Manasseh
Comments (1)Early this morning as I struggled to bring my inadequately rested brain into today I happened upon the story of Manasseh. As you will recall this King of Judah went a bit off and worshiped lots of Baals and the like. He ended up being removed to Babylon and there he repented. Returning he cleaned up his act and all was well.
Some authorities claim that he became King at twelve years of age, when a Hebrew becomes a man, and co-reigned with his father for ten years until his father dies in his mid fifties. The Chronicles account does not mention this. However we do know that Manasseh did allow the introduction of Baals and other non gods into Judah, indeed even into the Temple itself! Assyrian records indicate that the land had peace during this time and that Manasseh subjected himself to Assyria and allowed trade to flourish and the land to prosper.
To me this morning I looked at this man falling down before other gods and wondered why he had done this. Baals and Asherah poles give a clear indication of the presence of a god in the midst of the city and I wondered if he required a sense of a god’s presence where the god could be touched? Yahweh cannot be seen nor touched and the responsibilities of kingship can be onerous indeed, especially with Assyria as overlords. Did fear make the King seek other gods? Was the priesthood so poor nobody objected, or were those who did removed? Isiah dies near Manasseh’s accession and we can ask whether these two occasions were connected? Powerful Kings and forceful prophets do not always lead to a moral state. No prophet that we know off spoke to Manasseh although Chronicles tells us Yahweh had told him to change his ways and he was ignored. Life was short for many at that time and the majority of the population would have little memory I guess of the Lords previous work in Jerusalem.
Frightened tyrants often become paranoid and much blood is let loose. A nation with no moral guidance loses the sense of conscience and although prosperous the nation appears to be in turmoil. Did fear reign perhaps? I have as yet to check this out sufficiently so I will move to the thought that grabbed my attention. Manasseh surrounded himself with gods he could see and lived a life that appeared good to him. However the real God, Yahweh, is not seen. No image is to represent him, no pole, no carved representation, and many Christians react like Manasseh when their God appears not to be answering. The Christian God does not require statues, not even crosses, just a book, the library known as ‘The Bible.’ This is not a book to worship but the God who breathed into the writers his words he is to be worshiped, and he is always with his people. I wonder if the King was seeking reassurance from his gods, divination and witchcraft? His mighty neighbours made his position very dangerous and while trade made them prosper all kings worry about those around them.
Manasseh was led into a dangerous place in Babylon before he repented and was restore. How many of us wander in desert places because we do not realise Jesus is with us, even though he says nothing and cannot be seen. Faith, not blind faith but trust in what he has said is required. Wherever we are with him he is always there. Possibly Manasseh was never taught this, certainly he knew in the end, may we also realise God is always there.
A young lad was told by his atheist teacher to read out the phrase ‘God is nowhere.’ The lad stood up and read out ‘God is now here!’ Let’s not forget this.
Grumbling
It was all going wrong!
Nothing worked. The money was running out, work looked unattainable. I failed to possess the talents required for the scant opportunities that arose. Everything in the place was broken, breaking, wearing out or more aged than myself. The future looked bleak.
Prayer was shouting at the ceiling, which not only failed to answer but exposed the cobwebs and damp patches. All efforts to amend the situation felt vain. Nothing worked, and nothing looked likely to change that either. I moped around the sun filled streets. While enjoying the blooming spring flowers, the blue sky and the early morning warmth I could not but compare this to my misery. Cause for resentment filled me. By the time I reached home once again I fumed liked a cotton mill chimney! The whole world was against me, I could do nothing about it and I was a total failure, again.
Strong coffee to waken me was poured down my throat. I sat grumbling and lining up my weaknesses, my failures, my enemies, my difficulties, my hardships and indulged. “What have I got from you God?” I cried. “All you have done is to die for me…….” I had caught myself in mid sentence. I stared out the window at this point. All he has done is to die for me. Hmmm yes there’s a thing now isn’t it.
My situation is not good. My failings are great. However what matters is that Jesus, the Son of God, came to earth and died for me. For me, with all my failings and weakness. Fr me, rotten to the core. Fr me, who spends time whining when he has dangled painfully on the cross separated form his Father – for me! And I do not allow this to dwell in me. The situation may not change but he ‘changeth not’ as they used to say. I ought to be concentrating on his action, that will change my outlook if not my situation. He, by the way, is always with me, so ‘why am I cast down oh my soul?’
Reading the beginning of Ian Kershaw’s excellent book ‘Hitler. Nemesis,’ reminds me clearly once again how this man shows the power of the ‘Self.’ It is the ‘self’ which is cruel, hard, unloving and cares only for well, itself! It cares nothing for the other person, no matter what and no matter who! We folks wander through life believing that we are actually quite decent because we tend to do quiet decent things, and that while we are quite good we do have faults which leak out now and again – usually with good reason or excuse. However the hard truth is that we are actually very bad people, with a depth of corruption we cannot ever know, and have merely a few good bits, what the ancients called ‘residual grace,’ and when that leaps out we congratulate ourselves and praise ourselves for being basically good folks. It is hard to accept we can be a s cold and dark and full of the ‘Self’ as Adolf Hitler, but the truth remains so.
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Hitler, for whatever reason, his nature, his genes, his upbringing, the Great War, his nations situation, whatever the outward cause, managed to find himself leading a nation of sixty million people who had become totally entwined into his personality. He could not do without them, and as the nation discovered, and some still refuse to accept, that they were totally joined to Adolf Hitler! His ‘self’ became Germany! Now these were not stupid people. This was a highly developed, well-educated nation, one of the leaders in Europe. Between 1919 and 1933, the year Hitler took power, Germans were well able to read and listen to foreign news. The wireless had become common and news spread faster, and more honestly perhaps, than ever before. People freely travelled abroad, free political discussion was accepted, and the behaviour of the Nazi Party, as well as the left leaning parties, were well known, yet Hitler’s ‘self’ came to dominate. The book is entitled ‘Nemesis,’ the Greek goddess of retribution, and details the result of this powerful nation coming under the spell of this man and his ‘self.’
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Does the Christian realise how much ‘Self’ is in his life? We talk about giving ourselves to Jesus but how much do we really let go? That is my failing, I never ‘let go’ and let Jesus be Lord! However that is the only way to live. Our ‘self’ is a black hole full of bile while Jesus is God’s Holy Son and wishes to fill us with himself – that is His ‘SELF!’ Without this we can do nothing, our works are nothing, no matter what! Yet giving our ‘self’ to Jesus is true ‘repentance,’ as we no longer rely on our distorted nature but on his perfect one. This however is difficult as Zac Poonen said, “The flesh dies hard, I’ll tell you that!” Few can truly do this. Peter wrote of the ‘conflicting natures within you,’ Paul constantly reminded his readers to ‘put of the old man and ut on the new.’ Usually he did this from a prison where his determination to put aside his ‘self’ had led him! Oh yes I forgot to mention, putting aside the ‘self’ and allowing Jesus ‘self’ to live in you will be glorious! However this may well be glorious in a prison, with much hardship as well as glorious with much fortune! Still, you can enjoy the fact that your Lord puts you where he knows you work best, he will not put you where you would not fit!
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Lord, let me ‘let go’ this self. I fear I will never do this. If I do I can have peace, and you can have glory. You will also look ‘upon the suffering of your soul, and be satisfied!’
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Cult!
I was reading a blog written by a man who has ‘escaped’ he says, from a ‘Cult.’ He had been brought up from an early age in this unnamed organisation which he claims was a ‘fundamentalist Christian,’ group. Not knowing anything about them except his opinions it is difficult to discern the situation. However it will no doubt draw others into his world, others who have escaped from a variety of ‘Cults,’ and whatever these groups were like I hope they find real life one day.
For myself I can only be glad that Jesus the Messiah wants me, and I felt very happy a little while after reading this man’s story to claim “Jesus I want to be in your ‘Cult!’ I do not wish to be far from you, in spite of appearances to the contrary. You are life itself, you are, well, wonderful! How you could love such a selfish rebel like me I don’t understand? I often feel you have rightly left me, but in the end I remember just who you are and I want to be with you always!
I remain in a mess, yes I do know it is my fault, and yes I am full of me and not you, and yes I spend all day dwelling in my head and not in your life, but I still wish you to sort me out! I want to be in your Cult Jesus, for you, Jesus Christ, are LORD!
Please accept me.
Psalm 121
| 1 | I will lift up my eyes to the hills. Where does my help come from? | |
| 2 | My help comes from Yahweh, Who made heaven and earth. | |
| 3 | He will not allow your foot to be moved. He who keeps you will not slumber. | |
| 4 | Behold, he who keeps Israel Will neither slumber nor sleep. | |
| 5 | Yahweh is your keeper. Yahweh is your shade on your right hand. | |
| 6 | The sun will not harm you by day, Nor the moon by night. | |
| 7 | Yahweh will keep you from all evil. He will keep your soul. | |
| 8 | Yahweh will keep your going out and your coming in, From this time forth, and forevermore. |
The LORD delivers when we trust in him. Jesus will be there as we follow him.
What a God he is! God, friend, sacrifice, lover of our soul, and incredibly long suffering, and how we make him suffer! Praise the Lord while we have time, and give our all to and for him!
A Small Thing
Saturday 12th June 10
So I decide that in between the football I would rush out and get the veg from the market. As the first game finished I began to plan my move, and suddenly the idea of going to ‘Iceland’ (the shop, not the country) came strongly to my mind. Now I never go to ‘Iceland,’ because the other stores are better. However the idea of their frozen veg suddenly appeared a very good idea! This hung around my mind somewhat noticeably. So when I went out I trotted along, just to see how ‘Iceland’ looked. The shop was empty! However I hesitated as I prefer the market stall where I get cheap stuff, but sluggishly decided to get the frozen veg here in the store.
At the checkout, by now loaded down (why did I buy all this?) I was stalled! A woman, with husband in tow and a pile of goods on the counter, was asking questions! The fat bint on the desk was, would you believe it, talking to her! JUST GET ON WITH IT! I murmured, the game kicks of at three! At the other desk, only two open, another hold up was allowing a queue to gather, and I must say the shop was strangely quiet, almost deserted at the time, yet here we few were hindered and time was pressing. I fumed inside! Time ticked past and the woman had no apparent desire to hurry along. I looked at the blank faces around me, no help there!
Eventually another 16 year old, with the usual scowl, turned up and I jumped, or was it pushed, myself in there! The mind raging at the hold up, full of impatience at Billy Bunters sister squawking while I had an important game to watch! Breathing fire I grabbed the two bags of bargains (they say) and crashed into the street. Naturally it was full of dafties blocking the way and encouraging me to resent humanity more than normal, so I continued to blow steam from my ears and head home via the market to see what bargain I had missed!
Then I noticed it!
The street ahead, the one that leads to the market, was lined with crowds!
The Carnival! Of course, the town’s annual carnival, with all the floats full of kids, meant that the market would be closed! The stall would have gone!
Would you believe it? Here I was, being led by the Holy Spirit to go to the empty shop as he knew the market was unavailable! I meantime, was breathing fire fed by selfishness. Now I can look back and recognise what was happening while at the time I didn’t! I am not unused to looking for such leading and yet missed it almost! This is a small thing in the ways of the world, but for me it is important. Jesus leading me reveals something about him and his willingness to lead me. Yes Lord! Let’s do it, in spite of my hesitation, let’s DO IT!
What a God we have……….
Knowing God : J.I.Packer
What matters supremely therefore, is not, in the last analysis,the fact that I know God, but the larger fact that underlies it – the fact that He knows me. I am graven on the palms of His hands. I am never out of His mind. All my knowledge of Him depends on His sustained initiative in knowing me. I know Him, because He first knew me, and continues to know me. He knows me as a friend, one who loves me; and there is no moment when His eye is off me, or His attention distracted from me, and no moment, therefore, when his care falters.
This is momentous knowledge. There is unspeakable comfort – the sort of comfort that energises, be it said, not enervates – in knowing that God is constantly taking knowledge of me in love, and watching over me for my good. There is tremendous relief in knowing that His love to me is utterly realistic, based at every point on prior knowledge of the worst about me, so that no discovery now can disillusion Him about me, in the way I am so often disillusioned about myself, and quench His determination to bless me. There is certainly, great cause for humility in the thought that He sees all the twisted things about me that my fellow – men do not see (and am I glad), and that He sees more corruption in me than that which I see in myself (which, in all conscience, is enough). There is, however, equally great incentive to worship and love God in the thought that, for some unfathomable reason, He wants me as His friend, and desires to be my friend, and has given His Son to die for me in order to realise this purpose. We cannot work these thoughts out here, but merely to mention them is enough to show how much it means to know, not merely that we know God, but that he knows us.
‘Love’ by George Herbert
Love (III)
Love bade me welcome: yet my soul drew back,
Guilty of dust and sin.
But quick-eyed Love, observing me grow slack
From my first entrance in,
Drew nearer to me, sweetly questioning,
If I lacked any thing.
“A guest,” I answered, “worthy to be here:”
Love said, “You shall be he.”
“I the unkind, ungrateful? Ah my dear,
I cannot look on thee.”
Love took my hand, and smiling did reply,
“Who made the eyes but I?”
“Truth Lord, but I have marr’d them: let my shame
Go where it does deserve.”
“And know you not,” says Love, “who bore the blame?”
“My dear, then I will serve.”
“You must sit down,” says Love, “and taste my meat:”
So I did sit
and eat.
Read more about George Herbert, an admirable man of God who speaks to the heart of each one of us.
North Korea
I recently came across some material relating to Christians in North Korea. This closed land has long been a sad example of dictatorship gone wrong. The Communist leaders have long forgotten what Marxism Leninism is all about, if indeed they ever cared, living only to run the nation in a way that suits them, and the leaders appear none to mentally healthy to me!
Since removing the Japanese at the end of the second world war Northern Korea has been under the control of the Communist party. Kim ll Sung who died in 1994 leaving his son Kim Jong ll in charge. The country has been economically and socially developed badly with famine a recurring problem. Rumours of over a million dying a few years ago were never confirmed and always denied by a secretive regime. However famine remains a constant danger and supplies from the much maligned United States and Japan constantly demanded. As you can understand this produces much political manoeuvring. With the possibility of nuclear arms being developed by North Korea and it’s huge army based on the border with the south, allied to the many missiles aimed at Seoul the capital of South Korea this remains a dangerous political problem. The ones who suffer are the people of North Korea. Many have escaped into China and beyond with tales of horror and starvation. China now has a policy it appears of returning such refugees, possibly in an effort to prevent a mass break out. Many women and children who do cross and escape being returned end up in prostitution and being sold as sex slaves. Maybe for them the conditions are actually better as they may well be warm and fed in some of those places. However I doubt if this can be considered life! It is also doubtful if even China has the control over the ‘Dear Leader’ Kim Jong ll that they once had. His situation, possible illness,and the lack of knowledge of the leading men, desperate men no doubt, make for instability in relations with the nation.
Christians are among those suffering there. You will not be surprised that in spite of oppression Christianity still exists and while ‘flourishes’ may be the wrong word, it has not died and continued to grow.
However Christians face government opposition, as does any organisation, as they are seen as a threat to the control of the leadership. Jails therefore contain around 70,000 who have been sent their because of their faith.
Would you, would I endure such a harsh treatment? I cannot say!
The weather in the UK is very cold just now. The streets are blocked with snow in many places, transport stutters along and the nation grinds to a halt. However this will ending a week or so, the weather, reaching minus 60 in Beijing, China, today, indicating just how cold it must be in prisons which I guess have little chance of heating.
Reports indicate Christians attempt to spread their faith, share their meagre resources with one another and those around them, and they desire that we pray for a ‘revitalisation of their ministry to the needy!’
This as opposed to praying for their own safety!
Clearly the Christians, along with Buddhists, followers of Confucius along with many others, face opposition simply because their beliefs contrast with state control. Let us remember all the citizens of North Korea and especially those of the ‘household of faith,’ as Jesus would have us do.
It humbles me to think of them, while I fuss about being overweight!
Love
I have just given a quick look at a thread on a messageboard concerning the Roman Catholic Church. “Is the Catholic Church a force for good in the world?”
The debate was started by a man who is a leading member of a ‘humanist’ group. One who has failed to state his position here, and who likes to attack Christian faith of any kind. His purpose is to prove his position and destroy the believers. He is not open for a constructive debate, however he often claims to be so.
I mention this because it is impossible to argue with such people, and even if your arguments do win he will most likely be resentful and not open to God. He might just avoid you in future. Many others joined in a condemnation of the church, faith, or any belief, most from ignorance and few with any intellectual depth. The main arguments are merely restatements of those they have heard from elsewhere.
I wondered what could be done? Nothing is the answer! I had similar opinions at one time, and arguments meant nothing to me. Rarely did I participate and never did it change my ignorant opinions. Instead Jesus himself took a hand (and look what I have done with what he offered!). It is Jesus that changes hearts, not arguments. The only debate that works is with those who have an enquiring mind. Even then only Jesus, by the Holy Spirit can change hearts.
So for the ones on that board I can only ask the Lord to be merciful and seek to ‘love’ his way with my neighbour. This is unfortunate, as this way is hard! Just arguing and debating is much easier and less demanding! Love costs and takes suffering in its stride. Love is not easy.
There again he does it daily, how come we (I) don’t?
