Kings of Israel and Judah

Kings of Israel and Judah

As I considered the role of parents in raising their children, I thought about the kings of Israel and Judah mentioned in the Bible.

Not many role models there.

Looking back through history, we see how powerful the influence of kingly parents and grandparents is.

There were forty-three kings in Israel and Judah. Of those forty-three, it is written that eight were righteous, two were mostly righteous, three were mostly evil, and all the rest were evil. Those are not encouraging statistics.

No Righteous Kings

Although there were evil kings in the Southern Kingdom of Judah, it was the only kingdom that also had righteous kings. How sad.

The Northern Kingdom of Israel had no righteous kings at all. They didn’t even have any who were mostly righteous.

Usually, if the father or grandfather did evil in the eyes of the LORD, so did the son. Occasionally, a righteous king followed an evil king, but not often.

King Ahab

One of the worst kings in the Northern Kingdom was Ahab, husband of Jezebel. At one point during King Ahab’s reign, he wanted to know whether he should attack Ramoth or not.

All the prophets Ahab kept around him told Ahab whatever he wanted to hear.

They weren’t advisors, as much as men who agreed with the king and said whatever they needed to say to keep the monarch happy.

Truth didn’t matter. What mattered was staying on the king’s good side. Thereby, staying off the gallows.

So, these advisors told Ahab, “Sure. Go ahead and attack. You’ll win.” The men knew this would pump up the king’s ego. Therefore, this is what the men told him.

However, there was one honorable prophet who stood up to the king. This prophet spoke only the truth as God led him to speak it. The man’s name was Micaiah.

Because Micaiah spoke the truth, and not what Ahab wanted to hear, Ahab didn’t like listening to him. In fact, Ahab had God’s prophet thrown into prison. 1 Kings 22:26-40.

Kings After Ahab

While Ahab’s son, Joram, ruled in Israel, Jehoshaphat’s son, Jehoram, ruled in Judah. Jehoram married Ahab’s daughter, Athaliah.

In 2 Kings 8:18 we learn that although Jehoram ruled in the Southern Kingdom, he “walked in the ways of the kings of Israel as the house of Ahab had done, for he married a daughter of Ahab. He did evil in the eyes of the LORD.”

Of Jehoram’s son, Ahaziah, also a king of Judah, it is said, “He too walked in the ways of the house of Ahab, for his mother encouraged him in doing wrong. He did evil in the eyes of the LORD, as the house of Ahab had done, for after his father’s death they became his advisers, to his undoing.” 2 Chronicles 22:3-4 GNT

A curious thing is Jehoram’s father, Ahaziah’s grandfather, Jehoshaphat, was considered righteous.

Your turn

We may not be a parent or grandparent, but that doesn’t let us off the hook.

Nope.

Each of us is called to be a positive influence to those around us, whether they are in our care or not. To represent our King Jesus well.

You might be in a position of influence over family members, or the people in your neighborhood, or within the various organizations you are a part of.

We can also be a godly influence even to the casual observer.

Years ago, a preacher said of his mother, “I never once saw her fill her fast-food cup with soda after she told the cashier she was getting water.”

Simple, right? But her son was watching, and her honesty influenced his life in a positive way.

We may shrug off our importance in another person’s life, but we shouldn’t. Let’s not be like King Ahab who only wanted people around him who said whatever he wanted to hear.

Ahab answered, “There is one more, Micaiah son of Imlah. But I hate him because he never prophesies anything good for me; it’s always something bad.” 1 Kings 22:8 GNT

Let’s be people who offer godly counsel and wisdom, whether they agree with us or not.

And may it never be said of us what was written about King Ahab’s son, Jehoram.

Jehoram had become king at the age of thirty-two and had ruled in Jerusalem for eight years. Nobody was sorry when he died. They buried him in David’s City, but not in the royal tombs. 2 Chronicles 21:20 GNT

For examples of godly parents look here and here.

I wish you well.

Sandy

Pictures courtesy Pixabay.