Tender Heart

 Hezekiah sought after God. His son Manasseh did not. Manasseh became king when he was only 12 years old. He reigned 55 long years. The Bible paints a pretty grim picture of his monarchy in II Kings 21. We are not given any details why he turned from the godly example of his father. 

Here are a few things he did. He did evil in the sight of the LORD. He erected altars to pagan gods. He made an Asherah. He built pagan altars in the house of the LORD. He provoked the LORD to anger. He actually set the carved image of the Asherah in the temple. He did these wicked things for 55 long years. 

Questions arise as to why God allowed this wickedness to continue for so long. Why didn't God judge Manasseh and remove him from office? We may not understand the ways of God. Israel chose to leave God in pursuit of idolatry and God allowed it. He also judged it. 

Manasseh's son eventually succeeded him on the throne. His name was Amon. He also did evil in the sight of God. He only reigned for two years before his servants conspired to murder him. That left a young eight year old boy to be the next king of Judah. Eight years old. 

We learn in [II Kings 22:2] that Josiah, who ruled at eight years old, did right in the sight of God. What made the difference? Why did Manasseh and Amon rebel against God and young Josiah, who grew up in idolatry and abominations, loved God? I will leave that question for other theologians.

When Josiah was 18, he wanted to get a count of the treasury in the temple. While counting the offerings the priest found the book of the law. Don't just skim over that word found. The connotation is that the book of the law had been lost in the Temple and unread by even the scribes and the priests. When the book of law was read to Josiah he grieved over how far Judah had departed from God. It grieved Him. He cried out to God. God relented from judging Judah under Josiah's reign. In [11 Kings 22:19] one of the reasons God gave for his reprieve from judgment was that Josiah had a tender heart when he heard the words of God. 

I wonder if our hearts are equally tender to the word of God. We certainly have access to it in America. Many households own multiple copies of the Bible. That does not ensure they are read or studied. Half of the United States attend worship services occasionally. That does not mean the word of God is preached, listened to and certainly not obeyed in daily living by all attenders. 

I want to be like King Josiah, who even has a teenager, had a tender heart for the word of God. I want to remain pliable in the Master's hands allowing Him to sculpt me however it would please Him. We need churches, political leaders, financial experts, and people in the media who would be tender to the word of God. We need people who will repent and adjust their lives according to the laws of God. If we do not have that I fear America is destined for doom.