He has some victories in battle, but then he gets an alliance going with Aram. In the books of Kings and Chronicles there are lists of kings, some with long stories, some with short. Kings of Judah Bible Good/Bad Kings of Israel Bible All Bad. His adversary was Elijah, who resisted him nobly. Abijam 1 Kings 14‐15BAD. He begs for forgiveness and God gives it to him. A second attack led to Jerusalem's second defeat in 586 BC. That just a few of the evil kings of Israel. He was almost killed by his grandma, but was whisked away to be raised in the Temple for seven years. Rehoboam 1 Kings 11‐14BAD. King Josiah, for example, began to cleanse Judah of false worship and restored Jehovah’s temple. By entering your email address you agree to receive emails from Shmoop and verify that you are over the age of 13. But when they're bad, that means idol-worship, distrust of God, and even murder. When an original copy of God’s Law given through Moses was found, Josiah was deeply moved and … * The kingdom was divided during Ishbosheth's reign; David was king over the … There's one king, though, of whom it's said that he 'did more evil in the eyes of the Lord than any of those before him' (1 Kings 16:30) and that he 'did more to provoke the Lord, the God of Israel, to anger than did all the kings of Israel before him' (verse 33). Manasseh of Judah built altars to foreign gods in the Temple and 'sacrificed his own son in the fire' (2 Kings 21:6). Yah is my father"). He inherited a powerful kingdom, but comes across as a weak and petulant – if courageous – figure. Jehu of Israel was another murderer, who made two piles of the heads of 70 royal princes (2 Kings 10:8) and killed scores of other rivals. Kings of the United Kingdom (c 1025-925 BC) King Relationship to Previous King God's Judgment. All the names that begin with "J" or end in "iah" reflect that, like "Uzziah" ("God is my strength") and Abijah (Yah is my father"). Even King David, while he was still a hunted outlaw, would cover his tracks by killing everyone, male and female, in the villages he raided (1 Samuel 27:9). He had a rocky start in life. Maybe Yahweh is the right way after all. Nadab 1 Kings 15BAD. In the books of Kings and Chronicles there are lists of kings, some with long stories, some with short. Captives from both campaigns were taken to Babylonia to mark the captivity of the Southern Kingdom. Uzziah did some good things like winning wars, building armies, and worshipping God. His wickedness drew down a drought and famine on the land. He's pretty faithful for most of his life. When these kings are good, they're very good. Maybe it isn't fair to call this grouping of kings "bad." There were 8 good kings ruling the southern kingdom of Judah, the rest were all evil. There are 21 rulers of Judah in 2 Chronicles and God's put them all Ahab departed from the worship of God and built a temple to Baal. Some of them 'did evil in the eyes of the Lord', while some of them got off more lightly; hardly any were praised unreservedly. The names of the evil kings of Israel or Judah are not exactly household names. Elah 1 Kings 16BAD. Judah lasted a little more than a century longer than Israel, but it too faced divine punishment. In the end, "a leprous disease broke out on his forehead" (26:20) because God sees this as a major violation of Temple protocol. He led people away from God, and all other sins start from there.eval(ez_write_tag([[300,250],'christiantoday_com-medrectangle-4','ezslot_2',150,'0','0'])); Stay up to date with the latest Christian news! After he's captured and sent into exile as a prisoner, Manasseh has a change of heart. He connived at the murder of Naboth, whose vineyard he coveted. Again, we see the same similarities with the other greatest kings. Some of them 'did evil in the eyes of the Lord', while some of them got off more lightly; hardly any were praised unreservedly. Baasha 1 Kings 15‐16BAD. Let's try dividing them up like He barges into the Temple and demands to enter the special holy places reserved for the priests (and the spirit of God, of course). Maybe "inconsistent" is a better word. After he kills the son of the high priest and is wounded in battle, his own servants finish the job and bump him off. This does not make God happy. But then he has to go and get cocky. There were some truly horrible kings in both countries. To enjoy our website, you'll need to enable JavaScript in your web browser. Clint Eastwood might—into the good, the bad, and the ugly. © 2020 Shmoop University Inc | All Rights Reserved | Privacy | Legal. Saul none did evil Ishbosheth* son (unknown) David none did right Solomon (AKA Jedidiah) son did right in youth, evil in old age. Please click here to learn how. The Kings of Judah were the monarchs who ruled over the ancient Kingdom of … There were plenty of other bad kings, and plenty guilty of more bloodshed, but Ahab seems to have attracted the most severe condemnation. It's likely that this was because of the brazen nature of his infidelity to God in building a temple to Baal, and the way he continually resisted God's word through Elijah. Despite their religiously symbolic names, we're Manasseh of Judah built altars to foreign gods in the Temple and 'sacrificed his own son in the fire' (2 Kings 21:6). Their loyalties change and so do their fates. JavaScript seems to be disabled in your browser. All the names that begin with "J" or end in But there were plenty who were worse: the obscure Baasha of Israel (1 Kings 15: 28-29) killed his predecessor and the whole family of a previous king, Jeroboam, just to be on the safe side (he was deposed by Zimri, who killed his family). on the throne. After Josiah reigned there was no hope for Judah, the last 3 kings were evil. King Rehoboam 930-913 BC Bad 17 son of Solomon; mother = Naamah the Ammonite 1 … Jehu killed far more people than Ahab, but it's Ahab for whom the Bible has a particular horror because his sin was at a deeper level. 1. This guy hates other gods so much that he even kicks his own mother out for worshipping idols. All it takes is a little time in the slammer for him to figure out "that the Lord indeed was God" (33:13). For the best experience on our site, be sure to turn on Javascript in your browser. The Bad Kings of Judah There are 21 rulers of Judah in 2 Chronicles and God's put them all on the throne. That was Israel's King Ahab.eval(ez_write_tag([[250,250],'christiantoday_com-medrectangle-3','ezslot_0',156,'0','0'])); Ahab was the son of Omri, who hardly gets a mention in the Bible but was a very significant figure indeed. Once he gets his chance to sit on the throne, this king restores God's house to its former glory. No one's sad about it. dealing with a pretty mixed bag here. They're worshipping God, getting rid of idols, taking care of the Temple, and winning wars. Only a few Judean kings responded to the warnings of God’s prophets and tried to lead the nation back to Jehovah. 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