It is noteworthy that in all this there is not even one reference to the cultic transgressions or idolatry which characterized earlier kings such as Jehoram, Ahaz and Manasseh (II Chron. 21.6, 10b–11; 28.2–4, 22–25; 33.3–7 following its Deuteronomistic source). The apogee of the king’s transgression, according to this view, is his unwillingness to listen to the Lord’s word, the wilful spurning of the Lord’s authority.
