Speaker 1: 0:04

Welcome, friends, to Preach it Girl podcast, where we aren't just sitting around waiting for Jesus to return or Skinny Pop to make us skinny. I mean, those things are bound to happen. But while we wait, join me, auntie Lala, for a jaunt through the scriptures so lively you'll think they were written just yesterday, not thousands of years ago. Now put on your listening ears for a somewhat sassy retelling of stories from the Bible. In our last episode, we talked about King Hezekiah, and his son. Manasseh is the one who came after him, and so we're going to talk about how King Hezekiah started off on this really great note and then ended in pride. So King Manasseh oh you guys, this dude started off rough.

Speaker 1: 0:53

Manasseh became king when he was just 12 years old, so I can't help but wonder, like who's speaking into his life? Who was guiding him at the time that he became king? He was awfully young. Whatever the case, scripture tells us he did what was evil in the sight of the Lord. So he rebuilt the pagan altars that Hezekiah had torn down. He bowed to the powers of heaven and worshiped them. He practiced sorcery, witchcraft, divination, he consulted mediums and psychics and, worst of all, he sacrificed his own sons in the fire to other gods and, worst of all, he sacrificed his own sons in the fire to other gods. This was despicable to the Lord. And yes, that is sons with an S, y'all. Manasseh had lost his ever-loving mind. He had lost himself. He led the chosen people astray. So, just like I said before, a king would lead the people, so they're either leading them to God or they're leading them away. And Manasseh was setting up all these pagan altars and shrines and worshiping these other gods, and so were the people. The people were doing the same thing.

Speaker 1: 2:02

But here's the part that stops me. God, in his mercy, warned Manasseh over and over again. He always sends his prophets to warn his people. Turn from this wicked evil stuff back to God, and I won't let what can happen happen. But if you choose to come out from under the umbrella of safety that is the mercy of the Lord, then you're not protected anymore. It is God's mighty hand that holds back the forces of evil in this world, and not only that, he can also hold back natural events.

Speaker 1: 2:40

Of course, bad things happen to good people. We live in a broken world. All kinds of things can happen that God does not intervene in the moment and prevent them all from happening. But if you stay connected to Jesus, he says I'll never leave you or forsake you and I'll be with you in those terrible times and I will bring something out of it that is good and I will use it for your good and for his glory.

Speaker 1: 3:06

I know it's hard. It is hard when bad things happen, especially to children, but I believe God 100%. You have to have a no matter what faith and that will get you through this world and into the next and y'all this is it says it's just like a breath, this world. Maybe you get to live 75, 85, 95 years, maybe 105. You know we're getting some good AI stuff coming in down the medical pipe, hopefully, and we'll live longer and better, more healthy years. But that compared to a thousand years in heaven, unlimited, unending, forever, where there is no pain and suffering and we live in a new earth and it's full of joy and goodness and all the evil's been taken care of. That's when we're going to be living this life. It's a test, but it's a test to show us approved. It's a test that the Lord promises to walk us through and to help us overcome. But see, we don't overcome if we don't have any suffering. We don't learn lessons unless there's some tests and some hard things. We have to have those hard things.

Speaker 1: 4:14

But let's get back to Manasseh. Manasseh was out of his ever-loving mind, doing some crazy stuff, and he's following this king that brought the people back to God. So it's a pretty big change for the people. But okay, evil had such a grip on him he couldn't think straight. And sure enough, that day came that God warned him would come.

Speaker 1: 4:35

So let me read you a little bit about Manasseh. Okay, let's read it from the word from the New Living Translation. I like it because it's easy to understand. He did so much that was evil in the Lord's sight and aroused God's anger. Oh, I don't want God's anger.

Speaker 1: 4:52

Then the Lord said, through his servants, the prophets King Manasseh of Judah has done many detestable things. He is even more wicked than the Amorites, the people that had lived in the land that the Lord helped the Israelites overtake the land. Manasseh was more evil than they were. He has caused the people of Judah to sin with his idols. So this is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says I will bring such disaster on Jerusalem and Judah that the ears of those who hear about it will tingle with horror. Oh God, no, I don't want none of that. I'm so glad we've come on the other side so that we got Jesus's blood covering all our sins. But you know, if you don't have Jesus, then you're held responsible for everything, because God is merciful and loving. Kindness that chases us down, but we can choose not to have his kindness and not to have his forgiveness and not to accept his sacrifice for our sins. Okay, tingle with horror. That one gets me. I will judge Jerusalem by the same standard I use for Samaria and the same measure I use for the family of Ahab. Ahab was an evil king. Ahab and Jezebel. I will wipe away the people of Jerusalem. As one wipes a dish and turns it upside down. All you hand washing dishwasher people, you know. You turn that dish upside down so it dries. It's done Complete.

Speaker 1: 6:31

Manasseh also murdered many innocent people, until Jerusalem was filled from one end to the other with innocent blood. This was in addition to the sin that he calls the people of Judah to commit, leading them to do evil in the Lord's sight. Y'all. What was driving him? An evil spirit, probably. I guess he was convinced that God wasn't real. I don't know, but let's listen to what happened to him, because this is a crazy story.

Speaker 1: 6:59

Here it comes. The Lord spoke to Manasseh and his people, but they ignored all his warnings. So the Lord sent the commanders of the Assyrian armies and they took Manasseh prisoner. So that same army the Lord defeated for Hezekiah. The Lord allowed to take Manasseh as a prisoner. They put a ring through his nose, bound him in bronze chains and led him away to Babylon, just as had been predicted by Isaiah to Hezekiah.

Speaker 1: 7:28

But while in deep distress I mean, can you imagine? He was a king. He did whatever he wanted to do, fulfilled every desire. Then he was a prisoner in the did whatever he wanted to do, fulfilled every desire. Then he was a prisoner in the Babylonian palace, in chains. But while in deep distress, manasseh sought the Lord, his God, and sincerely humbled himself before the God of his ancestors. And when he prayed, the Lord listened to him and was moved by his request. What, after all that innocent blood he shed after worshiping these other idols, after sacrificing his sons in a fire to a false God, the Lord heard his humble prayer. As soon as he was in chains he was like I've heard of the real God. There is a real God, and I'm going to pray to him and I'm going to confess my wrongdoings. And when he prayed, the Lord listened to him and was moved by his request. The Lord brought Manasseh back to Jerusalem and to his kingdom. Then Manasseh finally realized that the Lord alone is God. He ended up ruling for 55 years and he tore down the same altars he built to these other gods and then he led the people back to the Lord.

Speaker 1: 8:48

I mean most of us, I think, would have thought that that dude's too far gone. He ain't coming back, and he did, and I think that's probably why sometimes God allows really terrible things to happen to us when we are out there doing dumb stuff, so that we'll go oh yeah, wait a minute. I don't want to live like this. I don't want to live like this. I want to know God again. I want God to help me and give me another chance. This was before Jesus. God's always been merciful and it's always been his plan that Jesus would come for us, and that's part of why Judah continued to have a king. God said there would be a king forever on the throne, and Jesus is that king that is from the lineage of Judah.

Speaker 1: 9:36

Wow, manasseh got restored from all that he had done and ended his kingdom, ended his kingly reign as a good king, as a benevolent king, as a king that worshiped the one true God. The people must have been like, oh, he really did turn over a new leaf. So from that point on, manasseh's leadership looked entirely different. Reverence for the one true God marked the second half of his reign. He led the people back to the Lord, tore down idols and restored proper worship in the temple. It's a beautiful picture of Exodus 34 6, where the Lord reveals himself to Moses the Lord, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness.

Speaker 1: 10:20

When I think about what God did for Manasseh, I think of those scriptures that talk about our God being merciful, slow to anger, quick to forgive, abounding in love and faithfulness. When the Lord revealed himself to Moses, the Lord showed himself to him and said that he is a compassionate God who is gracious and slow to anger. Then the Psalms written by King David. There's three different Psalms that talk about but you, lord, are a compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger and abounding in love and faithfulness. So we can count on him. We don't have to be too scared or think we're too far gone, because y'all, manasseh wasn't too far gone and he did it all. He did all kinds of stuff, terrible stuff.

Speaker 1: 11:11

So we all got a shot, we all have an open door to the Lord. We can turn. You know, it doesn't cost anything. Isn't that something that in this world, like all these good things that are so expensive and many of us will never afford this thing, the most valuable thing in our lives that we could ever hope for is a relationship with the one true God, who has angel armies that will protect us, who can provide us with whatever we need, heal our bodies, and it's free. It's free and all we have to do is turn to him and ask for his help and say I believe in you, you are real and have faith and that pleases God. God is so merciful and gracious and full of love and kindness and slow to anger that he will turn things around for you and me.

Speaker 1: 12:02

So when I compare these two kings, a father and a son, I find myself wondering is it better to start off well and then end poorly, or to start poorly and end well with God? And at first I kind of thought, you know, like the prodigal son that one goes out. He does dumb stuff, but then he realizes how dumb he's been, so he runs back home to an open-armed father. Meanwhile the older son, who never left, ends up on the outside of the party, just kind of bitter and really not in a good relationship with the father, which is a picture of our heavenly father how he welcomes us home no matter what, and I don't know. But the more I thought about it, the more I realized both paths are awful. Don't do either of those paths. Now I've been a prodigal child and I came back.

Speaker 1: 12:51

But I mean, if you don't ever have to walk away, don't do it so much better to be in the hands of the Lord than in the hands of the world that is fickle. Drop you like a bad habit quick, as look at you and the devil hates you. He hates you, it says. The enemy comes to steal, kill and destroy, and he loves to seduce people away from the Lord. So here's the invitation for us let's honestly assess our own lives.

Speaker 1: 13:16

Let's come before Jesus with a humble heart, asking him search us, pull out anything that displeases you, cleanse us. Let's ask him to cleanse us, forgive us and give us a new heart, a new heart that longs to obey him. Help me want to obey you the longer we walk with him and the more devoted to him we are. He doesn't just control you or anything, but he does change your heart so that you actually want things that are good instead of wanting those things that weren't good, and really want things that are good instead of wanting those things that weren't good and really the things that we wanted that weren't good just destroyed us Meanwhile. God wants us to want the good things that are going to make our lives feel full and refreshing, like the good shepherd leads us by clear waters and lets us rest in those green pastures. That's our good shepherd, that's Jesus.

Speaker 1: 14:04

So, all right, where might you be testing the Lord's patience? Think about it, pray about it. The Lord is good. He sent those prophets to warn the people over and over again. He will speak to you if you're not sure. Okay, so ask him. Am I testing your patience, lord? Where have you experienced his gracious, long-suffering mercy in your life? And thank him. Be quick to cry out to God in distress, but be just as quick to praise him for his kindness and his mercy. Yes, praise him for his kindness and his mercy. Okay, you guys, I love you. Thank you for listening. I can't wait for our next time together on Preach it Girl.