May 5, 2026 - 2 Chronicles 34-36

After Hezekiah, Manasseh and Amon ruled in Jerusalem.  Manasseh was a wicked king, though, the Chronicler reports that he repented in his final days.  Amon, however, “did what was evil in the sight of the LORD, as Manasseh his father had done” (33:22) with no mention of a humble repentance.  Those were dark days for Judah but, as the Lord has done over and over again in history, in the darkest of times, he raised up a good man:  “Josiah was eight years old when he began to reign, and he reigned thirty-one years in Jerusalem.  And he did what was right in the eyes of the LORD, and walked in the ways of David his father; and he did not turn aside to the right hand or to the left” (34:1-2).  Josiah broke down and removed the idols and, when the book of the law was found, Josiah directed the cleansing and restoration of the temple and its worship, and the nation kept the Passover.  However, at the end of his reign, Josiah got caught up in an unwise war with the king of Egypt and was killed.  Clearly, Josiah was far from perfect but he was God’s man at that time to do what needed to be done and to call the people back to God.  The days of Judah were coming to an end – Babylon was soon to invade – but, for the time being, under the rule of a good man, the days were good, a man who yielded to the Lord and did his will.  Oh, for men like that!  Oh, for men whose testimony would be:

Saviour, while my heart is tender,

I would yield that heart to thee,

all my powers to thee surrender,

thine, and only thine, to be.

Let me do thy will or bear it;

I would know no will but thine;

should'st thou take my life or spare it,

I that life to thee resign.

Thine I am, O Lord, forever,

to thy service set apart;

suffer me to leave thee never;

seal thine image on my heart.   -- C. W. Burton & John Burton (1850)