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

Introduction to 2 Kings