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11 Chronicles Chapter 33
Manasseh Reigns in Judah
- 2Chronicles 33:1
Manasseh was twelve years old when he began to reign, and he
reigned fifty and five years in Jerusalem:
- 2 But did that which
was evil in the sight of the LORD, like unto the abominations of
the heathen, whom the LORD had cast out before the children of
Israel.
- 3 For he built again
the high places which Hezekiah his father had broken down, and
he reared up altars for Baalim, and made groves, and worshipped
all the host of heaven, and served them.
- 4 Also he built
altars in the house of the LORD, whereof the LORD had said, In
Jerusalem shall my name be for ever.
- 5 And he built
altars for all the host of heaven in the two courts of the house
of the LORD.
- 6 And he caused his
children to pass through the fire in the valley of the son of
Hinnom: also he observed times, and used enchantments, and used
witchcraft, and dealt with a familiar spirit, and with wizards:
he wrought much evil in the sight of the LORD, to provoke him to
anger.
- 7 And he set a
carved image, the idol which he had made, in the house of God,
of which God had said to David and to Solomon his son, In this
house, and in Jerusalem, which I have chosen before all the
tribes of Israel, will I put my name for ever:
- 8 Neither will I any
more remove the foot of Israel from out of the land which I have
appointed for your fathers; so that they will take heed to do
all that I have commanded them, according to the whole law and
the statutes and the ordinances by the hand of Moses.
- 9 So Manasseh made
Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem to err, and to do worse
than the heathen, whom the LORD had destroyed before the
children of Israel.
As with all the human race, we never
seem to learn from history but repeat the same mistakes over and
over again. Idolatry whether it is using images, bowing down to
them, idolizing a person, coveting riches, being obsessed with
winning in sports or any other thing that causes us to ignore
holiness, goodness, people that suffer hunger and most all,
neglecting our need for God, will not only distroy our eternal souls
but destroy whole nations. We only have to read true history to see
that.
This king should have known better but
he followed after idolatry even to the point of forcing his own
children to pass through the fire. As a mother of five children this
is what blows my mind. How can a parent be so deceived by Satan as
to allow their children to be burned alive in sacrifices to these
idols? We do not see this a much now after the first coming of
Jesus, but before Christ, many nations and kingdoms that did not
worship the true God got into idolatry. Even those that use to
worship God but fell away from Him, began to do these things that
were so evil and caused such suffering among humanity.
There are other writings that said
Manasseh even had Isaiah sawed in half when Isaiah hid in a hollow
tree. Manasseh was so angry at Isaiah, that he had them saw the tree
in half with Isaiah still inside. Once we get away from God, we can
be deceived into many evil ways. It's a bad place to be and if we
don't repent and get right with God, we spend eternity in a place of
torment we call hell.
Manasseh's Repentance
The Lord always had some that do not
fall away. He sends His prophets to warn. Some listen, some do not.
- 2Chronicles 33:11
Wherefore the LORD brought upon them the captains of the host of
the king of Assyria, which took Manasseh among the thorns, and
bound him with fetters, and carried him to Babylon.
- 12 And when he was
in affliction, he besought the LORD his God, and humbled himself
greatly before the God of his fathers,
- 13 And prayed unto
him: and he was intreated of him, and heard his supplication,
and brought him again to Jerusalem into his kingdom. Then
Manasseh knew that the LORD he was God.
This is the good news. Some kings
started out good and turned to evil. Examples of this are King Saul,
Solomon and Uzziah. Most started out bad and stayed that way but
once in a while one will start out bad and by the mercy and grace of
God, they repent and turn to God when things get so bad, they
recognize their need for God. God sees the heart and knows who is
genuine and who is faking it just because they have been found out
and are in misery. Other wicked kings that were evil but later
either found God or repented. One was
Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon. God prefers to save
rather than destroy.
- 2Chronicles 33:14
Now after this he built a wall without the city of David, on the
west side of Gihon, in the valley, even to the entering in at
the fish gate, and compassed about Ophel, and raised it up a
very great height, and put captains of war in all the fenced
cities of Judah.
- 15 And he took away
the strange gods, and the idol out of the house of the LORD, and
all the altars that he had built in the mount of the house of
the LORD, and in Jerusalem, and cast them out of the city.
- 16 And he repaired
the altar of the LORD, and sacrificed thereon peace offerings
and thank offerings, and commanded Judah to serve the LORD God
of Israel.
- 17 Nevertheless the
people did sacrifice still in the high places, yet unto the LORD
their God only.
This is called compromising. We need to
watch this in our own lives. We can do things that are not quite
right but tell ourselves we can use to bring glory to God. The wrong
kind of music and dancing may be something we might want to
consider. Does it really glorify and honor God?
- 2Chronicles 33:18
Now the rest of the acts of Manasseh, and his prayer unto his
God, and the words of the seers that spake to him in the name of
the LORD God of Israel, behold, they are written in the book of
the kings of Israel.
- 19 His prayer also,
and how God was intreated of him, and all his sin, and his
trespass, and the places wherein he built high places, and set
up groves and graven images, before he was humbled: behold, they
are written among the sayings of the seers.
- 20 So Manasseh slept
with his fathers, and they buried him in his own house: and Amon
his son reigned in his stead.
Except for the mercy and grace of God that
comes through Jesus our Lord, where would many of us be?
Amon's Reign and Death
- 2Chronicles 33:21
Amon was two and twenty years old when he began to reign, and
reigned two years in Jerusalem.
- 22 But he did that
which was evil in the sight of the LORD, as did Manasseh his
father: for Amon sacrificed unto all the carved images which
Manasseh his father had made, and served them;
- 23 And humbled not
himself before the LORD, as Manasseh his father had humbled
himself; but Amon trespassed more and more.
- 24 And his servants
conspired against him, and slew him in his own house.
- 25 But 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.
Amon should have known better but he chose
the mimic his father's ways that his father did previously instead
of how his father did after he repented and did right before God.
Dorna
11
Chronicles Chapter 34
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