Today's Reading June 10

This morning = 2nd Chronicles, chapters 32 and 33
We see in chapter 32 more of the story of Hezekiah, a good king, one of the very best. And we see that the LORD gave him victory over his enemies, and long life, and great riches, and the love of of his subjects. And then, as ever, Hezekiah dies at the end of the account in chapter 32.
In chapter 33, Hezekiah's son Manasseh takes the throne. And he is of a decidedly different sort, something we see over and over. Though this is a bit different than some of these accounts. Manasseh does very wickedly, and receives the punishment, but not the condemnation of the LORD. And so,

12 And when he was in affliction, he besought the LORD his God, and humbled himself greatly before the God of his fathers,
13 And prayed unto him: and he was intreated of him, and heard his supplication, and brought him again to Jerusalem into his kingdom. Then Manasseh knew that the LORD he was God.

Good result, right? Well, partially. Manasseh repented, and worked to reverse things. And then he died. And his son was more wicked than he had been, and did not repent.

22 But he did that which was evil in the sight of the LORD, as did Manasseh his father: for Amon sacrificed unto all the carved images which Manasseh his father had made, and served them;
23 And humbled not himself before the LORD, as Manasseh his father had humbled himself; but Amon trespassed more and more.
24 And his servants conspired against him, and slew him in his own house.
25 But the people of the land slew all them that had conspired against king Amon; and the people of the land made Josiah his son king in his stead.

Is this any way to run a kingdom?
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This evening - the Gospel of John, chapter 18, verses 24 through 40
This is Jesus bound, and the account begins with one of those very sad accounts,

25 And Simon Peter stood and warmed himself. They said therefore unto him, Art not thou also one of his disciples? He denied it, and said, I am not.
26 One of the servants of the high priest, being his kinsman whose ear Peter cut off, saith, Did not I see thee in the garden with him?
27 Peter then denied again: and immediately the cock crew.

Fulfilling what Jesus had told Peter only hours before.
There is another phrase here, one that seems to be seen in our own world altogether too much.

38 Pilate saith unto him, What is truth?

I hear on too many lips the notions expressed that ''everything's relative'' and ''whatever works for me'' or other ways of denying the very existence of objective absolute truth. Pilate wasn't the first to deny this, probably. It is a sad thing that he has so many like-minded followers, each as foolish as he was.