1-2. Wat da Bible tell about some of da kings of Israel?

 DA BIBLE talk about moa den 40 diffren guys who wen rule az kings of Israel. a And it no hold back from telling us about da tings some of dem wen do. Fo exampo, even da good kings had do some bad tings. Try tink about David who wuz one good king. Jehovah said, “[David] wen stay tight wit me wit one good heart. He ony do da kine stuff dat I see stay right.” (1 Ki 14:8) Still yet, dat guy wen fool aroun wit one married wahine an wen make plan fo her husban be killed in one battle.​—2 Sam 11:4, 14, 15.

² On da odda hand, da Bible tell about some of da good tings dat da kings who neva stay tight wit Jehovah wen do. Like Rehoboam, who in Jehovah’s eyes “wen do bad kine stuff.” (2 Rec 12:14) But wen Jehovah wen tell him fo no go fight da ten ohanas of Israel, Rehoboam wen lissen. He even wen make da town walls moa strong fo proteck God’s peopo.​—1 Ki 12:21-24; 2 Rec 11:5-12.

3. Wat importan question come up, an wat we goin talk about in dis lesson?

³ So if da Israel kings wen do good an bad tings, how Jehovah wen figga wedda da king wuz faitful? Learning da  ansa to dis question goin help us undastan wat we gotta do fo make Jehovah happy. We goin learn about three tings Jehovah wen tink about fo figga if one king wuz good or bad. One, did da king love Jehovah wit all his heart? Two, did da king repent wen he did someting bad? Three, did da king keep worshipping Jehovah da right way?

LOVE JEHOVAH WIT ALL YOA HEART

4. Wat wuz differen between da kings who wen stay tight wit Jehovah an da ones who neva?

⁴ Da kings who wen make Jehovah happy wen worship him wit all dea heart. b King Jehoshafat who wuz one good king, wen “go all out fo know Da One In Charge.” (2 Rec 22:9) Wen come to Josiah da Bible tell, “neva get even anodda king jalike Josiah. Az cuz he tell “Laytas” to wat da king guys befo him stay do, he go all out fo come tight wit Da One In Charge wit all his powa an eryting inside him.” (2 Ki 23:25) Wat about Solomon, who wen do bad tings layta in life? “Inside, he no stay okay cuz he no stay tight no mo wit his God”. (1 Ki 11:4) An Abijam who neva stay tight wit Jehovah, da Bible tell, “Inside, Abijam neva get um right wit his God.”​—1 Ki 15:3.

5. Wat it mean fo serve Jehovah wit all yoa heart?

⁵ Wat it mean fo worship Jehovah wit all yoa heart? Somebody who serve Jehovah wit all dea heart no jus go tru da motions wen dey worship him. But, dey serve Jehovah cuz dey really love an respeck him an dey keep doin um all tru dea life.

6. Wat we gotta do fo keep loving Jehovah wit all oua heart? (Smart Guys 4:23; Matthew 5:29, 30, NWT)

⁶ How we can copy da faitful kings who love Jehovah wit all dea heart? We gotta stay away from anyting dat make oua love fo Jehovah come weak. Fo exampo, we gotta be keaful about da tings dat we watch or wat we do fo fun. We also gotta be keaful an choose da right kine frenz so we no start fo tink dat money iz da mos importan ting in oua life. If we tink get someting starting fo make oua love fo Jehovah come moa weak we gotta ack fas an hemo um.​—Read um Smart Guys 4:23; Matthew 5:29, 30, NWT.

7. How come we gotta stay away from anyting dat can make oua love fo Jehovah come weak?

⁷ We no can let oua heart come split up. If we no watch out, we could fool ouaself an start fo tink dat jus cuz we stay busy serving Jehovah, bad tings no can hurt us. Try picha yoaself on one supa hot day. Fo keep cool you choose fo drink watta. But wat would happen if you had stay in da sun all day instead of looking fo some shade? Real fas you goin get thirsty again. Wass da point? Iz not enuff fo jus do good tings fo come moa tight wit Jehovah. Jus like how we no like stay too long in da hot sun, we gotta proteck ouaself from anyting dat come from dis world dat could make oua love fo Jehovah come weak.​—Efe 2:2.

WE GOTTA REPENT OF OUA SINS

8-9. Wen somebody wen correck dem, how King David an King Hezekiah wen reack? (Go look da picha.)

⁸ Like we wen talk about befoa, King David wen mess up big time. But wen da prophet Nathan wen tell him  about how Jehovah wen feel about wat he wen do, David wuz humbo an wen repent. (2 Sam 12:13) Da words David wen write in Songs Fo God 51, wen show us dat he wuz real sorry fo wat he wen do. David neva make like he wuz sorry jus fo fool Nathan or fo no get in trouble.​—Songs 51:3, 4, 17.

⁹ King Hezekiah wen sin agains Jehovah too. Da Bible tell, “Hezekiah come high nose, da way he tink . . . Az why Da One In Charge come real huhu wit him an da peopo inside Judah an Jerusalem.” (2 Rec 32:25) How come Hezekiah wen tink he wuz all dat? Maybe cuz Jehovah wen give him plenny money, had help him win agains da Syria guys, or had heal um wen he wuz sick. Maybe da reason why he wen show off eryting he get to da Babylon guys wuz cuz he wen tink he wuz all dat. So da prophet Isaiah had fo tell Hezekiah dat Jehovah wuz huhu wit him. (2 Ki 20:12-18) But jus like David, Hezekiah wuz humbo an wen repent. (2 Rec 32:26) Cuz of dat, Jehovah wen see King Hezekiah az one faitful king who “do wat stay right.”​—2 Ki 18:3.

10. Wen one prophet wen correck King Amaziah, how he wen reack?

¹⁰ On da odda hand, King Amaziah of Judah wen do wat wuz right but he neva serve Jehovah wit all his heart. (2 Rec 25:2) Wat he wen do wrong? Afta Jehovah wen help him win ova da Edom guys, Amaziah wen start fo worship dea gods. c Wen Jehovah’s prophet wen talk to him about um, da king neva like lissen an wen sen um away.​—2 Rec 25:14-16.

11. Wat 2 Fo Da Corint Peopo 7:9, 11 tell we gotta do so dat Jehovah can fogive us? (Go look da pichas.)

¹¹ Wat we learn from dese guys? We gotta repent of oua sins an do eryting we can fo no do um again. Wat if da eldas in da local hui correck you about someting, even if we ony tink wuz mynah? No tink Jehovah no love you or dat da eldas stay agains you. Even da kings of Israel who wuz good had fo get correckted fo learn how fo do tings da right way. (Heb 12:6) Wen somebody correck us, we gotta (1) be humbo, (2) make wateva changes we need, an (3) move on an serve Jehovah wit all oua heart. If we repent of oua sins, Jehovah goin fogive us.​—Read um 2 Fo Da Corint Peopo 7:9, 11.

WORSHIP JEHOVAH DA RIGHT WAY

12. Wat wuz diffren from da faitful kings an da odda kings?

¹² Da kings dat wuz faitful to Jehovah wen worship him da way He like. An dey wen help Jehovah’s peopo fo do dat too. Like we wen talk about, dey wen jam up plenny. But dey wen worship ony Jehovah an work hard fo wipe out all da idols in da land. d

13. How come to Jehovah, King Ahab no wuz faitful?

¹³ Wat about da kings dat no wuz faitful to Jehovah? Az not like dey wen do bad tings all da time. Even pilau King Ahab wen show he wuz humbo an wen feel bad wen he hea dat Nabot wen get killed cuz  of him. (1 Ki 21:27-29) Ahab wen win some wars an build cities fo Israel. (1 Ki 20:21, 29; 22:39) But Ahab wen do someting real bad. Cuz his wife wen rub off on him, he wen go all out fo worship fake gods. But he neva feel bad or repent fo dat.​—1 Ki 21:25, 26.

14. (a) How come Jehovah wen look King Rehoboam az not faitful? (b) Wat did mos of da kings who no wuz faitful do?

¹⁴ Anodda king dat wuzn’t faitful wuz Rehoboam. Like we wen talk about befoa, he wen do plenny good tings wen he wuz king. But wen he wen come one strong king, he wen stop lissening to Jehovah an wen start worshipping fake gods. (2 Rec 12:1) Afta dat, sometimes he wen go worship Jehovah an sometimes he worship fake gods. (1 Ki 14:21-24) Rehoboam an Ahab wuzn’t da ony kings dat wen stop worshipping Jehovah da right way. Mos kings dat no wuz faitful wen worship fake kine gods an wen tell oddas fo do um too. Az clear fo see wat wen make one king good or bad to Jehovah, wuz if dey wen worship him da right way.

15. How come iz importan to Jehovah dat peopo stick to worshipping him da right way?

¹⁵ How come stay so importan to Jehovah who peopo worship? One reason iz cuz da king had da kuleana fo help peopo worship Jehovah da right way. An wen peopo worship fake kine gods, dat make dem do odda bad tings an treat oddas bad too. (Hos 4:1, 2) On top of dat, Jehovah wen choose da kings an da Israel peopo fo be spesho fo him. So wen dey no wuz  faitful to Jehovah an wen worship fake gods, da Bible tell wuz jalike peopo who fool aroun on dea odda half. (Jer 3:8, 9) Somebody who fool aroun on dea odda half, break da heart of dea mate. Same ting, Jehovah’s peopo who no stay faitful to him hurt his heart. e​—Rules 4:23, 24.

16. Wat makes somebody good or bad in Jehovah’s eyes?

¹⁶ Wat we learn from dis? We gotta stay away from false worship. An we gotta make shua fo worship Jehovah da way he like an stay busy doin stuff fo him. Da prophet Malakai wen tell strait up wat make somebody good or bad in Jehovah’s eyes. He tell, “da peopo dat stay do wass right, dey stay diffren den da peopo dat stay do wass wrong, an da peopo dat work fo God stay diffren den da peopo dat no work fo God.” (Mal 3:18) We no like let notting, not even da tings wrong wit us or da mistakes we make, stop us from serving Jehovah. Iz one mayjah sin fo stop serving Jehovah.

17. How come we gotta be keaful about who we choose fo marry?

¹⁷ If you stay single an you tinking about getting married, wat Malakai tell can help you choose da right person fo marry. Try tink about dis. Somebody might have some real good qualities but if dey no stay serving Jehovah, you tink Jehovah see dem az somebody good? (2 Cor 6:14) If you marry dem, you tink dey goin help you come moa close to Jehovah? Try tink, King Solomon’s wifes probly had good qualities, but dey neva worship Jehovah an ova time dey wen get  Solomon fo start worshipping fake gods.​—1 Ki 11:1, 4.

18. Wat parents should teach dea keiki?

¹⁸ If you one parent, you can use da exampos of da kings in da Bible fo help yoa keiki like worship Jehovah. Help dem fo undastan dat da kings Jehovah wen see az faitful, wuz da ones who wen worship him an wen help oddas worship him too. Teach yoa keiki dat spiritual tings come firs by wat you say an do, like studying da Bible, goin meetings, an goin field service. (Mat 6:33, NWT) Cuz if you no do dat, yoa kids might tink dat bein one Witness Fo Jehovah iz someting dey gotta do jus cuz da family do um. An if dat happen, dey might tink dat worshipping Jehovah no stay dat importan or dey might even choose fo stop serving Jehovah.

19. Wat can happen to somebody dat wen stop worshipping Jehovah? (Go look da box “ You Can Come Back To Jehovah!”)

¹⁹ If somebody wen stop worshipping Jehovah, dat mean dey no can be Jehovah’s fren again? Dey still can, cuz dey can repent an worship Jehovah again. Fo do dat, he gotta be humbo an get help from da eldas in da local hui. (Jam 5:14) But fo be Jehovah’s fren again iz goin be worth wateva it takes!

20. If we copy da faitful kings, how Jehovah goin look us?

²⁰ So wat we learn from da kings of Israel? We can be like da faitful kings if we worship Jehovah wit all oua heart. We go learn from oua mistakes, repent, an make wateva changes we need. An iz good fo us rememba how importan it iz fo keep worshipping da one an ony tru God, Jehovah. If you stay faitful to Jehovah, den he goin see you az somebody who do wat stay right in his eyes.