We’ve been in the book of Kings for several months now. I’ve been doing the work to quickly and clearly communicate details about each king. When did the king live? Where (Israel in the north or Judah in the south) did the king reign? How long was his reign? Was he a good king or a bad king? Then, I would build a slide show indicating these things during our worship services.
King Hazael of Aram had oppressed Israel during the entire reign of King Jehoahaz. But the LORD was gracious and merciful to the people of Israel, and they were not totally destroyed. He pitied them because of His covenant with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. And to this day He still has not completely destroyed them or banished them from His presence. (2 Kings 13:22-23 NLT)
I shared all these details because they were important to understanding God’s interaction with them. We get to see how God rewards those who walk with the LORD and how God punishes those who fight the LORD. More than that, we start to see how patient God is with all of them, working to bring them closer to the abundant life the LORD desires for all of us.
Amaziah son of Joash began to rule over Judah in the second year of the reign of King Jehoash of Israel. Amaziah was twenty-five years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem twenty-nine years. His mother was Jehoaddin from Jerusalem. (2 Kings 14:1-2 NLT)
I also shared these details because they were included by the human Scripture writers themselves and, ultimately, important to the LORD who inspired those writers to capture this part of history.
The real goal of my preparation, teaching, and writings is to drive all of us to read Scripture. So, I will give us all a chance to do that right now. Look up the following passages in your own Bible. These are the kings we are covering this week. Were they good or bad? Why do you say that? What part of Scripture (book, chapter, and verse) inside that passage tells you? What does it say?
Amaziah King of Judah (2 Kings 14:1-22) ___________
Jereboam II King of Israel (2 Kings 14:23-29) ___________
Azariah (Uzziah) King of Judah (2 Kings 15:1-7) ___________
Zechariah King of Israel (2 Kings 15:8-12) ___________
* Shallum King of Israel (2 Kings 15:13-16) ___________
Menahem King of Israel (2 Kings 15:17-22) ___________
Pekahiah King of Israel (2 Kings 15:23-26) ___________
Pehah King of Israel (2 Kings 15:27-31) ___________
Jotham King of Judah (2 Kings 15:32-38) ___________
Ahaz King of Judah (2 Kings 16:1-20) ___________
When you do the exercise, you will start to see some patterns. For example, were the kings of the south (Judah) usually good or bad? Were there any times that the pattern was broken? Were the kings of the north (Israel) usually good or bad?
Shallum has a star * next to his name because he is a bonus question. Do the Scriptures clearly indicate whether he was good or bad? Which would you say he was? What are your Scriptural reasons for saying that?
Congratulations. You just read through a little over three chapters of Scripture today. At that pace, you would make it through the entire Bible in a year! Does that feel good? Will you continue to read Scripture? Will you watch the kings?
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