The famed architect-designer, Stanford White (1853–1906), once shocked an editor by the high price he charged for a magazine cover design. Although he had spent much thought in preparing the design, its classic simplicity caused his customer to wonder at the bill of $500—a goodly sum at the turn of the 1900s. “I’d say that was a pretty steep price for such a plain design,” said the editor.
“The price,” explained White, “was for knowing what to leave out.” 1
God knew what to leave out of His story… and what to include. One detail He chose to give us is the age of the kings as they took office. Joash was only seven, Manasseh was twelve, and Josiah was eight.2
Yet another interesting detail is how old the kings were when their sons were born. Check this out. Jotham was a good king (“he did right in the sight of the Lord”) and became the father of Ahaz at twenty-three. But Ahaz was eleven when he became a dad!3
I don’t know about you, but this makes me wonder about how Ahaz himself was parented. Was the little guy given too much freedom around the palace? Did the young prince get whatever he wanted? Jotham, you’re the dad! Where were you when all this was going on? Were you too busy? What’d you leave out of your parenting?
Maybe this helps us understand the statement about Ahaz, “he did not do right in the sight of the Lord.”
Knowing what to leave out… and keep… is always key.
2 2 Chronicles 24, 33, 34
3 2 Chronicles 28, 29
