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Introduction: J II Kings II KINGS Introduction: J. Sidlow Baxter, in his book Explore the Book, introduces Second Kings with: “This Second Book of Kings, which opens with the translation of Elijah to heaven, and closes with the transportation of the captive Jews to Babylon, is more tragic than all which have preceded it. Nay, more than that, it is the most tragic national record ever written. The elect people, through whom the gracious purposes of God were to have been developed for the enlightenment and regeneration of the whole race, become more and more steeped in infidelity and moral degradation, until finally the measure of their wickedness is full, judgment falls, pitiless foes wreak vengeance on them, and drag them from their own land into humiliating captivity.” © 2014 John Schultz. All rights reserved. www.Bible-commentaries.com II Kings Outline of the Book of II Kings: Introduction: ................................................................................................................................................. 1 1. Stories about Elijah and Ahaziah ............................................................................................................... 4 a. Elijah and Ahaziah (2 Kgs 1:1-8) ....................................................................................................... 4 b. Elijah and the fate of the army captains (2 Kgs 1:9-17a) ................................................................. 5 c. Concluding formula for Ahaziah’s reign (2 Kgs 1:17b-18) ................................................................ 7 d. A farewell tour (2:1-6)...................................................................................................................... 7 e. The divided waters (2:7-10) ............................................................................................................. 8 f. Elijah’s ascension (2:11-12) .............................................................................................................. 9 g. Elisha takes over (2:13-25) ............................................................................................................. 10 h. The striking of the waters (2:13-15) .............................................................................................. 10 i. Moab revolts (3:1-12) .................................................................................................................... 14 j. Victory over Moab and abundant water promised (3:13-19) ....................................................... 16 k. The defeat of Moab (3:20-27) ........................................................................................................ 18 2. Stories about Elisha (4:1 – 8:15) ............................................................................................................. 19 a. The widow’s oil (4:1-7) ................................................................................................................... 19 b. The Shunammite’s son (4:8-37) ..................................................................................................... 22 c. Death in the pot (4:38-41) ............................................................................................................. 26 d. Feeding a multitude (4:42-44) ....................................................................................................... 27 e. Naaman healed (5:1-27) ................................................................................................................ 28 f. The floating axe-head (6:1-7) ......................................................................................................... 33 g. The Arameans entrapped (6:8-23) ................................................................................................. 35 h. The siege of Samaria (6:24 – 7:20) ................................................................................................. 38 i. The Shunammite regains her land (8:1-6) ..................................................................................... 43 j. Elisha and Hazael (8:7-15) .............................................................................................................. 45 3. Jehoram of Judah (8:16-24) .................................................................................................................... 48 4. Ahaziah of Judah (8:25-29) ..................................................................................................................... 50 a. Jehu anointed king (9:1-13) ........................................................................................................... 51 b. The death of the kings of Israel and Judah (9:14-29). ................................................................... 53 c. Jezebel killed (9:30-37). ................................................................................................................. 55 d. The extermination of the royal families of Israel and Judah and of Baal worshippers (10:1-36). 56 © 2014 John Schultz. All rights reserved. www.Bible-commentaries.com II Kings 5. The History of Judah and Israel to the Fall of the Northern Kingdom (2 KGS 11:1 – 17:41) .................. 64 a. Athaliah takes over Judah (11:1-20) .............................................................................................. 64 b. Joash of Judah (11:21 – 12:21) ...................................................................................................... 70 c. Jehoahaz of Israel (13:1-9) ............................................................................................................. 74 d. Jehoash of Israel (13:10-25) ........................................................................................................... 76 e. Amaziah of Judah (14:1`-22) .......................................................................................................... 80 f. Jeroboam II of Israel (14:23-29) ..................................................................................................... 84 g. Azariah of Judah (15:1-7) ............................................................................................................... 86 h. Zechariah of Israel (15:8-12) .......................................................................................................... 87 i. Shallum of Israel (15:13-16) ........................................................................................................... 88 j. Menahem of Israel (15:17-22) ....................................................................................................... 89 k. Pekahiah of Israel (15:23-26) ......................................................................................................... 90 l. Pekah of Israel (15:27-31) .............................................................................................................. 91 m. Jotham of Judah (15:32-38) ........................................................................................................... 92 n. Ahaz of Judah (16:1-20) ................................................................................................................. 93 o. Hoshea and the fall of Israel (17:1-41)........................................................................................... 98 © 2014 John Schultz. All rights reserved. www.Bible-commentaries.com II Kings 1. Stories about Elijah and Ahaziah a. Elijah and Ahaziah (2 Kgs 1:1-8) 1 After Ahab’s death, Moab rebelled against Israel. 2 Now Ahaziah had fallen through the lattice of his upper room in Samaria and injured himself. So he sent messengers, saying to them, “Go and consult Baal-Zebub, the god of Ekron, to see if I will recover from this injury.” 3 But the angel of the Lord said to Elijah the Tishbite, “Go up and meet the messengers of the king of Samaria and ask them, “Is it because there is no God in Israel that you are going off to consult Baal-Zebub, the god of Ekron?” 4 Therefore this is what the Lord says: “You will not leave the bed you are lying on. You will certainly die!”“ So Elijah went. 5 When the messengers returned to the king, he asked them, “Why have you come back?” 6 “A man came to meet us,” they replied. “And he said to us, “Go back to the king who sent you and tell him, ‘This is what the Lord says: Is it because there is no God in Israel that you are sending men to consult Baal-Zebub, the god of Ekron? Therefore you will not leave the bed you are lying on. You will certainly die!’” 7 The king asked them, “What kind of man was it who came to meet you and told you this?” 8 They replied, “He was a man with a garment of hair and with a leather belt around his waist.” The king said, “That was Elijah the Tishbite.” Donald J. Wiseman, in 1 and 2 Kings, writes: “The clash between Elijah, with his belief in the LORD God (Yahweh) as supreme, and the Israelite monarchy who still relied primarily on other deities, continues. Ahaziah is reproved for consulting a foreign god (v. 2 -8) and his attempt to reverse the judgment pronounced by Yahweh upon him is shown dramatically (vs. 9- 17a).” The messenger Elijah was to meet was the one King Ahaziah had sent to the priests of Baal-Zebub to enquire about the recovery of his injuries. We don’t read any details about the accident that had caused these injuries. Some Bible commentators believe that Ahaziah may have fallen from the roof, others that he fell through a window. We don’t know either whether the king had broken any bones or merely hurt a
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