Israel, for 300-400 years after they crossed into the promised land with Joshua, had not had a human king. They functioned as a theocracy. According to gotquestions.org, “A theocracy is a form of government that is led by God or by a person or persons who claim to rule by divine authority. The word theocracy is a compound word using theos (Greek for ‘God’) and -cracy (‘rule, strength or government’). The nation of Israel was to have been a theocracy, but they rejected God’s rule over them, and God gave them human kings instead.” So God was their King, while those “authorities” were judges, priests and prophets that gave them divine guidance. But, those “authorities” began to age, corruption started filtering in and their enemies became a threat. The people became fearful and believed the answer was to have a human king. They went to their prophet Samuel and demanded they have a king “like all the other nations.” (1 Sam. 8:5b) These demands were very troubling to Samuel, so he went to the Lord in prayer. 1 Samuel 8:7 says: “‘Do everything they say to you,’ the Lord replied, ‘for they are rejecting me, not you. They don’t want me to be their king any longer.’” God had Samuel warn the people what would happen if they got their human king – the injustices they would suffer and how they’d beg for relief and how at that point God wouldn’t answer them. But they refused to listen and continued to push for a king. (1 Samuel 8:10-22)
Following are some details about three Biblical kings with which we are all familiar:
The first human king – was a very handsome young man from a wealthy family named Saul. His father sent him and one of their servants on a mission to locate some errant donkeys. They searched without any luck and “coincidentally” ended up in the town where Samuel lived. The servant suggested they seek out Samuel to see if he could help them find the animals. The Lord had already told Samuel the day before that a man would arrive the next day and that he was to anoint him king and it happened as God as said it would. Later, when it came time for Samuel to publicly anoint Saul, he was reluctant to accept the position so he actually hid. But when he was found and the announcement was made that he was their new king. (1 Samuel 9 & 10) Saul had a time of success but then he began to disobey God’s direction and soon his downfall began and he was eventually rejected as king by God.
In 1 Samuel 16-31 the story continues and we find that because of Saul’s pride and failure to obey God, he lost all guidance from God. When God told Samuel that Saul had lost all favor with Him, Samuel was deeply grieved, yet had to reveal to Saul he’d been rejected by God and that his kingdom would be given to someone else. Then God directed Samuel to Bethlehem and to a man named Jesse, who had a son named David – there Samuel secretly anointed David to be the future king. Saul became fearful and tormented and now enters that young shepherd by the name of David. He was called upon to serve and minister to Saul by playing his harp during the times of his worst torment and Saul loved David.
We’re all familiar with the story in chapter 17 of how young David stood up to and defeated the giant Goliath. After that victory David was eventually appointed to be a commander over Saul’s men of war. With repeated victories under his belt, he became famous and the people were full of praise for him, making Saul livid. So for years, as a result of anger, jealousy and fear Saul pursued David trying again and again to kill him. Eventually Saul was mortally wounded in battle and died. The story of this first king of Israel – Saul – fills 23 chapters (1 Samuel 9-31).
After Saul’s death, David returned to Judah and in 2 Samuel 2:4 it says “..the men of Judah came to David and anointed him king over the people of Judah.” Then in 2 Samuel 5:2-3 “‘In the past, when Saul was our king, you were the one who really led the forces of Israel. And the Lord told you, ‘You will be the shepherd of my people Israel. You will be Israel’s leader. So there at Hebron, King David made a covenant before the Lord with all the elders of Israel. And they anointed him king of Israel.’” So David was king #2.
David’s story is so complex that it would be difficult to cover it all here. The entire main story about his life is covered in 1 Samuel 16 (overlapping with Saul’s story) to 1 Kings 2. Also, 1 Chronicles 10-29 offers additional details and parallel stories of his life, as well as some of the Psalms. David’s life was full of many wonderful triumphs with some painful, personal mistakes – yet even with those massive mistakes, he was still known “as a man after God’s heart.” (1 Samuel 13:14) He served as king for 40 years and before dying at age 70, he named his son Solomon as the new king.
Solomon was the 3rd and final king of the united nation of Israel. Like David, the story of Solomon is complex so I won’t try to push out too much information here – but he was widely known for his wisdom. 1 Kings 3:5 tells us: “That night the Lord appeared to Solomon in a dream, and God said, ‘What do you want? Ask, and I will give it to you!’” Solomon was very humble in his response admitting his lack of wisdom and in verse 9 “‘Give me an understanding heart so that I can govern your people well and know the difference between right and wrong. For who by himself is able to govern this great people of yours?’” God’s reply (verses 10-14): “The Lord was pleased that Solomon had asked for wisdom. So God replied, Because you have asked for wisdom in governing my people with justice and have not asked for a long life or wealth or the death of your enemies—I will give you what you asked for! I will give you a wise and understanding heart such as no one else has had or ever will have! And I will also give you what you did not ask for—riches and fame! No other king in all the world will be compared to you for the rest of your life! And if you follow me and obey my decrees and my commands as your father, David, did, I will give you a long life.’”
For many years, Solomon lived a wonderful life leading with wisdom and grew very wealthy. He also built the temple as his father had directed him to do and had many more outstanding achievements. But then we see he eventually neglected to follow the instructions given to the people of Israel about not marrying foreign women. He married many of them and just as God had said would happen, they turned his heart from God toward their false gods. In 1 Kings 11 you can read how this caused God to become angry with him and He declared that all the kingdom except for one tribe would be taken away from Solomon’s son that would follow him on the throne. Solomon reigned for 40 years. (His main story is contained in 1 Kings 1-11 with the parallel story in 2 Chronicles 1-9 as well as a few brief mentions in 2 Samuel. In addition, the Biblical writings credited to Solomon are: Proverbs, Ecclesiastes and the Song of Songs.)
Now…speaking of unsung heroes – let’s jump 290 years and 15 more kings ahead. That 15th king of Judah was Amon – who reigned for only 2 years before he was assassinated. Following him on the throne was his son Josiah – at the ripe old age of 8. Amazingly, both his grandfather King Manasseh and his father King Amon were wicked in the eyes of God – yet Josiah chose to follow God. At the age of 16 his search deepened and by the age of 26 he started making some major reforms. Josiah ordered a full cleansing/purification of the Temple and 18 years into his reign he ordered the repair of the Temple. In the process of that happening, they discovered the Book of the Law written by Moses. It was taken to the king and read to him and he was in great distress because he realized that God’s anger had been poured out on them because of their disobedience. He then sent some of the men to the Temple to consult with a prophet about what they’d discovered.
2 Chronicles 34:23-28 says: “She said to them, ‘The Lord, the God of Israel, has spoken! Go back and tell the man who sent you, ‘This is what the Lord says: I am going to bring disaster on this city and its people. All the curses written in the scroll that was read to the king of Judah will come true. For my people have abandoned me and offered sacrifices to pagan gods, and I am very angry with them for everything they have done. My anger will be poured out on this place, and it will not be quenched.’ ‘But go to the king of Judah who sent you to seek the Lord and tell him: ‘This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says concerning the message you have just heard: You were sorry and humbled yourself before God when you heard his words against this city and its people. You humbled yourself and tore your clothing in despair and wept before me in repentance. And I have indeed heard you, says the Lord. So I will not send the promised disaster until after you have died and been buried in peace. You yourself will not see the disaster I am going to bring on this city and its people.’ So they took her message back to the king.”
2 Chronicles 34:31b & 33: “He pledged to obey the Lord by keeping all his commands, laws, and decrees with all his heart and soul. He promised to obey all the terms of the covenant that were written in the scroll.” “So Josiah removed all detestable idols from the entire land of Israel and required everyone to worship the Lord their God. And throughout the rest of his lifetime, they did not turn away from the Lord, the God of their ancestors.” (He completely removed all signs of idolatry from the land, including the pagan shrines Solomon had built.)
When Pharaoh Neco of Egypt was marching out to a battle, he sent a warning to Josiah that God had told him that he was not to interfere. Unfortunately, the very human side of Josiah seemed to rear its ugly head and he stubbornly refused to listen to God’s direction. He disguised himself and entered the battle where he was mortally wounded, cutting short a young life that had otherwise been deeply faithful to his God.
The young King Josiah reigned for 31 years and distinguished himself as a faithful follower and worshipper of his God that strictly adhered to the Law of God; and, he was remembered as one of the best and most righteous kings of Judah. 2 Kings 23:25: “Never before had there been a king like Josiah, who turned to the Lord with all his heart and soul and strength, obeying all the laws of Moses. And there has never been a king like him since.”
So, I’ll ask this…when is the last time you heard a pastor preach a sermon about King Josiah? Have you ever participated in a Bible study about Josiah? Do you ever hear anyone mention King Josiah when talking about the great kings of Israel? We hear and find familiar stories about King Saul, King David and King Solomon – yet we have a story here of an unsung hero – King Josiah – that seems to be a wonderful model for us even today. We should all yearn to be as faithful and determined and obedient in our walk with God as he was. (You can read Josiah’s story in 2 Kings 22 & 23 as well as in 2 Chronicles 34 & 35.)
Written by Karran Martin – August 1, 2026
All Bible quotes from the New Living Translation
[All bold emphasis is mine]
Karran's Korner 