Manasseh the OT Prodigal Son

a. Romans 2:5 But because you are stubborn and refuse to turn from your sin, you are storing up terrible punishment for yourself. For a day of anger is coming, when God’s righteous judgment will be revealed.

The Lord warns Israel when they go into the promised land. vs 8 If the Israelites will be careful to obey my commands - all the laws, decrees, and regulations given through Moses - I will not sent them into exile from this land that i set aside for your ancestors.

The Lord set aside land for Israel. Reference vs. 8.

The Lord spoke to Manasseh and his people about their sin. (But they ignored it) That was God’s grace.

The Lord sent the commanders of the Assyrian armies to take Manasseh prisoner and led him to Babylon.

The Lord listened to the prayers of Manasseh when he was in captivity.

The Lord brought Manasseh back to Jerusalem after he repented.

The Lord brought restoration to Manasseh after his repentance.

Hosea 6:1 “Come, let us return to the Lord. He has torn us to pieces; now he will heal us. He has injured us; now he will bandage our wounds.

Acts 3:19 Now repent of your sins and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped away.

2 Cor. 13:9 For we are glad when we are weak and you are strong. Your restoration is what we pray for.

Galatians 6:1 Brothers, if anyone is caught in any transgression, you who are spiritual should restore him in a spirit of gentleness. Keep watch on yourself, lest you too be tempted.

Matthew 18:12 - 14 “What do you think? If a man owns a hundred sheep, and one of them wanders away, will he not leave the ninety-nine on the hills and go to look for the one that wandered off? 13 And if he finds it, I tell you the truth, he is happier about that one sheep than about the ninety-nine that did not wander off. 14 In the same way your Father in heaven is not willing that any of these little ones should be lost.

What does this story tell us about man?

1 We do evil.

2. We are sinful.

a. Romans 3: 23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.

b. Mark 7:20-23 (Jesus) He went on: “What comes out of a man is what makes him ‘unclean.’ 21 For from within, out of men’s hearts, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, 22 greed, malice, deceit, lewdness, envy, slander, arrogance and folly. 23 All these evils come from inside and make a man ‘unclean.’ ”

c. Jeremiah 17:9-10 The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it? 10 “I the Lord search the heart and examine the mind, to reward a man according to his conduct, according to what his deeds deserve.”

d. John 3:19-21 This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but men loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. 20 Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that his deeds will be exposed. 21 But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what he has done has been done through God.”

3. We can worship false gods.

a. Exodus 20:3 “You shall have no other gods before me.

b. 1 Cor. 10:14 14 Therefore, my dear friends, flee from idolatry.

c. Romans 8:7 For the sinful nature is always hostile to God. It never did obey God’s laws, and it never will.

d. Ephesians 5:11 Take no part in the worthless deeds of evil and darkness; instead, expose them.

4. We can repent

a. Matthew 4:17 17 From then on Jesus began to preach, “Repent of your sins and turn to God, for the Kingdom of Heaven is near.”

b. Luke 17:3 So watch yourselves! “If another believer sins, rebuke that person; then if there is repentance, forgive.

c. Matthew 3:8 Prove by the way you live that you have repented of your sins and turned to God.

d. Luke 5:31 - 32 Jesus answered them, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. 32 I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.”

5. We can encourage people - Manasseh encouraged the people of Judah to worship the Lord the God of Israel.

6. Man can be disobedient to God.

7. Man can disrespect God.

8. Man can open doors for the enemy.

a. 2 Cor. 11:3 But I am afraid that just as Eve was deceived by the serpent’s cunning, your minds may somehow be led astray from your sincere and pure devotion to Christ.

b. 1 John 3:8 He who does what is sinful is of the devil, because the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the devil’s work.

c. John 10:10 The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.

d. James 4:7-8 So humble yourselves before God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. 8 Come close to God, and God will come close to you. Wash your hands, you sinners; purify your hearts, for your loyalty is divided between God and the world.

e. 1 Peter 5:8-9 Stay alert! Watch out for your great enemy, the devil. He prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour. 9 Stand firm against him, and be strong in your faith. Remember that your family of believers all over the world is going through the same kind of suffering you are.

What does this story tell us about the enemy…aka…satan?

Makes evil look good.

Tries to involve people in his work…entices people.

Involves Manasseh and the people of Judah.

Works to destroy you and others.

2 Cor. 11:13-15 14 And no wonder, for Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light. 15 It is not surprising, then, if his servants masquerade as servants of righteousness. Their end will be what their actions deserve.

4. He is patient

5. Looks for your weakness.

1 Peter 5:8-9

Eph. 6:10-18 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. 11 Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. 12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. 13 Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. 14 Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, 15 and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. 16 In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. 17 Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. 18 And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints.

6. Has a plan for you…when you are in rebellion you are following the enemy.

7. Tears down.

John 10:10

8. Wants to be worshiped.

Matthew 4:9-10 9 “I will give it all to you,” he said, “if you will kneel down and worship me.” 10 “Get out of here, Satan,” Jesus told him. “For the Scriptures say, ‘You must worship the Lord your God and serve only him.’”

9. Is subtle

a. Genesis 3:1 Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God really say, ‘You must not eat from any tree in the garden’?”

Context: Our theme today is “Manasseh the Old Testament Prodigal Son, and our text today is 2 Chronicles 33:1-20 as we continue our series on the ancestors of Jesus. To set the context of our story when we think of the prodigal son, we think of parable Jesus told in the Gospel of Luke 15. A young man took his inheritance from his Father and then set off to a distant land where he squandered his money on wild living. When he ran out of money he fell into hard times and that is when the Scriptures say he came to his senses. He repented of his sin and returned to his father telling him he had sinned against heaven and against him. His father accepted his son’s repentance and he was restored.

In the Old Testament book of 2nd Chronicles, we see a similar story of a King who grew up with a godly Father King Hezekiah, but instead of following in his father’s godly footsteps he took the opposite path. Manasseh’s father, Hezekiah, has brought spiritual reforms to the country and the nation appears to be following God. Manasseh will change all that……A Story from the Word of God:

Text: Manasseh was twelve years old when he became king of Judah. He was king for 55 years in Jerusalem. Manasseh did evil in the eyes of the Lord. He reversed the religious reforms that his father, Hezekiah had done. Manasseh brought back all the idol worship that had been in place before God had given Israel the promised land. He built altars for the fertility gods, Baal and Asherah. He also worshipped the stars and even built altars to them inside the Temple. The Lord had said about the Temple, “My name will be in Jerusalem forever.”

Manasseh burned his own children in child sacrifice to these false gods in a valley outside of Jerusalem. He used magic and fortune telling. He talked with mediums and wizards to consult the dead. He did many things that the Lord said were evil and made God angry. He made a statue of an idol and put it in God’s temple. This is the temple that God had spoken of to both David and Solomon. God wanted His name in this Temple forever because He had chosen Israel to be His people. He had given Israel the land and wanted them to obey all the laws and commands that He had given to Moses.

Not only did Manasseh disobey God’s commandment to worship only the true God, he encouraged all the people of his kingdom to worship other gods. Spiritually, they became worse than the nations that were in the land before the Israelites. They forgot that God had destroyed those people.

The Lord spoke to Manasseh and to his people, but they refused to listen. 11 So the Lord brought against them the army commanders of the king of Assyria, who took Manasseh prisoner, put a hook in his nose, bound him with bronze shackles and took him to Babylon. It was only then, as a prisoner in Babylon, that Manasseh turned to the true God for help. He humbled himself and prayed and begged for help. God heard his begging and felt sorry for him, so He let Manasseh return to Jerusalem and to his throne. Then Manasseh knew that the Lord was the true God.

When Manasseh returned, he fortified the city by rebuilding the outer wall and putting guards on it. He took away all the strange idols, including the one in the Temple and threw them outside of the city of Jerusalem. Then he set up the Lord’s altar and offered thank offerings on it. He gave a command for all the people of Judah to serve the Lord, the God of Israel. The people continued to offer sacrifices at the former places of idol worship, but their sacrifices were only to the Lord their God.

Everything that Manasseh did, his sins and how he repented before the Lord and the Lord listened were all recorded in the history books. So, Manasseh died and was buried with his ancestors. A story from the word of God.

As I began to mediate on this text I began to ask God, “What are you trying to teach us this week from the life of Manasseh?” The verse the Lord brought to my mind was from 2nd Timothy 3:16-17 - All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, 17 so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work. The question is...are we teachable? What does this story tell us about man, the work of the enemy and an all-powerful God? God wants us to know what life is like when we walk away from Him. The word prodigal means wasteful. A wayward life is a wasted life. God does not want you to waste your life, but pursue Him, His will and His way.

In the first part of our story we see Manasseh becoming a king at a very young age. He we see in verse two where we get an overview of his life. He did evil in the eyes of the Lord. The writer of 2Chronicles than gives a list of the evil things Manasseh did, that looks like charges being read in a court of law.

· He reversed the religious reforms that his father Hezekiah had done.

· He brought back idol worship that had been in the land before God gave the promised land to Israel.

· He built altars for the fertility gods, Baal and Asherah.

· He worshiped the stars and even built altars to them inside the temple in Jerusalem.

· He burned his own children in child sacrifice to these false gods in the valley outside of Jerusalem.

· He used magic and fortune telling.

· He talked with mediums and wizards to consult the dead.

· Not only did Manasseh disobey God’s commandment only to worship the one true God, he encouraged all the people of his Kingdom to do the same.

· Manasseh was evil, and he led other people into doing evil before God.

Living a life apart from God and His guidance is destructive to ourselves and to those around us. Every person has a void in their life that can only be filled by God. The “God-shaped hole” is the natural longing of the human heart for something outside itself, something supernatural. Ecclesiastes 3:11 refers to God's planting "eternity in man’s heart." God made humanity for His eternal purpose, and only God can fulfill our desire for eternity. The problem, though, is that humanity ignores this hole or attempts to fill it with things other than God. Jeremiah 17:9 describes the condition of our hearts: “The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure.”

We don’t have to be very old in life before we discover the lure of sinful behavior or filling our lives with the busyness of the world to drown out God’s voice. Satan is crafty and looks for our weaknesses. If our enemy satan can’t destroy us with sin, he will lure us into being so busy with life that we don’t have time for God. Spiritual starvation has been the destruction of many people including pastors. As one pastor wrote, “I woke up one day and asked myself, how did I get to this place?” I am empty, caught up in sin, and fooling myself into thinking because I am pastor, I don’t need to spend time with God.

Questions: Have you opened any doors to the enemy that need to be closed? The Lord is waiting for all of us to humbly come before him and admit our wrong doing. Psalm 139:23-24 says, “ Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. 24 Point out anything in me that offends you and lead me along the path of everlasting life.”

In the second part of our story we see the intervention of God. The Lord spoke to Manasseh and to his people, but they refused to listen. 11 So the Lord brought against them the army commanders of the king of Assyria, who took Manasseh prisoner, put a hook in his nose, bound him with bronze shackles and took him to Babylon. It was only then, as a prisoner in Babylon, that Manasseh turned to the true God for help. He humbled himself and prayed and begged for help. God heard his begging and felt sorry for him, so He let Manasseh return to Jerusalem and to his throne. Then Manasseh knew that the Lord was the true God.

As we reflect on this part of the passage we see that God will take drastic measures to bring us to a place so we can see the folly of our sin. Like the prodigal son Manasseh began to be in want. With a ring in his nose and chains about him Manasseh would suffer greatly on the long trip to Babylon, and the prison that followed. He soon found out idols and anything else he was doing previously was not going to rescue him. Like Jonah in the belly of the fish Manasseh humbled himself, repented and prayed to the Lord and the Lord heard his prayer.

Throughout the Scriptures we see the Lord taking drastic measures to rescue people from their sin.

· The Apostle Paul was an enemy of Jesus before the Lord blinded him on the road to Damascus. Paul repented, his sight was restored, he believed and was baptized.

· The thief on the cross with Jesus. He was nailed to a cross suffering a very painful death, but during that time of suffering he came to faith. Luke 23:42 - 43 Then he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.” 43 Jesus answered him, “I tell you the truth, today you will be with me in paradise.”

· The Prodigal son – Came to his senses, repented and returned to his father and was restored.

· Myself – As I have told you before when I was 27 years old I was broadsided by a car going 70 miles an hour. Before I was knocked out I cried out to the Lord. After woke up I found myself with just a slight concussion. The state trooper comment was most people are killed on impact because their neck is broken. You are very lucky. As I reflected on that I sensed the Lord telling me “you are wasting your life.” For me that was a major mid-course correction.

Question: Has the Lord ever taken drastic measures in your life to bring you to a place where you saw the folly of your own sin? How did that change you?

In the last part of our story we see Manasseh returns to Jerusalem as King where he begins to put his new-found faith in the Lord into action.

· Manasseh rebuilds the outer walls in Jerusalem.

· He removes foreign gods and idols.

· He tears down the pagan altars he had built.

· He restores the altar to the Lord.

· He encourages the people of Judah to worship the true God.

A transformed heart is one that can be used by God for his purpose and his plan. As we reflect on the fruit of Manasseh’s repentance there are many things Manasseh is doing. God is doing similar things in the heart of Manasseh as he restores him. He does the same for us when we repent and let him transform our heart.

· The Lord rebuilds – The Prophet Isaiah writes, “I will strengthen you and help you.”

· The Lord removes – In Psalm 103:12 we read, “He has removed our sins as far from us as the east is from the west.”

· The Lord tears down – Paul tells us in 2 Cor. 5:17 - This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun!

· The Lord restores – He restores by soul it says in Psalm 23:3

· The Lord encourages me. Paul writes in Romans 15:13 says, “ May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.”

Questions: How has the Lord transformed you spiritually, and what is the fruit of your transformation?

As we close, we begin to see a picture of a loving God who

· He watches over us. The Lord keeps you from all harm and watches over your life. Psalm 121:7.

· He is a God of intervention. Jesus paid the price for each person sins on the cross.

· He listens to our prayers. Daniel 9:18 says, “We do not make requests of you because we are righteous, but because of your great mercy.”

· He waits for our return to him when we sin, just like the Father of the prodigal son.

· There is great joy in heaven when we as sinners repent. Luke 15:7 I tell you that in the same way there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who do not need to repent. Amen.

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