Building and Removing Statues 2 Kings 18:1-6; 21:1-9

“So while these nations feared the LORD, they also served their idols; their children likewise and their grandchildren, as their fathers did, so they do to this day” (2 Kings 17:41, NASB).

In the previous article, we talked about the purpose and meaning of memorials. This week we discuss the effects of building and removing statues that serve as memorials. These two articles are written because of events that have been taking place in our country in recent years and particularly since February 25, 2020. For many years there has been a call by some to remove statues of southern civil war heroes. On the other hand those who support the display of these statues state that these statues serve as lessons for the history of our country. Since these articles are addressed to a Christian audience we will look at the reforms of Hezekiah, king in Judah as recorded in 2 Kings 18-20 and 2 Chronicles 29-32. We will also look at Hezekiah’s successor, his son Manasseh recorded in 2 Kings 21:1-18 and 2 Chronicles 33:1-20. Before we look at these passages of scriptures, let us first give a brief account of the erecting and removing of statues in America.

Some historians state that the erecting of these statues in the southern states was done in response to legislations and laws passed to advance the rights of minorities in our country. They point out that these statues were erected because they serve as symbols of the confederate states that stood for succession, treason and war against the union that stood in opposition to slavery. Those states that supported slavery did so because they believed in white supremacy, that is, Black people are inferior to white people. Even after the civil war ended southern states enacted Black Codes and Jim Crow laws for the purpose of legalization of systems that perpetuated systemic racism, oppression, and racial injustices.

In recent years there have been a number of Black people; especially Black men, that have been killed by white police officers. The outcry from the Black community has gotten louder and louder. On February 25, 2020 George Floyd is killed by a white policeman in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Since his death the demands for social justice reform has increased. There have been peaceful protest marches, and there has been violence and destruction of property. Some believe that social justice must begin by the removal of all memorials and statues of persons that have supported racism, white supremacy, and laws that promote social injustices in our country. The question for us is what will be the effects if the statues and confederate flag are removed from public display? Will their removal result in reformation with temporary change in practices? Will their removal result in transformation with permanent change in public practices, personal behaviors, and attitudes of the hearts of people. Let us look at the reigns of Hezekiah and Manasseh and how their leadership affected the lives of the people that they led.

In 2 Kings 18 the writer introduces us to Hezekiah. Hezekiah is the son of Ahaz. He is twenty-five years old, and he reigns for twenty –nine years. So, first we know something about Hezekiah’s ancestral history. His father reigned before him and “did not do what was right in the sight of the LORD his God, as his father David had done” (2 Kings 16:2, NASB). We will notice that the writer includes an assessment of the king’s rule in relationship to the Lord his God. Hezekiah “did right in the sight of the LORD, according to all that his father David had done” (18:3, NASB). We also see that David is the king that the king’s of Judah are compared to. This is because David was the first king that reigned over a united Israel (2 Sam. 5:1-5). David is devoted to the Lord and although David sinned, we have no record of David worshipping idol gods.

David’s son Solomon follows him on the throne. It is through Solomon that Judah begins to have public worship of foreign gods. Solomon begins his reign accomplishing many things for the Lord, including the building of the temple. However, something goes wrong. In 1 Kings 11:1-8 we learn that Solomon loved foreign women from the nations that God had commanded the Israelites not to associate with. Solomon’s wives turned his heart away from the Lord. “For when Solomon was old, his wives turned his heart away after other gods; his heart was not wholly devoted the LORD his God, as the heart of David his father had been. Solomon begins to worship the gods of his foreign wives. He builds the high places for worship of these foreign gods. He follows the worship practices of these idol gods. We can see that the writer is telling us that it is what is in the heart of man that directs his actions. Now, let us return to the reign of Hezekiah.

We have seen that Hezekiah’s heart in toward God. He is compared favorably to David. Because he is devoted to the Lord, Hezekiah removes all the monuments and statues devoted to the foreign gods. He does not participate in any form of worship devoted to the foreign gods. There is no approval of public worship of idols given from the throne. Things look good. The people are following public protocol. The question however is this. Does the absence of public display mean that the hearts of the people are turned to the Lord? What are the people doing and saying in their private spaces among their friends and associates?

For example, in America there has been a call for “politically correct language.” White people cannot refer to Black people by the derogatory, insulting, and demeaning names that have been used in the past. People no longer use negative words to describe women, people in the LBGTQ communities, and children born to single mothers. Does this mean that people have changed their minds and attitudes? Are these people really respected or is it the case that people learn new ways to carry out their true feelings and attitudes? We have seen that Hezekiah changes the public display of worship in Judah. We now turn to the reign of his son Manasseh.

The writer of 2 Kings introduces us to Manasseh in much the same way that he introduces all the kings. “Manasseh was twelve years old when he became king, and he reigned fifty-five years in Jerusalem; and his mother’s name was Hephzibah. He did evil in the sight of the LORD, according to the abominations of the nations whom the LORD dispossessed before the sons of Israel. For he rebuilt the high places which Hezekiah his father had destroyed” (2 Kg. 21:1-3, NASB). In his fifty-five year reign Manasseh leads the people to do more wickedly than the Amorites before him did (v. 10-11).

Manasseh’s reign is so wicked that the Lord sends His prophets to denounce the nation because of their sins. The writer tells us that regardless of the public policy of the kings, the people privately did evil in the sight of the Lord. “I will abandon the remnant of My inheritance and deliver them into the hand of their enemies, and they will become as plunder and spoil to all their enemies; because they have done evil in My sight, and have been provoking Me to anger since the day their fathers came out of Egypt, even to this day” (21:14-15). We have seen what takes place during the reigns of Hezekiah and Manasseh. We come back to the questions stated above.

What effect will the removal of statues have on people? How will their removal affect change in attitudes and relationships both temporarily and permanently? Will the removal of statues and busts in remembrance of confederate heroes improve race relationships in the south and throughout our nations? Will laws be changed that will removes systems of racial discrimination and injustices? Will police brutality cease?

We have learned through our study of Hezekiah and Manasseh that in order to bring about permanent resolution there must be a change in the hearts of the people. I believe that the historical record show us that war, politics, laws have failed to bring about peace between nations, ethnic groups, religious groups, and any other classification of human being. Is there a solution? Yes there is a solution. The solution is the love of God in the hearts of people that are devoted to the teaching of Jesus Christ. The songwriter put it this way: “Jesus is the answer for the world today, Without Him there’s no other Jesus is the way.” If this is true, and I believe that it is, it is about time that the church, the Disciples of Christ be about its business of being the light of God in this dark world.