April 14, 2020: Day 73 – II Kings 15

Here we find ourselves in a time period where the north and the south are surrounded by enemy powers as they try to work out their relationship with each other.  This map above is going to be pretty crucial in understanding the geography and the relationships between the nations which creates unique geo-political situations.

We find that in the south there is the long reign of king Azariah who was in power for 52 years in Jerusalem.  This means a couple of things.  It means that there was consistency and strength in the south for a long period of time.  It also had an impact on the north because there was not stability but rather a whole number of rulers who came and went in a short period of time.  This would have weakened Israel and created a situation where a form of chaos ruled the day.  

What ends up happening is that because there is so much chaos, Assyria is able to conquer the north and take the people of Israel into captivity.  This is a crucial moment in the history of Israel.  The deportation and the captivity of the people of Israel in this time period is legendary, and it is a reminder that the people of the north did not follow the way of the Lord.  This led to chaos.

In contrast we see the stability of the south, which also housed the temple, which allowed the people to live in their own houses, which was a big deal.  Each of the southern rulers did what was right in the eyes of the Lord, but not 100%.  They still had the high places.  But in the north we read repeatedly that the rulers did what was evil in the sight of the Lord.  

We end this chapter with pretty much the last of the kings of Israel (the north).  It is a sad chapter in the life of the people of God.