King Ahab was one of the worst. He and his consort, Jezebel, ruled Israel for about twenty years in the mid-800s B.C.E. The Bible says, “Ahab, pushed by his wife Jezebel and in open defiance of GOD, set an all-time record in making big business of evil. He indulged in outrageous obscenities in the world of idols, copying the Amorites whom GOD had earlier kicked out of Israelite territory.” (The Message, I Kings 21:26) Jezebel, in fact, was so wicked that her name became a label for any shameless, scheming woman.

King Manasseh was horrible as well. He was the son of a good king, Hezekiah. Manasseh sacrificed his own son in the fire, and practiced all kinds of divination and witchcraft.