Study Desk

The Lord punished Azariah with leprosy for the rest of his life. He wasn't allowed to live in the royal palace, so his son Jotham lived there and ruled in his place.

Azariah died and was buried beside his ancestors in Jerusalem. His son Jotham then became king.

Like his ancestors, Zechariah disobeyed the Lord by following the evil ways of Jeroboam son of Nebat, who had caused the Israelites to sin.

So the Lord had kept his promise to Jehu that the next four kings of Israel would come from his family. Everything else Zechariah did while he was king is written in The History of the Kings of Israel.

Menahem son of Gadi came to Samaria from Tirzah and killed him. Menahem then became king. The town of Tiphsah would not surrender to him, so he destroyed it and all the surrounding towns as far as Tirzah. He killed everyone living in Tiphsah, and with his sword he even ripped open pregnant women. Everything else Shallum did while he was king, including his plot against Zechariah, is written in The History of the Kings of Israel.

During Menahem's rule, King Tiglath Pileser of Assyria invaded Israel. He agreed to help Menahem keep control of his kingdom, if Menahem would pay him over thirty tons of silver.

So Menahem ordered every rich person in Israel to give him at least one pound of silver, and he gave it all to Tiglath Pileser, who stopped his attack and left Israel.

Menahem died, and his son Pekahiah became king.

Jotham was twenty-five years old when he became king, and he ruled sixteen years from Jerusalem. His mother Jerusha was the daughter of Zadok.

Jotham followed the example of his father by obeying the Lord and doing right.

During his rule, the Lord let King Rezin of Syria and King Pekah of Israel start attacking Judah.

Jotham died and was buried beside his ancestors in Jerusalem, and his son Ahaz became king.

He was twenty years old at the time, and he ruled from Jerusalem for sixteen years. Ahaz wasn't like his ancestor David. Instead, he disobeyed the Lord

and was even more sinful than the kings of Israel. He sacrificed his own son, which was a disgusting custom of the nations that the Lord had forced out of Israel.

As soon as Tiglath Pileser received the message, he and his troops marched to Syria. He captured the capital city of Damascus, then he took the people living there to the town of Kir as prisoners and killed King Rezin.

and poured wine over it. Then he offered sacrifices to please the Lord , to give him thanks, and to ask for his blessings.

After that, he had the bronze altar moved aside, so his new altar would be right in front of the Lord 's temple.

Ahaz died and was buried beside his ancestors in Jerusalem, and his son Hezekiah became king.

So the Lord turned his back on everyone in Israel and Judah and let them be punished and defeated until no one was left.

until the Lord got rid of them, just as he had warned his servants the prophets. That's why the people of Israel were taken away as prisoners to Assyria, and that's where they remained.