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2 Kings 13-14
Chapter 13: The Reigns of Jehoahaz (814 -798) and Jehoash (798 -783) of Israel
and the Death of Elisha
2 Kings 13:1-9 ~ The reign of Jehoahaz in Israel (814 -798 BC)
Jehoahaz was guilty of the same sins as King Jeroboam, the Northern Kingdom's first king. Jeroboam, to whom all other kings of Israel are compared, introduced the sin of idol worship into the Northern Kingdom of Israel (1 Kng 12:28-33).
As we have seen repeatedly, even a little repentance goes a long way in receiving God's mercy. The king of Aram who "destroyed them" is probably Hazael's son King Ben-Hadad III of Damascus (c. 807 - 780? BC). Because of Jehoahaz's repentance, God sent a savior/deliverer.
2 Kings 13:10-13 ~ The reign of Jehoash (Joash) in Israel (798 -783 BC)
Jehoash of Israel is also called by the shorter form of his name, Joash, just as Jehoash/Josh of Judah was called by both names. Both kings Jehoahaz and Jehoash (Joash) of Israel ruled during the time period when Davidic king Joash ruled Judah (he ruled for 40 years as the ancients counted from 835-796 BC). Jehoash/Joash of Israel also continued in the sins of Jeroboam in promoting idol worship. The period of peace between the two kingdoms ended when there was war between Jehoash/Joash of Israel and Joash of Judah's son and successor King Amaziah of Judah.
2 Kings 13:14-21 ~ The death of Elisha
King Joash of Israel must have felt a deep affection for the old prophet to go to him on his death-bed. The way he addressed the prophet shows that he regarded Elisha as the true defender of Israel. You will recall that it was Elisha who anointed Joash's grandfather Jehu and commissioned him to eradicate the idolatry of Baal worship in Israel. It seems that Joash had maintained that part of the religious reform.
Question: Elisha made a prophecy by having the king perform a prophetic act in what two stages?
Answer:
- The king took a bow guided by the prophet's hand and shot an arrow to the east in the direction of the enemy.
- The king struck the ground with the remaining arrows.
The arrow shot to the east in the direction of the enemy represents complete victory of Israel's army over the Aramaeans. The placing of Elisha hand on the king's hand gives Joash a share in Elisha's own power. In the second stage, the king only received a small portion of Elisha's power because he hesitated and only struck the ground three times. Elisha was angry and told the king: "You should have struck half a dozen times," he said "and you would have beaten Aram completely; now you will beat Aram only three times."
The power of God that was with his prophet Elisha is demonstrated one more time in his last miracle in which a dead man is raised to life through contact with the bones of Elisha. It is for this reason that the people of God have always honored the bodies of the saints and kept relics of their bones or items that belonged to them.
2 Kings 13:22-25 ~ Israel's victory over the Aramaeans
The covenant judgment for apostasy was to be cast out of the land in the same way God had case out the Canaanites, but God was not willing to cast out the Israelites and continued to extend His mercy for the sake of the covenant He made with the Patriarchs.
Question: What were the terms of the Abrahamic covenant? See Gen 12:1-3; 17:1; 18:18; 22:18; 26:4; 28:14.
Answer:
- The gift of a land and a nation
- The gift of many descendants
- A world-wide blessing
None of these promises were fulfilled in the age of the Patriarchs, nor were all three promises fulfilled in the nation of Old Covenant Israel. They were all perfectly fulfilled in Jesus Christ (Gal 3:29).
Question: What prophecy is fulfilled in 13:25? See 2 Kng 13:14-21.
Answer: Elisha's prophecy that King Joash of Israel would drive out the Aramaeans and defeat them in battle three times.
It hadn't been since the days of King Jehoshaphat of Judah and King Ahab of Israel that either the Southern kingdom of Judah or Northern kingdom of Israel had been particularly powerful. Each kingdom had suffered from invasions, internal turmoil and assassinations. However, at the beginning of the eighth century BC, the political conditions in both countries improved. Joash of Judah enjoyed a long and peaceful reign. Israel's victory over the Aramaeans prophesied by Elisha was fulfilled. King Hazael of Damascus was succeeded by a less capable son, Ben Hadad III, and soon the Syrians were beaten by the armies of Israel.
Chapter 14: The Reign of Amaziah in Judah (796 -781 BC)
2 Kings 14:1-6 ~ Amaziah becomes king and seeks revenge for the murder of his father
In the typical formula for the introduction of a new king of Judah, the king is named, the name of his father, his age at his coronation and the length of his reign. And unlike the kings of Israel, his mother is named and his reign is compared with that of his ancestor King David who served Yahweh with an undivided heart.
He did not discontinue worship of Yahweh by Judahites outside of the Temple. This criticism in verse 4 cannot be allowing the worshiping of idols on the high places since he is not accused of those sins and the inspired writer notes that 3 He did what Yahweh regards as right, though not like his ancestor David; he imitated his father Joash in all respects.
Question: When his throne was secure, he sought vengeance on the murderers of his father. Why had his father been assassinated and what did Amaziah do that showed he was obedient to the Law? See 2 Chr 24:20-22, 25-26; Dt 24:16.
Answer: Two of Joash's servants had assassinated him in revenge for ordering the murder of God's servant the priest Zechariah son of the High Priest Jehoiada who condemned the king and the people of Jerusalem to abandoning Yahweh and His Temple. Amaziah followed the law in only executing his father's murderers and not their families.
2 Kings 14:7-14 ~ Political turmoil and war during Amaziah's reign
Amaziah led Judah to war against the Edomites. Edom had been conquered by King David and remained a vassal state until the reign of King Jehoram of Judah when Edom threw off the domination of Judah and set up a king (2 Sam 8:13; 2 Kng 8:20-22). Amaziah decided to regain Judah's lost vassal state. He conquered the Edomites in the Valley of Salt that is the Arabah, the valley that runs south of the Dead Sea, but he did not regain control over Edom. He changed the name of the town near the site of the battle to Joktheel. It is the same name of a town in Judah (Josh 15:38) and was perhaps renamed in honor of the men of a military unit from that city who died in the battle.
Feeling confident after his victory over the Edomites, Amaziah challenges the king of Israel to a "test of strength." King Jehoash/Joash of Israel is the same king who was so distraught at Elisha's death-bed. He answers Amaziah with a parable and some advice.
Question: What are the symbolic elements of the parable in verse 9?
Answer:
- The king of Israel is the powerful cedar.
- The insignificant thistle is the king of Judah who seeks equality with one who is far above him (royal marriage request).
- The thistle ends up being trampled by a powerful animal, symbolizing the army of Israel.
Jehoash's advice to Amaziah was to not continue with a venture that was sure to bring him disaster.
Question: Why did Amaziah enter into this ill-conceived venture and what was the cause of his defeat? See 2 Chr 25:20.
Answer: Apparently after reconquering Edom, Amaziah consulted the gods of the Edomites on whether or not he should go to war with Israel. They gave him bad advice, and because he consulted false gods, Yahweh let him be defeated by the Israelites.
As it happens, Jehoash/Joash of Israel was right. The army of Israel did trample the army of Judah. The king was taken prisoner, six hundred feet of the Jerusalem wall was destroyed making the city vulnerable to foreign attack, the Temple and palace were looted of its treasures, and hostages were taken back to Samaria. The king of Israel did allow Amaziah to continue as king of Judah, however.
2 Kings 14:15-16 ~ Summary of King Jehoash/Joash of Israel's reign
This is the typical summary statement for the reigns of Israelite kings and is a repeat of the summary statement for Jehoash/Joash of Israel in 13:12-13.
2 Kings 14:17-22 ~ Summary of King Amaziah of Judah's reign
This section begins as a typical summary formula statement but includes the information of the plot to assassinate Amaziah. He escaped to Lachish, a fortified city about 25 miles southwest of Jerusalem. The conspirators caught up with him at Lachish where he was assassinated like his father. As with his father, this was not a political coup to establish another dynasty but was instead a rejection of Amaziah as king, perhaps because of the disastrous war with Israel. An assembly of the people of Judah chose his son Uzziah (Azariah) to succeed to the Davidic throne.
The sixteen year old Uzziah's first accomplishment was to rebuild the city of Elath, located near the port city of Ezion Geber at the head of the Gulf of Aqaba in Edom. He will become the longest reigning monarch of Judah. He is also known as Azariah, but Uzziah may be the name he took as a throne name that means "Yah[weh] is strong."
CHALLENGE: “Catholics are wrong to pray the rosary. Jesus condemned ‘vain repetitions.’”
DEFENSE: Jesus did not condemn prayer that involves repetition—he endorsed it. In the King James Version, Jesus says, “But when ye pray, use not vain repetitions, as the heathen do: for they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking” (Matt. 6:7). Even in this translation, he does not condemn repetition but vain (useless) repetition.
But there is a problem with this translation. In Greek, Jesus says we should not battalogēsēte. This is a rare word not found elsewhere in the New Testament. It’s meaning is unclear, so we shouldn’t draw dogmatic conclusions about what he meant.
The word appears to come from battos (Greek, “a stammerer”). Gentiles did not literally stammer when they prayed, but they could ramble in prayer, thinking that they needed to wear down their gods using many words. This is the attitude Jesus rejects, saying “they think they shall be heard for their much speaking.”
It’s not repeating words that he’s concerned about. It’s thinking the efficacy of prayer depends on saying a lot. He points out God knows what we need before we ask him (Matt. 6:8). Jesus makes it clear he doesn’t have a problem with repeating things because the next thing he does is teach the Lord’s Prayer—a prayer he intends to be repeated (Matt. 6:9–13).
Repetition is essential to corporate worship. It’s not possible for people to pray aloud, in unison, unless they know the prayer they’re going to use. That’s why prayers in the synagogue and the temple of Jesus’ day were memorized and repeated.
A striking example is the Psalms—ancient hymns, or prayers set to music. The book of Psalms was Israel’s hymn book. In fact, Psalms is one of the most frequently quoted books in the New Testament (Luke 20:42, 24:44; Acts 1:20, 13:33, 35, etc.). Yet the Psalms, by their nature, are meant to be repeated.
The Psalms even involve repetition within themselves. Psalm 136 has a refrain that occurs over and over. In the King James Version, the refrain is translated “for his mercy endureth for ever,” and it occurs so frequently that it even interrupts and appears in the middle of sentences. Yet Psalm 136 is a beautiful and spiritually meaningful prayer that was inspired by the Holy Spirit.
Jimmy Akin, A Daily Defense: 365 Days (Plus One) to Becoming a Better Apologist
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