II Kings 22-23 Dear RTB’ers, Of the 57 verses that we read today, all but eight are the author’s account of Josiah’s reign, with most of those verses relating to his purge of evil from both Judah and Samaria. King Josiah and his sons… The contrast between father and sons is dramatic. Here’s the author’s …
Author Archives: Fred
October 28 / II Kings 20-21
II Kings 20-21 Dear RTB’ers, Today, three kings – Hezekiah, Manasseh, and Amon. As STS notes, the events in today’s first chapter (on Hezekiah’s illness and recovery and his hospitality to the envoys from Babylon) actually occurred before the invasion by the Assyrians that we read in yesterday’s readings. We might ask ourselves why Hezekiah …
October 27 / II Kings 19:8-37
II Kings 19:8-37 Dear RTB’ers, My Study Bible pointed out something interesting. We see Hezekiah praying to the Lord in verses 15 to 19; then in verse 20 he receives a note from Isaiah, a reply from the Lord, even though Scripture does not record any conversation between Hezekiah and Isaiah on this occasion. Note …
October 26 / II Kings 18:1-19:7
II Kings 18:1-19:7 Dear RTB’ers, We have four verses today repeating the downfall of the Northern Kingdom (vv. 18:9-12); after that the rest of II Kings covers only Judah, the Southern Kingdom, beginning with three chapters covering the reign of Hezekiah. [NOTE: II Chronicles 29-32 and Isaiah 36-39 cover Hezekiah’s reign in even greater detail.] …
October 25 / II Kings 17
II Kings 17 Dear RTB’ers, Samaria is mentioned nine times in today’s one chapter (II Kings 17:1,5,6,24,26,27,28,29 — twice in verse 24). It is both a city (see especially vv. 1,5,6) and a global word for all of the Northern Kingdom (see the rest of the verses noted above, especially v. 24 and 26, “the …
October 24 / II Kings 15-16
II Kings 15-16 Dear RTB’ers, Today we read the beginning of the fall of the Northern Kingdom: In the time of Pekah king of Israel, Tiglath-Pileser king of Assyria came and … and deported the people to Assyria. (v. 15:29) This first deportation occurred in 732 BC; we will see the end of the Northern …
October 23 / II Kings 13-14
II Kings 13-14 Dear RTB’ers, Joash, Jehoahaz, Jeroboam, Jehoash, Joahaz… How to keep these kings and their names straight, especially when a king with the same name (Joash / Jehoash) rules in each kingdom at the same time! (See II Kings 13:10, 14:1.) We had not heard of Elisha for some time. My Study Bible …
October 22 / II Kings 11-12
II Kings 11-12 Dear RTB’ers, Today we return to the Southern Kingdom, Judah, and we meet Amaziah’s mother, Athaliah, who makes herself queen. Amaziah was the young king of Judah who was killed by Jehu when he had visited Jehoram, the king of Israel. His mother, Athaliah then “succeeded” him. She quickly eliminated any others …
October 21 / II Kings 10
II Kings 10 Dear RTB’ers, Jehu. Wow! Yes, Jehu was chosen by the Lord to cleanse Israel of its paganism. (See I Kings 19:15-16.) But he went over and above that charge. We read of his anointing yesterday: Thus says the LORD, the God of Israel, I anoint you king over the people of the …
October 20 / II Kings 8-9
II Kings 8-9 Dear RTB’ers, A long reading today, but mostly just narrative if you can keep the kings and their reigns straight – a particular problem when kings in both the Northern and Southern Kingdom have the same name, Joram/Jehoram. Our STS note helps clarify that. Elisha serves only as a messenger today — …