Why were there so many rulers over Israel in a relatively short period of time? How incredibly bloody were these kings? How many times did God have to intervene to punish a sovereign or stop a ruling dynasty?
The Kingdom of Israel, in its brief history, was ruled over by ten dynasties. This compares to the Kingdom of Judah, which was always governed by a descendant of David with the exception of Queen Athaliah from 841 to 835 B.C.
The Longest Dynasty
Jehu's long dynasty, the longest of those who ruled the kingdom of Israel, is due to his obedience of the Lord's commands.
And the Lord said to him, "Jehu, because you have done well in doing what is right in My eyes, and have done to the house of Ahab according to all that was in My heart, your sons of the fourth generation shall sit on the throne of Israel." (2Kings 10:30, HBFV).
Jehu's dynasty started with the beginning of his reign in 841 B.C. Rule over God's people then passed to his son Jehoahaz (2Kings 13:1), grandson Jehoash (verses 8 - 10), great grandson Jeroboam II (2Kings 14:16, 23 - 28), and great great grandson Zechariah (verse 29, 15:8 - 12). Jehu and his descendants ruled Israel for 88 years (841 to 753 B.C.)! The next longest was the rule of Omri, Ahab, Ahaziah and Joram of only 44 years (885 to 841 B.C.).
It should be noted that God promised a long dynasty even though Jehu continued some of the same idolatrous sins first promoted by Jeroboam. Jehu also did not obey God or his laws after the promise of his descendants sitting on his throne was made (2Kings 10:29, 31).
Royal Turnover
The sinfulness and violence of Israel (the northern ten tribes), due to their rejection of God, led to a quicker turnover of rulers compared to the kingdom of Judah.
The kingdom of Israel lasted only 207 years (930 to 723 B.C.) and had twenty rulers sitting on the throne. This equates to an average rule of 10.3 years.
Judah's kingdom, however, which also had twenty rulers (19 kings and 1 queen), lasted 344 years (930 to 586 B.C.). This is equal to an average reign of 17.2 years.
Some Israelite reigns ended up being shockingly short due to violence. Zimri ruled for only seven days before committing suicide. Zechariah (Zachariah in the King James) reigned for only six months before being murdered. Shallum reigned for only a single month before being cut down by Menahem.
Bloody Kings
How bloody were the kings of Israel? At least six rulers were either assassinated by their rivals or opted for suicide instead of being put to death.
Elah, who was in a drunken stupor at the time, was murdered by Zimri. The new king then killed all the descendants of Baasha which ended his short dynasty (1Kings 16:8 - 12).
Zimri, after ruling for a week, commits suicide by setting his palace on fire when his rival Omri had conquered the capital city of Tirzah (1Kings 16:17 - 18).
A man named Shallum murders King Zachariah and immediately assumes the throne (2Kings 10 - 11). This ended the promised ruling dynasty of Jehu God had promised (2Kings 10:30).
Shallum, after ruling for only one month, is murdered by Menahem (2Kings 15:14).
Pekah and Pekahiah maintained rival thrones over Israel for a period of two years. In 740 B.C. Pekah murders Pekahiah to become Israel's sole ruler (2Kings 15:25) and end Menahem's short dynasty.
In 732 B.C. a man named Hoshea murders Pekah and assumes the throne (2Kings 15:30). Hoshea only rules until 723 when the Assyrians conquer the Kingdom of Israel and carry away its citizens into captivity.
The Hand of God
God was intimately involved in the death of several kings of Israel! It is one of his prophetic rights that he exercises whenever he wishes (Daniel 2:21).
Jeroboam, chosen by God to be the first ruler of the Kingdom of Israel, was later struck dead by the Lord due to his sins (2Chronicles 13:20).
Baasha murdered Nadab and then killed all the descendants of Jeroboam (1Kings 15:27 - 29). This fulfilled the prophecy give through the prophet Ahijah that the household of Jeroboam would be destroyed and replaced with a new ruling dynasty (1Kings 14:7 - 11, 14).
God would later use a lying spirit to inspire King Ahab's pagan prophets to lie to him by encouraging him to fight against the king of Syria. Even though Ahab had disguised himself in battle, he was targeted by Syrian forces and suffered a mortal wound by an enemy arrow (1Kings 22).
"Hear therefore the word of the Lord: I saw the Lord sitting on His throne, and all the host of heaven standing by Him on His right hand and on His left. And the Lord said, 'Who shall entice Ahab that he may go up and fall at Ramoth in Gilead?'" (1Kings 22;19 - 20, HBFV).
King Ahaziah, the son of Ahab, accidently falls through an upper floor lattice which causes serious injuries. While sick He foolishly sends messengers to consult with a pagan deity to see if he will recover from his illness. God, however, sends Elijah to inform the king that because he didn't seek the Lord God of Israel he will die of his disease (2Kings 1).
"Thus says the Lord (through Elijah), 'Because you (Ahaziah) have sent messengers to ask of Baal-Zebub the god of Ekron - is it because there is no God in Israel to seek His word? - therefore you shall not come down off that bed on which you have gone up, but shall surely die.'" (2Kings 1:16, HBFV).
God has a man named Jehu anointed Israel's new king for the express purpose of punishing Ahab's household
"Thus says the Lord God of Israel, 'I have anointed you (Jehu) king over the people of the Lord, over Israel. And you shall strike the house of Ahab your master so that I may avenge the blood of my servants the prophets, and the blood of all the servants of the Lord at the hand of Jezebel, for the whole house of Ahab shall perish . . . " (2Kings 9:6 - 8, HBFV).
Jehu, after his anointing, kills Israel's King Joram (Jehoram in the King James) who is the grandson of Ahab (2Kings 3:1). Jehu then kills Judah's King Ahaziah who was married to Ahab and Jezebel's daughter named Athaliah.
Jehu then has Jezebel killed followed by murdering Ahab's seventy sons, all the other relatives of Ahab (thus destroying the Omri - Ahab dynasty), all of the relatives of Judah's Ahaziah, and lastly the pagan priests of Baal (2Kings 9 - 10).