“Amaziah did what was pleasing in the LORD’s sight, but not like his ancestor David. Instead, he followed the example of his father, Joash. Amaziah did not destroy the pagan shrines, and the people still offered sacrifices and burned incense there.”
2 Kings 14:3-4 NLT
Evidently, Solomon never considered the long-term effects of building pagan shrines. Solomon’s son and grandson built even more shrines, and the kings who followed did not remove them.
Sadly, today’s scripture is repeated multiple times in Judah’s history. Asa, Jehoshaphat, Josiah, Amaziah, Uzziah, and Jotham were all good kings, but for two hundred years not one of them destroyed Solomon’s pagan shrines. As a result, evil King Ahaz not only burned incense at those shrines, but he even replaced the bronze altar in the Temple with a pagan altar! (2 Kings 16)
It is not only rebellious choices that affect our descendants. All six kings made good choices to serve the Lord and not worship idols. However, they did NOT remove the pagan shrines—therefore they CHOSE to keep evil in their kingdom. That evil ultimately destroyed their descendants.
I too have tried to make good choices during my lifetime, but in 1997 God opened my eyes to a pagan shrine I had not yet removed—Pride. It had caused me to judge other people with MY grid of holiness. Sadly, I see a lot of prideful judging and criticizing going on in our world today.
Isn’t it time we all look around and begin demolishing those shrines?
If we don’t, they will most definitely reap havoc for generations to come!
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