As each of the boys have passed through the years from about 2 through about 7 they couldn't get enough of the super heroes. My oldest spent so much time in his Batman costume that he wore it out and we had to... HAD TO find him a replacement (if there was to be any form of peace in the house). Throughout his entire pre-school screening day he would not answer to his name but to Spiderman. Thankfully, all the professionals he encountered that day were willing to play along to accomplish the goal of getting him screened appropriately. Precious. Priceless. Unforgettable.
Good guys and bad guys. The world is made up of them. So are the stories in the Bible. In fact, being the recovering control addict that I am, I tried to keep weapons of violence out of our home in the early years. While innocently viewing a David and Goliath children's VHS tape, some time ago, my son was drawn to the part where David cuts off Goliath's head with a sword. Ugh! Who thought you had to preview children's Christian videos too?! That's when I gave in... and superheroes (and their weapons) infiltrated the home beginning with Larry Boy from Veggie Tales and it spiraled from there.
We are on our third and final super hero fan and he's all about fighting for justice... the majority of the time (thankfully... it's hard to be the mother of the arch nemesis). Sigh. That makes me wonder about the poor mothers of the bad guys. Or take it a step higher... the Father, the Creator of all mankind; God. Where does His heart set with the bad guys?
My next verse of thanks deals with such a man. He is the next king of Judah, after Hezekiah his father, and his name is Manasseh (Meh-NASS-uh). I am so happy to share the pronunciation with you... it's nice to know your saying it right... or maybe that's just me?? Thank you NIV Adventure Bible (children's bible)! Hey! I use what I have, and this kid's Bible has enlightened me more than you know. Anyway, King Manasseh was a hard core bad guy. "He did evil in the eyes of the Lord, following the detestable practices of the nations the Lord had driven out before the Israelites." (2 Chron 33:2) He is one of the guys that sacrificed his sons in the fire, practiced sorcery, divination (seeing into the future by magic), witchcraft, and consulted mediums and spiritists. This made God mad. He punished him by allowing the king of Assyria to come against the nation of Judah and took King Manasseh prisoner. They led him to Babylon by a hook in his nose and bound in shackles.
Manasseh, in his distress, looked to God and humbled himself before the Lord praying. God heard him and gave him a chance to do right.
"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." 2 Chronicles 33:16
As you see, from this verse, Manasseh followed through with God's commands - for a period of time anyway. Manasseh became ruler at the age of 12 and held the longest reign of any of the kings of Judah or Israel - 55 years. Commentaries note him as the most evil king and shedding the most innocent blood (godly people and prophets), leading the people into a horribly corrupt state and possibly the primary one responsible for the coming exile. This guy was bad to the bone.
If only he would have followed the words and promise the Lord had given to David (and his son Solomon): "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." (2 Kings 21:8) But he didn't. Apparently he had serious commitment issues.
My point is, however, that even though this evil doer did not remain committed to God's laws and worshiping Him only, God had mercy on him in his distress. Once again God proves to us that He loves all of his children, no matter how badly we screw up, and offers us grace.
A verse that has been coming before my eyes quite regularly as of late is:
"Do not be afraid or terrified.., for the Lord your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you." Deuteronomy 31:6
I believe this promise is clearly proven by the story of Manasseh the bad guy. I am thankful for God's promises of steadfastness, mercy and grace. He's always a good guy even when we slip into the shoes of the bad guy.
"And be thankful." Colossians 3:15b
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