V. 8… let us face one another in battle … King of Judah Amaziah had a victory over Edomites just like KOI had great victory over Syria. Now Amaziah, the KOJ emboldened by the success over Edom, wanted to have war over Israel.
Vs. 9 & 10… why should you meddle with trouble… Jehoash sends him this insult and warning. However, Jehoash is not seeking conflict with Amaziah.
Vs. 11 & 12… Judah was defeated by Israel… Amaziah did not heed to the warning and was defeated.
Vs. 13 & 14… broke down the wall of Jerusalem…400 cubits … KOI made a 600 Ft. gap on the city wall. He seized all the gold and sliver… The king of Israel took the gold and silver and vessels from the Temple and from king’s treasury along with hostages. This was indeed an unnecessary war for the king of Judah.
2 Kings 14:23-29:
Jeroboam II (782-753 BC), the 13th king of Israel. He is the 4th King of 5th dynasty (of Jehu)
Jeroboam II, who ruled Israel for 40 years, was a capable ruler but a poor religious reformer due to his immorality and idolatry.
V. 24…sons of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who had made Israel sin … Another repetition to show the sinfulness of the 13th KOI.
V. 25… restored the territory of Israel… Jeroboam II was a powerful king who had recovered the lost land to Syria. Syria became weak due to Assyrian invasion.
The Assyrian assault on the area north of Israel (alluded to in 13:5) seriously weakened the kingdoms of that region, including Syria, and this allowed Jehoash to recapture some Israelite towns from the Syrians (13:25). In the immediately subsequent years, the Assyrian kings only infrequently ventured out on military campaigns to their west, and in this context Jeroboam II of Israel was able to further the Israelite recovery begun by his father, extending the borders of Israel from the Sea of the Arabah in the south (the Dead Sea, Josh. 3:16; 12:3) to the northern Lebo-hamath… Jeroboam was thus able to restore the territory of northern Israel to Solomonic proportions (1 Kings 8:65)… – ESV Study Bible.
V. 25… servant Jonah the son of Amittai… Jonah was the prophet along with
Hosea (1:1) and Amos (1:1). Also Micah was prophesying for both Israel and Judah (Micah 1:1). Mid 8th century BC was prosperous year for both Israel and Judah, but the spiritually it was the lowest time for both nations. So God raised prophets like Hosea, Amos and Hosea in Israel. Eventhough Micah was from Judah, he had prophecies for both nations (1:1).
V. 26 & 27:… saved them by the hand of Jeroboam… God was gracious and, was slow to bring judgement on the people of Israel.
V. 28… recaptured for Israel from Damascus and Hamath what had belong to Juday… Joeroboam II understood to have had control over Judah.
Author and Title
The title of the book is the name of the main character, Jonah. The book is anonymous, and there are no indicators elsewhere in Scripture to identify the author. The foundational source for the book was likely Jonah’s own telling of the story after his return from Nineveh.
Date
Since Jonah prophesied during the reign of Jeroboam II (782–753 b.c.; see 2 Kings 14:23–28), and since Sirach 49:10 (from the 2nd century b.c.) refers to the “twelve prophets” (namely, the 12 Minor Prophets, of which Jonah is the fifth),the book of Jonah was written sometime between the middle of the eighth and the end of the third centuries. No compelling evidence leads to a more precise date.
Theme
The Lord is a God of boundless compassion not just for “us” (Jonah and the Israelites) but also for “them” (the pagan sailors and Ninevites).
Purpose, Occasion, and Background
The primary purpose of the book of Jonah is to engage readers in theological reflection on the compassionate character of God, and in self-reflection on the degree to which their own character reflects this compassion, to the end that they become vehicles of this compassion in the world that God has made and so deeply cares about. Jonah prophesied during the reign of Jeroboam II (2 Kings 14:23–28), who ruled in Israel (the northern kingdom) from 782 to 753 b.c. Jeroboam was the grandson of Jehoahaz, who ruled in Israel from 814 to 798 b.c. Because of the sins of Jehoahaz, Israel was oppressed by the Arameans (2 Kings 13:3). But because of the Lord’s great compassion (2 Kings 13:4, 23), Israel was spared destruction and delivered from this oppression (2 Kings 13:5). This deliverance came through a “savior” (2 Kings 13:5), who may have been Adad-nirari III (810–783 b.c.), king of Assyria.
Jeroboam’s father, Jehoash (798–782 b.c.), capitalized on this freedom from Aramean oppression and began to expand Israel’s boundaries, recapturing towns taken during the reign of Jehoahaz (2 Kings 13:25). Though Jeroboam “did what was evil in the sight of the Lord” (2 Kings 14:24), he nevertheless expanded Israel even farther than his father did, matching the boundaries in the days of David and Solomon (2 Kings 14:25); this was “according to the word of the Lord, the God of Israel, which he spoke by his servant Jonah the son of Amittai, the prophet, who was from Gath-hepher” (2 Kings 14:25). Thus Jonah witnessed firsthand the restorative compassion of God extended to his wayward people. In God’s providence, the expansion by Jeroboam was made easier because of Assyrian weakness. The Assyrians were engaged in conflicts with the Arameans and the Urartians. There was also widespread famine, and numerous revolts within the Assyrian Empire (where regional governors ruled with a fair degree of autonomy). Then there was an auspicious eclipse of the sun during the reign of Ashur-dan III (771–754 b.c.). This convergence of events supports the plausibility of the Ninevites being so responsive to Jonah’s call to repent.
Key Themes
The primary theme in Jonah is that God’s compassion is boundless, not limited just to “us” but also available for “them.” This is clear from the flow of the story and its conclusion: (1) Jonah is the object of God’s compassion throughout the book, and the pagan sailors and pagan Ninevites are also the benefactors of this compassion. (2) The story ends with the question, “Should I not pity Nineveh … ?” (4:11). Tied to this theological teaching is the anthropological question, Do readers of the story have hearts that are like the heart of God? While Jonah was concerned about a plant that “perished” (4:10), he showed no such concern for the Ninevites. Conversely, the pagan sailors (1:14), their captain (1:6), and the king of Nineveh (3:9) all showed concern that human beings, including Jonah, not “perish.”
Several other major themes in the book include:
1. God’s sovereign control over events on the earth
2. God’s determination to get his message to the nations
3. The need for repentance from sin in general
4. The need for repentance from self-centeredness and hypocrisy in particular
5. The full assurance that God will relent when people repent