The Last Kings of Israel

The final years of the northern kingdom.

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We have come to the final few kings of the northern kingdom of Israel.

The wickedness of Israel has brought them to this point, and they will soon face God’s judgment upon their sins.

King Shallum.

Shallum came to the throne by assassinating Zechariah, the final son of Jehu to reign as Israel’s king (2 Kings 15:10). His reign lasted only one month in Samaria (2 Kings 15:13).

He only reigned for a month because Menahem arrived in Samaria and killed Shallum, taking his place on Israel’s throne (2 Kings 15:14).

Shallum was remembered in Israel’s history books for the conspiracy he led to kill Zechariah (2 Kings 15:15).

King Menehem.

Menehem came to the throne like the previous guy - by killing the king and taking the throne for himself. Some were not willing to submit to him as king, so he attacked Tiphsah and ripped open all the pregnant women there (2 Kings 15:16).

Menehem’s reign lasted 10 years (2 Kings 15:17), and he did evil in God’s sight, walking in all the sins of Jeroboam (2 Kings 15:18).

During his reign, Pul, the king of Assyria, came against Israel. Menehem paid him tribute of 1,000 talents of silver so he could remain on the throne of Israel (2 Kings 15:19). All this silver was raised from the very wealthy people of Israel, each contributing 50 shekels of silver. After receiving his payment, the Assyrian king left Israel alone (2 Kings 15:20).

After Menehem died, his son Pekahiah reigned in his place (2 Kings 15:22).

King Pekahiah.

Pekahiah comes to the throne of Israel and reigns for only two years (2 Kings 15:23). He also did evil in the Lord’s sight (2 Kings 15:24).

One of his officers, Pekah, conspired against him and killed him in the fortress of the king’s house. Pekah had help from others and took the throne for himself (2 Kings 15:25).

King Pekah.

Pekah lasted for 20 years on the throne of Israel (2 Kings 15:27). He also did evil and walked in Jeroboam’s sins (2 Kings 15:28). Pekah was also involved in raids against the southern kingdom of Judah (2 Kings 15:37).

It seems Pekah was not so interested in being a loyal vassal of Assyria, because during his reign, Tiglath-Pileser, king of Assyria, came and conquered multiple cities and regions in Israel’s northern territory. He also carried away captives to Assyria (2 Kings 15:29).

Such a failure on the part of Israel’s king was sure to stir up some trouble, and sure enough, Hoshea leads a conspiracy against Pekah and kills him (2 Kings 15:30).

King Hoshea.

Hoshea reigns for nine years in Samaria (2 Kings 17:1). He also does evil in God’s sight, “but not as the kings of Israel who were before him” (2 Kings 17:2).

He becomes the vassal of the king of Assyria, and pays him tribute money (2 Kings 17:3). But eventually, Hoshea appeals to the king of Egypt for help and stops sending tribute to Assyria. But the Assyrian king found out about Hoshea’s betrayal and had him put in prison (2 Kings 17:4).

This was the final straw for Israel—Assyria stayed in the land of Israel (2 Kings 17:5).

Crowning Principles.

Lifting your hand against the Lord’s anointed invites the Lord’s judgment upon you.

Of these final five kings of Israel, four of them came to the throne by killing the previous king. How far we have fallen from David, who refused to stretch out his hand against the Lord’s anointed one, even though Saul was trying to kill him (1 Samuel 24:1-10). When a man claimed to have killed Saul, David ordered that man executed - all because he claimed to have “killed the Lord’s anointed” (2 Samuel 1:1-16).

Later, when Peter preached on the Day of Pentecost, the Jewish audience was convicted of their sin, and what had they done? They had taken the Christ - the Lord’s anointed - and crucified Him with “lawless hands” (Acts 2:22-24). While they deserved death for their sin (Romans 6:23), God graciously offered them forgiveness through the very same one they had killed (Acts 2:38).

Today, forgiveness is still offered to us through the “Lord’s anointed” - Jesus Christ. But beware, rejecting the cleansing blood of God’s Chosen One and insulting His grace invites His judgment upon us (Hebrews 10:26-31).

There’s always someone with a bigger sword.

These last few kings of Israel “lived and died” by the sword. Eventually, a nation with a “bigger sword” came along and destroyed them, and another nation eventually arose that destroyed them, and so on.

As Jesus is being arrested, Peter pulls out a sword and comes swinging to the Lord’s defense. But Jesus tells Peter, “Put your sword in its place, for all who take the sword will perish by the sword” (Matthew 26:52). While kings and kingdoms of this world seize power at the tip of the sword, the Lord’s kingdom is different (John 18:36-37).

While the kingdoms of this world rise and fall, our Lord’s kingdom will never fall (Daniel 2:44-45).