Jotham was the last of four kings following the reign of the daughter of Ahab and Jezebel, whose course was marked by a measure of regard for God, but who temporized with the idolatry in the land; whose noble works were in strengthening the kingdom in a military way, or industrially; but not of one of them, — Joash, Amaziah, Uzziah, and Jotham—is anything said that may be compared with the record of Jehoshaphat (chapter 17:3-9; 19:4; 20:3- 28) whose walk was itself indeed far from perfect.
Jotham's standard of piety was the example his father had shown him; he did not enter the temple as his father had done, but the people still acted corruptly, or corrupted themselves, as the expression may be translated (verse 2). He built, he fought, and he prepared his ways before the Lord his God, and therefore he prospered.
His father, reigning long: died a leper; his grandfather was the victim of a conspiracy beginning at the time he turned aside from following the Lord, and was killed; Jotham died at the early age of 41. What was the secret of his early death? We cannot say.