“Hitting the Bottom” – FBC Morning Light (8/1/2024)

Well, good Thursday morning to you, and welcome to August, the first day of August 2024. And on this particular day, we're going back to the historical books of Kings, the Kings and the Chronicles, and 2 Kings 21, 2 Chronicles 33, and then reading one of the Psalms, Psalm 102.

Manasseh’s Evil in a Godly Home

And I'd like to look at both the 2 Kings 21 passage, as well as the 2 Chronicles 33 passage. They've both passages deal with this king of Judah by the name of Manasseh. What I want us to see in the 2 Kings account is another example of the case where a child can grow up in a home that is, for its time and place, would be considered a good, godly home, a God-fearing home, where, you know, there's a desire to serve the Lord.

This was the case with Manasseh. His father's name was Hezekiah. And you remember the testimony of Hezekiah, don't you? In 2 Kings 18, verse 3 and following, it says that Hezekiah did what was right in the sight of the Lord, according to all that his father David had done.

And it goes on to talk about all the different things that he did, and that, you know, he was one of the outstanding kings, godliest of kings, in Judah's history. He had a son named Manasseh. And we come to 2 Kings 21, and we find out that Manasseh wasn't such a good guy, even though he grew up in a home of a good guy.

In verse 21, verse 1, says he was 12 years old when he became the king, and verse 2 says that he did evil in the sight of the Lord according to the abominations of the nations whom the Lord had cast out before the children of Israel.

And then the next several verses recount all the various abominations that he did in bringing in idolatry, and just turning away, turning away from the Lord. And then verse 16 also says that Manasseh shed very much innocent blood till he had filled Jerusalem from one end to another, besides his sin which he made Judah to sin and doing evil in the sight of the Lord.

God’s Patience, Warning, and Chastening

Well, you know, God is a God of grace and mercy and patience, and in his patience and his long-suffering with his people, he will often send words of warning, words of reproof, rebuke, exhortation to repent, and this is what happened with Manasseh and his people.

It says in verse 10 of chapter 33, 2nd Chronicles 33, so jump to that passage, it said, well back in verse 9, it says Manasseh seduced Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem to do more evil than the nations whom the Lord had destroyed before the children of Israel.

That's, that's pretty evil, right? That's pretty evil. And even though Manasseh's dad was Hezekiah, okay, but then verse 10 says, and the Lord spoke to Manasseh and his people. The Lord kept sending prophets to the people of Judah, confronting Manasseh with his sin, but the end of verse 10 says, but they would not listen.

They would not listen. So what's to be, what's to become of someone who has grown up with all those kinds of advantages of hearing God's Word, and you know, I think about it in the New Testament context, you know, they come to church, they grow up in a Christian home, you know, maybe their parents, out of love for them and concern for their spiritual well-being, homeschool them or put them in a Christian school to, you know, give them, you know, at least a biblically-based education, and then what happens, what is it, what's the end of that?

With the child who grows up in that environment, but then totally turns his back on it, shakes his fist at it all, defies it all, says, I'm gonna do what I want to do regardless of what you say, and all the rest of that kind of stuff.

What, what's it gonna take to get ahold of them? Well, in 2 Kings, or 2 Chronicles 33, it says in verse 11, therefore the Lord brought upon them the captains of the army of the king of Assyria, who took Manasseh with hooks, bound him with bronze fetters, and carried him off to Babylon.

Brought him to the bottom of the barrel, right? Then verse 12 says, now when he was in affliction, he implored the Lord his God, and humbled himself greatly before the God of his fathers, and prayed to him.

And then it says, and he, the Lord, received his entreaty, heard his supplication, and brought him back to Jerusalem into his kingdom. Then, then Manasseh knew that Yahweh was God. What's it gonna take, what's it gonna take for some of our young people who've grown up in their Christian homes, and had the influence of the church, and, and parents who loved God, and tried to rear him correctly, but they turned their back on it all, and they shake their fists at it all, and defy it all.

What's it gonna take? What's it gonna take? To get, really get a hold of them. Yeah, maybe bringing them to the end of themselves, bringing them to the bottom of the barrel, before they will finally, finally repent, and call out to the Lord.

They will. What they'll discover is, boy, God is so merciful. He is so gracious. Aren't you glad? So our Father and our God, we do thank you today for your mercy, your long-suffering, and your patience.

Prayer for Repentance and Restoration

And we do pray today for any who might be listening, who find themselves in the Manasseh kind of position, in the state of defiance. Oh Lord, bring them to repentance. Maybe there's a Manasseh listening who is, who's at the bottom of the barrel, at the end of themselves.

Oh, I pray that they would turn to you in true repentance, and cry out to you, and find you to be gracious. Father, I just pray that you would encourage the heart of those who might be a Hezekiah, whose children are wayward, and I just pray that by your grace, you would draw them back to yourself, using even severe chastening if necessary.

But bring them to yourself, we would pray. We ask these things in Jesus' name. All right, well, I will give you a good rest of your Thursday. Have a great day.