Jehoahaz (of Israel)
Israel · 814 – 798 BC · 17 years · 2 Kings 13:1 – 9
His Story
Jehu’s son, who reigned over a shrinking kingdom: Hazael of Syria oppressed Israel all his days, until Israel’s army was reduced to fifty horsemen, ten chariots, and ten thousand footmen — “the king of Syria had… made them like the dust by threshing.”
His Sin — How He Displeased the LORD
He kept the sins of Jeroboam, as his fathers had — seventeen more years of the calves while the nation was ground down.
The Good He Did
One act shines: “Jehoahaz besought the LORD, and the LORD hearkened unto him: for he saw the oppression of Israel… and the LORD gave Israel a saviour” (2 Kings 13:4 – 5). Even this king’s cry was heard — God answers the oppressed who call, sometimes for the sake of the people if not the king.
The LORD’s verdict
“And he did that which was evil in the sight of the LORD, and followed the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, which made Israel to sin; he departed not therefrom.”2 Kings 13:2 (KJV)
How His Reign Ended
He died and was buried in Samaria; his son Jehoash took the throne, and the promised deliverance from Syria came in the next reigns.
Lessons for Believers Today
- “The LORD hearkened” — prayer from an imperfect man in a desperate hour still moves heaven. Oppression is a reason to pray, not to despair.
- National trouble often traces to national sin long tolerated: the calves and the threshing floor belong to the same story.