Tag Archives: 2 Chronicles 31-33

Daily Bible Study

May 27, 2024 Bible Study — When We Humble Ourselves and Pray, God Will Hear Us

Today, I am reading and commenting on  2 Chronicles 31-33.

When Hezekiah’s son, Manasseh took the throne, he turned his back on his father’s faith and embraced all sorts of wickedness.  He set up shrines to false gods and erected idols throughout the land, going so far as to offer sacrifices to false gods in God’s temple.  He even sacrificed his own children to other gods.  The people followed him in his wickedness and evil practices.  God sent prophets to warn the people against their sin, but they refused to listen to them.  Finally, God allowed the Assyrians to take Manasseh captive.  While he was captive they humiliated and tormented him.  Finally, in his darkest hour, Manasseh turned to God and begged for His forgiveness.  God rescued Manasseh from his captivity.  When he returned to Jerusalem, Manasseh got rid of the idols and destroyed the shrines he had built.  He purified the temple and worshiped God there.  He told the people to serve the Lord and only the Lord, but many of them continued in the idol worship Manasseh had introduced.

There are really two lessons for us in the story of Manasseh.  First, no matter how depraved we may have become, God will listen and forgive us if we humble ourselves, turn from our wickedness and seek to serve Him.  Second, those we influenced away from God while we practiced our depravity may not follow us when we turn back to God.  So, our depravity will not be without consequences.  As I typed that I realized there is a third lesson.  One closely related to the second.    We cannot force others to embrace God.  They must choose to turn to Him for themselves.

I use the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Daily Bible Study

May 27, 2023 Bible Study — It Is Not Too Late To Turn To God

Today, I am reading and commenting on  2 Chronicles 31-33.

Today’s passage starts with follow up on the people’s response to King Hezekiah’s restoration of temple worship of God.  The people were so moved by their experience of worshiping God at the temple in Jerusalem that they went through the land destroying the idols, altars, and places of worship for other gods.  It goes on to talk about Sennacherib’s invasion of Judah and how that turned out, which is something we can learn a lot from.  However, today I want to focus on Hezekiah’s on, Manasseh.  Manasseh took the throne as a boy of 12 and did evil in the sight of the Lord.  As I read the passage, Manasseh was as evil as any king of Judah either before or after him, and the people joined him in his evil.  God sent prophets to bring Manasseh and the people back to Him, but they did not respond.  So, God brought Assyrian invaders who took Manasseh into torturous captivity.  In captivity, Manasseh finally turned to God and sought His deliverance.  God answered Manasseh’s prayer and delivered him.  In response to God’s deliverance, Manasseh sought to undo all of the evil he had done in his younger years.  Over the last week or so, I have discussed kings who started out enthusiastically serving God only to turn from Him as they got older.  In Manasseh we have an example that it can work the other way as well.    Those other kings serve as a warning to us who chose to serve God at a young age.  Manasseh serves as a message of hope for those who turned their backs on Him.  If we turn to God and cry out to Him, He will listen and deliver us, no matter what evil we have previously done.  As long as this life lasts, it is never too late to turn to God and start serving Him.

I use the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Daily Bible Study

May 27, 2021 Bible Study Even The Wicked May Turn To God

Today, I am reading and commenting on  2 Chronicles 31-33.

Mannasseh, Hezekiah’s son, represents a counter lesson to those kings who did good in the eyes of the Lord, but did evil in their later years.  Mannasseh did evil in the eyes of the Lord, but after being taken prisoner by the Assyrians, he turned to God.  After his conversion he removed the idols and the altars to other gods which he had installed and worshiped only God for the remainder of his life (the passage does not tell us how long that was).  The writer makes it clear that the evil Mannasseh did was extreme.  That he actively undid much of the good which his father had done and paid a price for it.  Yet, when he cried out to God in distress, God heard him and rescued him from his suffering.  So, we learn that even those who are desperately evil can turn to God and receive forgiveness.

I use the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Daily Bible Study

May 27, 2020 Bible Study Are We Inspired to Support God’s Work?

I am using the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Today, I am reading and commenting on 2 Chronicles 31-33.

When the people who came to the Passover held by Hezekiah returned home they destroyed pagan shrines and idols throughout the land.  This was different from other accounts where the king destroyed those shrines.  I forgot to mention it yesterday, but this occurred after the Assyrians had destroyed the Northern Kingdom of Israel.  So, we see that there were still some who worshiped God living in the area of the northern tribes.  An example of how inspired the people were by Hezekiah’s reforms is their response to his requirement for tithes to support the priests and Levites.  Hezekiah only applied his order to those living in Jerusalem.  Yet, people throughout the land were inspired to bring in tithes as well.  In fact, the response was so extensive that a system had to be set up to distribute these tithes to priests and Levites living outside of Jerusalem.  We should be similarly inspired to give so as to support God’s work.

Daily Bible Study

May 27, 2019 Bible Study — God Is More Powerful Than Any Human, Or Group of Humans

I am using the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Today, I am reading and commenting on 2 Chronicles 31-33.

After the Passover which Hezekiah had called the people to celebrate, the people enthusiastically followed the Lord.  They destroyed the various pagan worship sites throughout the land, both that under King Hezekiah’s rule and the land of the northern tribes which he did not control.  This same enthusiasm carried over into bringing offerings to the Temple.  Hezekiah made personal contributions of animals for the required sacrifices and required the people of Jerusalem to offer the sacrifices described in the Law of Moses.  When the people who lived outside of Jerusalem heard what was going on in Jerusalem, they too brought sacrifices to the Temple.  In fact, they brought so much that the priests and Levites in Jerusalem could not make use of it all.  So, Hezekiah organized the distribution of these goods to the priests and Levites living in the towns and villages throughout the land.  The result being that they could dedicate their time to teaching the people the Law of Moses.  Reading between the lines, I believe that the priests and Levites were tasked not just with teaching the Law of Moses, but with teaching the people other things as well (in particular, reading so that they could read the Law for themselves).

Sometime after this, Sennacherib, the king of Assyria, invaded Judah and began conquering the fortified towns.  In response, King Hezekiah worked with his advisers to devise and execute a plan to improve the fortifications of Jerusalem.  This included repairing the section of wall which had been torn down when his father was king, building a second wall around the city, and fortifying the city’s water supply.  Again in reading this I came across something I had not noticed before.  In his preparation to defend the city, Hezekiah organized all of the people into its defense.  He gathered all of the people and told them that they need not fear the Assyrians because as mighty as the Assyrian army was, God is more powerful yet.  Perhaps Sennacherib received reports of Hezekiah’s speech, or perhaps he knew the sorts of things which a king like Hezekiah would say to encourage his people.  In either case, Sennacherib and his messengers dismissed the idea that God could rescue the people of Jerusalem from his power.  I am sure that Sennacherib never came to realize his mistake, even though he was forced to withdraw from Judah without ever laying siege to Jerusalem.  However, Hezekiah and the people of Jerusalem knew to whom to give credit for their salvation, as should we.  I am sure that Sennacherib remained convinced that he could have taken Jerusalem any time he wished even though a plague in his camp forced him to withdraw.

Daily Bible Study

May 27, 2018 Bible Study — Inspiring and Being Inspired

I am using the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Today, I am reading and commenting on 2 Chronicles 31-33.

    After the Passover celebration which King Hezekiah had organized, those who attended it left with religious fervor. They went out into all of Israel, not just the Southern Kingdom, they went throughout both the Northern and Southern Kingdoms, and destroyed the idolatrous shrines. Many of the people had arrived in Jerusalem for the Passover celebration with an incomplete understanding of what God asked of His people. They all left with an enthusiasm which was contagious. And that enthusiasm did not end when they got home. Hezekiah harnessed that enthusiasm by making personal contributions to the priests and Levites in order for them to carry out worship services. Hezekiah’s words and actions inspired the people to make such generous contributions to the work of the Lord that the priests and Levites had to seek out recipients for the largesse. We should strive for similar things in our worship services today. We should seek leaders who inspire us and others as Hezekiah inspired people. We should seek to be leaders who inspire others as Hezekiah inspired others. We should act and give as if we have been inspired as Hezekiah inspired his people.

Daily Bible Study

May 27, 2017 Bible Study — Serving God, Even After Making Mistakes

I am using the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Today, I am reading and commenting on 2 Chronicles 31-33.

    As part of the revival and religious reform which he was leading, Hezekiah asked the people of Jerusalem to bring offerings for the support of the priests and Levites. The reason for this was so that the priests and Levites could dedicate themselves to studying and teaching the Law of God. We get an understanding of the degree to which Hezekiah’s reforms were supported by the people in the response to his edict. The response came not just from the people of Jerusalem, to whom Hezekiah had directed his edict, it came from all of the people of Judah AND from the people who had moved to Judah from other parts of Israel. The response was vastly more than Hezekiah, or his officials, had expected. My interpretation of this passage is that before this reform was instituted by Hezekiah those priests and Levites who were not politically connected were living a subsistence life and barely getting by (both in Jerusalem and in the countryside). Initially, the intention had been to provide for the priests and Levites just within Jerusalem (at least as I understand what is written here). However, the response of the people was so overwhelming that they set up a system to distribute these goods to those priests and Levites living outside of Jerusalem as well. This is the sort of thing which happens when people wholeheartedly seek God.

    I could talk about what happened when the Assyrians invaded Judah during Hezekiah’s reign, but I have already covered that his year when I read it in 2 Kings. What I want to focus on next is Hezekiah’s on, Manasseh. When Manasseh first became king he was self indulgent and pursued various pagan worship practices, leading the people of the land to do likewise. He even set up an idol which he himself had made in the Temple (the wording in the passage could indicate that he had it made, but I think from the context that he actually carved this idol himself). As a result of his sines, Manasseh was taken captive and into exile by the Assyrians. While in captivity, Manasseh repented of his sins and turned to God. When Manasseh returned to Jerusalem he was a changed man. He himself started worshiping God and led the people to return to worshiping God. While he failed to restore the centralized worship which his father had championed, he did convince the people to devote themselves to God.

Daily Bible Study

May 27, 2016 Bible Study — Hezekiah As An Example For Troubled Times

I am using the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading. I had been using One Year Bible Online, but it was time for a change.

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Today, I am reading and commenting on 2 Chronicles 31-33.

    The Passover which Hezekiah called the people to assemble and celebrate inspired them to go out and destroy the shrines and altars dedicated to other gods. They did this not only in the lands ruled over by Hezekiah, but also in the lands of the Northern Tribes. The people were further inspired to make offerings and donations so that priests and Levites throughout the entire land could focus on teaching the people to worship God and follow His commands. In Hezekiah we see the two aspects of following God. First, we must do so sincerely and with a whole heart. Second, we must do what God desires for us to do. It is not enough to be sincere in our worship if our actions are wrong. We find an example of this in how Hezekiah faced the king of Assyria. He did not attempt to lead his forces into battle against the invading forces. Instead, he cried out in prayer to God. It is worth noting that Hezekiah did not wait until the Assyrians were at the gates to do something about them. When the Assyrians first began to march towards Jerusalem, Hezekiah covered over the water supplies around the city so that they would not be available to the Assyrian army. In the same way, we should prepare for difficult times, then cry out to God for direction and aid when those troubles come upon us.