Art Toombs Ministries
Online Bible Commentary
Save America
2 Kings 23:24 Furthermore, Josiah got rid of the mediums and spiritists, the household gods, the idols and all the other detestable things seen in Judah and Jerusalem. This he did to fulfill the requirements of the law written in the book that Hilkiah the priest had discovered in the temple of the Lord.25 Neither before nor after Josiah was there a king like him who turned to the Lord as he did—with all his heart and with all his soul and with all his strength, in accordance with all the Law of Moses. 26 Nevertheless, the Lord did not turn away from the heat of his fierce anger, which burned against Judah because of all that Manasseh had done to arouse his anger. 27 So the Lord said, “I will remove Judah also from my presence as I removed Israel, and I will reject Jerusalem, the city I chose, and this temple, about which I said, ‘My Name shall be there.’ ” (NIV)
Manasseh ruled Judah from 687 to 642 B.C. He was an evil king. Amon succeeded his father Manasseh and continued his father’s evil ways. His servants, fearing the wrath of God, assassinated him two years into his reign. Josiah, Amon’s son, became the “boy” King at the age of eight years old. The elders placed his son Josiah on the throne and gave him Godly advice on how to return the country to God.
Josiah immediately got to the work of doing God’s will (v. 24b). He “got rid of the mediums and spiritists, the household gods, the idols and all the other detestable things seen in Judah and Jerusalem” (v. 24a). Never had there been a king who was more devoted to doing God’s will (v. 25). He turned the nation of Judah back to the Scriptures, and overturned all of the evil of his father and grandfather.
Previously, God had spared Judah, unlike Israel, from invasion by the Assyrians, because of the obedience of David and most of the kings that followed him. However, King Manasseh came to power and God’s anger “burned against Judah because of all that Manasseh had done to arouse his anger” (v. 26). “Moreover, Manasseh also shed so much innocent blood that he filled Jerusalem from end to end” (2 Kings 21:16).The Lord’s anger “burned against Judah because of all that Manasseh had done.”
The Lord decided to “remove Judah also from my presence as I removed Israel, and I will reject Jerusalem, the city I chose, and this temple, about which I said, ‘My Name shall be there” (v. 27). So, despite Josiah’s best efforts, the damage had already been done.
From 605 to 586 B.C. God used the Babylonians to destroy Judah. The Babylonians were evil, and worshiped other gods but God used them to accomplish His will. The Babylonians invaded Judah three times. They burned all the buildings in Jerusalem, including the great temple and palace built by Solomon. Even the walls surrounding Jerusalem were destroyed.
All of the people in Judah were deported to Babylon, except a remnant was left to farm what farmland was left. That once great nation was turned to wasteland. Jerusalem looked as if a nuclear bomb had hit it.
God is still on the throne today. God does not change. He is the same yesterday, today, and tomorrow. He is the same God that destroyed Judah because of its disobedience. God was especially angry over Judah’s shedding of innocent blood. America has shed the innocent blood of fifty-eight million babies by abortion since 1973.
Sin was rampant in Judah because of Manasseh’s laws and edicts. Sin is rampant in America, especially sexual sin. And now our leaders continue to increase sexual sin even more by forcing their sinful laws upon America.
King Josiah tried to save his country, but it was too late. Is it too late to save our country? Sadly, if history is any indication, it may well be.
America must not continue on its destructive course. This election is critical to the future of America’s survival. We need to elect people like Josiah. Now, more than ever, we need to elect Godly men and women who respect God and the teachings of the Bible. I pray that it is not too late to save America.