Health, wealth, but evil - 2 Kings 21

I was amazed when reading 2 Kings 21 how Manasseh had turned so badly from God's ways when he had the example of the destruction of Israel and the contrasting preservation and prosperity of his father Hezekiah. What was he doing? Could he not see the contrast between the way in which Hezekiah had prospered and been protected and the, now scattered, nation of Israel. Had other nations really prospered more than they for following all the ways of the gods he adopted? What made him move so dramatically back to the practices of Ahaz and the Israelite nation?

Well, we are not actually told directly. However, we can summise from his actions. Look at the range of gods he put up - it looks very like 'spread betting' ... lets get to worshiping as many gods as possible so that we are covered just in case one of them does not look upon us too well! This, I think, shows a basic insecurity - He wanted to be a prosperous and successful king, but with so many powerful nations around and with such a small country, how could he be? Instead of understanding that there was a great God in whom all trust could be put, he followed a natural inclination to protect himself with as much as possible.

In some ways he must have thought that this strategy paid off. He had a long reign with relative peace. Ahab, the earlier Israelite king, had a similar experience - great prosperity and international respect, yet a life following foreign gods. However, scripture records the true verdict on both men ... they did evil in the eyes of God!

The recent 'prosperity' movement had robbed us of a proper understanding of God's sovereignty and authority. Simple formulas do not work, because we cannot see all the variables or their values. Only He knows the beginning from the end. Only he can see the full extent of His purposes. He had a purpose of judgment for the wicked hearts of the people, who even in the reigns of Hezekiah and Josiah, those two Godly kings, only turned back to him on the outward appearance but not in the heart. The Kings rent their clothes, wept before the Lord and sought purity, but the hearts of the people still looked elsewhere, as we see from the rapid turn back to sin as soon as these Godly kings had gone.

The real question to ask ourselves, then, is this: Where is our true, total trust? Are we 'spread betting' in our lives, trusting on ourselves or the support of others, or the reputation we have built in our jobs, or the money we have in savings, or the love of our family, or whatever else, rather than in God? We may be seeing prosperity, but that does not mean our hearts are right. He longs for 'truth in the inward parts' (Ps 51v6), not the sham of worship when we are also trusting in other 'gods'.

A Deep clean - 2 Kings 22-23

I recently visited a member of the church in a hospital ward where there had been an infection. A team were in before the ward was to be re-opened. They were the 'deep cleaning' team ... a 'crack squad' of cleaners, equipped with the very best in cleaning equipment, including steam cleaning. They were meticulous, covering every millimeter of every surface, taking every bed, cabinet, chair and anything else in the room apart to clean the whole room. It was hard, tough, time-consuming work, but essential if the infection was to be eradicated.

I was reading this morning from 2 Kings 22-23. Josiah had become king after the reigns of Manasseh and Amon, both Kings who did evil in the eyes of God. Amazingly, without access to the word of God, he decided to abandon the ways of his fathers and follow God. Isn't it wonderful how the pattern of the father in the story of the prodigal son is seen again and again in scripture? In His mercy, God has the book of the law discovered! Josiah had started the process of rebuilding the temple and turning back to God, and now God reveals His holy standard so that the process can be completed. Josiah responds as we ought, but so often fail to do ... he tore his robes (he laid himself 'bare' before the Lord, no reliance on his wealth or strength, no dependence on his own possessions, all given over to Him), and he wept (not 'crocodile tears', but genuine, heartfelt grief over how much the nation had grieved and angered the Holy God).

What struck me most from this passage, however, was a little phrase in v12 "He pulled down the altars the kings of Judah had erected on the roof near the upper room of Ahaz". Now we have no indication of how long they had been there. The phrase 'Kings' could mean just Manasseh and Amon, but why not just say that? I doubt these altars were there in Hezekiah's time, because he broke down all the high places and his fervor for purity is recorded in 2 Kings 18v3-5. Whatever the case, I love this little verse because it reveals that this was 'deep cleaning'! Josiah did not just deal with all the high places, idols, and idol worship in public places, but dealt with the hidden places that were known only to him. He looked inside his own life, with God's aid he found every little place where evil lurked, and cut all of it out, totally removing the evil and doing all he possibly could to ensure that it could not return (even to the extent of having the very stones of the altars 'ground to powder' (e.g. v15)!

What a challenge in my life. How easy it is to let sin lurk within, to hold on to the 'high places' in my life! I need to allow God's word to penetrate, to 'renew my mind' (Rom 12v2), to utterly transform me so that every part of my life might shine for Him.