I finally finished 2 Kings. I started my reading by taking notes, but stopped fairly early into the book. There were just too many names, too many kings, too much fighting, and too much doing evil in the eyes of the Lord to keep up with everyone. And the names, why are they so similar to each other? Amaziah, King of Judah is replaced by his son Azariah. Jehoash, King of Israel is replaced by Jeroboam. Pekahiah, King of Israel is replaced by Pekah. Even the prophet Elijah is replaced by Elisha.
So, then, what did I learn?
The book begins with tales of the prophet Elisha. He performs several miracles which reminded me of the miracles performed by Jesus. Elisha turned a small jar of olive oil into a supply that filled multiple jars. Elisha predicts the birth of a son to a childless woman and brings that same boy back to life when the woman asks for his help. Elisha feeds hundreds with twenty loaves of bread. Elisha healed a man of leprosy and performed other miracles in the beginning of this book.
Then the focus changes and we learn about many, many kings.
In general, it seems that the kings of Judah fared better than the kings of Israel, at least at first. Almost every king of Israel "did evil in the eyes of God" and so God pretty much gave up on them and all of Israel. The kings of Judah seemed to be a mix of good kings (those who worshipped God and followed David's lead) and bad kings (those who worshipped the local gods and forgot about the God of their ancestors).
God really does not like it when his people turn to other gods.
What I can't figure out is why one king does so well and then the next goes back to doing all the wrong things. Why didn't they just keep on doing good? One king went so far as to destroy everything that had anything to do with the worship of other gods. He followed all of God's commandments and followed Him faithfully. So what does his son do when he becomes king? Go back to all the old, evil ways.
When God is angry all the people pay for the evils of the king.
Not to say God can't be compassionate. If a king repented and asked God for help or forgiveness, God was there for him. But in many cases, it was just for the king. The "reward" was to die before all the bad things God promised happened to his people. In the end, God gave up on Israel and Judah, for now.
I sure hope things get better...
