Manasseh takes over for his dad as king at age 12. They really did start these kids young didn’t they. You may recall that Hezekiah decided his legacy didn’t really matter much in the last chapter. Well they reap what he sowed in the rule of his son. Scripture says Manasseh was “a bad king” and practiced a “career in evil”. He rebuilt most all the evil stuff that his father had cleaned up. This is the very next generation – not a lot of years down the road – but the very next generation. The result – “God was angry”. Not a good place to be living. “Manasseh led them off the beaten path into practices of evil”. They are on the road to destruction. Should we blame Hezekiah for this? He was a good king and lived a mostly God fearing life. But he did not finish strong. He obviously missed the mark in training up his son to follow in his footsteps. But even if Manasseh was on the wrong path, the people also followed. They obviously were only skin deep in their conviction to God. Scripture says “the people didn’t listen” to the words that God has spoken to them earlier that the only way to be blessed was to walk with God. So what is the lesson here?
Parenting matters for one. We have to parent well and finish that job strong so our legacy is one that brings God honor and glory.
Leadership matters. We have to lead people to be obedient to God, not just blindly follow us and when we are gone they blow in the wind.
Life matters. We only get one chance and we need to be very sure we make choices that honor God and produce the kind of fruit He desires.
Posted by asorensen 
