Highlighted Verses and my thoughts:
"The Lord spoke to Manasseh and his people, but they ignored all his warnings. So the Lord sent the commanders of the Assyrian armies, and they took Manasseh prisoner. They put a ring through his nose, bound him in bronze chains, and led him away to Babylon. But while in deep distress, Manasseh sought the Lord his God and sincerely humbled himself before the God of his ancestors. And when he prayed, the Lord listened to him and was moved by his request. So the Lord brought Manasseh back to Jerusalem and to his kingdom. Then Manasseh finally realized that the Lord alone is God!" 2 Chronicles 33:10-13
How sad it must have been for God to see his people and their leaders, their kings that he had put in place, turn away from him. Time after time, the Kings would do evil in the Lord's sight, building pagan shrines and the asherah poles and worshiping idols. It must have been a joy for the Lord when Manasseh's father, King Hezekiah, finally destroyed the pagan shrines that had been constructed to worship Baal. But, again, upon King Hezekiah's death, his son, Manasseh went back to the old ways and rebuilt the altars and shrines, even in the Temple of the Lord. Through the prophets, the Lord continued to warn the people. Finally, now, Manasseh finally turns and admits that he needs God. Here God shows the grace that would later be available to all through his son, Jesus. How much love must he have for us all to be there when we call on him, even after we ignore him and put other things before him in our lives.
"For my people have done two evil things: They have abandoned me -- the fountain of living water. And they have dug for themselves cracked cisterns that can hold no water at all!" Jeremiah 2:13
How stupid can we be? We are so much like the people of Israel. Here the Lord was, the living water that is necessary for their eternal life and instead, they ignore it and try to survive with useless, broken, empty fake gods. How many times do we do the same thing, but put ourselves and our own sinful desires in the place of the cisterns.
My response to God: All praises go to you, my God and my protector. Open my eyes to recognize when I start leaning toward a broken cistern in my life. Guide me away from it and back to take a drink of the living water that only comes from you.
My response to God: All praises go to you, my God and my protector. Open my eyes to recognize when I start leaning toward a broken cistern in my life. Guide me away from it and back to take a drink of the living water that only comes from you.
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