The Jeremiah Study – Part 1 Lesson 1 – History of the Kings

The Jeremiah Study from Tabernacle of David Restored, in Edom presented by The Messianic Message

Presented by Jaco van der Merwe
The Tabernacle of David Restored in Edom
Produced by Kimberly Rogers Brown – The Messianic Message

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Jeremiah Study – The History of the Kings of Israel Part 1- Lesson 1.pdf
Jeremiah Study Table 1 – History of the Kings

DISCLAIMER! WHEN WE SAY THE WORD “JEWS” or “THE JEWS”, WE MEAN THE RELIGIOUS JEWS, THE CHABAD CABAL AND OTHER JEWISH LEADERSHIP AND THOSE FROM THE HOUSE OF JUDAH WHO SUBSCRIBE TO CHABAD’S EVIL DOCTRINES. I DO NOT MEAN CULTURAL JEWS OR ALL JEWISH PEOPLE!

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Tuesday Midrash including teaching: Due to technical difficulty on the internet connection, this midrash was edited:

Jeremiah Study – History of the Kings – Part 1 Lesson 1
2Kings 14 & 2Chronicles 25

Why Spend Time To Study Through The Chronology Of The Kings Of Israel?

In our Bibles, the era of the Kings starts in the book of 1^st Samuel. In 1Samuel 2:27-36 we learn about the failure of the Levitical Priesthood. They failed at upholding and teaching the Torah to Yahweh’s people, and the sons of Eli, who was the High Priest, was corrupt and fell to Idolatry. Then in 1Samuel 8:7 we read that Israel rejected Yahweh as their King, putting the failure of Israel as a nation on Samuel and his sons. Yahweh gave Israel a line of Human kings. King Saul of the tribe of Benjamin was the first of these Kings. In the progression of the story of the kings, we learn about the failures of Israel under their human kings and we also learn that Israel was only righteous for as long as they had a righteous King. King David was the only King that stayed true to Yahweh until his death and he became the standard to which all the other kings were measured. But even David had his flaws and reading through his story, we learn that he was just as human as any of us. Yahweh punish the whole nation for the sins of their King.

Every time Yahweh punished Israel for their Idolatry and worship of the gods of the nations, Yahweh revealed a little bit more of the information of how He will redeem and save His people Israel. The prophecy of the fall of Israel and that they were going to be kicked out of the land was already given by Moses. Studying through the stories of the kings show us how and why this prophecy came to its fulfilment. We also discover the chronology of the prophets by studying through the kings. We learn which prophet lived during which King and what the political and religious situation was during the time that they prophesied.

To understand the prophecies in Jeremiah correctly, we need to understand this chronology of the failures of the kings as well as these progressive revelations of the Messiah and the redemption of Israel, as it is revealed by the prophets. The study of the kings provides us with the backbone of understanding prophecy of scripture in general. The book of Jeremiah creates a pivot point of these prophecies and bring the redemption plan of Yahweh together into the mention of the new/renewed covenant in Jeremiah 31:31.

When King Amaziah started to follow the gods of the Edomites, Amos prophesied to the Northern house of Ephraim, but his prophecies included the destruction of all of Israel. The prophet Isaiah started to prophecy during the times of King Uzziah and gave council to the Kings of Judah and Yahweh used him to guide the house of Judah so that he could have mercy on them so to fulfil the promise to David. We will be looking at the face value of the interaction between Isaiah and the kings of his time.

Running parallel with the book of Jeremiah, is Ezekiel. Ezekiel forms a second witness to the book of Jeremiah and the events play out at the same time. Jeremiah deals with the house of Judah left in the land. Ezekiel deals with the remnant of Israel exiled into Babylon. Jeremiah makes a clear distinction between the two houses, but Ezekiel does not. But to understand this, we need the context of the prophet Hosea, which forms Yahweh’s commentary on King Hosea, during the fall of the Northern tribes. We will be looking at the book of Hosea within in context of King Hosea of Ephraim and King Hezekiah of Judah.

As we go through the kings, the righteous and the unrighteous, we will start to see a pattern of how the human kings failed at keeping Yahweh’s people free from Idolatry and not keeping the commandments. We will start to understand the consequence of having a human King in place of a divine King and why Yahweh’s plan was to send his son the be our King Messiah. This background understanding will help us to see the reason for the Melkizedek, which means “Righteous King”, or “King of Righteousness” mentioned in the book of Hebrews.

Our study will have 3 parts to it.

1. History of the Kings – Part 1
2. History of the Kings – Part 2
3. The book of Jeremiah

In the History of the Kings – Part 1, we will discuss the kings from the time of the death of the prophet Elisha up until the grandson of Hezekiah, to whom Isaiah prophesied. We will discuss the fall of Ephraim and the results there of.

In the History of the Kings – Part 2, we will discuss King Josiah and his sons during the time of the prophet Jeremiah. Here we will go through the chronological story of Jeremiah and his interaction with the sons of Josiah. We will look into the fall of the house of Judah and briefly discuss the Babylonian captivity.

These first 2 parts of the study is a historical view on the kings and where the prophets fit in this chronology. The Jeremiah study will be an in-depth study on the book of Jeremiah. Our focus will be on Israel, Yahweh’s people and on the poisonous water that is mentioned. We will have a look at the 2 baskets of figs and the potter and the clay and how this relates to the new/renewed covenant and to the two sticks mention in Ezekiel chapter 37. The Olive tree and the removal of its branches are mentioned in Jeremiah and forms a connecting point between Romans 11 and Zechariah chapter 4. Jeremiah is the book that speaks of the broken covenant to both houses and will tell us why Judah have also broken the covenant. It is also the book with the most about deception and deceit than any other book and we will look into this and how this ties up with the redemption aspect of the King Messiah Yeshua and the connection to the scattering and gathering of His people Israel.

I want to quote some Scripture before we start:

Mat 23:8-10 MJKV But you must not be called Rabbi, for One is your teacher, Christ, and you are all brothers. And call no one your father on the earth, for One is your Father in Heaven. Nor be called teachers, for One is your Teacher, even Christ.

2Ti 3:13-17 MKJV But evil men and seducers will go forward to worse, deceiving and being deceived. But continue in the things that you have learned and have been assured of, knowing from whom you have learned them, and that from a babe you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise to salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. All Scripture is God-breathed, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be perfected, thoroughly furnished to every good work.

Col 2:8-12 MKJV Beware lest anyone rob you through philosophy and vain deceit, according to the tradition of men, according to the elements of the world, and not according to Christ. For in Him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily. And you are complete in Him, who is the Head of all principality and power, in whom also you are circumcised with the circumcision made without hands, in putting off the body of the sins of the flesh by the circumcision of Christ, buried with Him in baptism, in whom also you were raised through the faith of the working of God, raising Him from the dead.

Let’s begin with Lesson 1 of our Study:

Jeremiah Study – History on the Kings – Part 1
2Kings 14 – 21 & 2Chronicles 25 – 33

Presented by Jaco van der Merwe
The Tabernacle of David Restored in Edom

I want to quote Isaiah 28:9-13 before we begin

Isa 28:9 MKJV Whom shall He teach knowledge? And whom shall He make to understand doctrine? Those weaned from the milk and drawn from the breasts.
Isa 28:10 MKJV For precept must be on precept, precept on precept; line on line, line on line; here a little, there a little;
Isa 28:11 MKJV for with stammering lips and another tongue He will speak to this people.
Isa 28:12 MKJV To whom He said, This is the rest; cause the weary to rest; and this is the refreshing. Yet they were not willing to hear.
Isa 28:13 MKJV But the Word of Jehovah was to them precept on precept, precept on precept; line on line, line on line; here a little, there a little; that they might go, and fall backward, and be broken and snared and taken.

Lesson 1 will be a brief introduction and then we will discuss King Amaziah of Judah and King Jeroboam the 2^nd of Ephraim.

Introduction

Our first part of the study on the History of the Kings of Israel will be from 2Kings Chapters 14 to 21 and 2Chronicles Chapters 25 to 33. I am going to merge the 2 sets of Books into a single chronology. I will also bring the prophets Amos, Isaiah and Hosea into our study and will discuss them in correspondence to their historical context to the corresponding Kings of their times.

There are so many sermons out where people share their philosophies of how they view and understand Scripture, so I want to try and focus on what we have in our text with a “History study” of Israel. I will try to focus more on the text itself, sometimes restating the obvious, and sometimes the not so obvious, so that we can see what Yahweh, our Father is teaching us. I will be doing more reading from Scripture, rather than summarising. All Scripture is inspired, and the Holy Spirit work through the text given to us. By reading through it, the Holy Spirit can do its function of teaching and teach us what we need to know.

I will briefly discuss the Table of Kings that I am using to summarise the Kings of Israel as an introduction of this study. (You can go to our website: TabernacleofDavidRestored.com, to download it.)

The first King we will discuss is King Amaziah of Judah. The story of King Amaziah dovetails with King Jehoash of Israel. King Jehoash ruled for 16 years and walk evil in the sight of Yahweh. King Amaziah reigned from the 2^nd year that King Jehoash took the throne in Samaria. Amaziah was 25 years old when he started to reign and walked right with Yahweh, but not like his father, King David did. The people of Judea were still worshipping Idols.

Even though King Jehoash of Israel walked evil towards Yahweh, Yahweh had pity on His people in the house of Ephraim, and before the death of Elisha the prophet, he blessed King Jehoash with a might army so that he could keep the enemies that pressed against the boarders of Israel, at bay. King Amaziah of Judah had problems with the rebellion of the Edomites, but after he defeated them in battle, he converted and started to worship the gods of the Edomites. The result of this was that King Jehoash of Ephraim made war with King Amaziah of Judah and defeated him in battle.

King Amazia of Judah started out as righteous, but ended up worshipping the gods of Edom and Yahweh used the house of Ephraim to bring punishment onto Judah. 15 Years after the death of King Jehoash, King Amaziah was murdered by his own people and his son Azariah took the throne in Jerusalem.

Jeroboam the 2^nd reigned from the 15^th year of the 29 years of King Amaziah of Judah. He reigned for 41 years and did that which was evil in the sight of Yahweh and walked in the sins of Jeroboam the 1^st. Yahweh still had pity on the house of Ephraim, and sent Jonah to give King Jeroboam council on how to defend the boarders of Israel. The prophet Amos prophesied about the destruction of Israel during the time of Jeroboam and we will look into this during our study.

Our next king is King Azariah and he was also called by the name of King Uzziah. He reigned from the 27^th year of the 41 years of King Jeroboam the 2^nd and was 16 years old when he took the throne after his father, King Amaziah was murdered. He reigned for 52 years and walked right with Yahweh. He walked in the council of the prophet Isaiah and was well blessed during the time that he was faithful. He became a very strong military King and manage to build Judah up from out the ruins left after King Jehoash defeated the house of Judah in the time of King Amaziah. King Uzziah became arrogant in his blessing as King and went into the Temple to burn incense to Yahweh. Burning incense is for the Priests only, and Yahweh struck King Uzziah with Leprosy and he had to separate himself from his people. His son Jotham judged in the place of King Uzziah until his death, in which he took the throne in Jerusalem.

Jeroboam the 2^nd reigned for 14 more years after King Uzziah took the throne and was succeeded by Zachariah his son. King Zachariah only reined for 6 months before he was murdered by Shallum, who took his place as King. Shallum reigned for 1 month when he again was murdered by Menahem who became King and reigned for 10 years in Samaria, the capitol of Ephraim. During the time of King Menahem, the Assyrians started to invade the boarders of Israel, and he had to pay tribute to Assyria to stay on the throne.

In the 50^th year of the 52 years that King Uzziah reigned in Judea, Pekahiah, the son of Menahem became King in Samaria. He reigned for 2 years and then was murdered by Pekah who took the throne in the house of Ephraim.

Pekah became King in the last year of King Uzziah’s reign and reigned for 20 years. Jotham, the son of King Uzziah took the throne in Jerusalem and reigned for 16 years, after which his son, Ahaz became King in Jerusalem.

The story of King Ahaz of Judah dovetails with King Pekah of Ephraim. King Ahaz was a wicked King and he did not walk right with Yahweh and he worshipped the gods of the Assyrians. King Pekah of Ephraim, walked in the sins of Jeroboam the 1^st and also did not walk right with Yahweh. Both houses were now walking in sin and this started the process of the destruction of all Israel as it was prophesied by Amos and Isaiah and even the prophet Micah. Yahweh raised Ephraim and Syria to make war against King Ahaz of Judah, but He had pity on the house of Judah for the sake of the promise of David, and sent Isaiah to King Ahaz to bring him comfort that Judah would not be destroyed by her enemies. But rather than turning to repentance, King Ahaz turned and worshipped the gods of the Assyrians, which pretty much sealed the destruction of Judah as well, since there were no righteous King over Yahweh’s people. Now, by this time, the Syrian/Ephramite Alliance killed 120,000 soldiers and took 200,000 captives from Judea. The prophets Micah and Hosea started to prophecy during these times. The prophet Jonah was still around, and it was during the time of one of these kings that Jonah was sent to Nineveh, which was the capital of the Assyrians.

Judea was in a pretty bad shape when Hosea, killed Pekah and took his place on the throne in Samaria. Hosea reigned from the 12^th year of King Ahaz and reigned for 9 years. Hezekiah, the son of Ahaz became King in the 3^rd year that King Hosea reigned in the house of Ephraim. During the 4^th year of King Hezekiah, Assyria besieged Samaria for 4 years long when it finally fell, and the northern kings of Ephraim was no more.

Just before, and during the time that the Assyrians attacked Ephraim, Hezekiah walked righteously with Yahweh and cleaned up the house of Judah from Idolatry. He started Temple worship again after cleaning out the House of Yahweh and he also restored the feasts in Jerusalem starting with Pesach. After the fall of Samaria, only the tribe of Judah was left, but Hezekiah managed to gather and free some of the tribes through the feasts and by doing so he caught the attention of the King of Assyria who then turned his armies towards Jerusalem.

Hezekiah started righteous but slowly started to backslide and became very ill. After the threat of invasion from the Assyrians, Yahweh send the prophet Isaiah to Hezekiah and added 15 more years to his life and also liberated Judah from the Assyrian threat. There is a lot that happened during this time in Israel. The context to understand what happened during the time of the prophet Hosea is within the text of the kings Ahaz, Hosea and Hezekiah.

King Hezekiah manage to stop the wrath of Yahweh but his son King Manasseh, caused the judgment on Israel’s destruction to be final. King Manasseh walked in the sins of King Ahaz and undone everything that his father, King Hezekiah achieved. Yahweh went through great lengths to reveal Himself to King Manasseh, who finally repented.

We will end part 1 of the study with the reading of King Amon, the son of King Manasseh.

Our first King we are looking at is King Amaziah of Judah. Let’s go to 2Kings Chapter 14 and read verses 1 to 6.

2Kings – Chapter 14

Amaziah Reigns in Judah
1 In the second year of Jehoash son of Jehoahaz King of Yisrael reigned Amaziah the son of Joash King of Judah.
2 He was twenty-five years old when he began to reign, and reigned twenty-nine years in Jerusalem. And his mother’s name was Jehoaddan of Jerusalem.
3 And he did that which was right in the sight of YHVH, yet not like David his Father: he did according to all things as Joash his Father did.
4 However the temples of idols were not taken away: as yet the people did sacrifice and burned incense in the temples of idols.
5 And it came to pass, as soon as the Kingdom was confirmed in his hand, that he killed his servants that had killed the King his Father.
6 But the children of the murderers he killed not: according to that which is written in the scroll of the Torah of Moshe, in which YHVH commanded, saying, The Fathers shall not be put to death for the children, nor the children be put to death for the Fathers; but every man shall be put to death for his own sin.

Amaziah Reigns in Judah

David loved Yahweh and he walked in His Torah and did not turn away from it. When we read that any of the kings walked like David did, it tells us that they lived by the Torah of Yahweh. If they walked right with Yahweh, but not like David their Father, it could mean 1 of 2 things. They walked right with Yahweh, but they did not enforce all of Torah over their subjects and only kept some of the commandments, or it means that they walked right according to all Torah, but fell away nearing the end of their lives.

Not breaking down the temples would imply that there were still people that took part in idolatry. It also means that they did not worship Yahweh at the Temple in Jerusalem as the Torah commanded. We will learn that King Amaziah fell away and started to worship the gods of the Edomites after his victories. Even though King David sinned against Yahweh, He never fell away to worship other gods.

When Amaziah took the throne, he killed the servants that killed his father. I am going to briefly explain what happened during the time of his father. King Amaziah’s father was King Joash who was 7 years old when he took the throne from Athaliah. Queen Athaliah was the daughter of Jezebel, and she killed every one that could pose a threat to her when she took the throne in Jerusalem. Joash was saved by his aunt when he was still an infant. He was kept hidden by the priest named Jehoiada, who later crowned him inside the Temple of Yahweh. This was done so to prevent him from being assassinated by Athaliah’s servants. Athaliah worshipped Ba’al, and she was killed when Joash took the throne. King Joash destroyed the Temples of Ba’al and even restored the Temple of Yahweh, but when the priest Jehoiada died of old age, the elders convinced King Joash to worship Asherah and other idols. When Zechariah, the son of Jehoiada gave King Joash a warning from Yahweh, the King had him stoned. Yahweh had the army of Syria come against Jerusalem, and to keep the Throne, King Joash paid a very hefty tribute to the King of Syria. With all this happening the servants of King Joash conspired against him and killed him. This happened because of the blood of Zachariah that was spilled. King Amaziah, after he became King, went after these people that killed his father, but he spared their sons. The sons shall not pay for the sins of their fathers. This is according to Torah, the right thing to do.

Next, we will read 2Chronicles Chapter 25 verse 5 to 13:

2 Chronicles – Chapter 25

Amaziah’s Victory
5 Moreover Amaziah gathered Judah together, and made them captains over thousands, and captains over hundreds, according to the houses of their fathers, throughout all Judah and Benyamin: and he numbered them from twenty years older and above, and found them to be three hundred thousand choice men, able to go forth to war, that could handle the spear and shield.
6 He hired also a hundred thousand mighty men of bravery out of Israel for a hundred talents of silver.
7 But there came a man of Elohim to him, saying, O King, let not the army of Israel go with you; for YHVH is not with Israel, with all the children of Ephraim.
8 But if you will go, do it, be strong for the battle: Elohim shall make you fall before the enemy: for Elohim has power to help, and to cast down.
9 And Amaziah said to the man of Elohim, But what shall we do about the hundred talents that I have given to the army of Israel? And the man of Elohim answered, YHVH is able to give you much more than this.
10 Then Amaziah separated the army that had come to him out of Ephraim, to go home again: therefore their anger was greatly lit against Judah, and they returned home in great anger.
11 And Amaziah strengthened himself, and led forth his people, and went to the Valley of Salt, and killed of the children of Seir ten thousand.
12 And another ten thousand left alive did the children of Judah carry away captive, and brought them to the top of the rock, and cast them down from the top of the rock, that they all were broken in pieces.
13 But the soldiers of the army which Amaziah sent back, that they should not go with him to battle, fell upon the cities of Judah, from Samaria even to Beth-Horon, and killed three thousand of them, and took much spoil.

Amaziah’s Victory

Amaziah gathered Judah together. The sons of Seir were Edomites. After the Syrians plundered the coffers of Judah and the assassination of King Joash, it is more than likely that the Edomites took advantage of the state in which Judah was in. King Amaziah had to deal with this issue. He managed to rise a mighty army from the sons of Judah and the sons of Benjamin. Benjamin use to be part of the Northern house of Ephraim, but as time went by, they joined with Judah. King Amaziah also hired hundred-thousand mighty men from Ephraim to help him deal with the Edomite problem.

The King of Israel during this time was King Jehoash, son of Jehu. He waked in the sins of Jeroboam, the son of Nebat and did evil in the sight of Yahweh. Elisha, the prophet died during the reign of King Jehoash of Israel, but before his death, he blessed King Jehoash to have a strong army that would stand against Syria for a time. King Amaziah thought to hire some of this strength when he attacked the Edomites, but Yahweh told King Amaziah, through a prophet, that he should not involve the armies of Israel, because they do not walk righteously.

The information in 2Kings chapter 14 is basically the same as in Chronicles. In 2Kings 14:7 it tells us the following: “He killed ten thousand of Edom in the Valley of Salt, and took Selah by war, and called the name of it Joktheel until this day.” Selah means “Rock” or city of Rock in Hebrew. In Greek, the name of the city is “Petra”. Petra was the centre of the Edomite trade rout and was the highway for all the trade of the middle east during that time. Soldiers going into battle normally joined in the spoils of the victory. The Israelite army who, was supposed to assist in the battle, probably felt robbed and decided to gain their part of the spoil which they lost, by plundering some of the villages of Judah on their way back home.

Next, let’s read 2Chronicles Chapter 25 verse 14 to 16

2 Chronicles – Chapter 25

Amaziah’s Idolatry
14 Now it came to pass, after that Amaziah returned from the slaughter of the Edomites, that he brought the elohim of the children of Seir, and set them up to be his elohim, and bowed down himself before them, and burned incense to them.
15 Therefore the anger of YHVH was lit against Amaziah, and He sent to him a Prophet, who said to him, Why have you sought after the elohim of the very people, who could not deliver their own people out of your hand?
16 And it came to pass, as he talked with him, that the King said to him, Are you appointed to give the King counsel? Stop! Why should you be killed? Then the Prophet stopped, and said, I know that Elohim has determined to destroy you, because you have done this, and have not listened to my counsel.  

Amaziah’s Idolatry

Amaziah turned from Yahweh and implemented the worship of the gods of Edom. Yahweh sent a prophet to warn Amaziah, but he would not listen, and he sent the prophet away with a warning of death. So, Yahweh turned away from King Amaziah and raised Israel up to make war against him.

Is it not amazing how Yahweh can set up and create a situation with consequences? The hundred thousand soldiers from Ephraim would have shared in the spoils of the Edomites. So the King of Ephraim was pretty angry about the spoils that he lost by not taking part in the attack against Edom. Yahweh have the habit that when His people worship him, he keeps them save against their enemies, but when they turn from Him, he turns away from his people and have their enemies attack them. Yahweh might have been with Judah when they attacked Edom, but His favour left after King Amaziah turned and started to worship the gods of the Edomites.

Let’s read 2 Chronicles Chapter 25 verse 17 to 28

2 Chronicles – Chapter 25
Israel Defeats Amaziah
17 Then Amaziah King of Judah took advice, and sent to Jehoash, the son of Jehoahaz, the son of Jehu, King of Israel, saying, Come, let us see one another face to face.
18 And Jehoash King of Israel sent to Amaziah King of Judah, saying, The thistle that was in Lebanon sent to the cedar that was in Lebanon, saying, Give your daughter to my son as a wife: and there passed by a wild beast that was in Lebanon, and trampled the thistle.
19 You have said, See, I have killed the Edomites; and your heart lifted you up to boast: stay now at home; why should you meddle with me to your own hurt, that you should fall, even you, and all of Judah with you?
20 But Amaziah would not listen; for it came from Elohim, that He might deliver them into the hand of their enemies, because they sought after the elohim of Edom.
21 So Jehoash the King of Israel went up; and they saw one another face to face, both he and Amaziah King of Judah, at Beth-Shemesh, which belongs to Judah.
22 And Judah was killed before Israel, and they fled every man to his tent.
23 And Jehoash the King of Israel took Amaziah King of Judah, the son of Joash, the son of Jehoahaz, at Beth-Shemesh, and brought him to Jerusalem, and broke down the wall of Jerusalem from the Gate of Ephraim to the corner gate, four hundred cubits
24 And he took all the gold and the silver, and all the vessels that were found in the House of Elohim with Oved-Edom, and the treasures of the King’s House, the hostages also, and returned to Samaria.
25 And Amaziah the son of Joash King of Judah lived after the death of Jehoash son of Jehoahaz King of Israel fifteen years.

27 Now from the time that Amaziah turned away from following YHVH they made a conspiracy against him in Jerusalem; and he fled to Lachish: but they sent to Lachish after him, and killed him there.
28 And they brought him upon horses, and buried him with his Fathers in the city of Judah.

Israel Defeats Amaziah

The hundred thousand soldiers of Israel were very upset with the King of Judah and plundered some of Judah’s cities, so King Amaziah sent a messenger to the King of Ephraim for a “face-to-face” meeting. The replay of the King of Ephraim was the following: “The thistle that was in Lebanon sent to the cedar that was in Lebanon, saying, Give your daughter to my son as a wife: and there passed by a wild beast that was in Lebanon, and trampled the thistle.” – which is a very nice and poetic way to say that the peace treaty between us is over. This face-to-face meeting will include our armies.

Technically, for Amaziah, by adopting to the gods of the Edomites, he himself converted and became an Edomite. By this, he was a traitor to his people and to his royal court. And just like his father, his people conspired and murdered him. Amaziah started out as a Righteous King but fell away after success in battle and taking the riches of the Edomites.

Our next King that we will learn about is King Jeroboam, son of Jehoash. We will call him Jeroboam the 2^nd. Let’s read 2Kings Chapter 14 verse 23 to 29.

2Kings – Chapter 14
Jeroboam II Reigns in Israel
23 In the fifteenth year of Amaziah the son of Joash King of Judah Jeroboam the son of Jehoash King of Israel began to reign in Samaria, and reigned forty-one years.
24 And he did that which was evil in the sight of YHVH: he departed not from all the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who made Israel to sin.
25 He restored the coast of Israel from the entering of Hamath to the sea of the plain, according to the word of YHVH Elohim of Israel, which He spoke by the hand of His servant Yonah, the son of Amittai, the prophet, who was of Gat-Hepher.
26 For YHVH saw the affliction of Israel, that it was very bitter: for there was not any shut up, nor any left, nor any helper for Israel.
27 And YHVH did not say that He would blot out the name of Israel from under the heaven: and so He saved them by the hand of Jeroboam the son of Jehoash.

29 And Jeroboam slept with his Fathers, even with the Kings of Israel; and Zachariah his son reigned in his place.

Jeroboam II Reigns in Israel

Yahweh had pity on the people of Israel and used Jeroboam and the council of Jonah, the prophet to prevent their enemies from over running them. This is the same Jonah that was going to be sent to the city of Nineveh and then travel there by the belly of a fish. 42 years from the death of Jeroboam, Israel was destroyed by Assyria. If Jonah became a prophet early in his life, he would have lived through the times of the last kings of Ephraim and even after Samaria was captured by the Assyrians. It is highly possible, that when Jonah was sent to Nineveh, he was sent with the message to his Israelite brothers who was taken captive by these Assyrians.

Another prophet that lived during these times was the prophet Amos. Amos prophesied to the Northern Kingdom of Israel, but he prophesied the destruction of all Israel, house of Judah included.

Amo 1:1 MKJV The words of Amos, who was among the herdsmen of Tekoa; the Word which he saw concerning Israel in the days of Uzziah King of Judah, and in the days of Jeroboam the son of Joash King of Israel, two years before the earthquake

Let’s take a look at a few passages in Amos:
Amos Chapter 2 verses 4 and 5:

Judgment of Judah

Amo 2:4 MKJV So says Jehovah: For three transgressions of Judah, yea for four, I will not turn away from it; because they have despised the Laws of Jehovah, and have not kept His commandments. And their lies after which their fathers walked led them astray.
Amo 2:5 MKJV But I will send a fire upon Judah, and it shall devour the palaces of Jerusalem.

Amos Chapter 2 Verses 6 and 10 to 16:
Judgment on Israel

Amo 2:6 MKJV So says Jehovah: For three transgressions of Israel, yea for four, I will not turn away from it; because they sold the righteous for silver, and the poor for a pair of sandals;

Amo 2:10 MKJV Also I brought you up from the land of Egypt and led you forty years through the wilderness to possess the land of the Amorite.
Amo 2:13 MKJV Behold, I am pressed under you, as a cart full of sheaves is pressed.
Amo 2:14 MKJV And refuge shall perish from the swift, and the strong shall not strengthen his power, nor shall the mighty deliver his life;
Amo 2:15 MKJV nor shall he who handles the bow stand. And the swift-footed shall not save; and the horse rider shall not save his life.
Amo 2:16 MKJV And the stout-hearted among the mighty shall flee away naked in that day, says Jehovah.

Amos Chapter 3 verse 1 and 2, verse 7 and 11:

Israel’s Guilt and Punishment

Amo 3:1-2 MKJV Hear this Word that Jehovah has spoken against you, sons of Israel, against the whole family which I brought up from the land of Egypt, saying, You only have I known of all the families of the earth; therefore I will punish you for all your iniquities.

Amo 3:7 MKJV For the Lord Jehovah will do nothing unless He reveals His secret to His servants the prophets.

Amo 3:11 MKJV So the Lord Jehovah says this: An enemy! And he shall be all around the land; and he shall bring you down from your strength, and your palaces shall be plundered.

It is important that we understand that Amos was a prophet to the Northern Tribes of Israel, and that the kingdom was divided into the 2 parts of Ephraim and Judah when he wrote his prophecies. In Chapter 2:6, Israel mentioned is the 10 Northern Tribes as it was given to Jeroboam, but in verse 10, Israel is defined as them who was brought out of Egypt. This means all 12 Tribes, Israel as a whole. Again in chapter 3, verse 1 and 2 define Israel as all Israel, 12 Tribes. The rest of the context of chapter 3 is on all of Israel, Yahweh’s people.

Amos Chapter 4 verse 11 and 12:

Israel Has Not Returned to the Lord

Amo 4:11 MKJV I have overthrown some among you, as God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah, and you were like a firebrand plucked out of the burning; yet you have not returned to Me, says Jehovah.
Amo 4:12 MKJV So I will do this to you, O Israel; because I will do this to you, prepare to meet your God, O Israel.

Amos Chapter 5 verse 25-27:

Let Justice Roll Down

Amo 5:25 MKJV Have you offered sacrifices and offerings to Me forty years in the wilderness, O house of Israel?
Amo 5:26 MKJV But you have carried the tabernacle of your Moloch and Kiyyun, your images, the star of your gods which you made for yourselves.
Amo 5:27 MKJV So I will cause you to go into exile beyond Damascus, says Jehovah, the God of Hosts is His name.

Amos Chapter 6 verse 1 and verse 11-14:

Woe to Those at Ease in Zion

Amo 6:1 MKJV Woe to those at ease in Zion, and those trusting in the mountain of Samaria, who are noted as leader of the nations. And the house of Israel came to them.

Amo 6:11 MKJV For, behold, Jehovah commands, and He will strike the great house into pieces, and the little house into cracks.
Amo 6:12 MKJV Shall horses run on the rock? Will one plow there with oxen? For you have turned justice into gall, and the fruit of righteousness into hemlock;
Amo 6:13 MKJV you who rejoice in nothing, who say, Have we not taken horns to ourselves by our own strength?
Amo 6:14 MKJV But behold, I will raise a nation up against you, O house of Israel, says the Lord, the God of Hosts. And they shall oppress you from the entrance to Hamath to the torrent of the Arabah.

Amos Chapter 7 verse 10 to 13

Amos Accused

Amo 7:10 MKJV Then Amaziah the priest of Bethel sent to Jeroboam King of Israel, saying, Amos has plotted against you in the midst of the house of Israel; the land is not able to bear all his words.
Amo 7:11 MKJV For so Amos says: Jeroboam shall die by the sword, and Israel shall surely go into exile out of his land.
Amo 7:12 MKJV And Amaziah said to Amos, O seer, go, flee for yourself into the land of Judah; and eat bread there, and prophesy there.
Amo 7:13 MKJV But do not prophesy again any more at Bethel; for it is the King’s temple, and it is the King’s royal house.

Amos prophesied the destruction of all Israel, both houses. During the reign of King David and his son, King Solomon, Israel was one Kingdom. It was a superpower of the earth. Because of the sins of King Solomon, the kingdom of Israel was split into two kingdoms, or Houses, as we call them. A house divided cannot stand. From the split of Israel and from the two kings, Jeroboam and Rehoboam up until our story here, the two kingdoms were at war many times over. The war between King Amaziah and King Jehoash brought the strength of all Israel to an all-time low, which was noticed by their enemies. Israel, who were the chosen people of Yahweh, kept worshipping foreign gods, and did not fear Yahweh. Now Yahweh was bringing their strength down and setting them up for destruction.

But, with every prophecy of destruction, comes a little bit of good news about the come back and restoration of all Israel, 12 Tribes.

Let’s read Amos 9 verse 11 to 15:

The Restoration of Israel
Amo 9:11 MKJV In that day I will raise up the booth of David that has fallen, and close up its breaks; and I will raise up its ruins, and I will build it as in the days of old;
Amo 9:12 MKJV so that they may possess the remnant of Edom, and of all the nations on whom My name is called, says Jehovah who is doing this.
Amo 9:13 MKJV Behold, the days come, says Jehovah, that the plowman and the reaper shall draw near the treader of grapes and he who draws along the seed. And the mountains will drip must, and all the hills will be dissolved.
Amo 9:14 MKJV And I will turn back the captivity of My people Israel, and they shall build the cities which are desolate, and they shall live in them. And they shall plant vineyards and drink their wine. They shall also make gardens and eat their fruit.
Amo 9:15 MKJV And I will plant them on their land, and they shall no more be pulled up out of their land which I have given them, says Jehovah your God.

A good argument can be made that these prophecies was fulfilled in the time of King Amaziah, of Judah. Amazia’s father, King Joash received a destroyed kingdom and had to build it all up again. Then Amaziah had to deal with the Edomite rebellion and Edom was subdued. But “the fallen booth of David” was not restored yet. David ruled over 12 Tribes. Until we have a King of Israel ruling over all 12 Tribes, this prophecy will not be fully fulfilled. And for those who want to make the argument that “the Tabernacle of David” is the Temple, the Temple was still standing when this was written. The only descendant of King David who claimed the restoration of all 12 Tribes was Yeshua Ha’Mashiach, and He is still rejected today because of this claim.

Lead out

This will conclude our Introduction and Lesson 1 on the kings of Israel. But before we stop, just a quick recap on the Kings that we discussed.

King Jehoash reigned for 16 years and walked evil in the sight of Yahweh and walked in the sins of Jeroboam the 1^st. Amaziah denied a joined battle with him against Edom so his soldiers raided some cities of Judah. This caused war between King Jehoash and King Amaziah of Judah in which King Amaziah was defeated, and the Temple of Yahweh was raided. King Jehoash also broke down the defences of Jerusalem.

King Amaziah reigned from the 2^nd year of King Jehoash of Israel. He started his reign at the age of 25 years old and walked right with Yahweh. He did not walk as David did and the people still worshipped Idols. King Amaziah defeated the Edomites but went after their gods to worship them. He denied the council of a prophet from Yahweh after which he lived 15 more years before he was assassinated by his own people.

Jeroboam the 2^nd reigned from the 15^th year of King Amaziah of Judah and reigned for 41 years. He did that which was evil in the eyes of Yahweh and walked in the sins of Jeroboam, son of Nabat. Jonah was a councillor to him and advised him on protecting the land. Amos prophesied during the time of King Jeroboam about the destruction of all Israel because of Idolatry. We will discuss this in more depth when we get to the prophet Hosea.

Join us next week as we continue in our study into the chronology of the kings of Israel.

Thank you and God bless. Shalom.