[Originally posted in a WhatsApp group (DG) as a reading update (reflection) from one chapter of the Bible a day]
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v3. "He did right in the sight
of the LORD, according to all that his father David had done."
v5. "He trusted in the LORD,
the God of Israel; so that after him there was none like him among all the
kings of Judah, nor among those who were before him."
Finally, a king like David, even better
than King Solomon.
But, look at the situation. Though
his kingship followed the instructions of the law, he was bullied by the
Assyrians, and he had to pay taxes (tributes) to them. His forefathers had
brought [led] to those circumstances.
Now, we could be [if not are]
godlier and more righteous than the Americans or English, but our forefathers
were heathens, uncivilized and uneducated, so, even if we are godly and
educated, we do not see anyone among us as smart as Spurgeon or Luther or
Edwards!
Our present life affects future
generations!
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“Behold, I will put a spirit in
him, so that he shall hear a rumor and return to his own land, and I will make
him fall by the sword in his own land.”
A rumor was enough to humble that
mighty king of Assyria. God is Almighty. He can frighten the mighty with just a
rumor.
Has God ever frightened you? Have
you ever been frightened enough? Was it from God or from the Devil? Hmmm! Could
be from any of them!
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"Then he turned his face to
the wall and prayed to the LORD"
Hezekiah was really sad. His prayer
was genuine. His tears were real. He did pray fervently. He turned his face to
the wall. To have a kind of privacy, to call upon God. To not be distracted by
the people and things around him.
Jesus often withdrew himself to the
mountains to pray. Do we withdraw our face, attention, time to pray?
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"But they did not listen, and
Manasseh seduced them to do evil more than the nations whom the LORD destroyed
before the sons of Israel."
What a story of contrast. His
father Hezekiah was the most righteous king of Judah, [the son] Manasseh was
the most wicked king.
If you are righteous, don't think your
children too will be, or for that matter, your family members or church members
will be!
It proves that religiosity or faith
is not a birthright.
The father-son tops the list
Downward or Upward! ππ¬
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"Because your heart was
penitent, and you humbled yourself before the LORD, when you heard how I spoke
against this place and against its inhabitants, that they should become a
desolation and a curse, and you have torn your clothes and wept before me, I also
have heard you, declares the LORD."
Again and again, the Scriptures
recorded how repentance, humility, and trust in God are what God seeks in a man.
They are the means of restoration. They are the means of relenting God's
judgment. The message is the same for us today as well, both individually and
corporately.
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“However, the LORD did not turn
from the fierceness of His great wrath with which His anger burned against
Judah, because of all the provocations with which Manasseh had provoked Him.
The LORD said, "I will remove Judah also from My sight, as I have removed
Israel. And I will cast off Jerusalem, this city which I have chosen, and the
temple of which I said, 'My name shall be there.'"”
Sin is serious, consequential, and
dangerous. No amount of your good deeds can take away sin. Because sin is
cosmic treason against God [I think R.C. Sproul said that].
Even in this present society. If
you kill a man, you will be put in jail. You may be a doctor saving hundreds of
people, but the court will not pardon you for that one single act of crime.
Even our Lord Jesus didn't undo the
deed of Adam and Eve. They ate the fruit and the whole world plunged into
damnation, and so, everyone dies someday. Jesus came, but still the sin of Adam
reigns. He himself died, and we all will die.
It teaches us, sin is that evil!
Josiah was a good king, but God
must punish the kingdom because of Manasseh!
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"The LORD sent against him
bands of Chaldeans, bands of Arameans, bands of Moabites, and bands of
Ammonites. So He sent them against Judah to destroy it, according to the word
of the LORD which He had spoken through His servants the prophets."
God is in control of everything.
God sent Chaldean to kill His people! The Talibans are under God; so is a coronavirus,
Modi, and everyone!
There's safety for those who call
out to Him! Let's call upon God, especially in troubled times!
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"He burned the house of the
LORD, the king's house, and all the houses of Jerusalem; even every great house
he burned with fire."
And so, the prophecy was fulfilled.
If God did that, why won't He punish the wicked of our generation? Note the account: the greater to lesser
listing–God's house to ordinary homes.