TODAY’S READING: II KINGS 21-25
OVERVIEW:
Wicked Manasseh and Amon; Last good King Josiah; Four evil kings; Babylonian captivity
HIGHLIGHTS & INSIGHTS:
The righteous leadership of Hezekiah was quickly replaced by the overwhelming evil of his son Manasseh. Though we read of his later repentance in II Chronicles 33, Jeremiah 15:4 says that the kingdom will be removed because of the deeds of Manasseh inJerusalem. The deeds of a leader (husband, father, teacher, pastor) have a far reaching effect for good or bad.
One of the things that is over looked in these chapters is the sparing of Hezekiah. The Lord was going to remove his life, but Hezekiah prayed for mercy and God gave him 15 more years. During this 15 years is when the birth of Manasseh occurred. Had the Lord not showed mercy to Hezekiah by giving him 15 more years, then Manasseh would of not been born, therefore Judah would have avoided the evil that was produced by this man.
Josiah, the last good king, did that which was right in the sight of the Lord. He had chosen to do right and restore the temple before the book of the law was found. The knowledge from the Word of God would not have been uncovered, if Josiah had not already chosen to do right! II Peter 1: 4-7 shows us that virtue (choosing to do right) is added to our life before knowledge. If we have not decided to follow what the Lord says, what need is there to accumulate any more knowledge?
With the new knowledge from the books of the Law, Josiah humbles himself before the Lord, makes a covenant to the Lord in presence of all the people and begins to cleanse the temple and the land. He removes the idols and the high places of worship inJerusalem. Interestingly, he carries the items of sin across the brook Kidron, destroys them and scatters the ashes on old graves. The Lord Jesus Christ crossed the very same brook Kidron (Cedron) on the way to the cross and the grave (John 18:1).
Josiah continues the cleansing and goes toBethelto destroy the golden calf set up by Jeroboam. The idol worship that plagued the children ofIsraelthroughout the entire time of the kingdom is finally destroyed by the one who was prophesied by name. II Kings18:25tells us that there was no king like Josiah that turned to the Lord with all of his heart. Not until Josiah, did any king go up and destroy that one idol.
None of the final four kings follow in the footsteps of Josiah; all are weak evil kings, controlled by other foreign kings. Because of the evil of Manasseh, the Lord will not spareJudah. The leaders, the people and the treasures that should have been dedicated to the Lord, are carried away to serve in captivity.
CHRIST IS REVEALED:
As PROCLAIMER OF THE WORD – II Kings 26:2 (Luke4:16)
As ONE PROMISED BY NAME – I Kings 13:2 & II Kings 22:1 (Matthew1:21-23; Luke2:21) As THE PASSOVER – II Kings23:21(I Corinthians 5:7; John1:29; I Peter1:19) As INNOCENT BLOOD OFJERUSALEM– II Kings 24:4 (Matthew 27:4; Acts13:28)