12/02/2020 – Day 199 – 2 Kings 11-15 -20 kings each for Judah and Israel from the divided kingdom after Solomon
The divided kingdom began in 931 after Solomon’s death with Rehoboam becoming king over Judah and Jeroboam 1 becoming king over Israel. We end our reading today around 730 with Ahaz becoming king over Judah, a lttile over halfway in history to the last king of Judah in 587 with Zedekiah. But Israel has just a little over 20 years left at this point before they are conquered by Assyria.
13:20 – 21 brings a very unusual revival from death story: “Then Elisah died, and they buried him. And the raiding bands from Moab invaded the land in the spring of the year. So it was, they were burying a man, that suddenly they spied a band of raiders; and they put the man in the tomb of Elisha; and when the man was let down and touched the bones of Elisha, he revived and stood on his feet.” Sometimes, God just shows up out of the blue to show off….
Also, relatively trivial but just wondering: in 15:26 it says: “Now the rest of th acts of Pekahiah, and that he did, indeed they are written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel. ” It is noted up front that Pekahiah “did evil in the sight of the Lord and on top of that”, his reign only last two years. But yet, unlike others of that ilk, his acts are written in the book. Hmmm?