God’s Mercy to be Seeked (Mar 25)
The final century of Judah’s national
history reads like a bad dream.
After Manasseh’s 55-year reign of
terror and apostasy, even a godly
reformer like Josiah is powerless
to prick the hearts of the people,
though for a time he is able to stem
the external appearances of evil.
But after his death the nation swiftly
returns to its abominable ways.
Oppressed and finally overthrown
by the Babylonians, the people of
Judah are slaughtered, their homes
and temple destroyed, their city
walls levelled and the survivors
dragged to Babylon for 70 years.
But in the midst of this doom and
destruction shines a ray of hope.
Cyrus king of Persia, issues a decree
to rebuild the house of the Lord.
For Jews, Jerusalem represented
their place of greatest failure.
To stare at the rubble of what was
once mighty Jerusalem, with its
shattered temple and broken walls
must have saddened God’s people.
They had failed God; gone their own
sinful ways and had been punished.
Now through Cyrus, God was calling
His people back to the scene of the
crime, back for a second chance.
Have you failed God in recent days?
God is calling u back to repentance.
Lord, we Seek Your Grace & Mercy;
Lord, we Seek Your Holiness and
Lord, we Seek Your Compassion.
In Jesus’ precious name, Amen.
Lord, we’ll Seek Yr Grace & Mercy:
Manasseh led the people of Judah
to do more evil than the pagan
nations whom the Lord destroyed.
So the Lord sent the Assyrian armies
and they took Manasseh prisoner.
They put a ring through his nose,
bound him in chains and led him
away to Babylon. While in deep
distress, Manasseh sought the
Lord and cried out humbly to Him.
And when he prayed, the Lord
listened and was moved by his
request for help. So the Lord let
Manasseh return to Jerusalem and
to his kingdom (2Chron 33:9-13).
Lord, how amazing Your grace,
forgiveness and restoration are.
We praise You for Your mercy and
loving-kindness offered so freely.
We want to follow You, but
when we stray from Your paths,
help us to humbly cry out to You.
And let us know the joy of Your
forgiveness and healing. Amen.
Lord, we’ll Seek Your Holiness:
Josiah was eight years old when he
became king & he reigned 32 years.
He did what was pleasing in the
Lord’s sight… He did not turn away
from doing what was right. During
the eighth year of his reign, Josiah
began to seek the God of David.
Then in the twelfth year he began
to purify Judah and Jerusalem,
destroying all the pagan shrines,
the Asherah poles and the carved
idols and cast images. He ordered
the altars of Baal be demolished…
So, he purified Judah (2Chr 34:1-5).
Lord, help us to be like Josiah who
showed greater wisdom than many
other kings who came before him,
because he decided to seek You
God and Your wisdom. We also
realise from passage that You can
use anyone from any age to make a
difference so long as we are willing
to listen and obey Your word. Amen.
Lord, we’ll Seek Your Compassion:
All the leaders of the priests and
the people became more and more
unfaithful. They followed all the
pagan practices of the surrounding
nations, desecrating the Temple of
the Lord that had been consecrated
in Jerusalem. The Lord repeatedly
sent His prophets to warm them,
for He had compassion on His
people… But the people mocked
the messengers of God & despised
their words. They scoffed at the
prophets until the Lord’s anger could
no longer be restrained and nothing
could be done (2Chron 36:14-16).
Lord, You are a relentless Father,
pursuing us in love relationship.
Help us to pursue You in response,
while modelling Your faithfulness,
persistence and compassion. Amen.