Verse-by-Verse Bible Commentary
2 Kings 15:19

Clarke's Commentary

Verse 2 Kings 15:19. Pul, the king of Assyria — This is the first time we hear of Assyria since the days of Nimrod, its founder, Genesis 10:11.

Dean Prideaux supposes that this Pul was father of the famous Sardanapalus, the son himself being called Sardan; to which, as was frequent in those times, the father's name, Pul, was added, making Sardanpul of which the Greeks and Latins made Sardanapalus; and this Pul is supposed to be the same that reigned in Nineveh when Jonah preached the terrors of the Lord to that city.

That his hand — That is, his power and influence, might be with him: in this sense is the word hand frequently used in Scripture.

Bridgeway Bible Commentary

Chaos in Israel (15:8-26)

The long and prosperous reign of Jeroboam II brought political as well as social and religious troubles. When Jeroboam died, Israel entered a time of political chaos, as ambitious men fought to seize power. The nation lost its stability, and Assyria soon began to show interest in adding Israel to its rapidly expanding empire.

Jehu’s dynasty, which began bloodily, ended bloodily when its fifth king was murdered after a reign of only six months (8-12; cf. 10:30; Hosea 1:4; Amos 7:9). The assassin, Shallum, reigned only one month before he was murdered by Menahem, who then seized the throne (13-16). Menahem survived ten years, but only by buying the protection of the Assyrian king Tiglath-pileser III (also known as Pul). This policy damaged Israel’s economy, weakened its independence and opened the way for eventual conquest by Assyria (17-22).

Israel’s army commander Pekah was opposed to this pro-Assyrian policy. After Menahem died and was succeeded by his son Pekahiah, Pekah murdered Pekahiah and made himself king (23-26). The plots, assassinations and repeated changes in foreign policy were condemned by God’s prophets (Hosea 5:13; Hosea 7:3,Hosea 7:7,Hosea 7:11; Hosea 8:4; Hosea 10:3-4; Hosea 12:1).

Isaiah and Ahaz

Meanwhile Tiglath-pileser III was working towards a complete military conquest of Israel. (The prophets had already predicted such a conquest; see Hosea 10:5-8; Amos 7:17.) Realizing this, the Syrian king Rezin and the Israelite king Pekah formed a defence alliance to resist Assyria. They tried to persuade Judah’s king Jotham and the succeeding king Ahaz to join them, but the kings of Judah refused. Rezin and Pekah then attacked Ahaz, with the aim of conquering Judah, putting their own king on the throne, then forcing Judah to join their anti-Assyrian alliance (see 15:37; 16:5; Isaiah 7:1-2,Isaiah 7:6).

As the Israel-Syrian invasion force approached, Ahaz panicked. But one man among his advisers, the prophet Isaiah, remained calm and urged the king to trust in God. Isaiah assured Ahaz that he need not fear, for Israel-Syria would not defeat Judah, but would themselves be conquered by Assyria. Ahaz had only to trust in God (Isaiah 7:2-9; Isaiah 8:4). However, Ahaz neither trusted in God nor believed Isaiah. Instead he asked Assyria to come and help him. Isaiah warned that this was foolish, for it would put Judah under Assyria’s control (Isaiah 8:5-8). Again Ahaz ignored the advice (see 16:7-8).

Assyria then attacked Syria and Israel. Assyria’s policy was to carry off the people of a conquered country into other countries of the Assyrian Empire (to prevent rebellion breaking out in the conquered territory) and replace them with settlers from elsewhere. Therefore, when Tiglath-pileser conquered Syria, he transported the people into captivity in Assyria (732 BC). This brought the kingdom of Syria to an end, as foretold by God’s prophets (see 16:9; Isaiah 17:1; Amos 1:4-5). Tiglath-pileser attacked Israel also, overrunning its eastern and northern territory and taking the inhabitants into captivity (see 15:29). This was the beginning of the end for Israel.

Coffman's Commentaries on the Bible

THE TEN-YEAR REIGN OF MENAHEM OVER ISRAEL

"In the nine and thirtieth year of Azariah king of Judah began Menahem the son of Gadi to reign over Israel in Samaria. And he did that which was evil in the sight of Jehovah: he departed not all his days from the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, wherewith he made Israel to sin. There came against the land Pul the king of Assyria; and Menahem gave Pul a thousand talents of silver, that his hand might be with him to confirm the kingdom in his hand. And Menahem exacted the money of Israel, even of all the mighty men of wealth, of each man fifty shekels of silver to give to the king of Assyria. So the king of Assyria turned back, and stayed not there in the land. Now the rest of the acts of Menahem, and all that he did, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel? And Menahem slept with his fathers; and Pekahiah his son reigned in his stead."

It is clear enough from this record that Menahem was only nominally the king of Israel during a large part of his so-called ten-year reign. He was tributary to Pul the king of Assyria upon whom he depended to keep him in power.

"Pul and Tiglath-pileser are one and the same ruler, Tiglath-pileser being the title that Pul took when he became king of Babylon."Ibid. This is the first appearance of Assyria as an aggressive opponent of God's people; but it was indeed a sinister note in the record. The four following chapters will unfold the full meaning of what is first mentioned here. There will be a series of aggressions against God's people, culminating in the removal of the Northern Israel from history, the destruction of its capital and the deportation of its population. Also there will appear before the gates of Jerusalem the threatening army of Sennacherib and the dramatic supernatural delivery of Judah.

The two things of importance in Menahem's reign are (1) his brutal atrocity against the pregnant women of Tiphsah, and (2) his becoming tributary to Tiglath-pileser. In this latter event, there appeared before the gates of Israel the great Assyrian power that would soon destroy the Northern Israel forever.

Regarding that brutal slaughter of the women, Montgomery wrote that, "Such savage cruelty was typical of those days of the Assyrian terror. It was expected of Hazael (2 Kings 8:12), perpetrated against Israel by Ammon (Amos 1:13), and was to be part of Israel's final tragedy (Hosea 14:1)."International Critical Commentary, Kings, p. 450.

"Of each man fifty shekels of silver" "A talent of silver contained three thousand shekels; and a levy of fifty shekels each exacted from the wealthy indicates that 60,000 persons were required to meet the payment to Pul."Albert Barnes, op. cit., p. 270. LaSor estimated the actual value of such a tax as merely $25 each.The New Bible Commentary, Revised, p. 359. This gives us an important insight into the size of the wealthy class who controlled most of the resources of Israel and who were so severely denounced by the great O.T. prophets: Isaiah, Hosea and Amos.

Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible

This is the first distinct mention which we find in Scripture of Assyria as an aggressive power. From the native monuments we learn that she had been for above a century pushing her conquests beyond the Euphrates, and seeking to reduce under her dominion the entire tract between that river and Egypt. Jehu had paid tribute. Some - arguing from the use of the phrase “confirmed the kingdom” (here, and in 2 Kings 14:5) - think that Jehoahaz had acknowledged Assyrian suzerainty, and consented that her monarchs should receive their investiture from the hands of the Ninevite king. But hitherto there had been no hostile invasion of Jewish or Israelite soil by an Assyrian army. Now, however, the Assyrians are at last formally introduced into the history. A series of aggressions is related in this and the four following chapters, culminating, on the one hand, in the destruction of the northern kingdom, on the other, in the complete failure of Sennacherib’s attempt upon Judaea and Egypt.

With respect to the present expedition, there are certain difficulties. The name of Pul does not appear among the Assyrian monumental kings, and it is absent from the copies of the Assyrian Canon, containing the entire list of monarchs from about 910 B.C. to 670 B.C. Assyria Proper, moreover, appears to have been in a state of depression for some 40 years before the accession of Tiglath-Pileser 2 Kings 15:29. It is probable that, during the depression of the Ninevite line, Pul, a Chaldaean and not an Assyrian king, established a second monarchy upon the Euphrates, which claimed to be the true Assyria, and was recognized as such by the nations of Syria and Palestine. His invasion was probably provoked by Menahem’s conquest of Thapsacus, which he would view as a wanton aggression upon his territory.

A thousand talents of silver - Compared with the tribute of Hezekiah soon afterward 2 Kings 18:14, this seems a large sum; but it is not beyond the resources of such a State as Samaria at the period. The tie which had bound Samaria to Assyria from the reign of Jehu to that of Jeroboam II, had ceased to exist during the period of Assyrian depression. Menahem now renewed it, undertaking the duties of a tributary, and expecting the support which Assyria was accustomed to lend to her dependencies in their struggles with their neighbors. Hence, the reproaches of Hosea (marginal reference “n”).

Smith's Bible Commentary

Chapter 15

He was sixteen years old when he began to reign, he reigned for fifty-two years ( 2 Kings 15:2 ).

One of the longest reigns.

He did that which was right in the sight of the LORD, according to all that his father Amaziah had done; except that he left the high places where the people were sacrificing. And the LORD smote the king with leprosy ( 2 Kings 15:3-5 ).

We will get the full story of this when we get to Chronicles.

until the day of his death. [And so his son was sort of a go-between.] Jotham his son was over the house, judging the people [but Uzziah was the king though leprous] ( 2 Kings 15:5 ).

Very popular king. A very good king. In fact, during his reign as we get into the Chronicles, it will tell us that the name Uzziah was on the lips of all the people. They were all, he was a powerful, strong leader, good king and the people really came to trust in him and all because he had brought the kingdom into a place of prosperity.

Now the rest of the acts of Azariah ( 2 Kings 15:6 ),

We're going to get when we get to Second Chronicles.

So Azariah slept with his fathers; they buried him in the city of David: and Jotham his son began to reign in his stead. And in the thirty-eighth year of Azariah the king of Judah Zachariah who was the son of Jeroboam began to reign over Israel and he reigned for six months ( 2 Kings 15:7-8 ).

Very short reign.

He did evil in the sight of the LORD. And Shallum conspired against him, and killed him and reigned in his stead ( 2 Kings 15:9-10 ).

Now, he was the fourth generation from Jehu, so the Lord promised four generations to Jehu. And with the death of Jeroboam that ends the line or the dynasty of Jehu. And thus, the word of the Lord was fulfilled when He promised Jehu four generations.

"Shallum conspired and killed him in order that he might have the throne and he reigned for a full month in Samaria." Ain't that the way it goes? You know, you spend your whole life to fulfill an ambition. I'm finally there. Alright, I've got it made. And then you get wiped out. So many people, you know, they finally, oh, I finally retired. And in a month they're gone. I was talking with old railroad man down in Moundsville, Virginia, West Virginia. And he worked for the B & L Railroad. He said, "I've been working for them for fifty-seven years." I said, "When are you going to retire?" And he got angry at me. I said, "Why? I didn't mean to offend you, what's wrong?" He said, "When you retire from the railroad, you die." And he told me all of his friends that have retired and died within the year. So he said, "You ought to just keep going." So he was still going on the railroad. And but here is one of those things of life, you know, it's interesting how so often when a person just gets to the place of the achieving of all of his dreams and goals, that it's sort of...

Remember in the New Testament Jesus told about this guy, successful farmer and all. And he said, "Well, what am I going to do? My barns are full. I know what I'm going to do. I'll tear down my barns and build bigger and all." And the Lord said, "Thou fool, tonight your soul's going to be required of you" ( Luke 12:16-20 ). Life hangs on such a tenuous string. We need to be not laying up store for this life, but laying up store for the life to come, which will never end. We put much too much into this life. An emphasis into this life and much too little emphasis and input into the other life, the eternal life that we have.

And so he reigned for a month in Samaria and he was assassinated.

And the rest of his acts of conspiracy are written in the books of the chronicles of the kings of Israel ( 2 Kings 15:15 ).

And Menahem smote... he became the king and he smote the cities of Tiphsah, and all of the area around it, Tirzah, and he smote it and he ripped up all the pregnant women.

In the thirty-ninth year of Azariah the king of Judah began Menahem the son of Gadi to reign over Israel, he reigned for ten years. He did that which was evil in the sight of the LORD. And during his reign, Pul the king of Assyria came against the land: and he bought him off with a thousand talents of silver, which he exacted from all of the wealthy people in the land ( 2 Kings 15:17-20 ).

And his death is recorded in verse twenty-one.

And his acts the rest of them are in the chronicles of the kings of Israel. And in the fiftieth year of Azariah the king of Judah, Pekahiah the son of Menahem began to reign over Israel, and he reigned for only two years. And did evil in the sight of the LORD. And Pekah who was the son of the captain, conspired against him, and killed him in Samaria ( 2 Kings 15:21 , 2 Kings 15:23-25 ).

So Pekahiah was killed by Pekah. And that's why getting into these kings can sometimes get confusing because of the various names, and sometimes they have two names.

Pekah reigned over Israel beginning in the fifty-second year of the last year of king Uzziah, and he reigned for twenty years. He did evil in the sight of the LORD. [And during his reign,] Tiglathpileser the king of Assyria, took Ijon, and Abelbethmaachah, and Janoah, and Kedesh, and Hazor, and Gilead, and all of the Galilee and the area of the tribe of Naphtali ( 2 Kings 15:27-29 ).

So all of the area around the sea of Galilee and upper Galilee, and he carried captives to Syria. So the southern, or the northern kingdom is falling now more and more to Assyria.

Hoshea the son of Elah made a conspiracy against Pekah, smote him, and killed him, and he reigned in his stead, and in the twentieth year of Jotham who was the son of Uzziah, he began to reign ( 2 Kings 15:30 ).

And now we go back to Judah, the son of Uzziah, Jotham.

In the second year of Pekah the son of Remaliah the king of Israel Jotham began to reign in Judah. He [reigned he] was twenty-five years old when he began to reign, he reigned for sixteen years. His mother's name was Jerusha. And he did that which was right in the sight of the LORD: according to all that his father Uzziah had done. Except he did not remove the high places ( 2 Kings 15:32-35 ):

And his acts are told in Second Chronicles, and we'll learn more about him later. "

Dr. Constable's Expository Notes

11. Menahem’s evil reign in Israel 15:17-22

Menahem began Israel’s seventh royal family. His reign lasted 10 years (752-742 B.C.).

Assyrian inscriptions have identified Pul as Tiglath-Pileser III (745-727 B.C.; cf. 2 Kings 15:29; 2 Kings 16:7; 2 Kings 16:10; 1 Chronicles 5:26). Pul was the throne name that Tiglath-Pileser III took as Babylon’s sovereign after he conquered that nation about 729 B.C. [Note: W. W. Hallo and W. K. Simpson, The Ancient Near East: A History, p. 137.] This is the first explicit mention of Assyria in Kings. Tiglath-Pileser was a very strong Assyrian ruler. He invaded Israel in 743 B.C. and consequently Israel experienced Assyria’s controlling influence.

Because of Israel’s apostasy God delivered her over to the clutches of a foreign power that would one day swallow her up (cf. Deuteronomy 28:32-33).

Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible

And Pul the king of Assyria came against the land,.... The land of Israel, he invaded it; a Jewish chronologer u calls him Pulbelicho; and he is generally thought to be the same with Belochus or Belesis, governor of Babylon, who, with Arbaces the Mede, slew Sardanapalus, said to be the last of the Assyrian kings, and translated the empire to the Chaldeans; he ruling over Babylon and Nineveh, and Arbaces over the Medes and Persians; but Pul was not a Babylonian, but an Assyrian w, and the first king of the Assyrians, at least, the Scriptures speak of: we read no more of him; but one Metasthenes, a Persian historian, feigned and published by Annius, and so named by him instead of Megasthenes, calls him Phulbelochus, and says x he reigned forty eight years:

and Menahem gave Pul a thousand talents of silver; and a talent of silver, according to Brerewood y was three hundred and seventy five pounds; but Bishop Cumberland z calculates it at three hundred and fifty three pounds eleven shillings and ten pence half penny; 1,000 of them made a large sum of money, according to the former 375,000 pounds; and this he gave to him, not only to desist from the invasion of his land, but

that his hand might be with him; and not against him:

and to confirm the kingdom in his hand; which being got by usurpation, and supported by cruelty, was but tottering.

u David Ganz. Tzemach David, par. 2. fol. 5. 2. w See the Universal History, vol. 4. B. 1. ch. 8. sect. 5. x De Judicio Temp. & Annal. Pers. fol. 221. 2. y De Ponder & Pret. Vet. Num. c. 4. z Scripture Weights and Measures, c. 4. p. 120.

Henry's Complete Commentary on the Bible

      8 In the thirty and eighth year of Azariah king of Judah did Zachariah the son of Jeroboam reign over Israel in Samaria six months.   9 And he did that which was evil in the sight of the LORD, as his fathers had done: he departed not from the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who made Israel to sin.   10 And Shallum the son of Jabesh conspired against him, and smote him before the people, and slew him, and reigned in his stead.   11 And the rest of the acts of Zachariah, behold, they are written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel.   12 This was the word of the LORD which he spake unto Jehu, saying, Thy sons shall sit on the throne of Israel unto the fourth generation. And so it came to pass.   13 Shallum the son of Jabesh began to reign in the nine and thirtieth year of Uzziah king of Judah; and he reigned a full month in Samaria.   14 For Menahem the son of Gadi went up from Tirzah, and came to Samaria, and smote Shallum the son of Jabesh in Samaria, and slew him, and reigned in his stead.   15 And the rest of the acts of Shallum, and his conspiracy which he made, behold, they are written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel.   16 Then Menahem smote Tiphsah, and all that were therein, and the coasts thereof from Tirzah: because they opened not to him, therefore he smote it; and all the women therein that were with child he ripped up.   17 In the nine and thirtieth year of Azariah king of Judah began Menahem the son of Gadi to reign over Israel, and reigned ten years in Samaria.   18 And he did that which was evil in the sight of the LORD: he departed not all his days from the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who made Israel to sin.   19 And Pul the king of Assyria came against the land: and Menahem gave Pul a thousand talents of silver, that his hand might be with him to confirm the kingdom in his hand.   20 And Menahem exacted the money of Israel, even of all the mighty men of wealth, of each man fifty shekels of silver, to give to the king of Assyria. So the king of Assyria turned back, and stayed not there in the land.   21 And the rest of the acts of Menahem, and all that he did, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel?   22 And Menahem slept with his fathers; and Pekahiah his son reigned in his stead.   23 In the fiftieth year of Azariah king of Judah Pekahiah the son of Menahem began to reign over Israel in Samaria, and reigned two years.   24 And he did that which was evil in the sight of the LORD: he departed not from the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who made Israel to sin.   25 But Pekah the son of Remaliah, a captain of his, conspired against him, and smote him in Samaria, in the palace of the king's house, with Argob and Arieh, and with him fifty men of the Gileadites: and he killed him, and reigned in his room.   26 And the rest of the acts of Pekahiah, and all that he did, behold, they are written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel.   27 In the two and fiftieth year of Azariah king of Judah Pekah the son of Remaliah began to reign over Israel in Samaria, and reigned twenty years.   28 And he did that which was evil in the sight of the LORD: he departed not from the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who made Israel to sin.   29 In the days of Pekah king of Israel came Tiglath-pileser king of Assyria, and took Ijon, and Abel-beth-maachah, and Janoah, and Kedesh, and Hazor, and Gilead, and Galilee, all the land of Naphtali, and carried them captive to Assyria.   30 And Hoshea the son of Elah made a conspiracy against Pekah the son of Remaliah, and smote him, and slew him, and reigned in his stead, in the twentieth year of Jotham the son of Uzziah.   31 And the rest of the acts of Pekah, and all that he did, behold, they are written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel.

      The best days of the kingdom of Israel were while the government was in Jehu's family. In his reign, and the next three reigns, though there were many abominable corruptions and miserable grievances in Israel, yet the crown went in succession, the kings died in their beds, and some care was taken of public affairs; but, now that those days are at an end, the history which we have in these verses of about thirty-three years represents the affairs of that kingdom in the utmost confusion imaginable. Woe to those that were with child (2 Kings 15:16; 2 Kings 15:16) and to those that gave suck in those days, for then must needs be great tribulations, when, for the transgression of the land, many were the princes thereof.

      I. Let us observe something, in general, concerning these unhappy revolutions and the calamities which must needs attend them--these bad times, as they may truly be called. 1. God had tried the people of Israel both with judgments and mercies, explained and enforced by his servants the prophets, and yet they continued impenitent and unreformed, and therefore God justly brought these miseries upon them, as Moses had warned them. If you will yet walk contrary to me, I will punish you yet seven times more,Leviticus 26:21-26, c. 2. God made good his promise to Jehu, that his sons to the fourth generation after him should sit upon the throne of Israel, which was a greater favour than was shown to any of the royal families either before or after his. God had said it should be so (2 Kings 10:30; 2 Kings 10:30) and we are told in this chapter (2 Kings 15:12; 2 Kings 15:12) that so it came to pass. See how punctual God is to his promises. These calamities God long designed for Israel, and they deserved them, yet they were not inflicted till that word had taken effect to the full. Thus God rewarded Jehu for his zeal in destroying the worship of Baal and the house of Ahab; and yet, when the measure of the sins of the house of Jehu was full, God avenged upon it the blood then shed, called the blood of Jezreel,Hosea 1:4. 3. All these kings did that which was evil in the sight of the Lord, for they walked in the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat. Though at variance with one another, yet in this they agreed, to keep up idolatry, and the people loved to have it so; though they were emptied from vessel to vessel, that taste remained in them, and that scent was not changed. It was sad indeed when their government was so often altered, yet never for the better--that among all those contending interests none of them should think it as much their interest to destroy the calves as others had done to support them. 4. Each of these (except one) conspired against his predecessor, and slew him--Shallum, Menahem, Pekah, and Hoshea, all traitors and murderers, and yet all kings awhile, one of them ten, another twenty, and another nine years; for God may suffer wickedness to prosper and to carry away the wealth and honours awhile, but, sooner or later, blood shall have blood, and he that dealt treacherously shalt be dealt treacherously with. One wicked man is often made a scourge to another, and every wicked man, at length, a ruin to himself. 5. The ambition of the great men made the nation miserable. Here is Tiphsah, a city of Israel, barbarously destroyed, with all the coasts thereof, by one of these pretenders (2 Kings 15:16; 2 Kings 15:16), and no doubt it was through blood that each of them waded to the throne, nor could any of these kings perish alone. No land can have greater pests, nor Israel worse troubles, than such men as care not how much the welfare and repose of their country are sacrificed to their revenge and affectation of dominion. 6. While the nation was thus shattered by divisions at home the kings of Assyria, first one (2 Kings 15:19; 2 Kings 15:19) and then another (2 Kings 15:29; 2 Kings 15:29), came against it and did what they pleased. Nothing does more towards the making of a nation an easy prey to a common enemy than intestine broils and contests for the sovereignty. Happy the land where that is settled. 7. This was the condition of Israel just before they were quite ruined and carried away captive, for that was in the ninth year of Hoshea, the last of these usurpers. If they had, in these days of confusion and perplexity, humbled themselves before God and sought his face, that final destruction might have been prevented; but when God judgeth he will overcome. These factions, the fruit of an evil spirit sent among them, hastened that captivity, for a kingdom thus divided against itself will soon come to desolation.

      II. Let us take a short view of the particular reigns.

      1. Zachariah, the son of Jeroboam, began to reign in the thirty-eighth year of Azariah, or Uzziah, king of Judah, 2 Kings 15:8; 2 Kings 15:8. Some of the most critical chronologers reckon that between Jeroboam and his son Zachariah the throne was vacant twenty-two years, others eleven years, through the disturbances and dissensions that were in the kingdom; and then it was not strange that Zachariah was deposed before he was well seated on the throne: he reigned but six months, and then Shallum slew him before the people, perhaps as Caesar was slain in the senate, or he put him to death publicly as a criminal, with the approbation of the people, to whom he had, some way or other, made himself odious; so ended the line of Jehu.

      2. But had Shallum peace, who slew his master? No, he had not (2 Kings 15:13; 2 Kings 15:13), one month of days measured his reign and then he was cut off; perhaps to this the prophet, who then lived, refers (Hosea 5:7), Now shall a month devour them with their portions. That dominion seldom lasts long which is founded in blood and falsehood. Menahem, either provoked by his crime or animated by his example, soon served him as he had served his master--slew him and reigned in his stead,2 Kings 15:14; 2 Kings 15:14. Probably he was general in the army, which then lay encamped at Tirzah, and, hearing of Shallum's treason and usurpation, hastened to punish it, as Omri did that of Zimri in a like case, 1 Kings 16:17.

      3. Menahem held the kingdom ten years, 2 Kings 15:17; 2 Kings 15:17. But, whereas we have heard that the kings of the house of Israel were merciful kings (1 Kings 20:31), this Menahem (the scandal of his country) was so prodigiously cruel to those of his own nation who hesitated a little at submitting to him that he not only ruined a city, and the coasts thereof, but, forgetting that he himself was born of a woman, ripped up all the women with child,2 Kings 15:16; 2 Kings 15:16. We may well wonder that ever it should enter into the heart of any man to be so barbarous, and to be so perfectly lost to humanity itself. By these cruel methods he hoped to strengthen himself and to frighten all others into his interests; but it seems he did not gain his point, for when the king of Assyria came against him, (1.) So little confidence had he in his people that he durst not meet him as an enemy, but was obliged, at a vast expense, to purchase a peace with him. (2.) Such need had he of help to confirm the kingdom in his hand that he made it part of his bargain with him (a bargain which, no doubt, the king of Assyria knew how to make a good hand of another time) that he should assist him against his own subjects that were disaffected to him. The money wherewith he purchased his friendship was a vast sum, no less than 1000 talents of silver (2 Kings 15:19; 2 Kings 15:19), which Menahem exacted, it is probable, by military execution, of all the mighty men of wealth, very considerately sparing the poor, and laying the burden (as was fit) on those that were best able to bear it; being raised, it was given to the king of Assyria, as pay for his army, fifty shekels of silver for each man in it. Thus he got clear of the king of Assyria for this time; he staid not to quarter in the land (2 Kings 15:20; 2 Kings 15:20), but his army now got so rich a booty with so little trouble that it encouraged them to come again, not long after, when they laid all waste. Thus was he the betrayer of his country that should have been the protector of it.

      4. Pekahiah, the son of Menahem, succeeded his father, but reigned only two years, and then was treacherously slain by Pekah, falling under the load both of his own and of his father's wickedness. It is repeated concerning him as before that he departed not from the sins of Jeroboam. Still this is mentioned, to show that God was righteous in bringing that destruction upon them which came not long after, because they hated to be reformed, 2 Kings 15:24; 2 Kings 15:24. Pekah, it seems, had some persons of figure in his interest, two of whom are here named (2 Kings 15:25; 2 Kings 15:25), and with their help he compassed his design.

      5. Pekah, though he got the kingdom by treason, kept it twenty years (2 Kings 15:27; 2 Kings 15:27), so long it was before his violent dealing returned upon his own head, but it returned at last. This Pekah, son of Remaliah, (1.) Made himself more considerable abroad than any of these usurpers, for he was, even in the latter end of his time (in the reign of Ahaz, which began in his seventeenth year), a great terror to the kingdom of Judah, as we find, Isaiah 7:1-25, c. (2.) He lost a great part of his kingdom to the king of Assyria. Several cities are here named (2 Kings 15:29; 2 Kings 15:29) which were taken from him, all the land of Gilead on the other side Jordan, and Galilee in the north containing the tribes of Naphtali and Zebulon, were seized, and the inhabitants carried captive into Assyria. By this judgment God punished him for his attempt upon Judah and Jerusalem. It was then foretold that within two or three years after he made that attempt, before a child, then born, should be able to cry My father and my mother, the riches of Samaria should be taken away before the king of Assyria (Isaiah 8:4), and here we have the accomplishment of that prediction. (3.) Soon after this he forfeited his life to the resentments of his countrymen, who, it is probable, were disgusted at him for leaving them exposed to a foreign enemy, while he was invading Judah, of which Hoshea took advantage and, to gain his crown, seized his life, slew him, and reigned in his stead. Surely he was fond of a crown indeed who, at this time, would run such a hazard as a traitor did; for the crown of Israel, now that it had lost the choicest of its flowers and jewels, was lined more than ever with thorns, had of late been fatal to all the heads that had worn it, was forfeited to divine justice, and now ready to be laid in the dust--a crown which a wise man would not have taken up in the street, yet Hoshea not only ventured upon it but ventured for it, and it cost him dear.

Kelly Commentary on Books of the Bible

But not merely this. "Elisha died and they buried him" (2 Kings 13:20). Was not Elisha gone then? Not so. There was to be even a more glorious witness in his death than in his life. In his life, no doubt, he had witnessed; but with what great toil and anxiety and pains! stretching himself over the dead youth, he had breathed, and put his face upon the child's face; and so it was, laboriously and with effort in appearance, that God raised him up. For God would show the magnitude of the deed that he was doing then, and although it was in no wise because of all the labour of the prophet, since God could have done it in an instant as truly at the beginning as at the end, yet still it was the way of God. But not so now. Even in death what a witness of the power of life, in Elisha, for, as we are told, "It came to pass as they were burying a man that, behold, they spied a band of men; and they cast the man into the sepulchre of Elisha: and when the man was let down, and touched the bones of Elisha, he revived, and stood upon his feet." And so will Israel another day not more truly that dead man then, than Israel by-and-by, when all seems forgotten and Israel as good as dead, and buried in response to the prophets, in answer to that voice which will never be truly extinguished, though it may be forgotten or despised, for the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it, and the hand of the Lord had written it. And according to the prophets Israel will rise again.

They may be, as now they are politically, in the dust of the earth, but they will rise again. This is the portion of Israel. There are those who suppose that nations shall not rise. Alas! it is a common error. And there is no error more common in this day than the denying the resurrection of the body, but we know that the resurrection of the body is the most essential truth of God and the most sacred truth and the peculiar one of the gospel. For if the dead rise not, then is Christ not risen, and God's testimony is denied, for God's testimony is that He raised Christ from the dead which He has not done if the dead rise not. But contrariwise He raised Him up, and so the dead will be raised; and as the dead man here undoubtedly rises, so truly Israel will rise again, and, in truth, it will be "life from the dead" for all the nations. Such is the clear voice of prophecy, and it will be accomplished.

But we find that Hazael still pursues his oppression. Such is the literal history; such is the fact, for the present; such it was then.

And then in the next chapter (2 Kings 14:1-29), whatever might be the measure of right, evil takes its way even in Judah. "And it came to pass, as soon as the kingdom was confirmed in his hands, that he slew his servants which had slain the king his father. But the children of the murderers he slew not; according unto that which is written in the book of the law of Moses, wherein Jehovah commanded, saying, The fathers shall not be put to death for the children, nor the children be put to death for the fathers; but every man shall be put to death for his own sin. He slew of Edom, in the valley of salt, ten thousand, and took Selah by war, and called the name of it Joktheel unto this day." Amaziah thus shows a measure of righteousness, but his heart becomes, at last, lifted up within him, and he challenges the king of Israel; and the solemn fact appears that God will never sanction the presumption of a righteous man, that God will rather take the part of the bad man who is challenged presumptuously than of the righteous man that challenges him presumptuously. It is a solemn thing when the folly of God's people thus makes it necessary for God so to deal. It was so then, but the truth is, God will always be where righteousness is, and there is not a single failure in righteousness though it be in God's own people, where God does not set His face against it.

Does this then prove that the one is not a righteous man? Not so. But even where the unrighteous man may be righteous, and where the righteous man may be unrighteous, God will appear to change sides. The truth is, that God holds to righteousness wherever it exists. This is what we find, and to my own mind it is a most wholesome principle, and one that counts for a great deal in practical life, because often one sees the sad spectacle in one truly to be loved and valued, but a mistake is made never without its consequences. An error that is made always bears its fruit. Am I therefore to forget my love and esteem for him who has done it? Nay, I am to judge according to God the particular thing; but to let the heart and its affections flow in their proper channel. God would not have us to abandon, any more than He does Himself, the one who trusts Him, for swerving for a moment. God would not have us to sanction an unrighteous man because in a particular instance he may be right; nor, on the other hand, are we to sanction an unrighteous act because done by a righteous man. Well, all this shows us the nice and jealous care in details in details for righteousness. And this is to my mind the great moral of the dealings of God regarding Amaziah and Joash, and the reason why the comparatively righteous Amaziah was allowed to fall before the certainly unrighteous Joash.

Then we find another remarkable dealing of God in the case of Azariah in the fifteenth chapter. We are told there that he was found smitten of the Lord. "And Jehovah smote the king, so that he was a leper unto the day of his death, and dwelt in a separate house." The details of this are not given. He is called here Azariah. You must remember it is the same person who is called Uzziah in the book of Chronicles. But further, at this time evil was coming in more and more with a flood, and we have the sad and humbling history of Samaria. What brought in this terrible day was Ahaz so it is that the Spirit of God speaks of him for Ahaz was the worst king that had ever reigned in Judah up to this point. He it was that first brought in the Assyrian as a helper. At this time the Assyrian had come in in another way. We are told of Azariah king of Judah that "In the nine and thirtieth year of Azariah king of Judah began Menahem the son of Gadi to reign over Israel, and reigned ten years in Samaria. And he did that which was evil in the sight of Jehovah: he departed not all his days from the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who made Israel to sin. And Pul the king of Assyria came against the land."

The solemn thing that appears in Ahaz that I have referred to was that the conspiracy of Israel with Syria led Judah to call in Assyria against Israel. That is the point. It is not merely the only course of enmity that the Assyrian would have against the land. This is the point of the fifteenth chapter; but in the sixteenth it is a still more solemn thing; it is the union of Judah with the Gentile against Israel. And, accordingly, God marks His deep displeasure of this terrible reign. Indeed in every point of view it was unboundedly evil. What did God do? What marked the way of God in that day? It was the time when God brought out prophecy with a greater brightness and distinctness than He had ever been pleased to give. This is of the greatest moment for our souls to consider.

Prophecy always comes in a time of ruin. When was the first prophecy? When man fell. When was the first continuous prophecy prophecy not merely of a person that was coming, but of the character of him that was coming, and what was to be done that which most of all looks like a prophecy? It was Enoch's, when the world was full of corruption and violence, and the flood was about to be sent upon it. Thus if we look either at the prophecy of the Son, of man the woman's Seed, or look at the first form of prophecy, Enoch's, we see how clearly the time of ruin is the time when God gives prophecy. In the same way it is, when we come lower down the stream of time. The most magnificent burst of prophecy that God ever gave was through Isaiah, and Isaiah began his course under these very kings in the days of Azariah and Ahaz. It was continued, indeed, till the days of Hezekiah, but it was in these very times. And there was not Isaiah alone. We know there were other prophets, commonly called The Minor; but I refer to it now for the great moral principle. A time of evil is not necessarily a time of evil for the people of God. It is evil for those' that are false; it is evil for those that would take advantage. But a time of evil is a time when God particularly works for the blessing of those that may have failed. Therefore let no one find an excuse because things are in a condition of ruin.

Take the present time. No man can look upon the face of Christendom without feeling that it is out of joint that it is altogether anomalous that the state of things is inexplicable except to the man who reads it in the light of the word of God that it is confusion, and that the worst confusion is where the highest profession of order is found, and that the truest order is found where people would tax them with disorder; for I believe in point of fact, it really is so. You must remember that in an evil day the external order is always with the enemies of God; the true internal order is always found with those that have faith. Hence it is that now that which has the highest pretension to order is, as we know, the Eastern church the Latin church; but of all the things under the sun in the form of religion, that which is most opposed to God is, surely, the Latin church. And therefore we see clearly how those who make the highest claim to order are precisely those that are most opposed to God's way, and the reason is plain because the great assumption, invariably, of those that stand to outward order is succession a plain continued title from God!

But this is a thing which prophecy so rudely breaks this dream of outward order which is a mere veil thrown over confusion, and every evil work. Hence the immense importance of prophecy in a time of ruin, and so it has been that since the ruin came into Christendom, prophecy has always been the grand support of those who have had faith; as, on the other hand, the Latin church has always been the deadly enemy of prophecy always endeavoured to extinguish the study of it and to destroy all faith in it, and to make people believe that it is impossible to have real light from it that it is an illusion, as indeed they would make you believe the word of God generally is.

Now, then, in this very place I call your attention, beloved friends, to this grand point. When this evil became insupportable, God granted this precious light of His own word the light of prophecy, and I would press this strongly upon all here who love the word of the Lord. Use the same thing, not by any means to make it a kind of study a kind of exclusive occupation, for nothing can be more drying up to spiritual affections than making, what I may call, a hobby of prophecy or of anything else; but I do say that where Christ has the first place, where all the precious hopes of grace, where all our associations with the Lord have their true place and power, a most important part is filled up by the understanding of that light which God gives to judge the present by the future. This was the object of the prophecies of Isaiah, for it is a very important thing to remember that the object of prophecy is, and must be, moral that it is not merely facts; and there is no greater mistake than to suppose that the prediction of events is what makes a prophet. Not so. I admit that prophets did predict events, but prophecy does not mean predicting. Prophecy is always bringing in God to deal with the conscience. If that is not done the grand object of prophecy has failed. And here you have a test, therefore, as to whether you understand and rightly use prophecy. Does it bring your conscience into the presence of God? Does it deal with what you are about? Does it judge the secrets of the heart? Does it shine upon your ways? Where this fails, God's object is not attained. I just draw attention, therefore, by the way, to this beautiful contrast to man's ways on the one hand this flood of evil that was now rising to its height. Nevertheless God, astonishing to say, instead of meeting it by immediate judgment answers it by prophecy. The glorious light that He caused to shine through the prophet Isaiah was His answer. No doubt that made the wickedness of what was going on in the land more apparent, but it had another purpose; it bound up the hopes of every believing soul in Israel with the Messiah that was coming. That was God's great object. It dissociated them from present things, giving them a sound judgment, and means to form an estimate of it, but it bound up their hearts with the Lord.

Therefore I need not say much about the enormous wickedness of Ahaz, which is brought before us in the sixteenth chapter, nor will I do more than just refer to the seventeenth chapter. There the Assyrian comes, but he comes now as an avenger; he comes as a scourge. He sweeps the land, and the ten tribes are carried away never to return till Jesus returns. The ten tribes from that day disappeared from the land of Israel. What took their place what formed the kingdom of Samaria was a mere mass of heathen that took up the forms of Israel that had been left behind, for God in a remarkable way visited the land. When the Assyrians were planted in the devastated cities of Israel they set up their old Assyrian religion, and the Lord sent lions among them. They understood it. Man has a conscience. They understood it; they knew that it was a voice from the God of Israel. It was the God of Israel that claimed that land. No doubt they thought to propitiate Him by renewing the old worship of Israel, and in their folly they sent for a priest of Israel from the captivity, and the old religion, accordingly, was brought in a most strange medley of the nominal worship of Jehovah and real idolatry. But so it was. Thus began not the Samaritan kingdom but the Samaritan religion the mixture of Judaism and idolatry carried on by heathen.

On this I do not now say more than just refer to it. It was a sad succession for a sad people. The ten tribes now dispersed in Assyria awaiting the day when the Saviour will awake them from the dust of the earth when the Saviour will call them back to the land of their inheritance. But we must look at other scriptures before we reach that blessed point.