In the 1 & 2 Kings online class of the Calvary Chapel Bible College, one of the two assigned books opened my eyes to many more types and shadows of Christ found in the lives of Elijah and Elisha that I had completely missed. (The book was Faith in the Face of Apostacy: The Gospel According to Elijah and Elisha. I highly recommend it.) So I started where I was in 2 Kings at the time, and exercised myself to look for comparisons and parallels to Christ.
I will give the first four chapters (16-19) Monday – Thursday this week, then the next four (20-23) on Monday – Thursday next week.
I am going to give you my findings of seeing Christ in 2 Kings across chapters 16-23. I studied these chapters with the Chapter Summary Bible study method, inserting a Comparison/Contrasts section between the Breakdown and the Meaning sections to highlight events that point to Christ in some way. I hope this exercise inspires you to look for Christ in the OT. I am only providing part of the Chapter Summary method; you can finish or adapt it for your personal application.
2 Kings 16 Chapter Summary
Breakdown:
1-2 King Ahaz of Judah began to reign, and he did not do what was right
3-4 Examples of the evil: passed sons through fire and other false worship
5-6 Pekah of Israel and Rezin of Syria attacked Judah
7-9 Ahaz called on Assyria to defend him. Tiglath-Pileser took Damascus into captivity and killed Rezin
10-19 Ahaz in Damascus saw a Syrian altar and passed its design back home to be built
20 Ahaz dies and Hezekiah reigns
Comparisons/Parallels:
- Ahaz did not do what was right before God, v. 2. Jesus pleased the Father in all things (John 8:29).
- Ahaz walked in the ways of the kings of Israel, v. 3. Jesus walked according to the kingdom of God.
- Ahaz passed his son through the fire, v. 3. Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego went through the fire—and the Son of God preserved them (Dan. 3:25).
- Judah was attacked by those near and far, v. 5. Jesus, offspring of Judah, was attacked by the religious leaders nearby and Rome from afar (through Pilate).
- Ahaz was attacked by Pekah and Rezin in Jerusalem, but they could not overcome him, v. 5. Satan and death could not overcome Jesus in Jerusalem, but He rose victoriously (Col. 2:15).
- Ahaz changed the order of the worship of God, vv. 14-18. Jesus changed the approach to the worship of God, to worship in spirit and in truth via the new covenant in His blood (John 4:23-24).
- Ahaz as king did priestly work at the altar, v. 12. King Jesus was appointed by God as High Priest forever (Heb. 4:14; 5:3-6).
- King Ahaz died, v. 20. King Jesus lives forever (Rev 1:18).
Meaning:
King Ahaz visited the king of Assyria in Damascus, which he recently overthrew. There, he favored an altar and sent plans to the priest Urijah to build. Once he returned, Ahaz favored that altar over the temple, and officiated at the altar as a priest, which was forbidden.
In the OT, sacrificial offerings were offered on the altar that was constructed according to God’s instructions to Moses. The various offerings (see details in Lev. 1-9) were shadows of what Christ will accomplish Himself on the cross of Calvary. King Ahaz substituted God’s altar for one of his own making. But there is no substitute for Christ’s death on a cross at Calvary.
Jesus told the people around Him that if they would be His disciples, that they must deny themselves and take up their cross first. To grow in the grace and the knowledge of Jesus Christ, no substitute to dying to self and living to God is possible. Crucifying the flesh is important to know Christ more. I must decrease and He must increase.
“I have been crucified by Christ,” Paul wrote (Gal. 2:20). Do we adhere to rules and morality to the detriment of a life of faith? Do we trust in our own strength instead of resting in His sufficiency? Do we prefer the flesh over the work of the Spirit?
Application:
Memory Verse:
