I sincerely hope that you learned some things about King Solomon (King David’s son) as we took a look at the Book of 1 Kings. As I mentioned last week, Solomon’s divided heart led to a divided kingdom, and the history of this division can be found in the second half of 1 Kings. So, what about 2 Kings?

Second Kings continues with the drama that began at the end of 1 Kings as the author writes of the tragic history of two Jewish Kingdoms, namely, Israel (with 10 Tribes comprising the Northern Kingdom) and Judah (with 2 Tribes in the Southern Kingdom). Because of the immoral leadership of each nation, they were both set on a collision course with captivity and destruction. The author systematically traces the reigning monarchs of Israel and Judah, first by carrying Israel’s history forward, and then retracing the same time-period for Judah.  

The Northern Kingdom (Israel) had nineteen consecutive evil kings, leading the nation into captivity by Assyria in 722 B.C. The story was different for the Southern Kingdom (Judah) where godly kings occasionally emerged to reform the evil practices of their predecessors. Unfortunately, the last series of the kings of Judah were no help in preventing the nation from being destroyed, and those who remained were taken to Babylon as captives 136 years later in 586 B.C.  

I thought that the following summary might be helpful for you:  

The United Kingdom lasted for 112 years under the reigns of King Saul, David, and Solomon (1043-931 BC); 

Israel (the Northern Kingdom) lasted for another 209 years (931-722 BC) when it fell to Assyrians; 

Judah (the Southern Kingdom) continued for an additional 136 years (722-586 BC) when it fell to the Babylonians.

As you might have expected, during this 457-year “Kingdom” period, there were huge shifts in world powers beginning with the Egyptians, then the Assyrians, and finally the Babylonians. In the end, both nations turned away from worshipping and serving God. They fell into what I have called the “4-I’s,” namely, Idolatry, Immorality, Injustice, and Indifference to God and His Law given to the nation on Mt. Sinai over a thousand years prior. 

In an attempt to avert destruction, God sent prophets, who were God’s representatives,, to proclaim His Word to both Israel and Judah, trying to get them to repent of their worship of idols and their immoral and unjust practices. Elijah and Elisha are two of the prominent figures in the first part of 2 Kings as the focus is on the Northern Kingdom of Israel. When we get to the second portion of 2 Kings, we find the prophets Isaiah and Jeremiah calling the Southern Kingdom of Judah to repentance, and two prominent kings, Hezekiah and Josiah, actually instituted reforms that led the people back to the LORD, but it extended only during their periods of their reigns. Sadly, those reforms did not last.   

Last week, we discovered the biblical truth that we will all reap what we sow. And now, as we consider 2 Kings and the fall of each nation, our twin key verses show up as the author provides commentary on the Northern Kingdom of Israel:

“And the sons of Israel walked in all of the sins of Jeroboam which he did; they did not depart from them, until the LORD removed Israel from His sight, as He spoke through all His servants the prophets. So, Israel was carried away into exile from their own land to Assyria…” (2 Kings 17:22-23).

And then as we approach the end of 2 Kings, this same judgment is pronounced on the Southern Kingdom of Judah, but this time their destruction will not come from the hand of the Assyrians, but from the new world power, the Babylonians. Recorded by the author, here is what God had to say to Judah,  

“I will remove Judah also from My sight, as I have removed Israel. And I will cast off Jerusalem, this city which I have chosen, and the temple of which I said, ‘My name shall be there’” (2 Kings 23:27).

For the most part, world history confirms the fact that nations begin to crumble from within before they are conquered by an invading power. I think that we can all recognize the fact that although America continues to have the strongest and most powerful military in the world, we seem to be crumbling from within, just like the twin-kingdoms of Israel and Judah. And the “4-I’s” are just as prevalent today as they were two and a half millennia ago: IDOLATRY (includes anyone or anything that we idolize above God); INJUSTICE (we certainly see it all around us today, even in our own lives); IMMORALITY (as we see our nation drifting farther and farther away from God’s commandments, and of course, we are not entirely innocent); and INDIFERENCE (as the majority of our population is no longer seeking or caring about God and doing His will). 

As we will see later in our survey of each of the Prophets, they had one message: “Repent and return to God!” The Northern Kingdom of Israel never did; the Southern Kingdom of Judah did so, but only occasionally. Let’s pray for our nation to “repent and turn to God,” knowing that such a prayer must begin with each of us. As we pray for our nation, let’s pray for ourselves first, that we would “Repent” and either “turn to God,” or “return to God.” It’s never too late to do so.

May the Lord bless and keep you in His care.