15:1 In the twenty-seventh year of King Jeroboam’s reign over Israel, Amaziah’s son Azariah became king over Judah.
Azariah became the next king of Judah. He was from the messianic line of David. His name means “The Lord has helped” He was also called Uzziah, meaning “The Lord is my strength.” Isaiah began his prophetic ministry during this reign.
15:2 He was sixteen years old when he began to reign, and he reigned for fifty-two years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Jecholiah, who was from Jerusalem.
The mothers had tremendous influence on the spiritual and intellectual development of their sons.
15:3 He did what the Lord approved, just as his father Amaziah had done.
The Holy Spirit listed King Azariah as a good king. He did many good things for Judah that God approved. Josiah was very concerned when he died, because Isaiah was knew that Azariah’s successors would lead the nation back into idolatry.
15:4 But the high places were not eliminated; the people continued to offer sacrifices and burn incense on the high places.
Jehovah alone was worshiped at many of the high places. However, this was a violation of the Mosaic Law. Sacrifices could only be offered at the Jewish Temple.
15:5 The Lord afflicted the king with an illness; he suffered from a skin disease until the day he died. He lived in separate quarters, while his son Jotham was in charge of the palace and ruled over the people of the land.
According to 2 Chronicles 26, King Azariah offered burnt incense in the temple. Since this was a priestly function and not a function of the monarchy, Jehovah struck him with leprosy. Uzziah ruled Judah through his puppet son. At least two ancient seals have been found with Uzziah’s name on them.
15:6 The rest of the events of Azariah’s reign, including all his accomplishments, are recorded in the scroll called the Annals of the Kings of Judah.
"The Annals of the King of Judah" was an uninspired secular book which has been lost to this day.
15:7 Azariah passed away and was buried with his ancestors in the city of David. His son Jotham replaced him as king.
Jotham became the next King of Judah. He was from the messianic line of David.
15:8 In the thirty-eighth year of King Azariah’s reign over Judah, Jeroboam’s son Zechariah became king over Israel. He reigned in Samaria for six months.
Zechariah was the fourth and final king of the Jehu dynasty which was prophesied by Elisha.
15:9 He did evil in the sight of the Lord, as his ancestors had done. He did not repudiate the sinful ways of Jeroboam son of Nebat who encouraged Israel to sin.
Israel continued in the sin of syncretism. They were combining the worship of Jehovah with the worship of the Egyptian calf god.
15:10 Shallum son of Jabesh conspired against him; he assassinated him in Ibleam and took his place as king.
Shallum killed Zechariah and replaced him as king of Israel. Assyrian records called Shallum “the son of nobody.” He did not come from a royal family.
15:11 The rest of the events of Zechariah’s reign are recorded in the scroll called the Annals of the Kings of Israel.
"The Annals of the Kings of Israel" was an uninspired secular book which has been lost to this day.
15:12 His assassination brought to fulfillment the Lord’s word to Jehu, “Four generations of your descendants will rule over Israel.” That is exactly what happened.
King Jehu of Israel was called by God to eliminate Baalism and the line of Ahab from the land of Israel, which he did. Therefore, God had promised him that four generations of his sons would be kings in Israel. These turned out to be Jehoahaz, Joash, Jeroboam II and Zechariah. After Jehu became king, he continued in the sins of Jeroboam I and his calf-worship. Therefore, Amos prophesied Jehu’s line would be cut off by the sword.
15:13 Shallum son of Jabesh became king in the thirty-ninth year of King Uzziah’s reign over Judah. He reigned for one month in Samaria.
King Shallum ruled Israel for only one month. Kings who assassinated anointed rulers usually do not rule very long.
15:14 Menahem son of Gadi went up from Tirzah to Samaria and attacked Shallum son of Jabesh. He killed him and took his place as king.
Menahem was most likely a military commander of Israel who did not approve of the king’s Assyrian policies. Israel was paying tribute to Assyria. Menahem became the next King of Israel.
15:15 The rest of the events of Shallum’s reign, including the conspiracy he organized, are recorded in the scroll called the Annals of the Kings of Israel.
"The Annals of the Kings of Israel" was an uninspired secular history book which has been lost to this day.
15:16 At that time Menahem came from Tirzah and attacked Tiphsah. He struck down all who lived in the city and the surrounding territory, because they would not surrender. He even ripped open the pregnant women.
Tiphsah was located 325 miles away on the Euphrates River. Another city called “Tappauh” was located about 14 miles away. Therefore, this is most likely a copyist error and the latter is correct. The ripping open of pregnant women was a barbarous practice. The purpose was to intimidate the enemy and reduce the population of the enemy.
15:17 In the thirty-ninth year of King Azariah’s reign over Judah, Menahem son of Gadi became king over Israel. He reigned for twelve years in Samaria.
King Menahem ruled Israel for twelve years.
15:18 He did evil in the sight of the Lord; he did not repudiate the sinful ways of Jeroboam son of Nebat who encouraged Israel to sin.
Syncretism continued in Israel. Syncretism was the combination worship system of Jehovah and the calf god of Egypt.
15:19 During his reign, Pul king of Assyria invaded the land, and Menahem paid him a thousand talents of silver to gain his support and to solidify his control of the kingdom.
Except for Jonah’s mission to Nineveh, this was the first mention of the great Assyrian empire. Assyria was a ruthless military machine who was beginning to become the new world power. Assyrian kings usually possessed two names. Pul was the Babylonian throne name, while Tiglath-Pileser III was the Assyrian name. He reigned ruthlessly from 745–727 B.C.
15:20 Menahem got this silver by taxing all the wealthy men in Israel; he took fifty shekels of silver from each one of them and paid it to the king of Assyria. Then the king of Assyria left; he did not stay there in the land.
Israel was forced to become a tribute nation to the Assyrians.
15:21 The rest of the events of Menahem’s reign, including all his accomplishments, are recorded in the scroll called the Annals of the Kings of Israel.
"The Annals of the Kings of Israel" was an uninspired secular book which has been lost to this day.
15:22 Menahem passed away and his son Pekahiah replaced him as king.
Pekahiah became the next king of Israel. Menahem was mentioned in an Assyrian inscription, in which the Assyrian King boasts of receiving tribute from him. Kings Uzziah, Ahaz, Pekah, and Hoshea of Israel were also mentioned.
15:23 In the fiftieth year of King Azariah’s reign over Judah, Menahem’s son Pekahiah became king over Israel. He reigned in Samaria for two years.
Pekahiah only reigned in the capital city of Samaria for two years. At this time, they were a tribute nation to Assyria. The morals of the nation were coming to an all-time low, as kings began assassinating each other for power.
15:24 He did evil in the sight of the Lord; he did not repudiate the sinful ways of Jeroboam son of Nebat who encouraged Israel to sin.
Pekahiah could have escaped his tribute status if he would have returned Israel to sole worship of Jehovah. Instead, he continued the syncretism which Jeroboam I had began and Jeroboam II had continued.
15:25 His officer Pekah son of Remaliah conspired against him. He and fifty Gileadites assassinated Pekahiah, as well as Argob and Arieh, in Samaria in the fortress of the royal palace. Pekah then took his place as king.
Pekahiah was assassinated and replaced by his military commander. General Pekah was most likely part of the anti-Assyrian contingent who did not want to pay tribute to Assyria. Pekah became the next King of Israel.
15:26 The rest of the events of Pekahiah’s reign, including all his accomplishments, are recorded in the scroll called the Annals of the Kings of Israel.
"The Annals of the Kings of Israel" was an uninspired secular book which has been lost to this day.
15:27 In the fifty-second year of King Azariah’s reign over Judah, Pekah son of Remaliah became king over Israel. He reigned in Samaria for twenty years.
Pekah became the next King of Israel and ruled for twenty years. A year after Pekah began to reign, Isaiah saw the great vision recorded in Isaiah 6.
15:28 He did evil in the sight of the Lord; he did not repudiate the sinful ways of Jeroboam son of Nebat who encouraged Israel to sin.
Like every king in Israel, Pekah was an evil king. He allowed syncretism worship in Israel. Jeroboam established Egyptian calf worship in Israel and no Israelite king ever removed it. Some Israelite kings even instituted Baal worship.
15:29 During Pekah’s reign over Israel, King Tiglath-pileser of Assyria came and captured Ijon, Abel Beth Maacah, Janoah, Kedesh, Hazor, Gilead, and Galilee, including all the territory of Naphtali. He deported the people to Assyria.
King Pekah of Judah joined King Rezin of Syria in order to combine and end their tribute status to Assyria. Assyria answered this confederation by capturing many Israelite cities in Galilee and Gilead. According to Assyrian records, the King Tiglath-Pileser III of Assyria deposed Pekah as king of Israel in 732 B.C. The Assyrian Captivity of Israel began.
15:30 Hoshea son of Elah conspired against Pekah son of Remaliah. He assassinated him and took his place as king, in the twentieth year of the reign of Jotham son of Uzziah.
Assyrian records confirmed that Hoshea began to rule Israel in 732 B.C.
15:31 The rest of the events of Pekah’s reign, including all his accomplishments, are recorded in the scroll called the Annals of the Kings of Israel.
This was an uninspired secular history book which has been lost to this day.
15:32 In the second year of the reign of Israel’s King Pekah son of Remaliah, Uzziah’s son Jotham became king over Judah.
Jotham became the next king of Judah. Isaiah and Micah were both prophets to Judah at this time. Isaiah would predict that the Messiah would not only be virgin-born, but He would become the Suffering Servant of Israel. Micah would predict the exact birthplace of the Messiah.
15:33 He was twenty-five years old when he began to reign, and he reigned for sixteen years in Jerusalem. His mother was Jerusha the daughter of Zadok.
Mothers were a great influence on their son’s spiritual and intellectual development.
15:34 He did what the Lord approved, just as his father Uzziah had done.
The Holy Spirit considered Jotham as a good king.
15:35 But the high places were not eliminated; the people continued to offer sacrifices and burn incense on the high places. He built the Upper Gate to the Lord’s temple.
The temple was the only place that God allowed burnt offerings. Judah was worshiping Jehovah on the high hills, but they were not following the stipulations of the Mosaic Law.
15:36 The rest of the events of Jotham’s reign, including his accomplishments, are recorded in the scroll called the Annals of the Kings of Judah.
"The Annals of the Kings of Israel" was an uninspired secular book which has been lost to this day.
15:37 In those days the Lord prompted King Rezin of Syria and Pekah son of Remaliah to attack Judah.
Judah was not following the Mosaic Law, so God raised up Syria and Israel to combine and attack Judah. Isaiah encouraged the people not to fear this doomed confederacy.
15:38 Jotham passed away and was buried with his ancestors in the city of his ancestor David. His son Ahaz replaced him as king.
Ahaz became the next king of Judah. The messianic line of David continued in Judah. Archaeogists have found a clay seal at the southern end of the West Bank in Israel, bearing the inscription “Ahaz [son of] Yotam, King of Judah.”