2 Kings 21:19-26 Amon’s Reign
Amon takes the throne and brings the people right back into idolatry. Apparently his servants don’t like that and he loses his life for it.
Manasseh started out as the worst king in Judah’s history but that changed when he was taken prisoner. He called out to God and He restored him to the throne. Manasseh changed and led the people back to the Lord, to some degree. But his son takes the throne and brings the people back into idolatry. (Sorry for that spoiler. I was going to wait until we got to 2 Chronicles 33 to tell that part of the story.)
We are not told, here or in Chronicles, what Amon did during his two year reign other than engage in idolatry. Maybe he didn’t do anything significant. Maybe what he did do was so overshadowed by his sins that it wasn’t mentioned.
What we do know is that his servants were so distressed by his behavior that they conspired to kill him. What was it that so enraged them against their king? Whatever it was, the rest of the people didn’t believe he needed killing. They struck back at the men who killed him. I wonder if they made their families ‘pay’ for their crime.
Amon was killed before he could corrupt his son Josiah. Josiah will be a very godly king. Did his grandfather, Manasseh, have an influence on him? Manasseh had MANY years to influence his son Amon in a negative way but apparently that influence for good wasn’t strong enough to correct the damage that was already done. Manasseh’s sin may have been forgiven but the consequences of that sin were still an issue. Amon was certainly a ‘consequence’ of that sin.
God is loving and His mercies are new every morning. He forgives our sins and remembers then no more. But that doesn’t mean there aren’t still natural consequences for those sins. He sometimes graciously helps us with those consequences too but not always. And there is not telling how far reaching those consequences may be. For Manasseh it was a whole nation and generations to come who would be affected by his sin. BUT God still used what was evil for good. He would bring healing and deliverance IN THE END.
Father God, I’m so sorry for the consequences my sin has brought about. I wonder if my children falling away is a consequence for sins I committed while they were younger. If so, PLEASE Father heal their hearts and wipe from it all traces of the damage I caused.
I want to glorify you in all I do from now to eternity and wipe away the stains I left behind. I know I am, and will not be, perfect until I see You face to face but please keep the consequences of my sin SMALL while on the way to that day. I don’t want to leave behind a legacy of sin but of love and faith. I want to leave a legacy that points directly to You.
