2 Kings 21

Bible Passage:  2 Kings 21

King Manasseh, the son of a (kind of) good King Hezekiah whom we have studied in the previous two chapters, is described as “more wicked than all the Amorites before him” (v11). I pondered if the mere fact of his young and tender age (v1) when he was crowned a king has had any bearing to his wickedness. Then, I pictured the young Jesus (at the exact same age) who was discussion the words of God with the teachers. I thought of my very own – exactly how developed or matured I was at 12? Well, I have little doubts about me handling a class of 45 peers as a Class Monitor (or so I thought!) but man! A nation of xxx in population?

I aborted the thought at once – until when I recalled again an even younger King Josiah, who was only 8 years old when he reigned (II Kings 22:1), who was a righteous and good king. The reason I draw in King Josiah slightly into the picture is to hopefully shed some lights into how (maybe) the family and religious educations could have played a part in the young kings’ reign. Neither I can correlate it very well too – bad King Manasseh did not quite inherit the good deeds of his father King Hezekiah; while good King Josiah did not inherit the wickedness his father King Manasseh had done.

I’m not exactly certain about King Manasseh’s reign, but young Josiah was guided by the High Priest Hilkiah and his son Jeremiah. I then thought of Rehoboam, who refused the old men’s counsel in I Kings chapter 12. This in itself was a direct cause to the separation of Israel into two kingdoms.

As a king, we see the importance of them being guided by the wise counsels and workers of God (e.g. prophets). Even the wise King Solomon, who himself may be the wisest counsel of all mankind, strived to be guided by God’s commandments, statutes and judgments so to walk in God’s ways(I Kings 8:58). Solomon’s ever popular verse:

“… lean not on your own understanding; In all your ways acknowledge Him… Do not be wise in your own eyes; Fear the Lord and depart from evil…” (Proverbs 3:5-6)

Every morning, while I thank God for a day of new life; I share with Him how helpless I can get from the moment I step out of the house – when the waves of challenges, both at work (for you, may be school) and personal levels, start to swamp and seem to devour me to no-end. It is important to be guided and counseled, so that our ways of living are found aligned to His measuring standards.

Verse 13 talks about a “measuring line”. God, through Prophet Isaiah says:

“… I will make justice the measuring line and righteousness the plummet” (Isa 28:17)

In building work, the builders or even a carpenter adopt the line and plummet in executing their work to the most even and regular standard, according to the desired drawings and measurement. There is not the slightest compromise to imperfection; otherwise this may have serious (if not fatal) consequences to the end product.

What are we measured against? School rules, exams answers, work rules, departmental key performance indicators, performance scorecards and etc. – you name it, they have it. We may find favor in the eyes of our peers, teachers, co-workers and bosses as our scores say it all.

On the day of the His great judgment, if God were to assess me based on His checklist, I cannot imagine (at least for now) how far off I would be from His desired, or rather perfect mark. I would like to think our days on earth are similar to revisions period (for the great trials / day of judgment aka exams to come). In all that we do in life, always remind ourselves we are being measured against God’s standard and requirements. What seems right or acceptable in the eyes of men may not be so to God’s.

I shared about how we ought to be guided and counseled in our daily life. We indeed are blessed with the great Helper / Counselor (John 15:26), of whom we can faithfully rely on for guidance. If we were so willing to be guided by the Helper, see what wonders He can do to us:

“… He will teach you in all things, and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you…” (John 14:26)

Yes, Holy Spirit will guide us to walk in His standards and help us to recall His standards too. May you be guided by His love, grace and Holy Spirit in the days of your life.