2 Kings, Chapter 15
Synopsis: I am starting (finally) to understand the structure of 2 Kings. It basically switches between tracing the Kings of Judah and then the Kings of Israel. Today is a great example and covers a lot of Kings. I’m not sure why this took me so long to put together!
Judah: Azariah reigns 52 years! Is a good King but doesn’t get rid of all false Gods. He dies with/of leprosy.
Jotham reigns 16 years. Is a good King, but again doesn’t rid the Temple of false gods.
Israel: a long list of evil kings who were violent and were assassinated.
Zechariah reigned six months, assassinated in public. Shallum reigns one month, also assassinated.
Menahem reigned ten years. A little longer. Was attacked by Assyria, extracted taxes from the people to pay Assyria off. Was not assassinated.
Pekahiah reigned two years. Was assassinated.
Pekah reigned twenty years, the longest for Israel in this chapter. Lost a lot of land in battles with Assyria. Was assassinated.
It is obvious that the evil reigns were accompanied by war, violence and death. Judah is clearly a better run Kingdom than Israel but far from perfect.