2 KINGS 21
Wicked King Ahaz fathered godly Hezekiah, and Hezekiah fathered evil King Manasseh whom the Lord allowed to reign for fifty-five years. King Manasseh was the father of godly King Josiah. Manasseh began his reign doing evil, but at the end of his life, he repented (2 Chron. 33:12). Josiah sought the Lord early in his life but closed his life disobeying God (
God’s ways are not our ways; He is free to work as He chooses. People who claim to see clear patterns in history or who lock divine providence into a fixed formula must keep this in mind. God punishes the disobedient and vindicates His people but not always in the way or at the time that we expect. Ponder Psalm 73.
Sometimes God permits evil men to rule so that He may test His people or chasten them. We sometimes can do very little about world affairs, but we can pray for persons in authority (1 Tim. 2:1–8) and be faithful to obey God (