Today’s passage: 2 Kings 21:1-26
Helpful thoughts:
- Verses 1-9 should grieve us as it grieved God. The weight of verses 8-9 is very heavy.
- The son of the king who removed all pagan worship has brought all of it and more back.
- The king in Jerusalem is offering his own sons as burnt offerings to false gods.
- The Temple is now being used to worship numerous false gods.
- King Manasseh has led his people astray to do more evil than the nations God used Israel to judge.
- It is taught in Jewish history that the prophet Isaiah was one of those innocent people whose blood was shed. Evidently, Manasseh had him put into a hollow log and sawed in half. (Hebrews 11:37)
- The people of Judah who put Amon’s killers to death would most likely have desired to preserve the Davidic line in Jerusalem.
Questions to consider:
- With all of the wickedness we read about Manasseh in this passage, what does 2 Chronicles 33:10-20 teach us about the grace and mercy of God?
- What do verses 23-24 teach us about the sovereignty and the promises of God? (Matthew 1:10)
- Does God require the obedience of His people in order to accomplish His will? Is the book of Revelation only going to happen if we do a good enough job? Why is it right for us to obey and to love God with our whole hearts?