Amon Of Judah

Amon, from the Hebrew name pronounced aw-mone, meaning a builder, or an architect, was the 14th king (the 15th ruler, if one includes the usurper Athaliah Of Judah) of the southern kingdom of Judah (see Israelite Monarchy - The Southern Kingdom), which came into existence from The Division Of Israel after the death of King Solomon.

Amon succeeded his father Manasseh as king (see Kings of Israel and Judah and Israelite Dynasties).

"^21:17 Now the rest of the acts of Manasseh, and all that he did, and his sin that he sinned, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah?

^21:18 And Manasseh slept with his fathers, and was buried in the garden of his own house, in the garden of Uzza: and Amon his son reigned in his stead." (2 Kings 21:17-18 KJV)

"He did that which was evil in the sight of the LORD, as his father Manasseh did"

Unlike his father's fifty-five year reign, Amon held the throne of Judah for only two years.

"^21:19 Amon was twenty and two years old when he began to reign, and he reigned two years in Jerusalem. And his mother's name was Meshullemeth, the daughter of Haruz of Jotbah." (2 Kings 21:19 KJV)

Although his reign was much shorter than his father, Amon was similar to his father Manasseh in unrighteousness.

"^21:20 And he did that which was evil [see also Evil Means Fool] in the sight of the LORD, as his father Manasseh did.

^21:21 And he walked in all the way that his father walked in, and served the idols that his father served, and worshipped them:

^21:22 And he forsook the LORD God of his fathers, and walked not in the way of the LORD." (2 Kings 21:20-22 KJV)

Surprisingly (considering that Amon had to have known what was done to his father to cure him of his Satanic arrogance), Amon was as arrogant as his father (he "humbled not himself before the LORD, as Manasseh his father had humbled himself"), although Manasseh's humility was brought about by the LORD allowing the Assyrians to capture him and lead him off to Assyria with a hook through his jaw (see Manasseh Of Judah).

"^33:23 And humbled not himself before the LORD [see 'Before Abraham Was, I AM' to understand who "the LORD God" was - and is], as Manasseh his father had humbled himself; but Amon trespassed more and more." (2 Chronicles 33:23 KJV)

Whether or not the LORD would have eventually humbled Amon in the same way as his father is unknown; Amon was assassinated by his own servants in his own house.

"^21:23 And the servants of Amon conspired against him, and slew the king in his own house.

^21:24 And 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." (2 Kings 21:23-24 KJV)

Amon was succeeded as king by his son Josiah, who unlike his father and grandfather, was an extremely righteous king: "^23:25 And like unto him was there no king before him, that turned to the LORD with all his heart, and with all his soul, and with all his might, according to all the law of Moses; neither after him arose there any like him." (2 Kings 23:25 KJV).

"^21:25 Now the rest of the acts of Amon which he did, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah?

^21:26 And he was buried in his sepulchre in the garden of Uzza: and Josiah his son reigned in his stead." (2 Kings 21:25-26 KJV)

There is an old saying that "there is some good in everyone." In the case of unrighteous Amon (as well as a number of other evil kings "along the line"), more than anything it was merely the existence of the line that was to run, unbroken, from Abraham to David to Jesus Christ itself - of which Amon was just a carrier, rather than an upholder. It is for that reason that unrighteous Amon, and his evil father Manasseh, are listed in the genealogy of the Messiah (see the Fact Finder question below).

"^1:1 The book of the generation of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham.

^1:2 Abraham [see What Made Abraham Righteous?] begat Isaac; and Isaac begat Jacob; and Jacob begat Judas and his brethren; ^1:3 And Judas begat Phares and Zara of Thamar; and Phares begat Esrom; and Esrom begat Aram; ^1:4 And Aram begat Aminadab; and Aminadab begat Naasson; and Naasson begat Salmon; ^1:5 And Salmon begat Booz of Rachab; and Booz begat Obed of Ruth; and Obed begat Jesse; ^1:6 And Jesse begat David the king [see Israelite Monarchy - The Origin and Israelite Monarchy - The United Kingdom]; and David the king begat Solomon of her that had been the wife of Urias; ^1:7 And Solomon begat Roboam; and Roboam begat Abia; and Abia begat Asa; ^1:8 And Asa begat Josaphat; and Josaphat begat Joram; and Joram begat Ozias; ^1:9 And Ozias begat Joatham; and Joatham begat Achaz; and Achaz begat Ezekias; ^1:10 And Ezekias begat Manasses; and Manasses begat Amon; and Amon begat Josias; ^1:11 And Josias begat Jechonias and his brethren, about the time they were carried away to Babylon:

^1:12 And after they were brought to Babylon, Jechonias begat Salathiel; and Salathiel begat Zorobabel; ^1:13 And Zorobabel begat Abiud; and Abiud begat Eliakim; and Eliakim begat Azor; ^1:14 And Azor begat Sadoc; and Sadoc begat Achim; and Achim begat Eliud; ^1:15 And Eliud begat Eleazar; and Eleazar begat Matthan; and Matthan begat Jacob; ^1:16 And Jacob begat Joseph the husband of Mary, of whom was born Jesus, who is called Christ.

^1:17 So all the generations from Abraham to David are fourteen generations; and from David until the carrying away into Babylon are fourteen generations; and from the carrying away into Babylon unto Christ are fourteen generations." (Matthew 1:1-17 KJV)

Fact Finder: Did the righteous "seed of David" actually begin with Abraham? Was the promise of the Messianic "seed" actually made to Abraham, not David?
See The Seed Of David

This Day In History, March 27

1512: Spanish explorer Juan Ponce de Leon arrived at Florida.

1536: Swiss Protestants in Strassbourg and Constance signed the First Helvetic Confession.

1625: King James I, the first king to rule both England and Scotland, died. The King James Bible was named after him. He was succeeded by Charles I.

1802: The Treaty of Amiens was signed in France by Britain, France, Spain and the Batavian Republic, achieving a complete peace in Europe for 14 months during the Napoleonic Wars.

1910: Archaeological digging near the Temple Mount by Captain Montague Parker (he was searching for items from the Second Temple) set off turmoil from both Muslims and Jews. Many Jews and Christians believe that despite the destruction of The Temple, the Ark Of The Covenant is safely hidden in a secret tunnel somewhere under the Temple Mount (see also Raiders Of The Lost Ark). In 1995, another archaeologist noted how the massive stones from the Herodian Temple (see Temples) had been hurled down and smashed onto the street far below, exactly as Jesus Christ said would happen in Matthew 24:1-2.

1923: Scottish chemist and physicist Sir James Dewar, who invented the thermos flask and cordite (a smokeless gunpowder), died.

1945: Germany launched its last V2 rocket from the Hague in the Netherlands, crashing in Orpington, southeast of London.

1958: Nikita Khrushchev became the leader of the Soviet Union.

1964: The most powerful earthquake on record for North America occurred at Anchorage, Alaska. It measured 8.3 on the Richter Scale.

1968: Yuri Gagarin, 34, Soviet cosmonaut, the first man in space, was killed in a training flight.

1977: The worst aviation accident in history killed 582 people in the Canary Islands when two 747 airliners collided on the runway.

1980: Mount St. Helens in Washington state became active after 123 years of inactivity.

1996: Yigal Amir received a life sentence for assassinating Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin in November 1995.