The next king in the south part of Israel was called Amaziah. He did what was right to the Lord God, but not as good as
David.
He kept the bad ones out of the country so the people could have the happy lives that God wanted to give them.
The Lord God gave Amaziah a great victory over some enemies. Then Amaziah’s heart got puffed up and he went out to do more
fighting but this time against the north king of Israel.
The king of the north part of Israel said, You’ve had a great victory but now your heart is puffed up. Go back home and be
happy about your victory.
If you fight with us you will be hurt. But Amaziah wouldn’t listen and went to fight.
They lost badly and were hurt and the king of Israel’s north country came into Jerusalem and broke down part of the wall
around Jerusalem and took all the gold and silver and precious treasures out of the house of God.
Then that king and his army went home.
Fifteen years after Amaziah was made king in the south, there was another king called Jeroboam in the north.
He did bad in God’s eyes and brought much trouble to the people.
But he also got back some of the land that had been taken from the people because the Lord saw that the people were in great
trouble so the Lord helped even though the king and the people had done bad; because the Lord loves his people.
Years later, when Amaziah, the king of the south, was dead, the people took the king’s son, Azariah, and made him king over
the south part of Israel when he was sixteen years old.
Azariah did what God said was right and he was king a long time, 52 years.
The new king in the north did bad in God’s eyes, bowing down the golden calves. He took money from the leaders of the people
and gave it to a strong king in another nation to make them go away instead of fighting with Israel and taking their stuff.
He didn’t trust the Lord God. Other kings were over the
people who did bad, and God didn’t let them be king over the people very long.
Strong kings from other countries came and took the peoples land and cities, because the kings and the people bowed down to
the bad ones and turned their backs on the Lord God. The people let go of the Lord God who was their shield to protect them.
Then came king Uzziah who did right in God’s eyes and that brought God’s good blessing and help to the people
again.
After king Uzziah came king Ahaz who did bad in God’s eyes, the most bad things, just like the people that God took away
from the land before he gave the land to His people Israel.
Then when the Lord God sent a bad king against Ahaz to teach him not to follow the bad ones, Ahaz took all the gold and
silver and treasures in God’s house and paid the king of Assyria to help him instead of turning back to the Lord God for help.
Then Ahaz changed things at the temple from the way the Lord God said to do them. But God is very kind and waits a long time
to see if people will come back to him.
When Ahaz’s life was over, his son, Hezekiah, was made king in his place.