“Shallum the son of Jabesh became king in the thirty-ninth year of Uzziah king of Judah; and he reigned a full month in Samaria. For Menahem the son of Gadi went up from Tirzah, came to Samaria, and struck Shallum the son of Jabesh in Samaria and killed him; and he reigned in his place. Now the rest of the acts of Shallum, and the conspiracy which he led, indeed they are written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel. Then from Tirzah, Menahem attacked Tiphsah, all who were there, and its territory. Because they did not surrender, therefore he attacked it. All the women there who were with child he ripped open.”
II Kings 15:13-16 NKJV
a. Shallum… reigned a full month: The dynasty of Jehu lasted four generations; the dynasty of Shallum lasted four weeks.
i. “The great prosperity and expansion under Jeroboam II appears to have corrupted the people and caused them to give free reign to their evil desires and violence. Those in authority, instead of checking this spirit of lawlessness, found pleasure in it. ‘They make the king glad with their wickedness, and the princes with their lies’ (Hosea 7:3).” (Knapp)
b. Now the rest of the acts of Shallum: The writer of 2 Kings had no moral comment to make on the brief reign of Shallum. Perhaps he did not reign long enough to show himself either good or bad. Certainly, the violence that marked both his rise to and fall from power shows that he did not reign with the blessing of God.
i. “Israel was now practically under a military despotism, downtrodden and oppressed, and yet sinning still with a high hand against God.” (Morgan)
c. Menham attacked Tiphsah… Because they did not surrender, therefore he attacked it. All the women there who were with child he ripped open: This act of horrible brutality was commanded by Menham – who became the next king of Israel. This shows the depths of brutality and ungodliness of the times. (Guzik)
i. “The action by Menahem against the inhabitants of Tiphsah is unparalleled for brutality by any Israelite. Here it may mark the increasing influence of the surrounding nations. It was a foreign practice inflicted on the Israelites themselves by Aram (2 Kings 8:12), Ammon (Amos 1:13) and Assyria (Hosea 13:8).” (Wiseman)
High hand against God!
I can’t help but think of the parallels with our nation right now! We have removed God from our government, courts, and schools! We have a two tier justice system, not to mention abortion. We limit God with unbelief!
How is this NOT a high hand against God?
Blessings
No comments:
Post a Comment