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Second Kings Chapter Fifteen

(Outline continues from yesterday)

7. Jotham’s sixteen year reign over Judah is described (2nd Kgs. 15:32-38).

Second Kings Chapter Sixteen

1. The sixteen year reign of Ahaz over Judah is described (2nd Kgs. 16:1-20).
2. Ahaz was the most wicked king of Judah, until Manasseh comes along (2nd Kgs. 16:3-4).
3. Like King Asa, who bribed Ben-hadad, king of Aram to attack King Baasha of Israel (1st Kgs. 15:18-22), Ahaz bribes Tiglath-Pileser, king of Assyria to attack King Rezin of Aram, and King Pekah of Israel (2nd Kgs. 16:5-9).

(Chapter Sixteen continues tomorrow)

Second Chronicles Chapter Twenty-Seven

1. Chapter 27 describes the 16 year reign of Jotham (2nd Chr. 27:1-9; 2nd Kgs. 15:32-38).
2. The chronology of Jotham is another puzzle for OT students, and perhaps the most difficult compared to the Uzziah and Hezekiah chronological puzzles.
3. Jotham was a good king, who followed the Lord even though the people of Judah acted corruptly.

Second Chronicles Chapter Twenty-Eight

1. Chapter 28 describes the 16 year reign of the evil king Ahaz (2nd Chr. 28:1-27; 2nd Kgs. 16:1-20).
2. Ahaz followed the example of Israel in worshiping the Baals, and followed the example of the Canaanites in worshiping Molech (2nd Chr. 28:2-4; Deut. 12:29-31).
3. The national Divine discipline upon Judah came in the form of military defeat and captivity to Aram & Israel (2nd Chr. 28:5-8).
4. Oded the prophet was used by the Lord to secure the release of the Judean people from Israel (2nd Chr. 28:9-15).

(Chapter Twenty-Eight continues tomorrow)

Micah Chapter One

1. The time-frame for Micah is established (Mic. 1:1).  The references to Jotham, Ahaz, & Hezekiah make Micah a contemporary of Isaiah in the south, and Amos & Hosea in the north.
2. Micah speaks three primary messages, all beginning with “Hear” (Mic. 1:2; 3:1; 6:1).  Qal.imper. שָׁמַע shāma‘ ^#8085: to hear, listen to, obey.
3. Micah’s first primary message is directed to all the world (Mic. 1:2-5).
   1. Swift judgment is coming upon the world (Mic. 1:3-4).
   2. Adonai Jehovah is the primary witness against the world (Mic. 1:2).
   3. The immediate cause for this worldwide judgment is the failure of God’s stewards in this world (Mic. 1:5).
4. Israel’s judgment (Mic. 1:6-7) is a cause for sorrow (Mic. 1:8), as (the agent of) her destruction (Assyria) has come to Judah—even the very gates of Jerusalem (Mic. 1:9).
5. Micah employs a number of puns to communicate the Assyrian invasion to his audience (Mic. 1:10-16).
   1. “Tell” (תַּגִּידוּ) and “Gath” (בְּגַת) sound similar in Hebrew.
   2. Beth-le-aphrah means house of dust.
   3. Shaphir means fair.
   4. “Zaanan” sounds similar to “go out” in Hebrew.  
   5. Beth-ezel means house of protection.
   6. Maroth means bitter.
   7. Lachish (לָכִישׁ) sounds like “team” (לָרֶכֶשׁ).  
   8. Achzib means deception.
   9. “The one who takes possession” & Mareshah sound similar in Hebrew.

Isaiah Chapter Seven

1. Ahaz, King of Judah, is attacked by an Aramean/Israeli alliance (Isa. 7:1-2; 2nd Kgs. 16:5-6).
2. The Lord dispatches Isaiah, and his son, Shear-jashub (a remnant shall return) to encourage the evil King Ahaz (Isa. 7:3-9).
3. The LORD tells Ahaz to ask for a sign as proof of His prophetic message (Isa. 7:10-13).
   1. Believers are prohibited from putting the Lord their God to the test—as Israel tested Him at Massah (Deut. 6:16; Matt. 4:7; cf. Ex. 17:7).
   2. Believers do test the Lord at times (Jdg. 6:17-22,36-40), and in at least one instance are commanded to do so (Mal. 3:10).
4. When Ahaz refuses, the Lord provides His own sign—the virgin will conceive and bear a son (Isa. 7:14-16).
   1. The sign is given to the house of David, and not just to Ahaz (v.13). It’s therefore a sign that cannot be expected to have an immediate fulfillment.
   2. The virgin’s child is the prophesied “God with us” Immanuel, fulfilled by the God-man, Lord Jesus Christ (Isa. 7:14; Matt. 1:23).
      1. The עַלְמָה ‘almāh ^#5959: virgin is contrasted with the בְּתוּלָה b^ethuwlah ^#1330: young woman, and greatly speculated on by scholars.
      2. The παρθένος parthenos ^#3933:  virgin is beyond dispute or speculation.
   3. From childhood, Immanuel possesses the capacity no human being has possessed since Adam—spiritual life decisions from physical birth (Isa. 7:15).
   4. Ahaz is provided an immediate sign regarding the 65 year prophecy of Israel’s fall (v.8): the short-term prophecy concerning the forsaking of the Aramean-Israel alliance before Shear-Jashub is old enough to make spiritual-life decisions (Isa. 7:3,16).
5. The immediate deliverance from Aram & Israel is assured, but so is the subsequent affliction of Judah at the hands of Assyria (Isa. 7:17-25; 2nd Kgs. 16:7-20).