Grace Bible Church
Pastor Teacher
Robert R. McLaughlin
Guest: Pastor Rick Bettez
Friday, November 10
2KI 21:6 He made his son pass through the fire, practiced witchcraft and used divination, and dealt with mediums and spiritists. He did much evil in the sight of the LORD provoking Him to anger.
2Kin 21:14 ‘I will abandon the remnant of My inheritance and deliver them into the hand of their enemies, and they will become as plunder and spoil to all their enemies;
King Manasseh’s failed leadership and worship of false idols will set into motion the cycle of divine discipline for all those under his authority.
False leadership falls upon the Believer.
2Kin 21:1 Manasseh was twelve years old when he became king, and he reigned fifty-five years in Jerusalem; and his mother’s name was Hephzibah.
We can’t stay stuck in our past pains, misery or failures if we want to be used in future victories within the PPOG. Manasseh had both the good & bad left to him when his father Hezekiah died. The choice was his to make!
Both Hezekiah & Manasseh had years to repent and therefore place themselves back inside the PPOG. God can turn any situation into a blessing, if the Bel will turn back toward Him.
Rom 8:28 And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.
In the overall picture of life, human plans always fall under God’s permissive will….or His overriding will. Nothing in the flesh can match God’s perfect will / divine plan.
In eternity past God made all the adjustments to account for man’s flaws and failures and within His Divine Decree His purpose and plans come to fruition in perfection, in SPITE of us.
1Sam 8:4“Now appoint a king for us to judge us like all the nations.” The Bel’s within a fallen nation can often look back, tracing their decisions & actions and find the first crack in the foundation of that nation was self-inflicted.
1Sam 8:19-20 Nevertheless, the people refused to listen to the voice of Samuel, and they said, “No, but there shall be a king over us, that we also may be like all the nations, that our king may judge us and go out before us and fight our battles.”
The predicament of evil leadership we are noting with King Manasseh has its foundational roots in idol worship from Exodus, as well as the cry out for a human solution (king) in 1Sam 8.
2Kin 21:6 He made his son pass through the fire, practiced witchcraft and used divination, and dealt with mediums and spiritists. He did much evil in the sight of the LORD provoking Him to anger.
Isa 5:20 Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil;
Who substitute darkness for light and light for darkness;
Who substitute bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter!
Going with the crowd when the crowd is against the word of God is what leads Bels into misery or discipline later in their life. Separating or speaking out against the ungodly crowd before it gains momentum takes discernment.
2Kin 21:9 But they did not listen, and Manasseh seduced them to do evil more than the nations whom the Lord destroyed before the sons of Israel.
Seduce- Ta’ah, used in this instance in the Hiphil accusative tense, meaning to cause one to error or mentally and morally mislead a person. Purposeful in the nature of the act, Manasseh did this with intent.
2Chon 33:10 The Lord spoke to Manasseh and his people, but they paid no attention.
Once a Bel begins to follow false leaders the voice of God and the Bel’s discernment fade quickly.
2Chron 33:13 When he prayed to Him, He was moved by his entreaty and heard his supplication, and brought him again to Jerusalem to his kingdom. Then Manasseh knew that the Lord was God.
2Kin 22:11 The book (Pentateuch) was hidden by King Manasseh. This ensured the younger generation was blind to truth.
America began removing the Bible and prayer from schools in the 1960’s.
Manasseh tore down the work of his father and re-built it with false idols. America has diminished The Lord Jesus Christ and promotes more secular viewpoint over scripture.
Manasseh worshipped false gods and goddess much like America now embraces every religious belief as a form of truth.
Manasseh had great respect for science and man-made idols. America has lifted up scientific discovery & celebrity above the Word of God.
Client nation unto God is a privilege- Deut 7:6, “For you are a holy people to the Lord your God; the Lord your God has chosen you to be a people for His own possession out of all the peoples who are on the face of the earth.”
Deut 26:18-19, “And the Lord has today declared you to be His people, a people for His own [a treasured] possession, as He promised you; therefore, you are to keep all His commandments; and that He will set you high above all nations which He made, for praise, fame, and honor; and that you shall be a holy people to the Lord your God, as He has spoken.
We still have all the ingredients, but things are getting worse. We have a pivot of mature believers, but the spinoff is large and getting larger. Evangelism is a lot of lip service. Bible doctrine is rarely taught properly or accurately.
Col. R.B. Thieme Jr.
After the Rapture, there will be no client nation; therefore, there will be no nation for refuge for the Jews. The only thing we are doing right at the present is providing a haven for the Jews.
When the Church is taken out of the world at the Rapture, so is the ministry of the Holy Spirit, no restraining of evil after that.
The “times of the Gentiles” refers to the fact that from 70 A.D. until the Rapture, Tribulation and Second Advent, only Gentile nations will be client nations to God. In the Tribulation only individual Jews will be evangelists, there will be no Jewish client nation. Luk 21:20-24.