The Kings Of Israel And Judah. Day 170, Menahem King Of Israel

We are studying five kings who reigned in Israel during the five decades that Uzziah reigned in Judah. Yesterday we looked at the first two: Zechariah and Shallum. Zechariah inherited the throne from his father Jeroboam II but was assassinated after only six months by a man named Shallum. Shallum sat on the throne for only thirty days before he was assassinated by a man named Menahem. Today we will be looking at the reign of Menahem.

After killing Shallum and taking the throne from him, the Bible says of Menahem: "At that time Menahem, starting out from Tirzah, attacked Tiphsah and everyone in the city and its vicinity, because they refused to open their gates. He sacked Tiphsah and ripped open all the pregnant women." (2 Kings 15:16) 

Such barbaric deeds were often committed by pagan armies but not by the army of Israel---the army of which ancient tradition has it that Menahem was a commander under King Zechariah. Menahem was encamped with the army at Tirzah when he heard of his master's assassination. He then marched with the army to Samaria, where Shallum was reigning in Zechariah's stead, and avenged his master and declared himself king. But not everyone in Israel wanted to accept him as king. The people of Tiphsah did not recognize him as their king and did not open their gates to welcome him in. In an offended rage, he ordered an attack on the city. After gaining entrance to the city, it wasn't enough for him to have put down the resistance against him; he took his anger out on some of the most vulnerable citizens. Despicable as this pagan-style attack is, even the heathens didn't typically carry out such atrocities against their own people but only against enemy nations, yet we find Menahem slaughtering women and unborn children of Israel. He does this to send a message to all Israel that he will stop at nothing to enforce the allegiance of the people.

After committing his monstrous attack at Tiphsah, no one dares to conspire against him or to organize a rebellion. He will live out the remainder of his natural life as king of Israel. He will cling to the religious system put in place by Jeroboam I and I am sure he insisted (or forced) his subjects to do the same. We need to take note that when the author of 2 Kings uses the name "Azariah" in this next verse, he is referring to King Uzziah. "In the thirty-ninth year of Azariah king of Judah, Menahem son of Gadi became king of Israel, and he reigned in Samaria ten years. He did evil in the eyes of the Lord. During his entire reign he did not turn away from the sins of Jeroboam son of Nebat, which he had caused Israel to commit." (2 Kings 15:17-18)

Menahem may have put down any ideas of rebellion from within his country but he can't prevent trouble coming to him from outside his country. The nation of Assyria is on the rise and attacks Israel during Menahem's reign. "Then Pul king of Assyria invaded the land, and Menahem gave him a thousand talents of silver to gain his support and strengthen his own hold on the kingdom." (2 Kings 15:19) King Pul is believed by the majority of scholars and historians to be the same man as King Tiglath-Pileser III. It was common in those times for a king to have a "throne name" in each region he conquered. Tiglath Pileser III conquered Babylon in 729; therefore, he was both king of Assyria and king of Babylon. It is thought that Pul was the throne name this man used in Babylon and that Tiglath-Pileser III was his throne name in his own nation of Assyria. 

Menahem is eager to make a peace treaty with the king of Assyria. He purchases this friendship with 1,000 talents of silver which amounts to about $25,000 in today's money. Menahem wants to ally himself with the king of Assyria not only to prevent his kingdom from being taken over by the Assyrians but also so the Assyrians will come to his aid should any of Mehahem's own subjects organize a rebellion against him. He raised the money by forcefully levying heavy taxes on the wealthy citizens of Israel. "Menahem exacted this money from Israel. Every wealthy person had to contribute fifty shekels of silver to be given to the king of Assyria. So the king of Assyria withdrew and stayed in the land no longer." (2 Kings 15:20)

Nothing more is told to us of the wicked and violent Menahem on the pages of the Bible. Since the "book of the annals of the kings of Israel" is no longer in our possession, we don't know what else he might have done other than what is mentioned here in Chapter 15. He evidently dies a natural death after reigning for ten years and passes the throne on to his son. "As for the other events of Menahem's reign, and all he did, are they not written in the book of the annals of the kings of Israel? Menahem rested with his ancestors. And Pekahiah his son succeeded him as king." (2 Kings 15:21-22)