Today’s passage: 2 Kings 8:1-29
Helpful thoughts:
- Elisha was not being dishonest in verse 10. Ben-Hadad did not die of his sickness, he was murdered.
- There was a Jehoram as king of Israel and as king of Judah at the same time. The name “Joram” is used for both as well.
- Their name was not the only thing they had in common. Jehoram of Judah lived and ruled like a king from Samaria.
- Athaliah was the daughter of Ahab and Jezebel. She became the wife of Jehoram/Joram in Judah and also the mother of the next king, Ahaziah.
- She influenced these kings of Judah, her husband and son, in the same way Jezebel had influenced Ahab.
Questions to consider:
- In a book which records much disobedience and discipline, how does the narrative of this woman differ (Verses 1-6)? What did she do when Elisha gave her this instruction? Whom did God use to make things right when she returned? Is anything too hard for the Lord?
- Read 2 Chronicles 22:10-12. What did Athaliah do in order to rule over Judah herself? Whom did she seek to kill, what relation were the heirs to the throne? What relation was her own son to our Savior (As a prince of Judah and descendant of David)? In what way did she go even beyond the wickedness of Jezebel?
- Even though we might see the kings of Israel and of Judah as being separated from each other, what is true of them at this point? How closely are they related? How would/did these family connections push the kings of Judah away from their Davidic ancestry?