2 Kings Chapter 15 – Processes and Outcomes
Reading into the period of 2 Kings 15 (not just the chapter alone) gives us a tale of two kingdoms whose wealth and political stability could not appear more dissimilar.
Judah was led by King Azariah, better known as Uzziah, who reigned for 52 years. Strength marked Uzziah’s reign. Not only did he make war with mighty power, his “fame spread far and wide, for he was marvellously helped till he became strong” (2 Chr 26:13, 15). His prosperity came from God.
During this time, Israel, went through a rapid succession of kings: Zechariah (six months), Shallum (1 month), Menahem (10 years), Pekahiah (2 years), Pekah (20 years), who ascended the throne as the second-last king of Israel during Uzziah’s final year.
None of these Israelite kings were good spiritual stewards for God’s people. Unimaginably, Shallum, Menahem, and Pekah each usurped the throne by murder. Four times the chapter states, “he did not depart from the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who had made Israel sin” (2 Kgs 15:9, 18, 24, 28).
None of them rewrote the spiritual narrative of their nation to seek better spiritual outcomes. Instead, they perpetuated their nation’s existing journey of sin.
And so God’s punishment came upon His chosen people. During Pekah’s reign, Tiglath-Pileser king of Assyria attacked, capturing Israelites back to Assyria (2 Kgs 15:29).
In contrast to such messy political chaos, Judah’s time under Uzziah (Azariah) naturally appears stable and in fact, rather acclaimed. Yet surprisingly, in 2 Kings 15, the author chose not to discuss this glorious epoch at all.
Instead, the passage distills Uzziah’s illustrious kingship into a judgment of his spiritual stewardship of the nation. He had done what was right in God’s sight according to what his father had done. But not only did Uzziah fail to remove the high places where the people worshiped, most notably we read God’s punishment for his prideful rashness: “the Lord struck the king, so that he was a leper until the day of his death” (2 Kgs 15:5; for his sin, read 2 Chronicles 26:16-21).
What marks Uzziah here is his incomplete faith and, ultimately, his tragic and embarrassing end.
This makes me think of how significant the outcome of our faiths are—what God’s ultimate judgment of our spiritual lives will be.
In many things, we might deem the process as more important than the outcome. Putting everything into a project that later failed may be rewarding, especially if our best effort taught us a lesson.
Yet in our spiritual lives, the ultimate outcome, derived from the process, is of critical importance.
Although Uzziah had accomplished many things through God’s strength, his end was shameful. We can only wonder if he had ever repented.
The Israelites were chosen by God, yet their perpetual unholiness and refusal to transform this process of repetitive sinning led to God giving them up to Assyria.
For us today, no matter how much grace, mercy or peace God gives as He works to preserve us, no matter how many blessings He grants, all the choices we make contribute to what is of prime significance: our final end, whether eternal life or eternal death.
I am reminded of this sombre verse that warns the faithful from turning away from God:
“But when a righteous man turns away from his righteousness and commits iniquity, and does according to all the abominations that the wicked man does, shall he live? All the righteousness which he has done shall not be remembered; because of the unfaithfulness of which he is guilty and the sin which he has committed, because of them he shall die.”
~ Ezekiel 18:24 ~
God does not shove you forcefully into heaven. Instead, while God gives you life, He gives you time to choose how your journey of faith will be. He speaks to you through His Bible–He wants you to know how to chart the process of your life to receive the end of your faith: the salvation of your soul (1 Pet 1:9).
If any part of your life is moving away from God and towards sin, are you willing to transform this journey by returning to Him?