King Hezekiah And His Son Manasseh

Sermon for 6/17/2007 Father’s Day

Isaiah 38:19

King Hezekiah and his son Manasseh

Ho Hum:

My grandfather taught me to fish.

My father-in-law’s father taught him to build houses.

Today I love to fish and my father-in-law builds houses for a living.

May we pass on these things but most importantly the faith in Jesus Christ.

WBTU:

A. Our verse this morning was written by King Hezekiah. Read 2 Ki 18:1-3, 5

B. Two miraculous things happened while Hezekiah was king:

1. The Assyrians invaded the land and took over all the cities of Judah except Jerusalem. Hezekiah and all the people in Jerusalem where surrounded like birds in a cage. Hezekiah and the people of Jerusalem sought the Lord and the Lord promised that he would deliver them. Hezekiah and his people did not surrender nor did they seek help from any other nations. Read Isa 37:36-37

2. Read Isa 38:1-5, 7-8

C. Read Isa 38:9

D. Now in verse 19, this is a general statement that the fathers can now tell their children about the Lord’s faithfulness, the Lord’s miracles.

E. Some commentators say that Hezekiah would have been better off to have died instead of living another 15 years. Why would they say that? In those fifteen years left of life, Hezekiah had a child born to him called Manasseh.

F. Read 2 Ki 20:21- 21:1, 2, and 9

G. During the reign of King Josiah, Manasseh’s grandson, even though Josiah tried to do right and lead a revival back to the Lord, it says: Read 2 Ki 23:26

H. When the Babylonians came and destroyed Jerusalem, it says: Read 2 Ki 24:3-4

I. On the surface it appears that Hezekiah failed to tell his child Manasseh about the Lord’s faithfulness. IN all fairness, we have to say that everyone has free will. In all fairness, Hezekiah’s father Ahaz was not a shining example of how to teach a child. May we not have the experience of Hezekiah and his son Manasseh.

Thesis: How can we effectively share God’s faithfulness with our children?

For instances:

1. Pray for them.

B. John Trent says that he sets his watch every day and when it goes off he spends a few minutes praying for his children.

C. Also, ask your children, “What can I pray for?”

D. In all my prayer lists (people or institutions) I have my children on them. When I am not using my prayer lists I usually mention them in my prayers by name.

2. Be faithful, be a good role model

A. (1 Cor 11:1 NIV) Follow my example, as I follow the example of Christ.

B. (Prov 20:7 NIV) The righteous man leads a blameless life; blessed are his children after him.

C. When dad spends time with the Lord, the fruits of the Spirit will come out. (Gal 5:22 NIV) But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, (Gal 5:23 NIV) gentleness and self-control.

D. When our children are young, if they see us acting in a way that doesn’t reflect what we or the church taught them, they conclude this is normal and they mimic our behavior. Older children when they notice this harbor resentment or even lash out, knowing that hypocrisy lurks in their home.

E. Erwin Lutzer tells this story: A young preacher began a ministry on Saturday mornings to the inmates of the local county jail. Each week he’d go into the jail cells and conduct Bible studies and prayer sessions among the inmates- most of them young men between the ages of 19 and 24. When the young preacher asked the warden why so many young men with great promise could end up in such a place, the warden sighed and said, “This place is filled with boys who got tired of waiting for their dads to keep their promises- promises to provide, promises to show up and spend time with them, promises to come home at night- they finally got so angry with the injustice of it, they went out and did stupid things.”

3. Get involved with your children.

A. A little boy was asked what his father did by an older man. The boy answered, “He watches.” “You mean he is a night watchman?” “Oh, no,” the little boy exclaimed, “He just watches.” “Well, what does he watch?” “I don’t know if I can tell you everything, but I can name a few things.” “Well, tell me,” the curious man replied. “He watches TV, he watches Mom do the housework, he watches the weather, he watches the computer, and I think he watches girls, too,” he said with a grin on his face. “He watches the stock market, football games. He watches Mom spank us, and he watches us do our homework. He watches us leave to go to church and PTA and shopping. He watches Mom write letters and me play with my dog. He watches Mom pay the bills. But mainly, he just watches.”