Evil — Much & More

Let's dig in, not to the food, but into the spiritual food. We're in 2 Kings, 2 Kings, and we're up to chapter 21, 2 Kings 21, and we have been marching our way through the books of Kings.

A couple of years ago we did 1 Kings, we took a little break, as we often do back and forth, New Testament, Old Testament, and we are up to chapter 21, and we don't have very many chapters left.

Let me give you a chance to find verse 1. We're going to go ahead, I'm going to read the whole thing for us. 1, verse 1 down to verse 26.

Manasseh was 12 years old when he began to reign, and he reigned 55 years in Jerusalem. His mother's name was Hephzibah, 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. For he rebuilt the high places that Hezekiah his father had destroyed, and he erected altars

for Baal, and made an Asherah, as King Ahab of Israel had done, and worshipped all the host of heaven, and served them. And he built altars in the house of the Lord, of which the Lord had said, in Jerusalem I will put my name.

And he built altars for all the host of heaven in the two courts of the house of the Lord. And he burned his son as an offering, and used fortune-telling and omens, and dealt with mediums and necromancers.

He did much evil in the sight of the Lord, provoking him to anger. And the carved image of Asherah that he had made, he set in the house of the Lord, 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. 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 to

them, and according to all the law that my servant Moses commanded them. 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.

And the Lord said by his servants, the prophets, because Manasseh, the 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.

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.

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.

And I will forsake the remnant of my heritage and give them into the hand of their enemies, and they shall become prey and a spoil to all their enemies 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.

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.

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?

And Manasseh slept with his fathers and was buried in the garden of his house in the garden of Uzzah, and Ammon his son reigned in his place.

Ammon was 22 years old when he began to reign, and he reigned two years in Jerusalem. His mother's name was Meshul Maleth, the daughter of Haruz of Jatba, and he did what was evil in the sight of the Lord as Manasseh his father had done.

He walked in all the way in which his father walked and served the idols that his father served and worshipped them. He abandoned the Lord, the God of his fathers, and did not walk in the way of the Lord.

And the servants of Ammon conspired against him and put the king to death in his house. But the people of the land struck down all those who had conspired against Ammon, and the people of the land made Josiah his son king in his place.

Now the rest of the acts of Ammon that he did, are they not written in the book of the Chronicles of the kings of Judah? And he was buried in his tomb in the garden of Uzzah, and Josiah his son reigned in his place.

Let's pray again, shall we? We come this morning to your word, Father, in what is a rather dark chapter. And yet, Lord, we know that there is light.

As Paul prayed moments ago, the light cannot be overcome by the darkness, and so this morning guide our hearts, guide our minds. We pray for our families.

We pray for our loved ones who do not yet know you, that you would reveal yourself to them in power. And we thank you for what this day represents for King Jesus, the triumphant one who triumphed over all the powers of darkness, who canceled the written code that was held against us,

who made atonement for our sins. We thank you for this king, and we pray in his name, in Jesus' name. Amen. Amen. Amen.

I don't think there's any way to sugarcoat or put a positive spin on 2 Kings chapter 21, so I'm not going to try. Because good Hezekiah, his progeny is nothing like him.

2 Kings 21 · chapter mention

In fact, in as much as he was a reformer, Hezekiah was, you could say that Manasseh was the reverse, right? He's a counter-reformer, because every fix that Hezekiah made, Manasseh wrecks it.

For every pagan altar that Hezekiah tore down, it's like Manasseh erects five in their place. Sadly, Manasseh truly is his namesake. You say, what are you talking about?

What's his name mean? Well, Hebrew names took on meaning, usually according to what it sounded like in the Hebrew language. And back when the patriarch Joseph first gave this name to one of his sons, a name that in the Hebrew sounds very much like the Hebrew word for forget, here's what he said.

He said, I'm going to call him Manasseh. This is in Genesis. Because God has made me, Joseph, forget all my hardship. That's what Manasseh means.

Forget. And forget this king did. Because we are told in verse 2 that he did what was evil in the sight of the Lord according to all the despicable practices of the nations whom the Lord drove out.

That's the Canaanites, the Amorites, all of them. Now, it's sometimes thought, and I was actually asked last week, sometimes it's thought that Manasseh was born, because he's 12 years old when he starts to reign, that he was born in the last 15 years, the extra 15 years that God in his grace gave to Hezekiah.

It's true. He's 12 when he begins to reign, but actually he was born before them. Let me explain how, if you do the math. The fact of the matter is, when we do the math behind his 55-year reign and we backdate it from what we know to be the time of his death in 642, it actually tells us that he came

to the throne in 697, you say, well, Hezekiah is still alive. And I would just simply remind us that he was reigning as a 12-year-old for the first 10 years as a co-regent with his father.

For the first 10 years or so, dad Hezekiah was still on the scene. And yet, as his father finally passes off the scene, this 22-year-old kid, or king, he's not a kid, he's a man, he gets busy right away undoing all of his father's reforms.

And that's exactly what he does. He gets very busy undoing every good thing that his father ever did, and he starts it off with a big rebuilding project.

Everybody likes a building project, right? Well, you all like this one. First up in verse 3, what's he rebuild? All the high places that Hezekiah, his father, destroyed.

It's like finally we had a king that was willing to deal with the high places, and he had them all destroyed. And here's his son rebuilding them.

He also, we're told, erected altars for Baal and for Asherah, as King Ahab of Israel had done. Well, that's not a good sign when you're being compared to the most wicked king of the northern kingdom, Ahab.

But there's even more. Because the end of verse 3 tells us that he worshipped all the hosts of heaven and served them. So take your pick. It's a smorgasbord.

Whether it's the crass paganism of the Canaanite, Amorite variety with the high place worship, or the fertility cult from Baal and Asherah that bled down from the north, or now even astral worship, the worship of the stars as gods.

It seems like Manasseh has like every base covered on the ballpark of idolatry. But even this isn't enough because he's got that big shiny temple that he walks out every day and looks at.

He looks out one day and he says, you know, that's a great worship facility. There ought to be more worship in there. I mean, the place was literally built for it.

And so Manasseh decides he's going to make some changes here as well. Verse 4, and he built altars in the house of the Lord, of which the Lord had said, in Jerusalem I will put my name.

It's like he's saying, it's my house. And it's for me and me only. And Manasseh's like, uh-uh-uh. And so our wicked king proceeds to do what in verse 5?

Builds altars for all the host of heaven in the two courts of the Lord. All the host of heaven. These would be referring to demons who pose behind the stars as some kind of astral deities.

And naturally, when you've got demonic worship installed, even in the house of the Lord, other terrible and horrific things are bound to follow.

And they do follow. Like the unthinkable sin of child sacrifice that we go on to read about in verse 6. Verse 6, and he burned his son as an offering.

And let's just stop right there. Because actually, if we were to peek over at our 2 Chronicles parallel account, it's plural. Sons. Burned his sons as an offering.

I don't think I have to tell any of you that death is hard enough. Losing someone, losing a family member is not easy. But having your child die is absolutely terrible.

Much less having your child die by fire. But burning your own child to death of your own free will to some demon god, that is absolutely unthinkable.

I think we can agree, unthinkably demonic. But Manassas not only thought about it and carefully considered it, he's done it. And keep in mind, he is burning Davidic airs.

Because that's the line that he's in. And if you have any doubt, if I have any doubt that the demonic and the satanic are what are behind all of this evil in the kingdom, just take a look at the second half of the verse, in verse 6.

Where we read that Manasseh used fortune telling and omens and dealt with mediums and necromancers. Fortune telling, actually a better translation.

If you have a different one, it probably says witchcraft or sorcery. Omens. Omens. They say the omens were a type of divination that at this time probably involved the use of snakes.

This is overt demonic activity, ladies and gentlemen. Communicating with the dead, which are actually evil spirits in the netherworld. All the things forbidden in the law.

In Deuteronomy. Deuteronomy 18. Let me just read this. Verses 10 and 11. There shall not be found among you anyone who burns his son or his daughter as an offering.

Anyone who practices divination or tells fortunes or interprets omens. Or a sorcerer. Or a charmer. Or a medium. Or a necromancer. Or one who inquires of the dead.

For whoever does these things is an abomination to the Lord. But Manasseh didn't remember the Lord or his word. Much less care about what would be an abomination to him.

Yeah, our king. We could call him Mr. Forgetful. Since that's what his name means. He sure did much evil in the sight of the Lord. I like how the CSB translation puts it.

It says that he did a huge amount of evil. And it provoked the Lord to anger. End of verse 6. Especially. Especially that carved image of Asherah.

That in verse 7 we're told he set up in the house of the Lord. Can you imagine that? An Asherah pole in the Lord's temple. I mean at least King Solomon way back when he turned.

In his ripe old years he turned to idolatry. At least when he built an idolatrous shrine. It was opposite the temple on another hill.

But not for Manasseh. Not for Mr. Forgetful. He does his wickedness inside the temple. Right in the very face of the Lord. Right in the very place that the Lord chose to set his name forever.

The place that the Lord had complete and exclusive ownership of. And where he revealed himself and made promises to his people. Promises that his people wouldn't have to wander anymore.

Promises that if they only were careful to do according to the law. He would protect them and bless them. But as verse 9 soberly sums up this whole dreadful situation.

We're told that they would not listen. And notice that it is plural. It's a they. And what that tells us is that Manasseh is sadly a pretty effective leader.

He's led the people. It's not just a Manasseh thing. But they did not listen. And Manasseh led them astray to do more evil than the nations had done whom the Lord destroyed.

Did you catch that? Think about that for a minute. Think about that. The implications. The ramifications of what's being said. More evil than the pagan nations had done.

He's talking about the sins of the Canaanites. And the Amorites. And the others. All those pagan nations. Who had control of the land before the Israelites arrived.

Their participation in rampant wickedness. And sexual immorality. And things like abominable child sacrifice. Those were the exact reason that the Lord said that the land was going to vomit them out.

And it's no coincidence. When he gave the promised land to his people. He warned them the same in Leviticus 18. Listen to this. Leviticus 18.

Verses 26 to 28. He says to his people. But you shall keep my statutes and my rules. And do none of these abominations. Either the native or the stranger who sojourns with you.

For the people of the land who were before you. Did all of these abominations. So that the land became unclean. Lest the land vomit you out when you make it unclean.

As it vomited out the nation that was before you. And yet here we are. With the Lord's own people. And it's not like he didn't warn them. Verse 10.

Verse 10 reminds us that God sent prophets. Prophet after prophet. Prophets like Isaiah. To literally tell everyone that this terrible state of evil in Manasseh's kingdom.

Is going to be judged. Because they were doing more evil than the Amorites did. Verse 11. Because of that. Prophets warned them that God was going to bring such disaster.

That the ears of everyone who heard about it would tingle. That's a unique expression in scripture. What this means is that it would strike absolute terror.

In everyone who hears about it. It's going to literally produce an adverse physical reaction. Today we say like it will make you sick to your stomach.

When you hear the news of this wholesale destruction. Because alas. The measuring line of Samaria. The plumb line of the house of Ahab. They have been stretched.

You know those are terms that typically are used in construction. If you do survey work or construction work. You know what plumb lines are.

And yet here they are used to describe God's preparation for Judah's utter and complete destruction. Because God's going to wipe Jerusalem clean.

As one wipes a dish. Wiping it and turning it upside down. Meaning nothing's going to remain. The people of Judah are going to be forsaken. He will withdraw their protection that he's been giving them.

It'll be gone. And they will be helpless. And they will fall into the hands of their enemies. As evil pickings. As prey. As spoil. All because.

And entirely because. Verse 15. Because they have done what is evil in my sight. And have provoked me.

Well this narrator is interesting. Because it's almost like we've heard enough. Do we need more? But in verse 16 we get a little more. Verse 16.

He goes on to tell us this bit about Manasseh. Also shedding very much innocent blood. Till he had filled Jerusalem from one end to another.

What's happening here with this innocent blood? Well you know years later. A Jewish historian named Josephus. He would actually write about Manasseh.

And he would talk about how Manasseh was responsible. For the slaughter of. Not just many righteous people. In the city. Many righteous men.

He would talk about how he specifically targeted. The prophets. He really is another Ahab. After all. He's been compared to Ahab. A couple of times in this passage.

And just like bloodthirsty Ahab. And his wicked wife Jezebel. Just like they executed. Killed with the sword. Hundreds of prophets. So here again.

We've got the streets of Jerusalem. Awash. In innocent blood. In fact according to tradition. Isaiah. The prophet. As in the book of Isaiah.

He himself was martyred. By being sawn in two. It's a tragic event. That the New Testament book of Hebrews. Appears to hearken back to. In Hebrews chapter 11.

Hebrews 11 · chapter mention

That. The hall of faith chapters. It's sometimes called. Hear this. Hebrews 11. Verses 36 and 37. It reads. They. Talking about God's Old Testament prophets.

They. Were stoned. They were sawn in two. They were killed with the sword. They went about in skins of sheep and goats. Destitute. Afflicted.

Mistreated. Finally. After a. Horrific. 55 year reign. The longest reign of any king in Israel. 55 year reign of terror. And sin. We get the closing death notice for our king.

And it gives us a nod. To what is often done. A nod to his biggest achievement. Guess what it is. Not a. Not the construction project. Of a wall.

Or a secret tunnel. For water. No. His great. Contribution to society. Verse 17. His legacy. Is that he's noted for. All that he did. And the sin.

That he committed.

What an epitaph. For your gravestone. Right?

But he does leave one son behind. One son. He didn't burn up. And his name is Ammon. And with him. It's a new king. But tragically. It's the same story.

Learned well. Apparently. From the ways of his father. Because verse 21 tells us. That he walked. In all the way. In which his father walked.

And not in the way of the Lord. Like father. Like son. Ammon too. Served the idols. That his father served. And he also. Abandoned the Lord.

Only this time. The Lord's provocation. To anger. Is not going to allow this son. To reign. Another half century. No. Ammon takes the throne.

At age 22. And then someone. Takes his life. By assassination. By age 24. Just. Two years. Two year reign. And he is the victim. Of a conspiracy.

From his officials. Verse 23. Put to death. In his own house. By these servants. Of his. And yet. We read. That the people. Of the land. And that phrase.

Is suggestive. Of elders. The people. The rulers. Of the land. After they. Dole out justice. To these assassins. Oddly enough. They're not quite done.

With this dynasty. This. This kingly line. After all. It is the Davidic line. Yeah. Even Manasseh. Even Ammon. Are heirs. Of David. And so. In verse 24.

We read. Of how they take. A young boy. Named Josiah. Ammon's only son. Born to him. While he was like. A 16 year old teenager. By the way. And they place him.

On Judah's throne.

Is there some. Crumb of hope. Yet left. Give it another try. With another Davidic air. Right. Or has. Time finally. Run out. Come to think of it.

With all the terrible. Wicked things. That Manasseh has done. Why did he even. Let it get to Ammon. Why. Why would a holy God. So provoke to anger.

As he is. So ready to make good. On those covenant. Curses. Why would he allow things. To continue at all. I mean. Is. Ammon. Some kind of a reprieve.

From Manasseh. A little bit better. No. He's basically. Manasseh 2.0. And maybe it was only. The Lord's foreknowledge. Of who. And what was coming.

With this young boy. Josiah. But it makes us ask. Why the mercy. In the face. Of so much. More evil. Why more. Mercy. And I'll tell you. There's a reason why.

But actually. It's not in 2nd Kings. We have to go over. To 2nd Chronicles. 33. Some of you. Might want to turn there. But I'll just read. A few verses.

For you. I can skip. The first 10 verses. Of 2nd Chronicles. 33. Because they're almost. Identical. To the first. 10 verses. Of Kings. And yet.

As we come. To 2nd Chronicles. Chapter 33. Verse 11. I want you to listen. To this. Verses 10 and 11. The Lord spoke. To Manasseh. And to his people.

But they paid. No attention. Therefore. The Lord brought. Upon them. The commanders. Of the army. Of the king. Of Assyria. Who captured Manasseh.

With hooks. And bound him. With chains of bronze. And led him off. To Babylon. You say. What? That seems kind of significant. Our wicked king.

Gets himself. Captured. And deported. Off to Babylon. What's this? Now. 2nd Chronicles. 33. Does not get into. The specifics. Of all that happened.

But you know. History fills us in. Apparently. The king of Assyria. Had two sons. And as he passed his empire. To the two sons. They didn't really get along.

I'll save you their names. You can look them up. I'll just call them. Stronger brother. And weaker brother. And stronger brother. Was well stronger.

And he ruled the kingdom. From Nineveh. The capital. Weaker brother. Got Babylon. Which at that time. Was a vassal city. So what happens is.

In the year 648. Weaker son. Decides to try to form. A little coalition. And rebel against stronger son. And he gets a bunch of. Co-conspirators.

Assyrian records. Tell us. That it didn't work out. So well. For weaker brother. Stronger brother. Showed up. Put the city under siege. Took it.

And killed. Executed. Weaker brother. And who does he learn. Has sided. With the co-conspirators. With weaker brother. Manasseh. That's why he's dethroned.

And captured. That's why he's got. A hook. Through his nose. Which was what. The Assyrians did. They would. Pierce. And put a hook. Through the nose.

You're less likely. To run off. As you're on your death march. He was led off. On a humiliating. Get this. 900 mile trek. A journey. Which took.

Several months. To get to the city. Of Babylon. That's a lot. Of thinking time. Isn't it?

But here's where things. Get interesting. Because we go back. To the chronicler. And check this out. In verse 12. Second chronicles. 33 verse 12.

2 Chronicles 33:12

And when he. Manasseh. Was in distress. He entreated. The favor. Of the Lord. His God. And humbled. Himself. Greatly. Before the God. Of his fathers.

He prayed. To him. And God. Was moved. By his entreaty. And heard. His prayer. And brought him. Again. To Jerusalem. Into his kingdom. Then.

Manasseh. Knew. That the Lord. Was God. So. So. If history. Lines up. And I'm pretty sure. It does. Manasseh. Gets caught up. In the rebellion.

On the wrong side. In 648. And by the time. That he is caught. And deported. And repents. And gets restored. And brought back. Yeah. It'd be the year.

647. And again. When you do the math. Knowing that he dies. In 642. That leaves him. With just five years left. Five more years. That he reigns.

In Jerusalem. But you know what? He returns. A new man. And a new kind of king. Because 2nd Chronicles. Goes on to show us. A very different.

Very reform. Minded king. No longer. Will he be. Judah's. Most evil. King. Manasseh. Returns home. And he gets busy. Right away. Removing all the foreign.

Gods and idols. Like his father. Hezekiah. He gets busy. Cleaning up the temple. And throwing out. All the pagan altars. He throws them outside the city.

We're told. 2nd Chronicles. 33. Verse 16. Says that he. Restored the altar. Of the Lord. And he even commenced. With all the. Prescribed offerings.

And sacrificing. Sacrifices. That the law. Required. He even. Literally. The text says. Commanded Judah. To serve the Lord. Lord. All because God.

Had heard his desperate prayer. And was moved. By his genuine. Entreaty. Because he humbled himself.

And yet. And yet. It was. Only for the last. Five years. Of his reign. The last. Ten percent. Of his reign. And by the time. He returned. And made this.

Complete U-turn. That son. Ammon. Was already. A 17 year old. Father himself. And apparently. The part. Of his father. That stuck. Sadly. Was the one.

That he saw. And was influenced. By. And took his. Cues from. For the first. 17 years. Of his life. Because when he comes. To the throne himself.

At age 22. In the year 642. When Manasseh passes. It's back to business. As usual. The business. Of extreme. Wickedness. In idolatry. So. Completely.

Back. That our writer. In Kings. Doesn't even mention. The repentance part. Because it didn't take. It didn't. Hold.

Today is no doubt. A very dark picture. And yet. There is more than just darkness. In this account. There is some glimmer. Of hope. Here too.

What do we actually see? I think. It could be helpful. If we. Summarize. What we have seen. With just five. Words. Five points. Just five words.

Because I think. We have five words. That capture. The breath. And depth. Of what we are seeing here. Five words. That summarize. Five themes.

Here is the first one. Number one. Evil. Number one. Evil. Talk about the depth. And breadth. Of evil. It's a carnival. Of evil. That we have read about.

Much evil. More evil. Unprecedented evil. You know. That is saying a lot. Because there are a lot of evil kings. In this book. But Manasseh's walk into evil.

Was unprecedented. And when you got 50 years. Half a century. To do it. You kind of perfect it. Don't you? And the kingdom. Degenerates really fast.

And it did. This huge amount of evil. Manifested in several ways. From just plain old ordinary idolatry. At the high places. Rebuilding them.

Worship the false gods. To worshiping the starry hosts of heaven. The false demon gods. From warping. The proper worship of God. In his house.

By setting up that. Fertility. Cult inside. To all the occult. And the witchcraft. To the absolute horrors. Of child sacrifice. Yeah. Our narrator.

Is right to describe these. As despicable practices. And yeah. They were practices. That they learned. From the pagan nations. The Lord had driven out.

Before his people. And yet here. We've got his own people. Practicing this evil. Even more. More. Than the nations. Had done before them. And I would simply say.

Beware of evil. My friends. Beware of evil. Even in our day. Because it may dress up differently. It might. It might even dress nice. And be quite stylish.

But it's the same evil. The occult. I don't know about you. But I drive by. A tarot card place. About every day. And it doesn't look. Evil or haunted.

It looks nice and inviting. It's got good landscaping. Or maybe you've watched one of those. Award shows on TV recently. Don't. But you've got famous and influential people.

In our society. Or at least people whose society thinks. Are influential. Dabbling. In all kinds of things. They don't understand. But because they're so beautiful.

And successful. And influential. They are impressionable to others. To young people. They're encouraged to likewise. Toy with this stuff.

Well someone will say. Well at least we don't have any of those. Crazy fertility cults anymore. Oh no. Last time I checked. We have a pretty crazy fertility cult.

In the crazed sexual culture. Hook up culture. In our society. Club culture. Many college campuses. Dorms. Frat houses. Sororities. Have a whole lot more in common.

With fertility cults. Than we may care to admit.

But at least we don't do the child sacrifice. Right? Oh don't we? We don't have. Violence done to the children of our nation. By aborting. On average.

One million. Per year.

We don't mutilate. Children. Who do get born. And then some of them become confused. And decide that they want to change their bodies. While they're still juveniles.

Still developing. Minds that are confused. That think they're in the wrong body. You know you can't. In Indiana. I checked. I'd heard this. I checked.

You can't get a tattoo. Until you're 18. But in many places. You can do other things to your body. Well before 18. That's evil. It's nothing more.

It's nothing less. It's evil. And the spread of evil in any society. Leads to the next word I have for you. Number two. Judgment. Judgment. We have to understand.

This is where sin and evil. Eventually lead. This is its end. It's telos. All sin and evil. Will eventually meet judgment.

Did you know that the prophet Jeremiah. Once referred to Manasseh. Of all people. And this is what he prophesied. In Jeremiah 15. Verse 6. He says.

You have rejected me. Declares the Lord. You keep going backward. So I have stretched out my hand against you. And destroyed you. I am weary of relenting.

Sometimes the Lord does relent. Doesn't he? Manasseh's judgment. Took. About 50 years. Didn't it? And sometimes he doesn't. Because Ammon's judgment.

Took only two. But both. Met. Judgment. One through. Assassination. The other with a chain through his nose. As he was. Carried off by his sin.

As a prisoner. Which is exactly. A perfect metaphor. For what sin does. And how it will lead you. If you follow it. Sin. Will chain you. Like a prisoner.

And lead you off.

Ammon. Met a very swift end. God apparently. Wasn't willing to give him. Another 50 years. And whether it's a swift judgment. After only two years.

Or a delayed judgment. After 50. Whatever amount of time. A person gets. Whatever amount of time. You get. And I get. As we live. And wait. The Bible.

Is very clear. That the wages of sin. Is death. In Matthew. Chapter 12. Verse 36. Jesus himself said. Every person. Will have to give an account.

Matthew 12 · chapter mention

On the day of judgment. And Revelation 22. Describes that judgment. Where. It paints the scene. Of all the dead. Both great and small. We're told.

Are raised to stand. Before the Lord. As he opens his book.

Judgment.

And yet. In those times. Where judgment. Is delayed. As it was for Manasseh. Sometimes we get. A long march. Through life. To think things over.

Before it comes. And we have time. For something. Remarkable. To happen. Something. Remarkable. That Manasseh. Experienced. In his wicked heart.

And that brings us. To our third word. For today. And that's repentance. Repentance. Talk about an amazing. Turn of events. If you only read Kings.

And then flipped over. And read Chronicles. You didn't see this coming. Did you? Verse 12. Second Chronicles 33. Verse 12. And when he. Manasseh.

Was in distress. He entreated. The favor of the Lord. His God. And humbled himself. Greatly. Before the God. Of his fathers. We're told. That he prayed.

And that God was moved. By his prayer. By his entreaty. You say. After all that. After all that. Being the worst. Of the worst. Of the kings.

And I say. That's why they call it. Amazing. Grace. Because it is amazing. God's. Amazing grace. To a notorious. Sinner. You call me crazy. But it kind of reminds me.

Of someone else. Later on. In the New Testament. Another person. In the Bible. Who was a notorious sinner. The very worst of them. By his own account.

That's what he called himself. He says. I'm the foremost. Of sinners. And over in a letter. That he once wrote. To a young man. Named Timothy.

In chapter one. This former. Christian. Hunting. Now. Christian. Making apostle. Named Paul. told Timothy. It was a trustworthy. Saying. To consider himself.

The foremost. Of sinners. Because really. When the standard. Is the holiness. Of God. We're all notorious. Sinners. But amazingly. If we repent.

Amazingly. If we will humble. Our hearts. And confess. Our sins. First John. Chapter one. Verses eight and nine. If we say. We have no sin. That's pride.

If we say. We have no sin. We deceive ourselves. The truth's not in us. But if we confess. Our sins. He is. Faithful. And just. To forgive us.

Our sins. And to cleanse us. From all. Unrighteousness. He applies. That atonement. On that cross. To us. Whenever. God's people. Are moved.

To humbleness. Whenever people. Like us. Humble our hearts. And recognize. Our sin.

And today. We see a king. Who can be restored. And. Even at. Year 51. Of his reign. Reforms. Can be made. Because he has found. Forgiveness.

God was faithful. And just. To forgive. Manasseh. His sin. And cleanse him. From all unrighteousness. And in as much. As he did good. In his final years.

It did please. The Lord. And yet. And yet. As much good. As he did. In those final five years. There was one thing. There was something. That he could not.

Personally. Overcome. Or undo. And that brings us. To our fourth. Word. That fourth. Word. Is influence. Influence.

The sobering reality. Of our story today. Is that the damage. Had been done. Right? We're talking about. Manasseh's son. Ammon. A son. Who watched.

For the first. Seventeen years. Of his life. And saw. All that. Rampant wickedness. Of his father. That huge. Amount of evil. That he grew up with.

That was normal. To him. He never knew anything different. The kind of sexual immorality. That sees a teenager like him. Having a kid. At age 16.

Manasseh's ways. Were abhorrent. His practices. Were despicable. And the kids. As we often say. Were watching. The kids are watching. The kids are always watching.

Influence. I am sure. Manasseh. As he lay there. On his deathbed. Probably wished. That he had more time. Maybe he prayed a prayer. Like his father.

Hezekiah. And asked for more time. I am sure. That this repentant. Humbled king. Wished that he had more. Opportunity. To shape his son. By a new influence.

By a good influence. By a godly. Influence. How much time. Have some of us wasted.

And more importantly. I am not here to beat you up. How much more time. Do you still have. Who is watching. You. Because if you are hearing this.

It is not too late.

We all sin in many ways. We all make mistakes. But listen. If a man just five years. Five years from his natural death. Can make this kind of a turnaround.

So can you. And praise God for his mercy. So if you are here. As someone today. And you have got. A little time left. Or maybe a lot more time left.

And the truth is. We really don't know. You have time to make. A good impression. Have a good influence. On those who are watching you. So do it.

Take advantage. Be aware. Of who is watching. Who is observing. Your priorities. And your values. And who is under your influence. Because things.

As they say. Are very much. Caught. As much as they are taught. And sometimes even more so. Remember your influence. And finally. One last word.

As we close. Number five. The fifth word is hope. Hope. Hope.

You say. But Manasseh. Kind of failed. With his son. Despite the efforts. At the end. And. And Ammon. Well. He got himself. Snuffed out. So fast.

But what about. The people of the land. Remember them. At the end. What do they do. Wicked king. Gets assassinated. He's dead. Well. First thing they do.

Is like. We need some justice. They deal with the assassins. And then. What do they do. I don't know. If it was me. I'd probably start over.

And be like. That dynasty. We're going to stop. Let's start with something new. How about a good elder. We got any leading generals. Who are righteous men.

But they don't do that. Do they. The people of the land. Instead. What they do. At the very end. Is they take. An eight year old boy. Second grader.

Right. His name's Josiah. And they give this Davidic heir. Another chance. That's hope. They keep. Think about this. They keep. The only son.

In whom. The Davidic line. Can continue. On the throne.

Leading to the survival. Of a promise. Because it means. The endurance. Of a line. That would one day. Several hundred years later. About. Five hundred and so.

Lead to the birth. Of a man. Named Joseph. Who would take home. As his wife. A young lady. By the name of Mary. And they would give birth. To another.

Davidic heir. In the long line. Of Davidic heirs. The line. That included. Hezekiah. And think about this. The line. That included. Manasseh.

And Ammon. They're both in Matthew 1. The genealogy. And this couple. Would give birth. To a son. And they would give him. The name Jesus. That is what.

I call. Hope. Hope. So if you're listening. To this right now. I can tell you. There is still hope. For you too. Hope. In Jesus. In the one.

Who cancels all debts. Forgives all sins. The one in whom. The divine. And the human. Met. And who went. To the cross. As we will celebrate.

This week. And won. Salvation. Won. A victory. And provided. Atonement. For people. Who otherwise. Would be judged. We have a chance. To celebrate that.

This week. This coming week. Holy week. So let me ask you. Right now. If you would just. Stand with me. And join me. As a team. Is going to come.

We're going to sing. But first. Let's pray.

Oh Lord. Our thoughts are. About this evil. Judgment. Judgment. Repentance.

Influence. And hope. What an amazing story. It's terrible Lord. The things we read about. But it's amazing. What your grace can do. And Lord.

It's amazing. How you can still work out. Your promises. You can bring about. The blessings. To your people. Lord. I pray for us. To hear today.

For those of us. Who right now. Are thinking about. The course of life. Thinking about. Our standing with you. Lord. If we need to come to you.

And humble our heart. Like Manasseh did. Lord. If we're hooked up. In our sin. I pray that you would. Break us free. That you would. Hear a contrite prayer.

From our heart. As we seek. Your forgiveness. You. And only you. Can do. What we needed. To have done. And we praise you. And we thank you. For that.

We thank you. For the cross. We thank you. For a king. Who rode in. On a donkey. On Sunday. And by Friday. Was being hung. On a cross. To die.

We thank you. For your son. And we praise you. For new life. In him. We will celebrate. That next week. Thank you. For turnarounds. Thank you.

For your mercy. And the way. That you have relented.

And we give you. All the praise. In Jesus name. Hear us now. As we sing. Amen.