“He did evil in the eyes of the LORD. He did not turn away from the sins of Jeroboam son of Nebat, which he had caused Israel to commit.”
~ 2 Kings 15:28
Hi James and Ellen,
How would you like someday to be a king or a queen? Are your dad and/or ma treating you like a king and a queen in your home? Your grandmaa’s dad used to call your grandmaa his princess. There are a number of countries today on planet Earth that still have a king and/or a queen. Kings and queens today do not do the same things that kings and queens did between 2700 and 2800 years ago. 2 Kings 15 recounts the lives of two kings as they reigned over Judah and the lives of six kings as they reigned over Israel. God’s specially chosen guys, gals and kids – the Israelite people group’s guys, gals and kids, were between 2700 and 2800 years ago living in Judah and Israel. A guy by the name of Joshua about 700 years earlier had led God’s specially chosen guys, gals and kids into the land area that God had promised Abraham, then Abraham’s kid Isaac and then Isaac’s kid Jacob that He would always have their extended families live in as their very own land if . . . after about 400 years of having judges step up to lead them, the Israelite people group’s guys and gals impatiently began to want to have a king just like the people group’s guys and gals had who were living in the countries around them. The expectation that God had was that His specially chosen guys and gals would want to have Him to always be to there to lead them but . . . God’s specially chosen guys and gals turned their backs on God. The guys and gals who God had specially chosen for Himself wanted to worship inanimate idol gods that were made from wood, stone and metal. God’s specially chosen guys and gals worshipped these inanimate false gods that were made from wood, stone and metal in places that were called high places. God’s specially chosen guys and gals would burn incense and make sacrifices at the high places to these handmade gods. Your grandmaa and grandpaa less than two weeks ago stopped with friends at some Mayan ruins. Your grandmaa and grandpaa had been told that behind the Mayan ruins where they had stopped that guys and gals were still offering sacrifices to Mayan spirits. While your grandmaa and grandpaa were checking out the ruins, your grandmaa and grandpaa saw guys and gals head right for where your grandmaa and grandpaa had been told that sacrifices were being made to Mayan spirits. What do you think that your grandmaa and grandpaa and their friends did? Your grandmaa and grandpaa and their friends quickly got out of the area. Your grandmaa and grandpaa and their friends did not want to be near where Mayan guys and gals were offering sacrifices to spirits. Offerings that the Mayan guys and gals made to their spirit gods would purportedly be a chicken or a couple of eggs or . . . guys and gals today on planet Earth are still doing the same thing that guys and gals did between 2700 and 2800 years ago.
Between 2700 and 2800 years ago is the timeframe for today’s chapter from the Kings Book. The Kings Book is divided into two books called 1 Kings and 2 Kings. No one knows who wrote the Kings Book. The Kings Book was written to go with the book that Samuel started writing. Samuel just wrote about Israel’s initial kings. The book that Samuel started also got divided into two books. Because Samuel died while Saul was still king, another guy had to have written about when David was king. Your grandpaa finds it hard to keep the kings and queens straight who reigned over Israel and Judah. Israel and Judah used to be just one country which was called Israel. Because God’s specially chosen guys and gals were not being obedient to God and because a couple of guys wanted to be the king over the guys and gals who God had specially chosen for Himself, God let Israel’s country be divided into Judah and Israel. Judah and Israel became very different countries. God blessed and helped Judah a lot more than He blessed and helped Israel. The guys who became kings over Judah did better as kings and lived longer than the guys who became kings over Israel. The guys who became kings over Judah often died from old age. The guys who became kings over Israel would sometimes have murdered the ruling king so that they could become Israel’s king. It was dangerous between 2700 and 2800 years ago for a guy to want to be a king over Israel.
Azariah and Jotham were two of Judah’s kings between 2700 and 2800 years ago. Azariah was for 52 years Judah’s king. Azariah was Judah’s king part of the time with his dad – King Amaziah. Azariah or Uzziah – which King Azariah was also known by, with the exception of not destroying the high places, did okay being king. God was not pleased that King Azariah did not destroy the high places. King Azariah one day entered into God’s temple in Jerusalem and burned incense on an altar to God. This was something that only a Levite high priest could do. God punished King Azariah by causing King Azariah to have leprosy for going into His temple and doing what a Levite priest was to do. Leprosy is a terrible skin malady that eats away the flesh of a guy or gal. Jotham – King Azariah’s kid, became king after King Azariah could no longer act as king. Jotham was a Judah king for 15 years. During the time when Azariah and Jotham were kings over Judah, Israel had six kings. The first king was Zechariah. Zechariah was Israel’s king for six months. Zecharias was killed by Shallum. Shallum was Israel’s king for a month. Shallum was killed by Menahem. Menahem was Israel’s king for ten years. King Mehahem’s kid Pekahiah followed him. Pekanhiah was Israel’s king for two years. Pekahiah was killed by Pekah. Pekah was Israel’s king for twenty years. Verse 28 describes Pekah’s life as king “He did evil in the eyes of the LORD. He did not turn away from the sins of Jeroboam son of Nebat, which he had caused Israel to commit.” King Pekah lived as wickedly as every other king over Israel. Evil will invariably destroy the lives of guys and gals who live to do evil. Pekah was killed by Hoshea.
2 Kings 15 (155)