If we are reading along in Scripture and are coming to the 8th century Before Christ, we see that,

The Southern kingdom ofJudah has had
a couple of good kings in a row.

The first was Azariah, who was also called Uzziah. He started reigning about the year 792 BC when he was a mere sixteen years old and reigned for fifty-two years, 2Kgs 15:2. Further, “He did right in the sight of the LORD,” only the high places were not taken away. He did many good things, and made many improvements, and God supported in his wars (2Chron 26:7). He did get carried away with himself at his height, and ended up a leper (2Chron 26:16-21), and his reign was completed by his son Jotham, of whom it says that he likewise “did what was right in the sight of the LORD,” 2Kgs 15:34 WEB.

Other things were also happening in those days.

Assyria was beginning to rise.

The northern kingdom of Israel was plunging into wickedness, and was politically unstable. So God seemingly chose Assyria to discipline Israel.

“The God of Israel stirred up the spirit of Pul king of Assyria, and the spirit of Tilgath Pileser king of Assyria,”
1Chron 5:26a WEB

So the Most High God, Yahweh, Lord of Armies is stirring up this pagan nation, to bring retribution on His own people for their sins. Even the beginning results were noteworthy, and are pertinent to our story. Some cites in Israel were captured and the peoples enslaved. Then Menahem, the king of the Northern kingdom of Israel, gathered up a gift of a thousand talents of silver to bribe King Pul of Assyria to leave his nation alone. That would be about thirty-seven tons of silver. That is not small change in anyone’s terms.

Wars are about money, and the power to make
or collect money.

“1 Where do wars and fightings among you come from? Don’t they come from your pleasures that war in your members? 2 You lust, and don’t have. You kill, covet, and can’t obtain. You fight and make war. You don’t have, because you don’t ask. 3 You ask, and don’t receive, because you ask with wrong motives,”
Jas 4:1-3a WEB

Was Menahem right? Why should King Pul of Assyria withdraw if he can clearly beat Menahem? Well, if the objective is money, to feed and pay and give bonuses to your troops … , and oh yes, to have a little left over for personal wealth at the end, and if you can have more left over by not fighting than by fighting … then why not? So it says,

“… So the king of Assyria turned back, and didn’t stay there in the land.”
2Kgs 15:20c WEB

It seemed to work, at least for a while. Many a nation has rolled over in history, and let a stronger power take away her resources or her markets, rather than be destroyed in a war, and still lose those resources anyway. That is war, world history long.

Then came the unfaithful King Ahaz of Judah.

WEB is the World English Bible, a copyright free revision
of the original ASV American Standard Version 1901