David W. Jones

Israel’s Decline – 2 Kings 13–15

Read the Passage: 2 Kings 13–15

Legacy and Death (13:1–25)

2 Kings 13–15 are largely unremarkable chapters that cover a little more than 80 years of history. These chapters narrate the reigns of three mediocre kings of Judah who served between the long-reigning Joash (cf. 2 Kings 11–12) and the exceedingly evil Ahaz (cf. 2 Kings 16), who is not to be confused with Ahab, the earlier ruler of Israel with a similar name. These chapters also cover the reigns of eight evil kings in Israel, all eight of whom contributed to the decline of the nation. As has been the case thus far in 1 & 2 Kings, the majority of the material in 2 Kings 13–15 focuses on the kings of Israel, not Judah. 2 Kings 13 describes the reign of Jehoahaz, who served for 17 years, and his son Jehoash, who served for 16 years. These two kings continued the evil legacy of Jeroboam. Jehoash of Israel should not be confused with Jehoash (Joash) of Judah, whose reigns overlapped.

The last time the prophet Elisha was mentioned was at 2 Kings 9:1 when he played a role in the anointing of Jehu as king of Israel. While the chronology of these chapters is not clear, it is likely that 45 years have elapsed since Elisha was last referenced. Note that after this present passage, Elisha will not be mentioned again by name in Scripture until Jesus refers to him at Luke 4:27. Here in 2 Kings 13:14–21 the text records the death of Elisha. This narrative is curious in that when Elisha was on his deathbed, the evil king Jehoash visited him. Rather than confronting Jehoash over his sin, God used Elisha to reveal information about the coming defeat of Syria, using a bow and arrows as an object lesson. Jehoash’s lack of faith is manifest in this passage, as he only struck the ground three times, which meant Israel would only have three future victories over Syria (cf. 2 Kings 13:19, 22–25).

Flourishing and Pride (14:1–29)

At the conclusion of the ministry of Elijah and Elisha (cf. 1 Kings 17–2 Kings 13), which lasted for roughly 65 years, things seemed to be looking up for God’s people. Indeed, official Baal worship had been ended in both Israel and Judah (2 Kings 10:28; 11:17–18), the Temple had been repaired (cf. 2 Kings 12:9–15), and the Syrians had been largely defeated (cf. 2 Kings 13:25). Yet, as the following chapters will explain, spiritual life in Judah, and especially in Israel, continued to decline. The state affairs in Judah was hidden for a while by the reign of three mediocre kings, the first of whom was Amaziah. 2 Kings 14:2 says of King Amaziah, “He did what was right in the sight of the Lord, yet not like his father David.” Amaziah’s major errors consisted of not removing the high places (cf. 2 Kings 14:4), and in worshiping the false gods of the Edomites (cf. 2 Chron. 25:14–16).

The reign of Amaziah constitutes a warning for believers. Observe that while Amaziah began well, his reign ended poorly. To elaborate, in the early years of his reign, Amaziah executed those who had murdered his father Joash (cf. 2 Kings 14:5–6). Furthermore, Amaziah experienced a great victory over Edom as he “killed ten thousand Edomites in the Valley of Salt” (2 Kings 14:7). Yet, Amaziah became proud and foolishly challenged the Israelites in battle. This led to Amaziah being defeated (cf. 2 Kings 14:12–13), six-hundred feet of the wall of Jerusalem being torn down (cf. 2 Kings 14:13), and all of the silver and gold in both the temple and the king’s house being seized (cf. 2 Kings 14:14). Moreover, the people of Judah made Azariah, the son of Amaziah, king in his place. Amaziah and Azariah were then co-regents for 25 years of Amaziah’s 29 year reign.

Stability and Chaos (15:1–38)

The final verses of 2 Kings 14 briefly narrate the reign of Jeroboam II, king of Israel. While Jeroboam II was king for forty-one years, 2 Kings 15:8–31 details the reigns of the five kings who followed Jeroboam II whose combined reigns only covered twenty-one years—namely, Zechariah, Shallum, Menahem, Pekahiah, and Pekah. Observe that some of these kings’ reigns overlapped or entailed only ruling over a small region. A common tie between these five kings is their evil character that furthered the legacy of Jeroboam. The account of these kings of Israel in 2 Kings 15 is bookended by the narratives of two mediocre kings of Judah: Azariah (cf. 2 Kings 15:1–7) and Jotham (cf. 2 Kings 15:32–38). Azariah, who was a co-regent with his father Amaziah, was inflicted with leprosy (cf. 2 Chron. 26:16–23). Thus, his son Jotham, was later made a co-regent with him.

Application Questions:

  1. What are some traits or marks of good leadership? Can good leadership be taught, or is it an ingrained characteristic?
  2. If the king’s heart is in the hand of the Lord (cf. Ps. 21:1), how can we explain evil kings and rulers?
  3. What is being conveyed when a dead man is raised to life when he was lowered into Elisha’s tomb?
  4. What fosters pride in mankind’s heart? What can believers do to remedy pride (cf. Prov. 8:3; 1 Pet. 5:5–6)?
  5. What are we to think when an effective leader in the church falls into sin or even departs from the faith?