Yishai Sinai

Navi
Rabbi Pitinksy
Monarchy

The discussion of Monarchy has been being discussed for hundreds years. The
feud of wether or not Monarchy is a good form of government has been won both
ways. I personally am against monarchy, and there are many reasons for my
decision. Two main examples for why Monarchy is bad are the two Jewish kings
Rechavam and Menashe. These two kings were possibly the two worst monarchs in the
history of israel, and are perfect examples as to why monarchy is bad.
Rechavam was an extremely evil king. His story takes place in Kings 1 12: 1-
24, 14: 21-31, 2 chronicles 10-12. One of the first bad things Rechavam did was
ignore the council of wise men. The council of wise men were the basis of torah,
law, and God. They gave advice to every king and every king listened to them.
Rechovom ignoring the wise men symbolizes his rejection of God and of his laws. It
says in 2 Chronicles 12:14 Rechavam did evil, for he did not set his heart to seek
the lord. Not only did Rechavam have a bad connection with God but he had a bad
connection with his people, something no king should have. Rechavam treated his
people very harshly, and this caused the division of israel from Judah. As if
ignoring the council of wise men wasn't bad enough, Rechavam went ahead and
adopted pagan worship. Because of Rechavams abandonmentnt of God egypt plundered
israel, and made matters for Rechavam even worse. All of these examples only
fortify the fact that Monarchy is bad.
The second example of bad monarchy is Menashe. Menashe's story takes
place in 2 kings 21 :1-18, 2 chronicles 33:1-20. Menashe Also went against God by
rebuilding the altars to Baal and other idols. He further disgraced God when he
put idols altars' in the Temple. Menashe sacrificed his son, a deed which wasn't
asked for by God and is basically murder. He practiced sorcery, which is basically
worshipping other Gods. He murdered many innocent people. Finally Menashe was
taken away to babylon in shackles, but not before completely destroying Israel and
the jewish people. In 2 Chronicles 33:9 it says, Menashe misled Judah and the
inhabitants of Jerusalem, so that they did more evil than the nation whom the lord
had destroyed before the people of israel. To get the people of israel to sink
this low really shows how evil Menashe was and how corrupt a monarch could be.
These two kings are perfect example of why Monarchy is a bad idea.
Monarchy is one of the worst forms of government and should almost never be used.