MARK THIS MAJESTIC MAKEOVER!

I. Manasseh

II. You and Me

2 Kings 21:1-15 Manasseh was twelve years old when he became king, and he

reigned in Jerusalem fifty-five years. His mother’s name was Hephzibah. 2 He

did evil in the eyes of the LORD, following the detestable practices of the nations

the LORD had driven out before the Israelites. 3 He rebuilt the high places his

father Hezekiah had destroyed; he also erected altars to Baal and made an

Asherah pole, as Ahab king of Israel had done. He bowed down to all the starry

hosts and worshiped them. 4 He built altars in the temple of the LORD, of which

the LORD had said, “In Jerusalem I will put my Name.” 5 In both courts of the

temple of the LORD, he built altars to all the starry hosts. 6 He sacrificed his own

son in the fire, practiced sorcery and divination, and consulted mediums and

spiritists. He did much evil in the eyes of the LORD, provoking him to anger. 7

He took the carved Asherah pole he had made and put it in the temple, of which

the LORD had said to David and to his son Solomon, “In this temple and in

Jerusalem, which I have chosen out of all the tribes of Israel, I will put my Name

forever. 8 I will not again make the feet of the Israelites wander from the land I

gave their forefathers, if only they will be careful to do everything I commanded

them and will keep the whole Law that my servant Moses gave them.” 9 But the

people did not listen. Manasseh led them astray, so that they did more evil than

the nations the LORD had destroyed before the Israelites. 10 The LORD said

through his servants the prophets: 11 “Manasseh king of Judah has committed

these detestable sins. He has done more evil than the Amorites who preceded

him and has led Judah into sin with his idols. 12 Therefore this is what the LORD,

the God of Israel, says: I am going to bring such disaster on Jerusalem and Judah

that the ears of everyone who hears of it will tingle. 13 I will stretch out over

Jerusalem the measuring line used against Samaria and the plumb line used

against the house of Ahab. I will wipe out Jerusalem as one wipes a dish, wiping

it and turning it upside down. 14 I will forsake the remnant of my inheritance and

hand them over to their enemies. They will be looted and plundered by all their

foes, 15 because they have done evil in my eyes and have provoked me to anger

from the day their forefathers came out of Egypt until this day.”

2 Chronicles 33:10-17 10 The LORD spoke to Manasseh and his people, but they

paid no attention. 11 So the LORD brought against them the army commanders of

the king of Assyria, who took Manasseh prisoner, put a hook in his nose, bound

MARK THIS MAJESTIC MAKEOVER!

I. Manasseh

II. You and Me

2 him with bronze shackles and took him to Babylon. 12 In his distress he sought

the favor of the LORD his God and humbled himself greatly before the God of

his fathers. 13 And when he prayed to him, the LORD was moved by his entreaty

and listened to his plea; so he brought him back to Jerusalem and to his

kingdom. Then Manasseh knew that the LORD is God. 14 Afterward he rebuilt the

outer wall of the City of David, west of the Gihon spring in the valley, as far as

the entrance of the Fish Gate and encircling the hill of Ophel; he also made it

much higher. He stationed military commanders in all the fortified cities in

Judah. 15 He got rid of the foreign gods and removed the image from the temple

of the LORD, as well as all the altars he had built on the temple hill and in

Jerusalem; and he threw them out of the city. 16 Then he restored the altar of the

LORD and sacrificed fellowship offerings and thank offerings on it, and told

Judah to serve the LORD, the God of Israel. 17 The people, however, continued to

sacrifice at the high places, but only to the LORD their God.

In the name of Jesus Christ, our eternal King, who happily calls us brothers and

sisters and places us into the royal priesthood of all believers, dear Christian friends,

“It is good to be king”— a familiar phrase attributed to an eclectic group of

Homer, Mel Brooks, Tom Petty and others— might first have been coined by King

Manasseh, who thoroughly took advantage of being king. It seemed no one could stop

him from doing what he wanted to do. Yes, it was good for him to be king!

Or so he thought! So the LORD brought against them the army commanders

of the king of Assyria, who took Manasseh prisoner, put a hook in his nose, bound

him with bronze shackles and took him to Babylon. Turns out kings can’t always do

what they want!

And neither can you and I! Sometimes we might think it is good to be king and

do whatever we want! But that is the sinful nature in each of us clamoring to get its way!

It is not what God wants.

So, God teaches us today in the lessons we read earlier that he patiently seeks

fruits of faith. Those fruits might grow easily if the soil of our heart is rich and moist so

that the seed of God’s Word takes root quickly. In some cases, those fruits might take

quite a while, but eventually, they show. They might not grow at all until the tree/plant

of our faith and life is pruned, causing pain and hardship to prepare us for growth.

In order for anyone to bring forth fruits of faith, God has to do his work of

changing hearts from unbelief to faith and lives from famine to feast. This is miraculous

work! This is monumental work! This is, in keeping with our look at a king today,

majestic work. So, I task you with this instruction today: MARK THIS MAJESTIC

MAKEOVER! I. Manasseh II. You and me. Many kings live in palatial surroundings and because we are talking about a makeover today, which is often done on houses, I ask you to think about King Manasseh’s life as a palace/mansion. As you open the front doors, what do you see? There are rebuilt high places his father Hezekiah had destroyed...altars to Baal and

an Asherah pole. Make your way down the hall and you see altars to all the starry

hosts. As you look around the kitchen, you see where Manasseh may have sacrificed his

own son in the fire. In the upstairs bedrooms, you can visualize where he practiced

3 sorcery and divination, and consulted mediums and spiritists. In the great room, you

see what might be the reason for all this. On the wall hangs a large portrait of Ahab king

of Israel, considered by most to be the wickedest king ever.

Although we have all dreamed about living in a royal palace, it is good to know

our homes don’t look like that, right? Or do they? Can everyone see the dirty laundry

strewn about the home of our life: the drunken demeanor we displayed at the last party,

the foul-mouthed language that we spew forth at friend and foe alike, the unfriending of a

fellow Christian who tried to address our inappropriate post?

What about the dust and dirt that most people don’t see, but we know is stuck in

the cracks and crevices all around our place, like the greed that keeps us from giving the

Lord our best, the pornography sites that we visit when no one else is around, the

selfishness that prohibits us from volunteering our time and energy to help fulfill a need?

A video taken of the palace that is our heart and mind and life would reveal a dirty and

disgusting place to live, a place that could be featured on HGTV— Hell’s God-forsaken

Terrifying Video.

For all of us, a majestic makeover took place when God called us to faith in Jesus

at our sin-cleansing baptism or through the life-changing power of his Word. For some

of us now, a majestic makeover might involve only some cosmetic changes to get rid of

the unsightly stains and improve on what is currently there or to apply a little polish to

shine things up a bit.

For King Manasseh, this majestic makeover was a total do-over! This was not a

matter of putting lipstick on a pig. This was God taking Manasseh’s heart and cleansing

it of all its evil and wickedness. This was God filling Manasseh’s heart with a fresh

supply of blood and oxygen, a necessary heart transplant that would now allow for fruits

of faith in honor of the God who forgives and saves.

Therefore this is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: I am going to bring

such disaster on Jerusalem and Judah that the ears of everyone who hears of it will

tingle...I will wipe out Jerusalem as one wipes a dish, wiping it and turning it upside

down. I will forsake the remnant of my inheritance and hand them over to their

enemies. They will be looted and plundered by all their foes, because they have

done evil in my eyes and have provoked me to anger from the day their forefathers

came out of Egypt until this day....The LORD spoke to Manasseh and his people, but

they paid no attention. So the LORD brought against them the army commanders of

the king of Assyria, who took Manasseh prisoner, put a hook in his nose, bound him

with bronze shackles and took him to Babylon.

God used pain and punishment to prune the tree that was the life of King

Manasseh and his people in order that they might produce fruits of faith. And it worked!

In his distress he sought the favor of the LORD his God and humbled himself greatly

before the God of his fathers. 13 And when he prayed to him, the LORD was moved

by his entreaty and listened to his plea; so he brought him back to Jerusalem and to

his kingdom. Then Manasseh knew that the LORD is God.

For Manasseh, it was his trust in the Savior who was to come that moved him to

turn away from his evil and wicked ways and to turn back to the God of his fathers, who

promised forgiveness, salvation and new life to all who believe. For us, it is our trust in a

Savior who has already come and lived perfectly in our place and died on a cross outside

Jerusalem and rose three days later that moves us to live a life that is pleasing to God.

4

God patiently waited for King Manasseh to bring forth fruits of faith and that he

did! Afterward he rebuilt the outer wall of the City of David....He got rid of the

foreign gods and removed the image from the temple of the LORD, as well as all the

altars he had built on the temple hill and in Jerusalem; and he threw them out of the

city. Then he restored the altar of the LORD and sacrificed fellowship offerings and

thank offerings on it, and told Judah to serve the LORD, the God of Israel.

Our God patiently seeks fruits of faith from us as well. How pleased he is when

we can break free from our addictions, when we can learn to post and re-post only what is

true and God-pleasing and helpful for sharing the gospel now or later, when we can set

aside our differences and forgive one another!

Unfortunately, King Manasseh was not perfect in his reform. The people,

however, continued to sacrifice at the high places, but only to the LORD their God.

He and his people were a work in progress.

So are we! We need a majestic makeover every day because of our daily sins

against our Savior. So, remember your baptism which made you a child of God! Review

the Bible regularly to be reminded of what is right and what is wrong in God’s eyes.

Receive Communion often for the strength to do what is pleasing to God.

It is good to be brother and sisters of the King— our Savior Jesus!