A Lesson Learned from Hooks and Shackles

DAY 33
2 Chronicles 23:16 - 35:15

What events and experiences in life draw people to Jesus? What does it take for someone to come to God? Does everyone come to God in the same way?

In 2 Kings 21:1-18 and 2 Chronicles 33:1-20 we meet King Manasseh of Judah. To put it bluntly, he wasn't a very nice man. He didn't have any excuses because his father was King Hezekiah who was one of the few leaders of Judah that followed God. But here is what the Word of God has to say about him.

He did evil in the eyes of the Lord
He followed detestable practices
He rebuilt the high places to Baal and Asherah
He bowed down to the stars
He built idol altars in the temple
He sacrificed his own son in the fire
He practice sorcery and consulted mediums
He shed much innocent blood
He placed a carved image in the temple

King Manasseh was a very evil man, so God handed him over to the King of Assyria. He was captured with hooks and bound with shackles and dragged back to Babylon.

At this point, many of us would say he got what he deserved. We might even say he needed harsher punishment, maybe even put to death. We would say that God dealt with him justly.

Manasseh was at the end of his rope, down and out, and no one to blame but himself. He was broken, but he humbled himself and prayed to God.

AND GOD WAS MOVED BY HIS PLEA AND DELIVERED HIM!

It doesn't fit our neat system of justice. But I am sure he has some friends like the woman at the well, Matthew the tax collector, Paul the persecutor, and the adulterous woman who escaped a stoning. And if we are totally honest, we would probably fit into that crowd too. A glance at the Ten Commandments or the Sermon on the Mount will show how we all have been enemies of God and have done evil in the sight of our Lord.

No matter who we are, what we have done, or where we come from; we all come to God the same way. We are all sinners, with no distinctions. And we must approach God the same way Manasseh did with a humble prayer admitting our plight, asking for help, and accepting God's deliverance.

When that happened, God changed Manasseh into a servant of God. And the Lord does the same for you and I.

Today, thank God for hearing your humble prayer. (even if He had to use hooks and shackles)

Advice from the Prophets!

DAY 32
2 Chronicles 7:11 - 23:15

Have you ever heard a famous quote or saying and wish you would have said it? Do you ever desire to have the wisdom of Solomon, the intelligence of Einstein, the timing of a comedian, or the profound moment of a politician.

"Ask not what your country can for you, but what you can do for your country" (John F. Kennedy)

"Better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to speak out and remove all doubt." (Abraham Lincoln)

"Make my day." (Clint Eastwood)

We could go on and on. Everyone has famous quotes they admire or remember because of an experience in their lives.

The Bible is full of prophets and seers that come on the scene out of nowhere, make a statement, and disappear back into God's story. Some give warnings, some pronounce judgements, some give blessings, and some just give us profound statements.

There are four in our readings today that I want to share with you: Shemaiah, Hanani, Micaiah, and Jahaziel.

Shemaiah

Rehoboam and Judah had abandoned the law of the Lord, the prophet Shemaiah said to the leaders of Judah that God would abandon them the Shishak the king of Egypt. When the Israelites humbled themselves unto the Lord, He spared their lives but subjected them to Shishak. 2 Chron 12:8 "They (Judah) will, however, become subject to him, so that they may learn the difference between serving me (God) and serving the kings of other lands."

Many parents have gone through something similar with their children. We want our children to learn, and we do that by allowing them to reap the consequences or rewards of their decisions. Most of the times we train our children in controlled environments. In this situation, God was controlling the environment Judah was in and allowing them to learn a lesson. God does that for us; He is in ultimate control of our lives, but allows us the learn that serving God is vastly superior to serving anything else.

Hanani

Asa was King of Judah and he did right in the eyes of the Lord. He removed the altars and high places. God blessed him and Judah. However, at the end of his reign Baasha king of Israel went up against Judah. Instead of relying on the Lord, Asa relied on Ben-Hadad, king of Aram, to deliver Judah. Hanani, the seer, announced to Asa in 2 Chron 168b-9: "Yet when you relied on the Lord, He delivered them into your hand. For the eyes of the Lord range throughout the earth to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to Him. You have done a foolish thing, and from now on you will be at war."

We live like God doesn't see what we are doing. We do a lot of foolish things. We also forget who delivers us. But, God sees everything and everyone in His creation. He searches for those hearts that are committed to Him. And when He finds them, the Lord strengthens them.

Micaiah

Jehoshaphat and Ahab were planning to go to war against Ramoth Giliead. So they sent for Micaiah to inquire of the Lord. Ahab didn't like Micaiah because he always prophesied bad things about Ahab when all the other prophets were always saying good things for Ahab. When the messenger approached the prophet to bring him to Ahab, they wanted him to agree with the other prophets. Micaiah's response in 2 Chron 18:13 "As surely as the Lord lives, I can tell him only what my God says."

As believers, we have a habit of taking away or adding to the message of God. We find a hard time balancing between legalism and license. And therefore, we place God in our human derived systems and theologies. But God's word speaks for itself and interprets itself. How I wish that I would only tell people what God says, and not what I think.

Jahaziel

A vast army of Moabites, Ammonites, and Meunites were preparing to make war against Jehoshaphat and Judah. The people of Judah gathered together to fast and seek the Lord. And the Spririt of the Lord came upon Jahaziel and this is what he said in 2 Chron 20:15b " Do not be afraid or discouraged because of this vast army. For the battle is not yours, but God's"

What a comforting statement! There are numerous armies that try to invade our lives, to steal the joy and peace God has granted. And I don't have to rely on my own strength or wisdom, but on God. God is the one that has done all the work for deliverance, that has won the battle. All I have to do is enlist.

What advice from the prophets!

The battle is not yours, but God's. (I wish I would have said that)