Commentary - 2 Kings 16:5-6

Bird's-eye view

In this brief account, we are dropped into the middle of a geopolitical firestorm, but more importantly, a theological one. The northern kingdom of Israel, thoroughly apostate, has made a pact with the pagan Arameans. Their goal is to strong-arm Judah, the southern kingdom, into joining their anti-Assyrian coalition. This is not merely a political squabble; it is a manifestation of the covenantal rot that has set in. King Ahaz of Judah, a man allergic to faith, finds himself caught between two snarling dogs and a looming lion. His response, as we see in the wider context of this chapter and in Isaiah's prophecy, is to reject the word of the Lord and instead to buy the friendship of the Assyrians. These verses set the stage for that disastrous decision, showing us the pressure cooker Ahaz was in. The key takeaway is this: God's people are always being besieged, and the temptation is always to trust in horses and chariots, or their modern equivalents, rather than in the living God.

The events here are a physical manifestation of a spiritual reality. The covenant-breaking north (Ephraim) joins with the godless Gentiles (Aram) to assault the covenant line of David in Jerusalem. Though Ahaz is a wicked king, God preserves the city, not for Ahaz's sake, but for David's sake, and for the sake of the Son of David yet to come. The pressure applied by Rezin and Pekah is a divine test for Ahaz, a test he spectacularly fails. The limited success of the enemy in taking Elath demonstrates that the threat is real, but their inability to take Jerusalem shows that God's purposes are sovereign. This is a story about the futility of godless alliances and the tragic blindness of faithless leadership.

Outline

Context In 2 Kings

This passage is a pivotal moment in the decline of both Israel and Judah. Ahaz has just ascended the throne of Judah, and the author of Kings makes it plain that he "did not do what was right in the sight of the LORD his God" (2 Kings 16:2). He is a full-blown idolater, even sacrificing his own son in the fire. It is onto this scene of deliberate covenant rebellion that God brings the pressure of Rezin and Pekah. This is not random violence; it is covenantal litigation. God is suing his people, and he is using pagan nations and the apostate northern kingdom as his bailiffs.

The broader context is the relentless expansion of the Assyrian empire under Tiglath-Pileser III. The smaller nations of the Levant are scrambling to form alliances to resist him. Rezin and Pekah see Judah as a necessary piece of their coalition. When Ahaz refuses, they decide to replace him with a puppet king. This whole affair is prophesied in stunning detail by Isaiah (Isaiah 7-8), who confronts Ahaz directly, offering him a sign from God to trust in Him alone. Ahaz's pious-sounding refusal ("I will not put the LORD to the test") is rank unbelief masquerading as humility. Our passage in 2 Kings gives us the raw historical facts that serve as the backdrop for Isaiah's powerful prophetic ministry.

Key Issues

Verse by Verse Commentary

2 Kings 16:5

Then Rezin king of Aram and Pekah son of Remaliah, king of Israel, went up to Jerusalem to wage war; and they besieged Ahaz, but could not overcome him.

The verse opens with the unholy alliance on the march. "Then Rezin king of Aram and Pekah son of Remaliah, king of Israel, went up to Jerusalem." Notice the players. Rezin is a Gentile, an Aramean. Pekah is the king of the northern tribes, the breakaway kingdom of Israel, also called Ephraim. Here we have a picture of the world and the apostate church teaming up to attack the true, albeit deeply compromised, people of God. This is a recurring pattern. When God's people drift, they find that their estranged brothers can become their most bitter enemies, willing to make common cause with any pagan just to bring them down. Pekah should have been a brother to Ahaz. Instead, he is an adversary, yoked with an unbeliever.

Their objective is Jerusalem, the city of David, the place where God had chosen to put His name. Their purpose is "to wage war." This is a direct assault on the throne of David. And they lay siege to the king, Ahaz. The pressure is being applied directly to the leadership. A siege was a terrifying thing, a slow process of starvation and attrition. The psychological weight on Ahaz must have been immense.

But then we have the glorious, and for them, frustrating conclusion: "but could not overcome him." Why not? Was Ahaz a brilliant military strategist? Was the army of Judah particularly valiant? The text is silent on these points, and the rest of the chapter shows Ahaz to be a quivering bowl of faithless jelly. They could not overcome him for one reason and one reason only: the Lord would not let them. God had made a covenant with David, promising that he would never lack a man to sit on the throne (2 Sam 7). Ahaz was a wicked man, but he was a son of David, and the promise was not ultimately about Ahaz, but about Christ. God was preserving the Messianic line. The gates of hell, and the combined forces of Aram and Ephraim, shall not prevail against the purposes of God. This is raw, sovereign power on display. Man proposes, God disposes.

2 Kings 16:6

At that time Rezin king of Aram restored Elath for Aram and cleared the Judeans out of Elath entirely; and the Arameans came to Elath and have lived there to this day.

Just as we see God's sovereign preservation of Jerusalem, we also see His hand of judgment in the loss of Elath. "At that time Rezin king of Aram restored Elath for Aram." This verse shows that the siege of Jerusalem was not a complete failure for the invaders. They had some success on the periphery. Elath was a key port city on the Red Sea, vital for trade. Its loss was a significant economic and strategic blow to Judah.

This is how God's discipline often works. He does not annihilate His people for their sin, but He absolutely chastises them. He protects the heart, Jerusalem, but allows the extremities to be wounded. Ahaz refused to trust God, so God allowed him to feel the painful consequences of being hemmed in by his enemies. The text says Rezin "cleared the Judeans out of Elath entirely." This was a complete and total defeat in that region. The Arameans moved in and, as the author notes, "have lived there to this day." This was not a temporary setback; it was a lasting loss, a permanent consequence of faithlessness.

This verse serves as a sober warning. While God's ultimate purposes of redemption will never be thwarted, our individual and corporate acts of disobedience have real, painful, and sometimes lasting consequences in history. Ahaz was preserved on his throne, but his kingdom was diminished. He was saved from the immediate threat, but he was also being judged. This partial success of the enemy was intended to drive Ahaz to repentance, to make him see that trusting in anything other than Yahweh results in loss. Tragically, Ahaz learned precisely the wrong lesson and ran straight into the arms of Assyria, compounding his folly.

Application

The central lesson for us is the object of our trust. Like Ahaz, we live in a world of political turmoil, economic instability, and cultural hostility. We are constantly besieged by threats, both internal and external. The temptation is to make pragmatic alliances with the world, to adopt its methods, to buy its protection. Ahaz had two options: the word of the prophet Isaiah promising deliverance from God, or an alliance with the pagan superpower Assyria. He chose what he could see, what looked strong to the natural man. He chose poorly.

We must see that our only security is in the covenant promises of God, fulfilled in Jesus Christ. The Son of David has come, and His throne has been established forever. The church is the new Jerusalem, and He has promised that the gates of hell will not prevail against it. This does not mean we will not face sieges or lose battles on the periphery. We may well suffer loss, like the loss of Elath. But the central citadel is secure. Our task is to believe this, to stand firm in the faith, and not to call for help from Assyria. We are not to fear the Rezins and Pekahs of our day. They are, as Isaiah called them, "two smoldering stumps of firebrands" (Isaiah 7:4). Their fury is great, but their time is short. Our trust must be in the King eternal, who sovereignly works all things, even the godless machinations of wicked kings, to the praise of His glorious grace.