S3E308 – 2 Chronicles 33-36: The Forgiven King

Transcript Podcast Introduction Today is History Tuesday and we’ll red 2 Chronicles 33-36, which will complete the book. I’m calling today’s episode “The Forgiven King.” Design: Steve Webb | Photo: Jeremy Perkins on Unsplash Comments on 2 Chronicles 33 Manasseh was a very evil king who ruled for fifty-five years. This tells us that just because something lasts a long time does not mean that God’s blessing is on it.  The chapter very clearly outlines the sins of Manasseh, and the judgement that he and the nation suffered because of their sins.  I want to focus for a brief moment on what happened as a result of God’s judgement.  First, notice that God gave a warning to Manasseh that if he did not repent and correct his evil doings, there would be a steep price to pay. God did not have to warn him. He had already said many times throughout the history of the nation what blessings there would be if they followed God’s statutes and commandments, and what curses would be theirs if they did not. But in God’s mercy, He gave Manasseh one last chance. Of course true to his character, and the character of the people, God was ignored. So God allowed the king of Assyria to defeat them, and Manasseh was taken into captivity, where he suffered greatly. Now here is the interesting part. Manasseh finally repented. And he did so wholeheartedly. God knows the hearts of men, and God saw that Manasseh was truly sincere in his repentance.  So what did God do? He brought Manasseh back into Jerusalem, and He restored him. And Manasseh set about making things right by rebuilding that which needed rebuilding, and tearing down that which needed to be torn down. Beloved, this is a marvelous account of God’s mercy, and how the forgiven one should act upon receiving God’s mercy. When God forgives, He forgives. But that doesn’t mean that the forgiven should not do all he or she can to make restitution. It isn’t required, it isn’t a condition of forgiveness, but making restitution is an evidence of a changed heart.  We should not take God’s mercy for granted. Too often, God brings us to the realization that we have done wrong; sometimes by suffering His judgement, sometimes by being caught or some other way. And in our realization, we ask for God’s forgiveness, which we should do. It is good to seek His forgiveness when we fail Him. But then our life does not show any change. If we have wronged someone, we don’t make amends.  Beloved, we should not cheapen God’s grace by making light of it. Grace comes to us at a very high price. Jesus shed His blood for it. It is not an inconsequential thing. We don’t deserve it. We don’t earn it. We can’t repay it. But we can honor it and show by our actions that we are sorry for what we did to need it.  Today’s Bible Translation Bible translation used in today’s episode: Ch. 33 NIV; Ch. 34-35 ESV; Ch. 36 NLT Support This a value for value podcast. There are no advertisers because advertising=censorship. If you enjoy the Lifespring Family Audio Bible, decide how much value it brings to you. Only you can make that determination. Then put a number on the value and send it to me here: SUPPORT. Transcript Download .txt file. STEVE WEBB – 0:00And he did so wholeheartedly. INTRO S12E314 – 0:09Coming to you almost live from Riverside, California, this is the Lifespring Family Audio Bible, and podcasting since 2004, I’m your OG Godcaster, Steve Webb. This is the daily show where we’re reading through the entire Bible in a year and, yes, this is almost live. This episode was pre-recorded as will be tomorrow and Thursday shows. The Lovely Lady LeeAnn and I are visiting our newest granddaughter and her parents in Orlando. Be back in the studio on Thursday to record this Friday’s show. So yeah, this is going to be a short trip. Today is History Tuesday, and we’ll read 2 Chronicles 33 through 36, which will complete that book. I’m calling today’s episode, “The Forgiven King”. Today’s show notes page is at lifespringmedia.com/s12e314. My email address is st***@*************ia.com. Let’s begin. 2 CHRONICLES 33 (NIV) – 1:032 Chronicles, chapter 33. (1) Manasseh was twelve years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem fifty-five years. (2) He did evil in the eyes of the Lord, following the detestable practices of the nations the Lord had driven out before the Israelites. (3) He rebuilt the high places his father Hezekiah had demolished; he also erected altars to the Baals and made Asherah poles. He bowed down to all the starry hosts and worshiped them. (4) He built altars in the temple of the Lord, of which the Lord had said, “My Name will remain in Jerusalem forever.” (5) In both courts of the temple of the Lord, he built altars to all the starry hosts. (6) He sacrificed his children in the fire in the Valley of Ben Hinnom, practiced divination and witchcraft, sought omens, and consulted mediums and spiritists. He did much evil in the eyes of the Lord, arousing his anger. (7) He took the image he had made and put it in God’s temple, of which God had said to David and to his son Solomon, “In this temple and in Jerusalem, which I have chosen out of all the tribes of Israel, I will put my Name forever. (8) I will not again make the feet of the Israelites leave the land I assigned to your ancestors, if only they will be careful to do everything I commanded them concerning all the laws, decrees and regulations given through Moses.” (9) But Manasseh led Judah and the people of Jerusalem astray, so that they did more evil than the nations the Lord had destroyed before the Israelites. (10) The Lord spoke to Manasseh and his people, but they paid no attention. (11) So the Lord brought against them the army commanders of the king of Assyria, who took Manasseh prisoner, put a hook in his nose, bound him with bronze shackles and took him to Babylon. (12) In his distress he sought the favor of the Lord his God and humbled himself greatly before the Lord of his ancestors. (13) And when he prayed to him, the Lord was moved by his entreaty and listened to his plea; so he brought him back to Jerusalem and to his kingdom. Then Manasseh knew that the Lord is God. (14) Afterward he rebuilt the outer wall of the City of David, west of the Gihon spring in the valley, as far as the entrance of the Fish Gate and encircling the hill of Ophel; he also made it much higher. He stationed military commanders in all the fortified cities in Judah. (15) He got rid of the foreign gods and removed the image from the temple of the Lord, as well as all the altars he had built on the temple hill and in Jerusalem; and he threw them out of the city. (16) Then he restored the altar of the Lord and sacrificed fellowship offerings and thank offerings on it, and told Judah to serve the Lord, the God of Israel. (17) The people, however, continued to sacrifice at the high places, but only to the Lord their God. (18) The other events of Manasseh’s reign, including his prayer to his God and the words the seers spoke to him in the name of the Lord, the God of Israel, are written in the annals of the kings of Israel. (19) His prayer and how God was moved by his entreaty, as well as all his sins and unfaithfulness, and the sites where he built high places and set up Asherah poles and idols before he humbled himself—all these are written in the records of the seers. (20) Manasseh rested with his ancestors and was buried in his palace. And Amon his son succeeded him as king. (21) Amon was twenty-two years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem two years. (22) He did evil in the eyes of the Lord, as his father Manasseh had done. Amon worshiped and offered sacrifices to all the idols Manasseh had made. (23) But unlike his father Manasseh, he did not humble himself before the Lord; Amon increased his guilt. (24) Amon’s officials conspired against him and assassinated him in his palace. (25) Then the people of the land killed all who had plotted against King Amon, and they made Josiah his son king in his place. 2 CHRONICLES 34 (ESV) – 5:012 Chronicles, chapter 34. (1) Josiah was eight years old when he began to reign, and he reigned thirty-one years in Jerusalem. (2) And he did what was right in the eyes of the Lord, and walked in the ways of David his father; and he did not turn aside to the right hand or to the left. (3) For in the eighth year of his reign, while he was yet a boy, he began to seek the God of David his father, and in the twelfth year he began to purge Judah and Jerusalem of the high places, the Asherim, and the carved and the metal images. (4) And they chopped down the altars of the Baals in his presence, and he cut down the incense altars that stood above them. And he broke in pieces the Asherim and the carved and the metal images, and he made dust of them and scattered it over the graves of those who had sacrificed to them. (5) He also burned the bones of the priests on their altars and cleansed Judah and Jerusalem. (6) And in the cities of Manasseh, Ephraim, and Simeon, and as far as Naphtali, in their ruins all around, (7) he broke down the altars and beat the Asherim and the images into powder and cut down all the incense altars throughout all the land of Israel. Then he returned to Jerusalem. (8) Now in the eighteenth year of his reign, when he had cleansed the land and the house, he sent Shaphan the son of Azaliah, and Maaseiah the governor of the city, and Joah the son of Joahaz, the recorder, to repair the house of the Lord his God. (9) They came to Hilkiah the high priest and gave him the money that had been brought into the house of God, which the Levites, the keepers of the threshold, had collected from Manasseh and Ephraim and from all the remnant of Israel and from all Judah and Benjamin and from the inhabitants of Jerusalem. (10) And they gave it to the workmen who were working in the house of the Lord....