2 Kings 15:13 "Shallum the son of Jabesh began to reign in the thirty-ninth year of Uziah king of Judah, and he reigned one month in Samaria."

Shallum only reigned one month because his rival Menahem soon came to Samaria, slew Shallum, and took the throne. Shallum was not innocent of corruption, however. We are told "the rest of the deeds of Shallum, and the conspiracy which he made" are written in the book of Chronicles. (2 Kings 15:14-15).

New beginnings are always difficult and often quite dangerous, especially if happening in a less than ideal time and place. Think of birth and death, both are new beginnings, and both are very difficult, painful, and often dangerous, more so if happening in a place or time not prepared for them. The transfer of power from king to new king is especially fraught with danger when there is no firm rule of succession, or it is not followed, and power ends up being wielded by those who will do anything to gain it.

The northern kingdom of Israel has, at this point, strayed from the Lord, so her kings are not following God's law. As a consequence, Israel is getting bad kings. Menahem will eventually sack Tappuah and, in anger that the city would not welcome him in the first place, will brutally kill all the pregnant women there. (2 Kings 15:16).

When God's law is not known or being followed, chaos reigns, and evil thrives. That chaos doesn't stop the major changes in life from happening, it just means they become much more dangerous. Change and new beginnings are difficult enough in this fallen world, even when we are striving to do God's will. They are much more difficult, and often lead to great suffering, when we are far from Him, as we see in Shallum's short reign and his successor's evil ways.