1. Ahaziah’s son King Joash of Judah was in his twenty-third year as king of Judah when Jehoahaz, son of Jehu, began to rule in Samaria as king of Israel. He ruled for 17 years.
2. He did what the Lord considered evil. He continued to commit the sins that Jer o boam (Nebat’s son) led Israel to commit. He never gave up committing those sins.
3. So the Lord became angry with Israel and put it at the mercy of King Hazael of Aram and Hazael’s son Benhadad as long as they lived.
4. Then Jehoahaz pleaded with the Lord, and the Lord heard him because he saw how the Aramean king was oppressing Israel.
5. So the Lord gave the Israelites someone to save them, and they were freed from Aram’s power. They were able to live in their homes again as they had done before.
6. But they didn’t turn away from the sins that Jer o boam and his dynasty led Israel to commit. They continued to commit those sins. In addition, the pole dedicated to the goddess Asherah remained standing in Samaria.
7. Jehoahaz had no army left except for 50 horses, 10 chariots, and 10,000 foot soldiers because the king of Aram had destroyed the rest. He had made them like dust that people trample.