👑 Kings and Queens 👑

[Lanolin]

We know we have a King of Kings and Lord of Lords...

And lest we say something treasonous about the current reigning monarchs of various lands and have our heads cut off... I'm restricting this discussion to Kings and Queens of the past. In the Bible, in history, or in myth and legend.

Who was good, and who was evil?

Did they rule well, or was it a disaster?

Any favourites?

 

[Seeker47]

Not a Queen but a Judge. Deborah comes quickly to my mind. Esther follows quickly.

 

[Lanolin]

Esther was THE Queen and the only one to have an entire book dedicated to her in the Bible. Because she stood up to King Xerxes and spoke for her people.

Got to admire that.

Otherwise most of the Kings were evil in the Bible or rather, did evil things. King Ahab was manipulated by Jezebel. King David fell for Bathsheba, committed adultery and had a hand in killing her husband. King Solomon was unbelievably rich and had hundreds of wives and concubines. King Saul went a bit nuts and was like a psychopath.
King Nebuchadnezzar had a huge ego. King Herod slaughtered a heap of innocent babies and toddlers. And who was the King who stuck Daniel in the lions den and the fiery furnace??

I can't recall many 'good' Kings save for King Josiah I think it was, who uncovered the Torah or Bible after many years when everyone else had forgotten about it.

 

[Lanolin]

I've always wondered why Good King Wenceslas was so good.

Also, why Beehives have a Queen Bee but there are no King Bees.

 

[JohnDB]

I've always wondered why Good King Wenceslas was so good.

Also, why Beehives have a Queen Bee but there are no King Bees.

He was the Bohemian King who returned to Christianity as the religion of the nation.

That's why he was a good king. The story goes he started Boxing Day tradition of giving gifts by taking in an orphan and feeding him...

Today we have gift exchanges over Christmas due to the Boxing Day tradition.

Boxing Day is the day that once was the day that the bosses, merchants. Or whomever had hired hands would give them a huge bonus or gift the day/week after Christmas in honor of St Stephan...the first martyr as recorded in the Book of Acts.
The "gifts" or bonus has gone the gambit from an extra nice meal (leftovers usually) that included meat of some sort (game meat) to actual money of copper, silver and occasionally gold.
All dependant on the generosity of the upper class towards the commoners....

 

[Lanolin]

There are some crazy Kings in Shakespeare -- King Lear, Macbeth (killed the King so he could become King), King Richard the third, and of course King Henry the eighth.

Or was it Fifth? I can't keep up. Who was it that said 'A horse! A horse! My kingdom for a horse!

King Louis quartoze (Louis the fourteenth) or the Sun King was a strange one too. I mean has any been to the Palace of Versailles? Unbelievable, no wonder the peasants revolted. Marie Antoinette was no slouch either.

There are too many Louis, imagine your lineage of papas going back to your great great great great great...grandparents all named Louis...Louis, Louis, Louis and Louis...and even more Louis.

Couldn't they think of a more original name, like I dunno, King Kingsley or maybe just called the next one Number 15.

I have an aunty called No 3 we just call her number 3 aunty (no other aunties have numbers, just her) and there were five girls on my mum's side of the family.

 

[Lanolin]

In New Zealand there is a rule or law that says you aren't allowed to name your son 'King'
Not sure if there's a similar one for daughters.

Want to name your son 'King'? You'll get a royal telling-off in NZ

The Department of Internal Affairs has revealed the baby names it turned down in 2022.

www.rnz.co.nz

 

[Lanolin]

Favourite rock band - Queen

Favourite disco song - Dancing Queen

Queen Latifah anyone?

Elvis Presley was simply known as the King. But he didn't really like being called the King of Rock n' Roll or being treated or worshipped as such. At heart he was a simply country boy who got lucky, plus he was a Christian or was raised as one.

MJ was the one who had the Messiah complex. 'King of Pop" He even married Elvis daughter. He named his son Prince.

I guess the laws are different in other countries. You can name babies anything you want.

 

[JohnDB]

King Henry the 8th of England ALWAYS has caught my attention.

He started the English Reformation....and created the Anglican Church....and got us the English translation of the Bible we have today.

Sure, he had issues with Diabetes, attitudes, and wives......

But.....
Look at all he accomplished.

Plus his death ushered in the era of Bloody Mary.

He was a VERY busy man.

 

[JohnDB]

King Henry the 8th of England ALWAYS has caught my attention.

He started the English Reformation....and created the Anglican Church....and got us the English translation of the Bible we have today. (Great Bible)

Sure, he had issues with Diabetes, attitudes, and wives......had Tyndale killed.

But.....
Look at all he accomplished.

Plus his death ushered in the era of Bloody Mary.

He was a VERY busy man.

 

[Lanolin]

Busy trying to make babies. Just boys, girls didn't count. But he never got to make a Henry the ninth.

I thought it was King James who gave us the Bible in English we still have today.

Also, wasn't he a true Scotsman?

 

[Lanolin]

I think I'd have to count King James as one of the good ones.

 

[Lanolin]

King is ok for a last name though

Carole King
Martin Luther King
Stephen King

And the name for a plant barn, seed company, and burger outlet

 

[Lanolin]

News that an almost Queen that was never to be but definitely a Queen of People's Hearts is having new memoir written about her by her younger brother, Charles

To join the other countless tomes about her, and you could say that she had as many books written about her as the Beatles, or even Jesus. (well, I lost count)

 

[SonJudgment]

For the Bible, King Hezekiah. Hezekiah grew up in a time of evil not unlike our own time where the generations prior to him had ruined the kingdom wiith degenerations and abominations. So in Hezekiah's reign the kingdom of Judah was brought to a moment of exisitential crises when Assyria put Jerusalem under siege, but with just one prayer and faith in God, he and the kingdom of Judah survived against all secular odds (but we of course know it is because God personally destroyed the invaders). King Hezekiah and his prayer and the boasts and blasphemies of Rabshekah is so significant it is recorded three separate times in the Bible (books of Kings, Chronicles, and Isaiah.)

 

[Lanolin]

For the Bible, King Hezekiah. Hezekiah grew up in a time of evil not unlike our own time where the generations prior to him had ruined the kingdom wiith degenerations and abominations. So in Hezekiah's reign the kingdom of Judah was brought to a moment of exisitential crises when Assyria put Jerusalem under siege, but with just one prayer and faith in God, he and the kingdom of Judah survived against all secular odds (but we of course know it is because God personally destroyed the invaders). King Hezekiah and his prayer and the boasts and blasphemies of Rabshekah is so significant it is recorded three separate times in the Bible (books of Kings, Chronicles, and Isaiah.)

Reading Kings is like hearing a broken record...over and over and over it just repeats itself about the Kings doing evil in the eyes of the Lord.

I'm like enough already. When are you going to get to the good ones??

Don't bore us, get to the chorus!

 

[gb9]

almost finished Kings and Chronicles.

makes me sad every time i read through them to see Isreal go downhill after David....

 

[Lanolin]

Worst Fashion Queen

Here's what my book 'Get Dressed!' says of Marie Antoinette

Marie Antoinette was the last Queen of France. She loved fashion and reportedly never wore anything twice, buying over 300 gowns a year. Her style set fashion trends across Europe. What she wore was so important that she had a 'Minister of Fashion' to help dress and style her. Even after she was put in prison, Marie Antoinette was still having new clothes delivered.

???

 

[Suze]

almost finished Kings and Chronicles.

makes me sad every time i read through them to see Isreal go downhill after David....RYes , there r many gems in the books of Samuel , Kings and Chronicles , always enjoy reading them , King David is a very complex character . If u read about him very carefully , u will find that he did many ' questionable ' things apart from the incident with Bathsheba and her husband . He manipulated and schemed and plotted very cleverly .

 

[Suze]

Reading Kings is like hearing a broken record...over and over and over it just repeats itself about the Kings doing evil in the eyes of the Lord.

I'm like enough already. When are you going to get to the good ones??

Don't bore us, get to the chorus!

I love the books of Samuel , Kings and Chronicles ! So much treasure in there ! In 2nd Kings Ch 20 , we read about Hezekiah's illness and , God grants him 15 more years , any reason why that number ? Why did Hezekiah want so desperately to live ? At the end of the chapter we read that his son Manasseh reigned after him and at the beginning of Ch 21 we discover that Manasseh was only twelve years old when he began to reign . So , it's reasonable to assume that Hezekiah , up to that point , had no son to reign after him . God gave him those 15 years to have and raise a son . The little insights r there if u look for them
David did very many questionable things apart from the carry on with Bathsheba , he was an expert manipulator ! And poor Saul always breaks my heart . I think of Saul and David representing the two covenants . Saul represents the law , he died without God's mercy , for breaking God's law , whereas David broke God's laws many times but was forgiven .
God actually says that He won't take His mercy away completely , like He did to Saul , ever again . Loads of treasures in those books , I find something new every time I read them .