1-2. Wetin the Bible say about some kings in Israel?

 THE Bible talk about more than 40 men who use to be kings in Israel. a The Bible not hide the truth. It tell us everything some of them use to do. For example, even the good king them do some bad things. Let talk about David who was good king. Jehovah say: “My servant David . . . walked after me with all his heart, doing only what was right in my eyes.” (1 Ki. 14:8) But he lay down with one marry woman, and made plan so they can kill her husband in the war.—2 Sam. 11:​4, 14, 15.

² And also some king them who were not faithful to Jehovah do some good-good things. Let talk about Rehoboam. In Jehovah eyes, he “did what was bad.” (2 Chron. 12:14) But Rehoboam obey God direction for ten tribes to break away from his kingdom. He also made plenty cities in his kingdom strong to protect God people from their enemies.—1 Ki. 12:​21-24; 2 Chron. 11:​5-12.

3. What important question we will answer, and wetin we coming talk about in this article?

³ We get one important question to answer. If the king them in Israel use to do good and bad things, then wetin Jehovah use to look at to know whether the king faithful? The answer to that question will help us to understand what we must do to make Jehovah happy. We will talk about three things Jehovah use to look at to know whether the king was good or bad. First, whether the king love  Jehovah with his whole heart. Second, whether the king use to repent from his heart when he do bad thing. Third, whether the king use to worship Jehovah the right way.

THEY LOVE JEHOVAH WITH THEIR WHOLE HEART

4. Wetin was different between the kings who were faithful and the kings who were not faithful?

⁴ The king them who made Jehovah happy use to worship him with their whole heart. b King Jehoshaphat who was good, “searched for Jehovah with all his heart.” (2 Chron. 22:9) The Bible say this one about Josiah: “There was no king like him prior to him, who returned to Jehovah with all his heart.” (2 Ki. 23:25) What about Solomon who do bad things later on? The Bible say, “His heart was not complete.” (1 Ki. 11:4) And the Bible say this one about Abijam, another king who was not faithful: “His heart was not complete with Jehovah.”—1 Ki. 15:3.

5. Explain what it mean to serve Jehovah with your whole heart.

⁵ So what it mean to serve Jehovah with your whole heart? Somebody who can worship God with their whole heart can’t worship him just because they feel that they suppose to do it. But the person can do it because he get deep love and respect for Jehovah. And he will continue to love and respect Jehovah throughout his life.

6. How we can continue to love Jehovah with our whole heart? (Proverbs 4:23; Matthew 5:​29, 30)

⁶ How we can follow the faithful king them example and continue to love Jehovah with our whole heart? We must not do anything that will make our love for Jehovah weak. For example when we not careful, the things we choose to enjoy our self with can make us to not worship Jehovah with our whole heart. Bad friends and thinking too much on material things can also affect us. If we notice that something want make our love for Jehovah weak, we must be quick to put stop to it.—Read Proverbs 4:23; Matthew 5:​29, 30.

7. Why it important to avoid anything that can make us to not serve Jehovah with our whole heart?

⁷ We must not let anything to stop us from serving Jehovah with our whole heart. If we not careful, we can start thinking that nothing bad can affect us because we doing more in Jehovah service. For example, imagine that you outside and heavy breeze blowing and the place really cold. When you enter your house, the whole house warm. But what you think will happen if you leave the door open? The whole house will get cold. What the lesson? We must not only take in spiritual food to get good friendship with Jehovah. But we must also stay away from anything in this world that can make us to not serve Jehovah with our whole heart.—Eph. 2:2.

THEY REPENT FROM THEIR SINS

8-9. Wetin King David and King Hezekiah do when they receive correction? (Also see the picture.)

⁸ We learn from the first paragraph that King David commit serious sin. But when the prophet Nathan tell David about his sin, David was humble and he repent. From the thing David say in  Psalm 51, it show that he really repent from his heart. David was not pretending that he na repent to fool Nathan or to avoid punishment. (2 Sam. 12:13)—Ps. 51:​3, 4, 17, superscription.

⁹ King Hezekiah sin against Jehovah too. The Bible say: “His heart became haughty, bringing indignation against him and against Judah and Jerusalem.” (2 Chron. 32:25) Wetin make Hezekiah proud? Maybe that because he was rich, he defeat the Assyrians or because he was heal from his bad sickness. And maybe that pride made him to show all his material things to the Babylonians. For that reason, the prophet Isaiah tell him that Jehovah was vex with him. (2 Ki. 20:​12-18) But like David, Hezekiah was humble and he repent. (2 Chron. 32:26) Because of that, Jehovah look at him to be faithful king who “kept doing what was right.”—2 Ki. 18:3.

10. Wetin King Amaziah do when he receive correction?

¹⁰ King Amaziah of Judah was not looking like David and Hezekiah. He use to do good things, but he not do it with his whole heart. (2 Chron. 25:2) What bad things he do? After Jehovah help him defeat the Edomites, Amaziah started worshipping their gods. c Then when Jehovah prophet counsel him, he refuse to listen.—2 Chron. 25:​14-16.

11. According to 2 Corinthians 7:​9, 11, wetin we must do for Jehovah to forgive us? (Also see the pictures.)

¹¹ Wetin we learn from this example them? We must repent from our sins and try our best never to do it again. Suppose the elder them advice us, even on something that we think it not really serious? We must not feel that Jehovah not love us or the elder them not like our business. Even the good king them in Israel were not too big to receive counsel and correction. (Heb. 12:6) When somebody correct us, we must (1) be humble and accept the correction, (2) make the change we need to make, and (3) continue serving Jehovah with our whole heart. If we repent from our sin, Jehovah will forgive us.—Read 2 Corinthians 7:​9, 11.

THEY WORSHIP JEHOVAH THE RIGHT WAY

12. Wetin really make the faithful king them different from the king them who were not faithful?

¹² The king them who Jehovah say were faithful, worship him the right way. And they encourage the people they were ruling over to do the same thing. That true, the faithful kings make some mistakes. But they try their best to only serve Jehovah and they even work hard to destroy false worship in Israel. d

13. Why Jehovah say King Ahab was not faithful?

¹³ What about the king them who Jehovah say were not faithful? To talk the true, that not everything they do was bad. For example, when wicked King Ahab hear that they kill Naboth because of him, he show that he was humble and he was feeling bad. (1 Ki. 21:​27-29) He also built some cities and he win plenty wars for Israel. (1 Ki. 20:​21, 29; 22:39)  But he allow his wife to make him worship false gods. He even make Jehovah people to worship false gods too and he never repent from it.—1 Ki. 21:​25, 26.

14. (a) Why Jehovah say King Rehoboam was not faithful? (b) Wetin most of the kings do that made them to not be faithful?

¹⁴ Let talk about Rehoboam, another king who was not faithful. We learn from paragraph two that Rehoboam do plenty good-good thing them when he was ruling. But when Jehovah make him strong, he stop obeying God Law and he started worshipping false gods. (2 Chron. 12:1) After that, sometime he use to worship Jehovah and sometime he use to worship false gods. (1 Ki. 14:​21-24) Rehoboam and Ahab were not the only kings who stop worshipping Jehovah the right way. In fact, most of the king them who were not faithful, worship false gods and even encourage other people to worship false gods too. So it clear that worshipping Jehovah the right way, was one of the main thing he look at to know whether the king was good or bad.

15. Why worshipping Jehovah the right way important to him?

¹⁵ Why worshipping Jehovah really important to him? One reason that because the king them were responsible to help Jehovah people to worship him the right way. When people worship false gods, it can make them to commit serious sins. It can even make them to treat other people bad. (Hos. 4:​1, 2) Beside this one, the kings and the people they ruling over were dedicated to Jehovah. So when they worship false gods, the Bible compare it to marry person laying  down with another person. (Jer. 3:​8, 9) When somebody who marry lay down with another person, it can make their partner to really feel bad. That the same way, Jehovah can really feel bad if somebody who gave their life to Him not remain faithful. e—Deut. 4:​23, 24.

16. In Jehovah eyes, what the main thing that can make somebody good or bad?

¹⁶ What lessons we can learn? That true, we must not get anything to do with false religion. But we must also worship Jehovah the right way and continue to do our best in his service. The prophet Malachi explain what can make somebody good or bad in Jehovah eyes. He say: “You will again see the distinction between a righteous person and a wicked person, between one serving God and one not serving him.” (Mal. 3:18) So we must not let our mistakes or anything to discourage us until we stop serving God. To stop serving Jehovah that serious sin by itself.

17. Why we must be careful about who we want marry?

¹⁷ If you single and you thinking about getting marry, you think what Malachi say can help you to choose the right person? Think about this one. Maybe the person get some good-good ways. But if the person not serving the true God, you think he righteous in Jehovah eyes? (2 Cor. 6:14) If you marry that person, you think he will help you to remain faithful to Jehovah? Even though King Solomon wife them was serving false gods, they were having some good-good ways. But because they were not worshipping  Jehovah, small-small they made Solomon to start worshipping false gods.—1 Ki. 11:​1, 4.

18. Wetin parents must teach their children?

¹⁸ Parents, yor can use the example about the king them in the Bible to help yor children to get zeal for Jehovah. Help them to understand that Jehovah use to look at the king to be good if the king worship Him and encourage other people to worship Him too. Teach your children by what you say and do. Help them to understand that the most important things in life, that studying the Bible, going to meetings and preaching. (Matt. 6:33) Or else, they will worship Jehovah just because they see you doing it, and not because they love him. Because of that, maybe they will feel that worshiping Jehovah not important or maybe they will even stop serving him.

19. Anybody who stop serving Jehovah, what hope they get? (Also see the box “ You Can Still Come Back to Jehovah!”)

¹⁹ You think somebody who na stop serving Jehovah can’t be Jehovah friend again? No, because he able repent and still come back to Jehovah. To do it, he must be humble to accept help from the elder them. (Jas. 5:14) Any effort he make to be Jehovah friend again will not be for nothing!

20. If we follow the faithful king them example, how Jehovah will look at us?

²⁰ What lessons we na learn from the king them in Israel? We can be like the faithful kings if we continue to serve Jehovah with our whole heart. Let learn from our mistakes, repent and make any change we need to make. And let remember that it important to worship the only true God. If you stick to Jehovah, he will look at you to be somebody who righteous.