Examples of kings who disobeyed God
Disobedience among kings is a common occurrence in the Bible. In the nation of Israel, despite the knowledge of God and His law, disobedience was common. Starting with King Saul the first king of Israel, apart from his direct disobedience to God’s command, he followed his paranoia and hatred for David to commit atrocities such as massacring the people of the priestly town of Nod. Hence he stained his hands with innocent blood and violated the command ‘Thou shall not kill.” David, who became king after Saul also committed adultery with Bathsheba and masterminded the death of her husband. Hence he was guilty of murder and adultery, violating ‘Thou shall not kill’ and ‘Thou shall not commit adultery’. King Solomon who succeeded King David slipped into idolatry by the influence of his wives, violating the commandments that say, ‘Thou shall worship no other God apart from me’ and ‘Thou shall not make idols.’
In response to Solomon’s idolatry, God divided the nation Israel into two kingdoms. He gave the bigger Kingdom of Israel to Jeroboam to rule. King Jeroboam the first king of the Kingdom of Israel did the people a great disservice and disappointed God so much with gross disobedience. No sooner did he begin to rule than he defected from God and established the religion of the two golden calves. He was guilty of violating the commandments ‘Thou shall make no idol and bow down to them’ and “Thou shall not worship any other God apart from me’. The rest of the kings who ruled the Kingdom of Israel were King Nadab, King Baasha, King Elah, King Zimri, King Omri, King Ahab, Ahaziah of Israel, Joram of Israel, King Jehu, Jehoahaz of Israel, Jehoash of Israel, King Jeroboam II, King Zechariah, King Shallum, King Menahem, King Pekahiah, King Pekah, and King Hoshea. Unfortunately, all these kings followed in the footsteps of King Jeroboam and were guilty of serving other gods apart from the true God of Israel.
After God split Israel, we had the Kingdom of Israel and the Kingdom of Judah. Though all the kings who ruled the Kingdom of Israel were idolatrous and disobedient, not all the kings of Judah were disobedient. Like King Jeroboam, the first king of Judah was disobedient and defected from God into idolatry, violating the commandments ‘Thou shall not worship any other god apart from me’ and ‘Thou shall not make idols and worship them’. Apart from him, some of the kings in the succession were idolatrous, namely King Abijah, King Jehoram, Ahaziah of Judah, Queen Athaliah, King Joash, King Amaziah, King Ahaz, King Manasseh, King Amon, Jehoahaz of Judah, King Jehoiakim, King Jehoiachin, and King Zedekiah. All these were disobedient idolatrous kings who forsook the Lord.
Now we are going to focus on kings who disobeyed the direct orders of God.
1. Pharaoh
God met Moses on Mt Sinai and sent him with his word to Pharaoh, King of Egypt, to tell him to let the Israelites go to set them free from their slavery. According to Exodus 5, Moses and Aaron appeared before Pharaoh and told him the word of God saying, “Thus says the Lord God of Israel: ‘Let My people go, that they may hold a feast to Me in the wilderness (Ex 5:1 NKJV).” And Pharaoh replied saying, “Who is the Lord, that I should obey His voice to let Israel go? I do not know the Lord, nor will I let Israel go (Exo 5:2).”
Pharaoh disobeyed the word of God and would not let the Israelites go. Moreover, Pharaoh was irritated by God’s word to increase the daily task of the Israelites as some form of punishment for desiring freedom. Then God brought nine plagues upon Egypt, yet Pharaoh did not obey. Lastly, God brought a plague of death which killed all the firstborn sons of the Egyptians. It was this plague that broke Pharaoh to yield to the freedom of the Israelites.
2. King Saul
When the Israelites were coming into the Promised Land, the Amalekites waylaid them and harmed them (1Sa 15:2). When the time came for God to pay them back, he sent Saul king of Israel. God sent Prophet Samuel to tell King Saul to destroy all the Amalekites and their livestock, not sparing anything alive (1Sa 15:3). However, when Israel attacked the Amalekites and defeated them, Saul destroyed everything but spared the Amalekite king, Agag, and the best of the livestock of the Amalekites.
When he returned from the war, Samuel confronted him about what he had done, his excuse was that it was his soldiers who spared the livestock to sacrifice them to the Lord (1Sa 15:15). This act of disobedience displeased God, leading to Samuel informing Saul that God had rejected him as king of Israel. Reference 1 Samuel 15:1-15
3. King Ahab
During the reign of King Ahab, King Benhadad of Syria invaded Israel, but lost heavily in a battle against Israel, and fled with the rest of his troops. Then he reorganized himself and mustered a very large army for a second invasion. King Benhadad’s officers said to him, “The gods of Israel are mountain gods. We fought in a mountain area, so the Israelites won. If we fight them on level ground, we will win (1Ki 20:23).” God was provoked by this statement and promised to make the Syrians suffer defeat at the hands of the Israelites, intending that Ahab would kill Benhadad as part of the defeat. The battle was fought and the Syrians lost.
King Benhadad ran to Aphek to hide but later he surrendered to King Ahab to plead for his life. Benhadad promised to return the towns that his father took from Ahab’s father (1Ki 20:34). Then King Ahab made a peace agreement with Benhadad and made him go free. This disobedience of King Ahab would not go unpunished. God sent one of the prophets to Ahab and he prophesied, saying, “The Lord says to you, ‘You set free the man I said should die. So you will take his place—you and your people will die! (1Ki 20:42)’”
4. King Joash
Joash of Judah was seven years old when he was made a king. Jehoiada the high priest was his spiritual father who gave him good guidance to make him a good king. By Jehoiada’s guidance, Joash banned idolatry in the Kingdom of Judah, destroying idol altars and restoring the worship of the one true God of Israel. (2Ch 23:16-21).
When Jehoiada the priest died, King Joash was influenced by his officials to restore idolatry on the land (2Ch 24:15-22). God forsook them and the period of idolatry was marked by wars, defeats, and hardship. It is categorically written that though God sent prophets to the king and the people to bring them back to him, they would not listen (2Ch 24:19). Then God sent Zechariah the son of the deceased Jehoiada to rebuke the king and the people to stop idolatry and turn to the Lord (2Ch 24:20).
However, Joash would not listen to the word of God nor tolerate the prophet. By his orders Prophet Zechariah was stoned to death in the courtyard of the temple in Jerusalem (2Ch 24:21). King Joash himself was later murdered for this treachery (2Ch 24:23-27).
5. King Amaziah
Joash of Judah was the father of King Amaziah. When Joash died, Amaziah succeeded him. He started his reign humbly with the fear of God and obeyed God’s word. At that time, the Edomites who were tribute to the Kingdom of Judah were in rebellion. This rebellion to free themselves from the Kingdom of Judah began during the time of Amaziah’s great-grandfather. During King Amaziah’s reign, he sought to subjugate them. Therefore, he went to war against them and defeated them. However, after defeating them, he collected the gods of the Edomites and brought them home to worship them (2Ch 25:14).
God stepped in and attempted to make this king stop this foolishness. So he sent his prophet to rebuke Amaziah to stop worshipping these gods who could not protect the lives of their own people. However, the proud-hearted Amaziah threatened and silenced the prophet of God and he did not repent from idolatry. Later, God handed him over to his enemies and he was assassinated just like his father (2Ch 25:25-28).
6. King Josiah
King Josiah was one of the best kings of Judah. However, one disobedient act cost him his life. The story began when Pharaoh Neco of Egypt was on his way to Carchemish to join his ally, the Assyrian king, to fight against the Babylonians. While Pharaoh and his army were passing through the land, Josiah mustered his army to fight against him to prevent him from passing.
The Pharaoh tried to avoid this war by sending envoys to Josiah to talk peace, saying, “What quarrel is there, king of Judah, between you and me? It is not you I am attacking at this time, but the house with which I am at war. God has told me to hurry; so stop opposing God, who is with me, or he will destroy you (2Ch 35:21 NIV).”
Josiah did not listen to the word of God by the mouth of Pharaoh. Rather, he disguised himself, joined his army, and went out to meet Neco on the plain of Megiddo for war. In the course of the battle, an arrow struck him and he was mortally wounded and died. He was brought to Jerusalem and buried there. His death was mourned by all the people of his kingdom. (2 Chronicles 35:20-27)
Conclusion
All the kings, both good and bad kings, who disobeyed God suffered some kind of punishment permanently or temporarily. The stories of these kings underscore the importance of honoring God’s commands and serve as cautionary reminders of the consequences of disobedience and the virtues of faithful obedience to God.