The Stubborn Grace of God Text: 2 Kings 13:1-9
Introduction: A Long Obedience in the Wrong Direction
The book of Kings is a relentless account of God's covenant dealings with His people, and it is largely a tragic one. It is the story of a slow, grinding apostasy, punctuated by moments of revival that never quite stick. The northern kingdom of Israel, in particular, is a case study in what happens when a nation institutionalizes sin. From the moment Jeroboam set up his golden calves, he established a spiritual center of gravity that pulled every subsequent king, and the nation with them, away from true worship in Jerusalem. This was not just a religious faux pas; it was high treason against the God who had delivered them.
And so we come to Jehoahaz, son of the zealous but incomplete reformer, Jehu. Jehu had wiped out Baal worship with a bloody vengeance, as God commanded. But he left the foundational sin of Jeroboam untouched. He tore down one idol but left the other two standing. This is what we call partial obedience, which is just a respectable name for disobedience. And the consequences of that compromise are now coming home to roost in the reign of his son. Jehoahaz inherits a kingdom with a compromised faith, a worship system built on political convenience rather than divine command. And the result is entirely predictable: national decay and foreign oppression.
This passage is a microcosm of Israel's entire history. We see the dreary cycle of sin, oppression, a cry for help, deliverance, and then, tragically, a return to the very sin that caused the problem in the first place. It is a frustrating story. But in the middle of this frustrating cycle, we see the stubborn, unrelenting grace of a covenant-keeping God. He disciplines His people, He brings them to the brink, but He does not abandon them. His anger burns, but His ears are still open to the cry of the oppressed. This is a story about the consequences of sin, but it is even more a story about the character of God.
The Text
In the twenty-third year of Joash the son of Ahaziah, king of Judah, Jehoahaz the son of Jehu became king over Israel at Samaria, and he reigned seventeen years. And he did what was evil in the sight of Yahweh and followed the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, with which he made Israel sin; he did not depart from them. So the anger of Yahweh burned against Israel, and He gave them continually into the hand of Hazael king of Aram, and into the hand of Ben-hadad the son of Hazael. Then Jehoahaz entreated the face of Yahweh, and Yahweh listened to him; for He saw the oppression of Israel, how the king of Aram oppressed them. And Yahweh gave Israel a savior, so that they came out from under the hand of the Arameans; and the sons of Israel lived in their tents as formerly. Nevertheless they did not depart from the sins of the house of Jeroboam, with which he made Israel sin, but walked in them; and the Asherah also remained standing in Samaria. For he did not leave to Jehoahaz any people for the army except 50 horsemen and 10 chariots and 10,000 foot soldiers, for the king of Aram had caused them to perish and made them like the dust at threshing. Now the rest of the acts of Jehoahaz, and all that he did and his might, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Israel? And Jehoahaz slept with his fathers, and they buried him in Samaria; and Joash his son became king in his place.
(2 Kings 13:1-9 LSB)
The Predictable Path of Sin (v. 1-2)
The account begins with the standard formula for the kings of Israel, a formula that has become a depressing refrain.
"In the twenty-third year of Joash the son of Ahaziah, king of Judah, Jehoahaz the son of Jehu became king over Israel at Samaria, and he reigned seventeen years. And he did what was evil in the sight of Yahweh and followed the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, with which he made Israel sin; he did not depart from them." (2 Kings 13:1-2)
The historical markers are set, tying the northern kingdom's history to the southern. But the spiritual marker is what matters. The verdict on Jehoahaz's seventeen-year reign is delivered in one brutal sentence: "he did what was evil in the sight of Yahweh." And the specific nature of this evil is identified. It was not some new, creative wickedness. It was the old, tired, hand-me-down sin of Jeroboam. This sin was the state-sponsored religion of the northern kingdom. It was a worship system designed for political expediency. Jeroboam feared that if the people went to Jerusalem to worship, their hearts would return to the house of David. So he offered them a convenient, local alternative: golden calves at Dan and Bethel. It was a religion of pragmatism over principle, of human wisdom over divine revelation.
Notice the language: "he did not depart from them." Sin, especially institutionalized sin, has a terrible inertia. It creates grooves in a culture, and it becomes easier to stay in those grooves than to break out of them. Jehoahaz simply continued the family business of apostasy. He walked the well-worn path. This is a warning to us. We inherit the theological compromises of our fathers. Every generation has a choice: either repent of the sins of the previous generation or ratify them and make them their own. Jehoahaz ratified them.
The Burning Anger of God (v. 3)
The consequence of this persistent, covenanted rebellion is the righteous judgment of God.
"So the anger of Yahweh burned against Israel, and He gave them continually into the hand of Hazael king of Aram, and into the hand of Ben-hadad the son of Hazael." (2 Kings 13:3)
Let us not be squeamish about this. The Bible speaks of the anger of God. This is not the petty, volatile temper of a pagan deity. This is the holy, settled opposition of a righteous God against sin. It is the necessary reaction of a covenant Lord whose covenant has been trampled. God had promised blessings for obedience and curses for disobedience (Deuteronomy 28). This is not God losing His temper; this is God keeping His word. He is a just God, and He will not allow sin to go unanswered indefinitely.
And notice how His judgment is executed. He uses other nations as His rod of discipline. Hazael and Ben-hadad, the kings of Aram, were not acting in a vacuum. They thought they were pursuing their own imperial ambitions, but they were, in fact, instruments in the hand of Yahweh. God is sovereign over the affairs of nations. He raises up kings and He brings them down. He uses the wicked to chastise His own people, all without violating their own wicked intent. This is the mystery of providence. The Arameans were culpable for their cruelty, but God was righteous in His use of them as a tool of judgment.
Oppression, Prayer, and a Gracious Hearing (v. 4-5)
The pressure of God's discipline has its intended effect. It drives the king to his knees, however reluctantly.
"Then Jehoahaz entreated the face of Yahweh, and Yahweh listened to him; for He saw the oppression of Israel, how the king of Aram oppressed them. And Yahweh gave Israel a savior, so that they came out from under the hand of the Arameans; and the sons of Israel lived in their tents as formerly." (2 Kings 13:4-5)
This is a remarkable turn. In his distress, Jehoahaz "entreated the face of Yahweh." This is the language of prayer, of seeking favor. And the astounding thing is that Yahweh listened. Why? Not because Jehoahaz was suddenly a model of piety. The text tells us exactly why God listened: "for He saw the oppression of Israel." God's compassion was stirred by the suffering of His people, even though that suffering was a direct result of their own sin. His discipline is always restorative, not merely punitive. He disciplines as a father, not as an executioner.
And so, in response to this prayer born of desperation, God acts. "Yahweh gave Israel a savior." The word for savior here is a broad term, referring to a deliverer. It could be a military leader or a favorable turn of events. Later in the chapter, we will see this deliverance come through Jehoahaz's own son, Joash. But the point is that the deliverance comes from Yahweh. He is the one who sends the savior. Israel cannot save herself. Her only hope is a gracious intervention from the very God she has offended.
The result is a return to a measure of peace and normalcy: "the sons of Israel lived in their tents as formerly." This is a picture of security, of being able to live without the constant threat of marauding armies. God gives them a reprieve, a breathing space. He relents from the full measure of His judgment to give them an opportunity to turn.
The Stubbornness of Sin (v. 6-7)
And here is the tragic heart of the passage. God provides grace, He sends a deliverer, He restores a measure of peace. And what is Israel's response?
"Nevertheless they did not depart from the sins of the house of Jeroboam, with which he made Israel sin, but walked in them; and the Asherah also remained standing in Samaria." (2 Kings 13:6)
The word "nevertheless" is a dagger. Despite the grace, despite the deliverance, they clung to their sin. They wanted relief from the consequences of sin, but they did not want to part with the sin itself. They prayed for the oppression to stop, but they did not repent of the idolatry that caused it. This is the picture of foxhole religion. It is a turning to God for what we can get out of Him, not for who He is. They loved their convenient, man-made religion more than they loved the God who had just saved them.
And it gets worse. Not only did the calves of Jeroboam remain, but "the Asherah also remained standing in Samaria." The Asherah was a wooden pole or tree dedicated to a Canaanite fertility goddess. This was not just the state-sanctioned, semi-syncretistic worship of Jeroboam; this was outright paganism squatting in the capital city. They had layered their sins. Jehu had dealt with Baal, but he left the Asherah. They were content with a partial reformation, which is no reformation at all.
Verse 7 shows us the result of this half-heartedness. The deliverance was real, but it was not total. The nation was a shadow of its former self.
"For he did not leave to Jehoahaz any people for the army except 50 horsemen and 10 chariots and 10,000 foot soldiers, for the king of Aram had caused them to perish and made them like the dust at threshing." (2 Kings 13:7)
God had delivered them, but the scars of their sin remained. Their army was decimated. The image of being made "like the dust at threshing" is one of utter humiliation and destruction. They were saved, but just barely. They were pulled from the fire, but they still smelled of smoke. This is what happens when we refuse to deal radically with our sin. God in His mercy may deliver us from the ultimate consequences, but we will still live with the painful, earthly fallout of our compromises.
Conclusion: The Pattern of Grace
The passage concludes with the standard summary of the king's reign. He dies, is buried, and his son takes his place. The cycle continues.
What are we to make of this grim story? First, we must see the tenacious nature of sin, especially corporate and institutional sin. It is not easily uprooted. It requires radical, whole-hearted repentance, not just a desperate plea for relief. We must ask ourselves what "sins of Jeroboam" we have allowed to become institutionalized in our own lives, our families, and our churches. What compromises have we made for the sake of convenience or political calculation?
But second, and more importantly, we must see the astounding, stubborn grace of God. God's response to Jehoahaz's half-baked, self-interested prayer is utterly astonishing. He hears. He sees. He saves. Why? Because of His covenant. Because of His character. He is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.
This entire cycle of sin, oppression, crying out, and deliverance is a pattern that finds its ultimate fulfillment in the gospel. We, like Israel, are caught in a cycle of sin we cannot break. We do evil in the sight of the Lord. The righteous anger of God burns against us, and He gives us over to the oppression of sin and death. In our misery, we cry out. And God, because of His great love with which He loved us, hears us. He sees our oppression. And He gives us a Savior, a true and final Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ.
Jesus is the one who breaks the cycle. He does not just give us a temporary reprieve so we can go back to our idols. He delivers us from the power of sin itself. He tears down not only the Asherah pole but the very altar of sin in our hearts. Unlike the temporary saviors of Israel, He does not leave us weak and decimated, like dust at the threshing. He raises us to new life, clothes us in His own righteousness, and makes us "more than conquerors" (Romans 8:37). The story of Jehoahaz is a dim shadow. In Christ, we have the substance. God's grace to Israel was stubborn. His grace to us in His Son is triumphant and eternal.