Kings Rise and Fall Under God’s Rule

15:1 In the twenty-seventh year of King Jeroboam’s reign over Israel, Amaziah’s son Azariah became king over Judah. 15:2 He was sixteen years old when he began to reign, and he reigned for fifty-two years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Jecholiah, who was from Jerusalem. 15:3 He did what the Lord approved, just as his father Amaziah had done. 15:4 But the high places were not eliminated; the people continued to offer sacrifices and burn incense on the high places. 15:5 The Lord afflicted the king with an illness; he suffered from a skin disease until the day he died. He lived in separate quarters, while his son Jotham was in charge of the palace and ruled over the people of the land. 15:6 The rest of the events of Azariah’s reign, including all his accomplishments, are recorded in the scroll called the Annals of the Kings of Judah. 15:7 Azariah passed away and was buried with his ancestors in the city of David. His son Jotham replaced him as king. Zechariah’s Reign over Israel 15:8 In the thirty-eighth year of King Azariah’s reign over Judah, Jeroboam’s son Zechariah became king over Israel. He reigned in Samaria for six months. 15:9 He did evil in the sight of the Lord, as his ancestors had done. He did not repudiate the sinful ways of Jeroboam son of Nebat who encouraged Israel to sin. 15:10 Shallum son of Jabesh conspired against him; he assassinated him in Ibleam and took his place as king. 15:11 The rest of the events of Zechariah’s reign are recorded in the scroll called the Annals of the Kings of Israel. 15:12 His assassination brought to fulfillment the Lord’s word to Jehu, “Four generations of your descendants will rule over Israel.” That is exactly what happened. 15:13 Shallum son of Jabesh became king in the thirty-ninth year of King Uzziah’s reign over Judah. He reigned for one month in Samaria. 15:14 Menahem son of Gadi went up from Tirzah to Samaria and attacked Shallum son of Jabesh. He killed him and took his place as king. 15:15 The rest of the events of Shallum’s reign, including the conspiracy he organized, are recorded in the scroll called the Annals of the Kings of Israel. 15:16 At that time Menahem came from Tirzah and attacked Tiphsah. He struck down all who lived in the city and the surrounding territory, because they would not surrender. He even ripped open the pregnant women. Menahem’s Reign over Israel 15:17 In the thirty-ninth year of King Azariah’s reign over Judah, Menahem son of Gadi became king over Israel. He reigned for twelve years in Samaria. 15:18 He did evil in the sight of the Lord; he did not repudiate the sinful ways of Jeroboam son of Nebat who encouraged Israel to sin. During his reign, 15:19 Pul king of Assyria invaded the land, and Menahem paid him a thousand talents of silver to gain his support and to solidify his control of the kingdom. 15:20 Menahem got this silver by taxing all the wealthy men in Israel; he took fifty shekels of silver from each one of them and paid it to the king of Assyria. Then the king of Assyria left; he did not stay there in the land. 15:21 The rest of the events of Menahem’s reign, including all his accomplishments, are recorded in the scroll called the Annals of the Kings of Israel. 15:22 Menahem passed away and his son Pekahiah replaced him as king. Pekahiah’s Reign over Israel 15:23 In the fiftieth year of King Azariah’s reign over Judah, Menahem’s son Pekahiah became king over Israel. He reigned in Samaria for two years. 15:24 He did evil in the sight of the Lord; he did not repudiate the sinful ways of Jeroboam son of Nebat who encouraged Israel to sin. 15:25 His officer Pekah son of Remaliah conspired against him. He and fifty Gileadites assassinated Pekahiah, as well as Argob and Arieh, in Samaria in the fortress of the royal palace. Pekah then took his place as king. 15:26 The rest of the events of Pekahiah’s reign, including all his accomplishments, are recorded in the scroll called the Annals of the Kings of Israel. Pekah’s Reign over Israel 15:27 In the fifty-second year of King Azariah’s reign over Judah, Pekah son of Remaliah became king over Israel. He reigned in Samaria for twenty years. 15:28 He did evil in the sight of the Lord; he did not repudiate the sinful ways of Jeroboam son of Nebat who encouraged Israel to sin. 15:29 During Pekah’s reign over Israel, King Tiglath-pileser of Assyria came and captured Ijon, Abel Beth Maacah, Janoah, Kedesh, Hazor, Gilead, and Galilee, including all the territory of Naphtali. He deported the people to Assyria. 15:30 Hoshea son of Elah conspired against Pekah son of Remaliah. He assassinated him and took his place as king, in the twentieth year of the reign of Jotham son of Uzziah. 15:31 The rest of the events of Pekah’s reign, including all his accomplishments, are recorded in the scroll called the Annals of the Kings of Israel. Jotham’s Reign over Judah 15:32 In the second year of the reign of Israel’s King Pekah son of Remaliah, Uzziah’s son Jotham became king over Judah. 15:33 He was twenty- five years old when he began to reign, and he reigned for sixteen years in Jerusalem. His mother was Jerusha the daughter of Zadok. 15:34 He did what the Lord approved, just as his father Uzziah had done. 15:35 But the high places were not eliminated; the people continued to offer sacrifices and burn incense on the high places. He built the Upper Gate to the Lord’s temple. 15:36 The rest of the events of Jotham’s reign, including his accomplishments, are recorded in the scroll called the Annals of the Kings of Judah. 15:37 In those days the Lord prompted King Rezin of Syria and Pekah son of Remaliah to attack Judah. 15:38 Jotham passed away and was buried with his ancestors in the city of his ancestor David. His son Ahaz replaced him as king. Ahaz’s Reign over Judah

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2 Kings 15 shows Judah holding on with only partial faithfulness while Israel keeps sinking into sin, violence, and instability. The chapter repeats that the northern kings stay tied to Jeroboam’s sin, while Judah’s kings are still not fully faithful because the high places remain.

This chapter moves quickly through several kings. In Judah, Azariah did what was right in the Lord’s eyes, but he did not remove the high places. The people still offered sacrifices there. The Lord also struck Azariah with a skin disease, so he lived apart while his son Jotham handled the work of ruling.

Israel’s history in this chapter is much darker. Zechariah reigned only six months before Shallum assassinated him. The writer says this fulfilled the Lord’s word to Jehu that four generations of his descendants would rule Israel. After that, the northern kingdom kept collapsing. Shallum ruled only a month before Menahem killed him. Menahem then showed brutal violence, including a terrible attack on Tiphsah.

Menahem also faced the Assyrian king Pul. To keep his throne, he paid tribute and taxed wealthy men in Israel. That bought temporary relief, but it also showed how weak Israel had become. Pekahiah ruled for only two years before Pekah and his men killed him. Then Pekah ruled until Tiglath-pileser of Assyria captured northern towns and deported the people.

In Judah, Jotham was also approved by the Lord, but again the high places were not removed. He did build the Upper Gate to the Lord’s temple. The chapter ends by saying that the Lord prompted Rezin and Pekah to attack Judah, setting up the conflict that will continue in the next chapter. Overall, this chapter shows God ruling over kings, nations, and history, even when people are violent, unstable, and disobedient.

• God judges kings by covenant faithfulness, not by how long they reign or how successful they look.
• Azariah and Jotham are described as doing right, but both left the high places in place.
• The Lord’s word to Jehu was fulfilled exactly when Zechariah was killed after four generations of Jehu’s descendants ruled Israel.
• Israel’s kings repeatedly stayed with the sinful ways of Jeroboam, and the chapter uses that as the measure of their evil.
• Menahem’s rule is marked by cruelty and bloodshed, including the slaughter at Tiphsah.
• Assyria is already pressing on Israel, and tribute, taxation, and deportation show the kingdom’s weakness.
• Judah is better than Israel in this chapter, but Judah is still not fully reformed.
• The Lord is active in history and can use foreign powers and political events to carry out judgment.

• Do not ignore the high places just because a king is otherwise described as doing right.
• Do not think human violence or political plotting can secure a kingdom against God’s judgment.
• Remember that the Lord keeps his word exactly, both in promise and in judgment.
• Do not excuse Jeroboam’s sin, because the chapter treats it as the root problem of northern Israel.
• Understand Assyrian power as part of God’s larger rule over nations, not as random history.
• Heed the warning that tolerated compromise can grow into public collapse.
• Trust the Lord’s timing, even when righteous rule seems weak or unfinished.

This chapter belongs to the Mosaic covenant period, when obedience in the land brings blessing and rebellion brings curse, instability, and eventually exile. Israel’s repeated loyalty to Jeroboam’s sin shows covenant unfaithfulness moving toward judgment. Judah’s line continues, which keeps the Davidic promise in view, but Judah is not free from accountability because the high places remain. The fulfillment of the word to Jehu shows that God governs history by his spoken word. The Assyrian threat and deportations are early signs of the exile that is coming, and the chapter prepares readers for the next stage of Judah’s history under Ahaz.

Read this chapter as a warning against partial obedience. A person or community may look stable for a while while still leaving serious sin untouched. Power, alliances, and violence cannot replace righteousness. God sees what leaders and ordinary people do, and he keeps his word. The lesson is not to confuse outward success with faithfulness, but to seek real obedience to the Lord and to reject the sins we are tempted to leave in place.

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