When the world falls apart... again
Our study of prophets move forward this week into the reigns of the bad king Manasseh and the good king Josiah, via the prophet Zephaniah. At some point I'm going to have to update my tables of dates, people and events, but in the meantime I'll just keep reminding myself of which king is who, where, when and why... or something like that. Anyway, the world is falling apart again, and it's not clear even Josiah can put it back together. (22) The Prophet Zephaniah Hezekiah was a good king who made some bad mistakes. He was guided by the prophet Isaiah. He nearly died of a mysterious illness, or boils, and was healed then reigned a further 15 years. 1. Read 2 Kings 20:20-21:1. On the surface, this means Manasseh wasn’t even born until after Hezekiah began his extra 15 years. In practice, Manasseh probably served as co-regent, starting when he came of age. He inherits an insecure kingdom in a changing world, and promptly allies with Assyria, where...