By now, you probably know the drill. If you are new, this series, as you may have deciphered, is an outline of the entire Bible, book by good ol’ book. If you want to truly know your King, you can follow this link to read all of the current portions to date!

Previously in 2 Kings…Ahaziah took the mantle of king over Israel in place of his wicked father, Ahab. He too followed in the same footsteps and we quickly see him being cursed to death for his unfaithfulness to the Lord. Eventually we come to the end of the great prophet Elijah’s time on earth. He is taken up into heaven, and just as promised, Elisha takes his place on earth. Elisha proceeds to prophesy and perform many miracles proving the power and authority of the Lord to all people.

BEFORE READING MORE – It would be ideal if you read the chapters to be discussed prior to looking through the outline! This week we are covering 2 Kings 6 – 10 .

2 KINGS – Following the aftermath of the evil king, Ahab, and his evil wife, Jezebel, 2 Kings begins with the final days of Elijah. Elijah is eventually taken up to heaven and Elisha takes his place, as prophesied in 1 Kings. We then see much of what Elijah prophesied come to pass.

As prophesied, Elisha serves the Lord mightily after Elijah. As prophesied, Ahab and his line are completely destroyed. As prophesied, Jezebel is killed and eaten by dogs. As prophesied, Hazael takes the mantel of Syrian king. As prophesied, Jehu is appointed over Israel.

We see so much come to fruition and despite all the evil that persists among the people, we still see hope through many good rulers and deeds from people such as Elisha, King Hezekiah, King Jotham, King Josiah, and even people outside of the Kingdom of Israel like Naaman, the Syrian general.

As a whole, the reign of the Kings of Israel and Judah are continued in this book, but we see the steady downfall of both kingdoms. Eventually the divided nation comes to a tipping point, and we see the complete fall of both. We see Israel fall to the Assyrian empire, and shortly after, we see Judah fall to the Babylonian empire. Through it all though, we continue to see the faithfulness, mercy, and judgement of the Lord.

1.  2 Kings 6 – 7 | Elisha makes iron float – Syria marches against Elisha because of his damning prophecies – Elisha disperses the Syrian army – Syria then marches against Samaria (Israel) causing great famine – Elisha prophesies food – the Lord provides: We continue to see Elisha preforming great miracles and prophesying much! In Chapter 6, Elisha was able to cause an iron axe head to float after it was lost in the river of Jordan while he and the sons of the prophets constructed a new dwelling place. Then the Syrian king, so perplexed by Elisha’s prophecies against him, marched against Elisha to capture him. Surrounded by the great Syrian army, Elisha’s servant went up to him and said:
   

   “Alas, my master! What shall we do?” He said, “Do not be afraid, for those who are with us are more than those who are with them.” Then Elisha prayed and said, “O  Lord, please open his eyes that he may see.” So the Lord opened the eyes of the young man, and he saw, and behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha. | 2 Kings 6:15-17

   With the peace of the army of the Lord, Elisha prayed to strike the Syrian army with blindness and he essentially walked up to them and told them that they were at the wrong place and directed them to Samaria… to the king and army of Israel! But instead of telling the army of Israel to strike them down, Elisha told the king of Israel to prepare a great feast for the Syrians. The Syrian army ate and dispersed. Unfortunately, afterwards Ben-hadad, the king of Syria, besieged Samaria, and he caused a horrible famine, in which the head of a donkey sold for 80 shekels of silver (~$600) and dove dung sold for 5 shekels of silver (~$40)!! The king of Israel was angered by Elisha in all this and sent a captain to confront the prophet. Elisha then prophesied that fine flour and barley would be sold for 1 shekel (~$8) the very next day and the captain responded with complete unbelief. Then Elisha prophesied that the captain who came against him would see but not eat of the food because of his unbelief. These prophecies were fulfilled as 4 lepers who were rejected by the people and on the verge of death decided to go to the Syrian camp as a last resort. There they found the camp completely empty of people and we learn that the Lord brought the sound of a great army around the Syrians and caused them to flee in fear. The lepers selfishly began to hoard the goods left at the camp, but they soon realized their fault and spread the good news to the Israelites. As Elisha prophesied, so much food was gathered that fine flour and barley were sold for only 1 shekel, and as prophesied, because of his unbelief, the captain never ate of the food because he was trampled by the rush of people who went out to plunder the camp.

2. 2 Kings 8 | The Shunammite woman was sent away during the famine – Her land is restored when she returns – Hazael became king of Syria as prophesied – Jehoram reigns in Judah and Joram in Israel – Ahaziah reigns in Judah after Jehoram: The start of Chapter 8 shows us the powerful testimony of Elisha’s work. The Shunammite woman that he blessed with a  child in Chapter 4  testifies to the Lord’s work through Elisha. Elisha warned her of the famine and sent her away, but after the famine ended, she returned and went to the king to recover her land. She happened to reach the king at the exact moment that he was marveling at all that Elisha had done. She further encouraged him as Gehazi explains that she was the woman who’s child was brought back to life! After this, we finally see Elijah’s prophesy about Hazael becoming king of Syria come to fruition. Ben-hadad, king of Syria, fell sick and sent Hazael to Elisha to inquire of the outcome, and Elisha reiterated to Hazael that he would become king and wreak havoc on the people of Israel. So Hazael murdered Ben-Hadad and assumed the mantle of king. Then we learn that Jehoshaphat’s son, Jehoram, became king of Judah (not to be confused with Joram (Jehoram), son of Ahab, who was king of Israel). After Jehoram’s, king of Judah’s, death, his son Ahaziah began to reign in Judah. Ahaziah, Jehoram, and Joram  all did much evil, and they all walked in the way of Ahab. With the rise of Hazael, the impending doom of the house of Ahab is slowly coming to light.
3. 2 Kings 9-10 | Jehu is anointed over Israel – Jehu becomes king – Jehu murders Jezebel as prophesied – Jehu destroys the house of Ahab as prophesied – Jehu destroys Baal: At last, the final piece of the puzzle of Elijah’s prophesy against the house of Ahab is fulfilled in Chapter 9. Jehu, the son of Jehoshaphat (king of Judah), is anointed as the new king of Israel. Jehu was a commander for the army of Israel under house of Ahab and he was anointed as king during the council of commanders. He then proceeded to conspire against Joram. He murdered Joram, king of Israel, and Ahaziah, king of Judah. Jehu then continued his reign of terror over the house of Ahab by executing Jezebel, who was thrown from her house. As prophesied, she was trampled and eaten by dogs for all the evil she had done with Ahab her husband! Jehu continued to completely wipe out the house of Ahab in Jezreel. He cunningly assembled all the worshippers of Baal and wiped out Baal from Israel. He did so much to cleanse Israel and fulfill the Lord’s word and was blessed because of it. Unfortunately, in some ways, he still followed in the former sins of Jeroboam. Nonetheless, he reigned for 28 years and was promised the throne of Israel to his generations. So after his death, his son Jehoahaz reigned in his place.