AZARIAH AND JOTHAM IN JUDAH, AND THE LAST SIX KINGS IN ISRAEL
CRITICAL AND EXPLANATORY NOTES.—
2 Kings 15:1.—Azariah, son of Amaziah, king of Judah—This king is the Uzziah of 2 Chronicles 26. See there the more extended explanation of his leprosy. His act was the assumption of sacerdotal functions, which the Lord had restricted to the Levitical priesthood. He arrogated the office of Sovereign Pontiff, and God rebuked his arrogance and impiety. His heart was lifted up to his destruction (2 Chronicles 26:16).
2 Kings 15:5. Leper unto the day of his death—In his pride he aspired to be more than king, usurped the functions of God’s consecrated priests; would have seized “the holy crown” of the high priesthood, and added that to his own royal crown. Therefore God took away what was rightly his, and might have enjoyed till his death, debased him to a leper, and thus he died. So covetousness beggars, not ennobles men, and profanity ensures overthrow and contempt. Dwelt in a several house—An array of authorities regard בֵית הַחָפְשִׁית as meaning house of sickness, a hospital, from חָפַשׁ, which (without any Scriptural analogy in the use of the word) they render to be prostrate, weak, or sick. The natural meaning of the verb is to be loosed, set free, as (in Pual form) Leviticus 19:20, the release of a slave. A separate house, therefore, is the best rendering, and fulfils the law of Leviticus 13:46, that lepers should dwell apart, outside the camp or city. He was thus an outcast Even in burial (2 Kings 15:7) he was only interred in the “field of the burial” of the kings (2 Chronicles 26:23), not in the royal vaults, as being a leper. As the record stands, it marks God’s displeasure against presumption, for “the Lord smote the king;” and this Divine judgment denotes guilt. Even though his rushing to the altar might have been through “too much zeal rather than too little,” as is suggested, zeal must not violate law. To go beyond God’s direction is guilty as to fall behind. To “add to” what is written is denounced equally as to “take from” (Revelation 22:18-19).
2 Kings 15:37. The Lord began to send against Judah, &c.—This was the beginning of a confederacy by the Israelites with the Syrians against Judah, an alliance which shows, for the first time in the history of the divided kingdoms, that hostility had grown so intense between Israel and Judah that a foreign force was called in to make violent attack upon Judah’s borders. So, when such fellowship and affection as are hallowed and Divinely sanctioned are violated, evil confederacies are sure to be sought, and antagonism grows rife where unity and love should have ruled.—W. H. J.
HOMILETICS OF 2 Kings 15:1-7; 2 Kings 15:32-38
THE BIBLICAL ESTIMATE OF NATIONAL AFFAIRS
THE reigns of Azariah and Jotham, here referred to with such marked brevity, covered a most eventful period in the history of Judah and Israel, extending over nearly seventy years. The prophets Hosea, Amos, Joel, Jonah, and the sublime Isaiah, flourished during the period, and uttered their faithful protest against the national apostacy. Under the vigorous administration of Azariah and Jotham the kingdom of Judah was placed in a condition of great strength and prosperity. The success of Azariah in all departments seemed to correspond to his double name: Azariah, the strength of Jehovah, and Uzziah, the help of Jehovah. But prosperity, as in other periods and nations, was not without its baleful effects. With the increase of wealth, the nobles of Judah rose into importance, and their luxury, indolence, drunkenness, and oppressive exactions, were in a high degree scandalous: “They skinned the poor to the very quick, they picked their bones and ground them to powder.” The haughty ladies of Zion, decked in gayest apparel and covered with tinkling ornaments, forgot the modesty of their sex as they mincingly tripped along the streets. The licentiousness and irreligion of the times were interrupted and perhaps punished by two great calamities—the awful, dearthful visitation of locusts, who found a garden of Eden, and left it an empty, desolate wilderness; and the ever-memorable earthquake which shook the solid building of the Temple, and moved through the land like a mighty wave of the sea (vide Joel 2:1-20; Amos 4:6-9; Amos 1:1-2; Zechariah 14:5). The paragraph before us is a suggestive illustration of the Biblical estimate of national affairs.
I. It views the nation in its relation to the claims of Jehovah.
1. Commands obedience to the Divine purpose (2 Kings 15:34). So far as Azariah and Jotham imitated the theocratic kings, they had the approbation of all lovers of Zion. The highest exercise of kingly power is to use it in furthering the ends of Divine government.
2. Is careful to record the monarch’s interest in the House of God (2 Kings 15:33; 2 Kings 15:35). The history emphasises the fact that the name of Jotham’s mother was “Jerusha, the daughter of Zadok,” who was probably a priest, and would thus show the close association of the king with the religious order. Special reference is also made to his building “the higher gate of the House of the Lord.” He the sought to induce the worshippers to bring their offerings to the temple of the true Jehovah, and forsake the forbidden “high places” where many were accustomed to sacrifice. The king does himself honour in all he does for the house of God.
3. Exposes the defects of religious duty (2 Kings 15:4; 2 Kings 15:35). Both Azariah and Jotham were favourable to the worship of Jehovah, but they showed no great zeal in it. Their government was not remarkable for any decided religious reform, or the quickening of new religious life. The false worship was allowed to exist side by side with the true. The word of God notices this, and while it commends what is good, it faithfully denounces the evil.
II. It takes note of any signal instance of Divine judgment. “And the Lord smote the king, so that he was a leper” (2 Kings 15:5). The writer of Kings is silent as to the circumstances under which the king was thus afflicted. He simply records the fact, and regards it as a judgment of Jehovah. (For particulars read 2 Chronicles 26:16-21). The Bible abounds in examples of Divine judgments on nations and individuals (e.g., Sodom and Gomorrha, Genesis 19; Egyptians, Exodus 9; Amalek, 1 Samuel 15; Cain, Genesis 4; Saul, 1 Samuel 28; Jezebel, 2 Kings 9; Ananias and Sapphira, Acts 5). These examples might be multiplied indefinitely. “Every story,” says Feltham, “is a chronicle of this truth, and the whole world but the practice. We live not long enough to observe how the judgments of God walk their rounds in striking. Neither always are we able. Some of God’s corrections are in the night, and closeted. Every offence meets not with a market lash.”
Accuse not heaven’s delay; if loth to strike,
Its judgments, like the thunder-gathered storm,
Are but the greater.
Webster.
III. It dismisses with briefest notice the public acts of a great and victorious monarch (2 Kings 15:6). The successful wars of the king, his elaborate defences, his public buildings, his encouragement of agriculture and commerce—all these are passed over with the brief formula—“the rest of the acts of Azariah, and all that he did.” The sacred writer was more concerned to show how the king served God and exalted His worship than how he aggrandized himself and his people. External prosperity is delusive and evanescent: growth in piety is a permanent blessing to the nation.
IV. It reveals the combination of powers by which Jehovah would punish the nation for its sins (2 Kings 15:37). When the Arctic voyager penetrates the northern seas, the first indication of his approach to the great ice region is a white streak of light seen in the stratum of air nearest the horizon called “the ice-blink.” He then observes loose pieces of ice floating on both sides of his vessel—the modest vanguard of the terrible army of ice-giants with which the stout-timbered ship has to do battle, and by which it is ultimately crushed and vanquished. So this alliance of Rezin and Pekah was the beginning of a series of attacks on Judah which ended in its utter overthrow. Thus Jehovah punished the nation for its idolatry. It is a mercy when the first signs of coming calamity are noted, and its severities avoided by timely repentance and reform. Jehovah can disconcert and scatter the most potent combinations of men, or use them as his instruments for avenging wrong.
LESSONS:—
1. The sacred writers are more careful to depict the moral condition than the external magnificence of the nation.
2. We learn that the great object of revelation is to give prominence, not to merely historical details, but to the development of the Divine purpose in redeeming the race.
3. The fidelity and impartiality of the sacred writings should command our reverence and belief.
GERM NOTES ON THE VERSES
2 Kings 15:1-7; 2 Kings 15:32-38. At this time the people turned their attention to money-getting not so much, as had formerly been the case, in particular provinces and districts, but throughout the country, even in Judah; and not so much because a single king like Solomon favoured commercial undertakings, as because the love of trade and gain, and the desire for the easy enjoyment of the greatest possible amount of wealth, had taken possession of all classes. All the scorn poured out by the prophets upon this haste to be rich, and all the rebuke of their tendency to cheat, which was one of the fruits of it, no longer availed to restore the ancient simplicity and contentment (Hosea 12:8; Isaiah 2:7). The long and fortunate reign of Uzziah in Judah was very favourable to the growth of this love of gain and enjoyment. Many were the complaints in Judah of the injustice of the judges and of the oppression of the helpless (Amos 3:1; Amos 6:1; Hosea 5:10). There was a perverse and mocking disposition prevalent which led men to throw doubt upon everything, and to raise objections to everything (Amos 6:3; Amos 9:10; Hosea 4:4). It made them treat with harsh contempt the rebukes and exhortations of the best prophets, as we feel distinctly from the tone of the writings of Amos, Hosea, and Isaiah. It led them to desire to know heathen religions and to introduce foreign divinities, even when the king himself held aloof from any such movement (Amos 2:4; Hosea 4:15; Hosea 6:11; Hosea 12:1; Isaiah 2:8).—Ewald.
2 Kings 15:3. Azariah not only maintained the worship of Jehovah, but was a good and religious monarch during the greater portions of his reign. See 2 Chronicles 26:4-5. Becoming puffed up, however, with his military successes, he attempted to invade the high priest’s office, and forfeited God’s favour for this sin.—Speaker’s Comm.
2 Kings 15:5. The Judgment of God.—I. Is never inflicted but on the gross violation of His law (comp. 2 Chronicles 26:16-21). II. Knows no distinction of person or rank—“The Lord smote the king.” III. Involves terrible suffering—“He was a leper unto the day of his death.” IV. Isolates the sufferer from all he loved and prized—“He dwelt in a several house.”
—The only incident which is mentioned during the long reign of Uzziah is that God touched him, and that he was a leper until his death. It follows that this fact must have seemed to the author to be important before all others. Leprosy is not for him an accidental disease, but a Divine judgment for guilt, as it is often described (Numbers 12:10; Deuteronomy 24:8-9; 2 Samuel 3:29; 2 Kings 5:27). He does not tell more particularly what the sin of the king was; perhaps it was hateful to the king alone, and personally, and not to the whole people, like the sin of Jeroboam.—Lange.
—We should not be over bold to undertake duties which do not devolve upon us. He who covets more than he has any right to have, loses even what he has. We cannot break over the bounds which God has set, without incurring punishment. Think no man blessed until thou hast seen his end.—Ibid.
2 Kings 15:6. These acts were recorded by Isaiah, and have come down to us in Chronicles. They comprised, besides the re-establishment of Elath—
1. Successful wars (a) with the Philistines, which resulted in the capture and dismantling of Gath, Jabneh, and Ashdod, and in the planting of a number of Jewish colonies in the Philistine country; (b) with the Arabians of Gur-baal; and (c) with the Mehunim or Maonites.
2. Extension of the power of Judah over Ammon.
3. Fortification of Jerusalem.
4. Extension of pasture and of agriculture towards the East and South, and protection of the agricultural and pastoral population by means of towers.
5. Reorganisation of the army. And
6. Construction of numerous engines for the attack and defence of towns (see 2 Chronicles 26:6-15). Compare for the flourishing condition of Judea at this time, Isaiah 2:7-16.—Speaker’s Comm.
2 Kings 15:7 compared with Isaiah 6:1-3. Isaiah’s vision of the majesty and glory of Jehovah.—Special work needs special training. This is a principle recognized in all God’s dealings. He prepares His servants for special work by a special course of training and discipline, and by special and striking displays of His glory. As Moses was prepared for his work by his Egyptian experience and by splendid revelations of Jehovah; as the disciples were prepared for their mission by the teachings of Christ and the extraordinary endowments of the Spirit, so Isaiah was qualified for his work by the teachings of this glorious vision. His commission as a prophet was renewed, his faith confirmed, his religious fervour intensified, and his soul braced up for the important duties before him. I. This vision was a revelation of the universal government of Jehovah. “In the year that king Uzziah died, I saw also the Lord sitting upon a throne.” The throne of God is the centre and source of universal government, including in its conception the two leading ideas of dominion and power.
1. Dominion. This extends over the whole universe of existing things—great and small—reaching and acting upon the most distant with the same ease and comprehensiveness as is shown in the management of those nearest the central throne.
2. Power. It is by the exercise of this attribute that Jehovah makes His dominion felt, and accomplishes His gracious and righteous purposes. That power is infinite and absolute, but its exercise is ever limited by His will, and controlled and regulated by His wisdom: it is constantly operating for our good, both in the material and spiritual realms. II. This vision was a revelation of the adorable holiness of Jehovah. “And one cried unto another and said, Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts.” The holiness of God is the beauty and glory of all other perfections. If it were possible for one attribute to have any excellency over another, that preeminency must be given to His holiness. Power is the hand or arm of God, Omniscience His eye, Mercy His heart, Eternity His duration, but holiness is His beauty. He is called “the Holy One,” the “Holy One of Israel,” and is said to be “glorious in holiness.” This glimpse of the surpassing holiness of Jehovah overwhelmed the prophet. He was smitten with the sense of his own vileness, and cried, “Woe is me, because I am a man of unclean lips!” It was a picture of conscious sin, cowed and shrinking before the presence of infinite purity. ’Tis ever so. Nothing humbles us more than the contrast of our own insignificence and sin with the majesty and ineffable perfections of God. III. This vision was a revelation of the higher order of beings engaged in the service and worship of Jehovah.
1. Observe their exalted station. “Above, or around the throne stood the seraphim.” This indicates their superiority over the heavenly hosts. Jehovah has legions of angels, varying in ability and rank; highest in the innumerable grades stand the seraphim.
2. Observe their extraordinary endowments. “Each one had six rings; with twain he covered his face”—a token of deep reverence and adoring awe, as though unable to bear the insufferable blaze of the Divine glory, or to fathom the incomprehensible mysteries of the Divine nature. “With twain he covered his feet”—a token of profound respect and humility, as if he would fain hide the humblest instrumentalities by which he might accomplish the Divine purposes. “With twain he did fly”—an emblem of the willingness and speed with which he would execute the Divine commands.
3. Observe their delightful employment. “One cried unto another and said, Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts; the whole earth is full of His glory.” They chant in responsive strains the praises of Jehovah. What a lofty example of worship and service have we here! Burning with holy and unquenchable love, we may well strive to emulate the adoration of the glowing seraphim.
The church of to-day has special work to do, and to do it successfully needs special help and instruction. The age in which we live demands the exercise of every kind of power the church can legitimately wield. To meet the multiform aspects of the active thought of our time, to sympathise with all that is true, and denounce wisely and boldly all that is false and misleading; to soothe the world’s deep sorrow and lessen its distracting woes; to conduct the troubled heart of humanity to the satisfying rest for which it daily groans—this is a work demanding superhuman aid. We never feel so weak as when we come to grapple with the difficulties of earnest Christian work. It is then we touch the furthermost point of human limitation, and, conscious of our powerlessness, we cry out, like one of old—“I beseech thee, show me thy glory.” And as the vision dawns and pours its splendours on our stricken spirits, we feel the throb of a new ecstatic life, and, with the glow of an intenser love, and sustained by an invincible resolution, we press on to grander achievements!
—We have been hearing of a vision. Does that word sound as if it belonged to times which we have left far behind, as if it pointed to something fantastical and incredible? Oh! if there were no such visions, what an utterly dark and weary and unintelligible place this world would be! How completely we should be given up to the emptiest phantoms, to the base worship of phantoms! What mere shows and mockeries would the state and ceremonial of kings, the debates of legislators, the yearnings and struggles of people become! How truly would the earth be what it seemed to the worn-out misanthropical libertine—“A stage, and all the men and women merely players.” A thousand times we have been all tempted to think it so. The same painted scenery, the same shifting pageants, the same unreal words spoken through different masks by counterfeit voices, the same plots which seem never to be unravelled, what does it all mean? How do men endure the ceaseless change, the dull monotony? Satirists and keen observers of the world’s follies have asked this question again and again. The best man may often doubt what he should reply. But he hears a voice saying to him, “Try to be true to thyself; resist the powers which are tempting thee to go through thy acts, common or sacred, as if thou wert a mere machine; hold fast thy faith that God is, and is working when thou seest least of His working, and when the world seems most to be going on without Him; assure thyself that there is an order in the universe when all its movements seem most disorderly. So will the things around thee by degrees acquire a meaning and a purpose. And when Divine love has kindled thy flagging and perishing thoughts and hopes, thou mayest learn that God can use thee to bearing the tidings of His love and righteousness to a sense-bound land that is bowing to silver and gold, to horses and chariots. And if there should come a convulsion in that land, such as neither thou nor thy fathers have known, be sure that it signifies the removal of such things as can be shaken, that those things which cannot be shaken may remain.”—Maurice.
2 Kings 15:34. Josephus gives Jotham a very high character, that he was pious towards God, just towards men, and laid himself out for the public good; that whatever was amiss he took care to have it rectified; and, in short, wanted no virtue that became a good prince.
2 Kings 15:35. “He built the higher gate of the house of the Lord.” The love of Divine worship.—I. Shown in reverence for God’s house. II. In cheerful sacrifice and labour for the improvement of that house. III. In making the house and worship of God attractive to others.
—It is a glorious thing for a prince, instead of beautifying his palaces and building ivory houses (Amos 3:15), to restore the temple gates, and so say to his people, “Enter into His gates with thanksgiving, and into His courts with praise.”
2 Kings 15:37. It appears by this that the alliance between Pekah and Rezin was made in the reign of Jotham. It had for its object in all probability the consolidation of a power in Syria which might be strong enough to resist the further progress of the Assyrian arms. The recent invasions of Pul and Ziglath-Pileser had effectually alarmed the two northern monarchs, and had induced them to put aside the traditional jealousies which naturally kept them apart, and to make a league offensive and defensive. Into this league they were anxious that Judea should enter; but they distrusted the house of David, which had been so long hostile both to Damascus and to Samaria. They consequently formed the design of transferring the Jewish crown to a certain Ben-Tabeal (Isaiah 7:6), probably a Jewish noble, perhaps a refugee at one of their courts, whom they could trust to join heartily in their schemes. Hostilities apparently broke out before the death of Jotham; but nothing of importance was effected until the first year of his successor—Speaker’s Comm.
—National troubles—I. Cast their shadows before as a warning to prepare. II. Are sent to rectify the abuse of prosperity. III. Are aggravated by the active opposition of envious neighbours.