Hezekiah dies, Manasseh reigns. The good and the bad.
How quickly things can turn around in just one generation. We see all the good work done by King Hezekiah undone by his wicked son Manasseh.
2 Kings 20: Hezekiah's Illness and Recovery
1 In those days Hezekiah became sick and was at the point of death. And Isaiah the prophet the son of Amoz came to him and said to him, "Thus says the LORD, 'Set your house in order, for you shall die; you shall not recover.'"
2 Then Hezekiah turned his face to the wall and prayed to the LORD, saying,
3 "Now, O LORD, please remember how I have walked before you in faithfulness and with a whole heart, and have done what is good in your sight." And Hezekiah wept bitterly.
4 And before Isaiah had gone out of the middle court, the word of the LORD came to him:
5 "Turn back, and say to Hezekiah the leader of my people, Thus says the LORD, the God of David your father: I have heard your prayer; I have seen your tears. Behold, I will heal you. On the third day you shall go up to the house of the LORD,
6 and I will add fifteen years to your life. I will deliver you and this city out of the hand of the king of Assyria, and I will defend this city for my own sake and for my servant David's sake."
7 And Isaiah said, "Bring a cake of figs. And let them take and lay it on the boil, that he may recover."
8 And Hezekiah said to Isaiah, "What shall be the sign that the LORD will heal me, and that I shall go up to the house of the LORD on the third day?"
9 And Isaiah said, "This shall be the sign to you from the LORD, that the LORD will do the thing that he has promised: shall the shadow go forward ten steps, or go back ten steps?"
10 And Hezekiah answered, "It is an easy thing for the shadow to lengthen ten steps. Rather let the shadow go back ten steps."
11 And Isaiah the prophet called to the LORD, and he brought the shadow back ten steps, by which it had gone down on the steps of Ahaz.
Hezekiah and the Babylonian Envoys
12 At that time Merodach-baladan the son of Baladan, king of Babylon, sent envoys with letters and a present to Hezekiah, for he heard that Hezekiah had been sick.
13 And Hezekiah welcomed them, and he showed them all his treasure house, the silver, the gold, the spices, the precious oil, his armory, all that was found in his storehouses. There was nothing in his house or in all his realm that Hezekiah did not show them.
14 Then Isaiah the prophet came to King Hezekiah, and said to him, "What did these men say? And from where did they come to you?" And Hezekiah said, "They have come from a far country, from Babylon."
15 He said, "What have they seen in your house?" And Hezekiah answered, "They have seen all that is in my house; there is nothing in my storehouses that I did not show them."
16 Then Isaiah said to Hezekiah, "Hear the word of the LORD:
17 Behold, the days are coming, when all that is in your house, and that which your fathers have stored up till this day, shall be carried to Babylon. Nothing shall be left, says the LORD.
18 And some of your own sons, who shall be born to you, shall be taken away, and they shall be eunuchs in the palace of the king of Babylon."
19 Then said Hezekiah to Isaiah, "The word of the LORD that you have spoken is good." For he thought, "Why not, if there will be peace and security in my days?"
20 The rest of the deeds of Hezekiah and all his might and how he made the pool and the conduit and brought water into the city, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Judah?
21 And Hezekiah slept with his fathers, and Manasseh his son reigned in his place.
2 Kings 21: Manasseh Reigns in Judah
1 Manasseh was twelve years old when he began to reign, and he reigned fifty-five years in Jerusalem. His mother's name was Hephzibah.
2 And he did what was evil in the sight of the LORD, according to the despicable practices of the nations whom the LORD drove out before the people of Israel.
3 For he rebuilt the high places that Hezekiah his father had destroyed, and he erected altars for Baal and made an Asherah, as Ahab king of Israel had done, and worshiped all the host of heaven and served them.
4 And he built altars in the house of the LORD, of which the LORD had said, "In Jerusalem will I put my name."
5 And he built altars for all the host of heaven in the two courts of the house of the LORD.
6 And he burned his son as an offering and used fortune-telling and omens and dealt with mediums and with necromancers. He did much evil in the sight of the LORD, provoking him to anger.
7 And the carved image of Asherah that he had made he set in the house of which the LORD said to David and to Solomon his son, "In this house, and in Jerusalem, which I have chosen out of all the tribes of Israel, I will put my name forever.
8 And I will not cause the feet of Israel to wander anymore out of the land that I gave to their fathers, if only they will be careful to do according to all that I have commanded them, and according to all the Law that my servant Moses commanded them."
9 But they did not listen, and Manasseh led them astray to do more evil than the nations had done whom the LORD destroyed before the people of Israel.
Manasseh's Idolatry Denounced
10 And the LORD said by his servants the prophets,
11 "Because Manasseh king of Judah has committed these abominations and has done things more evil than all that the Amorites did, who were before him, and has made Judah also to sin with his idols,
12 therefore thus says the LORD, the God of Israel: Behold, I am bringing upon Jerusalem and Judah such disaster that the ears of everyone who hears of it will tingle.
13 And I will stretch over Jerusalem the measuring line of Samaria, and the plumb line of the house of Ahab, and I will wipe Jerusalem as one wipes a dish, wiping it and turning it upside down.
14 And I will forsake the remnant of my heritage and give them into the hand of their enemies, and they shall become a prey and a spoil to all their enemies,
15 because they have done what is evil in my sight and have provoked me to anger, since the day their fathers came out of Egypt, even to this day."
16 Moreover, Manasseh shed very much innocent blood, till he had filled Jerusalem from one end to another, besides the sin that he made Judah to sin so that they did what was evil in the sight of the LORD.
17 Now the rest of the acts of Manasseh and all that he did, and the sin that he committed, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Judah?
18 And Manasseh slept with his fathers and was buried in the garden of his house, in the garden of Uzza, and Amon his son reigned in his place.
Amon Reigns in Judah
19 Amon was twenty-two years old when he began to reign, and he reigned two years in Jerusalem. His mother's name was Meshullemeth the daughter of Haruz of Jotbah.
20 And he did what was evil in the sight of the LORD, as Manasseh his father had done.
21 He walked in all the way in which his father walked and served the idols that his father served and worshiped them.
22 He abandoned the LORD, the God of his fathers, and did not walk in the way of the LORD.
23 And the servants of Amon conspired against him and put the king to death in his house.
24 But the people of the land struck down all those who had conspired against King Amon, and the people of the land made Josiah his son king in his place.
25 Now the rest of the acts of Amon that he did, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Judah?
26 And he was buried in his tomb in the garden of Uzza, and Josiah his son reigned in his place.
Things to think about…
1. The story of Hezekiah’s illness and recovery 2 Kings 20:1-11 is one of miraculous power and grace. A cosmic miracle had happened to make the shadow go back ten steps. It’s also interesting that although Hezekiah’s recovery was miraculous and his life would be extended 15 years, Isaiah asked that a cake of figs be placed on the boil as a poultice. The Lord still works miracles today even though it may be accompanied by the available medical knowledge of the day.
2. How quickly we forget the Lord’s grace. Hezekiah soon after his recovery shows all his wealth to the Babylonians, 2Kings 20:12, 13. They certainly knew what was in the temple and treasury at Jerusalem by the time they would invade 100 years later. This is similar to what Christians can do with their witness. Remember Jesus said ‘do not throw your pearls before pigs’. We need discernment with what we say and do before the world.
3. Can you imagine the grief the people of Judah went through after having been ruled by a godly king, Hezekiah for so long only to have his godless son Manasseh replace all the good that was done with the pollution of idols and pagan practices from the surrounding nations. The Lord’s judgement was set upon Jerusalem because of the wicked actions of this one man Manasseh, 2Kings 21:1-9. As we grow older and we pass on the responsibilities of the church to our children and the next generation we must confirm to them that their faith must be a genuine work of grace. All the good one generation does for the Lord can be easily destroyed by the next. Let’s pray for the future leaders of the church that they do not compromise with the world and that the scriptures continue to be their guide.
4. From 2 Kings 21:10-26 we see the judgement the Lord plans to bring upon Jerusalem. Manasseh’s son Amon only reigns for 2 years but he does all that his father did with respect to idol worship and confirms the Lord’s judgement. It’s interesting that when the church embraces the world’s ways the Lord uses the world to judge the church. The surrounding nations whose idols Judah had embraced would be the ones who would come against Jerusalem. So too today, when the world’s ideals, values and belief system come into the church the church no longer has an influence in the community and the church eventually dies due to the worldly spirit pushing out the influence of the Holy Spirit in people’s lives. The church dies because it no longer has a role in the community. How many churches/denominations do you know of where this has occurred.
5. But there is still a light and hope for Jerusalem. After such as long period of 2 evil kings, Manasseh 55 years and his son Amon 2 years we read in 2 Kings 21:24 “and the people of the land made Josiah his son king in his place.” Josiah would be a type of Christ and is the one who was prophesied about by the prophet in Bethel over 250 years earlier, 1 Kings 13:2. His reign would bring some honour back to Judah and the covenant the Lord made with David.
Vision Point for cell groups
CBC’s Vision :- To be a growing biblical church community, significantly influencing our city and beyond, through intentional outreach, fulfilling our mission.
Sermon title was “and the 6 arrows” - from 2 Kings 13:14-25
1. Elisha had performed many miracles and unlike his mentor Elijah he was not going to leave earth without dying. He would die of disease. Do you think much about growing old and the day of your death? How have you prepared?
2. Elisha asks Joash to strike the ground with arrows. Joash strikes the ground 3 times. Elisha said he should have struck the ground 5 or 6 times to finally deal with Syria as an enemy. Our greatest enemy is sin and has been struck down by the blood of Jesus on the cross. But how do we attempt to save ourselves with our own self-righteous arrows? Andrew used the description of eating 2% dog poo in children’s biscuits. Only a little bit of bad influence in something that is generally good. How can we do the same even as Christians?
3. People often look at attending church and Christianity as being things that are done rather than as a result of a state of grace before God? Discuss how you tell others about grace in Christ.
Prayer Points
1. Growth in our kids and youth ministries
2. Pray for testimonies that people will be giving every second week. Please consider when you would like to do yours when the pastor asks you to share yours.
3. Pray for other building projects – café roof, the repair of the house roof.
4. Growth, conversions, joy in the Word and Spirit to remain and increase.
Praise Points
1. Lord’s blessing over Andrew Otte’s message on Sunday.
2. Worship team and technical team. Thankyou Rod, Zac, Molly, Riley, Rin, Tim.
3. More visitors and spirit of joy on Sunday.
Announcements
1. Members meeting 28th Nov after the service.
2. Country Carols, monster trucks, fire works – Sat 18th Dec. Feel free to park at CBC if required.
3. Kids@church back. Please check your rosters
4. Recharge Youth – back on Friday 6:30pm at church all high schoolers.
5. Church bank details bsb:- 704 913 and Acc number:- 4000 4388 1
