Nehemiah 3
KingCommentsNehemiah 3:1
Introduction
After the revival under Hezekiah which is written about in the previous chapters, there are two more great histories: one of Manasseh and one of Josiah. The first history is that of Manasseh and tells the story of the conversion of an individual human being. In the whole Old Testament there is not a more striking history of conversion than that of Manasseh. The other history is that of Josiah and tells of the reform of an entire nation. In these ‘epilogues’ we see what the grace of God is able to do.
Manasseh King of Judah
Manasseh is born during the fifteen years of extra time Hezekiah received (2 Kings 20:6). When he is twelve years old, he becomes king (2 Chronicles 33:1). Manasseh is an extraordinarily wicked king. The fact that God tolerates him for so long – he reigns no less than fifty-five years, from 697-642 BC – shows the patience of His grace.
Manasseh breaks a double record. No king has ruled as long as he has, and no king has been as wicked as he is. His name means ‘to make forget’. With this he is a model for the people, who also forget God (Jeremiah 2:32). While it is written of his father that “he did right in the sight of the LORD” (2 Chronicles 29:2) it says of Manasseh that “he did evil in the sight of the LORD” (2 Chronicles 33:2). The contrast with his father manifests itself in everything. Through the actions of Manasseh, God’s land is inundated with the atrocities of the heathen nations, which the LORD has driven out before the eyes of His people.
Manasseh quickly undoes all his father’s reforms (2 Chronicles 33:3). It seems that he has made haste with that. What his father has broken down, he rebuilds. The idol altars are erected again. Manasseh surrenders himself with heart and soul to idolatry.
It is getting worse. He even dares to build idol altars in the house of the LORD (2 Chronicles 33:4). With this he grieves the LORD deeply. We hear the pain of the LORD resound in the quote of what He said about His house: “My name shall be in Jerusalem forever.” In the courts of the house of the LORD Manasseh builds altars for all the host of heaven, that are the stars (2 Chronicles 33:5).
And it becomes even crazier. He lets his sons pass through fire, as his grandfather Ahaz did (2 Chronicles 33:6; 2 Chronicles 28:3), and he focuses on occultism. He surrenders to the powers of darkness. This is not limited to a personal activity, but he promotes occultism by dealing with mediums and spiritists.
He does everything he can think of to provoke the LORD to anger. His next action is to put a self-made idol in the house of God (2 Chronicles 33:7). It is in a terrible way contrary to the purpose of God with His home. God expressed Himself clearly to David and Solomon about His house. It is the house where His Name shall dwell forever. But Manasseh doesn’t care about God’s purposes.
A reminder is given of the condition to remain in the land (2 Chronicles 33:8). Manasseh doesn’t mind at all. If he has thought about it at all, he ignores everything God has said. He does not care about God or His commandment. He leads Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem astray, so that they sin worse than the nations the LORD has wiped out of the land (2 Chronicles 33:9). People who confess to belong to God’s people sometimes do things for which unbelievers are ashamed (1 Timothy 5:8; 1 Corinthians 5:1). The history of Manasseh is, in short, that of Israel itself.
Nehemiah 3:2
Introduction
After the revival under Hezekiah which is written about in the previous chapters, there are two more great histories: one of Manasseh and one of Josiah. The first history is that of Manasseh and tells the story of the conversion of an individual human being. In the whole Old Testament there is not a more striking history of conversion than that of Manasseh. The other history is that of Josiah and tells of the reform of an entire nation. In these ‘epilogues’ we see what the grace of God is able to do.
Manasseh King of Judah
Manasseh is born during the fifteen years of extra time Hezekiah received (2 Kings 20:6). When he is twelve years old, he becomes king (2 Chronicles 33:1). Manasseh is an extraordinarily wicked king. The fact that God tolerates him for so long – he reigns no less than fifty-five years, from 697-642 BC – shows the patience of His grace.
Manasseh breaks a double record. No king has ruled as long as he has, and no king has been as wicked as he is. His name means ‘to make forget’. With this he is a model for the people, who also forget God (Jeremiah 2:32). While it is written of his father that “he did right in the sight of the LORD” (2 Chronicles 29:2) it says of Manasseh that “he did evil in the sight of the LORD” (2 Chronicles 33:2). The contrast with his father manifests itself in everything. Through the actions of Manasseh, God’s land is inundated with the atrocities of the heathen nations, which the LORD has driven out before the eyes of His people.
Manasseh quickly undoes all his father’s reforms (2 Chronicles 33:3). It seems that he has made haste with that. What his father has broken down, he rebuilds. The idol altars are erected again. Manasseh surrenders himself with heart and soul to idolatry.
It is getting worse. He even dares to build idol altars in the house of the LORD (2 Chronicles 33:4). With this he grieves the LORD deeply. We hear the pain of the LORD resound in the quote of what He said about His house: “My name shall be in Jerusalem forever.” In the courts of the house of the LORD Manasseh builds altars for all the host of heaven, that are the stars (2 Chronicles 33:5).
And it becomes even crazier. He lets his sons pass through fire, as his grandfather Ahaz did (2 Chronicles 33:6; 2 Chronicles 28:3), and he focuses on occultism. He surrenders to the powers of darkness. This is not limited to a personal activity, but he promotes occultism by dealing with mediums and spiritists.
He does everything he can think of to provoke the LORD to anger. His next action is to put a self-made idol in the house of God (2 Chronicles 33:7). It is in a terrible way contrary to the purpose of God with His home. God expressed Himself clearly to David and Solomon about His house. It is the house where His Name shall dwell forever. But Manasseh doesn’t care about God’s purposes.
A reminder is given of the condition to remain in the land (2 Chronicles 33:8). Manasseh doesn’t mind at all. If he has thought about it at all, he ignores everything God has said. He does not care about God or His commandment. He leads Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem astray, so that they sin worse than the nations the LORD has wiped out of the land (2 Chronicles 33:9). People who confess to belong to God’s people sometimes do things for which unbelievers are ashamed (1 Timothy 5:8; 1 Corinthians 5:1). The history of Manasseh is, in short, that of Israel itself.
Nehemiah 3:3
Introduction
After the revival under Hezekiah which is written about in the previous chapters, there are two more great histories: one of Manasseh and one of Josiah. The first history is that of Manasseh and tells the story of the conversion of an individual human being. In the whole Old Testament there is not a more striking history of conversion than that of Manasseh. The other history is that of Josiah and tells of the reform of an entire nation. In these ‘epilogues’ we see what the grace of God is able to do.
Manasseh King of Judah
Manasseh is born during the fifteen years of extra time Hezekiah received (2 Kings 20:6). When he is twelve years old, he becomes king (2 Chronicles 33:1). Manasseh is an extraordinarily wicked king. The fact that God tolerates him for so long – he reigns no less than fifty-five years, from 697-642 BC – shows the patience of His grace.
Manasseh breaks a double record. No king has ruled as long as he has, and no king has been as wicked as he is. His name means ‘to make forget’. With this he is a model for the people, who also forget God (Jeremiah 2:32). While it is written of his father that “he did right in the sight of the LORD” (2 Chronicles 29:2) it says of Manasseh that “he did evil in the sight of the LORD” (2 Chronicles 33:2). The contrast with his father manifests itself in everything. Through the actions of Manasseh, God’s land is inundated with the atrocities of the heathen nations, which the LORD has driven out before the eyes of His people.
Manasseh quickly undoes all his father’s reforms (2 Chronicles 33:3). It seems that he has made haste with that. What his father has broken down, he rebuilds. The idol altars are erected again. Manasseh surrenders himself with heart and soul to idolatry.
It is getting worse. He even dares to build idol altars in the house of the LORD (2 Chronicles 33:4). With this he grieves the LORD deeply. We hear the pain of the LORD resound in the quote of what He said about His house: “My name shall be in Jerusalem forever.” In the courts of the house of the LORD Manasseh builds altars for all the host of heaven, that are the stars (2 Chronicles 33:5).
And it becomes even crazier. He lets his sons pass through fire, as his grandfather Ahaz did (2 Chronicles 33:6; 2 Chronicles 28:3), and he focuses on occultism. He surrenders to the powers of darkness. This is not limited to a personal activity, but he promotes occultism by dealing with mediums and spiritists.
He does everything he can think of to provoke the LORD to anger. His next action is to put a self-made idol in the house of God (2 Chronicles 33:7). It is in a terrible way contrary to the purpose of God with His home. God expressed Himself clearly to David and Solomon about His house. It is the house where His Name shall dwell forever. But Manasseh doesn’t care about God’s purposes.
A reminder is given of the condition to remain in the land (2 Chronicles 33:8). Manasseh doesn’t mind at all. If he has thought about it at all, he ignores everything God has said. He does not care about God or His commandment. He leads Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem astray, so that they sin worse than the nations the LORD has wiped out of the land (2 Chronicles 33:9). People who confess to belong to God’s people sometimes do things for which unbelievers are ashamed (1 Timothy 5:8; 1 Corinthians 5:1). The history of Manasseh is, in short, that of Israel itself.
Nehemiah 3:4
Introduction
After the revival under Hezekiah which is written about in the previous chapters, there are two more great histories: one of Manasseh and one of Josiah. The first history is that of Manasseh and tells the story of the conversion of an individual human being. In the whole Old Testament there is not a more striking history of conversion than that of Manasseh. The other history is that of Josiah and tells of the reform of an entire nation. In these ‘epilogues’ we see what the grace of God is able to do.
Manasseh King of Judah
Manasseh is born during the fifteen years of extra time Hezekiah received (2 Kings 20:6). When he is twelve years old, he becomes king (2 Chronicles 33:1). Manasseh is an extraordinarily wicked king. The fact that God tolerates him for so long – he reigns no less than fifty-five years, from 697-642 BC – shows the patience of His grace.
Manasseh breaks a double record. No king has ruled as long as he has, and no king has been as wicked as he is. His name means ‘to make forget’. With this he is a model for the people, who also forget God (Jeremiah 2:32). While it is written of his father that “he did right in the sight of the LORD” (2 Chronicles 29:2) it says of Manasseh that “he did evil in the sight of the LORD” (2 Chronicles 33:2). The contrast with his father manifests itself in everything. Through the actions of Manasseh, God’s land is inundated with the atrocities of the heathen nations, which the LORD has driven out before the eyes of His people.
Manasseh quickly undoes all his father’s reforms (2 Chronicles 33:3). It seems that he has made haste with that. What his father has broken down, he rebuilds. The idol altars are erected again. Manasseh surrenders himself with heart and soul to idolatry.
It is getting worse. He even dares to build idol altars in the house of the LORD (2 Chronicles 33:4). With this he grieves the LORD deeply. We hear the pain of the LORD resound in the quote of what He said about His house: “My name shall be in Jerusalem forever.” In the courts of the house of the LORD Manasseh builds altars for all the host of heaven, that are the stars (2 Chronicles 33:5).
And it becomes even crazier. He lets his sons pass through fire, as his grandfather Ahaz did (2 Chronicles 33:6; 2 Chronicles 28:3), and he focuses on occultism. He surrenders to the powers of darkness. This is not limited to a personal activity, but he promotes occultism by dealing with mediums and spiritists.
He does everything he can think of to provoke the LORD to anger. His next action is to put a self-made idol in the house of God (2 Chronicles 33:7). It is in a terrible way contrary to the purpose of God with His home. God expressed Himself clearly to David and Solomon about His house. It is the house where His Name shall dwell forever. But Manasseh doesn’t care about God’s purposes.
A reminder is given of the condition to remain in the land (2 Chronicles 33:8). Manasseh doesn’t mind at all. If he has thought about it at all, he ignores everything God has said. He does not care about God or His commandment. He leads Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem astray, so that they sin worse than the nations the LORD has wiped out of the land (2 Chronicles 33:9). People who confess to belong to God’s people sometimes do things for which unbelievers are ashamed (1 Timothy 5:8; 1 Corinthians 5:1). The history of Manasseh is, in short, that of Israel itself.
Nehemiah 3:5
Introduction
After the revival under Hezekiah which is written about in the previous chapters, there are two more great histories: one of Manasseh and one of Josiah. The first history is that of Manasseh and tells the story of the conversion of an individual human being. In the whole Old Testament there is not a more striking history of conversion than that of Manasseh. The other history is that of Josiah and tells of the reform of an entire nation. In these ‘epilogues’ we see what the grace of God is able to do.
Manasseh King of Judah
Manasseh is born during the fifteen years of extra time Hezekiah received (2 Kings 20:6). When he is twelve years old, he becomes king (2 Chronicles 33:1). Manasseh is an extraordinarily wicked king. The fact that God tolerates him for so long – he reigns no less than fifty-five years, from 697-642 BC – shows the patience of His grace.
Manasseh breaks a double record. No king has ruled as long as he has, and no king has been as wicked as he is. His name means ‘to make forget’. With this he is a model for the people, who also forget God (Jeremiah 2:32). While it is written of his father that “he did right in the sight of the LORD” (2 Chronicles 29:2) it says of Manasseh that “he did evil in the sight of the LORD” (2 Chronicles 33:2). The contrast with his father manifests itself in everything. Through the actions of Manasseh, God’s land is inundated with the atrocities of the heathen nations, which the LORD has driven out before the eyes of His people.
Manasseh quickly undoes all his father’s reforms (2 Chronicles 33:3). It seems that he has made haste with that. What his father has broken down, he rebuilds. The idol altars are erected again. Manasseh surrenders himself with heart and soul to idolatry.
It is getting worse. He even dares to build idol altars in the house of the LORD (2 Chronicles 33:4). With this he grieves the LORD deeply. We hear the pain of the LORD resound in the quote of what He said about His house: “My name shall be in Jerusalem forever.” In the courts of the house of the LORD Manasseh builds altars for all the host of heaven, that are the stars (2 Chronicles 33:5).
And it becomes even crazier. He lets his sons pass through fire, as his grandfather Ahaz did (2 Chronicles 33:6; 2 Chronicles 28:3), and he focuses on occultism. He surrenders to the powers of darkness. This is not limited to a personal activity, but he promotes occultism by dealing with mediums and spiritists.
He does everything he can think of to provoke the LORD to anger. His next action is to put a self-made idol in the house of God (2 Chronicles 33:7). It is in a terrible way contrary to the purpose of God with His home. God expressed Himself clearly to David and Solomon about His house. It is the house where His Name shall dwell forever. But Manasseh doesn’t care about God’s purposes.
A reminder is given of the condition to remain in the land (2 Chronicles 33:8). Manasseh doesn’t mind at all. If he has thought about it at all, he ignores everything God has said. He does not care about God or His commandment. He leads Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem astray, so that they sin worse than the nations the LORD has wiped out of the land (2 Chronicles 33:9). People who confess to belong to God’s people sometimes do things for which unbelievers are ashamed (1 Timothy 5:8; 1 Corinthians 5:1). The history of Manasseh is, in short, that of Israel itself.
Nehemiah 3:6
Introduction
After the revival under Hezekiah which is written about in the previous chapters, there are two more great histories: one of Manasseh and one of Josiah. The first history is that of Manasseh and tells the story of the conversion of an individual human being. In the whole Old Testament there is not a more striking history of conversion than that of Manasseh. The other history is that of Josiah and tells of the reform of an entire nation. In these ‘epilogues’ we see what the grace of God is able to do.
Manasseh King of Judah
Manasseh is born during the fifteen years of extra time Hezekiah received (2 Kings 20:6). When he is twelve years old, he becomes king (2 Chronicles 33:1). Manasseh is an extraordinarily wicked king. The fact that God tolerates him for so long – he reigns no less than fifty-five years, from 697-642 BC – shows the patience of His grace.
Manasseh breaks a double record. No king has ruled as long as he has, and no king has been as wicked as he is. His name means ‘to make forget’. With this he is a model for the people, who also forget God (Jeremiah 2:32). While it is written of his father that “he did right in the sight of the LORD” (2 Chronicles 29:2) it says of Manasseh that “he did evil in the sight of the LORD” (2 Chronicles 33:2). The contrast with his father manifests itself in everything. Through the actions of Manasseh, God’s land is inundated with the atrocities of the heathen nations, which the LORD has driven out before the eyes of His people.
Manasseh quickly undoes all his father’s reforms (2 Chronicles 33:3). It seems that he has made haste with that. What his father has broken down, he rebuilds. The idol altars are erected again. Manasseh surrenders himself with heart and soul to idolatry.
It is getting worse. He even dares to build idol altars in the house of the LORD (2 Chronicles 33:4). With this he grieves the LORD deeply. We hear the pain of the LORD resound in the quote of what He said about His house: “My name shall be in Jerusalem forever.” In the courts of the house of the LORD Manasseh builds altars for all the host of heaven, that are the stars (2 Chronicles 33:5).
And it becomes even crazier. He lets his sons pass through fire, as his grandfather Ahaz did (2 Chronicles 33:6; 2 Chronicles 28:3), and he focuses on occultism. He surrenders to the powers of darkness. This is not limited to a personal activity, but he promotes occultism by dealing with mediums and spiritists.
He does everything he can think of to provoke the LORD to anger. His next action is to put a self-made idol in the house of God (2 Chronicles 33:7). It is in a terrible way contrary to the purpose of God with His home. God expressed Himself clearly to David and Solomon about His house. It is the house where His Name shall dwell forever. But Manasseh doesn’t care about God’s purposes.
A reminder is given of the condition to remain in the land (2 Chronicles 33:8). Manasseh doesn’t mind at all. If he has thought about it at all, he ignores everything God has said. He does not care about God or His commandment. He leads Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem astray, so that they sin worse than the nations the LORD has wiped out of the land (2 Chronicles 33:9). People who confess to belong to God’s people sometimes do things for which unbelievers are ashamed (1 Timothy 5:8; 1 Corinthians 5:1). The history of Manasseh is, in short, that of Israel itself.
Nehemiah 3:7
Manasseh Humbles Himself
The LORD doesn’t remain silent, and speaks to Manasseh through his prophets (2 Chronicles 33:10; 2 Chronicles 33:18; 2 Kings 21:10-15). But Manasseh is not listening. Therefore the LORD has him captured by the commanders of the army of the king of Assyria, whom He sends to Manasseh (2 Chronicles 33:11). Heavily handcuffed he is taken to Babylon, which is still a vassal state of Assyria at the moment.
Now by what has happened to him, Manasseh gets so distressed that he entreats the LORD his God (2 Chronicles 33:12). There is a total change in his attitude toward God. That is conversion. First he does everything to provoke God to anger. Now he tries to appease God. The anger of God was brought upon him by all his atrocities. He cannot earn back God’s favor by doing some good deeds now, but only by humiliating himself deeply before Him. That’s what repentance is. Conversion and repentance belong together.
Manasseh prays to God, and God is moved by his entreaty and hears (2 Chronicles 33:13). That’s God. He listens to the supplications of a penitent sinner. For He has promised that He will listen if a man humbles himself (2 Chronicles 7:14). Then Manasseh returns to Jerusalem, meaning the LORD brings him back there. What happens here with Manasseh will happen with Israel in the future. Israel returns to the land at their national conversion.
Manasseh is not only spared and receives grace himself, but he is also enabled to restore much of what he has previously corrupted (2 Chronicles 33:14-16). He is given the opportunity to show the fruits of his repentance (cf. Luke 3:8-14). He begins by restoring the defense of Jerusalem and the fortified cities of Judah (2 Chronicles 33:14). He builds an outer wall around Jerusalem and put army commanders in all the fortified cities of Judah.
Then he cleanses the house of the LORD which he has so greatly desecrated (2 Chronicles 33:15). What he placed in his rebellion against God in and near the house of the LORD of idols and idolaters, he removes in submission to God. He throws everything outside the city.
After his breaking down of what promotes idolatry, there is room to restore what he in his rebellion against God has broken down from the house of the LORD (2 Chronicles 33:16a). He rebuilds the altar of the LORD. He then brings peace offerings and thank offerings, thereby testifying of his gratitude toward God.
After showing that his conversion is real, he orders Judah to serve the LORD God of Israel (2 Chronicles 33:16b). You can only ask something of someone else if you have set a good example yourself. Manasseh must first prove that he serves the LORD. Now that this is the case, he can also call upon his people with authority to do the same. The Lord Jesus is always and in everything the perfect example. After He has washed the disciples’ feet, He instructs them to wash each other’s feet (John 13:14-15).
Manasseh has been able to undo much of what he introduced of idolatry before his conversion, but not everything (2 Chronicles 33:17; 2 Chronicles 33:22b). We see this also in the history of Josiah who still breaks down a lot (2 Chronicles 34:1-7). The people continue to value the high places in order to sacrifice there. It can be said that they sacrifice only to the LORD their God, but the desire for specially consecrated places remains.
This is also evident in professing Christianity. There may be a desire to honor only the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, but this is often linked to outer things, such as a church building, certain clothing, and candles. As a result, religion becomes more a service to sentiment, feeling, than to God. Today it is often more about how it feels than whether it is true.
Nehemiah 3:8
Manasseh Humbles Himself
The LORD doesn’t remain silent, and speaks to Manasseh through his prophets (2 Chronicles 33:10; 2 Chronicles 33:18; 2 Kings 21:10-15). But Manasseh is not listening. Therefore the LORD has him captured by the commanders of the army of the king of Assyria, whom He sends to Manasseh (2 Chronicles 33:11). Heavily handcuffed he is taken to Babylon, which is still a vassal state of Assyria at the moment.
Now by what has happened to him, Manasseh gets so distressed that he entreats the LORD his God (2 Chronicles 33:12). There is a total change in his attitude toward God. That is conversion. First he does everything to provoke God to anger. Now he tries to appease God. The anger of God was brought upon him by all his atrocities. He cannot earn back God’s favor by doing some good deeds now, but only by humiliating himself deeply before Him. That’s what repentance is. Conversion and repentance belong together.
Manasseh prays to God, and God is moved by his entreaty and hears (2 Chronicles 33:13). That’s God. He listens to the supplications of a penitent sinner. For He has promised that He will listen if a man humbles himself (2 Chronicles 7:14). Then Manasseh returns to Jerusalem, meaning the LORD brings him back there. What happens here with Manasseh will happen with Israel in the future. Israel returns to the land at their national conversion.
Manasseh is not only spared and receives grace himself, but he is also enabled to restore much of what he has previously corrupted (2 Chronicles 33:14-16). He is given the opportunity to show the fruits of his repentance (cf. Luke 3:8-14). He begins by restoring the defense of Jerusalem and the fortified cities of Judah (2 Chronicles 33:14). He builds an outer wall around Jerusalem and put army commanders in all the fortified cities of Judah.
Then he cleanses the house of the LORD which he has so greatly desecrated (2 Chronicles 33:15). What he placed in his rebellion against God in and near the house of the LORD of idols and idolaters, he removes in submission to God. He throws everything outside the city.
After his breaking down of what promotes idolatry, there is room to restore what he in his rebellion against God has broken down from the house of the LORD (2 Chronicles 33:16a). He rebuilds the altar of the LORD. He then brings peace offerings and thank offerings, thereby testifying of his gratitude toward God.
After showing that his conversion is real, he orders Judah to serve the LORD God of Israel (2 Chronicles 33:16b). You can only ask something of someone else if you have set a good example yourself. Manasseh must first prove that he serves the LORD. Now that this is the case, he can also call upon his people with authority to do the same. The Lord Jesus is always and in everything the perfect example. After He has washed the disciples’ feet, He instructs them to wash each other’s feet (John 13:14-15).
Manasseh has been able to undo much of what he introduced of idolatry before his conversion, but not everything (2 Chronicles 33:17; 2 Chronicles 33:22b). We see this also in the history of Josiah who still breaks down a lot (2 Chronicles 34:1-7). The people continue to value the high places in order to sacrifice there. It can be said that they sacrifice only to the LORD their God, but the desire for specially consecrated places remains.
This is also evident in professing Christianity. There may be a desire to honor only the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, but this is often linked to outer things, such as a church building, certain clothing, and candles. As a result, religion becomes more a service to sentiment, feeling, than to God. Today it is often more about how it feels than whether it is true.
Nehemiah 3:9
Manasseh Humbles Himself
The LORD doesn’t remain silent, and speaks to Manasseh through his prophets (2 Chronicles 33:10; 2 Chronicles 33:18; 2 Kings 21:10-15). But Manasseh is not listening. Therefore the LORD has him captured by the commanders of the army of the king of Assyria, whom He sends to Manasseh (2 Chronicles 33:11). Heavily handcuffed he is taken to Babylon, which is still a vassal state of Assyria at the moment.
Now by what has happened to him, Manasseh gets so distressed that he entreats the LORD his God (2 Chronicles 33:12). There is a total change in his attitude toward God. That is conversion. First he does everything to provoke God to anger. Now he tries to appease God. The anger of God was brought upon him by all his atrocities. He cannot earn back God’s favor by doing some good deeds now, but only by humiliating himself deeply before Him. That’s what repentance is. Conversion and repentance belong together.
Manasseh prays to God, and God is moved by his entreaty and hears (2 Chronicles 33:13). That’s God. He listens to the supplications of a penitent sinner. For He has promised that He will listen if a man humbles himself (2 Chronicles 7:14). Then Manasseh returns to Jerusalem, meaning the LORD brings him back there. What happens here with Manasseh will happen with Israel in the future. Israel returns to the land at their national conversion.
Manasseh is not only spared and receives grace himself, but he is also enabled to restore much of what he has previously corrupted (2 Chronicles 33:14-16). He is given the opportunity to show the fruits of his repentance (cf. Luke 3:8-14). He begins by restoring the defense of Jerusalem and the fortified cities of Judah (2 Chronicles 33:14). He builds an outer wall around Jerusalem and put army commanders in all the fortified cities of Judah.
Then he cleanses the house of the LORD which he has so greatly desecrated (2 Chronicles 33:15). What he placed in his rebellion against God in and near the house of the LORD of idols and idolaters, he removes in submission to God. He throws everything outside the city.
After his breaking down of what promotes idolatry, there is room to restore what he in his rebellion against God has broken down from the house of the LORD (2 Chronicles 33:16a). He rebuilds the altar of the LORD. He then brings peace offerings and thank offerings, thereby testifying of his gratitude toward God.
After showing that his conversion is real, he orders Judah to serve the LORD God of Israel (2 Chronicles 33:16b). You can only ask something of someone else if you have set a good example yourself. Manasseh must first prove that he serves the LORD. Now that this is the case, he can also call upon his people with authority to do the same. The Lord Jesus is always and in everything the perfect example. After He has washed the disciples’ feet, He instructs them to wash each other’s feet (John 13:14-15).
Manasseh has been able to undo much of what he introduced of idolatry before his conversion, but not everything (2 Chronicles 33:17; 2 Chronicles 33:22b). We see this also in the history of Josiah who still breaks down a lot (2 Chronicles 34:1-7). The people continue to value the high places in order to sacrifice there. It can be said that they sacrifice only to the LORD their God, but the desire for specially consecrated places remains.
This is also evident in professing Christianity. There may be a desire to honor only the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, but this is often linked to outer things, such as a church building, certain clothing, and candles. As a result, religion becomes more a service to sentiment, feeling, than to God. Today it is often more about how it feels than whether it is true.
Nehemiah 3:10
Manasseh Humbles Himself
The LORD doesn’t remain silent, and speaks to Manasseh through his prophets (2 Chronicles 33:10; 2 Chronicles 33:18; 2 Kings 21:10-15). But Manasseh is not listening. Therefore the LORD has him captured by the commanders of the army of the king of Assyria, whom He sends to Manasseh (2 Chronicles 33:11). Heavily handcuffed he is taken to Babylon, which is still a vassal state of Assyria at the moment.
Now by what has happened to him, Manasseh gets so distressed that he entreats the LORD his God (2 Chronicles 33:12). There is a total change in his attitude toward God. That is conversion. First he does everything to provoke God to anger. Now he tries to appease God. The anger of God was brought upon him by all his atrocities. He cannot earn back God’s favor by doing some good deeds now, but only by humiliating himself deeply before Him. That’s what repentance is. Conversion and repentance belong together.
Manasseh prays to God, and God is moved by his entreaty and hears (2 Chronicles 33:13). That’s God. He listens to the supplications of a penitent sinner. For He has promised that He will listen if a man humbles himself (2 Chronicles 7:14). Then Manasseh returns to Jerusalem, meaning the LORD brings him back there. What happens here with Manasseh will happen with Israel in the future. Israel returns to the land at their national conversion.
Manasseh is not only spared and receives grace himself, but he is also enabled to restore much of what he has previously corrupted (2 Chronicles 33:14-16). He is given the opportunity to show the fruits of his repentance (cf. Luke 3:8-14). He begins by restoring the defense of Jerusalem and the fortified cities of Judah (2 Chronicles 33:14). He builds an outer wall around Jerusalem and put army commanders in all the fortified cities of Judah.
Then he cleanses the house of the LORD which he has so greatly desecrated (2 Chronicles 33:15). What he placed in his rebellion against God in and near the house of the LORD of idols and idolaters, he removes in submission to God. He throws everything outside the city.
After his breaking down of what promotes idolatry, there is room to restore what he in his rebellion against God has broken down from the house of the LORD (2 Chronicles 33:16a). He rebuilds the altar of the LORD. He then brings peace offerings and thank offerings, thereby testifying of his gratitude toward God.
After showing that his conversion is real, he orders Judah to serve the LORD God of Israel (2 Chronicles 33:16b). You can only ask something of someone else if you have set a good example yourself. Manasseh must first prove that he serves the LORD. Now that this is the case, he can also call upon his people with authority to do the same. The Lord Jesus is always and in everything the perfect example. After He has washed the disciples’ feet, He instructs them to wash each other’s feet (John 13:14-15).
Manasseh has been able to undo much of what he introduced of idolatry before his conversion, but not everything (2 Chronicles 33:17; 2 Chronicles 33:22b). We see this also in the history of Josiah who still breaks down a lot (2 Chronicles 34:1-7). The people continue to value the high places in order to sacrifice there. It can be said that they sacrifice only to the LORD their God, but the desire for specially consecrated places remains.
This is also evident in professing Christianity. There may be a desire to honor only the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, but this is often linked to outer things, such as a church building, certain clothing, and candles. As a result, religion becomes more a service to sentiment, feeling, than to God. Today it is often more about how it feels than whether it is true.
Nehemiah 3:11
Manasseh Humbles Himself
The LORD doesn’t remain silent, and speaks to Manasseh through his prophets (2 Chronicles 33:10; 2 Chronicles 33:18; 2 Kings 21:10-15). But Manasseh is not listening. Therefore the LORD has him captured by the commanders of the army of the king of Assyria, whom He sends to Manasseh (2 Chronicles 33:11). Heavily handcuffed he is taken to Babylon, which is still a vassal state of Assyria at the moment.
Now by what has happened to him, Manasseh gets so distressed that he entreats the LORD his God (2 Chronicles 33:12). There is a total change in his attitude toward God. That is conversion. First he does everything to provoke God to anger. Now he tries to appease God. The anger of God was brought upon him by all his atrocities. He cannot earn back God’s favor by doing some good deeds now, but only by humiliating himself deeply before Him. That’s what repentance is. Conversion and repentance belong together.
Manasseh prays to God, and God is moved by his entreaty and hears (2 Chronicles 33:13). That’s God. He listens to the supplications of a penitent sinner. For He has promised that He will listen if a man humbles himself (2 Chronicles 7:14). Then Manasseh returns to Jerusalem, meaning the LORD brings him back there. What happens here with Manasseh will happen with Israel in the future. Israel returns to the land at their national conversion.
Manasseh is not only spared and receives grace himself, but he is also enabled to restore much of what he has previously corrupted (2 Chronicles 33:14-16). He is given the opportunity to show the fruits of his repentance (cf. Luke 3:8-14). He begins by restoring the defense of Jerusalem and the fortified cities of Judah (2 Chronicles 33:14). He builds an outer wall around Jerusalem and put army commanders in all the fortified cities of Judah.
Then he cleanses the house of the LORD which he has so greatly desecrated (2 Chronicles 33:15). What he placed in his rebellion against God in and near the house of the LORD of idols and idolaters, he removes in submission to God. He throws everything outside the city.
After his breaking down of what promotes idolatry, there is room to restore what he in his rebellion against God has broken down from the house of the LORD (2 Chronicles 33:16a). He rebuilds the altar of the LORD. He then brings peace offerings and thank offerings, thereby testifying of his gratitude toward God.
After showing that his conversion is real, he orders Judah to serve the LORD God of Israel (2 Chronicles 33:16b). You can only ask something of someone else if you have set a good example yourself. Manasseh must first prove that he serves the LORD. Now that this is the case, he can also call upon his people with authority to do the same. The Lord Jesus is always and in everything the perfect example. After He has washed the disciples’ feet, He instructs them to wash each other’s feet (John 13:14-15).
Manasseh has been able to undo much of what he introduced of idolatry before his conversion, but not everything (2 Chronicles 33:17; 2 Chronicles 33:22b). We see this also in the history of Josiah who still breaks down a lot (2 Chronicles 34:1-7). The people continue to value the high places in order to sacrifice there. It can be said that they sacrifice only to the LORD their God, but the desire for specially consecrated places remains.
This is also evident in professing Christianity. There may be a desire to honor only the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, but this is often linked to outer things, such as a church building, certain clothing, and candles. As a result, religion becomes more a service to sentiment, feeling, than to God. Today it is often more about how it feels than whether it is true.
Nehemiah 3:12
Manasseh Humbles Himself
The LORD doesn’t remain silent, and speaks to Manasseh through his prophets (2 Chronicles 33:10; 2 Chronicles 33:18; 2 Kings 21:10-15). But Manasseh is not listening. Therefore the LORD has him captured by the commanders of the army of the king of Assyria, whom He sends to Manasseh (2 Chronicles 33:11). Heavily handcuffed he is taken to Babylon, which is still a vassal state of Assyria at the moment.
Now by what has happened to him, Manasseh gets so distressed that he entreats the LORD his God (2 Chronicles 33:12). There is a total change in his attitude toward God. That is conversion. First he does everything to provoke God to anger. Now he tries to appease God. The anger of God was brought upon him by all his atrocities. He cannot earn back God’s favor by doing some good deeds now, but only by humiliating himself deeply before Him. That’s what repentance is. Conversion and repentance belong together.
Manasseh prays to God, and God is moved by his entreaty and hears (2 Chronicles 33:13). That’s God. He listens to the supplications of a penitent sinner. For He has promised that He will listen if a man humbles himself (2 Chronicles 7:14). Then Manasseh returns to Jerusalem, meaning the LORD brings him back there. What happens here with Manasseh will happen with Israel in the future. Israel returns to the land at their national conversion.
Manasseh is not only spared and receives grace himself, but he is also enabled to restore much of what he has previously corrupted (2 Chronicles 33:14-16). He is given the opportunity to show the fruits of his repentance (cf. Luke 3:8-14). He begins by restoring the defense of Jerusalem and the fortified cities of Judah (2 Chronicles 33:14). He builds an outer wall around Jerusalem and put army commanders in all the fortified cities of Judah.
Then he cleanses the house of the LORD which he has so greatly desecrated (2 Chronicles 33:15). What he placed in his rebellion against God in and near the house of the LORD of idols and idolaters, he removes in submission to God. He throws everything outside the city.
After his breaking down of what promotes idolatry, there is room to restore what he in his rebellion against God has broken down from the house of the LORD (2 Chronicles 33:16a). He rebuilds the altar of the LORD. He then brings peace offerings and thank offerings, thereby testifying of his gratitude toward God.
After showing that his conversion is real, he orders Judah to serve the LORD God of Israel (2 Chronicles 33:16b). You can only ask something of someone else if you have set a good example yourself. Manasseh must first prove that he serves the LORD. Now that this is the case, he can also call upon his people with authority to do the same. The Lord Jesus is always and in everything the perfect example. After He has washed the disciples’ feet, He instructs them to wash each other’s feet (John 13:14-15).
Manasseh has been able to undo much of what he introduced of idolatry before his conversion, but not everything (2 Chronicles 33:17; 2 Chronicles 33:22b). We see this also in the history of Josiah who still breaks down a lot (2 Chronicles 34:1-7). The people continue to value the high places in order to sacrifice there. It can be said that they sacrifice only to the LORD their God, but the desire for specially consecrated places remains.
This is also evident in professing Christianity. There may be a desire to honor only the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, but this is often linked to outer things, such as a church building, certain clothing, and candles. As a result, religion becomes more a service to sentiment, feeling, than to God. Today it is often more about how it feels than whether it is true.
Nehemiah 3:13
Manasseh Humbles Himself
The LORD doesn’t remain silent, and speaks to Manasseh through his prophets (2 Chronicles 33:10; 2 Chronicles 33:18; 2 Kings 21:10-15). But Manasseh is not listening. Therefore the LORD has him captured by the commanders of the army of the king of Assyria, whom He sends to Manasseh (2 Chronicles 33:11). Heavily handcuffed he is taken to Babylon, which is still a vassal state of Assyria at the moment.
Now by what has happened to him, Manasseh gets so distressed that he entreats the LORD his God (2 Chronicles 33:12). There is a total change in his attitude toward God. That is conversion. First he does everything to provoke God to anger. Now he tries to appease God. The anger of God was brought upon him by all his atrocities. He cannot earn back God’s favor by doing some good deeds now, but only by humiliating himself deeply before Him. That’s what repentance is. Conversion and repentance belong together.
Manasseh prays to God, and God is moved by his entreaty and hears (2 Chronicles 33:13). That’s God. He listens to the supplications of a penitent sinner. For He has promised that He will listen if a man humbles himself (2 Chronicles 7:14). Then Manasseh returns to Jerusalem, meaning the LORD brings him back there. What happens here with Manasseh will happen with Israel in the future. Israel returns to the land at their national conversion.
Manasseh is not only spared and receives grace himself, but he is also enabled to restore much of what he has previously corrupted (2 Chronicles 33:14-16). He is given the opportunity to show the fruits of his repentance (cf. Luke 3:8-14). He begins by restoring the defense of Jerusalem and the fortified cities of Judah (2 Chronicles 33:14). He builds an outer wall around Jerusalem and put army commanders in all the fortified cities of Judah.
Then he cleanses the house of the LORD which he has so greatly desecrated (2 Chronicles 33:15). What he placed in his rebellion against God in and near the house of the LORD of idols and idolaters, he removes in submission to God. He throws everything outside the city.
After his breaking down of what promotes idolatry, there is room to restore what he in his rebellion against God has broken down from the house of the LORD (2 Chronicles 33:16a). He rebuilds the altar of the LORD. He then brings peace offerings and thank offerings, thereby testifying of his gratitude toward God.
After showing that his conversion is real, he orders Judah to serve the LORD God of Israel (2 Chronicles 33:16b). You can only ask something of someone else if you have set a good example yourself. Manasseh must first prove that he serves the LORD. Now that this is the case, he can also call upon his people with authority to do the same. The Lord Jesus is always and in everything the perfect example. After He has washed the disciples’ feet, He instructs them to wash each other’s feet (John 13:14-15).
Manasseh has been able to undo much of what he introduced of idolatry before his conversion, but not everything (2 Chronicles 33:17; 2 Chronicles 33:22b). We see this also in the history of Josiah who still breaks down a lot (2 Chronicles 34:1-7). The people continue to value the high places in order to sacrifice there. It can be said that they sacrifice only to the LORD their God, but the desire for specially consecrated places remains.
This is also evident in professing Christianity. There may be a desire to honor only the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, but this is often linked to outer things, such as a church building, certain clothing, and candles. As a result, religion becomes more a service to sentiment, feeling, than to God. Today it is often more about how it feels than whether it is true.
Nehemiah 3:14
Manasseh Humbles Himself
The LORD doesn’t remain silent, and speaks to Manasseh through his prophets (2 Chronicles 33:10; 2 Chronicles 33:18; 2 Kings 21:10-15). But Manasseh is not listening. Therefore the LORD has him captured by the commanders of the army of the king of Assyria, whom He sends to Manasseh (2 Chronicles 33:11). Heavily handcuffed he is taken to Babylon, which is still a vassal state of Assyria at the moment.
Now by what has happened to him, Manasseh gets so distressed that he entreats the LORD his God (2 Chronicles 33:12). There is a total change in his attitude toward God. That is conversion. First he does everything to provoke God to anger. Now he tries to appease God. The anger of God was brought upon him by all his atrocities. He cannot earn back God’s favor by doing some good deeds now, but only by humiliating himself deeply before Him. That’s what repentance is. Conversion and repentance belong together.
Manasseh prays to God, and God is moved by his entreaty and hears (2 Chronicles 33:13). That’s God. He listens to the supplications of a penitent sinner. For He has promised that He will listen if a man humbles himself (2 Chronicles 7:14). Then Manasseh returns to Jerusalem, meaning the LORD brings him back there. What happens here with Manasseh will happen with Israel in the future. Israel returns to the land at their national conversion.
Manasseh is not only spared and receives grace himself, but he is also enabled to restore much of what he has previously corrupted (2 Chronicles 33:14-16). He is given the opportunity to show the fruits of his repentance (cf. Luke 3:8-14). He begins by restoring the defense of Jerusalem and the fortified cities of Judah (2 Chronicles 33:14). He builds an outer wall around Jerusalem and put army commanders in all the fortified cities of Judah.
Then he cleanses the house of the LORD which he has so greatly desecrated (2 Chronicles 33:15). What he placed in his rebellion against God in and near the house of the LORD of idols and idolaters, he removes in submission to God. He throws everything outside the city.
After his breaking down of what promotes idolatry, there is room to restore what he in his rebellion against God has broken down from the house of the LORD (2 Chronicles 33:16a). He rebuilds the altar of the LORD. He then brings peace offerings and thank offerings, thereby testifying of his gratitude toward God.
After showing that his conversion is real, he orders Judah to serve the LORD God of Israel (2 Chronicles 33:16b). You can only ask something of someone else if you have set a good example yourself. Manasseh must first prove that he serves the LORD. Now that this is the case, he can also call upon his people with authority to do the same. The Lord Jesus is always and in everything the perfect example. After He has washed the disciples’ feet, He instructs them to wash each other’s feet (John 13:14-15).
Manasseh has been able to undo much of what he introduced of idolatry before his conversion, but not everything (2 Chronicles 33:17; 2 Chronicles 33:22b). We see this also in the history of Josiah who still breaks down a lot (2 Chronicles 34:1-7). The people continue to value the high places in order to sacrifice there. It can be said that they sacrifice only to the LORD their God, but the desire for specially consecrated places remains.
This is also evident in professing Christianity. There may be a desire to honor only the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, but this is often linked to outer things, such as a church building, certain clothing, and candles. As a result, religion becomes more a service to sentiment, feeling, than to God. Today it is often more about how it feels than whether it is true.
Nehemiah 3:15
The Death of Manasseh
As for the rest of Manasseh’s acts, the chronicler refers to other documents. The first document is ”the records of the kings of Israel”. It contains “his prayer to his God” (2 Chronicles 33:18). It also contains “the words of the seers who spoke to him in the name of the LORD God of Israel”. The prayer of Manasseh to God and the words of God to Manasseh are recorded. These two, the prayer and the Word of God, form the life of a man in his relationship to God.
The second document is “the records of the Hozai” or “the records of the seers” (2 Chronicles 33:19). It contains, as in the document mentioned above, “his prayer”. The fact that his prayer is mentioned twice – together with the mention in this chapter (2 Chronicles 33:13) three times in total – shows how important God considers his prayer to be. This is underlined by the remark “[how God] was entreated by him”. It is not about the fact alone, that God was entreated by him, but it says how God was entreated by him. This indicates more the way Manasseh has prayed and God’s benevolent acceptance of his prayer.
However, the second document also contains “all his sin, his unfaithfulness, and the sites on which he built high places and erected the Asherim and the carved images, before he humbled himself”. Manasseh has set the pen of the historians in motion. There is a lot to tell about him, both for good and for evil.
What is so encouraging of the account we have of the conversion of Manasseh in holy Scripture is that no sinner needs to despair. Conversion is possible for the greatest sinner. At the same time, every sinner must be aware that a precise record is being made of all the deeds he has done. This also happens with all the words that people have spoken to him in the Name of the Lord to address him about his sins. If repentance does not come, all this will testify against him before the great white throne (Revelation 20:11-15).
The final remark of the chronicler about Manasseh is about his death (2 Chronicles 33:20). When he dies, he is buried in his house, which means in the garden of his house (2 Kings 21:18). It is not clear why he is not buried with his fathers. His son Amon succeeds him as king.
Nehemiah 3:16
The Death of Manasseh
As for the rest of Manasseh’s acts, the chronicler refers to other documents. The first document is ”the records of the kings of Israel”. It contains “his prayer to his God” (2 Chronicles 33:18). It also contains “the words of the seers who spoke to him in the name of the LORD God of Israel”. The prayer of Manasseh to God and the words of God to Manasseh are recorded. These two, the prayer and the Word of God, form the life of a man in his relationship to God.
The second document is “the records of the Hozai” or “the records of the seers” (2 Chronicles 33:19). It contains, as in the document mentioned above, “his prayer”. The fact that his prayer is mentioned twice – together with the mention in this chapter (2 Chronicles 33:13) three times in total – shows how important God considers his prayer to be. This is underlined by the remark “[how God] was entreated by him”. It is not about the fact alone, that God was entreated by him, but it says how God was entreated by him. This indicates more the way Manasseh has prayed and God’s benevolent acceptance of his prayer.
However, the second document also contains “all his sin, his unfaithfulness, and the sites on which he built high places and erected the Asherim and the carved images, before he humbled himself”. Manasseh has set the pen of the historians in motion. There is a lot to tell about him, both for good and for evil.
What is so encouraging of the account we have of the conversion of Manasseh in holy Scripture is that no sinner needs to despair. Conversion is possible for the greatest sinner. At the same time, every sinner must be aware that a precise record is being made of all the deeds he has done. This also happens with all the words that people have spoken to him in the Name of the Lord to address him about his sins. If repentance does not come, all this will testify against him before the great white throne (Revelation 20:11-15).
The final remark of the chronicler about Manasseh is about his death (2 Chronicles 33:20). When he dies, he is buried in his house, which means in the garden of his house (2 Kings 21:18). It is not clear why he is not buried with his fathers. His son Amon succeeds him as king.
Nehemiah 3:17
The Death of Manasseh
As for the rest of Manasseh’s acts, the chronicler refers to other documents. The first document is ”the records of the kings of Israel”. It contains “his prayer to his God” (2 Chronicles 33:18). It also contains “the words of the seers who spoke to him in the name of the LORD God of Israel”. The prayer of Manasseh to God and the words of God to Manasseh are recorded. These two, the prayer and the Word of God, form the life of a man in his relationship to God.
The second document is “the records of the Hozai” or “the records of the seers” (2 Chronicles 33:19). It contains, as in the document mentioned above, “his prayer”. The fact that his prayer is mentioned twice – together with the mention in this chapter (2 Chronicles 33:13) three times in total – shows how important God considers his prayer to be. This is underlined by the remark “[how God] was entreated by him”. It is not about the fact alone, that God was entreated by him, but it says how God was entreated by him. This indicates more the way Manasseh has prayed and God’s benevolent acceptance of his prayer.
However, the second document also contains “all his sin, his unfaithfulness, and the sites on which he built high places and erected the Asherim and the carved images, before he humbled himself”. Manasseh has set the pen of the historians in motion. There is a lot to tell about him, both for good and for evil.
What is so encouraging of the account we have of the conversion of Manasseh in holy Scripture is that no sinner needs to despair. Conversion is possible for the greatest sinner. At the same time, every sinner must be aware that a precise record is being made of all the deeds he has done. This also happens with all the words that people have spoken to him in the Name of the Lord to address him about his sins. If repentance does not come, all this will testify against him before the great white throne (Revelation 20:11-15).
The final remark of the chronicler about Manasseh is about his death (2 Chronicles 33:20). When he dies, he is buried in his house, which means in the garden of his house (2 Kings 21:18). It is not clear why he is not buried with his fathers. His son Amon succeeds him as king.
Nehemiah 3:18
Amon King of Judah
Amon, the son of Manasseh, becomes king when he is twenty-two years old (2 Chronicles 33:21). He reigns only two years in Jerusalem. That is enough to get to know him as one to whom the general characteristic of the kings of Israel applies: “He did evil in the sight of the LORD” (2 Chronicles 33:22). He shows that he learned nothing from his father’s conversion. He does the sins that his father did before his conversion.
He sacrifices to the idols his father made. Perhaps Manasseh did remove the idols in his restoration, but did not destroy them. It may be that there have been so many of them that he has not been able to destroy them all. Sometimes we can’t undo everything we’ve done wrong in earlier years.
Amon follows his father in evil and not in good. He does not humiliate himself as his father has humiliated himself (2 Chronicles 33:23). As a result, he makes his guilt even greater. It says emphatically “Amon” does it. It is this Amon, the man who occupies such a privileged and at the same time responsible place in God’s people.
Amon does not die a natural death. He is the victim of a conspiracy of his servants, who kill him in his own house (2 Chronicles 33:24). Unlike Manasseh, he is not given the opportunity to convert later in his life. No one knows the day of his death. It is therefore important to tell people that every day can be the last and that conversion should not be postponed until tomorrow.
God uses the sense of justice of the people of the land to prevent the land from sinking into anarchy. The people of the land act according to the law and kill the conspirators (2 Chronicles 33:25). Then they make the son of Amon, Josiah, king instead of his father.
Nehemiah 3:19
Amon King of Judah
Amon, the son of Manasseh, becomes king when he is twenty-two years old (2 Chronicles 33:21). He reigns only two years in Jerusalem. That is enough to get to know him as one to whom the general characteristic of the kings of Israel applies: “He did evil in the sight of the LORD” (2 Chronicles 33:22). He shows that he learned nothing from his father’s conversion. He does the sins that his father did before his conversion.
He sacrifices to the idols his father made. Perhaps Manasseh did remove the idols in his restoration, but did not destroy them. It may be that there have been so many of them that he has not been able to destroy them all. Sometimes we can’t undo everything we’ve done wrong in earlier years.
Amon follows his father in evil and not in good. He does not humiliate himself as his father has humiliated himself (2 Chronicles 33:23). As a result, he makes his guilt even greater. It says emphatically “Amon” does it. It is this Amon, the man who occupies such a privileged and at the same time responsible place in God’s people.
Amon does not die a natural death. He is the victim of a conspiracy of his servants, who kill him in his own house (2 Chronicles 33:24). Unlike Manasseh, he is not given the opportunity to convert later in his life. No one knows the day of his death. It is therefore important to tell people that every day can be the last and that conversion should not be postponed until tomorrow.
God uses the sense of justice of the people of the land to prevent the land from sinking into anarchy. The people of the land act according to the law and kill the conspirators (2 Chronicles 33:25). Then they make the son of Amon, Josiah, king instead of his father.
Nehemiah 3:20
Amon King of Judah
Amon, the son of Manasseh, becomes king when he is twenty-two years old (2 Chronicles 33:21). He reigns only two years in Jerusalem. That is enough to get to know him as one to whom the general characteristic of the kings of Israel applies: “He did evil in the sight of the LORD” (2 Chronicles 33:22). He shows that he learned nothing from his father’s conversion. He does the sins that his father did before his conversion.
He sacrifices to the idols his father made. Perhaps Manasseh did remove the idols in his restoration, but did not destroy them. It may be that there have been so many of them that he has not been able to destroy them all. Sometimes we can’t undo everything we’ve done wrong in earlier years.
Amon follows his father in evil and not in good. He does not humiliate himself as his father has humiliated himself (2 Chronicles 33:23). As a result, he makes his guilt even greater. It says emphatically “Amon” does it. It is this Amon, the man who occupies such a privileged and at the same time responsible place in God’s people.
Amon does not die a natural death. He is the victim of a conspiracy of his servants, who kill him in his own house (2 Chronicles 33:24). Unlike Manasseh, he is not given the opportunity to convert later in his life. No one knows the day of his death. It is therefore important to tell people that every day can be the last and that conversion should not be postponed until tomorrow.
God uses the sense of justice of the people of the land to prevent the land from sinking into anarchy. The people of the land act according to the law and kill the conspirators (2 Chronicles 33:25). Then they make the son of Amon, Josiah, king instead of his father.
Nehemiah 3:21
Amon King of Judah
Amon, the son of Manasseh, becomes king when he is twenty-two years old (2 Chronicles 33:21). He reigns only two years in Jerusalem. That is enough to get to know him as one to whom the general characteristic of the kings of Israel applies: “He did evil in the sight of the LORD” (2 Chronicles 33:22). He shows that he learned nothing from his father’s conversion. He does the sins that his father did before his conversion.
He sacrifices to the idols his father made. Perhaps Manasseh did remove the idols in his restoration, but did not destroy them. It may be that there have been so many of them that he has not been able to destroy them all. Sometimes we can’t undo everything we’ve done wrong in earlier years.
Amon follows his father in evil and not in good. He does not humiliate himself as his father has humiliated himself (2 Chronicles 33:23). As a result, he makes his guilt even greater. It says emphatically “Amon” does it. It is this Amon, the man who occupies such a privileged and at the same time responsible place in God’s people.
Amon does not die a natural death. He is the victim of a conspiracy of his servants, who kill him in his own house (2 Chronicles 33:24). Unlike Manasseh, he is not given the opportunity to convert later in his life. No one knows the day of his death. It is therefore important to tell people that every day can be the last and that conversion should not be postponed until tomorrow.
God uses the sense of justice of the people of the land to prevent the land from sinking into anarchy. The people of the land act according to the law and kill the conspirators (2 Chronicles 33:25). Then they make the son of Amon, Josiah, king instead of his father.
Nehemiah 3:22
Amon King of Judah
Amon, the son of Manasseh, becomes king when he is twenty-two years old (2 Chronicles 33:21). He reigns only two years in Jerusalem. That is enough to get to know him as one to whom the general characteristic of the kings of Israel applies: “He did evil in the sight of the LORD” (2 Chronicles 33:22). He shows that he learned nothing from his father’s conversion. He does the sins that his father did before his conversion.
He sacrifices to the idols his father made. Perhaps Manasseh did remove the idols in his restoration, but did not destroy them. It may be that there have been so many of them that he has not been able to destroy them all. Sometimes we can’t undo everything we’ve done wrong in earlier years.
Amon follows his father in evil and not in good. He does not humiliate himself as his father has humiliated himself (2 Chronicles 33:23). As a result, he makes his guilt even greater. It says emphatically “Amon” does it. It is this Amon, the man who occupies such a privileged and at the same time responsible place in God’s people.
Amon does not die a natural death. He is the victim of a conspiracy of his servants, who kill him in his own house (2 Chronicles 33:24). Unlike Manasseh, he is not given the opportunity to convert later in his life. No one knows the day of his death. It is therefore important to tell people that every day can be the last and that conversion should not be postponed until tomorrow.
God uses the sense of justice of the people of the land to prevent the land from sinking into anarchy. The people of the land act according to the law and kill the conspirators (2 Chronicles 33:25). Then they make the son of Amon, Josiah, king instead of his father.
Nehemiah 3:24
Introduction
What characterizes the revival under Josiah is the great emphasis on the Word of God. The book of the law, the Word of God, is rediscovered. This causes a great shock to Josiah. We can see that in the Reformation, which creates the break with Rome. Despite the Reformation, much remains that is contrary to Scripture. A new Reformation is needed, for their “deeds” are “not found … completed” (Revelation 3:2).
Josiah King of Judah
Josiah, when he is only eight years old, becomes king in place of his wicked father Amon (2 Chronicles 34:1). It is a great miracle that a boy like Josiah grows up in the house of the wicked Amon. However, in the first years of his reign everything will have remained in the line of his wicked father, because he is still too young to do anything himself. Yet from an early age he grew up in the things of the LORD.
Being young and dwelling in or being interested in the sanctuary are more often found together in Scripture. We see this for example also with Joshua, Samuel and Solomon. In Josiah we see a sensitive heart that is subject to the Word and a conscience that takes into account the thoughts and the will of God.
Josiah means ‘supported by the LORD’ or ‘for whom the LORD cares’ or ‘given by the LORD’. He reigned thirty-one years, from 640-609 BC. That is in the end time of Judah, eight hundred years after Moses and four hundred years after David. As said, his father, Amon, was a wicked man. Possibly Josiah has only experienced his grandfather Manasseh in his good times and that this contributed to a blessing in his life. Besides his mother, Timothy also owes much to his grandmother (2 Timothy 1:5). Grandparents can contribute substantially to the development of their grandchildren.
The general characteristic of his life is that he does what is right in the sight of the LORD (2 Chronicles 34:2). The LORD looks at him with pleasure. Here He sees one who reminds Him of David, the man after His heart. No spiritual helper is mentioned, as once with Joash (2 Chronicles 24:5). It seems that Josiah has a personal relationship with God.
A child who becomes king is not directly a proof of God’s grace, but rather a judgment about the faithlessness of the people (Ecclesiastes 10:16a; Isaiah 3:4). However, if God gives a wise child, it is better “than an old and foolish king who no longer knows [how] to receive instruction” (Ecclesiastes 4:13). Josiah is such a wise child. He is wise because he fears the LORD.
His walk is compared to that of his father David, as is also mentioned of Hezekiah (2 Chronicles 29:2). He is balanced in his faith and serving the LORD. He does “not turn aside to the right or to the left” (Deuteronomy 5:32). It is always a great danger for every child of God that he deviates either to the right or to the left.
We deviate to the right when we apply the truth of God’s Word without love; we deviate to the left when we only talk about love without applying the truth of God’s Word. It is important that we have a walk in which we do not fall into sectarian narrow-mindedness on the one hand, which is to deviate to the right, and carnal freedom on the other hand, which is to deviate to the left.
In the eighth year of his reign (2 Chronicles 34:3a), he is then sixteen years old, he makes the personal choice to seek the God of his father David. The childhood years are then over. There is growth to adulthood. At the important age of sixteen he begins to seek God. He does not seek God as a sinner, but as someone who consciously wants to involve Him in all his activities.
First Josiah walks in the ways of his father David (2 Chronicles 34:2). Now he begins to seek the God of his father David. With young people it is first the example that makes them walk, then they look for the source of strength for that walk. The example of David refers Josiah to God. Thus, the walk of the elders must refer to the Lord Jesus. Then young people will not go looking for the elderly, but for Him.
In the twelfth year of his reign (2 Chronicles 34:3b), when he is twenty, he begins to clean up. This is probably not possible earlier because of his dependence on others. When he begins the cleansing of the land, the book of the law has not yet been found. This indicates that someone who lives with the Lord has the desire that things are in agreement with Him. Conscience is then exercised in His presence and feels what is right, without an explicit word from God’s Word. What happens, however, is completely in agreement with it.
Then the Holy Spirit gives an account of the courageous deeds of Josiah (2 Chronicles 34:4-7). Josiah wants to cleanse Jerusalem and Judah from places that express contempt for the center God has chosen. He will be surrounded by people who cannot appreciate his work. In any case, he will not receive much support. And although the people do not oppose him, their hearts are not with him either. It is a work of individual faith.
The variety of objects that Josiah destroys (2 Chronicles 34:4) gives an impression of the arsenal of deceptions that satan has to make God’s people unfaithful to their God. Often we, too, have to tidy up several things from our lives in order to make room again for the Lord Jesus. If one form of evil has entered our lives, it provides an opening for other forms of evil.
Josiah seeks God first, then he goes to work. It is important for young believers to have a relationship with the Lord Jesus in secret and to be taught and brought up by Him. Only when this is present an open task can be performed. First the roots must be driven deep into the Word of God, then the growth and the bearing of fruit will come. This is what Josiah needs, because he has an enormous work to do.
In Hezekiah this cleansing takes place at the end of his reign as the consequence of the inner cleansing. Josiah begins with the outer cleansing. Thereby he proceeds more thoroughly than his grandfather Manasseh after his conversion, for he not only breaks but also pulverizes. He destroys everything that is contrary to God’s statute that there is only one altar, His altar, and that there is only one house, His house. These are things that tolerate no competition. There is no compromise in holy things to Josiah.
He sprinkles the ashes of the idols upon the graves of the idolaters. It is an example that when someone dies, his works follow him in judgment (cf. 1 Timothy 5:24; cf. Revelation 14:13). It is not over with death. By burning the bones of the priests on the altar (2 Chronicles 34:5) he fulfills the prophecy of the man of God from Judah (1 Kings 13:2).
The second phase of his cleansing is that he even goes to cities of the ten tribes (2 Chronicles 34:6), while those tribes have already been deported. Only a handful of people will live there. However, for him it is also the holy land. He breaks all the incense altars “throughout the land of Israel” (2 Chronicles 34:7). It speaks of cleansing the whole personal, daily life.
In addition, we see that, just as with Hezekiah, every sectarian thought is strange to him. For us, New Testament believers, the unity of the church, the one body, is the starting point of coming together and living together. That foundation is not limited to those who think alike, but is for everyone who belongs to the church. Josiah has a message for the whole people, not just for Judah. Whom we can still reach with God’s Word, we may show what that Word says about the church.
Josiah does not come with a message that feels good. He comes to eradicate the altars! He doesn’t come with a cheap message. He comes to tell them what is contrary to God’s Word. He tells them all this, even though he doesn’t have a Bible, because the Bible won’t be found until later. Yet he can tell them all this because he is aware of God’s holiness.
Nehemiah 3:25
Introduction
What characterizes the revival under Josiah is the great emphasis on the Word of God. The book of the law, the Word of God, is rediscovered. This causes a great shock to Josiah. We can see that in the Reformation, which creates the break with Rome. Despite the Reformation, much remains that is contrary to Scripture. A new Reformation is needed, for their “deeds” are “not found … completed” (Revelation 3:2).
Josiah King of Judah
Josiah, when he is only eight years old, becomes king in place of his wicked father Amon (2 Chronicles 34:1). It is a great miracle that a boy like Josiah grows up in the house of the wicked Amon. However, in the first years of his reign everything will have remained in the line of his wicked father, because he is still too young to do anything himself. Yet from an early age he grew up in the things of the LORD.
Being young and dwelling in or being interested in the sanctuary are more often found together in Scripture. We see this for example also with Joshua, Samuel and Solomon. In Josiah we see a sensitive heart that is subject to the Word and a conscience that takes into account the thoughts and the will of God.
Josiah means ‘supported by the LORD’ or ‘for whom the LORD cares’ or ‘given by the LORD’. He reigned thirty-one years, from 640-609 BC. That is in the end time of Judah, eight hundred years after Moses and four hundred years after David. As said, his father, Amon, was a wicked man. Possibly Josiah has only experienced his grandfather Manasseh in his good times and that this contributed to a blessing in his life. Besides his mother, Timothy also owes much to his grandmother (2 Timothy 1:5). Grandparents can contribute substantially to the development of their grandchildren.
The general characteristic of his life is that he does what is right in the sight of the LORD (2 Chronicles 34:2). The LORD looks at him with pleasure. Here He sees one who reminds Him of David, the man after His heart. No spiritual helper is mentioned, as once with Joash (2 Chronicles 24:5). It seems that Josiah has a personal relationship with God.
A child who becomes king is not directly a proof of God’s grace, but rather a judgment about the faithlessness of the people (Ecclesiastes 10:16a; Isaiah 3:4). However, if God gives a wise child, it is better “than an old and foolish king who no longer knows [how] to receive instruction” (Ecclesiastes 4:13). Josiah is such a wise child. He is wise because he fears the LORD.
His walk is compared to that of his father David, as is also mentioned of Hezekiah (2 Chronicles 29:2). He is balanced in his faith and serving the LORD. He does “not turn aside to the right or to the left” (Deuteronomy 5:32). It is always a great danger for every child of God that he deviates either to the right or to the left.
We deviate to the right when we apply the truth of God’s Word without love; we deviate to the left when we only talk about love without applying the truth of God’s Word. It is important that we have a walk in which we do not fall into sectarian narrow-mindedness on the one hand, which is to deviate to the right, and carnal freedom on the other hand, which is to deviate to the left.
In the eighth year of his reign (2 Chronicles 34:3a), he is then sixteen years old, he makes the personal choice to seek the God of his father David. The childhood years are then over. There is growth to adulthood. At the important age of sixteen he begins to seek God. He does not seek God as a sinner, but as someone who consciously wants to involve Him in all his activities.
First Josiah walks in the ways of his father David (2 Chronicles 34:2). Now he begins to seek the God of his father David. With young people it is first the example that makes them walk, then they look for the source of strength for that walk. The example of David refers Josiah to God. Thus, the walk of the elders must refer to the Lord Jesus. Then young people will not go looking for the elderly, but for Him.
In the twelfth year of his reign (2 Chronicles 34:3b), when he is twenty, he begins to clean up. This is probably not possible earlier because of his dependence on others. When he begins the cleansing of the land, the book of the law has not yet been found. This indicates that someone who lives with the Lord has the desire that things are in agreement with Him. Conscience is then exercised in His presence and feels what is right, without an explicit word from God’s Word. What happens, however, is completely in agreement with it.
Then the Holy Spirit gives an account of the courageous deeds of Josiah (2 Chronicles 34:4-7). Josiah wants to cleanse Jerusalem and Judah from places that express contempt for the center God has chosen. He will be surrounded by people who cannot appreciate his work. In any case, he will not receive much support. And although the people do not oppose him, their hearts are not with him either. It is a work of individual faith.
The variety of objects that Josiah destroys (2 Chronicles 34:4) gives an impression of the arsenal of deceptions that satan has to make God’s people unfaithful to their God. Often we, too, have to tidy up several things from our lives in order to make room again for the Lord Jesus. If one form of evil has entered our lives, it provides an opening for other forms of evil.
Josiah seeks God first, then he goes to work. It is important for young believers to have a relationship with the Lord Jesus in secret and to be taught and brought up by Him. Only when this is present an open task can be performed. First the roots must be driven deep into the Word of God, then the growth and the bearing of fruit will come. This is what Josiah needs, because he has an enormous work to do.
In Hezekiah this cleansing takes place at the end of his reign as the consequence of the inner cleansing. Josiah begins with the outer cleansing. Thereby he proceeds more thoroughly than his grandfather Manasseh after his conversion, for he not only breaks but also pulverizes. He destroys everything that is contrary to God’s statute that there is only one altar, His altar, and that there is only one house, His house. These are things that tolerate no competition. There is no compromise in holy things to Josiah.
He sprinkles the ashes of the idols upon the graves of the idolaters. It is an example that when someone dies, his works follow him in judgment (cf. 1 Timothy 5:24; cf. Revelation 14:13). It is not over with death. By burning the bones of the priests on the altar (2 Chronicles 34:5) he fulfills the prophecy of the man of God from Judah (1 Kings 13:2).
The second phase of his cleansing is that he even goes to cities of the ten tribes (2 Chronicles 34:6), while those tribes have already been deported. Only a handful of people will live there. However, for him it is also the holy land. He breaks all the incense altars “throughout the land of Israel” (2 Chronicles 34:7). It speaks of cleansing the whole personal, daily life.
In addition, we see that, just as with Hezekiah, every sectarian thought is strange to him. For us, New Testament believers, the unity of the church, the one body, is the starting point of coming together and living together. That foundation is not limited to those who think alike, but is for everyone who belongs to the church. Josiah has a message for the whole people, not just for Judah. Whom we can still reach with God’s Word, we may show what that Word says about the church.
Josiah does not come with a message that feels good. He comes to eradicate the altars! He doesn’t come with a cheap message. He comes to tell them what is contrary to God’s Word. He tells them all this, even though he doesn’t have a Bible, because the Bible won’t be found until later. Yet he can tell them all this because he is aware of God’s holiness.
Nehemiah 3:26
Introduction
What characterizes the revival under Josiah is the great emphasis on the Word of God. The book of the law, the Word of God, is rediscovered. This causes a great shock to Josiah. We can see that in the Reformation, which creates the break with Rome. Despite the Reformation, much remains that is contrary to Scripture. A new Reformation is needed, for their “deeds” are “not found … completed” (Revelation 3:2).
Josiah King of Judah
Josiah, when he is only eight years old, becomes king in place of his wicked father Amon (2 Chronicles 34:1). It is a great miracle that a boy like Josiah grows up in the house of the wicked Amon. However, in the first years of his reign everything will have remained in the line of his wicked father, because he is still too young to do anything himself. Yet from an early age he grew up in the things of the LORD.
Being young and dwelling in or being interested in the sanctuary are more often found together in Scripture. We see this for example also with Joshua, Samuel and Solomon. In Josiah we see a sensitive heart that is subject to the Word and a conscience that takes into account the thoughts and the will of God.
Josiah means ‘supported by the LORD’ or ‘for whom the LORD cares’ or ‘given by the LORD’. He reigned thirty-one years, from 640-609 BC. That is in the end time of Judah, eight hundred years after Moses and four hundred years after David. As said, his father, Amon, was a wicked man. Possibly Josiah has only experienced his grandfather Manasseh in his good times and that this contributed to a blessing in his life. Besides his mother, Timothy also owes much to his grandmother (2 Timothy 1:5). Grandparents can contribute substantially to the development of their grandchildren.
The general characteristic of his life is that he does what is right in the sight of the LORD (2 Chronicles 34:2). The LORD looks at him with pleasure. Here He sees one who reminds Him of David, the man after His heart. No spiritual helper is mentioned, as once with Joash (2 Chronicles 24:5). It seems that Josiah has a personal relationship with God.
A child who becomes king is not directly a proof of God’s grace, but rather a judgment about the faithlessness of the people (Ecclesiastes 10:16a; Isaiah 3:4). However, if God gives a wise child, it is better “than an old and foolish king who no longer knows [how] to receive instruction” (Ecclesiastes 4:13). Josiah is such a wise child. He is wise because he fears the LORD.
His walk is compared to that of his father David, as is also mentioned of Hezekiah (2 Chronicles 29:2). He is balanced in his faith and serving the LORD. He does “not turn aside to the right or to the left” (Deuteronomy 5:32). It is always a great danger for every child of God that he deviates either to the right or to the left.
We deviate to the right when we apply the truth of God’s Word without love; we deviate to the left when we only talk about love without applying the truth of God’s Word. It is important that we have a walk in which we do not fall into sectarian narrow-mindedness on the one hand, which is to deviate to the right, and carnal freedom on the other hand, which is to deviate to the left.
In the eighth year of his reign (2 Chronicles 34:3a), he is then sixteen years old, he makes the personal choice to seek the God of his father David. The childhood years are then over. There is growth to adulthood. At the important age of sixteen he begins to seek God. He does not seek God as a sinner, but as someone who consciously wants to involve Him in all his activities.
First Josiah walks in the ways of his father David (2 Chronicles 34:2). Now he begins to seek the God of his father David. With young people it is first the example that makes them walk, then they look for the source of strength for that walk. The example of David refers Josiah to God. Thus, the walk of the elders must refer to the Lord Jesus. Then young people will not go looking for the elderly, but for Him.
In the twelfth year of his reign (2 Chronicles 34:3b), when he is twenty, he begins to clean up. This is probably not possible earlier because of his dependence on others. When he begins the cleansing of the land, the book of the law has not yet been found. This indicates that someone who lives with the Lord has the desire that things are in agreement with Him. Conscience is then exercised in His presence and feels what is right, without an explicit word from God’s Word. What happens, however, is completely in agreement with it.
Then the Holy Spirit gives an account of the courageous deeds of Josiah (2 Chronicles 34:4-7). Josiah wants to cleanse Jerusalem and Judah from places that express contempt for the center God has chosen. He will be surrounded by people who cannot appreciate his work. In any case, he will not receive much support. And although the people do not oppose him, their hearts are not with him either. It is a work of individual faith.
The variety of objects that Josiah destroys (2 Chronicles 34:4) gives an impression of the arsenal of deceptions that satan has to make God’s people unfaithful to their God. Often we, too, have to tidy up several things from our lives in order to make room again for the Lord Jesus. If one form of evil has entered our lives, it provides an opening for other forms of evil.
Josiah seeks God first, then he goes to work. It is important for young believers to have a relationship with the Lord Jesus in secret and to be taught and brought up by Him. Only when this is present an open task can be performed. First the roots must be driven deep into the Word of God, then the growth and the bearing of fruit will come. This is what Josiah needs, because he has an enormous work to do.
In Hezekiah this cleansing takes place at the end of his reign as the consequence of the inner cleansing. Josiah begins with the outer cleansing. Thereby he proceeds more thoroughly than his grandfather Manasseh after his conversion, for he not only breaks but also pulverizes. He destroys everything that is contrary to God’s statute that there is only one altar, His altar, and that there is only one house, His house. These are things that tolerate no competition. There is no compromise in holy things to Josiah.
He sprinkles the ashes of the idols upon the graves of the idolaters. It is an example that when someone dies, his works follow him in judgment (cf. 1 Timothy 5:24; cf. Revelation 14:13). It is not over with death. By burning the bones of the priests on the altar (2 Chronicles 34:5) he fulfills the prophecy of the man of God from Judah (1 Kings 13:2).
The second phase of his cleansing is that he even goes to cities of the ten tribes (2 Chronicles 34:6), while those tribes have already been deported. Only a handful of people will live there. However, for him it is also the holy land. He breaks all the incense altars “throughout the land of Israel” (2 Chronicles 34:7). It speaks of cleansing the whole personal, daily life.
In addition, we see that, just as with Hezekiah, every sectarian thought is strange to him. For us, New Testament believers, the unity of the church, the one body, is the starting point of coming together and living together. That foundation is not limited to those who think alike, but is for everyone who belongs to the church. Josiah has a message for the whole people, not just for Judah. Whom we can still reach with God’s Word, we may show what that Word says about the church.
Josiah does not come with a message that feels good. He comes to eradicate the altars! He doesn’t come with a cheap message. He comes to tell them what is contrary to God’s Word. He tells them all this, even though he doesn’t have a Bible, because the Bible won’t be found until later. Yet he can tell them all this because he is aware of God’s holiness.
Nehemiah 3:27
Introduction
What characterizes the revival under Josiah is the great emphasis on the Word of God. The book of the law, the Word of God, is rediscovered. This causes a great shock to Josiah. We can see that in the Reformation, which creates the break with Rome. Despite the Reformation, much remains that is contrary to Scripture. A new Reformation is needed, for their “deeds” are “not found … completed” (Revelation 3:2).
Josiah King of Judah
Josiah, when he is only eight years old, becomes king in place of his wicked father Amon (2 Chronicles 34:1). It is a great miracle that a boy like Josiah grows up in the house of the wicked Amon. However, in the first years of his reign everything will have remained in the line of his wicked father, because he is still too young to do anything himself. Yet from an early age he grew up in the things of the LORD.
Being young and dwelling in or being interested in the sanctuary are more often found together in Scripture. We see this for example also with Joshua, Samuel and Solomon. In Josiah we see a sensitive heart that is subject to the Word and a conscience that takes into account the thoughts and the will of God.
Josiah means ‘supported by the LORD’ or ‘for whom the LORD cares’ or ‘given by the LORD’. He reigned thirty-one years, from 640-609 BC. That is in the end time of Judah, eight hundred years after Moses and four hundred years after David. As said, his father, Amon, was a wicked man. Possibly Josiah has only experienced his grandfather Manasseh in his good times and that this contributed to a blessing in his life. Besides his mother, Timothy also owes much to his grandmother (2 Timothy 1:5). Grandparents can contribute substantially to the development of their grandchildren.
The general characteristic of his life is that he does what is right in the sight of the LORD (2 Chronicles 34:2). The LORD looks at him with pleasure. Here He sees one who reminds Him of David, the man after His heart. No spiritual helper is mentioned, as once with Joash (2 Chronicles 24:5). It seems that Josiah has a personal relationship with God.
A child who becomes king is not directly a proof of God’s grace, but rather a judgment about the faithlessness of the people (Ecclesiastes 10:16a; Isaiah 3:4). However, if God gives a wise child, it is better “than an old and foolish king who no longer knows [how] to receive instruction” (Ecclesiastes 4:13). Josiah is such a wise child. He is wise because he fears the LORD.
His walk is compared to that of his father David, as is also mentioned of Hezekiah (2 Chronicles 29:2). He is balanced in his faith and serving the LORD. He does “not turn aside to the right or to the left” (Deuteronomy 5:32). It is always a great danger for every child of God that he deviates either to the right or to the left.
We deviate to the right when we apply the truth of God’s Word without love; we deviate to the left when we only talk about love without applying the truth of God’s Word. It is important that we have a walk in which we do not fall into sectarian narrow-mindedness on the one hand, which is to deviate to the right, and carnal freedom on the other hand, which is to deviate to the left.
In the eighth year of his reign (2 Chronicles 34:3a), he is then sixteen years old, he makes the personal choice to seek the God of his father David. The childhood years are then over. There is growth to adulthood. At the important age of sixteen he begins to seek God. He does not seek God as a sinner, but as someone who consciously wants to involve Him in all his activities.
First Josiah walks in the ways of his father David (2 Chronicles 34:2). Now he begins to seek the God of his father David. With young people it is first the example that makes them walk, then they look for the source of strength for that walk. The example of David refers Josiah to God. Thus, the walk of the elders must refer to the Lord Jesus. Then young people will not go looking for the elderly, but for Him.
In the twelfth year of his reign (2 Chronicles 34:3b), when he is twenty, he begins to clean up. This is probably not possible earlier because of his dependence on others. When he begins the cleansing of the land, the book of the law has not yet been found. This indicates that someone who lives with the Lord has the desire that things are in agreement with Him. Conscience is then exercised in His presence and feels what is right, without an explicit word from God’s Word. What happens, however, is completely in agreement with it.
Then the Holy Spirit gives an account of the courageous deeds of Josiah (2 Chronicles 34:4-7). Josiah wants to cleanse Jerusalem and Judah from places that express contempt for the center God has chosen. He will be surrounded by people who cannot appreciate his work. In any case, he will not receive much support. And although the people do not oppose him, their hearts are not with him either. It is a work of individual faith.
The variety of objects that Josiah destroys (2 Chronicles 34:4) gives an impression of the arsenal of deceptions that satan has to make God’s people unfaithful to their God. Often we, too, have to tidy up several things from our lives in order to make room again for the Lord Jesus. If one form of evil has entered our lives, it provides an opening for other forms of evil.
Josiah seeks God first, then he goes to work. It is important for young believers to have a relationship with the Lord Jesus in secret and to be taught and brought up by Him. Only when this is present an open task can be performed. First the roots must be driven deep into the Word of God, then the growth and the bearing of fruit will come. This is what Josiah needs, because he has an enormous work to do.
In Hezekiah this cleansing takes place at the end of his reign as the consequence of the inner cleansing. Josiah begins with the outer cleansing. Thereby he proceeds more thoroughly than his grandfather Manasseh after his conversion, for he not only breaks but also pulverizes. He destroys everything that is contrary to God’s statute that there is only one altar, His altar, and that there is only one house, His house. These are things that tolerate no competition. There is no compromise in holy things to Josiah.
He sprinkles the ashes of the idols upon the graves of the idolaters. It is an example that when someone dies, his works follow him in judgment (cf. 1 Timothy 5:24; cf. Revelation 14:13). It is not over with death. By burning the bones of the priests on the altar (2 Chronicles 34:5) he fulfills the prophecy of the man of God from Judah (1 Kings 13:2).
The second phase of his cleansing is that he even goes to cities of the ten tribes (2 Chronicles 34:6), while those tribes have already been deported. Only a handful of people will live there. However, for him it is also the holy land. He breaks all the incense altars “throughout the land of Israel” (2 Chronicles 34:7). It speaks of cleansing the whole personal, daily life.
In addition, we see that, just as with Hezekiah, every sectarian thought is strange to him. For us, New Testament believers, the unity of the church, the one body, is the starting point of coming together and living together. That foundation is not limited to those who think alike, but is for everyone who belongs to the church. Josiah has a message for the whole people, not just for Judah. Whom we can still reach with God’s Word, we may show what that Word says about the church.
Josiah does not come with a message that feels good. He comes to eradicate the altars! He doesn’t come with a cheap message. He comes to tell them what is contrary to God’s Word. He tells them all this, even though he doesn’t have a Bible, because the Bible won’t be found until later. Yet he can tell them all this because he is aware of God’s holiness.
Nehemiah 3:28
Introduction
What characterizes the revival under Josiah is the great emphasis on the Word of God. The book of the law, the Word of God, is rediscovered. This causes a great shock to Josiah. We can see that in the Reformation, which creates the break with Rome. Despite the Reformation, much remains that is contrary to Scripture. A new Reformation is needed, for their “deeds” are “not found … completed” (Revelation 3:2).
Josiah King of Judah
Josiah, when he is only eight years old, becomes king in place of his wicked father Amon (2 Chronicles 34:1). It is a great miracle that a boy like Josiah grows up in the house of the wicked Amon. However, in the first years of his reign everything will have remained in the line of his wicked father, because he is still too young to do anything himself. Yet from an early age he grew up in the things of the LORD.
Being young and dwelling in or being interested in the sanctuary are more often found together in Scripture. We see this for example also with Joshua, Samuel and Solomon. In Josiah we see a sensitive heart that is subject to the Word and a conscience that takes into account the thoughts and the will of God.
Josiah means ‘supported by the LORD’ or ‘for whom the LORD cares’ or ‘given by the LORD’. He reigned thirty-one years, from 640-609 BC. That is in the end time of Judah, eight hundred years after Moses and four hundred years after David. As said, his father, Amon, was a wicked man. Possibly Josiah has only experienced his grandfather Manasseh in his good times and that this contributed to a blessing in his life. Besides his mother, Timothy also owes much to his grandmother (2 Timothy 1:5). Grandparents can contribute substantially to the development of their grandchildren.
The general characteristic of his life is that he does what is right in the sight of the LORD (2 Chronicles 34:2). The LORD looks at him with pleasure. Here He sees one who reminds Him of David, the man after His heart. No spiritual helper is mentioned, as once with Joash (2 Chronicles 24:5). It seems that Josiah has a personal relationship with God.
A child who becomes king is not directly a proof of God’s grace, but rather a judgment about the faithlessness of the people (Ecclesiastes 10:16a; Isaiah 3:4). However, if God gives a wise child, it is better “than an old and foolish king who no longer knows [how] to receive instruction” (Ecclesiastes 4:13). Josiah is such a wise child. He is wise because he fears the LORD.
His walk is compared to that of his father David, as is also mentioned of Hezekiah (2 Chronicles 29:2). He is balanced in his faith and serving the LORD. He does “not turn aside to the right or to the left” (Deuteronomy 5:32). It is always a great danger for every child of God that he deviates either to the right or to the left.
We deviate to the right when we apply the truth of God’s Word without love; we deviate to the left when we only talk about love without applying the truth of God’s Word. It is important that we have a walk in which we do not fall into sectarian narrow-mindedness on the one hand, which is to deviate to the right, and carnal freedom on the other hand, which is to deviate to the left.
In the eighth year of his reign (2 Chronicles 34:3a), he is then sixteen years old, he makes the personal choice to seek the God of his father David. The childhood years are then over. There is growth to adulthood. At the important age of sixteen he begins to seek God. He does not seek God as a sinner, but as someone who consciously wants to involve Him in all his activities.
First Josiah walks in the ways of his father David (2 Chronicles 34:2). Now he begins to seek the God of his father David. With young people it is first the example that makes them walk, then they look for the source of strength for that walk. The example of David refers Josiah to God. Thus, the walk of the elders must refer to the Lord Jesus. Then young people will not go looking for the elderly, but for Him.
In the twelfth year of his reign (2 Chronicles 34:3b), when he is twenty, he begins to clean up. This is probably not possible earlier because of his dependence on others. When he begins the cleansing of the land, the book of the law has not yet been found. This indicates that someone who lives with the Lord has the desire that things are in agreement with Him. Conscience is then exercised in His presence and feels what is right, without an explicit word from God’s Word. What happens, however, is completely in agreement with it.
Then the Holy Spirit gives an account of the courageous deeds of Josiah (2 Chronicles 34:4-7). Josiah wants to cleanse Jerusalem and Judah from places that express contempt for the center God has chosen. He will be surrounded by people who cannot appreciate his work. In any case, he will not receive much support. And although the people do not oppose him, their hearts are not with him either. It is a work of individual faith.
The variety of objects that Josiah destroys (2 Chronicles 34:4) gives an impression of the arsenal of deceptions that satan has to make God’s people unfaithful to their God. Often we, too, have to tidy up several things from our lives in order to make room again for the Lord Jesus. If one form of evil has entered our lives, it provides an opening for other forms of evil.
Josiah seeks God first, then he goes to work. It is important for young believers to have a relationship with the Lord Jesus in secret and to be taught and brought up by Him. Only when this is present an open task can be performed. First the roots must be driven deep into the Word of God, then the growth and the bearing of fruit will come. This is what Josiah needs, because he has an enormous work to do.
In Hezekiah this cleansing takes place at the end of his reign as the consequence of the inner cleansing. Josiah begins with the outer cleansing. Thereby he proceeds more thoroughly than his grandfather Manasseh after his conversion, for he not only breaks but also pulverizes. He destroys everything that is contrary to God’s statute that there is only one altar, His altar, and that there is only one house, His house. These are things that tolerate no competition. There is no compromise in holy things to Josiah.
He sprinkles the ashes of the idols upon the graves of the idolaters. It is an example that when someone dies, his works follow him in judgment (cf. 1 Timothy 5:24; cf. Revelation 14:13). It is not over with death. By burning the bones of the priests on the altar (2 Chronicles 34:5) he fulfills the prophecy of the man of God from Judah (1 Kings 13:2).
The second phase of his cleansing is that he even goes to cities of the ten tribes (2 Chronicles 34:6), while those tribes have already been deported. Only a handful of people will live there. However, for him it is also the holy land. He breaks all the incense altars “throughout the land of Israel” (2 Chronicles 34:7). It speaks of cleansing the whole personal, daily life.
In addition, we see that, just as with Hezekiah, every sectarian thought is strange to him. For us, New Testament believers, the unity of the church, the one body, is the starting point of coming together and living together. That foundation is not limited to those who think alike, but is for everyone who belongs to the church. Josiah has a message for the whole people, not just for Judah. Whom we can still reach with God’s Word, we may show what that Word says about the church.
Josiah does not come with a message that feels good. He comes to eradicate the altars! He doesn’t come with a cheap message. He comes to tell them what is contrary to God’s Word. He tells them all this, even though he doesn’t have a Bible, because the Bible won’t be found until later. Yet he can tell them all this because he is aware of God’s holiness.
Nehemiah 3:29
Introduction
What characterizes the revival under Josiah is the great emphasis on the Word of God. The book of the law, the Word of God, is rediscovered. This causes a great shock to Josiah. We can see that in the Reformation, which creates the break with Rome. Despite the Reformation, much remains that is contrary to Scripture. A new Reformation is needed, for their “deeds” are “not found … completed” (Revelation 3:2).
Josiah King of Judah
Josiah, when he is only eight years old, becomes king in place of his wicked father Amon (2 Chronicles 34:1). It is a great miracle that a boy like Josiah grows up in the house of the wicked Amon. However, in the first years of his reign everything will have remained in the line of his wicked father, because he is still too young to do anything himself. Yet from an early age he grew up in the things of the LORD.
Being young and dwelling in or being interested in the sanctuary are more often found together in Scripture. We see this for example also with Joshua, Samuel and Solomon. In Josiah we see a sensitive heart that is subject to the Word and a conscience that takes into account the thoughts and the will of God.
Josiah means ‘supported by the LORD’ or ‘for whom the LORD cares’ or ‘given by the LORD’. He reigned thirty-one years, from 640-609 BC. That is in the end time of Judah, eight hundred years after Moses and four hundred years after David. As said, his father, Amon, was a wicked man. Possibly Josiah has only experienced his grandfather Manasseh in his good times and that this contributed to a blessing in his life. Besides his mother, Timothy also owes much to his grandmother (2 Timothy 1:5). Grandparents can contribute substantially to the development of their grandchildren.
The general characteristic of his life is that he does what is right in the sight of the LORD (2 Chronicles 34:2). The LORD looks at him with pleasure. Here He sees one who reminds Him of David, the man after His heart. No spiritual helper is mentioned, as once with Joash (2 Chronicles 24:5). It seems that Josiah has a personal relationship with God.
A child who becomes king is not directly a proof of God’s grace, but rather a judgment about the faithlessness of the people (Ecclesiastes 10:16a; Isaiah 3:4). However, if God gives a wise child, it is better “than an old and foolish king who no longer knows [how] to receive instruction” (Ecclesiastes 4:13). Josiah is such a wise child. He is wise because he fears the LORD.
His walk is compared to that of his father David, as is also mentioned of Hezekiah (2 Chronicles 29:2). He is balanced in his faith and serving the LORD. He does “not turn aside to the right or to the left” (Deuteronomy 5:32). It is always a great danger for every child of God that he deviates either to the right or to the left.
We deviate to the right when we apply the truth of God’s Word without love; we deviate to the left when we only talk about love without applying the truth of God’s Word. It is important that we have a walk in which we do not fall into sectarian narrow-mindedness on the one hand, which is to deviate to the right, and carnal freedom on the other hand, which is to deviate to the left.
In the eighth year of his reign (2 Chronicles 34:3a), he is then sixteen years old, he makes the personal choice to seek the God of his father David. The childhood years are then over. There is growth to adulthood. At the important age of sixteen he begins to seek God. He does not seek God as a sinner, but as someone who consciously wants to involve Him in all his activities.
First Josiah walks in the ways of his father David (2 Chronicles 34:2). Now he begins to seek the God of his father David. With young people it is first the example that makes them walk, then they look for the source of strength for that walk. The example of David refers Josiah to God. Thus, the walk of the elders must refer to the Lord Jesus. Then young people will not go looking for the elderly, but for Him.
In the twelfth year of his reign (2 Chronicles 34:3b), when he is twenty, he begins to clean up. This is probably not possible earlier because of his dependence on others. When he begins the cleansing of the land, the book of the law has not yet been found. This indicates that someone who lives with the Lord has the desire that things are in agreement with Him. Conscience is then exercised in His presence and feels what is right, without an explicit word from God’s Word. What happens, however, is completely in agreement with it.
Then the Holy Spirit gives an account of the courageous deeds of Josiah (2 Chronicles 34:4-7). Josiah wants to cleanse Jerusalem and Judah from places that express contempt for the center God has chosen. He will be surrounded by people who cannot appreciate his work. In any case, he will not receive much support. And although the people do not oppose him, their hearts are not with him either. It is a work of individual faith.
The variety of objects that Josiah destroys (2 Chronicles 34:4) gives an impression of the arsenal of deceptions that satan has to make God’s people unfaithful to their God. Often we, too, have to tidy up several things from our lives in order to make room again for the Lord Jesus. If one form of evil has entered our lives, it provides an opening for other forms of evil.
Josiah seeks God first, then he goes to work. It is important for young believers to have a relationship with the Lord Jesus in secret and to be taught and brought up by Him. Only when this is present an open task can be performed. First the roots must be driven deep into the Word of God, then the growth and the bearing of fruit will come. This is what Josiah needs, because he has an enormous work to do.
In Hezekiah this cleansing takes place at the end of his reign as the consequence of the inner cleansing. Josiah begins with the outer cleansing. Thereby he proceeds more thoroughly than his grandfather Manasseh after his conversion, for he not only breaks but also pulverizes. He destroys everything that is contrary to God’s statute that there is only one altar, His altar, and that there is only one house, His house. These are things that tolerate no competition. There is no compromise in holy things to Josiah.
He sprinkles the ashes of the idols upon the graves of the idolaters. It is an example that when someone dies, his works follow him in judgment (cf. 1 Timothy 5:24; cf. Revelation 14:13). It is not over with death. By burning the bones of the priests on the altar (2 Chronicles 34:5) he fulfills the prophecy of the man of God from Judah (1 Kings 13:2).
The second phase of his cleansing is that he even goes to cities of the ten tribes (2 Chronicles 34:6), while those tribes have already been deported. Only a handful of people will live there. However, for him it is also the holy land. He breaks all the incense altars “throughout the land of Israel” (2 Chronicles 34:7). It speaks of cleansing the whole personal, daily life.
In addition, we see that, just as with Hezekiah, every sectarian thought is strange to him. For us, New Testament believers, the unity of the church, the one body, is the starting point of coming together and living together. That foundation is not limited to those who think alike, but is for everyone who belongs to the church. Josiah has a message for the whole people, not just for Judah. Whom we can still reach with God’s Word, we may show what that Word says about the church.
Josiah does not come with a message that feels good. He comes to eradicate the altars! He doesn’t come with a cheap message. He comes to tell them what is contrary to God’s Word. He tells them all this, even though he doesn’t have a Bible, because the Bible won’t be found until later. Yet he can tell them all this because he is aware of God’s holiness.
Nehemiah 3:30
Introduction
What characterizes the revival under Josiah is the great emphasis on the Word of God. The book of the law, the Word of God, is rediscovered. This causes a great shock to Josiah. We can see that in the Reformation, which creates the break with Rome. Despite the Reformation, much remains that is contrary to Scripture. A new Reformation is needed, for their “deeds” are “not found … completed” (Revelation 3:2).
Josiah King of Judah
Josiah, when he is only eight years old, becomes king in place of his wicked father Amon (2 Chronicles 34:1). It is a great miracle that a boy like Josiah grows up in the house of the wicked Amon. However, in the first years of his reign everything will have remained in the line of his wicked father, because he is still too young to do anything himself. Yet from an early age he grew up in the things of the LORD.
Being young and dwelling in or being interested in the sanctuary are more often found together in Scripture. We see this for example also with Joshua, Samuel and Solomon. In Josiah we see a sensitive heart that is subject to the Word and a conscience that takes into account the thoughts and the will of God.
Josiah means ‘supported by the LORD’ or ‘for whom the LORD cares’ or ‘given by the LORD’. He reigned thirty-one years, from 640-609 BC. That is in the end time of Judah, eight hundred years after Moses and four hundred years after David. As said, his father, Amon, was a wicked man. Possibly Josiah has only experienced his grandfather Manasseh in his good times and that this contributed to a blessing in his life. Besides his mother, Timothy also owes much to his grandmother (2 Timothy 1:5). Grandparents can contribute substantially to the development of their grandchildren.
The general characteristic of his life is that he does what is right in the sight of the LORD (2 Chronicles 34:2). The LORD looks at him with pleasure. Here He sees one who reminds Him of David, the man after His heart. No spiritual helper is mentioned, as once with Joash (2 Chronicles 24:5). It seems that Josiah has a personal relationship with God.
A child who becomes king is not directly a proof of God’s grace, but rather a judgment about the faithlessness of the people (Ecclesiastes 10:16a; Isaiah 3:4). However, if God gives a wise child, it is better “than an old and foolish king who no longer knows [how] to receive instruction” (Ecclesiastes 4:13). Josiah is such a wise child. He is wise because he fears the LORD.
His walk is compared to that of his father David, as is also mentioned of Hezekiah (2 Chronicles 29:2). He is balanced in his faith and serving the LORD. He does “not turn aside to the right or to the left” (Deuteronomy 5:32). It is always a great danger for every child of God that he deviates either to the right or to the left.
We deviate to the right when we apply the truth of God’s Word without love; we deviate to the left when we only talk about love without applying the truth of God’s Word. It is important that we have a walk in which we do not fall into sectarian narrow-mindedness on the one hand, which is to deviate to the right, and carnal freedom on the other hand, which is to deviate to the left.
In the eighth year of his reign (2 Chronicles 34:3a), he is then sixteen years old, he makes the personal choice to seek the God of his father David. The childhood years are then over. There is growth to adulthood. At the important age of sixteen he begins to seek God. He does not seek God as a sinner, but as someone who consciously wants to involve Him in all his activities.
First Josiah walks in the ways of his father David (2 Chronicles 34:2). Now he begins to seek the God of his father David. With young people it is first the example that makes them walk, then they look for the source of strength for that walk. The example of David refers Josiah to God. Thus, the walk of the elders must refer to the Lord Jesus. Then young people will not go looking for the elderly, but for Him.
In the twelfth year of his reign (2 Chronicles 34:3b), when he is twenty, he begins to clean up. This is probably not possible earlier because of his dependence on others. When he begins the cleansing of the land, the book of the law has not yet been found. This indicates that someone who lives with the Lord has the desire that things are in agreement with Him. Conscience is then exercised in His presence and feels what is right, without an explicit word from God’s Word. What happens, however, is completely in agreement with it.
Then the Holy Spirit gives an account of the courageous deeds of Josiah (2 Chronicles 34:4-7). Josiah wants to cleanse Jerusalem and Judah from places that express contempt for the center God has chosen. He will be surrounded by people who cannot appreciate his work. In any case, he will not receive much support. And although the people do not oppose him, their hearts are not with him either. It is a work of individual faith.
The variety of objects that Josiah destroys (2 Chronicles 34:4) gives an impression of the arsenal of deceptions that satan has to make God’s people unfaithful to their God. Often we, too, have to tidy up several things from our lives in order to make room again for the Lord Jesus. If one form of evil has entered our lives, it provides an opening for other forms of evil.
Josiah seeks God first, then he goes to work. It is important for young believers to have a relationship with the Lord Jesus in secret and to be taught and brought up by Him. Only when this is present an open task can be performed. First the roots must be driven deep into the Word of God, then the growth and the bearing of fruit will come. This is what Josiah needs, because he has an enormous work to do.
In Hezekiah this cleansing takes place at the end of his reign as the consequence of the inner cleansing. Josiah begins with the outer cleansing. Thereby he proceeds more thoroughly than his grandfather Manasseh after his conversion, for he not only breaks but also pulverizes. He destroys everything that is contrary to God’s statute that there is only one altar, His altar, and that there is only one house, His house. These are things that tolerate no competition. There is no compromise in holy things to Josiah.
He sprinkles the ashes of the idols upon the graves of the idolaters. It is an example that when someone dies, his works follow him in judgment (cf. 1 Timothy 5:24; cf. Revelation 14:13). It is not over with death. By burning the bones of the priests on the altar (2 Chronicles 34:5) he fulfills the prophecy of the man of God from Judah (1 Kings 13:2).
The second phase of his cleansing is that he even goes to cities of the ten tribes (2 Chronicles 34:6), while those tribes have already been deported. Only a handful of people will live there. However, for him it is also the holy land. He breaks all the incense altars “throughout the land of Israel” (2 Chronicles 34:7). It speaks of cleansing the whole personal, daily life.
In addition, we see that, just as with Hezekiah, every sectarian thought is strange to him. For us, New Testament believers, the unity of the church, the one body, is the starting point of coming together and living together. That foundation is not limited to those who think alike, but is for everyone who belongs to the church. Josiah has a message for the whole people, not just for Judah. Whom we can still reach with God’s Word, we may show what that Word says about the church.
Josiah does not come with a message that feels good. He comes to eradicate the altars! He doesn’t come with a cheap message. He comes to tell them what is contrary to God’s Word. He tells them all this, even though he doesn’t have a Bible, because the Bible won’t be found until later. Yet he can tell them all this because he is aware of God’s holiness.
Nehemiah 3:31
Care for the House of the LORD
In these verses we see the third phase of the revival and that is the restoration of the temple. After the cleansing, what we can call negative, something is removed, now comes the restoration, what we can call positive, something is built up. We are “in the eighteenth year of his reign” (2 Chronicles 34:8). Josiah is then twenty-six and no longer a new convert (1 Timothy 3:6). He can take care of the temple. Josiah has his own relationship with God, Who is called “his God”.
He who knows and loves God in this way also loves His house. Such a person will listen to the instructions about his behavior in the house of God. Restoring the house of God has to do with behaving in God’s house in a way that befits Him of Whom the house is and Who has set His rules of conduct for His house (1 Timothy 3:15). Confusion in the house of God is the result of people making rules. Where that is the case, it must be corrected.
This behavior in God’s house concerns all of us. Correcting what has gone wrong is the concern of all. For example, the Levites collected money from all over the land to restore the temple (2 Chronicles 34:9). The house of God is not the property or the care of a small group in Judah.
This also applies to us. The spiritual health of a local church depends on what the individual members contribute. If everyone provides a good contribution, the temple as the dwelling place of God will be fully dedicated to God again.
Faithful people go to work to restore the house of the LORD. There are two kinds of workmen (2 Chronicles 34:10). There are workmen who supervise and there are workmen who restore and repair. These two categories can be recognized in the New Testament in the overseers or shepherds and the teachers. These workmen provide the craftsmen and builders with the necessary materials (2 Chronicles 34:11).
The temple has fallen into decay. The kings of Judah are responsible for this (2 Chronicles 34:11b). For us, the temple is a picture of the church (1 Corinthians 3:16) and of the body of the believer (1 Corinthians 6:19). From both must be removed everything that contradicts Him Who dwells in it, that is God the Holy Spirit. After the cleansing of the land – daily life – the meeting of the believers as a church and the heart of the believers must be cleansed.
The materials are quarried stones and timber. In the stones we can see a picture of the believers, who are called “living stones” (1 Peter 2:5). They are incorporated into the temple. It indicates that believers are being taught about their place in the church. The timber is used for “couplings” or “joints”. Here we can see a picture of the growth of the believers in connection with other believers.
The timber is also used ”to make beams” (for the ceiling, according to the Dutch translation) of the decayed houses. This points us to the way we think. As kings – that is what we have become by faith (Revelation 1:6) – we have to have an eye for the open spots in our thinking. It is about recognizing the danger that evil powers from the heavenly places influence our thinking. That is why we must put “the helmet of salvation” (Ephesians 6:17) on our heads, on our thinking.
The decay of God’s house has been caused by man’s unfaithfulness. Only faithful people can provide a valuable contribution to the restoration of God’s house (2 Chronicles 34:12). The apostle Paul is such a faithful worker. He can say that the Lord “considered me faithful” (1 Timothy 1:12). Timothy is also such a faithful worker. Paul calls him his “faithful child in the Lord” (1 Corinthians 4:17).
The leaders are Levites “who were skillful with musical instruments”. Here we see a beautiful harmony between the service to God – honoring Him in a melodious way – and the service to the saints – leading them in their occupation with God’s house. These Levites with their melodious music are especially connected with “the burden bearers” and “all the workmen from job to job” (2 Chronicles 34:13). Heavy burdens and all kinds of work become lighter when we think about Whom we are doing our work for. When the Lord Jesus stands before us in our work, we become happy and thankful that we may serve Him. We then experience the truth of His words: “My yoke is easy and My burden is light” (Matthew 11:30).
Levites do not only give guidance. There are also those who are directly involved in the ministry as “scribes and officials and gatekeepers”. Some write down everything that happens, others supervise the building, and others guard. It is the tragedy of professing Christianity that the overseership has become a status above other believers. We see this in the church hierarchy in both protestantism and roman-catholicism. Overseers have a task in the midst of or among God’s people and not above them (Matthew 23:9-10; Acts 20:28; 1 Peter 5:2-3).
Nehemiah 3:32
Care for the House of the LORD
In these verses we see the third phase of the revival and that is the restoration of the temple. After the cleansing, what we can call negative, something is removed, now comes the restoration, what we can call positive, something is built up. We are “in the eighteenth year of his reign” (2 Chronicles 34:8). Josiah is then twenty-six and no longer a new convert (1 Timothy 3:6). He can take care of the temple. Josiah has his own relationship with God, Who is called “his God”.
He who knows and loves God in this way also loves His house. Such a person will listen to the instructions about his behavior in the house of God. Restoring the house of God has to do with behaving in God’s house in a way that befits Him of Whom the house is and Who has set His rules of conduct for His house (1 Timothy 3:15). Confusion in the house of God is the result of people making rules. Where that is the case, it must be corrected.
This behavior in God’s house concerns all of us. Correcting what has gone wrong is the concern of all. For example, the Levites collected money from all over the land to restore the temple (2 Chronicles 34:9). The house of God is not the property or the care of a small group in Judah.
This also applies to us. The spiritual health of a local church depends on what the individual members contribute. If everyone provides a good contribution, the temple as the dwelling place of God will be fully dedicated to God again.
Faithful people go to work to restore the house of the LORD. There are two kinds of workmen (2 Chronicles 34:10). There are workmen who supervise and there are workmen who restore and repair. These two categories can be recognized in the New Testament in the overseers or shepherds and the teachers. These workmen provide the craftsmen and builders with the necessary materials (2 Chronicles 34:11).
The temple has fallen into decay. The kings of Judah are responsible for this (2 Chronicles 34:11b). For us, the temple is a picture of the church (1 Corinthians 3:16) and of the body of the believer (1 Corinthians 6:19). From both must be removed everything that contradicts Him Who dwells in it, that is God the Holy Spirit. After the cleansing of the land – daily life – the meeting of the believers as a church and the heart of the believers must be cleansed.
The materials are quarried stones and timber. In the stones we can see a picture of the believers, who are called “living stones” (1 Peter 2:5). They are incorporated into the temple. It indicates that believers are being taught about their place in the church. The timber is used for “couplings” or “joints”. Here we can see a picture of the growth of the believers in connection with other believers.
The timber is also used ”to make beams” (for the ceiling, according to the Dutch translation) of the decayed houses. This points us to the way we think. As kings – that is what we have become by faith (Revelation 1:6) – we have to have an eye for the open spots in our thinking. It is about recognizing the danger that evil powers from the heavenly places influence our thinking. That is why we must put “the helmet of salvation” (Ephesians 6:17) on our heads, on our thinking.
The decay of God’s house has been caused by man’s unfaithfulness. Only faithful people can provide a valuable contribution to the restoration of God’s house (2 Chronicles 34:12). The apostle Paul is such a faithful worker. He can say that the Lord “considered me faithful” (1 Timothy 1:12). Timothy is also such a faithful worker. Paul calls him his “faithful child in the Lord” (1 Corinthians 4:17).
The leaders are Levites “who were skillful with musical instruments”. Here we see a beautiful harmony between the service to God – honoring Him in a melodious way – and the service to the saints – leading them in their occupation with God’s house. These Levites with their melodious music are especially connected with “the burden bearers” and “all the workmen from job to job” (2 Chronicles 34:13). Heavy burdens and all kinds of work become lighter when we think about Whom we are doing our work for. When the Lord Jesus stands before us in our work, we become happy and thankful that we may serve Him. We then experience the truth of His words: “My yoke is easy and My burden is light” (Matthew 11:30).
Levites do not only give guidance. There are also those who are directly involved in the ministry as “scribes and officials and gatekeepers”. Some write down everything that happens, others supervise the building, and others guard. It is the tragedy of professing Christianity that the overseership has become a status above other believers. We see this in the church hierarchy in both protestantism and roman-catholicism. Overseers have a task in the midst of or among God’s people and not above them (Matthew 23:9-10; Acts 20:28; 1 Peter 5:2-3).