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Speaker 1: I'm John Stangi, and today we're in Second Chronicles, chapter
Speaker 1: thirty three, and we'll be reading from the New English translation.
Speaker 1: Manassa was twelve years old when he became king, and
Speaker 1: he reigned for fifty five years in Jerusalem. He did
Speaker 1: evil in the sight of the Lord, and committed the
Speaker 1: same horrible sins practiced by the nations whom the Lord
Speaker 1: drove out ahead of the Israelites. He rebuilt the high
Speaker 1: places that his father has Akiah had destroyed. He set
Speaker 1: up altars for the bales and made a shira polls.
Speaker 1: He bowed down to all the stars in the sky
Speaker 1: and worshiped them. He built altars in the Lord's temple,
Speaker 1: about which the Lord had said, Jerusalem will be my
Speaker 1: permanent home. In the two courtyards of the Lord's temple,
Speaker 1: he built altars for all the stars in the sky.
Speaker 1: He passed his sons through the fire in the valley
Speaker 1: of Ben Hinhem and practiced divination, omen reading, and sorcery.
Speaker 1: He set up a ritual pit to conjure up underworld's spirits,
Speaker 1: and appointed magicians to supervise it. He did a great
Speaker 1: amount of evil in the sight of the Lord and
Speaker 1: angered him. He put an idolatrous image he had made
Speaker 1: in God's temple, about which God had said to David
Speaker 1: and to his son Solomon. This temple in Jerusalem, which
Speaker 1: I have chosen out of all the tribes of Israel,
Speaker 1: will be my permanent home. I will not make Israel
Speaker 1: again leave the land I gave to their ancestors, provided
Speaker 1: that they carefully obey all I have commanded them, the
Speaker 1: whole law, the rules and regulations given to Moses. But
Speaker 1: Manassah misled the people of Judah and the residence of Jerusalem,
Speaker 1: so that they sinned more than the nations whom the
Speaker 1: Lord had destroyed. Ahead of the Israelites, the Lord confronted
Speaker 1: Manassa and his people, but they paid no attention. So
Speaker 1: the Lord brought against them the commanders of the army
Speaker 1: of the King of Assyria. They seized Manassa, put hooks
Speaker 1: in his nose, bound him with bronze chains, and carried
Speaker 1: him away to Babylon. In his pain, Manassa asked the
Speaker 1: Lord his God for mercy, and truly humbled himself before
Speaker 1: the God of his ancestors. When he prayed to the Lord.
Speaker 1: The Lord responded to him and answered favorably his cry
Speaker 1: for mercy. The Lord brought him back to Jerusalem to
Speaker 1: his kingdom. Then Manassa realized that the Lord is the
Speaker 1: true God. After this, Manassa built up the outer wall
Speaker 1: of the city of David on the west side of them,
Speaker 1: the Gihan in the valley to the entrance of the
Speaker 1: fish gate, and all around the terrace. He made it
Speaker 1: much higher. He placed army officers in all the fortified cities.
Speaker 1: In Judah, he removed the foreign gods and images from
Speaker 1: the Lord's temple, and all the altars he had built
Speaker 1: on the hill of the Lord's temple and in Jerusalem,
Speaker 1: he threw them outside the city. He erected the Altar
Speaker 1: of the Lord and offered on it peace offerings and
Speaker 1: thank offerings. He told the people of Judah to serve
Speaker 1: the Lord, God of Israel. The people continued to offer
Speaker 1: sacrifices at the high places, but only to the Lord,
Speaker 1: their God. The rest of the events of Manassa's reign,
Speaker 1: including his prayer to his God, and the words the
Speaker 1: prophets spoke to him in the name of the Lord
Speaker 1: God of Israel are recorded in the Annals of the
Speaker 1: Kings of Israel. The annals of the Prophets include his prayer,
Speaker 1: given account of how the Lord responded to it, record
Speaker 1: all his sins and unfaithful acts, and identified the sites
Speaker 1: where he built high places and erected ashira, polls and idols.
Speaker 1: Before he humbled himself. Manassa passed away and was buried
Speaker 1: in his palace. His son Ammon replaced him as king.
Speaker 1: Ammon was twenty two years old when he became king,
Speaker 1: and he reigned for two years in Jerusalem. He did
Speaker 1: evil in the sight of the Lord, just like his
Speaker 1: father Manassa had done. He offered sacrifices to all the
Speaker 1: idols his father Manassa had made, and worshiped them. He
Speaker 1: did not humble himself before the Lord as his father
Speaker 1: Manassa had done. Amin was guilty of great sin. His
Speaker 1: servants conspired against him and killed him in his palace.
Speaker 1: The people of the land executed all who had conspired
Speaker 1: against King Amin, and they made his son Josiah king
Speaker 1: in his place. Let's pray, Lord, we thank you for
Speaker 1: your word, and we thank you for the privilege of
Speaker 1: being able to look at it today. And Lord, in
Speaker 1: this passage of scripture, we see that you chose to
Speaker 1: allow Manassa to experience some very difficult trials, but those
Speaker 1: trials ultimately served to his benefit. He was so proud,
Speaker 1: and he was so arrogant, as he worshiped false gods,
Speaker 1: as he worshiped idols that he had crafted from physical material.
Speaker 1: But then, in the midst of his pain, and in
Speaker 1: the midst of his anguish, he came before you and
Speaker 1: asked you for mercy. He was humbled, and he recognized
Speaker 1: his need for you. Lord. The same is true for
Speaker 1: us today. Left to ourselves, we would act with pride
Speaker 1: and arrogance and convince ourselves that we can be self sufficient.
Speaker 1: But by your grace, Lord, you show us our need
Speaker 1: for you. You open our eyes, and you open our
Speaker 1: hearts and help us to recognize our need for salvation.
Speaker 1: That's only possible through faith in your son Jesus Christ,
Speaker 1: who paid for our sin. But Lord, in humility, we
Speaker 1: need to come before you, as you prompt our hearts
Speaker 1: to do so. We need to recognize that we're sinners
Speaker 1: in need of your gift of salvation, and we thank
Speaker 1: you that, by the power of your Holy Spirit, you
Speaker 1: open our eyes and soften our hearts so that that's
Speaker 1: something we come to understand. Lord. Again, naturally speaking, we
Speaker 1: would never come to that understanding. But we thank you
Speaker 1: that you reveal these things to us, and that you
Speaker 1: draw us unto yourself. We pray Lord that our faith
Speaker 1: and your son, Jesus Christ, would be strong, and that
Speaker 1: it would grow stronger day by day, and that we
Speaker 1: would learn to rely on your power, your wisdom, and
Speaker 1: your guidance. We thank you, Lord for all these things,
Speaker 1: and we thank you for your presence with us. We
Speaker 1: pray this all in Jesus' name. Amen.