2 Kings related passages

Within the Bible

• Previous: First Kings ends with the death of Ahab and the ongoing ministry of Elijah. Second Kings continues with Elijah’s ascension and Elisha’s ministry, carrying the divided kingdom to its fall.
• Next: First Chronicles begins the Chronicler’s retelling of the same history from a different angle, focusing on David, the temple, and the hope of restoration for the returning exiles.
• Thematic Connections:
  • Isaiah 36-39 - A parallel account of Hezekiah, Sennacherib, and the deliverance of Jerusalem.
  • Jeremiah and Lamentations - The prophetic voice and the mourning that accompany the fall of Jerusalem in 586 BC.
  • Deuteronomy 28 - The covenant blessings and curses whose curses the exile fulfills.

Cross-Testament Connections

Second Kings prepares for the gospel by exposing the depth of the problem and preserving the hope:

• Elisha and Jesus: Elisha’s miracles of feeding, cleansing, and raising the dead foreshadow the greater works of Christ, and his healing of Naaman previews grace to the nations (Luke 4:27).
• The need for a new covenant: The failure of Law and reform to change the heart points to the new covenant promised by the prophets and secured by Christ (Jeremiah 31:31-34; Hebrews 8).
• The end of exile: The exile’s alienation is answered in Christ, who brings the far-off near and gathers a people from every nation (Ephesians 2:12-13).
• The preserved line of David: Jehoiachin’s survival keeps alive the royal line that leads to Jesus, the Son of David (Matthew 1:11-12).
• God over the nations: The LORD’s rule over Assyria and Babylon anticipates the reign of Christ, to whom all authority in heaven and on earth is given (Matthew 28:18).