2 Kings 14:23

THE "SAVIOUR" OF ISRAEL (JEROBOAM) IS ENTHRONED

"In the fifteenth year of Amaziah son of Joash king of Judah, Jeroboam the son of Joash king of Israel began to reign in Samaria, and reigned forty and one years. And he did that which was evil in the sight of Jehovah: he departed not from all the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, wherewith he made Israel to sin. He restored the border of Israel from the entrance of Hamath unto the sea of Arabah, according to the word of Jehovah, the God of Israel, which he spake by his servant Jonah the son of Amittai, the prophet, who was of Gath-hepher. For Jehovah saw the affliction of Israel, that it was very bitter; for there was none shut up nor left at large, neither was there any helper for Israel. And Jehovah said not that he would blot out the name of Israel from under heaven; but he saved them by the hand of Jeroboam the son of Joash."

REGARDING THE REIGN OF JEROBOAM

The date of this important administration over Israel is not known exactly. LaSor (New Bible Commentary, Revised) dated it, "From circa 782-752 B.C. with a co-regency from around 793 B.C.."[12] J. C. McCauley in Wycliffe Bible Encyclopedia gave it as 782 to 753 B.C.[13] D. A. Hubbard in The New Bible Dictionary listed it as 793 to 753 B.C.[14] These three dates are essentially the same. W. J. Deane in The Pulpit Commentary dated his rule from 799 to 759 B.C.[16] Canon Cook, following what he called the "common chronology," dated Jeroboam from 823 to 782 B.C.[17] These opinions are sufficient to justify the analysis of Hammond that, "The chronology of the later half of the Israelite kingdom is in confusion."[18]

The great revelation of this chapter regarding the politically successful reign of Jeroboam II is the worthlessness of it in the sight of God. Great as it was in the eyes of men, it was here dismissed contemptuously with only a few lines, dominated by, "he did that which was evil in the sight of Jehovah."

"He restored the border of Israel ... from ... Hamath unto the sea of Arabah" (2 Kings 14:25). "These were the limits of David's glorious kingdom."[19] "The Sea of Arabah mentioned here was either the Gulf of Aqaba or the Dead Sea."[20]

"According to the word of Jehovah ... by his servant Jonah the son of Amittai, the prophet, who was of Gath-hepher" (2 Kings 14:25). There is no intelligent basis for the knee-jerk denial of false critics who deny that the Jonah mentioned here was the author of the prophecy that bears his name. F. J. Foakes Jackson wrote the customary biased opinion of critics that, "This prophet can hardly be the author of the Book of Jonah."[21] (See our discussion of this in the introduction to our Commentary on Jonah (Vol. 1, of the Minor Prophets Series).) Here let us note that Jackson offered no proof of his bald assertion, flatly denying what is written in Jonah 1:1, namely, that the Jonah who wrote that prophecy is exactly the same "Jonah the son of Amittai" who is mentioned here. All believers should be warned against those servants of Satan who dare to deny what is written in the Word, doing so, not upon the basis of any fact, but merely upon their false opinions.

Honeycutt noted that, "The prophetic words of Amos and Hosea are fitting commentaries upon the moral and religious plight of Israel during the reign of Jeroboam II."[22] See Amos 7:10ff.

In addition to the witness of those two prophets, there should also be added the witness of Jonah himself, the son of Amittai, who was the social lion of Samaria in the days of Jeroboam II, because he had prophesied the resurgence of Israel's glory during that reign. Jonah himself became the prophetic symbol of God's total rejection of racial Israel (beginning with the Northern kingdom). His being cast overboard at sea is revealed as an exact prophecy of God's terminal rejection of the Old Israel. See our commentary on Jonah. Also, Jonah's stubborn hatred of Nineveh and his anger when God spared them are prophetic indications of Israel's anger at God's calling of the Gentiles, and their utter refusal to be pleased with it.