In the twelfth year of Joram.
Kinghood: the conventional and the true
Looking at King Ahaziah, as here sketched, two points strike our attention.
I. A king by physical heredity. This man came from the lineage of kings.
1. This arrangement is not Divine. All that can be said is that God permitted, not ordained their existence.
2. This arrangement is absurd. That a man should become a ruler because of his birth is an outrage on common sense. They only will be future kings who are royal in character, in intelligence, and philanthropy. The greatest man of the community will become its king. What is called loyalty is a debased and selfish flunkeyism, not a devout homage for the good. Are we not commanded to “honour the king”? Yes, but it is implied that he is honour-worthy. Are we to honour such men as Henry VIII., Charles II., and other such monarchical monsters, which, alas! abound in history? No; denounce them, hurl them from their thrones.
II. A monster by moral descent. He was the descendant of one of the most ruthless and most corrupt of that Hebrew people who were fast “filling up the measure of their iniquities.” This man, like the offspring of all wicked parents, would inherit the spirit, imbibe the principles, and imitate the example of his parents. (D. Thomas, D. D.).