Resurrection Life of Jesus Church

DECISION TIME
As the Godhead watched the funeral of King Joash, they paused the virtual time run to discuss the situation with Israel:

• It had been 149 bad years since the northern kingdom broke away with its nine tribes.

• Lucifer had been able to infuse his sin nature into the people and their kings.

• Idolatry, lying, stealing, murdering, deception was rampant.

• Soldiers looted and murdered men, women and children at will.

• There were very few traces left of the instructions Jesus had given to Moses.

Could Israel be saved? Was the northern kingdom a lost cause?

The Godhead had sent in two powerful prophets – Elijah and Elisha – but these men were not able to make a dent in the sinful ways of the kings and the people.

The Godhead decided to give it more time with four prophets inserted at the same time. They designed Hosea, Joel, Amos and Jonah with the purpose of countering the tide of evil in Israel and redeeming the people.

The Godhead recorded the words that would be given to Hosea in the future to sum up their perception of Israel at the time of King Joash’s death. Hosea 4:1-19

THE PROPHET HOSEA
We don’t know the exact year Hosea was born. His father’s name was Beeri and he was born in the northern kingdom during the reign of Jeroboam II (782-753 B.C.)

Hosea stated that he was activated as a prophet during the days of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah – kings of Judah – and of King Jeroboam II of Israel. The consensus among Biblical scholars is that Hosea had a prophetic public ministry of some 58 years. Hosea 1:1

KING JEROBOAM II
Jeroboam II reigned over Israel for 41 years as a powerful king who waged war against Syria. He was able to recover vast territories from Syria, particularly the coastal area of Israel. 2 Kings 14:23-28

Cities grew in wealth and there was a small class of rich landowners, merchants and bankers. The majority of the people were craftsmen, laborers and farmers exploited by the king and the wealthy.

The upper class were favored by local rulers and judges, allowing the king, his princes and the upper class to live the easy life and embrace drunkenness, idolatry and suppression of the poor. God issued strong warnings from two prophets. Hosea 4:1-14; Amos 4:1-2; 6:1-7

KING ZACHARIAH
The good times ended with Jeroboam II and it was all downhill thereon until the northern kingdom was conquered by the Assyrians and the entire population removed. When Jeroboam died, his son, Zachariah became the new king. He continued the evil practice of golden calf worship, adopting the same policies of the previous kings since the northern kingdom’s inception. 2 Kings 14:29; 15:8-9

REGICIDE
Regicide is the action of killing a king. The protection over Israel started to wane as God began to judge the northern kingdom. Familial succession ended as each king assassinated his predecessor.

KING SHALLUM
Once Zachariah became king, lawlessness prevailed in Israel and Shallum the son of Jabesh conspired to be the next king. Shallum was a captain in King Zachariah’s army and he started a conspiracy to murder King Zachariah, who died six months after he began to reign. 2 Kings 15:10-12

KING MENAHEM
Menahem was another captain in the army of Zachariah. He was the son of Gadi from the city of Tirzah in the hills north of the Samarian highlands. When Menahem learned that Shallum had murdered king Zachariah, he raised an army, marched six miles to Samaria and laid siege to the city. When he broke through the defenses, he ordered the murder of King Shallum whose month long reign came to an end.

Menahem was an evil king and continued the worship of the golden calves. He was resisted by people in the city of Tiphsah and the surrounding areas when he tried to consolidate his political power. He led his army to subdue the rebellion, and once he had broken through their defenses, he ordered everyone massacred. In order to instill fear in his enemies, he commanded that all pregnant women have their bellies cut open and the babies ripped out. 2 Kings 15:13-18

Hosea described the situation in Israel at the time of Menahem. Hosea 7:1-7

A HUGE BRIBE
The Assyrian Empire was ruled by Tiglath-Pileser III. Since he had captured Babylon, he was also known as Pul. He went on to conquer Syria and Israel was next. Menahem knew that he could not win against the Assyrians and agreed to pay 1,000 talents of silver to avoid war – about 43.7 million dollars in today’s money!¹

Menahem notified all the wealthy men in Israel that each of them would be taxed 50 shekels of silver in order to raise this enormous sum of money. The tribute was delivered to the Assyrians and they left Israel alone. 2 Kings 15:19-20

The upper class in Israel would never have been able to perform this task unless they were very wealthy.

God spoke through the prophet Amos and warned about coming judgment. Amos 6:1-7

After reigning for 10 years, the Godhead put an end to Menahem’s cruelty and lavish lifestyle. He left behind all his riches and was cast into hell. 2 Kings 15:21-22

SUMMARY
The Godhead paused the virtual time run, the final screenshot showed the funeral for Menahem. They looked at each other in disbelief that a man could be so cruel and corrupt. Menahem was a descendant of Abraham, but spiritually he was the son of Lucifer.

The question was raised again. Could Israel be saved as a nation? The last four kings had dragged the people of Israel further down despite the Godhead’s efforts of sending fiery and powerful prophets to preach repentance. It was decided that Israel would receive a little more time before the Godhead abandoned them.

1. A biblical talent weighed about 1,900 Troy ounces. Using today’s price of $23 per ounce of silver, 1,000 talents of silver would be the equivalent of $43.7 million dollars.