2 Kings 15:1-38

Contrasts are very easy to see between the nation of Israel and the nation of Judah.  The primary contrast is seen in the kings that reign over these nations and their relationship before the Lord.  We can see the clear benefits of submitting to the Lord and the dangers of following after false gods.  Despite the contrasts and inconsistencies that we see in these kings; we see a very faithful God who is clearly in control of the leaders that are established.  As we look on from the outside it is clear that wickedness and idolatry lead to pain, suffering and death.  It seems strange that king after king failed to realize this and change.  This is a reminder to all of us that we are often blind to our own weaknesses and apart from the grace of God in our lives, we would all be trapped in this same viscous circle.

THE TWO KINGS OF JUDAH WERE MARKED BY PARTIAL OBEDIENCE AND LONGEVITY: Uzziah reigned for fifty-two years and his son Jotham reigned for 25 years.  Both of these kings are described as having done what was right in the eyes of the Lord…BUT…they did not remove the high places.  They themselves were not idolatrous kings and they did not permit out right idolatry in their kingdoms.  However they tolerated the offering of sacrifices on the high places in the nation.  These high places were often used for making sacrifices to God but they were not made in the temple as God had instructed.  The problem with this is that it was disobedience and these high places were the first places were the people would quickly convert to the worship of Baal instead of worshiping the Lord.  As we look at these kings and the blessings they experienced, we can’t help but wonder “what if” they would have been fully obedient and removed these high places.  Instead they settled for this partial obedience and we see the short term consequences of Uzziah being struck with leprosy and Jotham being attacked by the Syrians.  We must not become tolerant of sin in our lives.

THE FIVE KINGS OF ISRAEL WERE MARKED BY COMPLETE DISOBEDIENCE AND BREVITY: During this same period of time in Israel we see five different kings come to and fall from power.  The longest reign was twenty years and the shortest reign was one month.  Besides the revolving door of kings, it is important to note that these kings were not from the same family.  There was one conspiracy after another and the person who assassinated the current king became the next king until someone else killed him.  In the face of all of this turmoil and inconsistency, the only constant in all of this was the disobedience and idolatry of each of these kings.  We would think that they would have learned from history and repented of the sins of the previous king to establish a new reign under the blessing of God.  Instead we see one power hungry king after another that simply is following the same pattern of disobedience that leads to judgment over and over again.  Sin is enslaving and we often have a very hard time seeing its dangers and its consequences.  We must learn to recognize sin, repent of it and then return to a life of submission to and worship of God.