Week 11 History Essay

           After King Solomon, King David’s son, the kingdom split apart. This was because Solomon sinned my having many foreign wives and worshiping their gods. Ten of the tribes would be given Solomon’s servant, Jeroboam, who became the king of Israel. The remaining two tribes, Judah and Benjamin, were ruled under Rehoboam. I am going to describe all the Kings of Judah, which were David’s descendants.

           The first four kings were Rehoboam, Abijah, Asa, and Jehoshaphat. Rehoboam was not as wise as his father, Solomon, and he made many wrong decisions. Because of this he is known as a bad king. His son, Abijah, was also bad. The next king, Asa, was the first good king. Whether a king was good or bad depends on their faith. Although King Asa made mistakes, like making a treaty with Ben-Hadad, king of Syria, his faith was strong. Asa’s son was Jehoshaphat. Jehoshaphat was a good king also, and he destroyed all the idols that Rehoboam and his son may have made.

           The next four kings (and queen) were Jehoram, Ahaziah, Athaliah, and Joash. Jehoram was Jehoshaphat’s son. He married King Ahab’s (king of Israel’s) daughter Athaliah. Together, they brought back idol worship. Their son, Ahaziah, became king next. When both, Jehoram and Ahaziah died, there was no suitable air for the throne, so Athaliah took her place as the first and last Queen. she did not want any of her grandsons taking over the throne when they grew up, so she killed all of them. What she did not know was that one of the sons, Joash, had escaped. He later became king when he was only six years old. Jehoram, Ahaziah, and Athaliah were bad. On the other hand, Joash was good.

           The next five kings were Amaziah, Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah. While Amaziah, Uzziah, and Jotham were good, Ahaz was one of the worst kings throughout the history of Judah. However, it was strange because Ahaz’ son, Hezekiah was the best (as in most faithful) king in history. Hezekiah also reigned for twenty-nine years, while his father only reigned for sixteen years.

           The next three kings were Manasseh, Amon, and Josiah. Manasseh was the only king that started out bad and then repented. After he repented, he completely destroyed all the idols in Judah. The next king was Amon, and he was bad. The next king is famous. His name was Josiah. He also became king when he was young, for he was only eight when he was anointed. During his reign, he was fixing up a temple when he found the Book of the Law. This completely changed the religion of Israel.

           The last four kings of Judah were Jehoahaz, Jehoiakim, Jehoiachin, and Zedekiah. All these kings were bad. This is strange because Josiah was good. Jehoahaz was taken prisoner to Egypt by Pharaoh Neco. Jehoiakim died in Jerusalem, and Jehoiachin and Zedekiah were taken prisoner to Babylon by Nebuchadnezzar.

           As you can see, there were many kings of Judah. There were also many kings of Israel. You probably have noticed that some of the kings of the kings of Judah are bad, and some are good. This is not the case with Israel. All the kings in Israel are bad. When I was learning about these kings, I noticed that keeping the line of Judah in some way for the sake of King David. I love learning about the family of Jesus Christ, and what happened to them. I think you should too.