Headline: Pul, Menahem, Pekahiah, Pekah, Hoshea, and the Fall of the Northern Kingdom of Israel (722 BC).
Image: 
Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rO-ZuFCk-PI
Date Range: 745 BC – 722 BC
People: Ahaz, Azariah (Uzziah), Hosea, Hoshea, Jotham, Menahem, Osorkon IV (So), Pekah, Pekahiah, Pul = Tiglath-Pileser III, Sargon II, Shalmaneser V.
Description:
Assyrian king Tiglath-Pileser III rose to power in 745 BC while Jotham was co-regent with Uzziah in Judah and three years before Menahem became king of Israel. Tiglath-Pileser III, also known as Pul in the Bible, conquered much of Mesopotamia within a few short years. During Menahem’s reign, the Assyrians were invited to pass through the Northern Kingdom of Israel to invade Aram-Damascus ruled by King Rezin. To avoid open warfare, Menahem was forced to pay tribute of a thousand talents of silver to Tiglath-Pileser III and Assyria.
In 732 BC, Pekah allied with Rezin against Assyria. King Ahaz did not ally with Israel and Aram-Damascus. As a result, Ahaz paid tribute to Tigleth-Pileser III, Aram-Damascus was destroyed, and King Rezin was executed. Pul died in 727 BC. Five years later, Sargon II destroyed the Northern Kingdom of Israel in 722 BC and deported its population.
Bible Verses: 2 Kings 15:17-31, 2 Kings 16-17, 1 Chronicles 5:1-10, 1 Chronicles 5:26, 2 Chronicles 28:16-21, Hosea 1:1
Resources:
– Ahaz / Jehoahaz II of Judah
– Hosea
– Hoshea
– Jotham
– Menahem
– Northern Kingdom of Israel
– Osorkon IV
– Pekah
– Pekahiah
– Sargon II
– Shalmaneser V
– Tiglath-Pileser III
– Tiglath-Pileser III Video
– Uzziah / Azariah
Conclusion:
Tiglath-Pileser III (Pul) represented a clear and present danger to Israel and Judah. Both Menahem of Israel and Ahaz of Judah paid tribute to Assyria to avoid being attacked. This is just like paying a bully not to pick a fight with you. The bully is temporarily appeased, not defeated. Eventually, the King of Assyria attacked and destroyed Aram-Damascus in 732 BC and the Northern Kingdom of Israel in 722 BC. The prophet Hosea spoke about this impending doom comparing Israel to a harlot. Instead of embracing God, Israel turned its back to God. When Sargon II defeated Israel, he deported numerous Israelites eastward out of the land and imported many from the east. This permanently changed the culture of the Northern Kingdom and it ceased to exist as a nation that revered Jehovah.
Timeline and Chronology
722 BC: Sargon II became king of Assyria / Northern Kingdom fell (2 Kings 17).
727 BC, December 30: Shalmaneser V became king of Assyria.
730 BC: Osorkon IV became pharaoh of Egypt.
732 BC: Jehoahaz II became king of Judah.
745 BC, April 15: Tiglath-Pileser III became king of Assyria.
The Mercy Table 