May your father and mother be glad.
—Proverbs 23:25
Here’s a picture of contrasts:
“Hezekiah trusted in the Lord . . . There was no one like him among all the kings of Judah . . . He held fast to the Lord and did not cease to follow him” (2 Kgs 18:5–6).
Now, the contrast—
“Manasseh led [the people] to do even more evil than the pagan nations” (2 Kgs 21:9).
Judah had a few good kings—Hezekiah was one of the best. They had many bad kings—Manasseh was one of the worst.
Manasseh was Hezekiah’s son. Each made his own decisions.
Hezekiah sought good counsel (2 Kgs 19:1–7); Manasseh followed corrupt counsel (2 Kgs 21:6). Hezekiah prayed (Is 37:14–21; 38:1–6); Manasseh ignored the Lord (2 Chr 33:10).
There’s a lot of parental pain when their children go spiritually AWOL.
Honor the uniform, soldier. Carry on!