God’s Word for You
2 Chronicles 28:5b-11 plunder to Samaria
by Pastor Timothy Smith on Wednesday, May 14, 2025
He was also given into the hand of the king of Israel, who struck him with a heavy blow. 6 Pekah son of Remaliah killed 120,000 in Judah in a single day, all of them men of valor, because they had abandoned the LORD, the God of their fathers. 7 Zikri, a mighty warrior from Ephraim, killed Maaseiah the king’s son, and also Azrikam the chief officer of the palace, and Elkanah the king’s second-in-command. 8 The people of Israel took 200,000 of their fellow Israelites captive, including wives, sons, and daughters. They also took a large amount of plunder from them and brought the plunder to Samaria.
This war might be the background of Hosea 5:8-7:16. There, the Lord proclaims: “Judah’s leaders are like those who move boundary stones. I will pour out my wrath on them like a flood of water… I am like rot to the people of Judah” (Hosea 5:10,12). And again: “I will carry them off, with no one to rescue them. Then I will go back to my place until they admit their guilt” (Hosea 5:15). And yet again: “As for you, Judah, a harvest is appointed. Whenever I would restore the fortunes of my people… they practice deceit. They do not realize that I remember all their evil deeds” (Hosea 6:11, 7:1-2).
The author of 2 Kings shows that the early days of this war were in the final days of the life of King Jotham, when Ahaz was a co-regent (2 Kings 15:37-38). One of the victories of the Israelites and Arameans was the recovery of Elat (2 Kings 16:6). That was the seaport on the Gulf of Aqaba that Uzziah has rebuilt (2 Chronicles 26:2; 2 Kings 14:22).
The numerals in this passage (120,000 warriors killed, 200,000 prisoners taken) are questioned by some commentators. We don’t need to question these things. The point of the account is that the people of Judah, led by their no-good king, “had abandoned the LORD, the God of their fathers” (verse 6). One notable warrior from Ephraim named Zikri personally killed a member of the royal family, the king’s son Maaseiah, and also two important officials. Ahaz lost the battle, lost a son, lost a lot of people (more than the population of Jerusalem), and lost his wealth.
It was at this time that Isaiah went to King Ahaz to tell him that repentance and forgiveness were still possible. “If you do not stand firm in your faith, you will not stand firm at all” (Isaiah 7:9). Then Isaiah told Ahaz to “ask for a sign, either in the depths below or in the heights above” (Isaiah 7:10). But Ahaz refused. It seems like he put on a show of piety, with his words, “I will not test the Lord” (7:12), but it seems to any reader who knows about his idolatry that he was unwilling to let the Lord do anything, or else it might expose his idolatry. So Isaiah related a sign that would prophesy the coming of the Messiah: “Look! The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son and name him Immanuel” (Isaiah 7:14). He is the eternal Son of God. “He is born, not in the usual way, but born of a virgin. Only one child matches this description—Jesus. Only one mother matches this description—Mary” (EHV Study Bible note).
9 Now a prophet of the LORD was there, whose name was Oded. He went out to meet the army that came to Samaria, and said to them, “Because the LORD, the God of your fathers, was angry with Judah, he gave them into your hand. But you have killed them in a rage that has reached up to heaven. 10 Now you intend to subjugate the people of Judah and Jerusalem as male and female slaves for yourselves. Don’t you have enough sins against the LORD your God? 11 Now hear me, and send back the captives whom you have taken from among your own relatives, for the fierce wrath of the LORD is upon you!”
A prophet named Azariah son of Oded had spoken with King Asa (2 Chronicles 15:8), but that was nearly two hundred years before this Oded spoke with Ahaz; the father of that prophet was not this prophet. This Oded does not appear again in the Scriptures; like many of the angels of God, he delivers his message and does not return to the narrative. This prophet lists three reasons that the large group of prisoners had to be sent back to Judah.
First, the rage in which they had captured them was excessive and uncalled-for. Even through the Israelites were angry with the Jews of Judah for losses, the Lord made it clear: “It is mine to avenge; I will repay” (Deuteronomy 32:35). And again: “Before our eyes, make known among the nations that you, Lord, avenge the outpoured blood of your servants” (Psalm 79:10).
Second, the Israelites planned to make slaves of the men and women of Judah. While this was a typical fate for the losers in a war, this time it was unacceptable. The Lord was making it clear that they had to be returned. The Law of Moses said: “Because the Israelites are my servants, whom I brought out of Egypt, they must not be sold as slaves” (Leviticus 25:42). And although the army of Pekah did not know it, nor did their captives, the Lord was sparing the people of Judah from captivity in Assyria. It was now something like 733 BC. In just ten years, the Assyrians would destroy Samaria and carry off the northern tribes to a captivity from which they would never return (2 Kings 18:10-11). The Lord said: “Because you have plundered many nations, the peoples who are left will plunder you” (Habakkuk 2:8).
Third, the Israelites had sinned enough already. “Don’t you have enough sins against the LORD your God?” “The sins of Ephraim are exposed and the crimes of Samaria are revealed” (Hosea 7:1). And God said: “The people of Samaria must bear their guilt, because they rebelled against their God. They will fall by the sword…” (Hosea 13:16).
Oded’s words were not just a command to return the people that they had enslaved, but his words were an offer from the Lord God that repentance and faith would be held up by the Lord as righteousness. “When one rules over men in righteousness, when he rules in the fear of God, he is like the light of morning at sunrise on a cloudless dawn, like the brightness after rain that brings the grass from the earth” (2 Samuel 23:3-4). An invitation from the Lord to obey and to act in faith and praise is the hand of the saving God offering rescue, forgiveness, and eternal life. We have those things through faith in Christ. Don’t let them fall to the ground, or collect dust on a shelf. Treasure them. Treasure the gifts God gives.
In Christ,
Pastor Timothy Smith
Pastor Smith serves St. Paul’s Lutheran Church in New Ulm, Minnesota. To receive God’s Word for You via e-mail, please visit the St. Paul’s Lutheran Church website.