Kings--Part 6

Last Batch of Kings

I18--Hoshea-Hoshea assassinated Pekah. He ruled in Samaria for 9 years and began his reign in the 12 year of Ahaz of Judah.  Last king of Israel, conquered by and jailed by Assyrians.

J12-Hezekiah--Ahaz's son, he was 25 when he became king and reigned for 29 years.  He co-reigned with his father Ahaz for 14 years. His mother was Abijah, daughter of Zechariah.  He tore down altars, broke Moses' bronze serpent because people had been sacrificing to it.  The text states that he was "faithful to the Lord" and that he "trusted Him."  He revolted against the king of Assyria and refused to pay tribute to him.  Hezekiah is also credited with conquering the Philistines. 

J-13  Manasseh--55 years, only son of Hezekiah, 12 years old when began reign, first king to not have a direct experience with Israel who had gone into captivity.  Re-instituted pagan worship and undid reforms of his father.  The Assyrians put a ring in his nose, but he repented and prayed to the Lord.  The Lord heard him and brought him back to Jerusalem.  He rebuilt the outer wall in Jerusalem and instituted some level of turning away from pagan worship.  They still used pagan altars, but worshiped only God at them (2 Chronicles 33).

J-14  Amon--2 years, son of Manasseh, very into pagan practices which ultimately led to a revolt against him and his death.  Began reign at age 22, wife's name was .  He was assassinated by his servants, and 8 year old son, Josiah became king in his stead.

Note:  Jeremiah prophesied through the reign of Josiah and his sons, until the fall of Judah to Babylon into captivity.

J-15  Josiah--31 years, became king at age 8 after father, Amon, assassinated.   He is know for a major effort to compile the law and Judaic reforms, especially the Deuteronic Reforms. Josiah tore down pagan places and altars.  He had four sons, three of whom followed him in reign.

Josiah, despite being a very thorough reformer, ended up dying in battle because he chose not to listen to the King of Egypt, Neco.  Neco was on mission to attack the Assryians and tried to avoid fighting with Josiah. But Josiah disguised himself and went into battle, got killed.  The King of Egypt then put Jehoahaz, his son, in his place.

J-16  Jehoahaz/Shallum--3 months, son of Josiah, was 23 when became king.  Installed by the King of Egypt, Neco after his father died in battle.  He did what was evil. The king decided to put Eliakim in his place and jailed Jehoahaz in Egypt to keep him from ruling in Jerusalem, where he died.

J-17  Jehoiachim/Jehoiakim/Eliakim--11 years, son of Josiah, 25 years old when became king.  He did what was evil.  He levied a tax on the people to pay the tribute demanded by Neco.  According to Jeremiah, he made people build his palace for free (slave labor).

During the reign of Jehoiachim, the Lord tells Jeremiah to stand in the courtyard of the temple and declare His message.  Jeremiah was obedient and told the people that the temple would be destroyed and predicted doom for the people.  They responded by mobbing him and threatening to kill him.  The official of Judah responded by holding court at the new gate of the temple.  Jeremiah testified before all that his message is from the Lord, do to me what you will.  If the people turn, they can still be saved.  The officials then listen to Jeremiah and defend him by reminding them of when Micah prophesied during Hezekiah's reign and the people turned and repented to avert disaster.  Uriah was also prophesying at this time and predicted the same thing Jeremiah did.  Jehoiachim heard what he was saying and chased him all the way to Egypt, dragged him back, and killed him by the sword.  Nevertheless Ahikim advocated for Jeremiah in court and averted death.

Nebuchadnezzar invaded Judah during this time. Jehoiachim paid tribute to him for 3 years but then rebelled. Then the Lord sent bands of raiders (Moabite, Babylonian, Ammonite, Aramean) to destroy them as had been predicted.

J-18  Jehoiachin/Jeconiah/--3 months, son of Jehoiachim

J-19  Zedekiah/Mattanyahu--11 months---then Judah conquered by Babylon, exile

Isaiah 55--A fat soul

I sometimes dread reading the prophets but have disciplined myself to study them. The genre of prophetic literature has its own code--its own expectations and jargon. A piece of understanding the prophets requires understanding the code. But, personally, I enjoy them best when I get lost in the poetic imagery. 

Isaiah 55 is a beautiful passage to wander and get lost in. I'm writing to "pick some flowers" along the way and take time to study them:

"...eat ye that which is good, and let your soul delight itself in fatness." -Isaiah 55:2

A fat soul? Give me that! A soul that feasts well on God and His promises becomes fat, sated.

More well-fed imagery:

"And in this mountain shall the LORD of hosts make unto all people a feast of fat things, a feast of wines on the lees, of fat things full of marrow, of wines on the lees well refined." Isaiah 25:6

I love these promises of fatness and fruition.

Sometimes my soul is heavy with the sad things of life---losses, people I miss who have gone on, selfish people who manipulate me in subtle ways, the longing for richer friendships, more time with my children, longer time....a release from the pressures of the daily grind.

This is the opposite--to have a soul fat with the promises and hope of Him would be a lovely burden.

There is much of Revelation and John's thoughts there in Isaiah:

That he who blesseth himself in the earth shall bless himself in the God of truth; and he that sweareth in the earth shall swear by the God of truth; because the former troubles are forgotten, and because they are hid from mine eyes.  Isaiah 65:16

For, behold, I create new heavens and a new earth: and the former shall not be remembered, nor come into mind.  Isaiah 65:17

I used to feel a sense of panic about the former things being gone or forgotten, but to completely lose the sadness that is sometimes in my heart for the little tragedies of my lifetime and the enormous tragedies of this larger world---that these sadnesses would be completely forgotten and not remembered---what bliss!

Here's another:

And he will destroy in this mountain the face of the covering cast over all people, and the vail that is spread over all nations.

He will swallow up death in victory; and the Lord GOD will wipe away tears from off all faces; and the rebuke of his people shall he take away from off all the earth: for the LORD hath spoken it. -Isaiah 25:7-8

I think Paul also alludes to the swallowing up death in victory in 1 Corinthians. John in Revelation speaks of the tears God will wipe from our faces.

His Word, Isaiah 55

It's odd to think of the Word as having magical properties. The secular word magical gives me the creeps but thinking it through, isn't magical among the synonyms for supernatural? And as a Christian, I am admittedly reluctant to make room for the supernatural---I hold the supernatural at arm's length, inspecting it long and hard.

Here's one of my favorite passages about the Word, from Isaiah:

"For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven and do not return there but water the earth, making it bring forth and sprout, giving seed to the sower and bread to the eater, so shall my word be that goes out from my mouth; it shall not return to me empty, but it shall accomplish that which I purpose, and shall succeed in the thing for which I sent it." -Isaiah 55:10-11

This is from the Cambridge Commentary:

This purpose of salvation is embodied in the word which goes forth from Jehovah’s mouth. The “word” is conceived as endowed with a self-fulfilling energy (see on ch. Isa_9:8); and its silent but irresistible efficacy is set forth by a beautiful comparison from nature. The same idea was expressed in ch. Isa_40:8.

I love the phrasing "silent but irresistible efficacy; " the momentum of the Word is a spiritual cycle as certain as the more physical cycles. Water flows from the mountains to the seas, evaporating into the air and cycling back through cloudy rains. His Word has this same certainty in its course.

From the Biblical Illustrator, I like the way his commentary captures the actively working nature of the Word in our spiritual lives. It becomes a piece of the fruit of our lives:

Yet another word that I have taken separately, because I think it really is separate. It is a stronger word than the former—“maketh it bring forth, and bud.” I feel inclined to use here the literal Hebrew word, “and sprout.” That is to say, the rain and the snow not merely touch the dust into generation, but come again in the grass, the flowers, the fruit-age. And the Word of God has come from Him to touch the failure of human life, and it has been returning to Him laughing with the harvest of ransomed souls. The Word was incarnate in the Christ supremely, and in a less and different degree, but nevertheless as truly, God’s Word has been re-incarnate in human lives in all the passing centuries.

Also:

That the Word of God is prosperous. The word “accomplish” means it does something, it makes something, it realizes something; and the Hebrew word “prosper” literally means it “pushes forward.” It is a great dynamic force.