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The Kings of Israel and Judah, Part 5
November 9, 2024

Last time we saw how Elisha had to work with the Kings of Israel even though he didn't want to. This week we consider a queen mother. What does the queen mother do when she sees her son, the king is dead? When King Ahaziah was dead, his mother, the queen mother, decided to kill all possible heirs to the throne and claim the throne as her own. Today we could not imagine a mother killing all her children. On the rare instances when that happens today, we attribute it to mental illness or somebody who is criminally minded. With Athaliah, queen mother of Judah, when she saw her son, the king, was dead, she decided to have all heirs to the throne killed so she could rule over Judah. With Athaliah it was about power and control. What she didn’t know was that one of the heirs, Joash, son of Ahaziah was hidden away in her own bedroom during the blood lust of killing, and somehow, they overlooked his body in the body count. Since he was a year old, his body was small and easier to overlook in a slaughtered mass of bodies. Joash would be secretly moved to the temple where he lived for the next six years.

Joash was under the care of Jehoiada, chief priest of the temple, and several years later when Joash was seven, Jehoiada gathered at the temple prominent civil and military leaders to reveal to them that all this time, Joash was alive, and he made them swear an oath to the rightful King of Judah. They vowed to protect the young king and developed a schedule so that there would always be military protection around the king. Jehoiada even gave them David’s weapons, his spears and shields, to use as weapons.

With the protection in place, Joash was crowned King of Judah and anointed as King. Those who participated in this ceremony did so with the pageantry that would be expected. It was loud enough for Athaliah to hear what was happening and afterwards when the King presented himself by the pillar accompanied by the fanfare of trumpets, Athaliah knew her time was up. Even though she cried treason, it was Athaliah who all along had been treasonous, and when she tried to escape, she was killed.

After Athaliah’s death, Jehoiada made a covenant between God, the king, and the people of Judah reaffirming the special relationship between God and Judah. All the vestiges of Baal were destroyed, and Mattan, priest of Baal, was killed. With Baal out of the way, Athaliah dead, and the hope of a restored covenant between God and the people of Judah, for the first time in a long time the people felt there was the hope for peace. With the death of Athaliah, the uproar of the city was replaced with joy and quietness when Joash, also known as Jehoash, began to reign, and he was only seven years old.

2 Kings 11:1-21
And when Athaliah the mother of Ahaziah saw that her son was dead, she arose and destroyed all the seed royal. But Jehosheba, the daughter of king Joram, sister of Ahaziah, took Joash the son of Ahaziah, and stole him from among the king's sons which were slain; and they hid him, even him and his nurse, in the bedchamber from Athaliah, so that he was not slain. And he was with her hid in the house of the Lord six years. And Athaliah did reign over the land. And the seventh year Jehoiada sent and fetched the rulers over hundreds, with the captains and the guard, and brought them to him into the house of the Lord, and made a covenant with them, and took an oath of them in the house of the Lord, and shewed them the king's son. And he commanded them, saying, This is the thing that ye shall do; A third part of you that enter in on the sabbath shall even be keepers of the watch of the king's house; And a third part shall be at the gate of Sur; and a third part at the gate behind the guard: so shall ye keep the watch of the house, that it be not broken down. And two parts of all you that go forth on the sabbath, even they shall keep the watch of the house of the Lord about the king. And ye shall compass the king round about, every man with his weapons in his hand: and he that cometh within the ranges, let him be slain: and be ye with the king as he goeth out and as he cometh in. And the captains over the hundreds did according to all things that Jehoiada the priest commanded: and they took every man his men that were to come in on the sabbath, with them that should go out on the sabbath, and came to Jehoiada the priest. And to the captains over hundreds did the priest give king David's spears and shields, that were in the temple of the Lord. And the guard stood, every man with his weapons in his hand, round about the king, from the right corner of the temple to the left corner of the temple, along by the altar and the temple. And he brought forth the king's son, and put the crown upon him, and gave him the testimony; and they made him king, and anointed him; and they clapped their hands, and said, God save the king. And when Athaliah heard the noise of the guard and of the people, she came to the people into the temple of the Lord. And when she looked, behold, the king stood by a pillar, as the manner was, and the princes and the trumpeters by the king, and all the people of the land rejoiced, and blew with trumpets: and Athaliah rent her clothes, and cried, Treason, Treason. But Jehoiada the priest commanded the captains of the hundreds, the officers of the host, and said unto them, Have her forth without the ranges: and him that followeth her kill with the sword. For the priest had said, Let her not be slain in the house of the Lord. And they laid hands on her; and she went by the way by the which the horses came into the king's house: and there was she slain. And Jehoiada made a covenant between the Lord and the king and the people, that they should be the Lord's people; between the king also and the people. And all the people of the land went into the house of Baal, and brake it down; his altars and his images brake they in pieces thoroughly, and slew Mattan the priest of Baal before the altars. And the priest appointed officers over the house of the Lord. And he took the rulers over hundreds, and the captains, and the guard, and all the people of the land; and they brought down the king from the house of the Lord, and came by the way of the gate of the guard to the king's house. And he sat on the throne of the kings. And all the people of the land rejoiced, and the city was in quiet: and they slew Athaliah with the sword beside the king's house. Seven years old was Jehoash when he began to reign.

Jehoash became king at a very young age and ruled for four decades. While he did what was right in the sight of God because of how he had been taught by Jehoiada the priest, he did not remove the high places for sacrifices and offerings. He instructed the priests of the temple to use money given to the temple for repairs, wherever there was a need for repair. He must have been surprised when twenty-three years later the repairs hadn’t started. Jehoash then told the priests, including Jehoiada not to spend any money on themselves or their families, but only for repairs to the temple. The priests must not have liked this because they refused to collect any money at all and neither did they repair the temple.

Jehoiada took a different approach and drilled a hole into the lid of a chest and placed it beside the right side of the altar. When it was noticed that the chest was becoming full, the king’s representatives and the high priest would come and take the money and gave it directly to the workman making the repairs to the temple.

Years later, Hazael, King of Syria, when fighting against Gath, set Jerusalem as his next conquest. Jehoash decided to give Hazael all the sacred and precious things dedicated by his ancestors, and this gift steered Hazael away from Jerusalem. Years later, Jehoash would die at the hands of his servants who killed him. Amaziah his son became king.

2 Kings 12:1-21
In the seventh year of Jehu Jehoash began to reign; and forty years reigned he in Jerusalem. And his mother's name was Zibiah of Beer–sheba. And Jehoash did that which was right in the sight of the Lord all his days wherein Jehoiada the priest instructed him. But the high places were not taken away: the people still sacrificed and burnt incense in the high places. And Jehoash said to the priests, All the money of the dedicated things that is brought into the house of the Lord, even the money of everyone that passeth the account, the money that every man is set at, and all the money that cometh into any man's heart to bring into the house of the Lord, Let the priests take it to them, every man of his acquaintance: and let them repair the breaches of the house, wheresoever any breach shall be found. But it was so, that in the three and twentieth year of king Jehoash the priests had not repaired the breaches of the house. Then king Jehoash called for Jehoiada the priest, and the other priests, and said unto them, Why repair ye not the breaches of the house? now therefore receive no more money of your acquaintance, but deliver it for the breaches of the house. And the priests consented to receive no more money of the people, neither to repair the breaches of the house. But Jehoiada the priest took a chest, and bored a hole in the lid of it, and set it beside the altar, on the right side as one cometh into the house of the Lord: and the priests that kept the door put therein all the money that was brought into the house of the Lord. And it was so, when they saw that there was much money in the chest, that the king's scribe and the high priest came up, and they put up in bags, and told the money that was found in the house of the Lord. And they gave the money, being told, into the hands of them that did the work, that had the oversight of the house of the Lord: and they laid it out to the carpenters and builders, that wrought upon the house of the Lord, And to masons, and hewers of stone, and to buy timber and hewed stone to repair the breaches of the house of the Lord, and for all that was laid out for the house to repair it. Howbeit there were not made for the house of the Lord bowls of silver, snuffers, basins, trumpets, any vessels of gold, or vessels of silver, of the money that was brought into the house of the Lord: But they gave that to the workmen, and repaired therewith the house of the Lord. Moreover they reckoned not with the men, into whose hand they delivered the money to be bestowed on workmen: for they dealt faithfully. The trespass money and sin money was not brought into the house of the Lord: it was the priests'. Then Hazael king of Syria went up, and fought against Gath, and took it: and Hazael set his face to go up to Jerusalem. And Jehoash king of Judah took all the hallowed things that Jehoshaphat, and Jehoram, and Ahaziah, his fathers, kings of Judah, had dedicated, and his own hallowed things, and all the gold that was found in the treasures of the house of the Lord, and in the king's house, and sent it to Hazael king of Syria: and he went away from Jerusalem. And the rest of the acts of Joash, and all that he did, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah? And his servants arose, and made a conspiracy, and slew Joash in the house of Millo, which goeth down to Silla. For Jozachar the son of Shimeath, and Jehozabad the son of Shomer, his servants, smote him, and he died; and they buried him with his fathers in the city of David: and Amaziah his son reigned in his stead.

About the time Jehoash had figured out the priests had not repaired the temple, there was a new king in Israel, Jehoahaz, the son of Jehu, and his reign would end three years before the end of the reign of Jehoash of Judah. Unlike Jehoash who did what was right in the eyes of God, except for not removing the high places for sacrifices and offerings, Jehoahaz did what was evil in the eyes of God to the point God quickly brought Hazael against Israel, and this time Hazael was able to exert control over Israel.

The oppression by Syria caused Jehoahaz to seek God, and even though Jehoahaz did what was evil in the eyes of God, God still provided a savior to the people who delivered them from the hands of the Syrians. Because there was no change in the people or the leadership, while God delivered them from Syria, it was not as before. People would now live in tents and military strength was greatly reduced, to fifty horsemen, ten chariots, and ten thousand infantry soldiers. After Jehoahaz died, Joash his son became king.

For three years there were kings of Israel and Judah with similar names as both used the names of Joash and Jehoash interchangeably. The difference between the two was the one in Israel did what was evil in the sight of God and the one in Judah mostly did what was right in the sight of God. We don’t know much about the Joash of Israel except that he did that which was evil in the sight of God, pretty much like Jeroboam had done. Jeroboam must have had a huge influence on Joash because he named his son after Jeroboam, and when Jehoash died, Jeroboam II would reign in Israel.

But before Jehoash of Israel died, it was brought to his attention that Elisha the prophet was on his deathbed. Even though Elisha didn’t want to be around the kings of Israel, the kings of Israel stayed close to Elisha, and it was no different at the end of Elisha’s life. Jehoash of Israel traveled to see Elisha and the prophet told him to take bows and arrows and shoot them from a window eastward. When Jehoash did as instructed, Elisha told him that Israel would see victory over Syria in Aphek. He then told the king to destroy the arrows. When Jehoash destroyed only three arrows instead of more, Elisha told him they would only have partial success against Syria.

Elisha eventually died and was buried and soon after the Moabites invaded. In the heat of the battle, one of the fallen soldiers was cast into the grave of Elisha, and when his body touched the bones of Elisha, the dead soldier was restored to life. Syria oppressed Israel during the entire reign of Jehoahaz, and even though the people were focused on not doing what was right by God as their king did not do what was right by God, God still took pity on them because of His prior promise to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. It would be Jehoash who would release Israel from the oppression of Syria.

2 Kings 13:1-25
In the three and twentieth year of Joash the son of Ahaziah king of Judah Jehoahaz the son of Jehu began to reign over Israel in Samaria, and reigned seventeen years. And he did that which was evil in the sight of the Lord, and followed the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, which made Israel to sin; he departed not therefrom. And the anger of the Lord was kindled against Israel, and he delivered them into the hand of Hazael king of Syria, and into the hand of Ben–hadad the son of Hazael, all their days. And Jehoahaz besought the Lord, and the Lord hearkened unto him: for he saw the oppression of Israel, because the king of Syria oppressed them. And the Lord gave Israel a saviour, so that they went out from under the hand of the Syrians: and the children of Israel dwelt in their tents, as beforetime. Nevertheless they departed not from the sins of the house of Jeroboam, who made Israel sin, but walked therein: and there remained the grove also in Samaria. Neither did he leave of the people to Jehoahaz but fifty horsemen, and ten chariots, and ten thousand footmen; for the king of Syria had destroyed them, and had made them like the dust by threshing. Now the rest of the acts of Jehoahaz, and all that he did, and his might, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel? And Jehoahaz slept with his fathers; and they buried him in Samaria: and Joash his son reigned in his stead. In the thirty and seventh year of Joash king of Judah began Jehoash the son of Jehoahaz to reign over Israel in Samaria, and reigned sixteen years. And he did that which was evil in the sight of the Lord; he departed not from all the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who made Israel sin: but he walked therein. And the rest of the acts of Joash, and all that he did, and his might wherewith he fought against Amaziah king of Judah, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel? And Joash slept with his fathers; and Jeroboam sat upon his throne: and Joash was buried in Samaria with the kings of Israel. Now Elisha was fallen sick of his sickness whereof he died. And Joash the king of Israel came down unto him, and wept over his face, and said, O my father, my father, the chariot of Israel, and the horsemen thereof. And Elisha said unto him, Take bow and arrows. And he took unto him bow and arrows. And he said to the king of Israel, Put thine hand upon the bow. And he put his hand upon it: and Elisha put his hands upon the king's hands. And he said, Open the window eastward. And he opened it. Then Elisha said, Shoot. And he shot. And he said, The arrow of the Lord's deliverance, and the arrow of deliverance from Syria: for thou shalt smite the Syrians in Aphek, till thou have consumed them. And he said, Take the arrows. And he took them. And he said unto the king of Israel, Smite upon the ground. And he smote thrice, and stayed. And the man of God was wroth with him, and said, Thou shouldest have smitten five or six times; then hadst thou smitten Syria till thou hadst consumed it: whereas now thou shalt smite Syria but thrice. And Elisha died, and they buried him. And the bands of the Moabites invaded the land at the coming in of the year. And it came to pass, as they were burying a man, that, behold, they spied a band of men; and they cast the man into the sepulchre of Elisha: and when the man was let down, and touched the bones of Elisha, he revived, and stood up on his feet. But Hazael king of Syria oppressed Israel all the days of Jehoahaz. And the Lord was gracious unto them, and had compassion on them, and had respect unto them, because of his covenant with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and would not destroy them, neither cast he them from his presence as yet. So Hazael king of Syria died; and Ben–hadad his son reigned in his stead. And Jehoash the son of Jehoahaz took again out of the hand of Ben–hadad the son of Hazael the cities, which he had taken out of the hand of Jehoahaz his father by war. Three times did Joash beat him, and recovered the cities of Israel.

Getting back to Amaziah, King of Judah, he was twenty-five years old when he began to reign and was a contemporary of Jehoash of Israel. He would reign for nearly thirty years and did what was right in the eyes of God but was more like his father Jehoash of Judah, and less like King David. Once he knew the kingdom was firmly under his control, he killed all the servants who killed his father, but only killed them. He spared their children to comply with the teachings of God. He also saw great military success against Edom.

Amaziah of Judah then challenged the King of Israel to battle, and Jehoash of Israel felt threatened by this because of the recent success by Judah against Edom. The King of Israel made it very clear that if Judah was seeking to meddle with Israel, Israel would be defeated, and that’s pretty much what happened. Jehoash would take Amaziah prisoner and brought him back to Jerusalem where he promptly removed all the gold and silver, and even took prisoners before returning to Israel.

Jehoash died and was succeeded by his son Jeroboam II, and Amaziah would outlive Jehoash by fifteen years before he was killed. After his death, his son Azariah became King of Judah. Jeroboam II would reign as King of Israel for forty-one years and continued the streak of kings that did evil in the sight of God. Even though he did what was evil God used Jeroboam II to restore territory to Israel as God never intended for the name of Israel to be lost by civilization. When Jeroboam II died, Zachariah his son succeeded him.

2 Kings 14:1-29
In the second year of Joash son of Jehoahaz king of Israel reigned Amaziah the son of Joash king of Judah. He was twenty and five years old when he began to reign, and reigned twenty and nine years in Jerusalem. And his mother's name was Jehoaddan of Jerusalem. And he did that which was right in the sight of the Lord, yet not like David his father: he did according to all things as Joash his father did. Howbeit the high places were not taken away: as yet the people did sacrifice and burnt incense on the high places. And it came to pass, as soon as the kingdom was confirmed in his hand, that he slew his servants which had slain the king his father. But the children of the murderers he slew not: according unto that which is written in the book of the law of Moses, wherein the Lord commanded, saying, The fathers shall not be put to death for the children, nor the children be put to death for the fathers; but every man shall be put to death for his own sin. He slew of Edom in the valley of salt ten thousand, and took Sela by war, and called the name of it Joktheel unto this day. Then Amaziah sent messengers to Jehoash, the son of Jehoahaz son of Jehu, king of Israel, saying, Come, let us look one another in the face. And Jehoash the king of Israel sent to Amaziah king of Judah, saying, The thistle that was in Lebanon sent to the cedar that was in Lebanon, saying, Give thy daughter to my son to wife: and there passed by a wild beast that was in Lebanon, and trode down the thistle. Thou hast indeed smitten Edom, and thine heart hath lifted thee up: glory of this, and tarry at home: for why shouldest thou meddle to thy hurt, that thou shouldest fall, even thou, and Judah with thee? But Amaziah would not hear. Therefore Jehoash king of Israel went up; and he and Amaziah king of Judah looked one another in the face at Beth–shemesh, which belongeth to Judah. And Judah was put to the worse before Israel; and they fled every man to their tents. And Jehoash king of Israel took Amaziah king of Judah, the son of Jehoash the son of Ahaziah, at Beth–shemesh, and came to Jerusalem, and brake down the wall of Jerusalem from the gate of Ephraim unto the corner gate, four hundred cubits. And he took all the gold and silver, and all the vessels that were found in the house of the Lord, and in the treasures of the king's house, and hostages, and returned to Samaria. Now the rest of the acts of Jehoash which he did, and his might, and how he fought with Amaziah king of Judah, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel? And Jehoash slept with his fathers, and was buried in Samaria with the kings of Israel; and Jeroboam his son reigned in his stead. And Amaziah the son of Joash king of Judah lived after the death of Jehoash son of Jehoahaz king of Israel fifteen years. And the rest of the acts of Amaziah, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah? Now they made a conspiracy against him in Jerusalem: and he fled to Lachish; but they sent after him to Lachish, and slew him there. And they brought him on horses: and he was buried at Jerusalem with his fathers in the city of David. And all the people of Judah took Azariah, which was sixteen years old, and made him king instead of his father Amaziah. He built Elath, and restored it to Judah, after that the king slept with his fathers. In the fifteenth year of Amaziah the son of Joash king of Judah Jeroboam the son of Joash king of Israel began to reign in Samaria, and reigned forty and one years. And he did that which was evil in the sight of the Lord: he departed not from all the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who made Israel to sin. He restored the coast of Israel from the entering of Hamath unto the sea of the plain, according to the word of the Lord God of Israel, which he spake by the hand of his servant Jonah, the son of Amittai, the prophet, which was of Gath–hepher. For the Lord saw the affliction of Israel, that it was very bitter: for there was not any shut up, nor any left, nor any helper for Israel. And the Lord said not that he would blot out the name of Israel from under heaven: but he saved them by the hand of Jeroboam the son of Joash. Now the rest of the acts of Jeroboam, and all that he did, and his might, how he warred, and how he recovered Damascus, and Hamath, which belonged to Judah, for Israel, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel? And Jeroboam slept with his fathers, even with the kings of Israel; and Zachariah his son reigned in his stead.

Twenty-seven years into the reign of Jeroboam II of Israel, Azariah began his reign in Judah at the age of sixteen and he reigned for fifty-two years, a long time even by modern standards. Like his father before him, he did what was right in the sight of God but still allowed people to offer and sacrifice at the high places. Repeatedly with the kings of Judah, they did what was right in the sight of God but did not do everything God wanted, sort of like they were partially meeting the requirements of God. During his reign, God gave leprosy to the king, which then was a highly contagious disease. While Azariah was still king, the day-to-day duties of judging the people was given to his son, Jotham. Jotham would go on to succeed his father.

Thirty-eight years into the reign of Azariah, Zachariah, son of Jeroboam II began a short six-month reign over Israel, and Zachariah continued doing what was evil in the sight of God perpetuating the false worship system. Zachariah was the fourth generation from Jehu whom God had promised four generations to occupy the throne. Fulfilling his promise, six months into the fourth generation on the throne, Zachariah was killed and Shallum, son of Jabesh, became king, transferring the royal house of Israel to a new family.

Shallum of Israel began his short one-month reign in the thirty-ninth year of Uzziah, King of Judah. He was killed by Menahem the son of Gadi just like he killed Zachariah before him. The reign of Menahem was marked by violence and oppression. As king, Menahem would have entire cities killed, including pregnant women and with this level of violence, it should come as no surprise that he did what was evil in the sight of God continuing in the religious practices of Jeroboam. During his reign, Pul, the King of Assyria sought to take the land of Israel, and to keep Israel as a nation, King Menahem had the mighty men of Israel each pay fifty shekels of silver towards the one thousand shekels of silver required by the King of Assyria. When Menahem died, his son, Pekahiah, succeeded him.

Pekahiah would rule for two years and like so many before him was killed so that somebody else could lay claim to the throne. Pekah, son of Remaliah, a military officer attached to the palace was the one who would conspire with a few others to overthrow the king. Pekah would go on to rule over Israel for twenty years and to no surprise did what was evil in the sight of God continuing in the false religious practices of Jeroboam. What brought his reign to an end was an attack by Tiglath-Pileser King of Assyria which resulted in multiple cities, including all the cities of Gilead, Galilee, and all the tribal land of Naphtali being captured by Assyria with the inhabitants taken back to Assyria. Pekah would be killed by Hoshea who became king.

While Pekah was still King of Israel, Jotham the son of Uzziah became King of Judah, and during his sixteen years on the throne, Jotham faced military challenges not only from Pekah and Israel, but from Rezin, King of Syria. Even though Jotham did what was right in the sight of God, he still did not remove the offerings and sacrifices from the high places.

2 Kings 15:1-38
In the twenty and seventh year of Jeroboam king of Israel began Azariah son of Amaziah king of Judah to reign. Sixteen years old was he when he began to reign, and he reigned two and fifty years in Jerusalem. And his mother's name was Jecoliah of Jerusalem. And he did that which was right in the sight of the Lord, according to all that his father Amaziah had done; Save that the high places were not removed: the people sacrificed and burnt incense still on the high places. And the Lord smote the king, so that he was a leper unto the day of his death, and dwelt in a several house. And Jotham the king's son was over the house, judging the people of the land. And the rest of the acts of Azariah, and all that he did, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah? So Azariah slept with his fathers; and they buried him with his fathers in the city of David: and Jotham his son reigned in his stead. In the thirty and eighth year of Azariah king of Judah did Zachariah the son of Jeroboam reign over Israel in Samaria six months. And he did that which was evil in the sight of the Lord, as his fathers had done: he departed not from the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who made Israel to sin. And Shallum the son of Jabesh conspired against him, and smote him before the people, and slew him, and reigned in his stead. And the rest of the acts of Zachariah, behold, they are written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel. This was the word of the Lord which he spake unto Jehu, saying, Thy sons shall sit on the throne of Israel unto the fourth generation. And so it came to pass. Shallum the son of Jabesh began to reign in the nine and thirtieth year of Uzziah king of Judah; and he reigned a full month in Samaria. For Menahem the son of Gadi went up from Tirzah, and came to Samaria, and smote Shallum the son of Jabesh in Samaria, and slew him, and reigned in his stead. And the rest of the acts of Shallum, and his conspiracy which he made, behold, they are written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel. Then Menahem smote Tiphsah, and all that were therein, and the coasts thereof from Tirzah: because they opened not to him, therefore he smote it; and all the women therein that were with child he ripped up. In the nine and thirtieth year of Azariah king of Judah began Menahem the son of Gadi to reign over Israel, and reigned ten years in Samaria. And he did that which was evil in the sight of the Lord: he departed not all his days from the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who made Israel to sin. And Pul the king of Assyria came against the land: and Menahem gave Pul a thousand talents of silver, that his hand might be with him to confirm the kingdom in his hand. And Menahem exacted the money of Israel, even of all the mighty men of wealth, of each man fifty shekels of silver, to give to the king of Assyria. So the king of Assyria turned back, and stayed not there in the land. And the rest of the acts of Menahem, and all that he did, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel? And Menahem slept with his fathers; and Pekahiah his son reigned in his stead. In the fiftieth year of Azariah king of Judah Pekahiah the son of Menahem began to reign over Israel in Samaria, and reigned two years. And he did that which was evil in the sight of the Lord: he departed not from the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who made Israel to sin. But Pekah the son of Remaliah, a captain of his, conspired against him, and smote him in Samaria, in the palace of the king's house, with Argob and Arieh, and with him fifty men of the Gileadites: and he killed him, and reigned in his room. And the rest of the acts of Pekahiah, and all that he did, behold, they are written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel. In the two and fiftieth year of Azariah king of Judah Pekah the son of Remaliah began to reign over Israel in Samaria, and reigned twenty years. And he did that which was evil in the sight of the Lord: he departed not from the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who made Israel to sin. In the days of Pekah king of Israel came Tiglath–pileser king of Assyria, and took Ijon, and Abel–beth–maachah, and Janoah, and Kedesh, and Hazor, and Gilead, and Galilee, all the land of Naphtali, and carried them captive to Assyria. And Hoshea the son of Elah made a conspiracy against Pekah the son of Remaliah, and smote him, and slew him, and reigned in his stead, in the twentieth year of Jotham the son of Uzziah. And the rest of the acts of Pekah, and all that he did, behold, they are written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel. In the second year of Pekah the son of Remaliah king of Israel began Jotham the son of Uzziah king of Judah to reign. Five and twenty years old was he when he began to reign, and he reigned sixteen years in Jerusalem. And his mother's name was Jerusha, the daughter of Zadok. And he did that which was right in the sight of the Lord: he did according to all that his father Uzziah had done. Howbeit the high places were not removed: the people sacrificed and burned incense still in the high places. He built the higher gate of the house of the Lord. Now the rest of the acts of Jotham, and all that he did, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah? In those days the Lord began to send against Judah Rezin the king of Syria, and Pekah the son of Remaliah. And Jotham slept with his fathers, and was buried with his fathers in the city of David his father: and Ahaz his son reigned in his stead.

For the Kings of Israel and Judah the pattern continues. The Kings of Israel did what was evil in the sight of God and some of the Kings of Judah did what was right in the sight of God, but didn’t do exactly what God wanted. With the Kingdom of Israel seeing entire cities, regions, and tribes going into captivity with Assyria and with military pressure on Judah by Syria, we will see how the narrative continues next week.

All verses are from the King James Version.
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