Ears Will Tingle

The LORD spoke through prophets in the days of Manasseh king of Judah. The message resounded from these faithful men of God against the king and the idolatry of the people. Their sins had risen against God and He was going to bring judgment and calamity long promised beforehand through Moses and many other prophets. 

The message came harshly. ‘Because Manasseh king of Judah has done these abominations, having done wickedly more than the Amorites did who were before him, and has also made Judah sin with his idols, therefore thus says the LORD, the God of Israel, ‘Behold, I am bringing such calamity on Jerusalem and Judah, that whoever hears of it , both his ears shall tingle. And I will stretch over Jerusalem the line of Samaria and the plummet of the house of Ahab, and I will wipe Jerusalem as one wipes a dish, wiping it and turning it upside down.’

Judah had been provoking God to anger ever since He rescued the children of Israel from Egypt. The remnant of His people that were left in Judah had not repented of their sins despite Samaria being taken captive. Jeremiah and Ezekiel would record some very stern words about the coming judgment and the harlot of Judah. They pushed further into sin and idolatry so that God declared He would abandon His people and deliver them into the hands of their enemies. 

Manasseh filled Jerusalem with innocent blood.  So many babies died in sacrifices to Molech. So many righteous men and women were slaughtered. He did so much evil in the sight of the LORD that God sent the Assyrians once again against Jerusalem. They captured Manasseh and put hooks through his nose and forced him to walk all the way back to Assyria. It was only then that this most wicked of kings realized that the LORD God of Israel was the Only True God. He repented and God brought him back to his kingdom some time later.

His repentance changed the end of his life, but his actions had done so much damage. Judgment was coming, but he did remove the idols and foreign gods from the Temple, the altars on the Temple Mount and in Jerusalem, and he restored the sacrifices of God in the Temple. The people still worshiped other gods, but Manasseh himself repented. He died and his son Amon became king in his place. Amon followed in the wickedness of Manasseh to the point that his own servants put him to death two years into his reign. Then the people of Judah put the conspirators to death. 

We need to heed the warnings against sin in the Word of God. Consequences come, promised by the LORD. There is forgiveness with God, but oftentimes our actions leave a wake of destruction behind us. It is best to walk in the fear of the LORD always, so you can avoid the calamity that is sure to come.