THURSDAY: When Wickedness Seems to Win
- Jun 11
- 3 min read
Reading: 2 Kings 21:1–16; Romans 8:28
2 Kings 21:1–16 (ESV)
1 Manasseh was twelve years old when he began to reign, and he reigned fifty-five years in Jerusalem. His mother's name was Hephzibah.2 And he did what was evil in the sight of the Lord, according to the despicable practices of the nations whom the Lord drove out before the people of Israel.3 For he rebuilt the high places that Hezekiah his father had destroyed, and he erected altars for Baal and made an Asherah, as Ahab king of Israel had done, and worshiped all the host of heaven and served them.4 And he built altars in the house of the Lord, of which the Lord had said, “In Jerusalem will I put my name.”5 And he built altars for all the host of heaven in the two courts of the house of the Lord.6 And he burned his son as an offering and used fortune-telling and omens and dealt with mediums and with necromancers. He did much evil in the sight of the Lord, provoking him to anger.7 And the carved image of Asherah that he had made he set in the house of which the Lord said to David and to Solomon his son, “In this house, and in Jerusalem, which I have chosen out of all the tribes of Israel, I will put my name forever.8 And I will not cause the feet of Israel to wander any more out of the land that I gave to their fathers, if only they will be careful to do according to all that I have commanded them, and according to all the Law that my servant Moses commanded them.”9 But they did not listen, and Manasseh led them astray to do more evil than the nations had done whom the Lord destroyed before the people of Israel.10 And the Lord said by his servants the prophets,11 “Because Manasseh king of Judah has committed these abominations and has done things more evil than all that the Amorites did, who were before him, and has made Judah also to sin with his idols,12 therefore thus says the Lord, the God of Israel: Behold, I am bringing upon Jerusalem and Judah such disaster that the ears of everyone who hears of it will tingle.13 And I will stretch over Jerusalem the measuring line of Samaria, and the plumb line of the house of Ahab, and I will wipe Jerusalem as one wipes a dish, wiping it and turning it upside down.14 And I will forsake the remnant of my heritage and give them into the hand of their enemies, and they shall become a prey and a spoil to all their enemies,15 because they have done what is evil in my sight and have provoked me to anger, since the day their fathers came out of Egypt, even to this day.”16 Moreover, Manasseh shed very much innocent blood, till he had filled Jerusalem from one end to another, besides the sin that he made Judah to sin so that they did what was evil in the sight of the Lord.
Romans 8:28 (ESV)
28 And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.
Devotional:
Manasseh's fifty-five-year reign was the longest and most wicked in Judah's history. He rebuilt everything his father Hezekiah had torn down, sacrificed his own son, filled Jerusalem with innocent blood, and placed pornographic idols in God's temple. It seemed evil had completely triumphed.
Yet God was still at work. Through this wicked lineage, God would bring forth Josiah, the greatest reformer king Judah would ever know. In the midst of overwhelming darkness, God birthed a light of righteousness.
When wickedness seems to prevail in our world, we can trust that God hasn't abandoned His throne. He can bring beauty from ashes and righteousness from the darkest situations. Our job isn't to despair but to remain faithful, knowing God's purposes will ultimately prevail.
Reflection:
You may look at your family, workplace, church, or nation and feel like Manasseh is on the throne and darkness is winning. Romans 8:28 does not promise that all things are good, but that God works all things together for good for those who love Him. Bring Him the specific situation that feels most hopeless today. Ask Him to help you trust that He is weaving a story you cannot yet see—and to keep you faithful, even in the dark.
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