It’s challenging enough with having so many duplicate king-names in Israel & Judah-

• Jeroboam & Rehoboam and then Jeroboam II
• 2 Ahaziahs, an Athaliah and an Amaziah
• 2 Joram/Jehorams
• A Joash and a Jehoash
• 2 Jehoahazes
• A Pekah and a Pekahiah
• A Jehoiakim and a Jehoiachin

It’s another reason why I like Jehoshaphat. He had a no-copy-cats name.

But the duplicate names aren’t limited to Israel & Judah. Remember when Hazael takes the bedsheet and suffocates Ben-Hadad to death? Guess what Hazael names his own son. Ben-Hadad.

Ben means “son of.” According to my Strong’s Concordance, Hadad (which we generally say like “Hey, Dad” but is actually more like hah-dahd) is the name of an idol, has strong ties to the Edomites, and may mean something like “fierce” or “sharp.”

So, when we start to read about Ben-Hadad (2) just know it’s not the same thug who pillaged Israel during the reigns of Ahab and Joram.

😴

Hey. Wake up.

🥱 I wasn’t asleep. I was just resting my eyes. All those king names make me cross-eyed. I’m tempted to give them all nicknames like Stuart and Bob and Kevin.

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JEHOAHAZ (Israel), SON OF JEHU

Jehu never smashed the golden calves made by Jeroboam I. And neither did his son Jehoahaz. When the text mentions “the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat,” it’s talking about the golden calves.

Most Israelites at the time thought that Yahweh really either WAS represented by the golden calf or that He rode on the golden calf (like other middle eastern deities). And I suppose that mistake might be overlooked if they didn’t have access to the word of God (not to mention prophets) telling them otherwise.

But even though Jehoahaz is continuing in the gold calf idolatry, he actually prayed to Yahweh…

“Then Jehoahaz sought the favor of the Lord, and the Lord listened to him, for he saw the oppression of Israel, how the king of Syria oppressed them. (Therefore the Lord gave Israel a savior, so that they escaped from the hand of the Syrians, and the people of Israel lived in their homes as formerly.”
‭‭2 Kings‬ ‭13‬:‭4‬-‭5‬ ‭ESV‬‬

The word “savior” in this verse is yasha in Hebrew. Very close to the name of Jesus, Yeshua; “for He shall save His people from their sin.” In the Greek Septuagint it is the word soteria and is translated as “deliverance.” If you study theology, you will encounter the word soteriology [so-terry-ology]. It’s the study of salvation. There is a YouTube channel I enjoy called Soteriology 101 with Dr. Leighton Flowers, (which I have recommended previously). This channel is focused on exploring the doctrine of salvation and particularly the debate between the Calvinist perspective and what Dr. Flowers calls the “Provisionalist” view.

So, the LORD rescues Israel from Syria…

“Yet they did not depart from the sins of the house of Jeroboam which he caused Israel to sin, but walked in it; and also, the pole of the Asherah worship was still standing in Samaria.”
‭‭2 Kings‬ ‭13‬:‭6‬ ‭LEB‬‬

🧔‍♂️ Bob the Israelite: Our army is down to 50 horses and 10 chariots. Not many soldiers left either.

👨‍🦰 Kevin the Israelite: But hey, Yahweh rescued us. Right?

🧔‍♂️ Bob: Just barely. I wonder why He doesn’t help us more. Remember the stories from the Old Days? Hail and thunder from heaven? Stuff like that.

👨‍🦰 Kevin: Those were the days.

🧔‍♂️ Bob: Ya think maybe it has something to do with the Asherah in the capitol? Or maybe the calves should be in the capitol instead of Dan and Bethel?

👨‍🦰 Kevin: Nah… Aren’t they all buddies with Yahweh or something? He wouldn’t care. Surely.

🧔‍♂️ Bob: Yeah. I’m sure you’re right. He would never be jealous about a little thing like that.

They seriously can’t figure out that their God – Whose name is Jealous (Ex. 34:14) – has a problem with them bringing in “another woman.” And though Jehoahaz prays to Yahweh, he just doesn’t see a problem mixing Yahweh worship with other “spiritual practices.”

😏 You’re about to meddle again aren’t you? You have that look.

What look?

😏 The look that says, “This is a flaming hot take that will probably make some people mad.”

Yes. I’m about to meddle.

There are people out there in the Church (I’ve met some, watched others on YouTube) that don’t see a problem at all in mixing Christ with Yoga, Reiki, Chakras, and whatever is meant by the nebulous term “spiritual practices.”

Jesus also gets enthusiastically mixed with Multi-level-marketing, Manifesting wealth, Vision Boards, and all things “prosperity.”

And because (perhaps) the Lord has saved these people’s hides from being completely wiped out by the Enemy, they see no problem with this.

The word of the day is: syncretism.

It’s not that Israel has completely forgotten Yahweh. It’s just that they put Him alongside other gods and mixed in other forms of worship borrowed from other “faith traditions.” I’m sure they thought they were being super progressive and inclusive.

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JEHOASH (Israel), SON OF JEHOAHAZ

The text doesn’t give us much about Jehoash.

He lived. He reigned 16 years. He was bad. He died. His son, Jeroboam II followed him.

That is all. 🪦

🫤 Wow. That all fits on a single tombstone.

Yup.

Except that during his reign he went to see the dying prophet Elisha.

And, interestingly, Jehoash says to Elisha the exact same thing that Elisha said when Elijah was taken from him up into heaven…

“My father, my father; the chariot of Israel and its horsemen!”
‭‭2 Kings‬ ‭13‬:‭14‬ ‭LEB‬‬

“while Elisha was watching and crying out, “My father, my father; the chariot of Israel and its horsemen!” But he could not see him any longer, and he grasped his clothes and tore them in two pieces.”
‭‭2 Kings‬ ‭2‬:‭12‬ ‭LEB‬‬

And then even in his weakened state, Elisha does a prophetic archery lesson with the younger man. The arrow represents victory in battle over Syria (Aram).

Think back over the past several chapters. How many times have we read about Israel fighting with the Syrians? Ben-Hadad. Then Hazael. Then Ben-Hadad II. Ramoth-Gilead changes hands several times. Mostly Israel has had their rear ends handed to them except for a few times when Yahweh has rescued them from utter destruction.

Jehoash inherited the crumbs of an army; 10,000 foot soldiers, 50 old nags and 10 beat up old chariots. He’s not exactly sitting in a position of power.

So when Elisha tells him that the arrows represents victory over Syria and then tells him to strike the ground with them, it should’ve looked something like this:

Just beat the stuffin’s out of it!

Instead, he looked something like this…

And that’s the kind of victories they get over Syria. Three gentle taps.

So Elisha passes on and is buried.

And at some time later, a funeral gets interrupted by a band marauding Moabites. They tossed the body into the tomb with Elisha and ran for cover. And there was a post-mortem miracle!

Elisha definitely got a double portion of Elijah’s spirit. He performed twice as many miracles. Elijah raised the son of the widow to life. One resurrection. And Elisha died having only done one resurrection- also an only child of a soon-to-be-widow. It wasn’t until after his death that the completion of the double portion happened, when his dead body raised a 2nd person to life.

There were people in history – like Mozart and Jane Austen – who died without wealth, honor, or public fanfare. Their genius was only truly appreciated after their deaths. Mozart’s body was thrown in a pauper’s unmarked grave. Austen’s original grave marker says nothing about her being an author.

There have been many Christians whose greatest contributions have come about after their deaths. Their influence didn’t stop at the grave. It grew.

Perhaps the Lord might use some of us in that way. Just because you don’t see the fullness of what you prayed for in your lifetime, doesn’t mean that it won’t happen after you have shuffled off this mortal coil.