Terrible
Beginning, but Good Ending (Manasseh)
2 Chron. 33:1, 2 What did king Manasseh do in the
sight of the Lord?
33:3, 6 What are these abominations he
committed, which the nations before
“high places” – localities chosen as places of worship of gods/idols – Num.33:52 (sometimes as places of worship of God, but is not used here in that sense, and even if it was, it wasn’t right anymore because the temple was now built for worship to take place there).
“Baals” – the chief male god of the Phoenicians.
“Asherim” (pl.) – the female fertility goddess of the Canaanites.
“the host of heaven” – the sun, moon, stars, and planets.
“pass through the fire” – be burned in fire as a sacrifice (28:3).
“Milcom/Molech” – the national god of the Ammonites honored by sacrificing children to him by having them burned to death in fire.
“witchcraft” – magic by incantation/formulas/spells through the medium of a demon; sorcery.
“divination” (fortune-telling) – a human device, generally speaking, that seeks to foresee or foretell future events or discover hidden knowledge, usually by interpretation of omens, magical arts, incantations, or natural signs (often by the aid of demon powers).
“sorcery” – the practice of the occult arts under the power of evil spirits. Drugs, spells, and amulets are usually involved with appeals to occult powers (demons).
“medium” – a person held to be a channel of communication between the earthly world and a world of spirits and who is demon-possessed.
“spiritist” – a person who supposedly communicates with the dead, but who actually communicates with demons.
Have you ever been involved in any of these things? If so,
when, and for how long?
If not, have you ever been involved in worshipping (being strongly devoted to and revering) other kinds of American gods/idols (e.g., money, education & degrees, materialism, cars, homes, sports, music, family, computers, etc.)?
Why?
Or, do you dabble with reading horoscopes, palm
reading, séances, tarot cards, or Ouija boards?
If so, how often, and why?
33:4, 5 What other evils did king
Manasseh commit?
Have you ever worshipped the creation (stars, sun, moon, planets, animal pets, fish, trees, flowers) instead of the Creator? Why?
Or, are you sacrificing your life (“passing through fire”) to the “fire god” of your job/career, schooling, computers, music, money, family, girl/boyfriend, sports, etc. that consumes your time, attention, energy, and/or finances like fire consumes things, instead of giving your life to serving Christ (Rom. 12:1)? Why?
33:7 What else did Manasseh do (2
Ki. 21:7)?
[“Asherah” – a Canaanite fertility goddess of the sea, the
consort/spouse of El (the pagan god of gods) and the mother of Baal (the male
fertility god).].
Are you worshipping anything besides God (for example, are you worshipping: sex as exhibited by your consumption of pornography through movies, magazines, websites, videos, TV, fantasizing, books; or by indulging in immoral relationships; or by talking to others about the opposite sex’s anatomy disrespectfully; or by lustful fantasizing)?
If so, what do you plan to do about it, and why?
33:9 What else did Manasseh do (2
Ki. 21:9-11)?
What was one evil the previous nations did (1 Ki.
Yet it states in 33:9 that Manasseh misled
[You don’t need to answer
the next two questions out loud.]
Have you ever been involved in perversion of any kind,
either watching it or participating in it?
Or, have you led others into watching it or
encouraging them to participate in it?
Do you see by now how evil Manasseh was?
33:10 How did Manasseh react to the Lord speaking to him about these
things?
Do you pay attention to the Lord when He speaks to you (through the Bible or those who teach the Bible) about not doing any of the above evils, or any sin for that matter? Why?
(2 Ki. 21:16) What else did Manasseh do?
Though you probably haven’t murdered anyone
physically, have you ever murdered an innocent person’s character or reputation
verbally (by your words – Prov.
What will you do to prevent this from happening
again (Eph.
33:11 What does God do to Manasseh through the king of
Has God ever disciplined you severely because of
your life-style?
33:12 What does Manasseh finally do?
Have you ever humbled yourself greatly before God, repented of your sin, and begged the Lord for His mercy and grace?
33:13 And what does God do for Manasseh as a result?
Who does Manasseh finally come to recognize the Lord
as?
Do you recognize the Lord as God, not just in theory
or intellectually, but also in reality and practice?
33:15, 16 How does Manasseh show this new realization of who the Lord
is?
How do you show that the Lord is truly your God?
Have you removed the gods/idols from your life (e.g., money, sports, immorality, education and degrees, career/job, music, family, girl/boyfriend, materialism, gluttony, computers, drugs, alcohol, self-centeredness, etc.), and why?
And are you bringing to God the sacrifices of
praise, thanks, doing good, and sharing (Heb.
In fact, are you bringing to God the sacrifice of your entire life (Rom. 12:1) that God demands in order to do His will (that of evangelizing the lost and spiritually building up and training believers to be Christ-like – Acts 10:42, 43 with Matt. 28:19, 20; 2 Tim. 4:5 with Eph. 4:11, 12; Phil. 2:2 with 1:27; 4:9; Rom. 14:19; 1 Thes. 5:11), and why?
Though your life may have started off terrible like Manasseh’s, will it end good?
When will you humble yourself greatly and start obeying the Lord because you recognize who He is, God and Creator of you?