But after a morning of great promise his life was darkened by apostasy. History records the melancholy fact that he who had been called Jedidiah,--"Beloved of the Lord" (2 Samuel 12:25, margin),--he who had been honored by God with tokens of divine favor so remarkable that his wisdom and uprightness gained for him world-wide fame, he who had led others to ascribe honor to the God of 52 Israel, turned from the worship of Jehovah to bow before the idols of the heathen.

Men efter en meget lovende morgenrøde blev hans liv formørket af frafald. Det gik så tragisk, at den mand, som var blevet kaldt Jedidja, d.v.s. Herrens elskede (2Sam. 12,25), det menneske, som Gud havde beæret med så tydelige beviser på sin gunst, at hans visdom og retfærdighed skaffede ham verdensry; den person, som havde tilskyndet andre til at give Israels Gud æren han ophørte med at tjene Gud og bøjede sig for hedningernes afguder.