God's Judgment Regarding King Jehoram of Judah

Jehoram of Judah must be remembered as one of the most decidedly wicked kings in Israel's history. His first official act as king was to murder his six brothers as rivals to the throne. He followed this by sponsoring idol worship and the sins associated with it.

Jehoram quickly faced the consequences of his evil deeds, facing military defeat first abroad, and then at home, and finally succumbing to a horrible and terminal illness. His judgment is summed up in these words:

2 Kings 8:16-18   And in the fifth year of Joram [that is, the other Jehoram] the son of Ahab king of Israel, Jehoshaphat being then king of Judah, Jehoram the son of Jehoshaphat king of Judah began to reign. Thirty and two years old was he when he began to reign; and he reigned eight years in Jerusalem. And he walked in the way of the kings of Israel, as did the house of Ahab: for the daughter of Ahab was his wife: and he did evil in the sight of the LORD.