Israel Goes Into Captivity

e now come to the time when Ramoth-gilead was occupied by the Syrians.

Because of this, Samaria, the capital city ofIsrael, was threatened. This was a fact of whichKing Jehoram (also called Joram, II Kings 8:16)was well aware. So he went forth with the help ofKing Ahaziah of Judah to besiege the fortifiedcity.

During the siege, King Jehoram was serious-ly wounded by an arrow shot from the walls. Theking’s officers quicklytook him from the battlescene to Jezreel, severalmiles north of Samaria,so he could recover. Hisofficers felt it was wiserfor him to go theresecretly instead ofreturning to Samaria, inwhat would be regardedby many as a disgracefulcondition.

Jehu, the commanderof the army in Israel, wasleft in charge of the siegeof Ramoth-gilead. Ratherthan wait to find out whatthe Syrians would do,Ahaziah chose to go toJezreel to visit Jehoram

and learn if he had started to recover (II Kings8:25-29; II Chronicles 22:1-6).

A New King of Israel

Because of the events that were taking place atRamoth-gilead, the prophet Elisha knew thatGod’s judgment had come for Ahab’s treacherousfamily (I Kings 21:20-21). God then inspiredElisha to call on a young prophet to go and anoint

the next king of Israel,Jehu.

“Get yourself ready,take this flask of_________ in your hand,and go to _______________________. Now whenyou arrive at that place,look there for _________the son of Jehoshaphat,the son of ___________,and go in and make him to______ _________ fromamong his associates, andtake him to the innerroom. Then take the flaskof oil, and pour it on his______ and say, thus saysthe LORD: I have anointedyou ____________ over

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Israel GoesInto Captivity

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Israel. Then open the door and flee,and do not _______” (II Kings 9:1-3).

Elisha realized this was a difficulttask for the young prophet. Because ofthe danger he may encounter, Elishaadvised him to get this job done andleave quickly. The young prophet tookhis advice and hurried into the campof the army of Israel. He found Jehusitting among the soldiers of Israel. Heimmediately told Jehu, “I need tospeak to you privately. I have a mes-sage for you!” Jehu led the youngprophet into a nearby house to receivethe message. As Jehu listened intently,the young prophet poured oil upon hishead.

Summarize II Kings 9:6-10: ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Jehu was surprised by this event.When the young prophet completedhis mission, he fled the home, asElisha instructed him to do. The mili-tary officers who saw the youngprophet walk in with Jehu were nowwondering why he ran out so quickly.At first, they thought he was insane,until Jehu walked out of the house andtold the officers he had just beenanointed king of Israel!

Death in the City of Jezreel

Jehu wasted no time. He wanted to move quick-ly to seize the throne. Knowing that KingJehoram was still in Jezreel, recovering from hiswounds, and also realizing that King Ahaziah ofJudah was with him, Jehu quickly gathered sev-eral men for a journey into Jezreel.

King Jehoram soon got word that Jehu wason his way to Jezreel. So he and the king ofJudah prepared their chariots to go out to meethim. They met up in the field of Naboth theJezreelite.

When they confronted Jehu, they soon real-ized his intentions. Jehoram turned away and

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tried to flee. Jehu stopped him by drawing hisbow and sending an arrow into the king’s chest.King Ahaziah of Judah also tried to escape, butJehu’s men caught up with him and killed him aswell.

Jehu now set his mind to enter the city ofJezreel. It was then that he saw Jezebel yellingout of a high window, jeering at him as he rodeby. She shouted at Jehu, saying, “Do you thinkyou will have peace for what you have done? Youare no different than Zimri, who killed his mas-ter.”

Jehu ignored Jezebel, but shouted back to herservants near her at the high window, “Who ofyou are on my side? If you are on my side, thenthrow her down!”

In a moment, Jezebel’s servants grabbed thescreaming queen and threw her out the window.Jehu gave a signal to his men to move on. Andthey did—right over Jezebel’s mangled body.Jezebel was trampled by the horses and died agruesome death. Jehu’s men stopped at a nearbyinn to eat while the horses rested and were fedand given water. Jehu told his men after the meal

that the people had seen the remains of thiswicked woman long enough.

Jehu exclaimed, “Jezebel doesn’t deserve anhonorable funeral, but she was a daughter andwife of a king. She shouldn’t be left unburied.Remove her from the street and prepare a gravefor her.”

But when Jehu’s men went to retrieve thebody, they found that Jezebel had been almostcompletely eaten by wild dogs. (Recall Elijah’sprophecy regarding Jezebel’s death.)

“This is according to God’s will,” Jehuinformed them. “Elijah the prophet foretold thatdogs would consume this woman close to thewall of Jezreel. Not enough is left of her even tobe buried. She will only become waste matter onthe ground. She’ll never have a monument oreven a tombstone with her name on it” (II Kings9:36-37; I Kings 21:1-26).

Jehu now set his mind on the 70 sons of Ahabwho were living in the city of Samaria. Each sonwas being reared by wealthy leaders of the city.Jehu feared that one of these leaders might try toseize Israel’s throne for one of Ahab’s sons. So

Jehu sent a letter to each leader,saying, “Now as soon as thisletter comes to you, since yourmasters sons are with you, andyou have _____________ and____________, a fortified cityalso, and ___________, choosethe best qualified of your mas-ter’s sons, _________ him onyour father’s __________, andfight for your master’s house”(II Kings 10:2-3).

Trembling in fear, becausethey knew what Jehu did to thekings of Israel and Judah, theguardians of Ahab’s 70 sonsagreed to do all that Jehurequested of them. So Jehu sent

a second message to the guardian leaders ofAhab’s sons. The message was this, “Bring theheads of Ahab’s sons in a basket to Jezreeltomorrow! Don’t let any of them escape.” Thefearful men obeyed Jehu and murdered all 70 ofAhab’s sons (II Kings 10:7-11).

God used Jehu not only to bring an end toAhab’s treacherous family, but also to anyonesympathetic to king Ahab. Jehu also went on tokill all of the priests and worshipers of Baal (IIKings 10:18-25).

Test Your Memory:

1) What two kings besieged the Syrian occupiedcity of Ramoth-gilead? ____________________2) Who was the prophet to Israel during the timeof the two kings mentioned above? ___________3) Whom did God use to fulfill His plan for thefamily of Ahab? _________________________4) Why did God choose to destroy the heirs ofKing Ahab? ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________5) Who was the evil queen who taunted Jehufrom the high window? ____________________

Four Generations of Kings

Because Jehu had obeyed God’s instructions indestroying Ahab’s family and the priests of Baal,God made a promise to him that his sons wouldbe kings of Israel for four generations. But Jehulater disobeyed God. If he would have continuedin obedience, God might have extended Jehu’sgenerations on Israel’s throne beyond four. Eventhough he put away Baal worship in Israel, hestill continued in the sins of King Jeroboam (IIKings 10:18-25). Because of this half-heartedattitude, God began to withdraw national bless-ings, allowing various territories of Israel to beoverrun by the Syrians (II Kings 10:32).

After 28 years of reign, Jehu died. His sonJehoahaz would now reign as king over Israel.Jehoahaz would go on to rule the throne for 17years. During those 17 years as king, God con-tinued to allow the Syrians to oppress theIsraelites, because King Jehoahaz and the peoplecontinued in idolatry and other sin (II Kings13:1-3).

The death of Jehoahaz marked the end of thesecond generation of Jehu’s sons who wouldrule. The third generation would be Jehoahaz’sson, Jehoash (also called Joash – II Kings13:12). This generation would prove no differ-ent than the generation before him. Jehoashcontinued in his father’s and grandfather’s idol-atrous ways for another 16 years. Leaders ofJudah talked King Jehoash into allowing sacri-

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Johoash (Joash) was only7 years old when hebegan to reign.

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fices to be made away from the temple atJerusalem. This led to people slipping back intothe worship of idols.

During these years, the Syrians continued tooppress the Israelites. But God did not cause thecomplete destruction of Israel, due to thecovenant promises He made to Abraham, Isaacand Jacob. He offered mercy, giving them a peri-od of deliverance, always hopeful for their repen-tance. “So _________ pleaded with the LORD,and the LORD listened to him; for he saw the______________ of Israel, because the king of____________ oppressed them.

The LORD was gracious to them, had____________ on them, and regarded them,because of His __________ with ____________,__________________, and ______________,and would not yet __________ them or cast themout of His presence” (II Kings 13:4, 23).

Death of Elisha

The prophet Elisha was a faithful servant of Godfor many years. He warned the people of Israeland Judah to turn away from sin. During the timeof Jehoash, Elisha became very sick. When theking heard of Elisha’s condition, he went to visithim.

While visiting, Elisha told Jehoash that Godwould deliver Israel from Syria. It was not longafter this that Elisha died. The prophecy that Godgave him was fulfilled (II Kings 13:25). God,through Elisha, performed many miracles. Evenafter his death, God performed a mighty miraclethrough him. Write out II Kings 13:21. _________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Jehu’s Line Comes to an End

In the days of King Jehoash, the kingdoms ofIsrael and Judah were not on friendly terms.Remember that Jehoash’s grandfather, Jehu, mur-dered many of the royal line of Judah. At the timeof King Jehoash of Israel, Judah’s reigning kingwas Amaziah.

After winning the battle against the Edomites,the king of Judah felt confident that he could bevictorious over Israel. Because of this confi-dence, King Amaziah challenged King Jehoash.During the battle, King Amaziah was taken cap-tive, and the palace and temple in Jerusalem werelooted of their treasures.

It is important to note that even though Godallowed Israel this victory, Israel still refused toobey Him. After 16 years of Jehoash rulingIsrael, a new man would become king over Israel.Jehoash’s son Jeroboam II took over the throne.And as it was with his fathers, Jeroboam II ledthe nation into the sinful ways of Jeroboam, theson of Nebat (I Kings 12:26-32).

Jeroboam II ruled Israel for 41 years. Godused him to restore many territories back to thekingdom of Israel. At the time of Jeroboam’sdeath, his son Zechariah succeeded to Israel’sthrone. His reign was very short, lasting only sixmonths. A man named Shallum, who wieldedpower in Israel, conspired against the new king,killed him, and seized the throne for himself (IIKings 15:8-12). God’s promise to Jehu was ful-filled.

Assyria Comes Against Israel

The reign of Shallum was only one monthbecause he was murdered by a man namedMenahem. During the reign of Menahem, theking of Assyria, Pul (also known as Tiglath-pileser), came against Israel. Instead of fighting

against Assyria, Menahem took money fromsome of the wealthy people of Israel and gave itto Pul as tribute (II Kings 15:19-20).

For the next 10 years, Menahem struggled tomaintain control over Israel. After his death, hisson Pekahiah reigned over Israel (II Kings 15:17,22). His reign was also a short one. He wouldrule for only two years before he was taken fromthe throne. A man named Pekah, along with sev-eral others, conspired against him and murderedhim. Pekah then made himself king and went onto rule Israel for 20 years (II Kings 15:23-27).

House of Israel Not Jewish

During the reign of King Pekah of Israel, Ahazbecame the King of Judah. It is important to notethat II Kings 16 shows that the kingdoms ofIsrael and Judah are two separate nations! About17 years into his reign, King Pekah of Israeldecided to form an alliance with the king ofSyria, King Rezin, for the purpose of besiegingJerusalem. This attempt went forth without suc-cess (II Kings 16:5). But what is important is thatthe alliance of Israel and Syria was formed to waragainst the kingdom of Judah—the Jews!

The first time the word “Jew” is mentioned inthe Bible is found in II Kings 16 (King JamesVersion). Write out II Kings 16:6. ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

This shows that Israel was at war against theJews. The word Jew is just a nickname forJudah. It is important to keep this truth in mindthroughout the rest of this Lesson. The individ-ual Jews of Judah are in fact children of Israel,but they do not hold the name of Israel as anational title.

A similar comparison would be that of a per-son who is a citizen of the state of California. ACalifornian is an American, just the same as a Jewis an Israelite. All Californians are Americans, butall Americans are not Californians. All Jews areIsraelites, but not all Israelites are Jews. The Jewsare only of the kingdom of Judah, which is only asmall part of Israel as a whole.

Genesis 48:16 shows that the patriarch Israel(formerly, Jacob) crossed his arms and laid hishands on the two young sons of Joseph—Ephraim and Manassah. The dying Israel said,“Let my name be named upon them.” Ephraimand Manassah (Joseph) became the leading tribesamong those remaining.

Israel’s Captivity

King Ahaz of Judah needed help to wage waragainst the Israelite and Syrian armies. He decid-ed to send many temple and palace treasures tobuy Assyrian aid. So Tiglath-pileser of Assyriahelped Ahaz. Through Tiglath-pileser, Assyriaconquered portions of Israel and Syria, setting upAssyrian control. They were successful in con-quering areas such as Galilee, Naphtali and por-tions of other Israelite territories, taking theIsraelites to Assyria as slaves.

God allowed Tiglath-pileser to conquer por-tions of Israel for a reason. For many years now,Israel was blatantly transgressing His laws andwas in direct conflict with their God-given pur-pose (Deuteronomy 4:6-7). Because they turnedfrom God, their sins drove them into captivity.

King Pekah’s reign ended when a man namedHoshea murdered him. Hoshea became Israel’slast king, ruling Samaria for nine years (II Kings15:30). During this time, a new Assyrian king,Shalmaneser, also invaded Israel.

King Hoshea survived his reign only by pay-ing tribute to the new Assyrian king. KingShalmaneser later discovered that King Hoshea

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conspired with King So of Egypt to fight theAssyrian domination. Shalmaneser then wentforth to imprison King Hoshea. He also wentforth with a massive invasion of Israel. Bothnations met in hand-to-hand combat. Weakenedby a lack of food, the Israelite soldiers were nomatch for the greater number of Assyrians whopoured inside the city in a short period of time,with civilians and soldiers under their control.

After being under siege for three years,Samaria fell completely. The people of Israelwere taken out of their own land into captivity.Shalmaneser and his successor, Sargon, took thecaptives to Assyria and placed them at the south-ern shores of the Caspian Sea.

“In the ninth year of __________ the king ofAssyria took ____________ and ___________________ away to Assyria, and ___________________ in Halah and by the Habor, the river of___________, and in the ___________ of theMedes” (II Kings 17:6).

It is important to realize that it was the nationof Israel, not Judah, that was taken away intocaptivity by the Assyrians. Israel was driven outof its homeland and later lost from history. Theybecame known as the Lost Ten Tribes of Israel.

“Therefore the LORD was very angry withIsrael, and removed them from His sight; therewas none left but the tribe of Judah alone” (IIKings 17:18).

Thus, 253 years after the original 12 tribesdivided into the two kingdoms of Israel andJudah, the kingdom of Israel ceased to exist.Scattered across hundreds of miles of territory,and mingled with heathen nations, the people ofIsrael eventually lost their identity as Israelitesand Sabbath keepers. What had once been agreat nation was now swallowed up—gone fromview—known now as the Lost Ten Tribes ofIsrael.

Why did God allow Israel to be conqueredand led away captive? “For so it was, that the

children of ____________ had ___________against the LORD their God, who had broughtthem _____________ of the land of_____________, from under the ___________ of_____________ _________ of _____________;and they had feared __________ ____________,and had walked in the ______________ of the____________ whom the LORD had cast out frombefore the children of ___________, and of thekings of Israel, which they had made” (II Kings17:7-8).

Out of mercy, God warned Israel by sendingHis prophets. Write out II Kings 17:13. __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

What was the response of Israel toward theprophets that God would send? Summarize IIKings 17:14-17. _________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Because of Israel’s two national sins—Sabbath breaking and idolatry—God was pro-voked into anger. Israel was influenced by theheathen nations that surrounded them. ThroughMoses, God warned Israel about the conse-quences of sin. It was written in Israel’s book ofthe Law. Write out Deuteronomy 32:26. _________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

After hundreds of years and numerous warn-ings, God drove Israel into captivity for theseunrepented sins. The vacant land of Israel wasimmediately populated by people from Babylonand other heathen lands. Write out II Kings17:24. _________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

An Obedient King of Judah

Judah was now the only nation that remained.Hezekiah had been ruling Judah since about thethird year of the reign of Hoshea, king of Israel.

King Hezekiah was 25 years old and a veryupright young man. Although he was the son ofevil King Ahaz, he was the opposite of his father(II Kings 18:1-3; II Chronicles 28:27).

In the first year of his reign, King Hezekiahknew that God’s temple at Jerusalem needed tobe cleaned up. Sixteen years earlier, his evilfather, Ahaz, had closed the temple because he

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turned to idolatry and stripped the temple of itsvaluables to pay the king of Assyria for helpagainst Judah’s enemies.

King Hezekiah informed the Levites and thepriests to cleanse themselves so they would be fitfor the task of reopening the temple in Jerusalem.Later, the temple cleansing was thorough andcomplete.

At this time, there were still some Israelitesthat the Assyrians left behind. God, still mercifultoward Israel, would offer the very few left achance to repent by returning to Jerusalem tokeep the Passover under righteous KingHezekiah. Hezekiah sent messengers to most ofthe towns of Israel to proclaim that the Passoverwould soon be observed at the newly openedtemple, saying, “Return to your God, and He willreturn unto you.”

Hezekiah’s messengers were very careful toavoid the Assyrian soldiers who now occupiedmost of Israel, especially Samaria. The few rem-nants of Israel, mainly of the tribes of Manasseh,Ephraim and Zebulun, laughed and scoffed atHezekiah’s message. Israel rejected God’s call torepentance. Assyria later returned in anotherinvasion wave to collect more of the scatteredIsraelites.

Choose—Blessings or Curses

The kingdom of Israel was left without excuse.Hundreds of years before its captivity, Israel wastaught that God would bless them for an attitude ofobedience. He also spelled out what the effectswould be if they chose an attitude of disobedience.These are all listed in what is called the “Blessingsand Cursings” chapter found in Deuteronomy 28.

These blessings and curses are still in effecttoday! God expects His people to learn about theseprinciples while we are young. Read throughDeuteronomy 28 and summarize in your ownwords these blessings on a separate sheet of paper.

Do the same with the curses that will be receivedfor the attitude of disobedience. We should learnwhile we are in our youth how to receive God’sblessings and how to avoid the problems (curses)that come with the attitude of disobedience.

God will bless all of us greatly in the world tocome, but many fail to realize that He is veryeager to shed upon us His many blessings now—in this present life!

Read Deuteronomy 30:19 very carefully: “Icall heaven and earth as witnesses today againstyou, that I have set before you life and death,blessing and cursing; therefore choose life, thatyou and your descendants may live.”

The people of Israel, and the many kings thatled them, rejected this command from God.Instead of reaping God’s promised blessings,they ignored Him, continually reaping curses as aresult.

God caused Israel to migrate to NorthwesternEurope, where they formed many of the modernnations of today’s world. Modern Britain and theUnited States have unknowingly fulfilled a prom-ise God made to the ancient patriarch Abraham.

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BLESSINGS and CURSINGS

BIBLE MEMORY: Deuteronomy 28:1-2

Published by The Restored Church of God.Printed in the USA; All Rights ReservedCopyright © 2006

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Blessings and CursingsBelow you will find BLESSINGS across (both forward and backward) and CURSINGS verti-cally (both up and down). There are 16 individual words or phrases for blessings and 11words or phrases for curses. Some curses may surprise you.