The wicked kings of Judah and Israel

When the prophet Jonah, fulfilling the command of his teacher Elisha, anointed Jehu as king of Israel, he poured oil from a jug, not from a horn, to show that the Jehu dynasty would be short-lived. At first, Jehu, who was not a very clever king, at least remained pious.

However, he soon forgot about his fear of God, finding a document signed by the prophet Ahijah of Shiloh and obliging all those who signed to obey King Yarovam. In the king’s eyes, this proved that the prophet approved the worship of the golden bulls raised by the first king of Israel. Therefore, having destroyed the cult of Baal, Jehu did nothing against the cult established by Yarovam in Beit. Jehu’s successors were not only no better but even worse. Therefore, on the fifth ruler, the Jehu dynasty was suppressed by the hand of an assassin.

The kings of Judah differed little from their Israel counterparts. Ahaziah, killed by Jehu, was a shameless sinner. He deleted from the Torah all the Highest names, replacing them with the terms of pagan gods.

After the death of Ahaziah, the reign of terror of Queen Athaliah came. At this time, the Almighty exacted from the house of David for his actions, which led to the beating of the priests of Nova. Just as Avatar was the only descendant of Abimelech who survived the massacre of King Saul, the only descendant of David who survived the terror of Athaliah was Jehoash, a child hidden in the sacred of Holies of the Temple by the high priest Jehoiada and his wife, Jeshosheba. Later, Jehooiada confirmed the right of Jehoash to the kingdom, and elevated him to the throne of Judah.

The descendants of David who wore the crown also confirmed the legitimacy of Jehoash – since this crown was suitable only for legitimate rulers from the house of David.

After the rebellion of Jehoash, Jehoash began repairing the Temple. The work was completed so quickly that one of those who lived at Shlomo, who built the Temple, was honoured to see the new building before his death. This honour fell to Jehoiada, the commander-in-chief of King Shlomo.

As long as Jehoash followed the teachings of Jehoiada, he remained a godly king. However, when the high priest died, the courtiers began to flatter him: “If you were not a god, you could not have lived six years in the Holy of Holies, where even the priest can enter only once a year!” The king allowed himself to be convinced and allowed his subjects to give him divine honours. In his madness, the king went so far as to order the installation of an idol in the Temple!

Learning about this, the son of Jehoiada Zachariah stood at the door, blocking the entrance, and exclaimed: “As long as I live, this will not happen!” Zechariah was the high priest, prophet and son-in-law of the king. All this, however, did not stop Yoash from killing him. The king was not even controlled because the case was on the Day of Judgment, which fell on Saturday. The innocent blood that flooded the hall of priests did not remain unavenged. For two hundred and fifty-two years, it was not possible to wash it off; it continued to throb until Nebuchadnezzar’s governor, Nebuchadnezzar, executed many Jews to avenge Zechariah’s death.

Zachariah, Jehoash’s killer, ended badly. He was captured by the Syrians, who subjected him to brutal, immoral torture. Before the king could recover from his torment, he was killed by his servants.

Amaziah, the son and successor of Jehoash, was in many ways like his father. At the beginning of his reign, he remained God-fearing. Still, then, having defeated, with the help of the Highest, the Edomites, he did not think of anything better than to establish in Jerusalem the worship of one of the gods of the vanquished.

To punish Amaziah, God inspired him with the idea of provoking a war with Jehoash, the king of Israel. Amaziah demanded that Jehoash voluntarily recognize himself as a vassal of Jerusalem or prepare for war.

First, Jehoash tried to dissuade Amaziah by telling him a parable, reminding him of the fate of Shechem, whom the sons of Jacob dealt with after he raped their sister Dinah. Amaziah did not heed. A war broke out, which turned out to be unsuccessful for Amaziah. He was defeated and tortured to death by his servants.