May
5th 2
Kings 10 Ahab & Ahaziah’s family killed
1: And Ahab had
seventy sons in Samaria. And Jehu wrote letters, and sent to Samaria,
unto the rulers of Jezreel, to the elders, and to them that brought
up Ahab's children, saying, 2: Now as soon as this letter cometh to
you, seeing your master's sons are with you, and there are with you
chariots and horses, a fenced city also, and armour; 3: Look even out
the best and meetest of your master's sons, and set him on his
father's throne, and fight for your master's house. 4: But they were
exceedingly afraid, and said, Behold, two kings stood not before him:
how then shall we stand? 5: And he that was over the house, and he
that was over the city, the elders also, and the bringers up of the
children, sent to Jehu, saying, We are thy servants, and will do all
that thou shalt bid us; we will not make any king: do thou that which
is good in thine eyes. 6: Then he wrote a letter the second time to
them, saying, If ye be mine, and if ye will hearken unto my voice,
take ye the heads of the men your master's sons, and come to me to
Jezreel by to morrow this time. Now the king's sons, being seventy
persons, were with the great men of the city, which brought them up.
7: And it came to pass, when the letter came to them, that they took
the king's sons, and slew seventy persons, and put their heads in
baskets, and sent him them to Jezreel. 8: And there came a messenger,
and told him, saying, They have brought the heads of the king's sons.
And he said, Lay ye them in two heaps at the entering in of the gate
until the morning. 9: And it came to pass in the morning, that he
went out, and stood, and said to all the people, Ye be righteous:
behold, I conspired against my master, and slew him: but who slew all
these? 10: Know now that there shall fall unto the earth nothing of
the word of the LORD, which the LORD spake concerning the house of
Ahab: for the LORD hath done that which he spake by his servant
Elijah. 11: So Jehu slew all that remained of the house of Ahab in
Jezreel, and all his great men, and his kinsfolks, and his priests,
until he left him none remaining. 12: And he arose and departed, and
came to Samaria. And as he was at the shearing house in the way, 13:
Jehu met with the brethren of Ahaziah king of Judah, and said, Who
are ye? And they answered, We are the brethren of Ahaziah; and we go
down to salute the children of the king and the children of the
queen. 14: And he said, Take them alive. And they took them alive,
and slew them at the pit of the shearing house, even two and forty
men; neither left he any of them. 15: And when he was departed
thence, he lighted on Jehonadab the son of Rechab coming to meet him:
and he saluted him, and said to him, Is thine heart right, as my
heart is with thy heart? And Jehonadab answered, It is. If it be,
give me thine hand. And he gave him his hand; and he took him up to
him into the chariot. 16: And he said, Come with me, and see my zeal
for the LORD. So they made him ride in his chariot. 17: And when he
came to Samaria, he slew all that remained unto Ahab in Samaria, till
he had destroyed him, according to the saying of the LORD, which he
spake to Elijah.
Jehu
kills Baal worshippers
18: And Jehu
gathered all the people together, and said unto them, Ahab served
Baal a little; but Jehu shall serve him much. 19: Now therefore call
unto me all the prophets of Baal, all his servants, and all his
priests; let none be wanting: for I have a great sacrifice to do to
Baal; whosoever shall be wanting, he shall not live. But Jehu did it
in subtilty, to the intent that he might destroy the worshippers of
Baal. 20: And Jehu said, Proclaim a solemn assembly for Baal. And
they proclaimed it. 21: And Jehu sent through all Israel: and all the
worshippers of Baal came, so that there was not a man left that came
not. And they came into the house of Baal; and the house of Baal was
full from one end to another. 22: And he said unto him that was over
the vestry, Bring forth vestments for all the worshippers of Baal.
And he brought them forth vestments. 23: And Jehu went, and Jehonadab
the son of Rechab, into the house of Baal, and said unto the
worshippers of Baal, Search, and look that there be here with you
none of the servants of the LORD, but the worshippers of Baal only.
24: And when they went in to offer sacrifices and burnt offerings,
Jehu appointed fourscore men without, and said, If any of the men
whom I have brought into your hands escape, he that letteth him go,
his life shall be for the life of him. 25: And it came to pass, as
soon as he had made an end of offering the burnt offering, that Jehu
said to the guard and to the captains, Go in, and slay them; let none
come forth. And they smote them with the edge of the sword; and the
guard and the captains cast them out, and went to the city of the
house of Baal. 26: And they brought forth the images out of the house
of Baal, and burned them. 27: And they brake down the image of Baal,
and brake down the house of Baal, and made it a draught house unto
this day. 28: Thus Jehu destroyed Baal out of Israel. 29: Howbeit
from the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who made Israel to sin,
Jehu departed not from after them, to wit, the golden calves that
were in Bethel, and that were in Dan. 30: And the LORD said unto
Jehu, Because thou hast done well in executing that which is right in
mine eyes, and hast done unto the house of Ahab according to all that
was in mine heart, thy children of the fourth generation shall sit on
the throne of Israel. 31: But Jehu took no heed to walk in the law of
the LORD God of Israel with all his heart: for he departed not from
the sins of Jeroboam, which made Israel to sin.
Jehu
dies - is buried in Samaria
32: In those days
the LORD began to cut Israel short: and Hazael smote them in all the
coasts of Israel; 33: From Jordan eastward, all the land of Gilead,
the Gadites, and the Reubenites, and the Manassites, from Aroer,
which is by the river Arnon, even Gilead and Bashan. 34: Now the rest
of the acts of Jehu, and all that he did, and all his might, are they
not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel? 35:
And Jehu slept with his fathers: and they buried him in Samaria. And
Jehoahaz his son reigned in his stead. 36: And the time that Jehu
reigned over Israel in Samaria was twenty and eight years.
2
Kings 11 Athaliah King of Judah
1: And when
Athaliah the mother of Ahaziah saw that her son was dead, she arose
and destroyed all the seed royal. 2: But Jehosheba, the daughter of
king Joram, sister of Ahaziah, took Joash the son of Ahaziah and
stole him from among the king's sons which were slain; and they hid
him, even him and his nurse, in the bedchamber from Athaliah, so that
he was not slain. 3: And he was with her hid in the house of the LORD
six years. And Athaliah did reign over the land. 4: And the seventh
year Jehoiada sent and fetched the rulers over hundreds, with the
captains and the guard, and brought them to him into the house of the
LORD, and made a covenant with them, and took an oath of them in the
house of the LORD, and shewed them the king's son. 5: And he
commanded them, saying, This is the thing that ye shall do; A third
part of you that enter in on the sabbath shall even be keepers of the
watch of the king's house; 6: And a third part shall be at the gate
of Sur; and a third part at the gate behind the guard: so shall ye
keep the watch of the house, that it be not broken down. 7: And two
parts of all you that go forth on the sabbath, even they shall keep
the watch of the house of the LORD about the king. 8: And ye shall
compass the king around about, every man with his weapons in his
hand: and he that cometh within the ranges, let him be slain: and be
ye with the king as he goeth out and as he cometh in. 9: And the
captains over the hundreds did according to all things that Jehoiada
the priest commanded: and they took every man his men that were to
come in on the sabbath, with them that should go out on the sabbath,
and came to Jehoiada the priest. 10: And to the captains over
hundreds did the priest give king David's spears and shields, that
were in the temple of the LORD. 11: And the guard stood, every man
with his weapons in his hand, round about the king, from the right
corner of the temple to the left corner of the temple, along by the
altar and the temple. 12: And he brought forth the king's son, and
put the crown upon him, and gave him the testimony; and they made him
king, and anointed him; and they clapped their hands, and said, God
save the king. 13: And when Athaliah heard the noise of the guard and
of the people, she came to the people into the temple of the LORD.
14: And when she looked, behold, the king stood by a pillar, as the
manner was, and the princes and the trumpeters by the king, and all
the people of the land rejoiced, and blew with trumpets: and Athaliah
rent her clothes, and cried, Treason, Treason. 15: But Jehoiada the
priest commanded the captains of the hundreds, the officers of the
host, and said unto them, Have her forth without the ranges: and him
that followeth her kill with the sword. For the priest had said, Let
her not be slain in the house of the LORD. 16: And they laid hands on
her; and she went by the way by the which the horses came into the
king's house: and there was she slain.
Jehoiada’s
reforms
17: And Jehoiada
made a covenant between the LORD and the king and the people that
they should be the LORD's people; between the king also and the
people. 18: And all the people of the land went into the house of
Baal, and brake it down; his altars and his images brake they in
pieces thoroughly, and slew Mattan the priest of Baal before the
altars. And the priest appointed officers over the house of the LORD.
19: And he took the rulers over hundreds, and the captains, and the
guard, and all the people of the land; and they brought down the king
from the house of the LORD, and came by the way of the gate of the
guard to the king's house. And he sat on the throne of the kings. 20:
And all the people of the land rejoiced, and the city was in quiet:
and they slew Athaliah with the sword beside the king's house. 21:
Seven years old was Jehoash when he began to reign.
2
Kings 12 Joash King of Judah
1: In the seventh
year of Jehu Jehoash began to reign; and forty years reigned he in
Jerusalem. And his mother's name was Zibiah of Beer-sheba. 2: And
Jehoash did that which was right in the sight of the LORD all his
days wherein Jehoiada the priest instructed him. 3: But the high
places were not taken away: the people still sacrificed and burnt
incense in the high places. 4: And Jehoash said to the priests, All
the money of the dedicated things that is brought into the house of
the LORD, even the money of every one that passeth the account, the
money that every man is set at, and all the money that cometh into
any man's heart to bring into the house of the LORD, 5: Let the
priests take it to them, every man of his acquaintance: and let them
repair the breaches of the house, wheresoever any breach shall be
found. 6: But it was so, that in the three and twentieth year of king
Jehoash the priests had not repaired the breaches of the house. 7:
Then king Jehoash called for Jehoiada the priest, and the other
priests , and said unto them, Why repair ye not the breaches of the
house? now therefore receive no more money of your acquaintance, but
deliver it for the breaches of the house. 8: And the priests
consented to receive no more money of the people, neither to repair
the breaches of the house. 9: But Jehoiada the priest took a chest,
and bored a hole in the lid of it, and set it beside the altar, on
the right side as one cometh into the house of the LORD: and the
priests that kept the door put therein all the money that was brought
into the house of the LORD. 10: And it was so, when they saw that
there was much money in the chest, that the king's scribe and the
high priest came up, and they put up in bags, and told the money that
was found in the house of the LORD. 11: And they gave the money,
being told, into the hands of them that did the work, that had the
oversight of the house of the LORD: and they laid it out to the
carpenters and builders, that wrought upon the house of the LORD, 12:
And to masons, and hewers of stone, and to buy timber and hewed stone
to repair the breaches of the house of the LORD, and for all that was
laid out for the house to repair it. 13: Howbeit there were not made
for the house of the LORD bowls of silver, snuffers, basons,
trumpets, any vessels of gold, or vessels of silver, of the money
that was brought into the house of the LORD: 14: But they gave that
to the workmen, and repaired therewith the house of the LORD. 15:
Moreover they reckoned not with the men, into whose hand they
delivered the money to be bestowed on workmen: for they dealt
faithfully. 16: The trespass money and sin money was not brought into
the house of the LORD: it was the priests'. 17: Then Hazael king of
Syria went up, and fought against Gath, and took it: and Hazael set
his face to go up to Jerusalem. 18: And Jehoash king of Judah took
all the hallowed things that Jehoshaphat, and Jehoram, and Ahaziah,
his fathers, kings of Judah, had dedicated, and his own hallowed
things, and all the gold that was found in the treasures of the house
of the LORD, and in the king's house, and sent it to Hazael king of
Syria: and he went away from Jerusalem. 19: And the rest of the acts
of Joash, and all that he did, are they not written in the book of
the chronicles of the kings of Judah? 20: And his servants arose, and
made a conspiracy, and slew Joash in the house of Millo, which goeth
down to Silla. 21: For Jozachar the son of Shimeath, and Jehozabad
the son of Shomer, his servants, smote him, and he died; and they
buried him with his fathers in the city of David: and Amaziah his son
reigned in his stead.
Today we read that
justice finally catches up with the family of Ahab and Ahaziah. Jehu
also is raised up by the Lord to execute the Baal worshippers before
he dies in Samaria. Then we read of Athaliah becoming king of Judah
in his place. Jehoiada makes reforms and Joash becomes kings of
Judah. The LORD had spoken by Elijah that all the family of Ahab
would be executed at the command of the King for leading Israel into
great wickedness. So Jehu sent letters to have his 70 sons executed,
but the people at first were afraid however a second letter gave the
people courage to do the deed and they brought their heads to Jezreel
and left them there. The sin and evil culture of Ahab was so bad that
his family also had to suffer the same judgment of God so they also
fell under the sword and so a very great evil was put away forever
from Israel. This was not genocide; it was the judgment of God
enacted by Jehu on the LORD’s behalf. Then the LORD turned his
attention on the Baal idol worshippers. This evil religion was based
on child sacrifice and prostitution and rape. It was designated for
the judgment of God. Jehu called for all the Baal worshippers to
gather. The Prophets, servants and priests of Baal came to Jehu. He
insisted that every one of them should come on fear of execution if
they didn’t. They came to the temple of Baal which was packed from
end to end. Then he told his servants to check very carefully to make
sure that no righteous men were with them. Then he appointed 80 men
to surround the temple and if any escaped then the man that let them
go would pay with his own life. Then Jehu told his a captain to go in
with his men and execute every man and they that were killed were
thrown out of the door. And they took the wooden Idols and burned
them outside. Then they broke down the image of Baal and totally
destroyed the temple of Baal. Jehu totally destroyed Baal worship in
Israel but he did not destroy the golden calves that were in Bethel
and Dan. The Lord promised that Jehu’s sons would be kings after
him for four generations. Yet in all this Jehu didn’t serve the
LORD with his whole mind he still allowed the sin of Jeroboam. In the
days that followed the LORD began to discipline Israel again by
allowing Hazael to come into the borders of Israel’s territory.
Jehu died after reigning for 22 yrs. And his son Jehoahaz reigned in
his place. In Judah when Athaliah the mother of Ahaziah saw that her
son was dead she destroyed all his children but Jehosheba the
daughter of Joram – sister of Ahaziah took Joash the son of Ahaziah
and hid him and his nurse so that he was delivered. She hid him in
the temple for 6 yrs. Athaliah as queen reigned over the land but
after 7yrs Jehoiada (See v14-15) the nurse of Joash gathered all the
rulers of hundreds and captains of the guard and brought them to the
house of the Lord and the soldiers were set to protect the young king
for assassination. Then they anointed him as king and crowned him and
the trumpets blew and there was great celebration. When Athaliah saw
what was happening she cried out treason, treason but the men at arms
took her and any that followed her and executed her. Jehoiada made a
number of reforms, in particular she made a covenant between the LORD
and the king and the people and they went and destroyed the house of
Baal and executed the priest Mattan of Baal. Joash began to reign
when he was 7yrs old. And so we see that Baal worship was destroyed
both in Israel in the north and Judah in the south. Jehoash reigned
in Judah and he reigned for 40 yrs in Jerusalem. He was a good king
because he served the LORD in righteousness. He had a faithful
guardian who advised him. But some of the people served the Lord in
the high places. He insisted that the LORD’s house should be
repaired yet it continued in disrepair for 23 yrs. So the king took a
chest and made a hole in the lid and this was used as a place for the
people to make their offerings to the Lord. Then when the chest was
quite full they emptied it at times and used the money to pay for
carpenters and masons to do their work of repairs. Those who deal
with the money were totally faithful to the Lord they were not
checked by others. Then when Hazael king of Syria came against Judah
the king took all of the gold things in the temple and sent then to
Hazael thinking that is would satisfy him. In the end the servants of
Joash made a plot to kill him and the murdered him and buried him and
Amaziah reigned in his place.
- What was Jehu's greatest deed?
- What was so bad about Ahab?
- Who was Athaliah?
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