2 Kings 8:16

TWO DIFFERENT JEHORAM'S REIGNING IN BOTH JUDAH AND ISRAEL

"And in the fifth year of Joram the son of Ahab king of Israel, Jehoshaphat being then king of Judah, Jehoram the son of Jehoshaphat king of Judah began to reign. Thirty and two years old was he when he began to reign; and he reigned eight years in Jerusalem. And he walked in the way of the kings of Israel, as did the house of Ahab: for he had the daughter of Ahab to wife; and he did that which was evil in the sight of Jehovah. Howbeit Jehovah would not destroy Judah, for David his servant's sake, as he promised to give unto him a lamp for his children alway."

"It was the religious solidarity of the Judean kings with the apostasy of Northern Israel"[23] that led to the inclusion of the record of their reigns just here. The lamp of truth burned very dimly in Israel at this time, in both kingdoms. Only by God's direct intervention was it kept burning. That intervention was planned in this chapter and executed in 2 Kings 9.

"Joram ... Jehoram" (2 Kings 8:16). "These names are the same, Joram being merely an abbreviation of the other."[24] The Jehoram of Israel was generally referred to as Joram. Only a very brief record of the reign of Jehoram in Judah is given here, but there is a much fuller account of all his wickedness in 2 Chronicles 21.

"It is confusing that these two Jehorams reigned simultaneously in Israel and Judah for about three years."[25]

"For he had the daughter of Ahab to wife" (2 Kings 8:18). This evil woman, of course, was the daughter of Jezebel. "That disastrous political marriage which Jehoshaphat unwisely allowed,"[26] was the instrument by which Satan almost removed faith in Jehovah from the chosen people. Athaliah, here called the daughter of Ahab (and Jezebel) is also called "the granddaughter of Omri" (2 Kings 8:26 RSV), and "the daughter of Omri" (2 Kings 8:26 KJV). The words "son" and "daughter" are used nine different ways in the Bible, and one of the meanings is "descendant of" (Matthew 1:1). Snaith mentioned these variations, referring to "daughter of Omri" as incorrect;[27] but, of course, in the light of Biblical usage throughout the Holy Scriptures, all of these designations are absolutely correct!

"He did that which was evil in the sight of Jehovah" (2 Kings 8:18). Of course, when we discuss 2 Chronicles 21, we shall understand more fully the implications of this. "One of the worst of Jehoram's terrible sins was his ruthless murder of his six brothers merely for the purpose of seizing their wealth (2 Chronicles 21:4)."[28]

To be sure, the gross wickedness of Jehoram would have resulted in the total destruction of him and his dynasty, "If the Lord had not promised to preserve a shoot to the royal family for David's sake."[29] The nature of this promise to David is revealed in 2 Samuel 7:13-16, in which the Lord said, "If thy children forsake my Law, and walk not in my statutes, I will visit their offenses with the rod, and their sin with scourges, but I will not utterly take away, nor suffer my truth to fail. My covenant I will not break." In this very chapter, we shall see evidences of the rod, and of the scourges. Also, see 2 Chronicles 21:12-19.