This is the last message in the series from Hezekiah’s life and it primarily deals with his son rather than with Hezekiah personally.
Hezekiah was the good son of an evil father and he was the good father of an evil son.
How could a good father have such an evil son?
- Was it that he neglected Manasseh while doing his work of state?
- Was it friends that Manasseh associated with in the early years of his life that wrongly influenced him (cf. 1 Corinthians 15:33)?
- Was it the reputation of his grandfather (Ahaz) that appealed to him as the avenue to express his youthful rebellion?
- Had he grown callous to spiritual things while watching the resurgence of worship at Jerusalem?
- Did he see spiritual inconsistency in his father’s life or that of others that led him to rebel against the faith?
- Or, was it solely the rebellion that was in his own heart (Proverbs 22:15) to reject anything/everything he had been taught? (cf. 33:10)
The text does not give us an answer to why Manasseh rejected the God of Heaven to become a blatant idolater. And, much of the time there aren’t any simple answers to why a child turns out so adversely to the way he was raised.
It appears that his mother was a good woman. Her name was Hephzibah (2 Kings 21:1), which means, “My delight is in her.” This may indicate that she was a pious woman, but she apparently didn’t have the same influence on her son that Eunice did with Timothy (2 Timothy 1:5).
Whatever the reason for his rebellion against God, every reform that Hezekiah had brought to the Kingdom of Judah...Manasseh reversed. Even worse, he took the nation further into apostasy than they had ever been previously.
A list of some of Manasseh’s apostasy:
- He rebuilt the pagan altars and wooden images (33:3) to false gods.
- He desecrated the Temple by placing pagan altars inside it’s holy structure (33:3, 7).
- He instituted the worship of the heavenly bodies in the skies (33:5).
- He practiced witchcraft, fortune telling, sorcery, and other forms of demonic activity (33:6).
- He sacrificed his son in a pagan worship ritual (2 Kings 21:6).
- He killed innocent, righteous people (2 Kings 21:16), which might have included the prophets (possibly Isaiah,# if he was still alive at the time) that delivered God’s message of judgment to him.
- He was more wicked that all the Kings of Judah that had gone before him and led the people into greater wickedness than the pagans who were originally driven out of Israel when it was conquered (33:9; cf. 1 Corinthians 5:21; 1 Timothy 5:8).
Consequently, what God had done to the Assyrians during their siege of Jerusalem in Hezekiah’s day was now done to Manasseh (33:11; cf. 2 Kings 19:28) in his day. The Assyrians captured Manasseh, placed a “hook” in his nose, and led him away into captivity (33:11). This (“hook”) was an ultimate form of humiliation imposed on the King of Judah!
It wasn’t until Manasseh reached this lowest point in his life that he was broken and humbled before the God of Heaven. Sometimes it takes people reaching their lowest point before they are ready to acknowledge their need of God!
When he began to call on God (33:12-13) he was heard and God delivered him from his captivity (33:13). Manasseh had finally recognized the one true God and bowed his heart before him.
After being freed to return to the Kingdom of Judah, he began to correct the evil he had done. He brought significant reforms to the land, though he allowed the people to continue sacrificing at other places than the Temple in Jerusalem (33:17).
Never-the-less, after all the efforts to make amends for his years of apostasy, the effects of his evil deeds had long term consequences on Judah as a nation. God personally forgave Manasseh of his rebellious ways, but the people of Judah never fully recovered from the direction he had taken them (cf. 2 Kings 23:26; 24:4; Jeremiah 15:4).
Here is “The Truth About Repentance” we must learn from Manasseh’s example. You will be forgiven of your sins by a gracious God Who cleanses the repentant heart, but you may never recover all of the things you lost during the time of your rebellion against Him.
Our rebellion against God has pervasive consequences that may go well beyond our personal forgiveness and recovery. And, sometimes those effects are irreversible, though you personally have been pardoned by God’s grace.
Illustration:
During a roast for Pete Rose to honor the anniversary of his record breaking hit, the historically cocky Charlie Hustle turned into the 69-year-old prodigal son of the Big Red Machine. He told the crowd of 500 or so that included former teammates (Tony Perez, Ken Griffey Sr., George Foster) that he screwed up. That he essentially was guilty of gambling as charged.
That he wanted to become an example of what you shouldn't do when you have the opportunity to confess your sins.
"I disrespected the game of baseball. When you do that, you disrespect your teammates, the game and your family," said Rose, sobbing along the way to the shock of everybody...
Added Rose to that hushed ballroom, "You can talk about hits and runs and championship games. ... (But) I want my legacy to be (that of) somebody who came forward. If anybody has a problem here today, come forward. Don't hide it. ... You can run, but you can't hide.
"If I can help a young kid to know what I went through, maybe I can prevent them from going through the same thing.
"I got suspended 21 years ago. For 10, 12 years, I kept it inside. ... That's changed. I'm a different guy. ... I love the fans. I love the game of baseball, and I love Cincinnati baseball."
It cost him being inducted into the Hall of Fame, which may never happen or not until he's dead. You can be forgiven, but sometimes in the path of your sinful behavior you lose things you can never recover.
It cost him being inducted into the Hall of Fame, which may never happen or not until he's dead. You can be forgiven, but sometimes in the path of your sinful behavior you lose things you can never recover.
Application:
- Don’t make God break you to make you acknowledge Him. (cf. Philippians 2:9-11)
- Consider the long term impact of your actions, not just the short term pleasure. (Proverbs 14:12; 16:25)
- Always keep a short account of sins with God. (cf. 1 John 5:16-17)
Forgiveness is only possible because of the grace of God extended through the Lord Jesus Christ’s death and resurrection!
