The LORD said to me:

Even if Moses and Samuel were here, praying with you, I wouldn’t change my mind. So send the people of Judah away. And when they ask where they are going, tell them that I, the LORD, have said:

Some of you are going to die
of horrible diseases.
Others are going to die in war
or from starvation.
The rest will be led away
to a foreign country.
I will punish you
in four different ways:
You will be killed in war
and your bodies dragged off
by dogs,
your flesh will be eaten by birds,
and your bones will be chewed on
by wild animals.
This punishment will happen
because of the horrible things
your King Manasseh did.
And you will be disgusting
to all nations on earth.
People of Jerusalem,
who will feel sorry for you?
Will anyone bother
to ask if you are well? (Jeremiah 15:1-5)

Thanks, we needed that. Hezekiah was described as one of the best kings of Judah. In contrast, his son, Manasseh, was considered one of the worst to ever sit upon the throne of David. Despite that, he reigned longer than any other Jewish king: fifty-five years. He rejected the reforms that his father had made and reverted to the worship of Baal and Asherah, building multiple altars and high places for them. He burned his son as an offering, practiced soothsaying and consulted with mediums and wizards. He led the people of Judah far away from Yahweh. God blamed him for the destruction that was coming from the Babylonians.

Josiah’s subsequent reforms were inadequate. The judgment upon the nation had become inevitable. Moses had prayed for the Israelites after they had made the golden calves while he was getting the Ten Commandments. God had wanted to destroy the Israelites and raise up a new nation to replace them, but Moses’ prayer had convinced God to spare them. Samuel had led Israel, gotten them not one but two kings, including David who had established Israel as a powerful kingdom. But even Moses and Samuel would not be able to help Israel now.

God’s point, of course, was simply that nothing but the coming discipline would be able to fix his people. God knew what his people really needed. They didn’t need Moses and Samuel. They needed Jeremiah and the Babylonians. Whatever God does to us is what we needed to happen to us.

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