The High Cost of Cheap Idols: Text: 2 Kings 15:17-22
Introduction: The Downward Spiral
The book of Kings is a relentless chronicle of covenant unfaithfulness. It is a long, slow, and sometimes horrifically fast, slide into the abyss. If you read it straight through, you get a sense of vertigo. The northern kingdom of Israel, in particular, is a revolving door of bloody coups, assassinations, and apostasy. The kings come and go, but the foundational sin, the original rebellion of Jeroboam son of Nebat, remains like a permanent stain on the throne. It is the political and spiritual DNA of the nation.
We come today to a man named Menahem. His story is brief, just a few verses tucked away in a chapter full of turmoil. It is easy to read past him, to see him as just another domino falling in a long line of dominoes. But his reign, though short, is a perfect case study in the pathology of sin. It shows us how idolatry always leads to impotence, how rebellion against God always leads to servitude to men, and how trying to buy your way out of God's judgment is the most expensive and foolish bargain a man or a nation can make.
Menahem’s story is not just ancient history. It is a diagnosis of our own times. We live in an age that has rejected the God of Scripture and has bent the knee to a host of other gods, the gods of materialism, sexual autonomy, and the all-powerful state. And like Menahem, we are discovering that when you refuse to pay tribute to Heaven, you will inevitably find yourself paying tribute to Assyria. When you will not have God as your king, you will get tyrants as your masters. The principles we see at work in this short passage are as fixed and unyielding as the law of gravity.
The Text
In the thirty-ninth year of Azariah king of Judah, Menahem son of Gadi became king over Israel and reigned ten years in Samaria. And he did what was evil in the sight of Yahweh; he did not depart all his days from the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, which he made Israel sin. Pul, king of Assyria, came against the land, and Menahem gave Pul one thousand talents of silver so that his hand might be with him to strengthen the kingdom in his hand. Then Menahem exacted the money from Israel, even from all the mighty men of valor, from each man fifty shekels of silver to pay the king of Assyria. So the king of Assyria returned and did not stay there in the land. Now the rest of the acts of Menahem and all that he did, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Israel? And Menahem slept with his fathers, and Pekahiah his son became king in his place.
(2 Kings 15:17-22 LSB)
The Stubborn Root of Sin (v. 17-18)
We begin with the standard spiritual obituary for a king of Israel.
"In the thirty-ninth year of Azariah king of Judah, Menahem son of Gadi became king over Israel and reigned ten years in Samaria. And he did what was evil in the sight of Yahweh; he did not depart all his days from the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, which he made Israel sin." (2 Kings 15:17-18)
The historical marker ties his reign to that of Azariah in Judah, reminding us that God is weaving one story, even with two unraveling kingdoms. Menahem reigns for ten years, a respectable amount of time in the violent chaos of the northern kingdom. But the divine assessment is what matters. He did evil in the sight of Yahweh. This is God's verdict, and it is the only one that ultimately counts. Men may write their own histories, but God has the final say.
And what was the nature of his evil? It was unoriginal. He was a carbon copy of his predecessors. "He did not depart... from the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat." This phrase is a sorrowful refrain throughout Kings. Jeroboam’s sin was the establishment of a counterfeit religion. To prevent the people from going to Jerusalem to worship, which was a political threat to his breakaway kingdom, he set up golden calves in Dan and Bethel. It was a state-sponsored, state-controlled religion designed for political convenience. It was worship tailored to serve the king, not the King of kings.
This is the essence of all idolatry. It is an attempt to get the benefits of religion without the submission to the true God. It is wanting a god you can manage, a god who serves your agenda. Jeroboam’s sin was a declaration of spiritual independence from Yahweh, and it was a catastrophic failure. Every king who followed him, including Menahem, perpetuated this rebellion. They were clinging to a dead tradition of apostasy. Sin, when it becomes institutionalized, has a terrible inertia. It becomes the default, the path of least resistance. Menahem did not have to invent new ways to be wicked; he just had to keep the old machinery of state-sponsored idolatry running.
The Assyrian Shakedown (v. 19-20)
When a nation abandons the true God, it creates a vacuum of power. And something will always rush in to fill it. In this case, it was the Assyrian empire.
"Pul, king of Assyria, came against the land, and Menahem gave Pul one thousand talents of silver so that his hand might be with him to strengthen the kingdom in his hand. Then Menahem exacted the money from Israel, even from all the mighty men of valor, from each man fifty shekels of silver to pay the king of Assyria. So the king of Assyria returned and did not stay there in the land." (2 Kings 15:19-20 LSB)
Here we see God’s sovereignty in action. Pul, also known as Tiglath-Pileser III, was a brutal and efficient empire-builder. From a human perspective, his invasion was a matter of geopolitical expansion. But from a biblical perspective, Assyria is God’s razor (Isaiah 7:20). God is the one moving the king of Assyria like a piece on a chessboard. When Israel refuses to submit to their covenant Lord, He disciplines them by sending a pagan lord. God is sovereign over the wicked decisions of wicked rulers, and He uses them to accomplish His own righteous purposes.
Menahem’s response is telling. He does not repent. He does not cry out to Yahweh for deliverance, as the judges of old had done. He does not muster the armies of Israel to fight in the strength of the Lord. No, his instinct is purely pragmatic, purely secular. He tries to solve a spiritual problem with a financial transaction. He attempts to buy off the judgment of God.
He gives Pul a massive bribe, a thousand talents of silver, so that Pul’s "hand might be with him to strengthen the kingdom." This is the height of irony. Menahem is paying an enemy invader to prop up his own throne. He is seeking security from the very instrument of God's wrath. He is asking the wolf to guard the sheep pen. This is what happens when you forsake God. You lose all common sense. You start making alliances with the devil to secure your little kingdom, and you end up paying him tribute for the privilege.
And where does the money come from? "Menahem exacted the money from Israel, even from all the mighty men of valor." He taxes the wealthy elite, the very men who should have been leading the armies. Fifty shekels of silver per man. This was not a tax on the general populace, but a targeted levy on the leadership. The "mighty men of valor" are reduced to funding their own subjugation. Their might and their valor are useless. Instead of wielding swords, they are counting out silver. This is a picture of a nation utterly demoralized and spiritually bankrupt. The strength of the nation is liquidated to pay off the enemy. And for a moment, it works. The king of Assyria takes the money and leaves. But this is not deliverance. It is just a temporary stay of execution, and it has set a terrible precedent. Israel has now officially become a vassal state, not to God, but to Assyria.
The Unwritten History (v. 21-22)
The account concludes with the standard formula for the end of a king's reign.
"Now the rest of the acts of Menahem and all that he did, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Israel? And Menahem slept with his fathers, and Pekahiah his son became king in his place." (2 Kings 15:21-22 LSB)
The biblical author points to another source, the official court records, for more details. But he has already told us everything we need to know from God's point of view. Men may be interested in the "rest of the acts," the political maneuvering, the building projects, the economic policies. But God is interested in the man's heart and his covenant faithfulness. By that standard, Menahem’s legacy was already written: "he did what was evil."
He "slept with his fathers." He died a natural death, which was a rare thing for a king of Israel at this point. He even managed to pass the kingdom on to his son, Pekahiah. From a worldly perspective, you might say Menahem was a success. He held onto power for a decade and established a brief dynasty. He faced a massive foreign threat and neutralized it, albeit at a high cost. He died in his own bed. But God's economy is not our economy. Menahem’s pragmatism was simply high-priced apostasy. He bought himself a little time, but he sold his nation's soul. He avoided a battle with Assyria but ensured the ultimate judgment of God.
Conclusion: No Bribes at God's Gate
The story of Menahem is a stark warning against the folly of trying to manage the consequences of sin through worldly means. Menahem thought he could buy security. He thought a thousand talents of silver could hold back the tide of God's judgment. But you cannot bribe God. You cannot pay off the Assyrians of your own making and expect to be free.
When we as individuals or as a nation turn away from God, when we institutionalize the sins of Jeroboam, setting up our own idols of convenience, we invite judgment. And that judgment often comes in the form of foreign powers and internal decay. Our refusal to be governed by God results in our being governed by tyrants, both foreign and domestic. Our refusal to render to God what is God's, our worship and allegiance, results in us having to render to Caesar what we thought was ours, our wealth, our sons, and our freedom.
Menahem’s solution was to tax the strong to pay the enemy. Our nation is doing the same, taxing its productive citizens into oblivion to fund a massive, godless state that makes alliances with our enemies and calls it foreign policy. We are paying tribute, and we are calling it pragmatism.
The only way out of this downward spiral is not a better economic plan or a shrewder political deal. The only way out is repentance. The problem is not Assyria at the border; the problem is the golden calf in the heart of the capital. The solution is not to buy off the enemy, but to tear down the idols and cry out to the God who is our only true deliverer.
There is a tribute that has been paid that can actually secure a kingdom. But it was not a thousand talents of silver paid to a pagan king. It was the precious blood of the Son of God, paid to satisfy the justice of a holy God. Jesus Christ did not bribe the enemy; He crushed the enemy's head. He did not buy us a temporary reprieve; He purchased an eternal kingdom. When we try to save ourselves through our own clever schemes and financial arrangements, we become like Menahem, enslaved to the very powers we are trying to appease. But when we abandon our idols and plead the blood of Christ, we are made truly free. He is the only king whose protection does not come at the cost of our freedom. In fact, His rule is the only true freedom there is.