Judah’s kings had somewhat of a better record. 8 out of 20 of Judah's kings served
God. These were: Asa, Jehoshaphat, Joash, Amaziah, Uzziah, Jotham, Hezekiah, and
Josiah. The rest of the 20 kings were wicked. In the southern kingdom there was only one dynasty, that of king David,
except usurper Athaliah from the northern kingdom, who by marriage, broke into
David's line, and interrupted the succession for 6 years, 20 kings in all. An
average of about 16 years to a reign.
Jehoshaphat's son Jehoram (about 848-841 B.C.) married Athaliah, daughter of king Ahab and the wicked Queen Jezebel; and their marriage led to Baal worship also being established in Jerusalem (2 Kin. 8:18). Jehoram's son Ahaziah reigned only for one year (841 BC) before he was killed. The pagan queen-mother Athaliah seized the throne and nearly brought the Davidic line to extinction by killing most of Ahaziah's sons. Only the infant Joash escaped; he was rescued by his aunt Jehoshabeath and her husband Jehoiada, the godly high priest (2 Chr. 22:10-12). After six years Joash was proclaimed the lawful king, and Athaliah was executed.
Baal worship climaxed in Judah during the reign of Ahaz (2 Ki 16). Ahaz (about 732-715 BC), was faced with Assyria's rise to power under TiglathPileser III; but Ahaz resisted the urgings of Rezin of Syria and Pekah of Israel to join an alliance against Assyria. Instead, Ahaz sought help from Assyria, against the prophet Isaiah's advice, and received assistance in return for heavy tribute. Syria and the kingdom of Israel were destroyed in 722 B.C., leaving Judah at the mercy of the Assyrians.