Sermon Transcript Tone Analysis

All right.

We are in Episode 22 of this sermon series.

The rain called flan episode is called the curse and this is perhaps, arguably the most important event to happen in the Old Testament is, certainly the event that is talked about the most in the Old Testament.

But before we get to this very important turning point in the story, The Bible we need to remind ourselves of what we've been doing.

We've been working to tell the story of the entire Bible from beginning to end as one story with one, plot and a plot that we've identified as unifying.

This whole story is is the story of God's plan, to establish a Place full of people who live out their purpose in his presence.

That's how God made things in the beginning and made the world to put people in it to rule the world on his behalf.

And he came down to live with them and then they messed it up and we keep messing up this Arrangement that God has made and the Bible is the story of God putting it, right again.

And that's important to us because we are part of that story.

And this plan, then is God's plan for our lives.

What our lives are supposed to look like and the cause that we are working toward as Christians.

Now the way God has chosen to restore, his plan has been to work through one particular.

People called Israel and use them as kind of a display model of his plan.

So he gave these people, a particular place, the Kingdom of Israel.

He gave them his present in the temple and he gave him the law of Moses to, to outline their purpose of how they can show, who God is to the communities around them.

And unfortunately, the Israelites have not been any better.

I were living out that planned.

The rest of humanity has been at, living out, loving it out from the beginning.

And at this point in the story, The Kingdom because the king is not good at obeying God, the kingdom split and the top ten tribes, the Northern Kingdom of Israel continue to rebell against God, more and more until God.

Finally destroyed the kingdom.

The series came in, and wiped it out and deported, most of the people in that kingdom is gone.

Last week.

We talked about the kingdom of Judah, which is two tribes, and at the southern end and that's where Jerusalem is and how they became a facile.

Assyria and Hezekiah was a very Godly King, but when he rebelled at Syria came in and destroyed all of Judah, except for Jerusalem and God save Jerusalem, because Hezekiah was obedient servant.

God, but that's all he saved.

All that's left, is Jerusalem it.

So as we pick up the story, we're picking it up in a Judah that has been devastated and and has been left with very little going for it.

All they really have is Jerusalem and a and a wasted Countryside as well as we go into the story.

Today.

We actually have a lot to cover for some very interesting reasons.

But what I want you to keep in mind the way we keep our bearings and these stories as we watch for people, who is the story about place is, where is their home presents?

We keep track of how they can meet with God and purpose.

What did God tell them to do.

So here's our transition passage.

It's very short.

This week Hezekiah rested with his ancestors and Manasseh.

His son, succeeded him as king.

If you've been through this series with us and you already know enough to fill in the the rest of this, first of all, who is the story about there for you, but first offer and the Giudice the do diets are all?

That's left of God's people and Manasseh is their King.

So he is responsible for leading them.

Where is their home?

The vassal Kingdom of Judah.

The vassal Kingdom of this last week.

That means that they are a little little country on the edge of a big Empire, and they're supposed to do what that Empire tells them to do.

Now, throughout the story that's going to shift, its going to start out being a Syria, is the bully in town?

And then it's going to be easier for a little while, but ultimately, it's going to end up being Babylon.

But the point is Judah, is expected to do whatever the biggest country around tells them to do.

That's their status.

At this point in the story, how can I meet with God?

Well, this is the one thing that Judah has going for them.

Is that God's presence, the creator of the universe, his presents rest in the temple in Jerusalem.

That's the best thing about being a part of the kingdom of Judah.

Even though you're part of this little country that doesn't have much influence the God who created everything lives in Jerusalem with you.

Finally, what did God tell them to do was long as we've been talking about the Kings, which is been a while.

Now.

We've been emphasizing, the fact that the Kings job is to obey God.

The King has been invested with special authority over.

Got people in.

That is a special responsibility, then to lead them in obeying God and fulfilling his plan in in fulfilling their purpose.

So they're the ones who are responsible for making sure that Judah live without the law of Moses and actually does behave in ways that reflect got into the cultures around them.

Now for Manassa.

This is actually probably he's got it easier than a lot of others because all he has to do is follow has a guy's example.

And it's very likely that Hezekiah and Manasseh were actually they overlap.

Cuz it was common for a king to Crown his son, while he was still King, so he could do on-the-job training.

So manasa learn from the most righteous King that Judy had had to this point.

All you had to do is keep doing what is right.

Accept that as we go into the story, Manasseh has a choice to make as every child of a Believer has to make his.

Does he want to be the kind of Kings at his father was this?

Here's the thing we say, yeah.

Hezekiah was great.

He was righteous.

He did all the right things.

You should be Hezekiah, but, Manasseh looks around and says, what did Hezekiah get for his effort.

He got almost completely destroyed.

So if following God means that I might be almost completely destroyed.

And my big victory is the fact that we did the Assyrians didn't destroy the capital.

Maybe that's not the kind of victory that I want.

NASA has to decide you.

I want to follow God's path, which might leave me in places that I don't want to go or do I want to strike out on my own path?

Let's see what Massachusetts.

Manasseh did evil in the eyes of the Lord.

Following the detestable practices of the nation's, the Lord had driven out before the Israelites, you rebuild the high places.

His father has a guy who destroyed the also erected altars to bail and made an asherah pole.

As a have king of Israel had done.

You bow down to all the starry host and worship them.

He built altars in the temple of the Lord of which the Lord has said in Jerusalem.

I will put my name in the two courts of the Temple of the Lord.

He built altars to all the story host.

He sacrificed his own son in the fire, practice divination, sought elements, and consulted, mediums and spiritus.

He didn't much evil in the eyes of the Lord are roused, his anger.

Sometimes you read the Bible in, and they can seem almost, like comic book characters to Hezekiah come out.

Just so completely one-dimensional, e, evil, but you can actually tell by the common threads of what he did.

What his motivation was, the common Trend in all the choices that he made was, they had to do with knowing the future and controlling the future.

You consulted spiritus and mediums.

He doesn't, he consulted?

The Stars whenever they talk about the starry host.

The stars is supposed to tell the future.

So, he did, whatever he could to know the future and then he did, whatever he could to control the future.

All the sacrifices building the altars.

You can buy off pagan gods until he's doing a sacrifice to try and make things go the way you want and the bigger sacrifice you make, the more powerful the offering is and so sacrificing, his child was a way of offering the most potent sacrifice he could, so he can get the best results that he possibly could.