Reader’s Guide: “The Word for Today” Tuesday, December 4, 2012 Read – 2 Kings 13 & 14 The action switches once again to the Northern Kingdom. When we left the story Jehu had just died and was succeeded by his son Jehoahaz. Jehoahaz, like all the other kings in the North, was an evil king. Hazael, the king of Aram continues to be a threat against the Northern Kingdom. It appears that the end of the Northern Kingdom was immanent, however, God has mercy and spares Israel, though in a very weakened state. Jehoahaz is followed by his son Jehoash who follows in his father’s footsteps as an evil king. It gets really confusing to try to keep all these kings straight, especially since they all seem to have names that begin with “Jeh.” And to make things even more confusing Jehoash’s name was apparently shortened to Joash, the same name as a contemporary king in the South. We need not worry much about keeping it all straight. The main point is that all the kings in the North were evil. It was during Jehoash/Joash’s reign the prophet Elisha died. The story of his death is an interesting story. Jehoash/Joash comes to the prophet Elisha to mourn his illness and impending death. He is told to shoot an arrow out the eastern window and then to strike the ground with the remaining arrows. His choice to strike only three times is not good – there will be only three more victories over Hazael and then the Northern Kingdom will be defeated. This foreboding story announces the coming end of the Northern Kingdom. With chapter 14 the story moves once again to the South where Amaziah has begun to reign following the death of his father, Joash (not the same Joash as in the North). Before we know it the Northern Kingdom and Southern Kingdom are once again intertwined – only this time it is in battle. How quickly fates can change. This is one mixed up story! How difficult it must be for God to work in the midst of all this chaos and deceit! In the battle, the Northern Kingdom prevails and Amaziah, the southern king, is captured and eventually ransomed with the Northern Kingdom taking much of the treasures housed in the Temple. Eventually the people in the Southern Kingdom rebel against Amaziah and kill him. They choose his son Azariah to be the next king. The action swings once more to the North where Jereboam II becomes king. He shares the name of the first king of the Northern Kingdom – he will be only a few kings from the last of the kings of the Northern Kingdom. It was during the reign of King Jereobom II that the prophets Amos and Hosea did their work. Both of them were sent to proclaim God’s word of judgment to the king and the people in the Northern Kingdom. Both proclaimed the impending doom of Israel. Neither was well received. While the story we are following does not mention either of these two prophets, it is good to make note of them and perhaps, if you have time, to read their messages. It is also good when we are reading the prophets to place them within the history of God’s people. Biblical prophets always address their messages to the particular history in which they are living. Knowing that history is essential to understanding the prophets.