Today, I am reading and commenting on  2 Kings 13-14.

The passage begins by telling us that Jehu’s son, Jehoahaz, “did evil in the eyes of the Lord by following the sins of Jeroboam.”  It goes on to tell us that Jehoahaz, in the face of the terrible suffering Israel experienced at the hands of Hazael, king of Aram, sought the Lord’s favor.  And that God answered his pleading.  It tells us that God provided a deliverer for the people of Israel.  It follows that by telling us that, despite what God had done for them, the people of Israel did not turn from the sins of the house of Jeroboam.  Then later when discussing Amaziah becoming king of Judah, it says that he did what was right in the eyes of the Lord, but “not as his father David.”  It then tells us that the high places were not removed and the people offered sacrifices and burned incense at them.  In both of these places it seems to indicate that it was the people who were at fault for the sin.  The only blame given to Amaziah appears to be that he did not lead the people away from their idolatry.  I would also say that it appears as if the writer is implying that Jehoahaz turned from the sins of Jeroboam, but failed to lead the people to do the same.  Whether or not my interpretation about the actions of the rulers is correct, the passage clearly tells us that, at the time being recounted, the people sinned because they chose to sin, not because their leaders led them into sin.

I use the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Today, I am reading and commenting on  2 Kings 13-14.

We tend to think of the kings of Israel, the Northern Kingdom, listed in this passage as evil kings because the passage tells us that each of them “did evil in the eyes of the Lord.”  However, I think that misses much of what the writer intends for us to understand about them.  The writer tells us that Jehoahaz son of Jehu sought the Lord’s favor after Israel had been oppressed by Aram for some extended number of years, and that God provided a deliverer in response to his prayer.  Then it tells us how Jehoahaz’s son, Jehoash, visited Elisha when Elisha was on his deathbed, and mourned the death of Elisha.  Finally, the writer tells us that God used Jeroboam son of Jehoash to save the people of Israel, the Northern Kingdom, from the bitter suffering which they had been experiencing.  We need to keep the way God used these deeply flawed leaders to care for His people.

I use the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Today, I am reading and commenting on  2 Kings 13-14.

The writer tells us that Jehu’s son, grandson, and great grandson did evil in God’s sight by following the sins of Jeroboam.  However, we are told that Jehu’s grandson, Jehoash was stricken by grief over Elisha’s death.  In addition, Elisha blessed him by prophesying victory by him over Aram.  Further, God used Jehoash’s son, Jeroboam, to restore the borders of Israel and rescue the people of Israel from their suffering.  On the other hand, while Amaziah, king of Judah, did right in the eyes of God, he became cocky after his defeat of Edom and lost a war he instigated with Israel.  Which should serve to remind us that those who serve God do not have a carte blanche to go up against those who do not serve God.  Or, as Abraham Lincoln is supposed to have said, we should not be seeking to have God on our side, rather we should seek to do that which puts us on God’s side.  King Amaziah chose to go to war with Israel, thinking that God would be on his side, never considering that by doing so he might not be on God’s side.

I use the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Today, I am reading and commenting on  2 Kings 13-14.

So, in today’s passage we have a series of kings of Israel and kings of Judah.  The passage tells us that the kings of Israel, descendants of Jehu, did what was evil in the sight of the Lord, while the kings of Judah did what was right in the eyes of the Lord.  Further it tells us that the kings of Judah were not as righteous as David had been.  The passage tells us that the evil done by the kings of Israel was because they followed in the sins which Jeroboam had caused Israel to commit.  On the other hand, while the kings of Judah did what was right in God’s eyes, they did not get rid of the high places where people worshiped.  This leads me to conclude that the key difference between the kings of Israel and the kings of Judah in this time period was that the kings of Israel encourage the idolatry intorduced by Jerogoam, while the kings of Judah allowed, but did not encourage, idolatry.

I use the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

I am using the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Today, I am reading and commenting on 2 Kings 13-14.

I find a few things interesting about today’s passage.  First, the three kings of the Northern Kingdom mentioned are all listed as being evil in God’s sight because they continued in the sins of Jeroboam.  This description is interesting because the writer spoke positively about King Jehu, listing that he failed to destroy Jeroboam’s gold calves as his only drawback (although the writer does count that as a serious drawback).  So, perhaps King Jehu had not encouraged the worship of the gold calves but merely allowed it.  Also interestingly, King Jehu’s grandson, King Jehoash wept at Elisha’s bedside as the prophet was dying, despite the fact that we are told he did what was evil in God’s sight.  This reveals that the Israelites of the Northern Kingdom did not outright reject God.  Rather, they just gradually allowed themselves to foll into sin, while thinking they were continuing to worship God.  Just as we all too often do today, they treated God as something to be used in case of emergency.  Sure, when times are good you check that He is there every so often, but you don’t really need to spend any time with Him.  They, and we, only “get Him out” when disaster strikes.  Then we cry out to God for deliverance.