Manasseh and us

Grave thoughts from the Archbishop's column in our diocesan newspaper:

Josiah’s grandfather was King Manasseh, whose 55 years of leadership over Israel marked one of the darkest periods for the people of God. Scripture tells us that Manasseh “did what was evil in the sight of the Lord,” which not only included pagan idolatry but also child sacrifice. He offered up even his own sons in sacrifice in the valley of Hinnom, and since the word in Hebrew for valley is “Ge” it was known as the valley of Ge-henna, a name that the New Testament uses as a metaphor for hell.

It’s sobering that God’s own people could be so deeply degraded by a pagan culture that they would sacrifice their own children. But obviously we don’t need to look very far to find modern parallels.