Was the coming king more influenced by the prayers of his grandfather than the deeds of his father? We now shift from two kings in Israel to two in Judah. Jotham and Ahaz each reigned for sixteen years (2 Ki 15:33; 16:2), but how different their impacts! Jotham prepared for his reign by serving with […]
The verse, “Thou God seest me” (Gen 16:13, KJV) is the bane of the sinner and the boon of the saint. You’ve heard the phrase, “two peas in a pod”? Well, here they are—Pekahiah and Pekah, the next two kings of Israel. You can see that the second name is the root of the first. […]
Live and let live. Kill and be killed. Is it really that hard to make a choice? For some, apparently so. It isn’t always the case, but it’s certainly true here that the meaning of a man’s name is the title page of his biography. Shallum means “retribution,” and we’d be well served to remember […]
Those judged by leprosy—Miriam, Gehazi, Uzziah—all acted against God in selfish unrestraint. The names of many of these kings flash by in a blur. We hope there won’t be an exam at the end! Now we read about “Azariah…king of Judah” (2 Ki 15:1) and “Zechariah the son of Jeroboam” who “reigned over Israel in […]
Israel’s 13th ruler, Jeroboam II, reigned longer (41 years) and over more land than any other king of Israel. Evidently Amaziah’s popularity waned after ill-fatedly challenging Israel to a fight. After some years, “they formed a conspiracy against him in Jerusalem, and he fled to Lachish; but they sent after him to Lachish and killed […]
Never pick a fight with the devil. Never battle in your own strength. And never yield to his wiles. I hope you’re refreshed by a touch of humor now and again. We’ll have some in this story. Having routed the Edomites, Amaziah was stricken with a bout of overconfidence. He “sent messengers to J–oash…king of […]
History is piled on top of history in this fabled land, and also “grace upon grace” ( Jn 1:16 NASB). I’m not sure we could call it a selective memory, but how glad we should be to know the things God does “remember” and the things He doesn’t. “Remember, O Lord, Your tender mercies and […]
Have you prayed without an answer? Pray again! Have you sown without fruit? Sow again! There were ten kings between Jeroboam and Joash of Israel. Under normal circumstances, the deeds of Jeroboam would be long forgotten. If we go back that number of rulers before Queen Elizabeth, we’d come to William of Orange! But in […]