Breaking the Mold

by Ben

I read 2 Kings 18-21.

Hezekiah becomes king of Judah and (finally somebody!) destroys the idols and altars to other gods. He does a lot of good and follows God's direction through Isaiah. His son Manasseh becomes king and guess what! He rebuilds the alters and idols! GAR!!! Just when I thought the people of Jerusalem were going to turn it around! After he is assassinated, his son, Amon, takes over as king. Amon continues in his father's footsteps and worships at the idols and altars of other gods.

I've had a few discussions in the past months about whether sins are passed on to the next generations. We see that for about 100 years, the kings of Israel and Judah make the same mistake of idolatry. Then, we get Hezekiah who comes along and breaks the cycle, re-centering attention on God. However, after his reign, the people of Judah get right back on the idolatry wagon. A while back, I had someone ask me if I thought they were going to be just like their father (make the same mistakes, etc.). My response was that if we can recognize and acknowledge the mistakes of our ancestors, and make every effort to work against those mistakes, we should be able to break free of their control over our lives.

Hezekiah proves that it is possible. However, that knowledge and desire to make things right must be passed on to the next generation. Otherwise, they could fall back into the old pattern.