Two Good Kings like Never Before or After

Before we discuss the two good kings, let’s get some background.

Background on Judges and Kings:

When the Israelites were freed from slavery in Egypt, they had judges. Judges were military and life guidance leaders. God was their king and the judges always followed God’s directions. Moses was the first judge and he ruled while the Israelites wandered in the wilderness (See The Life of Moses). Then Joshua took them into the promised land.

Some of the judges were also prophets. Samuel was a prophet and the last judge. He appointed his sons to take his place, but they did not follow his ways. They were dishonest and perverted.

The First King – King Saul:

So the Israelites demanded Samuel to appoint them a king. Even though the Israelites were rejecting God as king (which was very displeasing to God), God still eventually told Samuel to go ahead and anoint Saul as their first king.

Saul was good at first. He was very instrumental in leading the Israelites in conquering land. But he disobeyed God and did what the people wanted instead of what God instructed. Consequentially, Saul died in battle and David was appointed King.

King David:

King David was a king of battles and conquering land (See The Life of King David). He had a special way of communicating with God and followed all of God’s instructions. God found David as a man after his own heart.

David certainly wasn’t perfect and had his share of sins. But he always repented and was very humble. He had such a strong faith in God even at a young age when he fought a giant, Goliath. David trusted and followed God completely all his life.

King Solomon:

Solomon (David’s son) became king at a time of peace. God gave Solomon everything a person could possibly want at a young age (See The Life of Solomon). Solomon had wealth, power, wisdom, & health his entire life. He didn’t have to lead any battles.

He was in charge of building God’s temple. Which he did. God spoke to Solomon twice warning him not to marry foreign women. But he did it anyway. These foreign women coerced Solomon into worshiping their foreign gods. So Solomon’s reign ended with him committing adultery on the Lord by worshiping other gods. This was a big deal and God responded appropriately.

God Divided One Kingdom into Two:

God divided the one kingdom into two, Judah (Southern)and Israel (Northern). Because of the promise God made to King David, God allowed Solomon’s lineage of reign over Judah. But he took the rest of the tribes out for others to reign.

Most of the kings thereafter worshiped other gods and did evil. They appointed priests from all kinds of people who were not Levites. They built idols to worship. Some of them even sacrificed their first born sons in fire to a foreign god.

Only a Few Good Kings:

There were only a few kings that did good and followed God. But two kings stood out and did exceptionally good in the eyes of the Lord. King Hezekiah and King Josiah. They were so good that God made a bold statement proclaiming there were no kings like them before or after.

The Bible states:

2 Kings 18:5 Hezekiah trusted in the LORD, the God of Israel. There was no one like him among all the kings of Judah, either before him or after him.

2 Kings 23:25 Neither before nor after Josiah was there a king like him who turned to the LORD as he did—with all his heart and with all his soul and with all his strength, in accordance with all the Law of Moses.

The Kings just Before and After:

The kings just before and after both Hezekiah and Josiah did evil. So they didn’t do good because they were taught to or were given a good example. And the kings after them didn’t learn from them or follow their good example either. See supporting scriptures below.

HEZEKIAH: Scriptures 1

Ahaz (Hezekiah’s father) was so evil he even sacrificed his own son in fire for foreign gods (See 2 Kings 16:1-3). But Hezekiah did not follow his father’s evil practices (See 2 Kings 18:1-6). Hezekiah’s son Manasseh was appointed king of Judah after Hezekiah (See 2 Kings 20:21). Manasseh did evil in the eyes of the Lord (See 2 Kings 21:1-3). He did more evil than any before him (See 2 Kings 21:11).

JOSIAH: Scriptures 2

Amon (Manasseh’s son & Josiah’s father) succeeded Manasseh as king of Judah (See 2 Kings 21:18). He did evil in the eyes of the Lord and followed his father’s practices (See 2 Kings 21:19-22). Amon’s son Josiah succeeded him as king of Judah (see 2 Kings 21:25-26). Despite his father and grandfather’s example, Josiah did good in the eyes of the Lord (See 2 Kings 22:1-2).

Even though God saw all the good deeds of Josiah, he was still angry and disgusted with Judah for committing detestable acts and worshiping other gods and idles. God vowed to remove Judah from his presence and reject Jerusalem (See 2 Kings 23:25-27).

Josiah died in battle (See 2 Kings 23:29). Josiah’s son Jehoahaz succeeded him as king of Judah. Jehoahaz did evil in the eyes of the Lord (See 2 Kings 23: 31-32). He got carried off to Egypt where he died.

Conclusion:

There were a lot more evil kings than good ones. Really goes to show our sinful nature. Even though these people knew the miracles God had done, they still were tempted by their own pleasures. This just goes to prove that we need a savior. We just can’t do it ourselves.

PDF: Two Good Kings like Never Before or After