Choices Have Consequences

Kings of Israel: Jehoahaz and Jehoash

13 In the twenty-third year of Joash the son of Ahaziah, king of Judah, Jehoahaz the son of Jehu became king over Israel at Samaria, and he reigned for seventeen years. ² He did evil in the sight of the Lord, and followed the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, into which he misled Israel; he did not turn from them. ³ So the anger of the Lord was kindled against Israel, and He continually handed them over to Hazael king of Aram, and to Ben-hadad, the son of Hazael. ⁴ Then Jehoahaz appeased the Lord, and the Lord listened to him; for He saw the oppression of Israel, how the king of Aram oppressed them. ⁵ And the Lord gave Israel a savior, so that they escaped from under the hand of the Arameans; and the sons of Israel lived in their tents as previously. ⁶ Nevertheless they did not abandon the sins of the house of Jeroboam, into which he misled Israel; rather, they walked in them; and the Asherah also remained standing in Samaria. ⁷ For he left to Jehoahaz no more of the army than fifty horsemen, ten chariots, and ten thousand infantry, because the king of Aram had eliminated them and made them like the dust at threshing. ⁸ Now as for the rest of the acts of Jehoahaz, and all that he did and his might, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Israel? ⁹ And Jehoahaz lay down with his fathers, and they buried him in Samaria; and his son Joash became king in his place.

¹⁰ In the thirty-seventh year of Joash king of Judah, Jehoash the son of Jehoahaz became king over Israel in Samaria, and he reigned for sixteen years. ¹¹ He did evil in the sight of the Lord; he did not turn away from all the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, into which he misled Israel; rather, he walked in them. ¹² Now as for the rest of the acts of Joash and all that he did, and his might with which he fought against Amaziah king of Judah, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Israel? ¹³ So Joash lay down with his fathers, and Jeroboam sat on his throne; and Joash was buried in Samaria with the kings of Israel.

Death of Elisha

¹⁴ When Elisha became sick with the illness of which he was to die, Joash the king of Israel came down to him, and wept over him and said, “My father, my father, the chariots of Israel and its horsemen!” ¹⁵ And Elisha said to him, “Take a bow and arrows.” So he took a bow and arrows. ¹⁶ Then Elisha said to the king of Israel, “Lay your hand on the bow.” And he laid his hand on it, then Elisha put his hands on the king’s hands. ¹⁷ And he said, “Open the window toward the east,” and he opened it. Then Elisha said, “Shoot!” So he shot. And he said, “The Lord’s arrow of victory, and the arrow of victory over Aram; for you will defeat the Arameans at Aphek until you have put an end to them.”¹⁸ Then he said, “Take the arrows,” and he took them. And he said to the king of Israel, “Strike the ground,” and he struck it three times and stopped. ¹⁹ Then the man of God became angry at him and said, “You should have struck five or six times, then you would have struck Aram until you put an end to it. But now you shall strike Aram only three times.”

²⁰ And Elisha died, and they buried him. Now the marauding bands of the Moabites would invade the land in the spring of the year. ²¹ And as they were burying a man, behold, they saw a marauding band; and they threw the man into the grave of Elisha. And when the man touched the bones of Elisha he revived and stood up on his feet.

²² Now Hazael king of Aram had oppressed Israel all the days of Jehoahaz. ²³ But the Lord was gracious to them and had compassion on them and turned to them because of His covenant with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob; and He was unwilling to eliminate them or cast them away from His presence until now.

²⁴ When Hazael king of Aram died, his son Ben-hadad became king in his place. ²⁵ Then Jehoash the son of Jehoahaz again took from the hand of Ben-hadad the son of Hazael the cities which he had taken in war from the hand of his father Jehoahaz. Three times Joash defeated him and recovered the cities of Israel.

Amaziah Reigns over Judah

14 In the second year of Joash son of Joahaz king of Israel, Amaziah the son of Joash king of Judah became king. ² He was twenty-five years old when he became king, and he reigned for twenty-nine years in Jerusalem. And his mother’s name was Jehoaddin of Jerusalem. ³ He did what was right in the sight of the Lord, yet not like his father David; he acted in accordance with everything that his father Joash had done.⁴ Only the high places were not eliminated; the people still sacrificed and burned incense on the high places. ⁵ Now it came about, as soon as the kingdom was firmly in his hand, that he killed his servants who had killed the king, his father. ⁶ But he did not put the sons of the murderers to death, in obedience to what is written in the Book of the Law of Moses, as the Lord commanded, saying, “The fathers shall not be put to death for the sons, nor the sons be put to death for the fathers; but each shall be put to death for his own sin.”

⁷ He killed ten thousand of the Edomites in the Valley of Salt, and took Sela by war, and named it Joktheel, as it is to this day.

⁸ Then Amaziah sent messengers to Jehoash, the son of Jehoahaz son of Jehu, king of Israel, saying, “Come, let’s face each other in combat.”⁹ But Jehoash king of Israel sent messengers to Amaziah king of Judah, saying, “The thorn bush that was in Lebanon sent word to the cedar that was in Lebanon, saying, ‘Give your daughter to my son in marriage.’ But a wild animal that was in Lebanon passed by and trampled the thorn bush. ¹⁰ You have indeed defeated Edom, and your heart is elated. Enjoy the glory and stay home; for why should you get involved in trouble so that you would fall, you and Judah with you?”

¹¹ But Amaziah would not listen. So Jehoash king of Israel went up; and they faced each other, he and Amaziah king of Judah, at Beth-shemesh, which belongs to Judah. ¹² And Judah was defeated by Israel, and they fled, every man to his tent. ¹³ Then Jehoash king of Israel captured Amaziah king of Judah, the son of Jehoash the son of Ahaziah, at Beth-shemesh, and came to Jerusalem and tore down the wall of Jerusalem from the Gate of Ephraim to the Corner Gate, four hundred cubits.¹⁴ And he took all the gold and silver and all the utensils which were found in the house of the Lord, and in the treasuries of the king’s house, the hostages as well, and returned to Samaria.

Jeroboam II Succeeds Jehoash (Joash) in Israel

¹⁵ Now as for the rest of the acts of Jehoash that he did, and his might and how he fought with Amaziah king of Judah, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Israel? ¹⁶ So Jehoash lay down with his fathers and was buried in Samaria with the kings of Israel; and his son Jeroboam became king in his place.

Azariah (Uzziah) Succeeds Amaziah in Judah

¹⁷ Amaziah the son of Joash king of Judah lived for fifteen years after the death of Jehoash son of Jehoahaz king of Israel. ¹⁸ Now as for the rest of the acts of Amaziah, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Judah? ¹⁹ They formed a conspiracy against him in Jerusalem, and he fled to Lachish; but they sent men to Lachish after him and they killed him there. ²⁰ Then they carried him on horses, and he was buried in Jerusalem with his fathers in the city of David.²¹ And all the people of Judah took Azariah, who was sixteen years old, and made him king in place of his father Amaziah. ²² He built Elath and restored it to Judah after the king lay down with his fathers.

²³ In the fifteenth year of Amaziah the son of Joash king of Judah, Jeroboam the son of Joash king of Israel became king in Samaria, and reigned for forty-one years. ²⁴ He did evil in the sight of the Lord; he did not abandon all the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, into which he misled Israel. ²⁵ He restored the border of Israel from the entrance of Hamath as far as the Sea of the Arabah, in accordance with the word of the Lord, the God of Israel, which He spoke through His servant Jonah the son of Amittai, the prophet, who was from Gath-hepher. ²⁶ For the Lord saw the misery of Israel, which was very bitter; for there was neither bond nor free spared, nor was there any helper for Israel. ²⁷ Yet the Lord did not say that He would wipe out the name of Israel from under heaven, but He saved them by the hand of Jeroboam the son of Joash.

Zechariah Reigns over Israel

²⁸ Now as for the rest of the acts of Jeroboam and all that he did and his might, how he fought and how he recovered for Israel Damascus and Hamath, which had belonged to Judah, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Israel? ²⁹ And Jeroboam lay down with his fathers, with the kings of Israel, and his son Zechariah became king in his place.