On Speaking Terms

2 Chronicles 33:10

The LORD spoke to Manasseh and his people, but they paid no attention.

Like most families, I grew up in a home where ‘I’m sorry’ and ‘I forgive you’ are rather felt, than heard. Depending on the gravity of the offense, the cold treatment can go on for as long as everybody felt comfortable again. And that is very uncomfortable. Every mealtime was an effort to make sure I won’t meet my parents’ eyes.  Even the hallway seemed narrower when we had to pass each other. Time was the necessary healing balm. We all had to passively wait for it.  But looking back, I wish it was different for us. There sure was a better way of doing it.

This chapter tells us of King Manasseh, the son of the reformer. He reigned longest in the history of biblical kings. Sadly, one of the evil-est too. In 2 Kings, his sins were comparable to that of Ahab’s and even worse than the pagan enemies God destroyed before them. He provoked God to anger, dishonored His face, desecrated His temple, corrupted His people, disregarded His good gifts – disobeying His will altogether. If his father Hezekiah was alive, I don’t think he’d be allowed at dinnertime at all!  Nine verses of sin-full-ness, and at verse ten, God’s grace surprised me with these words: ‘He spoke to Manasseh and his people’. God initiated a talk! And even after Manasseh brushed off the warning and met God’s justice in Babylon, and there repented - - God’s line was available to him. He need not wait for the cold air to pass.

God here modeled to us how to deal with every insult, every hurt: Be on speaking terms!  Sadly, we often keep that flame burning inside, thinking it’s nobler to shut up and be civil about everything. But aren’t we all bound to explode with that set up? What’s the worst that can happen when we confront and settle issues? Isn’t peace a lot better than pride?  Ephesians 4:26 says ‘Don't sin by letting anger control you. Don't let the sun go down while you are still angry’. Keeping it for days is giving the devil a foothold to destroy the relationship. Be willing to talk to those who have hurt you. They may not readily respond, or violently react, but making that line open is one step away from the burden you need not carry. 

Distorted Portrait

2 Chronicles 32:31

But when envoys were sent by the rulers of Babylon to ask him about the miraculous sign that had occurred in the land, God left him to test him and to know everything that was in his heart.

I didn’t know the story of Dorian Gray until last week. The 2009 movie version appealed to me only because it starred Ben Barnes - the actor who played Prince Caspian, the father of the Narnian name I gave to my son. Sadly though, here he was a young Englishman who became too absorbed with his beauty that he pledged his soul for a painting which kept him from aging. The portrait reflected the rottenness of all the vanities he pursued. By the time he realized it couldn’t make him happy, he shifted to doing good. But still, it couldn’t save his disfigured soul. For deep in his heart, even morality is just for vanity’s sake.  

I have no idea of the looks of King Hezekiah, but he sure was attractive to many - - all three G’s: a godly, good man with lots of gold! In this chapter, he became even more famous because of the defeat of Assyria’s Sennacherib and the supernatural movement of the sun on the occasion of his successful fight against a fatal illness. The coming of the envoys from Babylon to his palace placed an all-time high on his record. Sadly, it mirrored differently in God’s held-portrait of him. His deceitful, proud heart was found decaying. Instead of telling everyone the truth behind the recent miracles – that it was all God’s doing – he spoke of his own glory. Unlike Job who came out righteous when God left him tested, he found himself humbled, even paving the way to the soon-Babylonian captivity.  

Verse 5 says ‘He did not respond to the kindness shown him’. How many times do we flippantly do the same?  With the blessings God is showering us daily, how come we fail to mention His name in every ‘How are you?’ questions we face? Worse, we represent Him wrong by carrying our faces long. That’s us distorting His beautiful image! Without God in the picture, guess who takes the lead role in our every conversation?  Ever tried counting your first-person pronoun usage? Pride is in every ‘me’. Sounds like an enemy, right? Deuteronomy 8:14 warns us that the moment ‘our heart becomes proud, we will forget the LORD.’ That’s what our enemy wants. He deceitfully will not draw us to sin or to him, for who will be lured seeing the dark side? But if he can shift our focus to ourselves - our needs, our dreams, our strengths, our issues - then, he has won in keeping our gaze off from God. 

I Don’t Deserve This

2 Chronicles 32:1

After all that Hezekiah had so faithfully done, Sennacherib king of Assyria came and invaded Judah. He laid siege to the fortified cities, thinking to conquer them for himself.

I came across this article from ‘The Natural Child Project’ which talks about and against rewards and praise to children. The method according to R.Grille ‘springs from the work of psychologists who painstakingly discovered that they could train rats to run mazes, pigeons to peck at colored buttons, and dogs to salivate at the sound of the dinner bell - by giving them a controlled schedule of rewards.’  He rebukes parents like me who use external motivations with a demand for better results instead of appreciating our kids for who they are and what they are doing NOW. Why should their self-worth be others-based? Why should their work be valued for its promised reward instead of being enjoyed as grace?  

King Hezekiah probably never experienced such parental pampering. With the ungodly Ahaz as father, he most likely vowed to become other than what the family expected of him. He may had been the least favorite son for not following their idolatrous ways, notably by not allowing himself to be sacrificed in the fire. Instead he grew up pleasing God alone.  His joy was not dependent on the rewards of his faithfulness, but on the relationship itself. Today’s chapter was proof to that. After three long chapters of his diligence to reform Judah’s ways, the verse above opens with the mighty Assyria threatening the land. That would be disappointing – if he was after God’s ‘fair’ remuneration. To the faithless, peace and prosperity are fitting rewards for obedience. But if we know that God is faithful, no fear or discouragement can make us insecure.

‘I don’t deserve this!’ We’ve heard and said it many times. We know of hardworking students failing board exams; homemakers with unappreciative family members; hundreds of overworked but underpaid employees; and yes, godly men and women in deep pain. But what do we expect actually? If we really want to go along that line of ‘deserving’, the Bible refers to us as sinners deserving death. If we feel we’re way above the sinners-status, the Bible also narrates of the sinless Jesus who suffered undeservedly in our stead.  King Hezekiah embraced the truth of grace and so was unshaken amidst life’s threat and seemingly ‘unfairness’. God’s presence is already more than what we all deserve. But if He is not enough for you, nothing else will.