The age of Eros/Continuum of Sin

    It is far easier for the world and those who follow its pattern to follow the pattern of sin, than to depart from sin and think about its consequences. Below is a true Biblical historic narrative, and let us learn some lessons from it. The back ground of the passage below is, Hezekiah, was the father of Manasseh, who was the King of Judah and did much evil in the sight of God. Narrative of the rule of Kings in the Old Testament times in 2 Chronicles 32-34 shows the generations of 4 Kings, Hezekiah, his son Manasseh, and his son Amon and Josiah.

    2 Chronicles chapter 32 continues and concludes the history of the reign of Hezekiah.
I. The descent which Sennacherib made upon him and the care he took to fortify himself, his city, and the minds of his people, against that enemy (v. 1–8).
II. The insolent blasphemous letters and messages which Sennacherib sent him (v. 9–19).
III. The real answer God gave to Sennacherib’s blasphemies, and to Hezekiah’s prayers, in the total rout of the Assyrian army, to the shame of Sennacherib and the honour of Hezekiah (v. 20–23).
IV. Hezekiah’s sickness and his recovery from that, his sin and his recovery from that, with the honors that attended him living and dead (v. 24–33)¹. Matthew Henry Bible Commentary

Religious policies of Manasseh

    There are three aspects of Manasseh's religious policy which the writer of Kings considered deplorable: the religious reaction which followed hard upon his accession; its extension by the free adoption of foreign cults; and the bitter persecution of the prophetic party. Manasseh reversed some of the religious reforms of his father Hezekiah, possibly for the economic reasons described above, restoring polytheistic worship in the Temple. He also built altars to pagan gods. His reign may be described as reactionary in relation to his father's; and Kings suggests that he may have executed supporters of his father's reforms. During Manasseh's half-century the popular worship was a medley of native and foreign cults, the influence of which was slow to disappear.^[13]

    Such a reaction involved the persecution of those who had bitterly condemned the popular syncretism. The prophets were put to the sword (Jer. ii. 30). "Innocent blood" reddened the streets of Jerusalem (II Kings xxiv. 4). For many decades those who sympathized with prophetic ideas were in constant peril.^[13]

    According to 2 Chronicles 33:11-13, Manasseh was on one occasion brought in chains to the Assyrian king, (possibly Esarhaddon), presumably for suspected disloyalty. The verse goes on to indicate that he was later treated well and restored to his throne. However, neither Kings nor Assyrian records mention this incident.^[2] The severity of Manasseh's imprisonment brought him to repentance. According to one of the two Biblical accounts (2 Kings 21 does not have the account of Manasseh's captivity or repentance), Manasseh was restored to the throne, (2 Chronicles 33:11-13) and abandoned idolatry, removing foreign idols (2 Chronicles 33:15) and enjoining the people to worship in the traditional Israelite manner.²

 ¹Manasseh was twelve years old when he began to reign, and he reigned fifty and five years in Jerusalem:

² But did that which was evil in the sight of the Lord, like unto the abominations of the heathen, whom the Lord had cast out before the children of Israel.

³ For he built again the high places which Hezekiah his father had broken down, and he reared up altars for Baalim, and made groves, and worshipped all the host of heaven, and served them.

⁴ Also he built altars in the house of the Lord, whereof the Lord had said, In Jerusalem shall my name be for ever.

⁵ And he built altars for all the host of heaven in the two courts of the house of the Lord.

⁶ And he caused his children to pass through the fire in the valley of the son of Hinnom: also he observed times, and used enchantments, and used witchcraft, and dealt with a familiar spirit, and with wizards: he wrought much evil in the sight of the Lord, to provoke him to anger.

⁷ And he set a carved image, the idol which he had made, in the house of God, of which God had said to David and to Solomon his son, In this house, and in Jerusalem, which I have chosen before all the tribes of Israel, will I put my name for ever:

⁸ Neither will I any more remove the foot of Israel from out of the land which I have appointed for your fathers; so that they will take heed to do all that I have commanded them, according to the whole law and the statutes and the ordinances by the hand of Moses.

⁹ So Manasseh made Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem to err, and to do worse than the heathen, whom the Lord had destroyed before the children of Israel.

¹⁰ And the Lord spake to Manasseh, and to his people: but they would not hearken.

Consequences of sin:

¹¹ Wherefore the Lord brought upon them the captains of the host of the king of Assyria, which took Manasseh among the thorns, and bound him with fetters, and carried him to Babylon.

¹² And when he was in affliction, he besought the Lord his God, and humbled himself greatly before the God of his fathers,

¹³ And prayed unto him: and he was intreated of him, and heard his supplication, and brought him again to Jerusalem into his kingdom. Then Manasseh knew that the Lord he was God.

¹⁴ Now after this he built a wall without the city of David, on the west side of Gihon, in the valley, even to the entering in at the fish gate, and compassed about Ophel, and raised it up a very great height, and put captains of war in all the fenced cities of Judah.

¹⁵ And he took away the strange gods, and the idol out of the house of the Lord, and all the altars that he had built in the mount of the house of the Lord, and in Jerusalem, and cast them out of the city.

¹⁶ And he repaired the altar of the Lord, and sacrificed thereon peace offerings and thank offerings, and commanded Judah to serve the Lord God of Israel.

¹⁷ Nevertheless the people did sacrifice still in the high places, yet unto the Lord their God only.

¹⁸ Now the rest of the acts of Manasseh, and his prayer unto his God, and the words of the seers that spake to him in the name of the Lord God of Israel, behold, they are written in the book of the kings of Israel.

¹⁹ His prayer also, and how God was intreated of him, and all his sins, and his trespass, and the places wherein he built high places, and set up groves and graven images, before he was humbled: behold, they are written among the sayings of the seers.

²⁰ So Manasseh slept with his fathers, and they buried him in his own house: and Amon his son reigned in his stead.

²¹ Amon was two and twenty years old when he began to reign, and reigned two years in Jerusalem.

²² But he did that which was evil in the sight of the Lord, as did Manasseh his father: for Amon sacrificed unto all the carved images which Manasseh his father had made, and served them;

²³ And humbled not himself before the Lord, as Manasseh his father had humbled himself; but Amon trespassed more and more.

²⁴ And his servants conspired against him, and slew him in his own house.

²⁵ But the people of the land slew all them that had conspired against king Amon; and the people of the land made Josiah his son king in his stead. 2 Chronicles 33.

    In the case of Manasseh, he cried out to God, after he was greatly afflicted and God heared his cry and extended his territory and he began to do some good in the sight of God. ²² But he did that which was evil in the sight of the Lord, as did Manasseh his father: for Amon sacrificed unto all the carved images which Manasseh his father had made, and served them. Manasseh when he cast out the images did not utterly deface and destroy them according to the law, which requires Israel to burn the images with fire, Deut 7:5. So it was very easy for his son Amon to find them, and he very soon set them up after the death of his father, and started sacrifices to them and led the nation of Judah again into idolatry. As we read this Biblical narrative we know that Amon reigned only for 2 years and then his servants conspired against him and slew him. Then Josiah the boy King reigned and he was only 8 years old when he begin to reign and he did what was right in the sight of the Lord. Here we see the history of 4 Kings, and how they ruled and it is very interesting to see whether they genuinely love the Lord, or the lords of the nations around them! God is a God of generations and there is definitely a blessing for obedience and curses for disobedience in God’s book.

    Age of Eros and continuum of sin, is not spoken much in today’s context. When a thought is formed it can be affected by the flesh, world and the evil supernaturalism. Here we have a choice, and we can make the choice pleasing the world or based on God’s written Word. Whatever choice we make, it becomes a habit and it gets repeated in our life. If we make a wrong choice, which is unbiblical that becomes a habit and norm and become very natural and eventually out of control, and slowly goes into bondage if not dealt Biblically. As one is on a slippery slope, eventual total control by the events and choices become possible.

    My calling here for the readers is, pay attention to the choices and get help before things become out of control. Jesus is our hope today, tomorrow and for ever, and He is willing to forgive our trespasses, but the question here is would we want to continue in sin because of forgiveness! Do we take forgiveness for granted and continue in sin? ¹What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound? ² God forbid. How shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer therein? Rom 6:1-2. After we had been forgiven and delivered, sin must neither condemn nor control us.

Let us study this picture closely before we conclude that sin and its devastating effects.

      The above picture shows the age of Eros and the continuum of sin. The choice one makes has a huge impact in the life of a person, people around and in the case of rulers it does affect nationally. The choices we make are indeed affected by other factors which are explained in the picture, and this will lead either to blessing or destruction. The lesson we learn here is that as leaders, people who are in a position of authority, and as individuals we are called to make the right choices because the consequences of sin can be devastating. The only way we can make a right choice is when we analyse any decision based on God’s Word, because His Word is inerrant.

Websites and end notes:

        1. 2 Chronicles 32 | Illustrated Online Bible Study

www.bibleversesabout.org/bible/2-chron/2-chronicles-32

2 Chronicles 32 in the Illustrated Online Bible Study. ... King James Version (KJV) 2 CHRONICLES 32. ... as we keep our ground if our faith fail not, Luke 22:32. ...

2.        Manasseh of Judah - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manasseh_of_Judah

Manasseh was the first king of Judah who would not have had a direct experience ... the longest in the history of ... Regarding the Hezekiah/Manasseh ...

For further reading:

1. Millard J. Erickson. Christian Theology. Grand Rapids: Baker Book House: 1983-85. 

2. R.T. Kendall. Understanding Theology, Developing a Healthy Church in the 21^st Century. 1996.

3. Jay E. Adams. A Theology of Christian Counseling, More than Redemption. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1979.

4. Louis Berkhof. Systematic Theology. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1996.

5.  Robert P Lightner. Handbook of Evangelical Theology, Historical, Biblical, and Contemporary Survey and Review. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Book House, 1986.

6. Charles Ryrie. Basic Theology. Chicago: Moody Press, 1986, 1999.

7.  A. H. Strong. Systematic Theology. New Jersey: Fleming H. Revell Co, 1907.

8.  Wayne Grudem. Systematic Theology, An Introduction to Biblical Doctrine. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1994.

9. Steven W. Waterhouse. Not By Bread Alone, An Outlined Guide To Bible Doctrine. Amarillo: Westcliffe Press, 2007. 

10. John Theodore Muller, Th.D. Christian Dogmatics, A handbook of Doctrinal Theology for Pastors, Teachers, and Laymen.  St. Louis, Mo: Concordia Publishing House, 1934.  

11. Prayers To Move Your Mountains. Nashville: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 2000.

12. John White. Parables, the Greatest Stories ever Told. Illinois: Inter varsity Press, 1988, 1999.

13. ESV Study Bible. English Standard Version. Crossway Bibles, Wheaton, Illinois: Publishing ministry of Good News publishers, 2008.

14. The Matthew Henry Study Bible. King James Version. Iowa falls: World Bible Publishers, Inc. 1990.