I was eight years old when I began to reign. My grandpa Manasseh began to reign when he was twelve. History remembers him as Judah’s most evil king.
But long before he bought into the practices of our surrounding nations, worshiped the stars, practiced sorcery, defiled God’s temple, and sacrificed his sons in the fire, he was just a kid.
When his dad, King Hezekiah, passed away, he was just an uncertain and scared little adolescent.
His dad loved God very much and was a really great king. All the people loved him. “All Judah and the people of Jerusalem honored him when he died.” There was great mourning in the kingdom, but there was also great hope, because King Hezekiah had a son – a son who would certainly continue his legacy.
Little Manasseh.
And so, he was rushed into adulthood. Now he was head of the family, as well as head of all Judah.
Perhaps it’s no wonder that he did things that seemed evil. Can you imagine the pressure? The fear?
I was six years old when my grandfather, Manasseh, passed away and eight years old when his son, my dad, passed away.
I was very confused.
While I wanted to be playing games, I was leading the military. While I wanted to be singing songs, I was presiding over court cases.
I, too, felt pressure.
I, too, felt fear.
After reigning for eight years, when I was sixteen years old, I still didn’t feel brave or comfortable being king. Then I remembered that my ancestor David, who had been king long before me, loved and worshiped the One True God of Israel. David, too, had to do very difficult things when he was very young. Maybe, I thought, he found the courage to do these things from his God.
As a very young man, I gave my heart to this mysterious God. This, too, took courage. It’s no easy thing to put your trust so totally into someone you cannot see. But God stayed with me. He continued to give me courage, even as he told me that he was angry with his people Israel because we had not acted in accordance with his law. But with the courage which God gave me, I was able to initiate change.
When you are young, it can be hard to know what’s right.
When you can’t turn to your dad for advice, you can feel completely lost.
It takes courage to seek advice. It takes courage to ask God what’s right.
When the High Priest uncovered the Book of God’s Law in my eighteenth year of ruling, I knew we needed to change. We needed to turn back to our God.
I was afraid of what the people might think. But then I remembered a story I had been told about my grandfather. When he was being held prisoner in Assyria, in the most desperate of situations, he turned to God and prayed for forgiveness. Once again, this must have taken immense courage. Confessing that we are wrong and begging for mercy can take more courage than any earthly battle.
Thanks be to God for giving us the courage to grow and to change.
(2 Kings 21 – 23, 2 Chronicles 33 – 36)
Neglected Word 