2 Chronicles 33:1-25

The nation of Judah continues to go through ups and downs in their walk with the Lord as they follow their kings who seem to be alternating between godliness and godlessness.  Hezekiah was one of the best kings who reigned in Judah, but his son, Manasseh was one of the worst.  It is interesting to note that had Hezekiah died when the Lord had said he would instead of begging for the extra fifteen years; Manasseh would have never been born.  Hezekiah’s failures as a king were all during those extra fifteen years.  We would do well to except the Lord’s plans for our lives instead of thinking that we know what is best.  However, the story of Manasseh is not all bad and, in reality, is better than many other kings.  While so many kings started well but finished poorly; Manasseh, started very poorly but he finished well.  In reality all of us start poorly, but God is gracious to set us free from sin so that we might be liberated from our captivity in sin through the work of Christ.

MANASSEH REJECTED THE LORD AND WORSHIPED IDOLS: Manasseh was one of the most wicked kings in the history of both Judah and Israel.  Not only did he rebuild the high places his father had destroyed, he build altars to idols in the temple of God and he offers his sons has human sacrifices on these altars.  God had brought the children of Israel into this land because of these very practices in the midst of the original inhabitants of the land.  Unfortunately, the idolatry of Manasseh was worse than what these other godless nations had practiced.  How the heart of God must break when His children practice that which is worse than the sins of those who have no knowledge of His Word.  Rebellion against the Word of God is far worse than ignorance of the Word of God.  Judah had been given great revelation from the Lord, but they chose to reject that revelation and follow the godless practices of the people who surrounded them.  It is certainly much easier to blend in with the people around us than it is to follow the revealed Word of God.  We must be committed to obeying the Word of God no matter how the World lives.

MANASSEH REPENTED BEFORE GOD AND WORSHIPED THE LORD: As a result of Manasseh’s rebellion against God, he was taken captive by the king of Assyria.  He was humiliated and led away from Jerusalem with hooks and shackled in chains.  Sin always sells itself as being so pleasurable, but it always seems to leave out the picture of being captured by hooks and draped in chains.  The reality is that sin in always enslaving and leaves us in a humiliated and hopeless state.  Manasseh recognized that he had done evil and repented before the Lord.  As a result of his repentance he was restored to his kingdom in Jerusalem and promptly proceeded to follow the Lord and destroy the idols that he had built.  Unfortunately, the people did not follow his lead and continued to offer sacrifices to the Lord in the high places instead of in the temple as the Lord had instructed.  It is a comfort to know that no matter how far into sin we might fall, God is still in control and He is gracious to forgive us when we repent.  There are no chains strong enough to hold us captive from the grace of God’s forgiveness.

AMON RETURNED TO IDOLATRY AND WORSHIPED IDOLS: Manasseh’s son had lived under the evil influence of his father and did not change to follow the obedience of his father at the end of his reign.  Amon decided to rebuild the altars and idols that his father had taken down and worshiped them instead of the Lord.  However, he did not repent and his reign only lasted for two years.  The servants of Amon conspired against him and killed him.  We cannot think that we will always be given as long to turn from our sin as Manasseh was given.  Amon may have thought that he would eventually repent as his father had done, but he simply did not have the time to do so.  We must be committed to walking constantly in the presence of God and not following the paths of sin in the first place.  Repentance is a gift from God with which not everyone is blessed.  We need to rejoice in God’s mercy if, by His grace, we have been given the gift of repentance.