History – 2 Kings 21-25

It is the end of an era.  Despite the warnings served by the demise of their northern neighbours, the Kingdom of Judah continued on in their sin and disobedience of God.  And in God’s righteous judgement, we see the final fall of the Kingdom of Judah in today’s reading as well.

Bible Passage:  2 Kings 21-25

As I read through the passage, a few thoughts came to mind and think that they serve as stern warnings for us today.

Godly Fathers Does Not Equal to Godly Sons
Ungodly Fathers Does Not Equal to Ungodly Sons

Last week, we read about the good king Hezekiah of the kingdom of Judah. Unfortunately for such a good king, his son, Manasseh turned out to the the worst king of all time!

He was so bad that God said that “he acted more wickedly than all the Amorites who were before him…” (2 Kings 21: 11).  Indeed, when you read the catlogue of sins he committed, you will be hard pressed to have even a sliver of compassion for him.

He rebuilt the high places and worshipped the false gods.  Not only that, he build these altars in the house of the Lord!  He practiced witchcraft, soothsaying, consulted the mediums and spiritists, and even child offerings through the fire!  He shed innocent blood and even seduced the people to sin along with him…

You wonder… how is it that such a good man like Hezekiah could have a son like Manasseh?

Then you see the example of King Josiah.  Now Josiah was the son of Amon (the son of Manasseh).  Amon was no better than his father and continued in his evil ways.

But Josiah was the complete opposite.  Where his father or grandfather build up, he tore down.  Where they worshipped and provided for the idols and their priests, he cut them down and cast away the priests.  Where they destroyed, he repaired.  Where they turned to all other gods except God, he turned only to God and no other God.

Unfortunately, his sons were not like him and soon Judah went back to their old ways once again.

So this serves as a strong warning for me as a parent today.  Being faithful in Church no is no guarantee that my children will be likewise.

My wife and I may be doing all the right things in church for God and His people – but ultimately, how our children behaves or acts will still be very much up to them.  That is why we need to pray for them ceaselessly that they will always remain in the Lord all the days of their lives.

Their faith must be established on God … by themselves. Or else once we are not around, their faith may not be around too.

Is it possible that ungodly fathers have godly sons?  And vice versa?  The Bible has many examples.  Samuel and his sons.  Isaac and his sons.

But this reminds me of what prophet Ezekiel said in Ezekiel 18:20

The soul who sins shall die. The son shall not bear the guilt of the father, nor the father bear the guilt of the son. The righteousness of the righteous shall be upon himself, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be upon himself.

If we were to read Ezekiel 18:5-13 and then 18:14-18, we would have seen Ezekiel talking about the godly father and ungodly son … followed by the ungodly father and godly son situations.  And this led him to the statement in Ezekiel 18:20.

All of us, whether we are parents or children, we have our own responsibilities and each one of us must give an account (Eph 6:1, 4). As parents, we must always examine our nurturing and ourselves.   Bringing a child into this world is a great spritual responsibility that deminds much prayer, thought and provision – both material and spiritual.

As a parent, I can imagine one of the worst things is that on that Great Day, we see our child becing cast away because they have not followed God like you have… or the other way around.  But I expect to feel even worse if I realize that I had contributed to their rejection by failing to responsibly exercising my duties as a parent.

Paul said, “And you, fathers, do not provoke your children to wrath, but bring them up in the training and admonition of the Lord.” (Eph 6:4).  I will do well to remember that today.

Mothers Are Very Important!

I did not really noticed before but as you read about each new king taking over the throne, you will always find the name of their mothers being mentioned.

I never really taken note of this before but now on thinking – the role of the mother is very important in determining how the child turns out.  In all the cases we read today, the son takes over the throne only when the father has died.  So only the mom remains to guide the king.  And also influence the king.

Look… Manasseh was 12 when he became king. Josiah was 8 when he became king.  Although the kings would have other advisors around him, their mothers would obviously play a very important part in shaping how they think and act.

One became the worst king ever.  And the other – a great king that God was pleased with.

So mothers… there was actually no need for me to say this as you know it already.  But it is good for us children and fathers to be reminded of this as well.

Learn from the Kings

Although the book of Kings is a historical book that gives us a glimpse of the physical and spiritual lives of the people of God, there are many lessons that we can learn from the kings.

Just some food for thought before we end our reading on the kings….

Look at the life of Manasseh.  We may not have commited such great evils like Manasseh.  But ….

Why do you think that despite the good example left by his father, he chose to go toward the other extreme and do all the things that his father hated?

In our lives, do we also build up high places and bow in worship of other ‘gods’?  Do we have habits or practices that bring us away from God?  Do we seduce or lead others to commit sin?

Look at the life of Josiah.  He reigned after the horrible example set by his father and grandfather.

What do you think made him the king that he was?  What made him realize that the sins of the kingdom was so great that he tore his clothes in despair and repentance?  What actions did he take?

Do we recognize the ‘idols’ in our lives that surround us… sometimes even in the house of God?  When we know the Word of God, do we go about teaching others?

There are many other lessons.  So why not share with all of us?