Where it fits

Second Kings is the twelfth book of the Bible, with 25 chapters. It covers about 300 years, from around 853 BC to the fall of Jerusalem and the exile in 586 BC, with a brief glimpse of Jehoiachin's release around 561 BC. The author isn't named, and the book was probably put in its final form in exile. It continues 1 Kings and is one long story of kings, prophets, and a covenant people who didn't keep their side of the covenant. Read straight through, it takes about two hours.

The big story

Elijah is taken up to heaven in a whirlwind, and his assistant Elisha takes over his ministry (2). Elisha's miracles include multiplying a widow's oil (4), raising a Shunammite woman's son (4), healing Naaman, a Syrian general with a skin disease (5), and opening a servant's eyes to see the armies of God surrounding them (6:15–17). Jehu's revolt wipes out Ahab's family and Baal worship in Israel, but he doesn't turn fully to God (9–10).

The rest of the book is the tragedy of two kingdoms. In 722 BC, Assyria conquers the northern kingdom of Israel and takes its people away, and the writer explains why: they rejected God's covenant and followed idols (17:7–23). Judah survives longer. Hezekiah trusts God when Assyria's army surrounds Jerusalem, and God delivers the city (18–19). His son Manasseh does great evil (21), but his grandson Josiah finds the Book of the Law in the temple, is moved to tears, and leads a sweeping reform (22–23). It is too late. Babylon invades, and in 586 BC the temple is burned and Jerusalem falls (25). The book ends with a small glimmer: Jehoiachin, the exiled king of Judah, is released from prison and given a seat at the Babylonian king's table (25:27–30).

Three ideas to hold on to

1. God cares about outsiders. The story of Naaman, a foreign commander, and the Israelite servant girl who points him to Elisha shows God's mercy reaching beyond Israel (5:1–19).
2. Unfaithfulness has consequences. The exile is explained as the result of generations of ignoring God's warnings through his prophets (17:13–18; 24:2–4).
3. God's promise survives disaster. Even as Jerusalem falls, David's line continues, and the book ends with Jehoiachin alive and honored (25:27–30).

Passages people ask about

• 2 Kings 2. Elijah's departure in a chariot of fire, and Elisha taking up his work. The chapter also includes the troubling story of the boys and the bears (2:23–24), which interpreters explain in different ways.
• 2 Kings 5. Naaman is healed.
• 2 Kings 6:8–23. Elisha at Dothan, where he tells his frightened servant that “those who are with us are more than those who are with them” (6:16).
• 2 Kings 17:1–23. Why the northern kingdom fell, explained.
• 2 Kings 22:1–23:3. Josiah finds the Book of the Law and renews the covenant.
• 2 Kings 25. The fall of Jerusalem, and a surprising last verse.

How it points to Jesus

Elisha's ministry anticipates Jesus in many ways. He feeds 100 people with 20 loaves (4:42–44), raises a dead child (4:32–37), and heals a foreigner (5), and Jesus cites Naaman in his first sermon in Nazareth to show that God's mercy reaches outsiders (Luke 4:27). The ending, with David's line alive in exile, keeps hope for the promised king. Matthew's genealogy includes Jehoiachin, called Jeconiah, on the road from David to Jesus (Matthew 1:11–12).

A common misunderstanding

Second Kings can seem like a long list of bad kings, with the same phrase repeated: he did what was evil in the sight of the LORD. It is more than that. It is an explanation, written for people in exile, of how they got there and where they can look for hope. The writer does not hide that the exile was deserved, but also shows that God sent prophets, warned, and delayed judgment for generations. The quiet ending tells those in exile that God hasn't forgotten David's line.