Lynne's handouts: https://scripturecentral.org/archive/books/book-chapter/2-kings-14-25?searchId=0eb3e36bfb24dcd9bb1d1bece1531216b59539a8fde17ee80224af0653c92aa3-en-v=fadf3b9
In this episode of Handmaidens, Harems, and Heroines, scholar Lynne Hilton Wilson explores 2 Kings 15–25 through the often-overlooked experiences of women in the Old Testament. Set during the turbulent final years of the kingdoms of Israel and Judah, these chapters tell a story of political upheaval, prophetic warnings, and the destruction of Jerusalem—but they also reveal the influence, courage, and suffering of women living through these events.
Lynne highlights the roles of royal women, mothers of kings, prophetesses, and ordinary women whose lives were shaped by covenant faithfulness and national crisis. She examines how women participated in religious life, preserved family and covenant traditions, and responded to the spiritual decline of their societies. The episode also considers the reforms of righteous kings such as Hezekiah and Josiah, the ministry of the prophetess Huldah, and the devastating consequences of Judah’s exile to Babylon.
Throughout the discussion, Lynne invites listeners to see these familiar chapters with fresh eyes: not only as political history, but as sacred history that includes women’s voices, choices, and testimonies. Their stories illuminate themes of covenant loyalty, repentance, resilience, and hope in times of collapse.