that fascinating. You all may say, "OK. Move along."

The Samaritans learned a mixture of religions. If we went to see them, we would see all sorts of strange beliefs and customs even though they call themselves Jewish. That’s the way they were treating their Jewish religion. They knew who Jehovah, God, was but they also had their idols and golden calves.

I tell you this story because you will understand the New Testament more as to why they hated the Samaritans so much. You’ll understand why the Samaritans would say, "I don’t know why you don’t want to have anything to do with us. We’re just like you. We’re your brothers." Well, they’re not. They were contaminated.

You understand that the people from Israel, the Northern Kingdom, are gone. The ten tribes are no more. All we have now is Judah. Does everybody understand that? From this point on in 2^nd Kings, the only kings you’ll see are from Judah. From this point on, the only prophets you’ll see or hear are in Judah. God said, "I will not execute judgment against Judah right now because they have had good kings. They’ve done things in my favor and I will withhold judgment." The judgment is withheld until about 590 BC (about 130 years later) and then Judah is wiped out. We’re going to get to that. Another country, Babylon (around Iraq, today) will come over and wipe out the Southern Kingdom. Does everybody understand where we are? Israel is wiped out. The Northern Kingdom is gone. Assyria has taken over. Now we’re studying kings in Judah.

2 Kings 18:1-2

In the third year of Hoshea son of Elah king of Israel, Hezekiah son of Ahaz king of Judah began to reign. He was twenty-five years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem twenty-nine years. His mother's name was Abijah daughter of Zechariah.

It’s the same thing, over and over.

2 Kings 18:3-4a

He did what was right in the eyes of the LORD, just as his father David had done. He removed the high places, smashed the sacred stones and cut down the Asherah poles.

Yeah! We have a President with backbone now! I’m applying it to today. We have a President with backbone. We have a king with backbone. He removed the high places.

2 Kings 18:4b

He broke into pieces the bronze snake Moses had made, for up to that time the Israelites had been burning incense to it. (It was called Nehushtan.)

Do you all remember the bronze snake from the wilderness? The Israelites kept it and started worshipping it as an idol.

2 Kings 18:3-8

Hezekiah trusted in the LORD, the God of Israel. There was no one like him among all the kings of Judah, either before him or after him. He held fast to the LORD and did not cease to follow him; he kept the commands the LORD had given Moses. And the LORD was with him; he was successful in whatever he undertook. He rebelled against the king of Assyria and did not serve him. From watchtower to fortified city, he defeated the Philistines, as far as Gaza and its territory.

That’s a good king. This is why God withheld his judgment from Judah. He said, "There are good kings. I’m not going to pronounce judgment on them," and He withheld judgment from them.

I have to skip a lot. There is a wonderful story about Sennacherib, king of Assyria, who said that once he defeated everybody, he was going to Jerusalem, in Judah. He was going to attack Jerusalem but a prophet intervened for the people of Judah. He told the people, "Not an arrow will be shot into this town because of your allegiance to God." Some people believed; some didn’t. You can read it. God smites the Assyrians. Not an arrow is shot into Jerusalem. It’s one of those stories that you like to read about in the Old Testament. God performs miracles as a result of prayer to Him. He delivers them. It’s a total miracle—just like Jericho with the walls falling.

In chapter 21, we see one of the bad kings, Manasseh.

2 Kings 21:1-4a

Manasseh was twelve years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem fifty-five years. His mother's name was Hephzibah. He did evil in the eyes of the LORD, following the detestable practices of the nations the LORD had driven out before the Israelites. He rebuilt the high places his father Hezekiah had destroyed; he also erected altars to Baal and made an Asherah pole, as Ahab king of Israel had done. He bowed down to all the starry hosts and worshiped them. He built altars in the temple of the LORD,

Boo! So you see what’s going on? What’s going on with the kings? How would you summarize the kings? In Israel, the Northern Kingdom, all the kings were bad. In Judah, we have good kings and bad kings. It’s because of the good kings that God withheld His judgment.

Let me go ahead and tell you—I’ve already told you that they’re going into captivity. What kind of kings will they have toward the end? Bad. This is one of them.

2 Kings 21:9

But the people did not listen. Manasseh led them astray, so that they did more evil than the nations the LORD had destroyed before the Israelites.

<Question: Did the kings leave the high places and altars because of some sort of historical significance?>

No. I think it’s the kings. I think the kings said, "We’re going to go ahead and worship here." Some of the good kings didn’t tear down the high places because of pressure. His counsel advised that he leave the high places. That’s why I said Hezekiah was a king with backbone.

Will we see Manasseh in heaven? Do you believe we’ll see Manasseh in heaven? If you don’t think so, then you don’t know your Bible. I will challenge you to go read 2^nd Chronicles about Manasseh. You’re supposed to be reading Chronicles along with Kings.

It is a challenge question for you. As bad as we see Manasseh right here, if you’ll read 2^nd Chronicles 33, you may think differently. It is interesting. I thought Manasseh was bad, evil, and terrible. Go read Chronicles and you’ll stumble over some things about Manasseh. You’ll say, "Wait a minute. This is exciting. Do I serve a God who really will forgive someone that bad?" That’s the question that will hit you upside the head when you’re reading Chronicles, "God will really let someone like that into heaven?" You go read it and make up your own mind.

2 Kings 22:1-2

Josiah was eight years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem thirty-one years. His mother's name was Jedidah daughter of Adaiah; she was from Bozkath. He did what was right in the eyes of the LORD and walked in all the ways of his father David, not turning aside to the right or to the left.

What you’ll find here (and the reason I want you to read chapter 22) is that they find the book of the Law. I wanted to point this out to you because we’re sitting here with I-don’t-know-how-many copies of the book of the Law right now. Remember that the book of the Law is Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy. That’s what we’re talking about at this stage of the Old Testament. All of the things were not written yet. Some were and some weren’t. But they found the book of the Law and he read it to the people. What does that tell you about what all of the people were doing with Bible study? What does this imply? They weren’t. They didn’t have it. Maybe that’s part of what the kings did. They said, "You don’t have to read this." So they burned them or got rid of them somehow. For whatever reason, they were not studying the book of the Law. And they found it. Josiah finds it. There’s a repentance going on. I want you to read about all the things going on in chapter 22 and 23.

The prophet, by the way, during this time was Zephaniah. You can read about Zephaniah telling the people who God is and what God will do to them.

2 Kings 24:1

During Jehoiakim's reign, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon invaded the land, and Jehoiakim became his vassal for three years. But then he changed his mind and rebelled against Nebuchadnezzar.

Did you all know that one of the Iraqi divisions is called the "Nebuchadnezzar Division?"

This is the downfall of Judah. That’s what we’re reading. Just like the Northern Kingdom, they paid tribute for a while. After a while, they didn’t. The Babylonian Empire has taken over the Assyrian Empire. You can find this in your World History books.

2 Kings 25:8-12

On the seventh day of the fifth month, in the nineteenth year of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, Nebuzaradan commander of the imperial guard, an official of the king of Babylon, came to Jerusalem. He set fire to the temple of the LORD, the royal palace and all the houses of Jerusalem. Every important building he burned down. The whole Babylonian army, under the commander of the imperial guard, broke down the walls around Jerusalem. Nebuzaradan the commander of the guard carried into exile the people who remained in the city, along with the rest of the populace and those who had gone over to the king of Babylon. But the commander left behind some of the poorest people of the land to work the vineyards and fields.

This is the fall of Jerusalem, the tearing down of the walls, and the destruction of Solomon’s Temple.

This is where the prophets Ezekiel, Jeremiah, and Lamentations come in. If you ever read those books, you’ll understand why they are called "the weeping prophets." You can hear how the streets are empty and how forlorn everything was.

We’re to the point in the Old Testament where there are no Jews left in the Land except for a few poor people.