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In Christ, Mark
The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.
Amon was twenty-two years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem two years. He did evil in the eyes of the Lord, as his father Manasseh had done. Amon worshiped and offered sacrifices to all the idols Manasseh had made. But unlike his father Manasseh, he did not humble himself before the Lord; Amon increased his guilt.
In Christ, Mark
The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.
Amon was twenty-two years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem two years. He did evil in the eyes of the Lord, as his father Manasseh had done. Amon worshiped and offered sacrifices to all the idols Manasseh had made. But unlike his father Manasseh, he did not humble himself before the Lord; Amon increased his guilt.
Amon’s officials conspired against him and assassinated him in
his palace. Then the people of the land killed all who had plotted against King
Amon, and they made Josiah his son king in his place.
Josiah was eight years old when he became king, and he reigned
in Jerusalem
thirty-one years. He did what was right in the eyes of the Lord and followed
the ways of his father David, not turning aside to the right or to the left.
In the eighth year of his reign, while he was still young, he
began to seek the God of his father David. In his twelfth year, he began to
purge Judah and Jerusalem of high places,
Asherah poles and idols. Under his direction, the altars of the Baals were torn
down; he cut to pieces the incense altars that were above them, and smashed the
Asherah poles and the idols. These he broke to pieces and scattered over the
graves of those who had sacrificed to them. He burned the bones of the priests
on their altars, and so he purged Judah
and Jerusalem.
In the towns of Manasseh, Ephraim and Simeon, as far as Naphtali, and in the
ruins around them, he tore down the altars and the Asherah poles and crushed
the idols to powder and cut to pieces all the incense altars throughout Israel. Then he
went back to Jerusalem.
In the eighteenth year of Josiah’s reign, to purify the land and
the temple, he sent Shaphan son of Azaliah and Maaseiah the ruler of the city,
with Joah son of Joahaz, the recorder, to repair the temple of the Lord his
God.
They went to Hilkiah the high priest and gave him the money that
had been brought into the temple of God, which the Levites who were the gatekeepers had
collected from the people of Manasseh, Ephraim and the entire remnant of Israel and from all the people of Judah and Benjamin and the inhabitants of Jerusalem. Then they
entrusted it to the men appointed to supervise the work on the Lord’s temple.
These men paid the workers who repaired and restored the temple. They also gave
money to the carpenters and builders to purchase dressed stone, and timber for
joists and beams for the buildings that the kings of Judah had allowed to fall into
ruin.
The workers labored faithfully. Over them to direct them were
Jahath and Obadiah, Levites descended from Merari, and Zechariah and Meshullam,
descended from Kohath. The Levites—all who were skilled in playing musical
instruments—had charge of the laborers and supervised all the workers from job
to job. Some of the Levites were secretaries, scribes and gatekeepers.
2 Chronicles 33:21-25, 34:1-13
This ends this reading
from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.
In the early verses of 2 Chronicles,
Chapter 33, we read the account of King Manasseh, a king of Judah who although
he sinned early on in his reign, receiving God’s judgment, repented and turned
things around, regaining the favor and blessing of God. In his story, we find
how God can always help guide us back onto the right path when we stray,
helping us to once again to steer straight as we navigate through life.
Unfortunately, Manasseh’s efforts in
the latter part of his life to not only right his own wrongs but also the
wrongs of his people, helping them turn from sin to righteousness, were
derailed by his son who assumed the throne after his death.
We know this because of the account of
Amon’s life and reign at the end of 2 Chronicles, Chapter 33. Look at how
things changed for the worse:
Amon was twenty-two years old when he became king, and he
reigned in Jerusalem
two years. He did evil in the eyes of the Lord, as his father Manasseh had
done. Amon worshiped and offered sacrifices to all the idols Manasseh had made.
But unlike his father Manasseh, he did not humble himself before the Lord; Amon
increased his guilt.
Amon’s officials conspired against him and assassinated him in
his palace. Then the people of the land killed all who had plotted against King
Amon, and they made Josiah his son king in his place.
One could have hoped that Amon would
have carried on his father’s favorable spiritual legacy but unfortunately, he
resorted to being more like his dad in the early stages of his rule, opting for
evil over good, transgression over holiness, arrogant disrespect for the Lord
over humble obedience and compliance.
The end result was predictable after
we’re told that Amon refused to humble himself and change his ways as his
father had done. Instead, Amon increased his guilt and as a result did not last
long. He didn’t make it beyond two years on the throne of Judah before he
was assassinated by his own officials. Just as he was unfaithful to God, he was
done in by those who were unfaithful to him. Funny how things work out like
that. Let’s call it a sample of the Lord’s irony on display.
With Amon gone, there was once again a
chance to get things right and as we see, that’s exactly what happened as
Amon’s son, Josiah, assumed the throne. Let’s look again at how things changed
with a change in Judah’s
leadership:
Josiah was eight years
old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem thirty-one years. He did what was
right in the eyes of the Lord and followed the ways of his father David, not
turning aside to the right or to the left.
In the eighth year of
his reign, while he was still young, he began to seek the God of his father
David. In his twelfth year, he began to purge Judah
and Jerusalem
of high places, Asherah poles and idols. Under his direction, the altars of the
Baals were torn down; he cut to pieces the incense altars that were above them,
and smashed the Asherah poles and the idols. These he broke to pieces and
scattered over the graves of those who had sacrificed to them. He burned the
bones of the priests on their altars, and so he purged Judah and Jerusalem.
In the towns of Manasseh, Ephraim and Simeon, as far as Naphtali, and in the
ruins around them, he tore down the altars and the Asherah poles and crushed
the idols to powder and cut to pieces all the incense altars throughout Israel. Then he
went back to Jerusalem.
In the eighteenth year
of Josiah’s reign, to purify the land and the temple, he sent Shaphan son of
Azaliah and Maaseiah the ruler of the city, with Joah son of Joahaz, the
recorder, to repair the temple of the Lord his God.
They went to Hilkiah
the high priest and gave him the money that had been brought into the temple of
God, which the Levites who were the gatekeepers had collected from the people
of Manasseh, Ephraim and the entire remnant of Israel and from all the people
of Judah and Benjamin and the inhabitants of Jerusalem. Then they entrusted it
to the men appointed to supervise the work on the Lord’s temple. These men paid
the workers who repaired and restored the temple. They also gave money to the
carpenters and builders to purchase dressed stone, and timber for joists and
beams for the buildings that the kings of Judah had allowed to fall into
ruin.
The workers labored
faithfully. Over them to direct them were Jahath and Obadiah, Levites descended
from Merari, and Zechariah and Meshullam, descended from Kohath. The
Levites—all who were skilled in playing musical instruments—had charge of the
laborers and supervised all the workers from job to job. Some of the Levites
were secretaries, scribes and gatekeepers.
How did Josiah live
and rule?
We learn right away in the opening verses
of Chapter 34 that he did what was right in the eyes of the Lord, following the
ways of David and not turning aside to the right or left. In other words,
Josiah steered a straight course in walking with the Lord.
As we look at the scriptures, we find
that Jesus, our Savior, sought to teach us on how to walk through life as
believers. He exhorted all His disciples through His words to walk on the
narrow path, entering through the narrow gate. This path would be walked by all
who wished to have life and have it abundantly, not just in the here and now
but for all eternity. Traveling in this fashion requires allowing Christ to
walk with us each and every second of every minute of every hour of every day.
When we dedicate ourselves to doing this, then we ensure that, like Josiah, we
are easily walking the narrow path that Jesus calls us to walk, traveling ahead
in a way that finds us neither turning to the right or left. We will find
ourselves steering straight and never straying off course.
Friends, this is God’s will for each
of us through Christ Jesus, that we would remain obedient to His word and way
with our lives as a reflection of the way we’re expected to live, an example
that others can follow.
So how are you walking
today?
Are you steering straight or have you
gotten off course navigating to the left or right of where the Lord expects you
to be?
The good news is that if you have
strayed off the narrow path, Jesus is waiting to take you by the hand and lead
you back upon the narrow way, the way I pray that every man and woman will
choose to walk in life.
Amen
In Christ,
Mark
PS: Please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it.
Send any prayer requests to OurChristianWalk@aol.com
Mark
PS: Please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it.
Send any prayer requests to OurChristianWalk@aol.com
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