King of Kings

King Herod the Great reigned in Jerusalem when Jesus was born, a non-Jewish monarch appointed by Rome. When the Magi arrived to honor the new-born "King of the Jews," Herod ordered the slaughter of Bethlehem's baby boys, fearing a legitimate heir to David's throne (Matt 2:16). The genealogies in Matthew 1 and Luke 3 prove that Jesus, the King of Kings, descended from Israel's kings—both famous and infamous. How well do you know Israel's royal family?

1. Who was Israel's first king?
   (a) David (b) Joshua (c) Saul
   
   
2. King David and the royal line of heirs who succeeded him, descended from which tribe of Israel?
   (a) Levi (b) Benjamin (c) Judah
   
   
3. King Joash, the youngest reigning king, inherited the throne at what age?
   (a) seven years (b) twelve years (c) eight years
   
   
4. Which king built and dedicated the first Temple in Jerusalem?
   (a) King David (b) King Herod (c) King Solomon
   
   
5. Who was the last king to reign in Jerusalem and was in power when the Temple was destroyed?
   (a) King Jehoiakim (b) King Zedekiah (c) King Jehoiachin
   
   
6. Zimri had the shortest recorded reign, lasting only 7 days. Which king reigned the longest at 55 years?
   (a) King Solomon (b) King Manasseh (c) King David
   
   
7. She was the only queen to rule in Jerusalem and tried to destroy the House of David.
   (a) Queen Athaliah (b) Queen Esther (c) Queen Jezebel
   
   
8. The nation split into two kingdoms under this grandson of David, leaving him to reign over only the Southern kingdom.
   (a) King Jehoshaphat (b) King Jeroboam (c) King Rehoboam
   
   
9. This king witnessed the contest on Mt. Carmel between Elijah and the prophets of Baal.
   (a) King Saul (b) King Ahab (c) King Jehu
   
   
10. This godly king would have died without an heir if he hadn't pleaded with God to spare his life; he lived another fifteen years.
    (a) King Hezekiah (b) King Jehoshaphat (c) King Josiah
    
    

Answers to Test Your Bible Power

1. (c) Saul (1 Sam. 8-16). When the people begged for a king, God chose Saul. God later rejected him after he failed to obey and chose David, a mere boy.
   
   
2. (c) Judah (Gen. 49:10). Jacob blessed each of his 12 sons, but prophesied kingship for Judah.
   
   
3. (a) seven years (2 Chron. 22-24). Joash was an infant when his father, King Ahaziah, was murdered. Joash's aunt Jehosheba and her priestly husband Jehoiada rescued him from the slaughter of royal princes and hid him in the Temple. He was crowned king at age 7, deposing his grandmother.
   
   
4. (c) Solomon (1 Kings 6). King David wanted to build God's Temple and bought the site from Araunah the Jebusite (2 Sam. 7:2; 24:24). But God told David he was not to be the builder "because you have shed much blood" (1 Chron. 22:8). His son Solomon completed the Temple in seven years.
   
   
5. (b) Zedekiah (2 Chron. 36:11-20). The prophet Jeremiah warned of God's coming judgment, but Zedekiah refused to listen. The Babylonians captured Jerusalem and destroyed the Temple on the ninth day of the month of Ab in 586 B.C.
   
   
6. (b) Manasseh (2 Kings 21:1). Manasseh came to power at age 12, and the evil he did during his 55-year reign, including idolatry and child sacrifice, brought God's punishment against the entire nation (2 Kings 24:3-4).
   
   
7. (a) Queen Athaliah (2 Kings 11). This daughter of Ahab and Jezebel had married into the royal line of King David in Jerusalem. When her son King Ahaziah was murdered, she slaughtered his heirs, her own grandsons, and made herself queen. She reigned seven years before Joash was crowned and Athaliah was executed.
   
   
8. (c) Rehoboam (1 Kings 11-12). God tore the northern half of the nation away from Rehoboam and gave it to Jeroboam, one of Solomon's officials, because Solomon had not "done what is right in my eyes, nor kept my statutes" (11:33).
   
   
9. (b) King Ahab (1 Kings 18). This wicked king and his foreign wife Jezebel promoted Baal worship in the northern kingdom and persecuted God's prophets.
   
   
10. (a) Hezekiah (2 Kings 20). Unlike so many other kings, "Hezekiah trusted in the Lord … and did not cease to follow him" (2 Kings 18:5-6). When the prophet Isaiah told him to get his house in order, that he would soon die, Hezekiah wept and prayed. God answered his prayer and healed him, granting him 15 more years.
    
    

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