APRIL 26

        Chapter 21 records the reign of Manasseh. Historians have 
calculated that Manasseh ruled jointly with godly Hezekiah for at 
least ten years. How strange that godly Hezekiah should reign but 29 
years, while ungodly Manasseh reigned 55 years. But God was giving 
His people just what they wanted and deserved. No sooner was 
Hezekiah off the scene than Manasseh's true character was revealed. 
He built up what Hezekiah tore down and tore down what Hezekiah had 
built up. Manasseh even carried his idolatry right into the courts 
of the Temple. He rebelled against his godly father's example and 
against the law of the Lord.

        Verses 10-15 record the removal of Manasseh. He was captured 
by the Assyrian captains and taken to Babylon. He later repented of 
his sins and when he was restored to the throne he immediately began 
to repair the damage he had done. He fortified Jerusalem against the 
enemy; he removed the idols and the strange altars; and he sought to 
lead the nation back to the Lord. Following the death of Manasseh, 
his son Amon reigned as king for two years. He was also a wicked 
king, and was slain in a conspiracy and buried near his father.

        The assassination of Amon brought Josiah to the throne at 
the young age of eight years. Because of godly influence in his 
early life, Josiah began to seek the Lord at age 16. Then, at age 
twenty, he began to purify the city and the land of the idolatry of 
Manasseh and Amon. Josiah's ultimate goal was to restore the Temple 
and bring the nation back to the Lord, but he knew that he would 
have to destroy the old sins before he could establish new 
obedience.

        During Josiah's day there was peace and blessing, but God 
did not withdraw His original promise of judgment because of the 
sins of Manasseh. Josiah, the king who attempted to restore the 
nation of Israel back to God, was assassinated and will best be 
remembered as a king who wanted his people to know that they had 
been "bought with a price."