IN THE TWENTY-SEVENTH year of Jeroboam king of Israel, Azariah son of Amaziah king of Judah began to reign. 2He was sixteen years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem fifty-two years. His mother’s name was Jecoliah; she was from Jerusalem. 3He did what was right in the eyes of the LORD, just as his father Amaziah had done. 4The high places, however, were not removed; the people continued to offer sacrifices and burn incense there.
5The LORD afflicted the king with leprosy until the day he died, and he lived in a separate house. Jotham the king’s son had charge of the palace and governed the people of the land.
6As for the other events of Azariah’s reign, and all he did, are they not written in the book of the annals of the kings of Judah? 7Azariah rested with his fathers and was buried near them in the City of David. And Jotham his son succeeded him as king.
8In the thirty-eighth year of Azariah king of Judah, Zechariah son of Jeroboam became king of Israel in Samaria, and he reigned six months. 9He did evil in the eyes of the LORD, as his fathers had done. He did not turn away from the sins of Jeroboam son of Nebat, which he had caused Israel to commit.
10Shallum son of Jabesh conspired against Zechariah. He attacked him in front of the people, assassinated him and succeeded him as king. 11The other events of Zechariah’s reign are written in the book of the annals of the kings of Israel. 12So the word of the LORD spoken to Jehu was fulfilled: “Your descendants will sit on the throne of Israel to the fourth generation.”
13Shallum son of Jabesh became king in the thirty-ninth year of Uzziah king of Judah, and he reigned in Samaria one month. 14Then Menahem son of Gadi went from Tirzah up to Samaria. He attacked Shallum son of Jabesh in Samaria, assassinated him and succeeded him as king.
15The other events of Shallum’s reign, and the conspiracy he led, are written in the book of the annals of the kings of Israel.
16At that time Menahem, starting out from Tirzah, attacked Tiphsah and everyone in the city and its vicinity, because they refused to open their gates. He sacked Tiphsah and ripped open all the pregnant women.
17In the thirty-ninth year of Azariah king of Judah, Menahem son of Gadi became king of Israel, and he reigned in Samaria ten years. 18He did evil in the eyes of the LORD. During his entire reign he did not turn away from the sins of Jeroboam son of Nebat, which he had caused Israel to commit.
19Then Pul king of Assyria invaded the land, and Menahem gave him a thousand talents of silver to gain his support and strengthen his own hold on the kingdom. 20Menahem exacted this money from Israel. Every wealthy man had to contribute fifty shekels of silver to be given to the king of Assyria. So the king of Assyria withdrew and stayed in the land no longer.
21As for the other events of Menahem’s reign, and all he did, are they not written in the book of the annals of the kings of Israel? 22Menahem rested with his fathers. And Pekahiah his son succeeded him as king.
23In the fiftieth year of Azariah king of Judah, Pekahiah son of Menahem became king of Israel in Samaria, and he reigned two years. 24Pekahiah did evil in the eyes of the LORD. He did not turn away from the sins of Jeroboam son of Nebat, which he had caused Israel to commit. 25One of his chief officers, Pekah son of Remaliah, conspired against him. Taking fifty men of Gilead with him, he assassinated Pekahiah, along with Argob and Arieh, in the citadel of the royal palace at Samaria. So Pekah killed Pekahiah and succeeded him as king.
26The other events of Pekahiah’s reign, and all he did, are written in the book of the annals of the kings of Israel.
27In the fifty-second year of Azariah king of Judah, Pekah son of Remaliah became king of Israel in Samaria, and he reigned twenty years. 28He did evil in the eyes of the LORD. He did not turn away from the sins of Jeroboam son of Nebat, which he had caused Israel to commit.
29In the time of Pekah king of Israel, Tiglath-Pileser king of Assyria came and took Ijon, Abel Beth Maacah, Janoah, Kedesh and Hazor. He took Gilead and Galilee, including all the land of Naphtali, and deported the people to Assyria. 30Then Hoshea son of Elah conspired against Pekah son of Remaliah. He attacked and assassinated him, and then succeeded him as king in the twentieth year of Jotham son of Uzziah.
31As for the other events of Pekah’s reign, and all he did, are they not written in the book of the annals of the kings of Israel?
32In the second year of Pekah son of Remaliah king of Israel, Jotham son of Uzziah king of Judah began to reign. 33He was twenty-five years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem sixteen years. His mother’s name was Jerusha daughter of Zadok. 34He did what was right in the eyes of the LORD, just as his father Uzziah had done. 35The high places, however, were not removed; the people continued to offer sacrifices and burn incense there. Jotham rebuilt the Upper Gate of the temple of the LORD.
36As for the other events of Jotham’s reign, and what he did, are they not written in the book of the annals of the kings of Judah? 37(In those days the LORD began to send Rezin king of Aram and Pekah son of Remaliah against Judah.) 38Jotham rested with his fathers and was buried with them in the City of David, the city of his father. And Ahaz his son succeeded him as king.
Original Meaning
ISRAEL NOT ONLY survives the Aramean decimation that began with Hazael and Jehu, but for a brief period under Jeroboam II achieves an ascendancy that rivals the kingdom of Solomon. This ascendancy is assisted by a coalition with Azariah king of Judah (792–740 B.C.), whose reign overlaps with a substantial portion of the forty-one year rule of Jeroboam (793–753/2 B.C).1 The defeat of Edom (14:7) and the capture of Elath (14:22) are both achieved with the assistance of Jeroboam, giving Israel and Judah access to trade on the King’s Highway east of Jordan (Num. 20:17; 21:22) and a seaport on the Gulf of Aqabah.
The Reign of Azariah (15:1–7)
AZARIAH IS ALSO known as Uzziah (cf. 15:30, 32, 34); outside of Kings he is known by the latter name (2 Chron. 26–27; Isa. 1:1; 6:1). The difference may have had no significance, because both words from which the names are derived (ʿzr and ʿzz) can mean victory or strength. The Chronicler seems to have taken advantage of the synonymity by describing Azariah/Uzziah as a king whose fame spread far and wide, for he was helped marvelously (2 Chron. 26:15). The name of his mother (Jecoliah) similarly means “the LORD [yah] has power.”
Though Azariah has a long and prosperous reign, his achievements are left unrecorded in the Deuteronomistic History. The single detail of his life for which he is remembered was that he has leprosy (2 Kings 15:5) and thus is required to live in a “free house” (bêt-haḥopšît). The significance of this term is not known. Both Josephus (Ant. 9.227) and the Targum refer to his living outside the city. In Job the word ḥopšî refers to freedom from labor or work after death (Job 3:19); both ancient and modern interpreters have suggested that Uzziah was freed from the duties of the monarchy (NEB). The word also refers to the netherworld in the Baal Epic (bt ḥptt); De Moor suggests that the “house of freedom” is antiphrasis for a place of total confinement.2
Whatever the specifics of Uzziah’s residence, he is unable to perform his administrative and official duties to “the people of the land” (cf. 2 Kings 11:14, 18, 20). This privileged group receives particular services from the king in judicial matters and ritual duties (with leprosy Azariah is not permitted to enter sacred space). Jotham is appointed to carry out the responsibilities of the king in place of his father.
According to Chronicles, Azariah is a militant king who reorganizes the army and develops his weaponry (2 Chron. 26:11–14). He improves the fortifications of Jerusalem and halts the expansions of the Philistine tribes to the south and west (vv. 6–7). The actual military achievements of Uzziah are not preserved with enough precision to be ascertained.
The name “Uzziah” is found in the annals of Tiglath-Pileser.3 This Uzziah is head of a coalition that battles the Assyrians in the area of Hadrack (north of Hamath). The name is Israelite (not Aramean), but unfortunately no geographical identification for this Uzziah has been preserved. An association of this inscription has been made with another fragmentary tablet that contained an account of a war against Yaudi, but Naʾaman has argued convincingly that the latter fragment should be joined to another that belonged to the time of Sennacherib.4 It is improbable that Uzziah of Judah is head of a coalition of Aramean kingdoms against Tiglath-Pileser.5
There is a peaceful coalition between Azariah and Jeroboam; their control extends into the Transjordan in conducting a census (1 Chron. 5:16–17) and in gaining control over the seaport of Elath (2 Kings 14:22). As the Israelite kingdom begins to disintegrate in the latter days of Jeroboam, Uzziah of Judah may have been viewed as the bearer of divine grace in the northern expansions.
Uzziah’s burial is variously said to be with his ancestors (15:7), in the burial field that belongs to the kings (2 Chron. 26:23), and by himself in his own garden (Josephus, Ant. 9.227). Inscriptional evidence indicates that the grave of Uzziah was moved.6 An inscribed plaque in Aramaic and dated to the first century B.C. was discovered in Jerusalem. It states: “Here were brought the bones of Uzziah, king of Judah. Do not open.” The inscription indicates that the bones of Uzziah are located in a solitary tomb. Yeivin has argued that the inscription confirms the burial notice of Chronicles as original;7 more probable is the observation of Albright that the identification of the solitary grave is based on the datum provided in Chronicles. “The garden of Uzza” (2 Kings 21:18, 26) may have been the burial place of Uzziah.
Disintegration of the Israelite Monarchy (15:8–31)
THE DEATH OF Jeroboam brings an end to the dynasty of Jehu, which was prophesied to continue four generations (10:30). The ascension of Zechariah (15:8) fulfills that prophecy, duly noted in the regnal summary (15:12). The brief reign of Zechariah takes place in the thirty-eighth year of Azariah (v. 8), ending the long alliance of Jeroboam and Azariah.
Social and moral decay, vividly chronicled in Amos, has its effect in the political upheavals that come with the death of Jeroboam. Zechariah rules six months (15:8), and Shallum his successor for one month (15:13). Jabesh is a town in Gilead (Judg. 21:8), and “son of Jabesh” most likely refers to Shallum’s place of origin in the Transjordan. Indications are that the political rivalries that follow the death of Jeroboam are territorial, between the tribes on the east and west sides of the Jordan. Menahem, son of Gadi, may have been a Gadite from east of Jordan (2 Kings 15:17; cf. 1 Chron. 5:18). Just fourteen years later Pekahiah is assassinated by Pekah, with the assistance of fifty warriors from Gilead (v. 25). Gilead is a strategic and agriculturally rich territory, recovered by Jeroboam II after decades of Aramean domination. It becomes the base for a new Israelite elite that attempt to seize power in Samaria.
The assassination of Zechariah takes place at Ibleam according to the Old Greek (v. 10; cf. 9:27), which is often taken to be the correct text (cf. RSV, NEB). This is a change of only one letter from the Masoretic text; the translation “before the people” (NIV) is problematic in that it introduces a late Aramaic word (qobāl) into the Hebrew. In the parallel examples of Menahem (v. 14) and Pekah (v. 25) a place name is provided, and one would expect the same here. A place by name of qobālʿām, as seems to be suggested by the Masoretic text, is unknown.
Menahem launches an attack from Tirzah against Shallum in Samaria (15:14); Tirzah was fortified by Jeroboam I (cf. 1 Kings 14:17) and was the capital city of Baasha (15:33). Menahem is also said to have attacked Tiphsah (2 Kings 15:16); most translations follow the lead of Old Greek in reading Tappuah (RSV, NEB, NLT). The only Tiphsah known was an important ford on the western bend of the Euphrates, the northern point of the vast kingdom of Solomon (1 Kings 4:24). It was situated at the end of the road that led from Damascus through Tadmor toward the Euphrates.8 Haran thinks that Menahem does conduct a campaign on the Euphrates in the early part of his reign before Tiglath-Pileser reduces the territories of Jeroboam II.9
The notation is connected with the assassination of Shallum (15:13–16) rather than the summary of Menahem’s reign (vv. 17–22), indicating that this takes place at the time Menahem seizes the throne. Though political circumstances may have permitted Menahem to conduct a war so distant, the verse is difficult. It says that Menahem strikes Tiphsah and secures all its border areas beyond Tirzah. A reference to Tirzah is incongruent with Tiphsah.10 Tappuach is located on the border of Ephraim (Josh. 16:8) to the south of Tirzah. If the Old Greek text is followed, Menahem is involved in quelling local resistance to his reign with the same brutality that was characteristic of the Arameans.
Menahem can only achieve and maintain his power through alliance with Pul king of Assyria (2 Kings 15:19–20). Pul is the hypocoristicon by which Tiglath-Pileser is known in later historical writings (cf. v. 29).11 Assyrian political and economic domination of north Syria and the Phoenician coast is initiated by the conquest of the northern Aramean city of Arpad. Mati-ilu, king of Arpad, was forced to swear a vassal oath of allegiance to Ashur-Nirari V, even though he retained power.12 The ascension of Tiglath-Pileser in 745 B.C. ends Assyrian weakness in the territories west of the Euphrates. According to the Calah recension of the Annals of Tiglath-Pileser, in six years (743–740, 738 B.C.) the monarch conquers and annexes north Syria: Arpad, Unqui, Hadrach, Simmira and its environs, reaching as far as the desert east of Damascus.13
The defeat of Arpad is a devastation that impresses the territories of Syria and Israel; over forty years later it still serves as a warning to the citizens of Jerusalem (2 Kings 18:33–34; 19:13). Four years later, in a campaign along the Mediterranean coast, Tiglath-Pileser takes possession of cities in the vicinity of Arvad, subdues Philistia, and turns Gaza into an Assyrian port and “custom house.” Assyria is renowned for removing borders, plundering rulers, and deposing the mighty (Isa. 10:13).
Menahem submits to the Assyrians in payment of tribute and in return gains their support so he can secure his kingdom (2 Kings 15:19). This may be required compliance with Assyrian policy, but in view of the violent rivalries for the throne (vv. 16, 25–26) it is more likely that Menahem depends on Assyrian assistance in warfare. The Calah Annals name Menahem as bringing tribute to Tiglath-Pileser;14 Thiele has made a case for this being in the year 743 B.C., as it immediately follows the section dealing with the events of that year.15 The inference that Tiglath-Pileser invades Israel is unfounded (NIV, NEB); “Pul the king of Assyria had come” (15:19a) is not the language of invasion (cf. 6:24; 12:17–18; 17:3, 5).
A thousand talents of silver compares well with other sums extracted from vassals by the Assyrians.16 Since there is no mention of plunder, captives, or deportation in connection with this tribute, most likely it is given in return for Assyrian military support against Pekah. The vocabulary of the verse suggests this is a payment of fifty shekels (over a pound) of silver for each Assyrian soldier.17 Fifty shekels was the price of a slave in Assyria at that time.18 At three thousand shekels to a talent (cf. Ex. 38:25–26), the tribute would pay sixty thousand soldiers.
The ten-year reign of Menahem is followed by a two-year reign of his son Pekahiah (742–740 B.C.). He is assassinated by Pekah, his chief officer, in the citadel of the palace in Samaria (2 Kings 15:25).19 The citadel is apparently a fortification in the palace complex. The fifty soldiers who assist Pekah would form one military unity with its commanding officer. Pekah is assisted by a military unit from Gilead. His reign of twenty years must overlap with that of Menahem; he apparently has a rival rule in Gilead after the death of Jeroboam II. The nine-year reign of Hoshea (17:1) ends in 723 B.C., when Shalmaneser V of Assyria conquers Samaria and exiles the Israelites.20 The twenty-year reign of Pekah begins at the same time as that of Menahem (752 B.C.) and ends in 732 B.C. when Hoshea, the last king of Israel, succeeds him.
The year of Pekah’s ascension to the throne in Samaria is the same year that King Azariah (Uzziah) dies (15:27; cf. Isa. 6:1). From that point on, the politics of both Damascus and Samaria are dominated entirely by the activities of Tiglath-Pileser (v. 29). During the last days of Pekah (734–732 B.C.), Tiglath-Pileser directs a number of campaigns against Israel in the coastal plain, Galilee, and Transjordan, reducing Israel to the rump state of Samaria ruled by Hoshea as a vassal king.21 The conquest of Gilead is a continuation of the wars against Damascus and is particularly devastating to Pekah, since that is the heartland of his political power. The conspiracy of Hoshea against Pekah is through the military force of Tiglath-Pileser (v. 30). He removes Pekah in order to establish control over the land of Bit-Humria (Israel).
The territories named as taken by Tiglath-Pileser indicate the main course of the campaign against Israel (v. 29). Ijon is a site on the river of the same name in the fertile valley at the foot of Mount Hermon. Abel Beth Maacah is about fifteen kilometers to the south, just west of Dan in upper Galilee, the modern Abil el-Qamḥ. Janoah is preserved in the names of three modern sites; it is likely located in western Galilee on the road called “the way of the sea” (Isa. 9:1).22 Kedesh must refer to the northern site by that name, about ten kilometers northwest of Hazor in upper Galilee (cf. Josh. 12:22; 20:7). The territory is summarized in the general reference to Gilead, Galilee, and the whole territory of Naphtali. The campaign is apparently launched from the Beqaʿ Valley in Lebanon, first taking Ijon and Abel Beth Maacah; the armies then turn westward to the foothills above Tyre, assuring a connection to the western bases. From there the armies move southeast, conquer Kedesh, and safely lay siege to Hazor. Forces are sent into all the territories to the south and east (Naphtali and Gilead).
The Reign of Jotham (15:32–38)
THE REIGNS OF Azariah and Jotham overlap with those of the last kings of Israel; the fate of Judah is determined by the vicissitudes of Israel. Jotham becomes king when Azariah is smitten with leprosy (15:5), in the second year of Pekah (15:32). He lives beyond his sixteen-year reign into his twentieth year, when Pekah is assassinated (v. 30). The complexity of the synchronistic data betrays the political turbulence of this period; political struggles lead to various alliances vying for power.
Jotham begins to reign in 750 B.C., ten years before the death of Azariah, and lives beyond the time that he actually retains control over the kingdom. Apparently a pro-Assyrian faction raises Ahaz to the throne in the seventeenth year of Pekah in 735 B.C. (16:1).23 The sentiments in Judah have shifted; powerful officials have come to regard Israel as a threat and Assyria as a potential ally. Rezin of Aramea and Pekah of Israel attempt to coerce Jotham into an alliance against Assyria (15:37), but Ahaz attempts to gain independence from them through the assistance of the Assyrians (16:5–9). The pro-Assyrian policy effectively ends the reign of Jotham, but it does not deliver Judah; within a generation the armies of Assyria surround Jerusalem, and citizens from Judah are exiled as well.
The reign of Jotham is scarcely independent of either his father Azariah or the domination of the pro-Assyrian forces that put Ahaz into power. Aside from the notation that he exercises royal authority in the place of his father (15:5), the only achievement of his reign given in Kings is that he renovates one of the gateways of the temple (v. 35). Temple repair is of special interest to the worship concerns of the historian; nothing is known of the circumstances requiring repair at this gate. The Upper Benjamin Gate is named as the place where Jeremiah was kept in stocks at the temple (Jer. 20:2). Ezekiel in a vision is transported to the upper, inner gate that opens to the north where he observes the schemes of the temple guards (Ezek. 8:3; 9:2).
Chronicles further mentions that Jotham repairs the wall of Ophel, builds cities in the hill country of Judah, and fortifies the hill country of Judah (2 Chron. 27:3–4). The only war named is a campaign against the Ammonites in defense of Judean boundaries (27:5). The Transjordan defenses may be related to the attacks of the Arameans mentioned in Kings.
Bridging Contexts
ASSYRIAN EXPANSION. Assyrian expansion at the beginning of the eighth century provides relief from the Aramean dominion of Hazael and Ben Hadad III (13:5, 25). When Adad-Nirari assumes full control of the Assyrian kingdom (806 B.C.), he leads a military expedition into Philistia with the intention of punishing the countries who refuse to submit their tribute. He lays siege to Damascus, imposing heavy taxes on its ruler (mariʾ ), probably Ben Hadad III.24 In his campaigns the Assyrian monarch claims to have subdued all the lands “up to the great Sea,” meaning that all recognize his sovereignty and render the necessary tribute.25
The Assyrian domination of Damascus and the surrounding territories allows Jeroboam II to continue the restoration of territory that began under Jehoash of Israel (14:25, 28). The extension of his authority well beyond Damascus and throughout the Transjordan perhaps takes place in cooperation with the Assyrian kings.26 The elite in Samaria prosper, with little awareness of the social breakdown they have created.
Alternately, perhaps the domination of Jeroboam II over Damascus takes place when Assyrian control of the Aramean territories begins to wane.27 The initial prophecy of Amos calls for vengeance against Damascus and Ammon because they have threshed Gilead and ripped open their pregnant women (Amos 1:3, 13). The time of these cruelties cannot be specifically determined, but it may have been during the early days of Jeroboam, when they are fresh enough in everyone’s memory to be a matter of charged emotion. Shalmaneser IV (783–773 B.C.), successor to Adad Nirari III, conducts a campaign as far as Damascus in the last year of his reign. Under Assur-Dan III (773–755 B.C.) central Assyrian control grows progressively weaker. The eponym lists of western campaigns indicate military expeditions go no further south than Hadrach. Under Assur-Nirari V (755–745) an agreement is reached with the more northerly region of Arpad. Jeroboam may not have extended his influence toward Hamath until the last years of his reign, when the Assyrians have withdrawn from that territory. If that is the case, then the time between the empire of Jeroboam and the disintegration of Israel is only a few years.
Isaiah. The events of this chapter are the historical background to the call of the prophet Isaiah. The year that king Uzziah/Azariah dies (Isa. 6:1) is a momentous event in the life of this prophet. His vision of the exalted Lord, his own sense of inadequacy, and his mission of futility to the recalcitrant leaders of Jerusalem all take place within a concrete historical circumstance. The death of Uzziah marks the end of a prosperous period in Israel’s history. The chaos in the kingdom of Israel will shortly result in its being absorbed entirely into the empire of Assyria. The death of Uzziah marks a change in policy in the kingdom of Judah. The pro-Assyrian strategy of Ahaz brings Judah into conflict with Pekah and Rezin and also leads Judah decisively into reliance on Assyria rather than on the Holy One of Israel encountered in the vision of the prophet. They are trusting in the very nation that will destroy them (Isa. 10:20).
Isaiah’s vision plays a critical role in the word of God to Jerusalem. The mention of Uzziah’s death is much more significant than offering conventional dating. It anchors that vision in Israel’s history, much like the inclusion of the name Pontius Pilate in the Apostle’s Creed. It marks a decisive turning point in God’s dealing with Israel.28 As expressed in the parable of the vineyard (Isa. 5:1–7), the end of Israel has been divinely determined because of its total disregard for justice and righteousness; its leaders despise the Holy One of Israel (v. 24). Human arrogance will end in utter humiliation before Yahweh, who alone is exalted (2:9–11; 17–19).
In his vision Isaiah sees a manifestation of that glory. Initially the prophet sees the divine palace manifest on earth, doorposts and the cloud of glory (Isa. 6:4), but quickly these are transformed into a heavenly scene. In a moment the tip of the robe fills the entire temple, where the King of kings is revealed on the throne surrounded by his fiery attendants declaring the great King to be holy (vv. 1b–3). This holiness is not an ethical quality but the essence of the divine nature, separate from all that is common. The vision provides a theological grounding for the inevitable judgment that stands over Jerusalem and its kings.
The vision of the majestic King of kings makes the prophet aware of the utter impotence and sinfulness of his own words as well as those of the people (Isa. 6:5). This is not a barrier to the divine commission. As the hot coal from the heavenly altar touches his lips, he hears the divine voice calling: “Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?” (vv. 7–8). The focus shifts immediately to the prophet’s mission to Israel and Judah; he is to dull their minds, stop their ears, and plaster over their eyes, lest by seeing, hearing, and comprehending they will actually repent and be saved. The prophet is the guarantor of complete hardening, the executioner of sinful Israel.
The divine mission is not a universal judgment but is directed toward a particular historical circumstance given in Isaiah’s vision. The divine intent of election has become one of destruction (cf. Amos 3:2). Isaiah has experienced the eternally present rule of God in all its terrifying majesty and his own rebirth through divine purification and forgiveness, in order that he may perform this act of Israel’s destruction. Assyria is the blunt instrument of the divine wrath through which the execution will take place (Isa. 8:6–8; 10:5–6). Before the judgment is complete, the land will be bereft of inhabitants (6:11–12); Israel’s end has come (Amos 8:2).
The destruction of Israel does not simply bring an end to the nation. Just as there is life in a stump when a tree is cut down, so in Israel there remains a holy seed (Isa. 6:13). In the stump is the mystery of the remnant that will return (10:20–23). In the stump resides life that will spring forth as a shoot (11:1); the rule of the ideal king will yet be realized for Israel.29 The promise of the ideal king is delivered during the terrifying days when Tiglath-Pileser is advancing against Israel, while Rezin and Pekah attempt to bring Judah into an alliance against him (Isa. 7:1; cf. 2 Kings 15:37).30 Contrary to the prophet Isaiah and the earlier policy of Jotham, Ahaz chooses not to trust in Yahweh; as a result his kingdom is not secure (Isa. 7:9).
Judah will be shaved by the razor that is hired and its citizens led into exile (Isa. 7:20), but the promise of God’s kingdom will stand. The advance of Tiglath-Pileser will turn Gilead and Galilee into Assyrian territories (Isa. 9:1; cf. 2 Kings 15:29). Though Zebulun and Naphtali are brought into contempt, the road toward the sea, the land beyond the Jordan, and Galilee of the nations will yet become glorious. This will happen through the fulfillment of the promise to David in the child who will be born (Isa. 9:6–7). The yoke of slavery will be broken and the weapons of battle removed when the miraculous child begins to rule. The times when the land is brought into contempt will be replaced by times when the land is made glorious. The times of deep humiliation will be turned into times of peace.
The birth of the child is due entirely to the activity of God, as expressed in the passive form of the verbs (Isa. 9:6). This is made explicit by the phrase “the zeal of the LORD Almighty will accomplish this” (9:7). The birth of the king is not primarily portrayed as the arrival of a savior figure.31 This birth is part of the deliverance that God himself will bring into effect for his people. The provision of the royal figure is God’s redemption for Israel. God’s purpose is to establish and uphold his kingdom with justice and righteousness from this time and for evermore. The king will inaugurate and maintain God’s ideal for the society of Israel. Though Assyria is the rod of God’s anger, it will also be part of those high and mighty, whom God will bring low (10:5–15, 28–32). This judgment against the mighty Assyrians (10:33–34) will result in deliverance for Israel (11:1–9).32
After this a new ruler will emerge as a second David (Isa. 11:1). His primary role will be to bring justice (vv. 3–5). The poor and the meek will receive a fair hearing unprejudiced by the corruption that more privileged members of society formerly impose on the judicial process. His words will bring about righteousness and faithfulness (vv. 4b–5); this is the work of the ideal king, who will establish the just kind of society demanded by the covenant.
The Deuteronomistic Historians do not dwell on the eschatological purposes of the kingdom any more than on the political achievements of the individual kings of Israel and Judah. Their concerns are focused on the outward manifestation of faith in worship at the one place that God has ordained. The account of the demise of Israel begins and ends with the kings of Judah responsible for the maintenance of the temple (2 Kings 15:1–7, 32–38). In this respect both can be said to have done what is right, though with the qualification that they continue to tolerate other places of worship (vv. 3–4, 34–35). During the reign of these two kings the dynasty of Jehu ends and the kingdom of Israel self-destructs under internal and external conflicts.
The Deuteronomistic Historians tell the story of Israel’s disappearance, which in due course includes Judah as well. For them the failure of worship at the temple is symptomatic of the utter failure of faith in the leaders of the nation. This failure does not bring an end to the promise of the lamp of David (1 Kings 11:36; 15:4; 2 Kings 8:19). The writings of other prophets hold out the hope of that promise when the kingdoms of Israel and Judah have disappeared.
Contemporary Significance
LIGHT FOR THOSE in darkness. History is nothing but the story of the rise and fall of nations, mighty and terrifying in their own time but quickly buried in the sands of time. This theme cannot be better expressed than in the words of Percy Bysshe Shelley in the poem “Ozymandias (1817).”
I met a traveler from an antique land,
Who said:—“Two vast and trunkless legs of stone
Stand in the desert. Near them, on the sand,
Half-sunk, a shattered visage lies, whose frown
And wrinkled lip, and sneer of cold command,
Tell that its sculptor well those passions read
Which yet survive, stamped on these lifeless things,
The hand that mocked them and the heart that fed:
And on the pedestal these words appear:
‘My name is Ozymandias, king of kings:
Look on my works, ye Mighty, and despair!’
Nothing beside remains. Round the decay
Of that colossal wreck, boundless and bare
The lone and level sands stretch far away.”
In the year that king Uzziah dies, Isaiah sees Yahweh. Uzziah and Jotham preside over one of the most powerful eras in the history of Judah, but one in which entanglements with the powers of this age bring it to a state of complete humiliation. During their time Israel sinks into oblivion, never again to be a force as a nation. Isaiah sees divine deliverance coming through a King of another order. The Gospel writers find the fulfillment of this hope in the birth and work of Jesus. Matthew says that the child should be named Jesus because he will save his people from their sins (Matt. 1:21). In this is fulfilled the word of Isaiah given during those dark days when Israel attacks Judah (Isa. 7:14): “‘The virgin will be with child and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel,’ which means ‘God with us’” (Matt. 21:23). The name Immanuel comes to represent the hope of the kingdom and the promise that Yahweh is at work in the redemption of his people.
The promise of Christmas comes at a dark period in the political history of Israel and Judah. Christians in the northern hemisphere choose to celebrate Christmas at the darkest time of the year, with the anticipation of the return of the sun. This comes to be used as an emblem of the light that dawns with the birth of Jesus. Matthew draws on the words of Isaiah to describe the work of Jesus as a dawning light. Immediately following the temptation, Jesus leaves Nazareth and goes into the region of Galilee among the hills of Zebulun and Naphtali, calling the people to repentance because the kingdom of God has drawn near (Matt. 4:13–17). The people dwelling in darkness see the great light; the light rises on those who live in the land of death (cf. Isa. 9:1–2). The promise of Christmas still comes to a world that lives in the darkness of violence and political turmoil. The circumstances of Uzziah and Jotham reflect well the circumstances in which the hope of the kingdom is proclaimed.
Jesus announces a kingdom of another order, quite the opposite of the kind ruled by Ozymandias, by Uzziah and Jotham, or by Jeroboam, Menahem, and Pekah. It is a kingdom in which those of humble spirit rather than the proud are blessed, where the mourners are comforted, and where the meek inherit the earth (Matt. 5:3–5). Those who hunger after righteousness, are merciful, and are pure in heart become the salt of the earth and the light of the world (5:5–16). The followers of Jesus are the peacemakers, even though they themselves may be persecuted for following values contrary to those of the kingdoms of the world. This is not the sort of kingdom that comes through political order; rather, it is the means of bringing peace and justice to the world through words and teaching, as Isaiah said (Isa. 11:4–5). Matthew sees in Jesus the shoot of Jesse, the beginning of a just society where the will of God will be done through the endowment of divine power.
The kingdom proclaimed by Jesus is always about service to others. When John and James come seeking a privileged place in the kingdom, Jesus reminds them that the price for being a part of his kingdom is to give up their lives in following him (Matt. 20:20–23). They do not understand what they are asking or what following Jesus in his kingdom means for them. The kingdoms of this world operate through power (vv. 24–25); in the kingdom of Jesus the mighty are those who serve, even as Jesus himself did not come to be served but to serve and to give his life as ransom for all (vv. 27–28).
Jesus describes the coming of his kingdom as a separation of all people the way sheep are separated from goats (Matt. 25:31–46). The sheep are those who have rendered service in the kingdom of Christ, even though they were completely oblivious to it. The sheep have fed the hungry, shown hospitality to the stranger, clothed the naked, visited those sick and in prison. As much as justice is shown in this way to the needy, it is doing the work of God’s kingdom. The goats, by contrast, are those occupied in doing their great deeds; they have their systems of justice, and their justice supposedly has the power to rectify all that is wrong in the world. They do not understand that often their well-intentioned systems of justice further alienate family members and communities. They do little to provide for the many victims caught in ugly situations of violence and pain. They have no part in the divine kingdom.
The religion of modern secular societies does not concern itself with service, with forgiveness and reconciliation. Goals for justice have little to do with victims; crimes are deemed to be against society and against its order of rule, not against individuals who suffer. Goats scoff at reconciliation through forgiveness; the sick, the hungry, the homeless struggle while they grope for their just society. These kingdoms all perish, like those of Jeroboam and Uzziah, because they exist through power rather than the provision of justice and mercy to their people.
Ways to serve in God’s kingdom. There are many ways in which the service of God’s kingdom can be rendered within the kingdoms of this world. It may be in political office; there are prominent examples of those who have impacted their world through political influence and a commitment to kingdom values. One such notable evangelical was William Wilberforce, a prominent member of the House of Commons in the struggle to abolish the slave trade and slavery itself in the British colonies. In 1787 he helped to found the Society for Effecting the Abolition of the Slave Trade. He was an eloquent and indefatigable sponsor of anti-slavery legislation; his first success came in 1807 with a bill to abolish the slave trade in the British West Indies. In 1823 he became a vice-president of the Society for the Mitigation and Gradual Abolition of Slavery throughout the British Dominions. The Slavery Abolition Act he sought was passed one month after his death on July 29, 1833. Wilberforce was driven by his faith to pursue equality and dignity for all people. This pursuit was not found in the kingdoms of Israel and Judah, even though it was demanded by their covenant. They failed to understand what it meant to worship and serve God, and they failed to bring peace to their people.
Often the work of God’s kingdom is found in much less dramatic ways than that of Wilberforce. One such story is that of Harold Park, a Vancouver investor who discovered that there is more to life than living off the proceeds of investments.33 Harold enjoyed a comfortable stress-free life, playing golf and going to the gym. He discovered that this was not satisfying as a Christian and that the fortunes of this world are volatile. A sharp drop in the stock market brought times of stress and the occasion to reflect on what is valuable and enduring. His focus shifted away from earning money to helping at a drop-in center for street youth in downtown Vancouver. Eventually it led to a position in prison chaplaincy for The Salvation Army in Winnipeg. He worked part time in provincial and federal institutions while completing his seminary training. For Harold there is now nothing more important than helping inmates with their fears and struggles, sharing love and hope with those often forgotten by society.
From a political perspective, the kingdoms of Jeroboam and Uzziah can be regarded as a remarkable success. From the perspective of observing the values of God’s kingdom, they are failures, a dark period that comes under divine judgment. Though human kingdoms fail, God’s kingdom does not fail. It finds fulfillment in the remnant that turns to God; it finds fulfillment in the proclamation of the Savior who came as the child promised by Isaiah in those dark days. The kingdom of God continues to find expression within the great kingdoms of this world. These kingdoms will crumble, just as surely as all the others before them, but Christ will build his church, and the gates of death will not prevail against it (Matt. 16:18).