How does Menahem's reign connect with Deuteronomy's warnings about kingship? Menahem Steps onto a Blood-stained Throne 2 Kings 15:17 — “In the thirty-ninth year of Azariah king of Judah, Menahem son of Gadi became king over Israel, and he reigned in Samaria ten years.” • Menahem seized power by killing Shallum (2 Kings 15:14). • He immediately crushed the town of Tiphsah and ripped open pregnant women because the city refused him (15:16). • For ten years he tolerated the idolatrous high places, “and the people still sacrificed and burned incense there” (15:18). • When Assyria’s Pul (Tiglath-Pileser III) invaded, Menahem did not seek the LORD. Instead, he exacted fifty shekels of silver from every wealthy man—about 37 tons total—to buy Pul’s withdrawal (15:19-20). • His reign closed with the familiar epitaph: “he rested with his fathers,” leaving a legacy of violence, taxation, and spiritual compromise (15:21-22). Echoes of Deuteronomy 17 Deuteronomy 17:14-20 lays out heaven’s blueprint for any Hebrew king. Highlight the points and watch Menahem break each one: 1. Limit Military Might • “He must not acquire many horses for himself or cause the people to return to Egypt to multiply horses” (v. 16). • Menahem’s tribute emptied the treasury and exposed Israel’s weakness; Assyria became the new “Egypt,” a foreign master supplied with Israel’s silver. 2. Reject Excessive Wealth • “He must not accumulate for himself large amounts of silver and gold” (v. 17). • Menahem’s first instinct was to strip his own subjects of wealth to enrich a pagan king—hoarding power through money rather than trusting God. 3. Rule with Humility under the Law • The king was to write “for himself a copy of this Law… so that he may learn to fear the LORD” (vv. 18-19). • Scripture records no pursuit of the Law—only brutal force and the toleration of idolatrous shrines. The Warnings Turned to Curses Deuteronomy 28 warned that covenant defiance would invite foreign domination: • “The LORD will bring you and the king you appoint over you to a nation unknown to you or your fathers” (v. 36). • “A nation you do not know will eat the produce of your land and labor, and you will be only oppressed and crushed continually” (v. 33). Menahem’s payout to Assyria previews those curses. Within a generation, Israel will be carried away entirely (2 Kings 17). The Bigger Picture: Kings & Kingdoms • 1 Samuel 8:11-18 had already cautioned that a king who ignores God will “take your sons,” “take your daughters,” “take the best of your fields,” and “you will become his slaves.” Menahem does exactly that. • Hosea 13:10-11 echoes the LORD’s grief: “Where is your king now, that he may save you? … I gave you a king in My anger and took him away in My wrath.” • Yet even in judgment God preserves the messianic promise: a righteous King, perfectly fulfilling Deuteronomy 17, will one day reign (Isaiah 9:6-7; Luke 1:32-33). Takeaway for Today • Earthly power apart from God always drifts toward violence, greed, and oppression. • Scripture’s warnings are not empty threats; they unfold in real history. • The failures of men like Menahem sharpen our longing for the flawless rule of the true King—one who delights to obey the Law and lead His people in covenant faithfulness forever. |
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