In 2 Chron. 33 we read of King Manneseh who was a wicked king, going so far as to place an idol in the Temple. The king of Assyria came and took him captive and he suffered horribly in Nineveh for a long time. While in captivity he humbled himself and repented before the Lord. The king of Assyria restored him to the throne of Jerusalem and he reigned in godliness. After his death, his son Anon reigned in his place. The problem with Anon is that he sought out and worshiped the idols that his father had repented concerning. He was assassinated by his father’s servants and his eight-year-old brother Josiah took his place.
What is the lesson here? We are living in the harvest of the seeds of rebellion sown in the 1960s. What the counter culture generation of the 60s and 70s allowed in moderation the generation of young people today are taking to excess. Young people today mock the leadership of our country who in their day mocked “The Establishment” and the Vietnam War, and would not listen to the tempered voices of reason, etc., etc. Our leaders of today sowed to the wind in the 1960s and they are reaping the whirlwind in the day we live in through Antifa, BLM, and other left-wing groups hell-bent on the destruction of the social order of our day no matter what the consequences. These things are not foreign to our leaders for in that they themselves were the Black Panthers, SDS, SLA, and many other groups that revolted in the 60s to get the foot of “the man” off of their neck (so they insisted). Now they are “The man” and have no answer for the disruptions of our day.
It is long past time for national repentance but our leaders will not take the idols out of the house of the Lord as Manasseh eventually did. So the suffering under the “king of Assyria” – a type of the anti-Christ – continues. We have to look at ourselves, our own hearts – the true Temple – and remove the idols (external dependencies, non-biblical mindsets, etc.), and expunge them from our hearts no matter how dear. It is a fact that few, very few Christians will EVER receive correction from anyone – thus we have to start by being SELF-CORRECTING. What does that mean? We must embrace and accept the fact that Truth exists, Accountability exists and that our obligations as human beings lie within the parameters of judgment laid out and expressed in God’s law. Forget pointing the finger for Paul said that we identify evil around us only because we are guilty of the same (Rom. 2:1). We simply must embrace with all honesty and practicality the sanctity of God’s word and our accountability to something higher than “our truth” or “our choice” or “our thing.” We must implement change on a personal level. The choices we make, the place we give to God, and the things of God in our personal lives, the habits and things we’ve spent our lives pursuing that now must stop. We must extract ourselves from ungodliness as defined in scripture and commit ourselves to our best understanding of piety, godliness, and holiness because, in the end, your voice is the only voice you will ever truly listen to in terms of correction and repentance.
What about the nation? Is it too late? One passage in scripture states that though Daniel, Noah, and Job were in the land they would deliver none but their own souls by their righteousness (Ez. 14:14). Your spouse may not make it through. Your children may never recover themselves. Jesus taught unless we hate those close to us we cannot be His disciple (Luke 14:26). What are you willing to suffer the loss of to honor God and walk with God. This isn’t a “downer.” Scripture says that the Valley of Achor is a “Door of Hope.” (See Hosea 2:15). What happened at Achor? It is where the children of Israel took Achan and his family and stoned them to death – one of their own – for disobeying God and hiding a wedge of gold and a Babylonish garment in his tent (Josh. 7:24). Where is your wedge of gold? Where is your Babylonish garment? If you don’t think you have ANYTHING in your life that needs to change or be corrected, just pause and think how astonishingly narcissistic that is and then just admit for one faint moment that maybe you can be closer to God than you are right now.
Anna says:
Very deep but how can I know