As a student of the often-neglected king lists of 1st and 2nd Kings, there is an interesting pattern that comes up over and over again, and that is that kings which follow prophetic judgments of doom and destruction often rule for only two years before their death and the usual thorough extinction of their entire family line (at least for the Northern Kingdom of Israel). This pattern does not only occur once or twice, but is a consistent pattern that repeats itself quite a few times. Though the meaning of this particular period of time might not be easy to understand, the consistent period of time given suggests a pattern in the way God works even with those rulers and dynasties upon which he has pronounced judgment for their sins. Let us therefore examine the biblical evidence for this biblical rule of twos and then muse on some of the potential meanings that this symbolism would have.
In order to make sense of the general pattern without too much clutter, let us examine the cases we are dealing with without commentary first as a way of marshaling evidence that there is a biblical connection between a two year reign and judgment in the first place. After all, it is impossible to explain why a particular phenomenon exists until one has sufficiently demonstrated the existence of the phenomenon in the first place to those who may have no idea or understanding to begin with. So, let us begin by showing the two year reigns and, where applicable, showing the preceding judgment from God (usually through a prophet) on the previous ruler or his dynasty, so that we may add up the evidence and see whether it forms a consistent pattern enough to be worthy of commentary. Then, let us provide that commentary.
Nadab, King of Israel
The first king of Israel or Judah that reigned two years was Nadab, the son of Jeroboam, and this is the customary discussion of his reign and the judgment that was fulfilled in that reign in 1 Kings 15:25-30: “Now Nadab the son of Jeroboam became king over Israel in the second year of Asa king of Judah, and he reigned over Israel two years. And he did evil in the sight of the Eternal, and walked in the way of his father, and in his sin by which he had made Israel sin. Then Baasha the son of Ahijah, of the house of Issachar, conspired against him. And Baasha killed him at Gibbethon, which belonged to the Philistines, while Nadab and all Israel laid siege to Gibbethon. Baasha killed him in the third year of Asa king of Judah, and reigned in his place. And it was so, when he became king, that he killed all the house of Jeroboam. He did not leave to Jeroboam anyone that breathed, until he had destroyed him, according to the word of the Eternal which He had spoken by His servant Abijah the Shilonite, because of the sons of Jeroboam, which he had sinned and by which he had made Israel sin, because of his provocation with which he had provoked the Eternal God of Israel to anger.”
Elah, King of Israel
The second king of Israel that reigned two years was Elah, the son of Baasha, and this is the customary discussion of his reign and the judgment that was fulfilled in that reign in 1 Kings 16:8-14: “In the twenty-sixth year of Asa king of Judah, Elah the son of Baasha became king over Israel, and reigned two years in Tirzah. Now his servant Zimri, commander of half his chariots, conspired against him as he was in Tirzah drinking himself drunk in the house of Arza, steward of his house in Tirzah. And Zimri went in and struck him and killed him in the twenty-seventh year of Asa king of Judah, and reigned in his place. Then it came to pass, when he began to reign, as soon as he was seated on his throne, that he killed all the household of Baasha. He did not leave him one male, neither of his relatives nor of his friends. Thus Zimri destroyed all the household of Baasha, according to the word of the Eternal, which He spoke against Baasha by Jehu the prophet, for all the sins of Baasha and the sins of Elah his son, by which they had sinned and by which they had made Israel sin, in provoking the Eternal God of Israel to anger with their idols. Now the rest of the acts of Elah, and all that he did, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel?”
Ahaziah, King of Israel
The third king of Israel that reigned two years was Ahaziah, the son of Ahab, and the discussion of his reign is longer than the rest, because of a specific judgment and prophecy from the prohet Elijah, in 1 Kings 22:51-2 Kings 1:18: “Ahaziah the son of Ahab became king over Israel in Samariah in the seventeenth year of Jehoshaphat king of Judah, and reigned two years over Israel. He did evil in the sight of the Eternal, and walked in the way of his father and in the way of his mother and in the way of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who had made Israel sin; for he served Baal and worshiped him, and provoked the Eternal God of Israel to anger, according to all that his father had done. Moab rebelled against Israel after the death of Ahab. Now Ahaziah fell through the lattice of his upper room in Samaria, and was injured; so he sent messengers and said to them, “Go, inquire of Baal-Zebub [1], the god of Ekron, whether I shall recover from this injury.” But the angel of the Eternal said to Elijah the Tishbite, “Arise, go up to meet the messengers of the king of Samaria, and say to them, ‘Is it because there is no God in Israel that you are going to inquire of Baal-Zebub the god of Ekron?’ Now therefore, thus says the Eternal, ‘You shall not come down from the bed to which you have gone up, but you shall surely die.’ ” So Elijah departed. And when the messengers returned to him, he said to them, “Why have you come back?” So they said to him, “A man came up to meet us, and said to us, ‘Go, return to the king who sent you, and say to him, “Thus says the Lord: ‘Is it because there is no God in Israel that you are sending to inquire of Baal-Zebub the god of Ekron? Therefore you shall not come down from the bed to which you have gone up, but you shall surely die.’ ” ‘ Then he said to them, “What kind of man was it who came up to meet you and told you these words?” So they answered him, “A hairy man wearing a leather belt around his waist.” Then the king sent to him a captain of fifty, with his fifty men. So he went up to him, and there he was, sitting on top of a hill. And he spoke to him: “Man of God, the king has said, ‘Come down!’ ” So Elijah answered and said to the captain of fifty, “If I am a man of God, then let fire come down from heaven and consume you and your fifty men.” And fire came down from heaven and consumed him and his fifty. Then he sent to him another captain of fifty with his fifty men. And he answered and said to him: “Man of God, thus has the king said, ‘Come down quickly!’ ” So Elijah answered and said to them, “If I am a man of God, let fire come down from heaven and consume you and your fifty men.” And the fire of God came down from heaven and consumed him and his fifty. Again, he sent a third captain of fifty with his fifty men. And the third captain of fifty went up, and came and fell on his knees before Elijah, and pleaded with him, and he said to him: “Man of God, please let my life and the life of these fifty servants of yours be precious in your sight. Look, fire has come down from heaven and burned up the first two captains of fifties with their fifties. But let my life now be precious in your sight.” And the angel of the Eternal said to Elijah, “Go down with him; do not be afraid of him. So he arose and went down with him to the king. Then he said to him, “Thus says the the Eternal: ‘Because you have sent messengers to inquire of Baal Zebub the god of Ekron, is it because there is no God in Israel to inquire of His word? Therefore you shall not come down from the bed to which you have gone yup, but you shall surely die.’ ” So Ahaziah died according to the word of the Eternal which Elijah had spoken. Because he had no son, Jehoram [his brother] became king in his place, in the second year of Jehoram the son of Jehoshaphat king of Judah. Now the rest of the acts of Ahaziah which he did, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel?”
Pekahiah, King of Israel
The fourth king to reign two years over Israel was Pekahiah, the son of Menahem, who is has a customary listing of his reign, but no specific prophetic warning against his house, in 2 Kings 15:23-26: “In the fiftieth year of Azariah king of Judah, Pekahiah the son of Menahem became king over Israel in Samaria, and reigned two years. And he did evil in the sight of the Eternal; he did not depart from the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who had made Israel sin. Then Pekah the son of Remaliah, an officer of his, conspired against him and killed him in Samaria, in the citadel of the king’s house, along with Argob and Arieh; and with him were fifty men of Gilead. He killed him and reigned in his place. Now the rest of the acts of Pekahiah, and all that he did, indeed they are written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel.”
Amon, King of Judah
In the case of Amon, king of Judah, we have a prophetic judgment pronounced in the time of his father, and then we have a two year reign with a customary summary judgment of his reign afterward. Let us first look at the judgment, in 2 Kings 21:10-15: “And the Eternal spoke by his servants the prophets, saying, “Because Manasseh king of Judah has done these abominations (he has acted more wickedly than all the Amorites who were before him, and has also made Judah sin with his idols), therefore thus says the Eternal God of Israel: ‘Behold, I am bringing such calamity upon Jerusalem and Judah, that whoever hears of it, his ears will tingle. And I will stretch over Jerusalem the measuring line of Samaria and the plummet of the house of Ahab; I will wipe Jerusalem as one wipes a dish, wiping it and turning it upside down. So I will forsake the remnant of My inheritance and deliver them into the hand of their enemies, and they shall become victims of plunder to all their enemies, because they have done evil in My sight, and have provoked Me to anger since the day their fathers came out of Egypt, even to this day.’ ” ” We see the customary and summary account of the reign of Amon in 2 Kings 21:19-26: “Amon was twenty-two years when he became king, and he reigned two years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Meshullemath the daughter of Haruz of Jotbah. And he did evil in the sight of the Eternal, as his father Manasseh had done. So he walked in all the ways that his father had walked; and he served the idols that his father had served, and worshiped them. He forsook the Eternal God of his fathers, and did not walk in the way of the Eternal. Then the servants of Amon conspired against him, and killed the king in his own house. But the people of the land executed all those who had conspired against King Amon. Then the people of the land made his son Josiah king in his place. Now the rest of the acts of Amon whcih he did, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah. And he was buried in his tomb in the garden of Uzza. Then Josiah his son reigned in his place.”
Connections And Possible Implications
As we have seen, there are five kings who reigned two years over Israel or Judah. Four of the five kings had a divine judgment either directly included within their own reign or in the immediately preceding reign (or, in some cases, both). Three of the five kings had their entire families wiped out as part of the judgment, a fourth died only a few years before the promised judgment, and the fifth king who reigned two years had his dynasty removed from power after a couple more generations. In addition to this, several of the dynasties are connected in their judgments, as the judgment on Nebat, Elah, Ahaziah, and Pekahiah are all connected to the house of Jeroboam, and that of Manasseh is connected to Ahab. In general, all of the judgments are connected to idolatry and following in the sins of their immediate fathers while not following the God of their fathers Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.
Why is the number two connected in these five cases with judgment and not some other number? To be sure, not all bad kings whose dynasties were destroyed lived for two hears. Ahaziah of Judah reigned a year, Zimri only seven days, Zechariah of Israel six months, Jehoiachin and his uncle Jehoahaz of Judah three months, and Zedekiah and Jehoiakim of Judah eleven years, to give but a few examples. However, we may note that these cases of two year reigns share with them some other odd characteristics. For one, it does not appear like a full two year reign, because in several of the examples (like Nadab and Elah, for example), they begin their reign in one year of the corresponding king of Judah and die (usually by gruesome means) in the next year of the same king of Judah. There were several schemes of counting years, such that any part of a year before the new year could count as a full year of ruling, while any part of a year after the new year would count as an entirely new year of rulership, which could mean that a period of only a few months could count as two years depending on which scheme was being used at the kingdom at the time. It appears that this particular rule was used in at least several of the kings whose reigns are counted as two years in order to make a specific point and consider these five kings as part of a group to be reflected upon as a whole, grouped together for a theological purpose.
It would appear that at least some element of the two year time period is a sign of mercy, to give a king who has been placed under divine judgment the time to mend his ways and show some sign of repentance in order to escape judgment. God does not appear to delight in judgment, and is generally quick to provide opportunities to others to repent and show themselves repentant and desiring to follow God’s ways, so that judgment may be delayed. Given God’s abundant desire that no one be condemned and that all might enter into repentance and show themselves willing to accept God’s abundant and gracious mercy, it is lamentable that not a single one of the five kings upon whom judgment fell ever took the opportunity to repent, and therefore the same judgment fell upon all of them. One of them died from injuries of a fall and lost a hundred of his elite soldiers because of his petulance, and the other four died in conspiracies and were assassinated by those in whom they trusted in military coups (which, it ought to be noted, is a characteristic way of regime change among the heathen [2]).
What relevance does this have for us today? Let us note that our own societies and our leadership is as corrupt as the wicked kings of Judah and Israel whom we have read about. We cannot take the stability of our own governments or the continued blessings on our societies for granted in light of our massive corporate sin and the rot that has extended from the top down. Our nations have been given generations to repent of their wicked ways and seek after God so that they may follow His commandments and statutes and judgments, and no nation has taken Him up on His generous offer proclaimed through His servants. Eventually, and who knows when that will be (certainly not I), there will be enough sin and corruption and high-handed rebellion among those who pretend to follow God as well as those who make no such pretensions that God’s judgment will be enforced after proper warning, and the nations of the earth will be judged–starting from those who are closest to God and then moving further and further out from there. Therefore, let us repent while there is time, lest we too find out about the rule of twos for ourselves as we and our societies face divine judgment for the sins of our fathers which we have not repented of, but rather have followed ourselves rather than seeking to turn from our ways and seek salvation where it can be found [3] [4].
[1] Baal-Zebub means “lord of the flies,” the title of a relatively well-known novel about English schoolboys gone savage, and in the time of Jesus Christ it was used as a name for Satan himself (see Matthew 10:24-26 and Luke 11:14-26, for example).
[3] https://edgeinducedcohesion.wordpress.com/2012/12/18/the-catalyst/
[4] https://edgeinducedcohesion.wordpress.com/2011/10/27/the-parents-have-eaten-sour-grapes/
Edge Induced Cohesion 