Today’s Reading:
Read II Kings 21:1-5; 7-15; 17-26; II Chronicles 33:10-25
Today we are jumping back into the story of the Israelites. Let’s see what you can remember about King Hezekiah. Did you remember he was the King of Judah, the Southern Kingdom? Did you remember that when he was king, the Northern Kingdom collapsed? Most importantly, did you remember that God used King Hezekiah to turn the nation of Israel back to Him? King Hezekiah removed the idols and the high places and pointed the nation back to serving the one true God.
Sadly, in today’s reading, we learn about 2 kings who followed Hezekiah who did not do what was pleasing to the Lord. Manasseh and Amon both did what was “evil in the Lord’s sight.” King Manasseh built an idol in the temple that Solomon had built. The people of Judah followed Manasseh and II Kings 21 tells us they strayed “so that they did worse evil than the nations the Lord had destroyed before the Israelites.”
An amazing part of this story is found in our reading in II Chronicles. While Manasseh definitely did what was evil in the sight of the Lord and he led the people of Judah to stray from God’s plan, he did come to a point in his reign where he recognized that he had sinned and asked God for forgiveness. God was faithful to forgive Manasseh, but the consequences of Manasseh’s sins were still pretty great. The people of Judah did not turn back to God. They continued to do what was evil in the sight of the Lord.
Application/Prayer:
Thank God for his willingness to always forgive us of our sins. Manasseh’s story is one that reminds us that it is never too late to ask God for forgiveness. Thank God for loving us enough to forgive us – no matter what or when!
July Memory Verse:
“Truly I tell you, anyone who hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not come under judgment but has passed from death to life.”
Using the daily reading prompts from George H. Guthrie’s Read the Bible for Life, here’s how to use this devotional:
- Bring your Bible! Your kids need to see that everything you are reading to them or learning about comes from an actual Bible!
- Each day starts with a reading prompt. Read the selection as a family. If your kids are readers, encourage them to read along with you.
- After you’ve read the passage, read the short devotional thought that goes along with each passage.
- Prayer and application are important any time we read God’s word! After each devotional, there is a challenge to help apply what your family has read that day.
- There is a reading for six days of the week. The last reading of the week is a Gospel Conversation Prompt to help you connect the reading from the week with God’s plan for salvation.
Other Resources:
July memory verse coloring sheet
July Fill-in the blank activity