SOME EVIL PEOPLE CAN CHANGE

PROCLAMATION

“In his distress he sought the favor of The Lord his God and humbled himself greatly before The God of his ancestors.  And when he prayed to Him, The Lord was moved by his entreaty and listened to his plea; so He brought him back to Jerusalem and to his kingdom.  Then Manasseh knew that The Lord is God.”  2 Chronicles 33:12-13 (NIV)

EXPLANATION

When Hezekiah died, his son Manasseh succeeded him as king of Judah.  Manasseh was twelve years old when he became king and he did that which was evil in the eyes of The Lord.  He rebuilt the high places, the idols, and the Asherah poles that his father had torn down and he worshiped them. (2 Chronicles 33:1-3)  He sacrificed his own children in the fire in the valley of Ben Hinnom, practiced divination and witchcraft, sought omens, and he consulted with mediums and spiritists. (2 Chronicles 33:6)  Eventually, The Lord God allowed the Assyrian army to attack and capture him.  They put a hook in his nose, put him in shackles, and took him to Babylon as a prisoner. (2 Chronicles 33:10-11)  Then Manasseh humbled himself and prayed to The Lord God who allowed him to be brought back to Jerusalem.  There he worshiped The Lord God and he removed all of the idols which he had erected. (2 Chronicles 33:13-16)  When Manasseh died, his son Amon succeeded him as king, and he did all of the evil things that his father had done before he humbled himself before God. (2 Chronicles 33:20-23)  Amon’s own officials conspired against him and assassinated him, but then they were all killed by the people for killing the king. (2 Chronicles 33:24-25)  

APPLICATION

There are a lot of lost, sin-sick, evil people in this world.  The good news is that there is still hope for them.  Some of the people will change their evil ways.  The Lord God has a way of getting our attention and causing us to rethink our beliefs and behavior.  However, not all of the lost will be saved.  As believers, we should pray for all of them because we do not know which ones will heed the call and have a change of heart.  We should also pray for our political and community leaders.  Pray that they will make decisions which are in the best interest of the people and not their own self-interest.  We should pray for those people who meant us harm for we know that The Lord God can protect us and use whatever they had planned for us to our benefit. (Genesis 50:20)  The Lord God can make even bad things work out for our good. (Romans 8:28)