Kings of Judah

Rehoboam: Introduced idol worship

Abijam: Same

Asa: Faithful to God

Jehosaphat: Faithful to God

Jehoram: Murdered his six brothers, sponsored idol worship and sin.

Ahaziah: Great-grandson of Omri. Grandson of Ahab and Jezebel. Did the evil that followed with his mother from Israel and his father Jehoram.

Athaliah: Mother of Ahaziah who died at the sword of Jehu, King of Israel who purged the line of Omri in Israel. She seized the throne and killed all claimants to the throne. However, Jehosheba, Ahaziah's sister, managed to rescue an infant from the purge: Joash, the son of Jehoram and Athaliah, who was only one year old. Jehoash was raised in secret by Jehosheba's husband, a priest named Jehoiada.

Joash: Did right in young age but then did evil after Jehoiada died. Murdered the son of Jehoiada.

Amaziah: Started out well but soon fell into idol worship.

Uzziah: King Uzziah energetically and faithfully pursued the welfare of his people, being especially active in the military and in agriculture. His administration was marked by revival and restoration of the military and internal security that had been lost in recent generations.

Jotham: Faithful

Ahaz: Ahaz steadfastly determined to reject the LORD, in spite of repeated acts of mercy and aid on the LORD's part. Not merely dabbling in evil, Ahaz went the whole distance, even to the extent of sacrificing his own children to idols. The effects of his actions were felt brutally throughout his kingdom.

Hezekiah: Upon ascending the throne, Hezekiah immediately and energetically thrust his nation into revival, putting a stop to evil practices. The middle part of his reign was devoted to the successful defense of his kingdom against aggressors, with the LORD's help. Israel is overthrown by Assyria during the reign of Hezekiah.

Manasseh: King Manasseh dedicated himself tirelessly to evil. He traveled the land destroying the good work of his father Hezekiah and erecting shrines to idols. He energetically participated in the worship of these false gods, including sacrificing his own children to them. He was a ruthless ruler, guilty of many murders. King Manasseh had a conversion experience in his old age, recorded in 2 Chronicles 33:10-13, and so one might argue that in our chart we should label him “did evil in youth, right in old age.” However, we follow the Bible's record in classifying his reign as evil.

In spite of his repentance and the excellent reforms that followed it, Manasseh is remembered in the Bible record as the most evil of all the kings — and there were some very evil kings. In fact, as these scriptures show, the LORD blamed the downfall of Judah on the sinful legacy of Manasseh.

Amon: evil

Josiah: In the beginning, Josiah knew only a little about God. But he was faithful to what he did know. Then, when the Bible was rediscovered, he came to know in detail what God was like. That was when his faithfulness shined. He was fully obedient to everything he learned about God, and energetically went about ridding the land of sin and teaching wholesome and prosperous ways to his people. At age 25, Josiah decided to rebuild the temple of the LORD, which hadn't been repaired since the days of King Jotham, a century earlier. He hired builders and placed his secretary Shaphan and the high priest Hilkiah in charge of the work.

While the workers were cleaning out long-unused portions of the temple, they found a book. It looked important, so they gave it to Hilkiah, who gave it to Shaphan, who brought it to King Josiah. The book was the Bible — or rather, what they considered to be the Bible: the first five books of our modern Bible. It had been ignored for so long that no one knew there was such a thing as a Bible!

Jehoahaz: evil

Jehoiakim: Jehoiakim came to power as his kingdom was in decline, having recently lost national sovereignty after being invaded. Babylon's King Nebuchadnezzar kept him on the throne in order to keep Judah submissive. But Jehoiakim made not the slightest effort to properly guide his people through this difficult time. Instead, he selfishly added to the people's burden so he could live in luxury. He could have promoted justice and compassion. Instead, he practiced oppression and vice. He could have sponsored wise leadership. Instead, he persecuted and killed those who tried to lead the people in the LORD's ways.

Jehoiachin: Evil

Zedekiah: King Zedekiah steadfastly refused to obey the LORD, and instead plunged his nation into grave danger by rebelling against the legitimate authority of the empire of Babylon. Babylon was powerful, and Jerusalem's power had been removed in prior invasions. His rebellion was hopeless from the beginning. Repeatedly warned by the LORD, Zedekiah refused to listen. Judah was then overthrown by Babylon.