When I was younger, it always used to blow my mind how quickly things could turn from one reign to the next in the Bible. At this point in II Chronicles, we have one of the most righteous kings, Hezekiah, who fathered one of the most evil, Manasseh. How does that happen? What of their ancestor Solomon's wise counsel about training up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old, he will not depart from it?
But I have seen generational change happen in my lifetime now, and it is not so surprising to see this fact of life reflected in the Bible, too. Almost like a pendulum, generations turn their back on the recent past and pursue something old that is now new again. Politically, I've witnessed Democratic administrations followed by Republicans back to Democrats and then back to Republicans, etc. This is not to say one party is evil and the other good - but just that there is something within us that wants to change, eventually, from whatever we have been practicing.
The generation gap is a real thing. There are trends and fashions in our spiritual life just as much as in anything else. So, when Manasseh comes to power, he opts to forego his father's religious reforms and reach back to his grandfather's tastes. "He did what was evil in the sight of the Lord, according to the abominable practices of the nations whom the Lord drove out before the people of Israel. For he rebuilt the high places that his father Hezekiah had pulled down, and erected altars to the Baals, made sacred poles, worshiped all the host of heaven, and served them" (vs. 2 and 3). It is a tragedy that Manasseh made such errors, even to the point of sacrificing his own son to idols (vs. 6). This is why the torch of faith must be intentionally handed down from parents to children - otherwise, the flame could go out for a generation.
Mind the gap.
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