2Ki 15:1 In the twenty seventh year of Jeroboam the king of Israel Azariah the son of Amaziah the king of Judah began to reign.
2Ki 15:2 He was a son of sixteen years when he began to reign, and he reigned fifty two years in Jerusalem; and the name of his mother was Jecholiah of Jerusalem.
2Ki 15:3 And he did the right in the eyes of Jehovah, according to all that his father Amaziah did;
2Ki 15:4 however, the high places were not taken away; the people still sacrificed and burned incense in the high places.
2Ki 15:5 And Jehovah touched the king, and he was a leper to the day of his death; and he lived in a separate house, and Jotham the son of the king was over the house, judging the people of the land.
2Ki 15:6 And the rest of the acts of Azariah, and all that he did, are they not written in the Book of the Matters of the Days of the Kings of Judah?
2Ki 15:7 And Azariah lay with his fathers, and they buried him with his fathers in the city of David. And his son Jotham reigned in his place.
2Ki 15:8 In the thirty eighth year of Azariah the king of Judah, Zechariah the son of Jeroboam reigned over Israel, in Samaria, six months.
2Ki 15:9 And he did the evil in the eyes of Jehovah, as his fathers did; he did not turn aside from the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who caused Israel to sin.
2Ki 15:10 And Shallum the son of Jabesh conspired against him and struck him before the people, and killed him, and reigned in his place.
2Ki 15:11 And the rest of the acts of Zechariah, behold, they are written in the Book of the Matters of the Days of the Kings of Israel.
2Ki 15:12 This was the Word of Jehovah that He spoke to Jehu, saying, Your son of the fourth generation shall sit to you on the throne of Israel; and it was so.
2Ki 15:13 Shallum the son of Jabesh began to reign in the thirty ninth year of Uzziah the king of Judah, and he reigned a full month in Samaria.
2Ki 15:14 And Menahem the son of Gadi from Tirzah went up and came into Samaria and struck Shallum the son of Jabesh in Samaria, and killed him, and reigned in his place.
2Ki 15:15 And the rest of the acts of Shallum, and his conspiracy that he conspired, behold, they are written in the Book of the Matters of the Days of the Kings of Israel.
2Ki 15:16 Then Menahem struck Tiphsah, and all who were in it, and its borders from Tirzah, for it did not open, and he struck it; he ripped up all its pregnant women.
2Ki 15:17 In the thirty ninth year of Azariah the king of Judah, Menahem the son of Gadi began to reign over Israel, ten years in Samaria.
2Ki 15:18 And he did the evil in the eyes of Jehovah; he did not turn aside from the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who caused Israel to sin, all his days.
2Ki 15:19 Pul the king of Assyria came against the land, and Menahem gave a thousand talents of silver to Pul, that his hand might be with him to confirm the kingdom in his hand.
2Ki 15:20 And Menahem brought out the silver from Israel, on all the mighty men of wealth, to give to the king of Assyria, fifty shekels of silver for each one; and the king of Assyria turned back and did not stay there in the land.
2Ki 15:21 And the rest of the acts of Menahem, and all that he did, are they not written in the Book of the Matters of the Days of the Kings of Israel?
2Ki 15:22 And Menahem lay with his fathers. And his son Pekahiah reigned in his place.
2Ki 15:23 In the fiftieth year of Azariah the king of Judah, Pekahiah the son of Menahem reigned over Israel two years in Samaria.
2Ki 15:24 And he did the evil in the eyes of Jehovah; he did not turn aside from the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who caused Israel to sin.
2Ki 15:25 And Pekah the son of Remaliah, his general, conspired against him and struck him in Samaria, in the high place of the house of the king, with Argob and Arieh, and fifty men of the sons of the Gileadites with him; and he killed him and reigned in his place.
2Ki 15:26 And the rest of the acts of Pekahiah, and all that he did, behold, they are written in the Book of the Matters of the Days of the Kings of Israel.
2Ki 15:27 In the fifty second year of Azariah the king of Judah, Pekah the son of Remaliah began to reign over Israel, twenty years in Samaria.
2Ki 15:28 And he did the evil in the eyes of Jehovah; he did not turn aside from the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who caused Israel to sin.
2Ki 15:29 In the days of Pekah the king of Israel, Tiglath-pileser the king of Assyria came and took Ijon, and Abel-beth-maachah, and Janoah, and Kedesh, and Hazor, and Gilead, and Galilee, all the land of Naphtali, and removed them to Assyria.
2Ki 15:30 And Hoshea the son of Elah conspired a conspiracy against Pekah the son of Remaliah, and struck him, and killed him, and reigned in his place, in the twentieth year of Jotham the son of Uzziah.
2Ki 15:31 And the rest of the acts of Pekah and all that he did, behold, they are written in the Book of the Matters of the Days of the Kings of Israel.
2Ki 15:32 In the second year of Pekah the son of Remaliah the king of Israel, Jotham the son of Uzziah, the king of Judah, began to reign.
2Ki 15:33 He was a son of twenty five years when he began to reign, and he reigned sixteen years in Jerusalem; and his mother's name was Jerusha the daughter of Zadok.
2Ki 15:34 And he did the right in the eyes of Jehovah; he did according to all that his father Uzziah did.
2Ki 15:35 Only, the high places were not taken away; the people still sacrificed and burned incense in high places; he built the Upper Gate of the house of Jehovah.
2Ki 15:36 And the rest of the acts of Jotham, and all that he did, are they not written in the Book of the Matters of the Days of the Kings of Judah?
2Ki 15:37 In those days Jehovah began to send against Judah Rezin the king of Syria and Pekah the son of Remaliah.
2Ki 15:38 And Jotham lay with his fathers, and was buried with his fathers in the city of his father David. And his son Ahaz reigned in his place.
Verses 1-7 Summary: Azariah a good king, high places still stand. He reigns 52 years.
2nd Chronicles 26 (Additional facts about Uzziah (Azariah)): Uzziah made king in-place-of his father. He rebuilt Elath. He did right in the sight of God. Uzziah wars successfully against the Philistines and also fortifies Jerusalem. His influence (strength) is well known even into Egypt. His army was 330k+. His fortified towers included improved weaponry technology. As he became strong, he decides to burn incense in the temple. The priests oppose him and he becomes leprous on the spot.
1. What lessons can we learn from the reign of Uzziah? Like most, if not all the kings, power tends to corrupt/cloud their thinking processes. It may be understandable when you consider that they live in a constant state of knowing that opposing forces want you dead. It is not paranoia. The threat is real. The issues manifest themselves 100% of the time when they take their focus off of Jehovah (who put them there).
Losing focus on God can and does happen to EVRYONE! That is the point of this revelation.
2. What great prophets began to write during the reign of Uzziah? Zechariah, Isaiah.
Verses 8-12 Summary: Zechariah reigns in Israel after Jeroboam (for 6 months). He is murdered by Shallum. Zechariah fulfills the promise of four generations of Jehu on the throne.
Verses 13-15 Summary: Shallum reigns for one month. Menahem murders him and takes over.
Verses 17-22 Summary: Menahem reigns ten years as a bad king (towards God). Pul of Assyria exacts payment to leave Israel alone.
NOTE: This is the first mention of Assyria within the context of the kings. During this era, the Assyrians had begun already to gain power due to it's weapon technology. Specifically, the introduction of iron into weapon making (better, cheaper, stronger than bronze). Their tactics also included engineers for digging tunnels, filling moats, building ladders etc to breach walls.
Verses 23-26 Summary: Pekahiah, son of Menahem takes over after the death of Menahem. He reigns for two years. Pekah murders him.
Verses 27-31 Summary: Pekah reigns twenty years in Israel. Hoshea murders him.
3. What should we learn from the previous list of wicked kings in Israel? It's NOT good to be king? At least not in Israel during this time. It's obvious they are not inquiring of God. It's obvious that because of so much treachery, no good, solid reign can happen.
Verses 32-38 Summary: Jotham becomes king in Judah after Uzziah. He is a good king except for the high places. Rezin of Syria and Pekah of Israel war with Judah. Ahaz becomes king in Judah.
2nd Chronichles 27 (Additional facts about Jotham): Except for the high places Jotham was a good king because (6) "because he ordered his ways before Jehovah his God." However in verse two we read that he did not worship God (he did not go into the temple), and those that did worship in the temple did so corruptly.
NOTE: The theme recurs over and over. Good kings end up failing in one way or another, then in subsequent generations, it just gets worse. The main message to us of course is to be diligent in our focus on God and directing our children in that way.
4. Why would you think the people continued to act corruptly and seemed to be growing worse spiritually in spite of having a relatively good king like Jotham? Chronicles indicates that he himself was not predisposed to the worship of God. He failed to set an example. He also failed to pay attention to what was happening in the temple while he had authority.
5. What great prophet began to write during the days of Jotham? Michah
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