2 Chr 34: 1-13

With Joash ascending the throne, there is "peace in the valley". He was only 8 when he took office but decided right from the start to follow the Lord and to remove and destroy the idols and places of idol worship that permeated the land and the people. He not only took them down in Jerusalem but in distant cities as well. Locally, the Lord's temple was also restored to worship as he purged the items that were brought in by his father and others. The Levites also were instrumental in gather cash to restore the temple as the people contributed towards this cause. The temple was under neglect for many years and the restoration was under way under Joash's rule. What was interesting was that the lineage of Korath and Merari were mentioned as they were mentioned in the Psalms as well.

Not a bad day at work yesterday and last night. Still tough to get motivated to finish off my message but hopefully will get a chance tonight. Glad to hear that GG got a chance to have dinner with my sister - way overdue. Glad to hear that he will be home for Thanksgiving and praying for him to finally get his long overdue tax refund from NJ. H&R Block is terrible for out of state returns. I guess I have to bite the bullet and get Colorado on Turbo Tax next year.

Praise for today: May integrity and uprightness protect me, because my hope is with you. Psalm 25:21

2 Chr 33: 21-25

It didn't take long for the leaders of Judah to repeat their mistake and mistrust. Amon, son of Manasseh, took the reigns after his father died at the age of 22. He continued the evil ways of his father and quickly changed what the deeds of his repentant father did. In fact, it was reported that he was worse! Go figure.  His reign only lasted two years before he was killed by his servants who in turn were killed by the people. It was apparent that they wanted nothing to do with Amon or his ways. They made Josiah, king of Judah.

Overall good day at work and here. Still working on the message and should finish it shortly. Many thanks to Emily for all her preparations for the weekend. Surprised by the light turnout but we do live busy lives and maybe some apathy is setting in.

Praise for today: Restore us, O God; make your face shine upon us, that we may be saved. Psalm 80: 3

2 Chr 33: 14-20

With the king of Assyria allowing Manasseh to return home, he was a changed man. He saw the wickedness of his ways and began the process to restore what he had done. He fortified the city of Jerusalem, took down the idol worship sites and set up the Lord's temple again. He sent officers to help restore the land as well in the surrounding cities. He was not successful in removing all of the high places for idol worship since the people continued their practices, still he did his part. The balance of the section detailed the rest of his deeds and life and were recorded in 2 Kings 21 although the repentance part that was recorded here.He was dead in 642 BC and was buried in his palace. His son, Amon succeeded him.

All in all, a decent day yesterday and was culminated in the restoration of my cable bill to its original amount for another year - minor victory!!! Had a good convo with PAL's cousin and invited her to church as well. That would be a major victory! Tonight, have to work on the message and will look forward to the missions weekend with Barry Jordan. Praying for safe passage for GG and Irene today back home.

Praise for today: Praise be the Lord, the God of Israel, from everlasting to everlasting. Amen and Amen. Psalm 41: 13

2 Chr 33: 10-13

Pride goes before the fall. It is a pattern that continues even today. Manasseh truly was a man who was caught up in his own press and surrounded himself with those that led him astray. He did such evil in the sight of the Lord that he allowed the Assyrians to capture him and ridicule him (in a painful way- bronze nose ring) in chains to be brought to the Babylonians as a slave. The commentary mentioned him as potentially as a soldier in the Egyptian army to get away from the Assyrian rule. Whatever the case, this was the start of the Babylonian captivity that would play a big part in the history of Israel. In prison, Manasseh "found" the Lord. He repented of his ways and vowed to change his ways to please the Lord. However, this was too late to change the course that was slated for Israel. Despite Manasseh's ways and heart, the Lord did forgive him and allow him to make good his vows of repentance in prison as he returned to his rule in Jerusalem.

Good weekend and was able to have lunch with David @ RR. The balance of Saturday was cleaning up and and then a concert with Danny Kalb (Blues Project) and Felix Cavaliere of the Rascals at a church in Chatham, NJ. Late night as I was waiting for David to get home and an early rise to church made me a hurting puppy. At least the ride home from NYC was decent and got down here and scored a great parking spot.

Praise for today: If the Lord delights in a man's way, he makes his steps firm; though he stumble, he will not fall, for the Lord upholds him with his hand. Psalm 37: 23-24

2 Chr 33:1-9

All good things must come to an end so was the age of Hezekiah. Manasseh, his son, who co-ruled with him as a child, took over the throne when he was 12. He ruled officially from around 687 BC to 642 BC and he was horrible as a follower of God. He was the longest tenured ruler of Judah or Israel. With his father's independence from the Assyrians now over, Manasseh felt that he would now succumb under their rule. Most of that was because he chose not to follow the ways of his father Hezekiah and love the Lord. Instead, he chose to worship idols. According to the commentary;

The nations that were in the country before Israel worshipped many false gods. Manasseh built again the high places to worship those gods. He built altars to the Baal gods. He made images for Asherah, the female god. And he worshipped the sun, moon and stars. For these, he built two altars in the LORD’s temple. He did the same as his grandfather Ahaz had done (28:3). He made his children go through fire in the Ben-Hinnom Valley. This was a sacrifice to the god Molech. And he did many other evil deeds.

 

 So the stage was set for a long and painful road ahead for the nation as they were led like sheep to the slaughter. He also desecrated the Lord's temple by putting idols for worship and sacrifices there as well. This didn't sit well with the Lord. In turn, Judah had become worse than the nations that had the land before them and were around them. Needless to say, bad things were on the horizon.

 

Overall a good day at work but was dismayed to see my cable bill jacked up by $20 p/m. That coupled with my rent being raised will lead to more tightening of the belt to make ends meet down here. Seeing if I could get it reduced or if not consider Verizon as an alternative. Need to investigate that...

 

 

Praise for today: Every word of God is flawless, he is a shield to those who take refuge in him. Proverbs 30: 5

2 Chr 32: 25-33

This is a capsulized summary of what went on in 2 Kings 19 and 20. Hezekiah became ill and almost died. He prayed to the Lord for mercy and was granted 15 more years of life. His prayer was confirmed by the Lord allowing him to see that it was truly God behind the scenes by performing a miracle. Unfortunately, neither he or the people became closer to God because of it. Despite saving him and the people, they grew proud and haughty. Hezekiah was given great wealth by the Lord and he in turn felt that it was worth displaying as if he was the reason behind it. This angered the Lord and also the people became proud as well. They did repent of their sin so God didn't punish them or Hezekiah while he was alive. However, Hezekiah still flaunted his wealth and in turn was told that these riches would be gone and swept away (by the Babylonian empire). He died and was given an elevated place in the tombs of his ancestors.

All in all, a good king who did much to benefit the people that he served. His episodic lapses were true of even the best of kings which only points to the fact that there is truly one perfect king - Jesus Christ.

All in all, a good day yesterday. Still plugging away at my sermon and hopefully will have all of the loose gaps finished for the Missions weekend. Trying to maneuver my Fridays so that I am done with late nights for that day to the rest of the year. Also established my work schedule to get my Princeton days as well.

Praise for today: I will praise you forever for what you have done; in your name I will hope, for your name is good. I will praise you in the presence of your saints. Ps 42: 9

2 Chr 32: 20-24

This was how it was supposed to work. When the going got tough, the tough went to the Lord. Both Hezekiah and the prophet Isaiah went before the Lord to plead for His people and their defense. The prophet did what he did (2 Kings 19:21-34) and the Lord sent his angel of death and killed 185,000 of Sennacherib's men. Sennacherib went back alone and defeated without a single Judean harmed. He was literally like a scolded dog with his tail between his legs. He went back to his created god's temple and there his sons killed him. News of this traveled fast and the Lord and Jerusalem were respected and revered. The Lord protected them on all sides and in turn they received the wealth of surrounding nations.

All in all a decent day at work. I got a little further on my sermon and will plug away at it over the next week or so. Also got some more confirmation regarding the Missions weekend so that is good as well. Glad to hear that GG and Irene are enjoying themselves in FL and that the condo is good as well. Hoping that David has a good time at the NYY games but he better bundle up!!!

Praise for today: Gather to me my consecrated ones, who made a covenant with me by sacrifice. And the heavens proclaim his righteousness, for God himself is judge. Selah Psalm 50: 5&6