Introduction to 2 Kings

As you complete 1 Kings and move into 2 Kings, the drama in the divided kingdom continues. The Northern Kingdom of Israel continue in their failure to have a godly king on the throne. Their best hope would be in Jehu, whose faithful execution of God's judgment on the idolatrous house of Ahab and the destruction of Baal worship allowed Jehu to have a dynasty of four generations on the throne, longer than any other king in the North. However, even though he did not worship Baal, he continued in the idolatry of Jeroboam. Except for occasions of God's gracious intervention and God's use of Israel to judge the pride of neighboring nations, 2 Kings gives a bleak picture for Israel, and it eventually faces total destruction by the Assyrian King Shalmaneser and exile of its people to Assyria. 2 Kings 17 is a key chapter of the book. There the narrator makes absolutely clear what he has been suggesting all along, that Israel fell because of its persistent failure to obey the LORD.

Right alongside the annals of the kings of the Northern Kingdom, there is an account of the kings of the Southern Kingdom of Judah. Except for a couple of instances, there is an unbroken chain of kings from the line of David. As in 1 Kings, so also in 2 Kings, every king is measured against David with respect to their righteousness. There are some wicked kings in the South but a number of righteous kings as well. Usually the wicked kings are influenced by their sister Northern Kingdom of Israel (cf. 2 Kings 17:19). A number of kings portrayed as righteous were not completely so because they did not destroy the "high places," where the people worshiped. According to the Law of Moses, the people of God were only permitted to worship in Jerusalem and at the Temple in Jerusalem, for this was the place that God had put His Name and set His Presence (cf. Deut. 12).

2 Kings details certain notable characters. Elisha, the prophet that succeeded Elijah, is given special attention in the first part of the book. He, along with Jehu, becomes a prominent agent in the destruction of Baal worship in Israel. Through Elisha we also see that God's concern extended not only to Israel but also people of other nations as well who put their faith in Him. There is also an extended treatment of Ahaz, who is the king that preceded the destruction of the Northern Kingdom of Israel. Through his actions the narrator shows how bad the idolatry got before the final judgment came. After the fall of Israel, the Southern Kingdom would continue for another 135 years, and this primarily because of two very godly kings, namely Hezekiah, and then his grandson, Josiah. Both these kings ruled in the righteous manner of David, and in their lifetimes, Judah prospered and was delivered from its enemies. However, Hezekiah's son, Manasseh, was the most wicked of all the kings, even worse than the kings of Israel. His wickedness and influence in turning the hearts of the people away from the LORD would set the course of Judah on an unalterable road to judgment. Even the most righteous of kings, Josiah (cf. 2 Kings 23:35), could not change God's mind. Thus, 2 Kings ends with the destruction and exile of Judah by King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon.

Interestingly, we are told that one of the last kings of Judah, Jehoiachin, did not resist but surrendered to Babylon. And 2 Kings ends with his release and kind treatment by the then king of Babylon. Why? When we come to the prophets, who speak of this period, namely, Isaiah and Jeremiah, we will learn that God's counsel to the remnant of Judah was to surrender and not resist Babylon, and that those who obeyed would live. Everyone who resisted or sought refuge in other nations (like Egypt or Assyria) perished in keeping with God's decree. However, those who obeyed God, as Jehoiachin did in surrendering to Babylon, lived.

2 Kings reminds us again that the nations and peoples are in the hands of the LORD. As Hezekiah prayed, "O LORD, the God of Israel... You are the God, You alone, of all the kingdoms of the earth" (2 Kings 19:15).