Today’s passage: 2 Chronicles 33:1-25
Helpful thoughts:
- It only takes one generation. May it be the heart of our church to reach the next generation with the Gospel and trust the results to the Lord.
- Verses 4 and 7 articulate a slap to the face of God. Manasseh led all Judah to worship and serve a plethora of false idols, even in the very place where God had committed His presence.
- By God’s grace, Manasseh repented! He was restored to his kingdom and throne. But, he could not control the consequences of his actions. (Verses 17 and 22)
- What the people continued to do in verse 17 was the very thing Sennacherib wrongly criticized Hezekiah for correcting in 32:12.
Questions to consider:
- Why do you think the servants killed Amon after seeing his sin grow worse and worse? What had they just seen happen with Manasseh? What might they have feared would happen again?
- It only took one generation to see the spiritual health of Judah deteriorate, and we have seen Judah be revived in less time than that! Why is it right for us to cling to the promises of God (e.g. Philippians 1:6) and to also strive for faithfulness and growth (e.g. Philippians 3:12-16)?
- I think, with the Apostle Paul, Manasseh may have counted himself the “foremost/chief of sinners” (1 Timothy 1:15). How far does the grace of God extend? Who can be saved? (Romans 10:13)