THEY ADHERED TO TRUE WORSHIP - Continue

 Consider another unfaithful king-Rehoboam. As noted earlier, he accomplished a fair amount of good during his reign. But when his kingship was firmly established, he abandoned the Law of Jehovah in favor of his false worship. (2 Chronicles 12:1) Thereafter, he wavered between pure worship and false worship. (1 Kings 14:21-24) Rehoboam and Ahab were not the only kings to deviate from true worship. In fact, by far the majority of unfaithful kings were guilt of supporting false worship in some way. Clearly, in Jehovah's eyes, adhering to true worship was a major factor in determining whether a king was good or bad.

Why was the issue of worship so important to Jehovah? For one thing, the kings were responsible for guiding God's people in true worship. Also, false worship inevitably leads to other serious sins and injustices. (Hosea 4:1, 2) Furthermore, the kings and their subjects were dedicated to Jehovah. Thus, the Bible likens their involvement in false worship as adultery. (Jeremiah 3:8,9) A person who commits literal adultery against his or her mate in a most personal way. Simply, a dedicated servant of Jehovah who engages in false worship sins against Him in a direct and personal matter. - DEUTERONOMY 4:23, 24. 

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