In today’s episode of Add Bible, we delve into the reigns of three contrasting kings of Judah, exploring how their leadership affected the spiritual and moral fabric of their nation. We’ll see a tale of decline under Manasseh and Ammon, contrasted sharply by the righteous reign of Josiah, who brought about a religious revival after rediscovering the words of the Law. Join us as we uncover insights from 2 Kings chapters 21 and 22, reflecting on the enduring power and relevance of God’s Word in times of darkness.
00:00:08 Introduction to Add Bible and Today’s Focus
Welcome to Add Bible, an audio daily devotion from the Ezra Project. Allen J. Huth shares a Bible passage with comments from over 35 years of his personal Bible reading journals and applies the Word of God to our daily lives.
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Today we are in 2 Kings chapters 21 and 22. Hezekiah’s sons and grandson do not reign well in Judah. But then, chapter 22 brings us another good king. Let’s listen to Faith Comes By Hearing’s reading of chapter 21 and our guest reader, Senator Kevin Grantham, on chapter 22.
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Manasseh was twelve years old when he began to reign, and he reigned fifty-five years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Hephzibah, and he did what was evil in the sight of the Lord, according to the despicable practices of the nations whom the Lord drove out before the people of Israel. For he rebuilt the high places that Hezekiah his father had destroyed, and he erected altars for Baal and made an Asherah, as Ahab king of Israel had done, and worshipped all the host of heaven and served them. And he built altars in the house of the Lord, of which the Lord had said, In Jerusalem will I put my name. and he built altars for all the hosts of heaven in the two courts of the house of the Lord. And he burned his son as an offering, and used fortune-telling and omens, and dealt with mediums and with necromancers. He did much evil in the sight of the Lord, provoking him to anger. And the carved image of Asherah that he had made, he set in the house of which the Lord said to David and to Solomon his son.”
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In this house and in Jerusalem, which I have chosen out of all the tribes of Israel, I will put my name forever, and I will not cause the feet of Israel to wander any more out of the land that I gave to their fathers. If only they will be careful to do according to all that I have commanded them, and according to all the law that my servant Moses commanded them.
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But they did not listen, and Manasseh led them astray to do more evil than the nations had done, whom the Lord destroyed before the people of Israel. And the Lord said by his servants the prophets,
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Because Manasseh, king of Judah, has committed these abominations, and has done things more evil than all that the Amorites did who were before him, and has made Judah also to sin with his idols. Therefore, thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, Behold, I am bringing upon Jerusalem and Judah such disaster that the ears of everyone who hears of it will tingle. And I will stretch over Jerusalem the measuring line of Samaria and the plumb line of the house of Ahab. And I will wipe Jerusalem as one wipes a dish, wiping it and turning it upside down. And I will forsake the remnant of my heritage and give them into the hand of their enemies. And they shall become a prey and a spoil to all their enemies, because they have done what is evil in my sight and have provoked me to anger since the day their fathers came out of Egypt, even to this day.”
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Moreover, Manasseh shed very much innocent blood, till he had filled Jerusalem from one end to another, besides the sin that he made Judah to sin, so that they did what was evil in the sight of the Lord. Now the rest of the acts of Manasseh, and all that he did, and the sin that he committed, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah? And Manasseh slept with his fathers, and was buried in the garden of his house, in the garden of Uzzah. And Ammon his son reigned in his place. Ammon was twenty-two years old when he began to reign, and he reigned two years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Meshulameth, the daughter of Heraz of Jotbah. And he did what was evil in the sight of the Lord, as Manasseh his father had done. He walked in all the way in which his father walked, and served the idols that his father served and worshipped them. He abandoned the Lord, the God of his fathers, and did not walk in the way of the Lord. And the servants of Ammon conspired against him and put the king to death in his house. But the people of the land struck down all those who had conspired against king Ammon, and the people of the land made Josiah his son king in his place. Now the rest of the acts of Ammon that he did are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah? And he was buried in his tomb in the garden of Uzzah, and Josiah his son reigned in his place.
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2 Kings 22 Josiah was eight years old when he began to reign, and he reigned thirty-one years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Jedidah, the daughter of Adiah of Bozkath. And he did what was right in the eyes of the Lord, and walked in all the way of David his father, and he did not turn aside to the right or to the left. In the eighteenth year of King Josiah, the king sent Shaphan, the son of Azaliah, son of Meshulam, the secretary, to the house of the Lord, saying, Go up to Hilkiah the high priest, that he may count the money that has been brought into the house of the Lord, which the keepers of the threshold have collected from the people. And let it be given into the hand of the workmen who have the oversight of the house of the Lord. And let them give it to the workmen who are at the house of the Lord repairing the house. that is, to the carpenters and to the builders and to the masons, and let them use it for buying timber and quarried stone to repair the house. But no accounting shall be asked from them for the money that is delivered into their hand, for they deal honestly. And Hilkiah the high priest said to Shaphan the secretary, I have found the book of the law in the house of the Lord. And Hilkiah gave the book to Shaphan, and he read it. And Shaphan the secretary came to the king and reported to the king, Your servants have emptied out the money that was found in the house and have delivered it into the hand of the workmen who have the oversight of the house of the Lord. Then Shaphan the secretary told the king, Hilkiah the priest has given me a book. And Shaphan read it before the king. When the king heard the words of the book of the law, he tore his clothes. And the king commanded Hilkiah the priest, and Ahicham the son of Shaphan, and Achbor the son of Micaiah, and Shaphan the secretary, and Esaiah the king’s servant, saying, Go, inquire of the Lord for me, and for the people, and for all Judah concerning the words of this book that has been found. For great is the wrath of the Lord that is kindled against us, because our fathers have not obeyed the words of this book. to do according to all that is written concerning us. So Hilkiah the priest, and Ahicham, and Achbor, and Shaphan, and Esaiah, went to Huldah the prophetess, the wife of Shalom, the son of Tikva, the son of Harhas, keeper of the wardrobe. Now she lived in Jerusalem in the second quarter. And they talked with her. And she said to them, Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, Tell the man who sent you to me, Thus says the Lord, Behold, I will bring disaster upon this place and upon its inhabitants all the words of the book that the king of Judah has read, because they have forsaken me and have made offerings to other gods, that they might provoke me to anger with all the work of their hands, Therefore my wrath will be kindled against this place, and it will not be quenched. But to the king of Judah who sent you to inquire of the Lord, Thus shall you say to him, Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, regarding the words that you have heard, because your heart was penitent, and you humbled yourself before the Lord when you heard how I spoke against this place and against its inhabitants, that they should become a desolation and a curse, and you have torn your clothes and wept before me, I also have heard you, declares the Lord. Therefore, behold, I will gather you to your fathers, and you shall be gathered to your grave in peace. And your eyes shall not see all the disaster that I will bring upon this place. And they brought back word to the king.
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In 1997, I read 2 Kings chapters 21 and 22 on the same day, and I wrote Manasseh. Hezekiah’s son takes over for 55 years and does what is evil. Wonder why the Lord let him reign for 55 years. Josiah takes over and reigns for 31 years and does what is right. The word of God is found. Josiah hears it and is moved to act. Maybe today people will hear it again and act. In 2011, I read 2 Kings 20-22 on the same day. Concerning these chapters, I wrote, After Hezekiah, his son Manasseh undoes all his good works. I pray for my kids that they would follow me in serving the Lord. Josiah, praise God for Josiah, who hears the word of the Lord and responds accordingly. It’s really sad to me to see over and over in scripture how a son undoes the work of his father. Everything Hezekiah put in place, Manasseh undid. Because of the sin and abominations that Manasseh orchestrated, chapter 21 verse 12 says, Therefore thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, Behold, I am bringing upon Jerusalem and Judah such disaster, that the ears of everyone who hears of it will tingle. And if we think that God will never leave us or forsake us, check out verse 14, And I will forsake the remnant of my heritage, and give them into the hand of their enemies, and they shall become a prey and a spoil to all their enemies. because they have done what is evil in my sight and have provoked me to anger. God says, I will forsake the remnant of my heritage. That’s his own people. But through his anger, he always keeps a remnant, something to build from. Now we see that in chapter 22 with Josiah. Verse 2 says, He did what was right in the eyes of the Lord and walked in all the ways of David his father, and he did not turn aside to the right or to the left. 2 Kings chapter 22 is one of the messages I usually use with the Ezra Project in churches. I call it, The Book Has Been Found. It’s the story of the Word of God being found in the rubbles of the temple. The Word is brought in red to the King Josiah. After hearing the Word of the Lord, he says in verse 13, The answer comes in verse 16. Thus says the Lord, Behold, I will bring disaster upon this place and upon its inhabitants, all the words of the book that the king of Judah has read. But drop down to verse 18. But to the king of Judah, who sent you to inquire of the Lord, thus you shall say to him, Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, regarding the words that you have heard, because your heart was penitent, and you humbled yourself before the Lord when you heard how I spoke against this place and against its inhabitants, that they should become a desolation and a curse, and you have torn your clothes and wept before me, I also have heard you, declares the Lord. And Josiah is spared the judgment of God in his reign. Verse 20, I will gather you to your fathers, and you shall be gathered to your grave in peace, and your eyes shall not see all the disaster that I will bring upon this place. In chapter 23, we will see all the reforms that Josiah brings to Judah after he heard the word of the Lord. We have inherited Christianity from those who have gone before us. What are we doing with it on our watch? Are we watching as the manasses of our day undo the foundations of our faith? Or will we be like Josiah and hear the word of the Lord and act accordingly? Faith in the days of Josiah was teetering. It was challenged greatly, as it is in our day. Unfortunately, in many of our churches, the word of God has been lost. just like it was lost in the temple in Josiah’s day. Pray with me that once again the word of God will be found in the churches here in America and across the world. God, may the book be found once again in your houses of worship. May your shepherds, your priests, your pastors find the word of God again in the church and preach the word of God. We ask it in the name of Jesus. Amen. Thanks for listening to Ad Bible today. It’s not too late to get your copy of the writings of the Old Testament historical books to follow along with this Ad Bible program. The book contains our studies on Job, Ruth, 1 and 2 Samuel, 1 and 2 Kings, and 1 and 2 Chronicles. We’ll be in those books for the next several weeks. The book has comments on every chapter, applications for your life, and a place for you to record your thoughts on each chapter of each book for future reference. Visit EzraProject.net and order the writings of the Old Testament historical books today so you can get more out of these radio programs and more out of your Bible. I know you’re going to enjoy it. I know you’re going to enjoy it.
