2 Kings · chapter 15 of 25
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2 Kings 15 sweeps through the reigns of Azariah and Jotham in Judah and of five kings in Israel: Zechariah, Shallum, Menahem, Pekahiah and Pekah, four of them murdered by their successors. Assyria, under Pul and Tiglath-pileser, begins to collect tribute and deport Israelites. The Lord struck Azariah with leprosy, and his son Jotham governed in his place.
After the prosperity of Jeroboam II, the kingdom of Israel enters a spiral of instability. 2 Kings 15 summarizes decades of history, while in Judah two kings reign who do what is right but do not remove the high places. The chapter prepares for the fall of Samaria: a series of coups and the growing shadow of Assyria show the wearing down of a kingdom that has turned from the Lord.
Azariah, also called Uzziah, reigns fifty-two years in Judah, with Jecoliah as mother. He does what is right but does not remove the high places. The Lord strikes the king with leprosy, and he lives in a separate house until his death, while his son Jotham governs the land.
In Israel, Zechariah, son of Jeroboam, reigns six months and does evil. Shallum conspires against him, kills him and reigns, so that the word of the Lord to Jehu is fulfilled that his sons would reign to the fourth generation. Shallum reigns one month, and Menahem kills him and takes the throne. Menahem reigns ten years, does evil and attacks the city of Tiphsah with cruelty. Pul, king of Assyria, invades the land, and Menahem gives him a thousand talents of silver to gain his support. To pay, he levies fifty shekels from each wealthy man. His son Pekahiah succeeds him and reigns two years, until his captain Pekah murders him.
Pekah reigns twenty years and does evil. In his time Tiglath-pileser, king of Assyria, captures several cities of the north and of Gilead and Galilee, and carries their inhabitants captive to Assyria. Hoshea conspires against Pekah, kills him and reigns in his place.
In Judah, Jotham, son of Azariah, reigns sixteen years. He does what is right, though he does not remove the high places, and builds the upper gate of the temple. In his days the Lord begins to send Rezin, king of Aram, and Pekah against Judah. Jotham dies and his son Ahaz reigns.
References follow ESV book names and verse numbers. Read each verse in your Bible before the explanation.
The Lord strikes King Azariah with leprosy, and he lives in a separate house until his death. Even a king who did what was right is marked by an illness that sets him apart from the people, and his son Jotham governs.
With the death of Zechariah the word the Lord had spoken to Jehu is fulfilled: his sons would reign to the fourth generation. God keeps his promise down to the last detail, and he also carries out his judgment.
Menahem gives a thousand talents of silver to Pul, king of Assyria, to secure his support, and raises it by charging each wealthy man fifty shekels. Trusting a foreign power costs money and freedom, and it is a sign of the downfall to come.
Tiglath-pileser captures cities of Israel and carries their inhabitants captive to Assyria. It is the first major deportation, and it anticipates the total fall of Samaria narrated in chapter 17.
6 questions with answers and references, ready for Sunday school, small group or a Bible quiz night.
Answer: Fifty-two years. — 2 Kings 15:2
Answer: Leprosy, a serious skin disease. — 2 Kings 15:5
Answer: Shallum, who conspired against him. — 2 Kings 15:10
Answer: A thousand talents. — 2 Kings 15:19
Answer: He captured several cities and regions of the north and carried their inhabitants captive to Assyria. — 2 Kings 15:29
Answer: The upper gate. — 2 Kings 15:35
The chapter runs through a chain of kings murdered by their successors. A kingdom that turns from God loses its stability at the root, and human solutions such as pacts and tribute do not restore it. In a small group you can talk about where we seek security outside God and how much it costs us.
Azariah and Jotham also remind us that a person can do what is right personally and leave unaddressed what affects everyone. Doing good is not enough if we tolerate what leads others astray. We can ask whether there are practices or idols in our surroundings that we accept out of habit.
2 Kings 15 ends with Jotham dead and Ahaz about to reign, while Israel and Aram ally against Judah. In chapter 16, Ahaz will make a tragic choice: seeking Assyria's help instead of trusting the Lord.
He is the same king that 2 Chronicles, Isaiah and other books call Uzziah. He reigned fifty-two years and was struck with leprosy. In the year of his death the prophet Isaiah saw the vision of the Lord in the temple, according to Isaiah 6.
According to many scholars, it is another name for the Assyrian king Tiglath-pileser III. In the text he appears first as Pul, who receives tribute from Menahem, and then as Tiglath-pileser, who deports the people.
Because the northern kingdom, without a dynasty faithful to the Lord, sank into conspiracies and power struggles. The Bible presents that instability as a fruit of Israel's unfaithfulness and as preparation for its fall.