Day 169: 2 Kings: Self-sabotage
When God told the Jewish people that they could feel secure in their homeland of Canaan, it was an agreement made that the Jewish people would obey God, and that He would be their only King. But, they had wanted kings like other nations, and God granted them that wish. Unfortunately, they not only forgot about God, much less the agreement between Him and the Jewish people, we see that they worshiped idols and false gods brought to them by their foreign wives. They did this for a couple hundred years before God tired of their ways.
Deuteronomy 28:64 states, “The Lord will scatter you among all nations from one end of the earth to the other.” And, that is exactly what happened — to those who were left alive. They had stopped listening to the prophets to change their ways. The end is truly coming for Israel and Judah. It is ending with the invasion of the Assyrians (Sunnis descended from them). Assyria is now Iraq. They invade, destroy and occupy Israel. Their killing is torturous, vicious, and despicable. They kill all the governors and other authorities. They cut off hands, feet, noses, ears, lips, throw them off the temple, and sacrifice them on their own alter.
Much of what started this (besides their disloyalty to God) was they wouldn’t pay their annual taxes to the Assyrian king, who had previously invaded neighboring countries and forced heavy taxations on them. Israel’s king Hoshea (or, Hosea) tries to gain some freedom; therefore, he refuses to pay their taxes.
Many of the Jews are scattered throughout ‘Iraq”, and those remaining intermarry and form the race of Samaritans. They are despised by fully Jewish people during Jesus’ time because of their intermarriages, and their distorted views of the faith, and because of their version of the Jewish Bible. Samaritans only accept the first five books; Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy.
Then God sends the Babylonians to destroy Judah, and exile anyone remaining. They overcome the Assyrians, taking over the Middle East. God is on their side. Their siege takes two and a half years. During this two and a half year reign, starvation and cannibalism (they eat their children) exist. The Babylonians took Jerusalem apart stone by stone. This is written in the Book of Lamentations.
Elisha wants to take over Elijah as his successor. These are some big shoes to fill, and Elijah lets God make that decision. 2Kings 2:10 “You have asked for a very difficult thing, Elijah says. If you see me when I am taken from you, then you will get your request. But if not, then you won’t.” In response, God sends chariots and horses of fire, swirls around Elijah and picks him up and carries him away. Elisha witnesses this, and even catches the cloak as it falls to the ground.
Remember Ahab and Jezebel? Jehu, who was anointed by Elijah, seconded by Elisha later, was to become the tenth king of Israel. He wanted to destroy Ahab’s dynasty for stealing land from Naboth, who owned a great family vineyard. This is done through Jezebel’s setting Naboth up for an execution by hiring two liars against him. It was Jewish law that Naboth could not give up the land that had been in his family. Elijah warns Ahab that God is going to destroy the entire family, but he pays no heed. He dies several years later placing Jezebel as Israel’s Queen.
Ahab has a son with Jezebel named, Joram (or, Jehoram), who is home recovering from a war wound. (There is also a wicked daughter, named Athaliah, worse than Jezebel.) Ahaziah, king of Judah comes to visit Joram. This is good for Jehu because as he races his chariot towards the city, they see him and think he has some important news and go out to meet them. Instead the two kings get hit by arrows, killing them. When Jezebel hears of this, she puts on make-up and dresses finely, and sits in her bedroom window waiting her death (or possibly to seduce Jehu). They push her out and she is trampled by horses. When they went later to bury her, only her skull, feet and hands were left, the rest of her was eaten by dogs, as Scripture predicted.
Hezekiah was possibly the Jews’ best king, but his son Manasseh was probably the worst — even sacrificing his own son. Manasseh practiced witchcraft, sorcery, divinations, etc., all things against God. It is written in Jewish history (the Talmud) that he ordered the killing of the Prophet Isaiah by sawing him in half with a wooden saw. Following his reign, and several kings who were just as spiritually depleted, except for Josiah, there is a repeat of history by another king of Judah — Zedekiah — not wanting to pay taxes. Hence, Babylon’s two and a half year reign.
Since Joshua, 600 years before, The Jews no longer have a nation and that will continue for another 50 years. Persia (which is now Iran) over throws the Babylonians, which frees the exiled Jews to go home.
