Pop quiz: Who were Nadab, Baaha, Elah, Zimri, Tibni, Omri and Ahab?
Nope... not the real names of the seven dwarfs. Their names were Doc, Happy Sneezy, Sleepy, Bashful, Grumpy and Dopey.
Right... These are the seven kings that followed Jeroboam in the Northern Kingdom. During the time of the divided kingdom, the northern ten tribes were referred to as Israel while the Southern Kingdom is called Judah. These seven dwarfs were kings of Israel.
Multiple Choice Question: Where in the Bible can one find the stories of the kings of the Northern Kingdom?
A. They are found in First and Second Kings.
B. They are found in First and Second Chronicles.
C. They are found in First and Second Kings and in First and Second Chronicles.
D. They are found in the book of Hezekiah.
Yep! The answer is A. You knew that one... First and Second Kings record the history of both Israel and Judah, and their kings. First and Second Chronicles record only the history of Judah. So, if you want to read about the seven wicked kings that followed Jeroboam in Israel, you need to read 1 Kings 15-22. You won’t find them in the Chronicles. And, just so you won’t try to find it, there is no book of Hezekiah.
Enough of that ...
At the same time that bunch of corrupt kings ruled in Israel, Solomon’s family continued to reign in Judah. Rehoboam, the grandson of David, served for “seventeen years in Jerusalem.” During that time, “Judah did what was evil in the Lord’s sight. They provoked him to jealous anger more than all that their ancestors had done with the sins they committed” (1 Kings 14:21-22, CSB). Rehoboam’s son, Abijam, took the throne next and served for only three years. “Abijam walked in all the sins his father before him had committed” (1 Kings 15:3, CSB).
Next came Asa. He reigned for forty-one wonderful years in Jerusalem. “Asa did what was right in the Lord’s sight, as his ancestor David had done” (1 Kings 15:11, CSB).
Asa’s great-grandfather, Solomon, had built altars and shrines in Jerusalem for all the pagan gods worshipped by his wives. Asa destroyed them. He cleaned house!
“Asa did what was good and right in the sight of the Lord his God. He removed the pagan altars and the high places. He shattered their sacred pillars and chopped down their Asherah poles. He told the people of Judah to seek the Lord God of their ancestors and to carry out the instruction and the commands. He also removed the high places and the shrines from all the cities of Judah, and the kingdom experienced peace under him” (2 Chronicles 14:2–5, CSB).
When an army of a million Ethiopians marched against Judah, “Asa cried out to the Lord his God, ‘Lord, there is no one besides you to help... Help us, Lord our God, for we depend on you, and in your name we have come against this large army. Lord, you are our God. Do not let a mere mortal hinder you.’ So the Lord routed” ... the enemy (2 Chronicles 14:10–12, CSB).
Asa, the great, great, great ... grandfather of Jesus was king during a dark and difficult period, yet God moved miraculously to restore and revive. Jesus is King today. It may be dark and difficult, but King Jesus is busy restoring and reviving! We can trust Him!
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