00:00:02 An introduction to 2 Kings.
00:00:06 Attributed to Jeremiah,
00:00:08 2 Kings begins where 1 Kings ends.
00:00:12 The account spans some 340 years,
00:00:16 from about 920 to 580 B.C.E.,
00:00:20 when the writing was completed.
00:00:23 The book describes the spiritual decline
00:00:25 of both Israel and Judah
00:00:27 until both kingdoms were taken into exile.
00:00:33 In chapter 2,
00:00:35 the prophet Elijah is taken up in a windstorm.
00:00:39 His attendant, Elisha, succeeds him.
00:00:43 In chapters 4 and 5,
00:00:45 Elisha resurrects the son of a Shunammite woman.
00:00:49 Elisha also miraculously feeds 100 people
00:00:53 with 20 loaves of bread and a bag of grain,
00:00:57 and he heals Syrian army chief Naaman of leprosy.
00:01:01 In chapter 6,
00:01:03 a military force from Syria is searching for Elisha.
00:01:06 They surround Dothan,
00:01:08 where he and his attendant are staying.
00:01:12 Jehovah opens the eyes of the fearful attendant
00:01:15 so that he sees “war chariots of fire all around Elisha.”
00:01:21 In chapter 9, Jehu is anointed as king of Israel.
00:01:25 He is commanded to strike down the house of Ahab,
00:01:29 which includes Ahab’s widow, Jezebel.
00:01:34 In chapter 11, Ahab’s daughter Athaliah
00:01:37 usurps the throne in Judah
00:01:39 and attempts to eliminate the royal line.
00:01:43 However, High Priest Jehoiada and his wife
00:01:47 rescue the infant Jehoash.
00:01:50 When Jehoash is seven years old,
00:01:52 he is made king and Athaliah is put to death.
00:01:57 In chapter 15, Assyrian King Tiglath-pileser III
00:02:02 invades the northern kingdom and takes many into exile.
00:02:07 In chapter 17,
00:02:09 Assyrian King Shalmaneser also invades Israel
00:02:12 and takes the remaining people away captive.
00:02:18 Did you know?
00:02:20 In an effort to discourage future uprisings,
00:02:23 these Assyrian kings removed captives from conquered lands
00:02:27 and replaced them with foreigners.
00:02:30 Those transplanted into Samaria became known as Samaritans.
00:02:37 In chapter 18, Hezekiah becomes king of Judah.
00:02:41 He does what is right in God’s eyes.
00:02:45 In Hezekiah’s 14th year,
00:02:48 Assyrian King Sennacherib
00:02:50 invades Judah and threatens Jerusalem.
00:02:54 In chapter 19, Jehovah reveals to the prophet Isaiah
00:02:58 that He will defend the city.
00:03:00 Isaiah then sends God’s message to Hezekiah.
00:03:05 On that very night,
00:03:07 Jehovah’s angel strikes down
00:03:09 185,000 men in the Assyrian camp.
00:03:13 In chapter 21,
00:03:15 Hezekiah’s 12-year-old son, Manasseh, becomes king.
00:03:19 He disobeys Jehovah “on a grand scale,”
00:03:23 even making “his own son pass through the fire.”
00:03:27 In chapter 22, after the death of Manasseh and his son Amon,
00:03:32 eight-year-old Josiah becomes king.
00:03:35 He does what is right in God’s eyes.
00:03:39 The last three chapters of 2 Kings
00:03:42 discuss the final four kings of Judah
00:03:44 —Jehoahaz, Johoiakim,
00:03:47 Jehoiachin, and Zedekiah.
00:03:49 All disobey Jehovah.
00:03:52 In chapter 24,
00:03:54 during Jehoiachin’s three-month reign,
00:03:57 King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon besieges Jerusalem.
00:04:02 Jehoiachin surrenders and is taken to Babylon
00:04:05 with his princes, court officials, and servants.
00:04:10 In chapter 25, during Zedekiah’s reign,
00:04:13 Nebuchadnezzar attacks Jerusalem the second time.
00:04:18 The Babylonians burn down the temple,
00:04:21 pull down the city walls,
00:04:23 and take Zedekiah to Babylon with the surviving Jews.
00:04:28 Gedaliah is appointed governor
00:04:30 over the few lowly ones who remain in Judah.
00:04:33 However, he is assassinated, and the people flee to Egypt.
00:04:43 As you read 2 Kings,
00:04:45 note the hardships that bad rulers caused their subjects,
00:04:49 see how Jehovah blessed the kings who loved him,
00:04:53 and read how he preserved the family line of David,
00:04:57 which produced the One who later became King of God’s Kingdom.
