King Amon of Judah (pronounced Ahh-mone) reigned for only two years as king over the Jews (642 – 640 BC). Yet, during his twenty-four months of reign, Amon committed some of the worst atrocities in the history of Judah. He is most remembered for his idolatrous and criminal practices that led o a revolt by the people and his assassination in 640 BC.
It’s hard to believe Amon was more wicked than his father, King Manasseh, who had reigned over Judah for five decades (732 – 687 BC). Manasseh killed the prophet Isaiah in 686 BC, ordering Isaiah “sawed in half” shortly after Manasseh had ascended to the throne. In addition, Manasseh reversed all the godly reform policies of his father, King Josiah. According to II Chronicles 33:2, “Manasseh did evil in the eyes of the Lord, following the detestable practices of the nations the Lord had driven out before the Israelites.
Yet King Amon was even more wicked than his father, Manasseh. The Talmud recounts, “Amon burnt the Torah, and allowed spider webs to cover the altar [through complete disuse] … Amon sinned very much.”
There is a very interesting statement in II Chronicles 33:23 about King Amon: “Unlike his father Manasseh, Amon did not humble himself before the Lord; Amon increased his guilt.”
One of the most significant conversion testimonies in the Scripture is the conversion of Manasseh. Toward the end of Manasseh’s life, after murdering Isaiah the prophet, defrauding the people of Israel, and living an entirely wicked life, Manasseh repented. As is often the case in life, Manasseh’s repentance only came after circumstances that humbled the powerful and great king of Judah. God has a way of “bringing down the proud.” The Bible says in II Chronicles 33:12-13:
“In Mannesseh’s distress, he sought the favor of the LORD his God and humbled himself greatly before the God of his ancestors. And when he prayed to him, the LORD was moved by his entreaty and listened to his plea; so he brought him back to Jerusalem and to his kingdom. Then Manasseh knew that the LORD (YHWH) is God.”
But Amon, the son of Manasseh, makes a fatal mistake. Amon believes he can live wickedly all of his life, enjoying the pleasures of sin (including an incestuous relationship with his mother). However, toward the end of his life, though Amaon, “I can REPENT just like my father Manasseh, and find YHWH’S forgiveness!”
A midrashic fragment preserved in the Apostolical Constitutions, ii. 23 states, “He that sins from a mere spirit of opposition, to see whether God will punish the wicked, shall find no pardon, although he says in his heart, ‘I shall have peace in the end (by repenting), though I walk in the stubbornness of my evil heart’” (Deut. xxix. 19).
Amon presumed upon God’s grace.
“Amon reasoned an evil reasoning of transgression and said: ‘My father from his childhood was a great transgressor, and he repented in his old age. So will I now walk after the lust of my soul and afterward return to the Lord.’ And he committed more evil in the sight of the Lord than all that were before him; but the Lord God speedily cut him off from this good land. And his servants conspired against him and slew him in his own house, and he reigned two years only.”
The above illustrates the teaching of Mishnah (Yoma, viii. 9):
“Whosoever says, ‘I will sin and repent thereafter,’ will not be granted the time for repentance.
The lesson from Amon’s assumption is clear.
The prideful presumption that one can live a sinful, wicked life, but at the end of life, REPENT, will wake up one day to realize his or her “time is cut short” and death knocks at the door before repentance occurs.
“Behold now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of deliverance” (II Corinthians 6:2).
“Don’t be misled; you cannot mock the justice of God. You will always harvest what you plant.” (Galatians 6:7)
Can you see where James is guilty of Jesus saying: “…You skillfully sidestep God’s law in order to hold on to your own tradition.” (Mark 7:9)
CHURCH COUNSEL
Peter: We believe that we are all saved the same way, by the underserved grace of the Lord Jesus.” (Acts 15:10-11)
“…James stood and said, Brothers listen to me…my judgment is…we should write and tell them to abstain from eating food offered to idols, from sexual immorality, eating the meat of strangled animals, and from consuming blood. For these laws of Moses have been preached in Jewish synagogues in every city on every sabbath for many generations. (Acts 15:13-21)
Can you see where James is guilty of Jesus saying: “…You skillfully sidestep God’s law in order to hold on to your own tradition.” (Mark 7:9)
“…James stood and said…we should write and tell them to abstain from eating food offered to idols, from sexual immorality, eating the meat of strangled animals, and from consuming blood. For these laws of Moses have been preached in Jewish synagogues in every city on every sabbath for many generations. (Acts 15:13-21)
Can you see where James is guilty of Jesus saying: “…You skillfully sidestep God’s law in order to hold on to your own tradition.” (Mark 7:9)
“…James stood and said…we should write and tell them to abstain from eating food offered to idols, from sexual immorality, eating the meat of strangled animals, and from consuming blood. For these laws of Moses have been preached in Jewish synagogues in every city on every sabbath for many generations. (Acts 15:13-21)
In the light of the Risen Christ Who opens our minds to understand the gospels, what seems to us a hopeless condemnation of ‘those other sinners’ crashes into Christ’s recorded words in St. Matthew’s Gospel and comes into conflict with the Christ Who had pity on those who ‘were without a shepherd and were weary and worn and fainted’ . . . .
So, what DOES the Lord Christ use as a way to ‘measure’ a broken human’s soul ?
Was there maybe even one forgotten act of kindness somewhere on the journey that ‘mattered’ in God’s Eyes as an eternally meaningful act of love freely given without thought of self????
and is there, in some ‘final’ moment, a ‘redemption’, a ‘healing’ that we cannot fathom in that ‘space’ between the final moments of the ‘life’ and the ‘death’ of a human person? is some awakening of renewed life still possible in that moment ???
Is there anything rational or logical about the kind of saving love shown by God when we look at Jesus Christ and Him Crucified?
No.
Not in our world.
Only in the Kingdom of God can we see with eyes opened, so that our hearts are broken in contrition
Something else is at work in the saving mysteries of Christ . . . something beyond ALL understanding, even beyond our human comprehension of the
Spoken Word IF we do not stand in awe of the compassionate love of God for all of His Creation.
In the light of the Risen Christ Who opens our minds to understand the gospels, what seems to us a hopeless condemnation of ‘those other sinners’ crashes into Christ’s recorded words in St. Matthew’s Gospel and comes into conflict with the Christ Who had pity on those who ‘were without a shepherd and were weary and worn and fainted’ . . . .
So, what DOES the Lord Christ use as a way to ‘measure’ a broken human’s soul ?
Was there maybe even one forgotten act of kindness somewhere on the journey that ‘mattered’ in God’s Eyes as an eternally meaningful act of love freely given without thought of self????
and is there, in some ‘final’ moment, a ‘redemption’, a ‘healing’ that we cannot fathom in that ‘space’ between the final moments of the ‘life’ and the ‘death’ of a human person? is some awakening of renewed life still possible in that moment ???
Is there anything rational or logical about the kind of saving love shown by God when we look at Jesus Christ and Him Crucified?
No.
Not in our world.
Only in the Kingdom of God can we see with eyes opened, so that our hearts are broken in contrition
Something else is at work in the saving mysteries of Christ . . . something beyond ALL understanding, even beyond our human comprehension of the
Spoken Word IF we do not stand in awe of the compassionate love of God for all of His Creation.
In the light of the Risen Christ Who opens our minds to understand the gospels, what seems to us a hopeless condemnation of ‘those other sinners’ crashes into Christ’s recorded words in St. Matthew’s Gospel and comes into conflict with the Christ Who had pity on those who ‘were without a shepherd and were weary and worn and fainted’ . . . .
So, what DOES the Lord Christ use as a way to ‘measure’ a broken human’s soul ?
Was there maybe even one forgotten act of kindness somewhere on the journey that ‘mattered’ in God’s Eyes as an eternally meaningful act of love freely given without thought of self????
and is there, in some ‘final’ moment, a ‘redemption’, a ‘healing’ that we cannot fathom in that ‘space’ between the final moments of the ‘life’ and the ‘death’ of a human person? is some awakening of renewed life still possible in that moment ???
Is there anything rational or logical about the kind of saving love shown by God when we look at Jesus Christ and Him Crucified?
No.
Not in our world.
Only in the Kingdom of God can we see with eyes opened, so that our hearts are broken in contrition
Something else is at work in the saving mysteries of Christ . . . something beyond ALL understanding, even beyond our human comprehension of the
Spoken Word IF we do not stand in awe of the compassionate love of God for all of His Creation.
Fox News states Putin said he is not afraid to go to a nuclear war.
REX RAY,
If Putin could wait until maybe Trump is elected in ’24, then Putin could get his way and Trump would pull us out of NATO so Putin could invade the NATO countries and ‘take back the Russian Empire’.
But Putin is impatient. He wants his way NOW. Hence, his threats to use nukes.
BTW – my former two comments didn’t ‘get through the machine either
REX RAY,
Putin looks like a fool because his generals all lied to him telling him that the Russian army was up to snuff. But the men were untrained and the equipment failed.
Putin was disgraced by this failure, so the threats are all he has left. It won’t work. People even in Russia are on to him.
I guess that’s what happens when an authoritarian leader demands to be praised and told what he wants to hear, instead of the real truth. In the end, I feel sorry for the Russian people. They’ve never had a chance at a Western-style democracy, no. It’s a shame.
REX RAY,
I’m trying my comment again, this time shortened a bit:
“what seems to us a hopeless condemnation of ‘those other sinners’ crashes into Christ’s recorded words in St. Matthew’s Gospel and comes into conflict with the Christ Who had pity on those who ‘were without a shepherd and were weary and worn and fainted’ . . . .
So, what DOES the Lord Christ use as a way to ‘measure’ a broken human’s soul ? Was there maybe even one forgotten act of kindness somewhere on the journey that ‘mattered’ in God’s Eyes as an eternally meaningful act of love freely given without thought of self????
and is there, in some ‘final’ moment, a ‘redemption’, a ‘healing’ that we cannot fathom in that ‘space’ between the final moments of the ‘life’ and the ‘death’ of a human person? is some awakening of renewed life still possible in that moment ???
CHRISTIANE,
Jack was my Dad’s assistant and wanted to skip breakfast and sleep in his foxhole, but Dad made him get up and eat. A few minutes later, a German shell blew Jack’s Bible to pieces that was under his pillow.
None of the men had a mustache except Jack. Dad asked him to shave it off many times, but he wouldn’t. The others resented him refusing Dad’s request.
After weeks of sleeping in foxholes, they came to a barn full of hay and slept like dead men. But some got fresh droppings from a chicken pen, and smeared Jack’s mustache.
Next morning, they started telling Jack how bad the barn smelled. They were disappointed when he didn’t say anything, but laughed their heads off, when he went outside saying “The whole world stinks!” He shaved it off.
Christiane,
Jack was my Dad’s assistant and none of the men had a mustache except Jack. Dad asked him to shave it off many times, but he wouldn’t. The others resented him refusing Dad’s request.
After weeks of sleeping in foxholes, they came to a barn full of hay and slept like dead men. But some got fresh droppings from a chicken pen, and smeared Jack’s mustache.
Next morning, they started telling Jack how bad the barn smelled. They were disappointed when he didn’t say anything, but laughed their heads off, when he went outside saying “The whole world stinks!” He shaved it off.
Hello Machine,
What are your rules, subject, time of day, number of words etc.?
Jack was my Dad’s assistant and none of the men had a mustache except Jack. Dad asked him to shave it off many times, and the others resented him refusing Dad’s request.
After weeks of sleeping in foxholes, they came to a barn full of hay and slept like dead men. Some got fresh droppings from a chicken pen, and smeared Jack’s mustache.
Next morning, they started telling Jack how bad the barn smelled. They were disappointed when he didn’t say anything, but laughed their heads off, when he went outside saying “The whole world stinks!” He shaved it off.
Putin never knew Jack was my Dad’s assistant and none of the men had a mustache except Jack. Dad asked him to shave it off many times, and the others resented him refusing Dad’s request.
After weeks of sleeping in foxholes, they came to a barn full of hay and slept like dead men. Some got fresh droppings from a chicken pen, and smeared Jack’s mustache.
Next morning, they started telling Jack how bad the barn smelled. They were disappointed when he didn’t say anything, but laughed their heads off, when he went outside saying “The whole world stinks!” He shaved it off.
Hey Machine,
You won’t let me tell how I related to the song, Up From
The Grave He Arose.
Machine; the story: After a chiropractor treated my back pain, he told me to take a hot bath. I picked up our newspaper in the front yard and laid it by the bathtub. Got the water hot and started reading. Something wiggled on my stomach. I raised the paper and a small grass snake’s forked tongue stopped within an inch of my nose. I arose feeling no pain like the song Up from the grave he arose.
REX RAY,
arguing with ‘the Machine’ is like arguing with God . . .
OTOH, it looks like you are making progress – don’t give up ! 🙂