II Kings 21:1a, 2a, 3a Manasseh was twelve years old when he began to reign…and he did that which was evil in the sight of the LORD…for he built up again the high places which Hezekiah his father had destroyed
Here is a story, a composite, based on many true stories. It is a story of a man making millions of dollars through hard work and ingenuity. Sounds good so far, right? He has built a network and a product. He has built transportation and infrastructure. He has built a clientele base. He has built all these things and he is making millions of dollars. That sounds very productive, unless I tell you that what he has produced is narcotics, drugs with which he is flooding the United States of America and therefore destroying millions of people. He is wasting good resources on wickedness, and he is destroying lives, homes, and people by what he is producing. In other words, to build what you ought to destroy and to destroy what you ought to nurture is the very picture of a foolish waste.
In II Kings 21 we have the story of a Manasseh, who is a picture of all of this. In II Kings 21:1 it says, “Manasseh was twelve years old when he began to reign.” He was very young when he came to power. Verse 2 says, “And he did that which was evil in the sight of the LORD.” It goes on to say that he instigated idolatry and led God’s people away from God. It was a complete waste. Verse 3 says, “For he built up again the high places which Hezekiah his father had destroyed.”
Hezekiah was a bright spot on the otherwise dim history of the kings of Israel and Judah, yet when Manasseh came to power, he destroyed all that his dad had built up. It did not take him long. He also built up what his father had destroyed. He built up the altars for Baal. He made a grove. He worshipped the host of heaven. He put altars in the very house of the Lord in Jerusalem that were not for the Lord Jehovah. He built altars for the host of heaven in the two courts of the house of the Lord. In short, he built up so much of the evil that his father had destroyed.
Verse 6 says, “And he made his son pass through the fire.” As part of the ritual worship of pagan gods, he sacrificed his son in the fire. He was building up what should have been destroyed and he was destroying what he should have nurtured. The question this morning is, “What is the balance of your life?” Are you building up what ought to be built up and are you tearing down what ought to be torn down? Or, are you doing what so many people do, building up what should be torn down and tearing down what should be built up?
Consider three things. First, consider what you have been given. All of us are the result of generations of people, most of whom we will never even hear about but are in our genealogy nonetheless. In Manasseh’s case, he had good and bad, although primarily bad, in his genealogy, but his father Hezekiah was a markedly good and godly king. Yet, all that his father had done was wasted in a very short time. Manasseh built up what his father had destroyed and he destroyed what should have been built up. So, consider what you have been given. Whether you come from a great home or not, consider what God has provided for you through the people who have come before you. Maybe your parents weren’t perfect or didn’t even know the Lord, but nonetheless you have been given life through them and maybe you have been taught character through them. Maybe you have been educated through their efforts in your life. Maybe you didn’t starve because your family took care of you. In any case, we cannot be good stewards if we do not stop to consider what we have been given.
Second, consider what you are giving. In other words, you have been given something and you are giving something. Don’t destroy the good for those who come after you and don’t build up that which should have been torn down long before you. Consider what you have been given and consider what you are giving. What attitudes are you promoting and thinking? What relationship to God are you promoting to those you influence in your life, the generations to come.
Finally, realize you are the link. Verse 3 references Manasseh’s father. Verse 6 references Manasseh’s son. Verse 4 references Manasseh himself. He wasted his life, not just by tearing down, but by what he actually promoted and built up because to build what you ought to destroy and to destroy what you ought to nurture is the very picture of foolish waste.