‏ 2 Kings 15

The Reign of Azariah.

This section gives a short summary of the reign of Azariah (also called Uzziah), king of Judah. Azariah began his rule when he was young and reigned for a long time. He mostly did what was right in the sight of the Lord, but he did not remove the high places where people continued to make sacrifices. The most unique detail about his reign is that God punished him with leprosy because of his pride. This made him live apart from others for the rest of his life. Even though Azariah started well, he did not finish well, reminding us that it is important to remain faithful to God all the way to the end.

v. 1-2: Azariah became king of Judah at a young age and ruled for fifty-two years. His long reign was a blessing to the nation because, for the most part, he did what was right (2 Kings 15:2 ^a).

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v. 3: Like his father Amaziah, Azariah did what was right in the sight of the Lord. However, he was not as devoted as David and did not remove the high places. Sometimes even good leaders do not go far enough to remove wrong practices .

v. 4: The people continued to sacrifice and burn incense on the high places, even though this was not what God wanted. These old customs were hard to end .

v. 5: God struck Azariah with leprosy as a punishment for his pride when he tried to take over the priest’s work in the temple. He had to live in a separate house, away from people, as the law required for lepers (2 Chronicles 26:16-21 ^b). His son ruled as co-king and judged the people while Azariah lived in isolation. This was both a lesson in humility for Azariah and a blessing for Judah, since his son was able to help lead the kingdom (2 Kings 15:5 ^c).

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The Reigns of Zachariah, Shallum, Menahem, Pekahiah, Pekah, and Hoshea.

This section describes a time of great confusion and trouble for the kingdom of Israel. After the family of Jehu lost the throne, there were many quick changes in leadership. Most kings came to power by violence and were killed in the same way. Because the people refused to turn from their sins, God allowed these troubles to come. The nation suffered from both internal fighting and attacks from Assyria. This difficult period shows that when a nation turns away from God, it becomes weak and divided, and many innocent people suffer.

v. 8-12: Zachariah, son of Jeroboam, became king of Israel, but he only ruled for six months. He was killed by Shallum, ending the line of Jehu, as God had promised would happen after four generations (2 Kings 10:30; 2 Kings 15:8-12 ^d).

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v. 13-14: Shallum became king, but his reign lasted just one month. He was killed by Menahem, showing that when rulers gain power by violence, they often lose it quickly (2 Kings 15:13-14; Hosea 5:7 ^e).

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v. 16: Menahem was extremely cruel. When a city did not accept his rule, he destroyed it and killed even the women and children. This was a terrible act, showing how far the nation had fallen .

v. 17-20: Menahem ruled for ten years. When the king of Assyria attacked, Menahem paid him a large sum of money to leave Israel alone. He forced the rich people to pay this tax. By doing this, he made Israel weaker and opened the door for more trouble from Assyria in the future (2 Kings 15:17-20; 1 Kings 20:31 ^f).

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v. 21-22: When Menahem died, his son Pekahiah became king.

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v. 23-26: Pekahiah ruled for just two years before he was killed by Pekah, one of his own officers. Pekah did evil like the kings before him. He was helped by several men, showing that conspiracies and violence were everywhere (2 Kings 15:23-26 ^g).

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v. 27-29: Pekah ruled for twenty years, but during his reign, Israel lost much of its land to Assyria. Many people were taken away as captives. This was God’s punishment for Pekah’s sins and his attacks on Judah, just as the prophets had warned (2 Kings 15:27-29; Isaiah 7:1 ^h; Isaiah 8:4 ⁱ).

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v. 30: Finally, Hoshea killed Pekah and became king. The kingdom was now very weak, and the crown was full of danger. Hoshea’s rise to power shows how desperate things had become in Israel. The nation was close to its end as a kingdom (2 Kings 15:30 ^j).

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The Reign of Jotham.

This section gives a brief summary of the reign of Jotham, king of Judah. Jotham was a good and just ruler who tried to honor God and serve his people well. He made improvements to the temple and worked to correct what was wrong in the nation. Even though he could not remove all the old sinful practices, he did his best to promote true worship. Sadly, Jotham’s life was not long, and after his death, trouble began to increase for Judah.

v. 32-34: Jotham became king of Judah and did what was right in the sight of the Lord. Josephus says Jotham was pious, just, and worked hard for the public good. He tried to correct what was wrong in the kingdom and showed great respect for God’s temple (2 Kings 15:34 ^k).

v. 33, 36, 38: Jotham died at the age of forty-one, which was young compared to some other kings. He was a great blessing to Judah, but his life was cut short. This was a loss for the nation, especially since his son Ahaz would not follow his good example (2 Kings 15:33 ^l).

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v. 35: Jotham did not remove the high places, so people still offered sacrifices there. However, he tried to draw people to the temple instead by building the higher gate for God’s house. When leaders cannot fully end bad practices, they should do what they can to support and encourage good ones (2 Kings 15:35 ^m).

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v. 37: In Jotham’s later years, trouble began for Judah. The kings of Syria and Israel formed an alliance and began to threaten Judah. This was God’s way of warning and disciplining Judah for their sins. Even though the enemies’ plans were wrong, God used them to fulfill His own purposes. The full danger came after Jotham’s death, during the reign of his son Ahaz (2 Kings 15:37; Isaiah 7:2 ⁿ).