Week 23 Jeremiah
Chapter fifteen is ominous. The Lord said that even if two stellar characters like Moses & Samuel begged him to cut Judah slack he wouldn’t do it. The only thing that Judah could expect (actually there were four things) was Death War Famine & Captivity (and the next verse piles on a follow-up Quartet of Destroyers). It’s pretty grim.
As I’m reading along I’m kind of lulled into a dark reverie where I don’t bother thinking much about what’s behind the Death-War-Famine-Captivity (best guess is idolatry disobedience injustice and like that). So I’m jolted when I read why: because of the wicked things Manasseh son of Hezekiah, king of Judah, did in Jerusalem.
Manasseh! I posted on Manasseh last month when I was reading 2 Chronicles. He was an outrageously terrible king. One of the worst. But then that maybe-most-despicable king repented. And he was forgiven.
I go back and reread the story. Manasseh was humbled. He called out to the Lord. The Lord heard him forgave him restored him saved him.
Looked like everything was good.
But now I see that everything wasn’t good.
I don’t exactly understand the inner workings of the system but Manasseh had been instrumental in importing a bunch of the worst possible evils into Judah. And unfortunately his repentance didn’t make the effects magically disappear.
Manasseh was forgiven but his evils hung around. Now compensation was required.
Note: quote from Jeremiah 15:4 (NLT). Manasseh’s story is in 2 Chronicles 33.