DAY 199: JOURNEY THROUGH THE BIBLE IN A YEAR: 2 KINGS 11-15

July 16, 2024

2 KINGS 11-15
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DAY 199: JOURNEY THROUGH THE BIBLE IN A YEAR

Today our journey through 2 Kings shares the upheaval taking place in Israel while revealing that the Kings of Judah couldn’t surrender all to the Lord.

Ask God for His understanding of 2 Kings 11-15. Read 2 Kings 11-15. Let’s journey!

The books of First and Second Kings were originally written as one text that tells the story of the kings of Israel, continuing on where we left off in 2 Samuel, with King David and his son Solomon, soon to be king. Ultimately, it is a history of the decline of the kingdom of Israel, as they move away from the Lord. The author of the Book of Kings, provides a judgment on the rule of each king, based on their worship of the Lord God and the keeping of the covenant Israel made with God. Throughout the book of Kings, we also see that prophets are raised up in an attempt to steer Israel and its kings back on the path of following the Lord.

2 Kings 11-15: These chapters reveal two nations struggling to find their way in this world confronting spiritual reality, political life, and sin. The northern kingdom, Israel, refused to forsake idol worship, as its kings encouraged idol worship. It appears that Israel was heavily influenced by Sadducean philosophy. That being: God created all and stepped away from all. This meant that there was only civil punishment for civil offenses cloaked as spiritual life. The result was a pagan life that mimicked the assassinations of kings to gain power with the government abusing those it, Biblically, is directed to protect. The northern kingdom, Israel, did not have a single king who followed the Lord.

The southern kingdom, Judah, had a history of kings who attempted to obey the Lord interspersed with kings who did not follow the Lord. The importance of this is that kings who followed the Lord set the spiritual heart of the country. While the kings of Israel failed to establish a spiritual heart for the northern kingdom, Judah’s king’s spiritual heart had a murmur. The leaders of Judah, the ones who followed the Lord, did not follow Him completely. The Bible only recognizes one king, King David, as following the Lord completely. (2 Kings 11:1-15:38)

After reading today’s reading, consider the following: What kings were present in today’s reading? Were they good or bad? How do you know? What lesson can be learned, or what warning can be taken from a study of these kings? What warnings, if any, were given by prophets? How can understanding the fall of Israel help us today in the way that we view authority figures?

Godspeace!