Study Desk

Their father gave them many gifts of silver, gold, and things of much worth. He gave them strong cities in Judah. But he made Jehoram king, because he was the first-born.

But you have walked in the way of the kings of Israel. You have caused Judah and the people of Israel to give themselves over to sin, as those of Ahab's house did. And you have killed your brothers, your own family, who were better than you.

Jehoram was thirty-two years old when he became king. He ruled in Jerusalem for eight years. And no one felt bad when he died. They buried him in the city of David, but not in the graves of the kings.

He did what they told him to do. He went with Jehoram the son of King Ahab of Israel to fight a war against King Hazael of Syria at Ramoth-gilead. But the Syrians hurt Jehoram.

But it was planned by God that Ahaziah would be destroyed by going to Jehoram. For when he came, he went out with Jehoram against Jehu the son of Nimshi. Jehu was the one the Lord had chosen to destroy the family of Ahab.

But Jehoshabeath, the king's daughter, took Ahaziah's son Joash. She stole him from among the king's sons who were being killed. And she put him and his nurse in the bedroom. So Jehoshabeath, the daughter of King Jehoram, the wife of Jehoiada the religious leader, and sister of Ahaziah, hid Joash from Athaliah, so she could not kill him.

But let no one come into the house of the Lord except the religious leaders and the Levite helpers. They may come in, for they are holy. But let all the other people obey the law against going into the holy place of the Lord.

He gathered the religious leaders and Levites, and said to them, "Go out to the cities of Judah. And gather money from all Israel to pay for the work needed to be done on the house of your God from year to year. Be quick about it." But the Levites did not hurry.

But after the death of Jehoiada, the leaders of Judah came and bowed down in front of the king. And the king listened to them.

Yet God sent men who speak for God to bring them back to the Lord. These men of God spoke against them, but they would not listen.

So Joash the king did not remember the kindness his father Jehoiada had shown him, but he killed his son. And when Zechariah was dying, he said, "May the Lord see and punish!"

The army of the Syrians came with a small number of men. But the Lord let them win against a very large army. Because the people of Judah and Jerusalem had turned away from the Lord, the God of their fathers. So the Syrians were used to punish Joash.

When they had left Joash, leaving him very sick, his own servants made plans against him because of the blood of the son of Jehoiada the religious leader. And they killed him on his bed. So he died, and they buried him in the city of David. But they did not bury him in the graves of the kings.

Amaziah did what was right in the eyes of the Lord, but not with a whole heart.

But he did not kill their children. He did what is written in the Law in the book of Moses. The Lord had said in this Law, "Fathers must not be put to death for the children. And children must not be put to death for the fathers. Each must be put to death for his own sin."

But a man of God came to him and said, "O king, do not let the army of Israel go with you. For the Lord is not with Israel. He is not with all these sons of Ephraim.

But if you think that in this way you will be strong in war, God will destroy you in front of those who fight you. For God has power to help and to destroy."

Amaziah said to the man of God, "But what should I do about the silver weighing as much as 100 men, which I have given to the army of Israel?" The man of God answered, "The Lord has much more to give you than this."

But the soldiers from Israel whom Amaziah had sent back from going with him to battle came and fought against the cities of Judah. They fought cities from Samaria to Beth-horon, and killed 3,000 people living in them. And they took many things which had belonged to the people in these cities.

But as he was speaking the king said to him, "Have we chosen you to give words of wisdom to the king? Stop! Or I will have you put to death." So the man who spoke for God stopped, but said, "I know that God has planned to destroy you because you have done this. And you have not listened to what I have said."