Clean Transcript

The Covenant Applied

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• The message I'm going to be bringing today, I think you will see by the time we end, is exceedingly applicable to our day and time. The title of the message is "The Covenant Applied." The Covenant Applied. So if you look in Jeremiah 15 and verse 4, you have heard me quote this verse probably many times, but I've never just really explained the verse. So here it is, Jeremiah 15 verse 4.

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• God says concerning Judah, "And I will cause them to be removed into all kingdoms of the earth because of Manasseh the son of Hezekiah, king of Judah, for that which he did in Jerusalem." Now we should look very closely at that verse because God says very plainly in verse 4 that He is going to cause Judah, that is the people of the land, to be carried away into captivity. Why? Because of Manasseh, the son of Hezekiah, king of Judah, for that which he did in Jerusalem.

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• I want to talk to you today about sanctions. Sanctions is a term probably that everyone understands. Usually when we think of sanctions, we think of it in terms of our government. In fact, if you ever listen to the news, you'll hear that we have sanctions against North Korea and sanctions against Venezuela and sanctions against Iraq and sanctions against Iran. What in the world are the politicians talking about when they use the word sanctions?

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• Well, let me just boil it down to this. When our government uses the word sanctions, it usually means that it is displeased with another government because that government fails to act in a desirable way that we would prefer. And so since they're not acting the way that our government thinks that they should act, then they pronounce sanctions against them. Usually what it means when you hear politicians talk about sanctions against a foreign government, it just simply means this.

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• We're not going to give them as much money as we used to. Or, we're not going to extend to them the credit that they want. I am really and truly not concerned today about governmental sanctions. However, I am concerned about God's sanctions. Governments play, God does not. Governments are duplicitous, God is not. Governmental sanctions are not real sanctions. God's sanctions are real and they're always serious.

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• Now it's interesting that we get our English word sanction from the Latin sanctio, which literally means to make holy. The word sanction literally is a solemn decree. It's a formal agreement and something that makes an oath binding. So the word sanction has both a positive and a negative meaning. If we sanction something positively, that means therefore that we approve it, we condone it, and we bless it. So we use the word, "Well, I'll sanction that," that is, I'll put my stamp of approval upon that act or upon that covenant. But we also use it negatively.

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• We can say that we're pronouncing sanctions. In that sense, it means that we're judging it, we're condemning it, we're disapproving it, maybe even cursing it.

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• Now, when I talk about sanctions, especially in light of God's sanctions, I hope that you've already thought about Deuteronomy 28 and Leviticus 26. Because in those two chapters, and we're not going to turn there, but if you would take the time to read those two chapters, you're going to find that God pronounces sanctions both positively and negatively. In those chapters God has promised His approval and His blessings upon those who obey Him. But God also in those chapters pronounces negative sanctions in that He also promises His disapproval and His curses upon those who disobey Him. And incidentally, let me point out the fact that sanctions, biblically speaking, always apply individually, familially, ecclesiastically, and nationally. That is, they apply to each of us as individuals, each of our families, each of our churches, and each of our nation.

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• Now, principles are important in the Bible. And these principles are illustrated for us in the Word of God and they demonstrate for us the actions of God in time and in history. When you find a principle in the Word of God, it simply means this. This is the way God has acted in times past, it is how He will act in the present, and it's also how He will act in the future.

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• Now when we just read Jeremiah 15 and verse 4, the principle that is being enunciated is that of sanctions. And I might emphasize negative sanctions at that. Now, when we think of sanctions and when we think of the Old Covenant, and that's what most people refer to when they hear Deuteronomy 28, Leviticus 26, they'll say, "Well, that was in the Old Covenant. That is in the Old Testament."

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• We fail to grasp a simple truth. We talk about the Old Testament and the New Testament. Did you know that the word testament is just another word for covenant? So actually you're talking about the Old Covenant and the New Covenant, but it's still a covenant. If you would hold Jeremiah 15, but look in your Bibles to the book of Hebrews chapter 8, Hebrews chapter 8, I want to point out the fact that the old covenant, that is the old way of worshiping God, with the tabernacle and the temple and all the rituals and all the cleansing and

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• all the sacrifices, all that has passed away. In its place now, we have the New Testament or the New Covenant. If you look in Hebrews chapter 8 and verse 13, here's what we read. "In that he saith, A new covenant. He hath made the first old. Now that which decayeth and waxeth old is ready to vanish away." That's why we don't have the priesthood the way we did in the Old Testament. That's why we don't have the sacrifices. That Old Covenant has vanished away in its ceremonial aspects. And in the New Covenant, we have the once and for all sacrifice of Jesus Christ, the true Lamb of God. But I'm simply pointing out, it is the New Covenant, but it is still a covenant. Now, everyone can tell you that God used sanctions in the Old Testament, in the Old Covenant. There were positive and negative sanctions as well. So let's ask the question, are there sanctions in the New Covenant?

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• And the answer is most definitely yes. The easiest way for you to prove to yourself that there are sanctions in the New Covenant is you just try dying one time without Jesus Christ. Just once. That's all. And you'll find out. Now, if that's a little too difficult for you, let me tell you another way that you can prove to yourself that there are sanctions in the New Covenant. You just try living a disobedient, ungodly, unholy life in rebellion to God and refusing to bow to the Lordship of Jesus Christ, and guess what? Your life is going to be full of heartache and turmoil and trouble over and over and over. But on the other hand, you can also prove that there are positive sanctions. You can live holy, godly, obedient, and guess what? You're going to find blessing after blessing after blessing. There are sanctions in the Old Covenant and there are sanctions in the New Covenant.

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• Now, I told you earlier about principles. A principle is the way to understand what God is doing in time and in history. And may I remind you that the Bible says in Malachi 3 and verse 6, "I am the LORD, I change not." That is, God is immutable. God is unchangeable. So the way that He has revealed Himself in the Old Covenant is exactly the same way that He's going to reveal Himself in the New Covenant. So what God did 2,000 years ago is exactly what God is going to do today and exactly what God is going to do next year and for the next 10 or 20 or 30 years or thousands of years ever, how long He lets the earth continue. I want you to look back to Jeremiah 15 in verse 4. I want to read it again. I want to point out two things, but I'm only going to deal with one of them today. Jeremiah 15 verse 4. Notice what the Bible says. God says concerning Judah, "And I will cause them, the people, to be removed into all the kingdoms of the earth because of Manasseh, the son of Hezekiah, king of Judah, for that which he did in Jerusalem."

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• Now there are two very important truths in this verse. The first truth is that of sanctions, which I'm going to deal with today. Sanctions. That's the first truth. The second truth is this. You find here the covenantal nature of government. Note how God intimately connects the civil rulers and the people. Notice, if you would, that God is going to send the people into captivity for what Manasseh, their king, did. In other words, God is saying, both are responsible, both are accountable, and the people allowed their king to do what he did, and therefore God judges the people with the king. So, here you have a covenantal nature that is demonstrated very plainly from scripture. Now, look in verse 4 again. God said, "And I will cause them to be removed into all kingdoms of the earth because of Manasseh, the son of Hezekiah, king of Judah." Now, Manasseh was the king of Judah, and he was the son of Hezekiah.

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• He was also the father of Ammon. Manasseh began to reign when he was 12 years old, and he reigned 55 years in Jerusalem. His actual date was from 698 BC until 643 BC.

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• Now Manasseh was the most wicked and most vile king in the southern kingdom. Ahab had that infamous position in the northern kingdom. So if anyone ever asks you, who are the most vile and wicked kings in the northern and southern kingdoms? Ahab in the north, Manasseh in the south. Now, I want you to note, if you would, that Manasseh is specifically called, in verse 4, the son of Hezekiah.

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• You say, what difference does that make? I mean, father, son. He is called here, the son of Hezekiah, for the purpose of enhancing and exacerbating his wickedness and his crime. I don't know if you remember much about Hezekiah, but let me tell you, Hezekiah was a godly man. Hezekiah instituted a great reformation under his rule. Hezekiah exerted great labor and great toil to restore the true worship of God in Judah and Jerusalem. Manasseh, his son, was obligated to follow in the steps of his father, but he did not. I'm going to show you in just a few moments how wicked Manasseh really was.

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• He not only built altars, he also polluted the whole land with superstitions. He even put altars in the temple of God. It was a horrible and completely diabolically wicked thing that Manasseh did. His father Hezekiah had delivered unto him a godly heritage. And he purposefully and deliberately threw that heritage away and overthrew everything that his father labored to build. So undoubtedly Jeremiah is mentioning that Manasseh is the son of Hezekiah to the dishonor of the son. The name of Hezekiah intensifies the horribleness and the wickedness of the son. So Manasseh is named here as the son of Hezekiah for his shame, because of his degeneracy, because he threw away that which was handed to him.

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• You know, here's a very important point, and that is this. Good men do not always produce good children. Good men do not always produce good children. Anyone may have a fool for a child. By the way, may I remind you that a fool in the Bible is not a mentally deficient person. A fool in the Bible is someone who will not listen. And children who forsake their godly parents and the heritage that was handed to them will always receive the heavier and weightier judgments because they're turning their back upon light and truth and knowledge.

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• Now, I want to try to amplify for you the wickedness of Manasseh. I want you to see some of the things that Manasseh did. So I want you to hold Jeremiah 15, but turn in your Bibles to 2 Kings chapter 20, and we're also going to turn to 2 Chronicles 33. Two passages, 2 Kings chapter 20, and then we're going to 2 Chronicles 33. Okay? 2 Kings chapter 20, we'll read there first, and let's begin with verse 21. Only one verse in chapter 20, then we're going to read in chapter 21. 2 Kings 20 verse 21, "And Hezekiah slept with his fathers, and Manasseh his son reigned in his stead." Now watch verse 1 of chapter 21. "Manasseh was 12 years old when he began to reign, and he reigned fifty and five years in Jerusalem, and his mother's name was Hephzibah." That's where the Bridges live, by the way, in Hephzibah, Georgia. It's a biblical name.

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• "And he did that which was evil in the sight of the LORD, after the abominations of the heathen, whom the LORD cast out before the children of Israel. And he built up again the high places which Hezekiah his father had destroyed."

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• "And he reared up altars for Baal, and made a grove, which was an Asherah. And he did as did Ahab king of Israel, and worshipped all the host of heaven, and served them. And he built altars in the house of the LORD, of which the LORD said, In Jerusalem I will put my name. And he built altars for all the hosts of heaven in the two courts of the house of the LORD." So what he's doing here is putting idols in all the house of the LORD. Now, notice verse 6. "And he made his son pass through the fire, and observed times, and used enchantments, and dealt with familiar spirits and wizards: he wrought much wickedness in the sight of the LORD, to provoke him to anger. Watch carefully now. And he set a graven image of the grove that he had made in the house, of which the LORD said to David, and to Solomon his son, In this house, and in Jerusalem, which I have chosen out of all the tribes of Israel, will I put my name forever."

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• "Neither will I make the feet of Israel move any more out of the land which I gave their fathers; only if they will observe to do according to all that I have commanded them, and according to all the law that my servant Moses commanded them. But they hearkened not: and Manasseh seduced them to do more evil than did the nations whom the LORD destroyed before the children of Israel. And the LORD spake by his servants the prophets, saying, Because Manasseh king of Judah hath done these abominations, and hath done wickedly above all that the Amorites did, which were before him, and hath made Judah also to sin with his idols: Therefore thus saith the LORD God of Israel, Behold, I am bringing such evil upon Jerusalem and Judah, that whosoever heareth 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 a man wipeth a dish, wiping it, and turning it upside down."

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• "And I will forsake the remnant of mine inheritance, and deliver them into the hand of their enemies; and they shall become a prey and a spoil to all their enemies; because they have done that which was evil in my sight, and have provoked me to anger, since the day their fathers came forth out of Egypt, even unto this day. Moreover Manasseh shed innocent blood very much, till he had filled Jerusalem from one end to another; beside his sin wherewith he made Judah to sin, in doing that which was evil in the sight of the LORD. Now the rest of the acts of Manasseh, and all that he did, and his sin that he sinned, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah? And Manasseh slept with his fathers, and was buried in the garden of his own house, in the garden of Uzzah: and Ammon his son reigned in his stead." Now turn, if you would, to 2 Chronicles 33, and let's just read the first 10 verses. I hope you're getting a picture now of the wickedness of Manasseh.

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• 2 Chronicles 33, verse 1. "Manasseh was twelve years old when he began to reign, and he reigned fifty and five years in Jerusalem: But he did that which was evil in the sight of the LORD, like unto the abominations of the heathen, whom the LORD had cast out before the children of Israel. For he built again the high places which Hezekiah his father had broken down, and he reared up altars for Baalim, and made groves, and worshipped all the host of heaven, and served them. Also he built altars in the house of the LORD, whereof the LORD had said, In Jerusalem shall my name be for ever. And he built altars for all the host of heaven in the two courts of the house of the LORD."

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• "And he caused his children to pass through the fire in the valley of the son of Hinnom: also he observed times, and used enchantments, and used witchcraft, and dealt with a familiar spirit, and with wizards: he wrought much evil in the sight of the LORD, to provoke him to anger. And he set a carved image, the idol which he had made, in the house of God, of which God had said to David and to Solomon his son, In this house, and in Jerusalem, which I have chosen before all the tribes of Israel, will I put my name for ever: Neither will I any more remove the foot of Israel from out of the land which I have appointed for your fathers; so that they will take heed to do all that I have commanded them, according to the whole law and the statutes and the ordinances by the hand of Moses. So Manasseh made Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem to err, and to do worse than the heathen, whom the LORD had destroyed before the children of Israel."

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• "And the LORD spake to Manasseh, and to his people: but they would not hearken." Now let me point out just a couple of things. Manasseh was not only a very wicked and ungodly man, he was an idolater who placed multitudinous altars in the house of God. Look in 2 Kings 23 and verse 12. Josiah was the man who tore these down. But look in 2 Kings 23 and verse 12. "And the altars that were on the top of the upper chamber of Ahaz, which the kings of Judah had made, and the altars which Manasseh had made in the two courts of the house of the LORD, did the king beat down, and brake them down from thence, and cast the dust of

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• them into the brook Kidron." So all of these altars that Manasseh and all the kings of Judah had made, Josiah later on, who happened to be the grandson of Manasseh, is now destroying all of this stuff. Let me show you again how wicked Manasseh really was. Look in your Bibles to 2 Kings 23 and verse 7. In fact, let's read verse 6. Watch carefully. "And he brought out the grove from the house of the LORD," which was the idol of Asherah.

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• That was a sex goddess. "And he brought out the grove from the house of the LORD, without Jerusalem, unto the brook Kidron, and burned it at the brook Kidron, and stamped it small to powder, and cast the powder thereof upon the graves of the children of the people. And he," this is Josiah, look what he's doing now, "and he brake down the houses of the sodomites, that were by the house of the LORD, where the women wove hangings for the grove," for the Asherah. So evidently Manasseh had all these sodomites and the prostitutes there for religious sects, much like the pagans did in their pagan temples, and especially in those temples that were found in Corinth, Greece. These houses were torn down by Josiah. It is important that you do not underestimate the wickedness of Manasseh. In fact, if you look back to 2 Kings 21 and verse 11, 2 Kings 21 verse 11, look what is said of Manasseh.

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• "Because Manasseh king of Judah hath done these abominations, and hath done wickedly," now look at this, "above all that the Amorites did, which were before him, and hath made Judah also to sin with his idols." Now, let me point something out. The scripture says that Manasseh not only did, but he also caused Judah to do, above all that the Amorites did that were before him. Now, the Amorites were a people who lived in Canaan. They were also Canaanites.

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• But do you remember in Genesis 15? God told Abraham that his seed was going to go down into a strange land, Egypt, for 400 years. But in the fourth generation, He was going to bring them out. And then God told him why in verse 16. He told him why His people were going down into Egypt for 400 years. And He says this, "Because the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet full." When God brought Israel out of Egypt, what did He do? He put a sword in their hand and told them to go into the land and to kill every inhabitant in the land.

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• That is how wicked and how vile the Canaanites were. In fact, if you will turn in your Bibles to the book of Leviticus chapter 18, Leviticus 18, look at verses 24 and 25. Look what God says concerning the Canaanites that were in the land. This is how vile they were. God says in Leviticus 18, beginning with verse 24, "Defile not ye yourselves in any of these things: for in all these the nations are defiled which I cast out before you: And the land is defiled: therefore I do visit the iniquity thereof upon it, and the land itself vomiteth out her inhabitants." God said they were so wicked, they were so vile, that the land itself was puking them out. In fact, if you look in Leviticus 20 and verse 22, God gives a warning to His people not to follow in the line of the Canaanites. He says, Leviticus chapter 20, notice verse 22, "Ye shall therefore keep all my statutes, and all my judgments, and do them: that the land, whither I bring you to dwell therein, spue you not out."

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• In other words, God said it vomited out the inhabitants for you. Now, if you get wicked and you get vile, it will spew you out as well. So, when God brought Israel out of Egypt, He said, "I want you to kill every one of them." Now, someone is going to say, "Oh, that's horrible that God would kill every man, woman and child." Well, let me give you a quote. R. A.

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• Torrey was a preacher of the last century or so, and he said this concerning this passage. He said, "It is appalling that any people should be utterly put to the sword. But it is even more appalling that a society of people should have become so corrupt and debased that such treatment is deemed necessary in the interest of humanity. The Canaanites were a moral cancer threatening the very life of a whole human race."

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• "The cancer had to be removed in order to save the body, just as a surgeon inflicts pain and suffering in order to remove a malignant growth in the body." Can you imagine a wicked, vile people that were so rebellious and so wicked, God said every one of them should be put to death.

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• Now I want you to go back in your Bibles to 2 Kings 21. I'm just simply trying to emphasize the magnitude of Manasseh's sin because I'm going to be making an application just shortly. But look in 2 Kings 21 and verse 11 again. Watch. "Because Manasseh king of Judah hath done these abominations, and hath done wickedly above all that the Amorites did, which were before him," now look, "and hath made Judah also to sin with his idols." So Manasseh, as king, not only sinned himself, but he also made Judah, that is the people, to sin. Now look back in verse 9, 2 Kings 21 verse 9, "But they hearkened not: and Manasseh seduced them to do more evil than did the nations whom the LORD destroyed before the children of Israel." I want you to note how God charges Manasseh now. God charges Manasseh with seducing the people. Seducing them to do more wickedness than the Amorites did whom God destroyed. It was Manasseh who seduced them. It was Manasseh who caused them to err, to cause them to wander out of the way, to cause them to apostatize by intoxicating them with his whoredoms, idolatry, and witchcraft.

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• He was the king. He led them astray. He was responsible to biblically follow the example of his father and biblically follow the commands of the Word of God, but he did not. God sent His prophets, but neither the king nor the people would listen. Look back, 2 Kings 21, verse 8. Look what God says. "Neither will I make the feet of Israel move any more out of the land which I gave their fathers; only if they will observe to do according to all that I have commanded them, and according to all the law that my servant Moses commanded them. But they hearkened not." And I'm not going to make you turn there, but in 2 Chronicles 33, again he says, he sent prophets unto them, but they would not listen. What is God doing? God is rightly charging Manasseh, not only with his own wickedness now, but he's also charging him with the crime of purposely and deliberately leading the people away from God.

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• By the way, this was a common practice in the Old Covenant. It's also a common practice in the New Covenant. We just don't recognize it as such. I think we will a little bit later, but let me just show you one other illustration, look in 2 Chronicles chapter 12. 2 Chronicles chapter 12. I'm just showing you how many kings purposely and deliberately led the people astray. Notice if you would what the Bible says. 2 Chronicles 12 verse 1, "And it came to pass, when Rehoboam had established the kingdom, and had strengthened himself," who was Rehoboam? That was the son of Solomon, David's grandson. Look what the Bible says now. "And when Rehoboam was come to Jerusalem," I'm in verse 11, I'm chapter 11, chapter 12 is what I want, "and it came to pass, when Rehoboam had established the kingdom, and had strengthened himself, he forsook the law of the LORD, and all Israel with him. And it came to pass, that in the fifth year of king Rehoboam Shishak king of Egypt came up against Jerusalem, because they had transgressed against the LORD." What did Rehoboam do?

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• Oh yes, he pretended to serve God until he got everything just the way he wanted it. And then he forsook God and he carried the people with him. Same thing Jeroboam did. Same thing Solomon did in his old age. And now here Manasseh is being charged with purposefully, deliberately leading the people astray into idolatry.

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• Now, if you will look, in 2 Kings 23 at verses 26 and 27. Look what the Bible says. God is plainly telling us that one of the reasons Judah went into captivity was because of the sins of Manasseh. Watch this carefully. We read it in Jeremiah 15 verse 4. Now here it is in 2 Kings 23, beginning with verse 26. "Notwithstanding the LORD turned not from the fierceness of his great wrath, wherewith his anger was kindled against Judah, because of all the provocations that Manasseh had provoked him withal. And the LORD said, I will remove Judah also out of my sight, as I have removed Israel, and will cast off this city Jerusalem, which I have chosen, and the house of which I said, My name shall be there." Now look back to verse 26, there it is plain as day. "Notwithstanding the LORD turned not from the fierceness of his great wrath, wherewith his anger was kindled against Judah, because of all the provocations that Manasseh had provoked him withal." So God's angry at Judah for what Manasseh did.

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• You say, "But now wait a minute, Pastor. Why is God angry at the people for what Manasseh did?" I'm going to show you in just a moment. But let me remind you, we're responsible for what we allow our leaders to do. That is the covenantal nature of government. In Jeremiah 15 verse 4, let me just quote it, God said, "And I will cause them, that is Judah, to be removed into all the kingdoms of the earth, because of Manasseh the son of Hezekiah, king of Judah, for that which he did in Jerusalem." Now if you'll look back in your Bibles to 2 Kings 21, and verse 16, I read this verse earlier, but let me point out still the magnitude of Manasseh's sins. God says in verse 16, 2 Kings 21, "Moreover Manasseh shed innocent blood very much, till he had filled Jerusalem from one end to another; beside his sin wherewith he made Judah to sin, in doing that which was evil in the sight of the LORD." Now the Bible says that God is charging him with shedding innocent blood, not a little, but a lot.

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• Enough, He said, to fill Jerusalem from one side to another. Now I want you to turn over to 2 Kings 24. 2 Kings 24, and look if you would please at verses 3 and 4. Here it is, 2 Kings 24, verse 3. "Surely at the commandment of the LORD came this upon Judah, to remove them out of his sight, for the sins of Manasseh, according to all that he did; And also for the innocent blood that he shed: for he filled Jerusalem with innocent blood; which the LORD would not pardon."

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• Yes sir, that's part of it. He filled it with innocent blood, which the LORD would not pardon. Now, innocent blood not only refers to the children that were sacrificed. You remember in 2 Chronicles said he sacrificed his children in the valley of the son of Hinnom. He made his sons to pass through the fire. Sometimes that was purification. It was an act of dedication to Baal. But sometimes it was child sacrifice. Not only were they sacrificing children to these false gods, but think of the innocent men and women that were persecuted because they would not go along with what Manasseh did. Think of the prophets, generally probably, he prosecuted and persecuted as well. And anytime anyone would not go along with Manasseh, it was just simply death. Now there's an interesting thing about Manasseh. As wicked, as vile as Manasseh was, when you read about Manasseh in the rest of Scripture, there is the possibility that in the end, he may have been genuinely converted. He repented.

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• But here is the point. Listen carefully. Manasseh personally may have been forgiven, but I want you to understand something. The nation still reaped the consequences of his sins. Many people, remember he seduced them. That is the nation then went into idolatry with him. They participated in the same things that he participated in. Do you understand that when it comes to the law of sowing and reaping, you may be forgiven for your sins, but what you have sowed, you're still going to reap.

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• Let me give you an illustration. If I went out and committed adultery, would God forgive me for adultery? Yes. But what if in committing that act, I contracted the HIV virus.

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• Now my question is this. If God has forgiven me for committing the act of adultery, does that get rid of the HIV virus? No. I'm still going to reap the consequences of my sin. The law of sowing and reaping is very plain. You sow it, you're going to reap it. That's it. And what Manasseh did was simply this. He led the people into sin, into idolatry, into wickedness. And yeah, God may have saved him at the end, but I've got news for you. The people still reaped everything that they had sown and that Manasseh had sown. Sanctions are real.

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• Let me make a statement that you've heard me make many times before. God's paydays are not always on Fridays. What I mean by that is simply this. Many people ignorantly suppose that because God does not smite them down instantly, that God's not going to strike at all. I got news for you, dear friends. God will strike in His time. The judgment is in His hands, not in ours.

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• Now, I want you to look at Jeremiah chapter 1. Let me show you. This is very interesting. Look in Jeremiah chapter 1. Jeremiah, remember now, is writing this about Manasseh. Look in Jeremiah chapter 1, beginning there with verse 1. "The words of Jeremiah the son of Hilkiah, of the priests that were in Anathoth in the land of Benjamin: To whom the word of the LORD came in the days of Josiah the son of Ammon king of Judah, in the thirteenth year of his reign. It came also in the days of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah king of Judah, unto the end of the eleventh year of Zedekiah the son of Josiah king of Judah, unto the carrying away of Jerusalem captive in the fifth month." Hang on.

  #49 | 40:50 to 41:42 | cleaned

• Do you see what I just read? Do you see it there? When did Jeremiah begin his prophesying? In the days of Josiah, the son of Ammon, king of Judah. So, Jeremiah then began prophesying in the reign of Manasseh's grandson until the destruction of Jerusalem. Now listen, the Babylonians took Jerusalem, captured Jerusalem in 586 B.C. Manasseh died in 643 B.C. Therefore, it was approximately 57 years later when God sent His judgment against Jerusalem. 57 years after Manasseh was probably dead. Yet everything we're reading is because of that which Manasseh did. Manasseh is dead and gone. And yet 57 years later, Jerusalem is destroyed. The reason for the captivity given in 2 Kings 23 and Jeremiah 15 and verse 4 is because of the sins of Manasseh. When you stop and think, let's suppose you were grown during the reign of Manasseh. 57 years later, you'd probably be dead.

  #50 | 41:43 to 43:42 | cleaned

• In other words, a great many of that generation had already died. And yet his sin is brought into account, and God righteously brings that innocent blood upon those people, and God judges them and destroys them. Let me just point out one simple truth. Reprieves are not pardons. Reprieves are not pardons. Just simply because God gives you a short respite, or a short reprieve, does not mean that God pardons you.

  #51 | 43:43 to 44:36 | cleaned

• Now, I want you to look in your Bibles back to Jeremiah 15. Because I want you to see, although God says constantly and repeatedly, "All this came upon Judah because of the sins of Manasseh." But I also want you to see, Judah had sufficient sins of their own to merit the judgment themselves. You see, that's the problem. Manasseh led them into sin. And then after Manasseh quit his sinning, the people continued in their sin. Watch it in Jeremiah 15, beginning there with verse 1.

  #52 | 44:37 to 45:23 | cleaned

• "Thus saith the LORD unto me," Oh, watch. "Thus saith the LORD unto me, Though Moses and Samuel stood before me," two of the greatest prayer warriors in the world. "Though Moses and Samuel stood before me, yet my mind could not be toward this people: cast them out of my sight, and let them go forth. And it shall come to pass, if they say unto thee, Whither shall we go forth? then thou shalt tell them, Thus saith the LORD; Such as are for death, to death; and such as are for the sword, to the sword; and such as are for the famine, to the famine; and such as are for the captivity, to the captivity. And I will appoint over them four kinds, saith the LORD: the sword to slay, and the dogs to tear, and the fowls of the heaven, and the beasts of the earth, to devour and destroy."

  #53 | 45:23 to 46:08 | cleaned

• "And I will cause them to be removed into all kingdoms of the earth, because of Manasseh the son of Hezekiah king of Judah, for that which he did in Jerusalem. For who shall have pity upon thee, O Jerusalem? or who shall bemoan thee? or who shall go aside to ask how thou doest? Thou hast forsaken me, saith the LORD, thou art gone backward: therefore will I stretch out my hand against thee, and destroy thee."

  #54 | 46:09 to 46:32 | cleaned

• "I am weary with repenting. And I will fan them with a fan in the gates of the land; I will bereave them of children, I will destroy my people, since they return not from their ways. Their widows are increased to me above the sand of the seas: I have brought upon them against the mother of the young men a spoiler at noonday: I have caused him to fall upon it suddenly, and terrors upon the city."

  #55 | 46:33 to 46:55 | cleaned

• "She that hath borne seven languisheth: she hath given up the ghost; her sun is gone down while it was yet day: she hath been ashamed and confounded: and the residue of them will I deliver to the sword before their enemies, saith the LORD." Look what God is saying. It was not just Manasseh. Yes, he was bad enough. But he seduced the people, and the people kept on in their sins. They had forsaken God. They had gone backwards. Manasseh sowed the seed and the people reaped the harvest.

  #56 | 46:55 to 47:30 | cleaned

• It's kind of like Hosea 8 and verse 7 says, "For they have sown the wind, and they shall reap the whirlwind." Now, I want you to listen to five things very quickly and then I'll make some applications. I want you to understand how idolatry unfolded in Manasseh's time. And I want you to see how idolatry unfolds today. I want you to think about what is happening in our land with what happened in Judah. Here are the five simple points. How did idolatry come to be so prevalent in the land of Judah? First, idolatry is tolerated by the people and their rulers. Idolatry is tolerated among the people and their rulers.

  #57 | 47:31 to 48:45 | cleaned

• You know, we have been so politically correct as to swallow multiculturalism hook, line, and sinker. No one thinks about idolatry. I mean, come on. First, idolatry is tolerated by the people and the rulers.

  #58 | 48:50 to 49:15 | cleaned

• Secondly, idolatry is promoted both ecclesiastically and governmentally. How many of you heard Obama say that, and George Bush say, that Islam is a wonderful, peaceful religion? First, it's tolerated. Secondly, it's promoted both ecclesiastically and governmentally.

  #59 | 49:16 to 49:50 | cleaned

• Thirdly, idolatry is then supported and funded by the government. Fourthly, the true worship of God is then undermined, maligned, ridiculed, found offensive, repulsive, and unlawful. Let me ask you, where's Christianity today? It's maligned. It's found offensive. Because everybody as a whole are politically correct. And when you try to stand up for biblical truth, you're too narrow-minded, you're bigoted, you're racist, you're everything under the sun. It's first tolerated, then promoted, then supported, and the true worship of God is ridiculed. Fifthly, the true worshipers of God are finally persecuted, prosecuted, and murdered.

  #60 | 49:51 to 51:01 | cleaned

• I know everyone in here has heard about the hate crime legislation. So it's going to be a hate crime to talk against the sodomites. It will be a hate crime to talk against anyone who slams Christ in the Word of God. Let's see how this goes. First, idolatry is tolerated, promoted, supported. The true worship of God is maligned and ridiculed. Fifthly, the true worshipers of God are then persecuted, prosecuted and murdered. And sixthly and finally, the judgment of God on the land.

  #61 | 51:01 to 51:42 | cleaned

• That is exactly what happened in all of these passages that I just read today. As it was in the days of Manasseh and in the land of Judah, so it is today in the land of Obama and America. We've come to the point where we're tasting the judgment of God. Let me make just a couple of applications. I want you to listen carefully. The first one is this.

  #62 | 51:43 to 52:21 | cleaned

• God does not change His methods of dealing with the sin of idolatry. He has always judged both the rulers and the people together because both are guilty. Both have violated the Word of God. I stated earlier that reprieves are not pardons. You remember when Elijah came and pronounced judgment against Ahab, wicked ungodly reprobate Ahab, Ahab put on sackcloth and ashes and walked lightly before the Lord. And God said, "See how Ahab hath humbled himself before me?"

  #63 | 52:22 to 52:59 | cleaned

• "I'll not destroy him now." I'll give him a little reprieve. But a little bit later on, God did destroy Ahab. Reprieves are not pardons, folks. Just because God lets you slide for another 50 years does not mean that you've gotten away with your sins. God's paydays are not always on Friday. And just because God delays His full judgment does not mean that it is not coming.

  #64 | 53:00 to 53:28 | cleaned

• Secondly, I want you to note this. That God does indeed hold His people accountable and responsible for that which they allow their rulers to do. Silence is consent. When we remain silent, we are tacitly giving our consent. I want you to look very quickly at Psalm 50. Psalm 50, and let's begin reading there verse 16. Psalm 50, verse 16. Look what God says. I'm talking about sinning by silence. Psalm 50, verse 16. "But unto the wicked God saith, What hast thou to do to declare my statutes, or that thou shouldest take my covenant in thy mouth? Seeing thou hatest instruction, and castest my words behind thee." Now look what God says.

  #65 | 53:29 to 54:29 | cleaned

• "When thou sawest a thief, then thou consentedst with him, and hast been partaker with adulterers." Now how in the world, when you see a thief, do you consent to what he's doing? How can you be partakers with adultery? When you know what they're doing, and you do not rebuke them, reprove them, or expose them, by silence, you are agreeing with their act. You are condoning what they do. Thus, there is a sin by silence.

  #66 | 54:29 to 55:03 | cleaned

• And thirdly, I want you to think about this. You say, "Well, Brother Weaver, God sent Judah into Babylonian captivity. You think He's going to send America into Babylonian captivity?" Well, He doesn't have to send us to Babylon. God may indeed cause us to be removed. Either by death, by imprisonment, or just by being plain old captives in our native land through martial law, where you can't do anything and can't go anywhere.

  #67 | 55:05 to 55:53 | cleaned

• Did God judge Judah? Yes. Did God judge Israel? Yes. Is God judging America? Yes. Will it get worse? Yes. The only way it will not get worse, the only way, the only way, and you know as well as I do, here it is. "If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land." But we must turn from our wicked ways. Judah never turned, and God destroyed her. Israel did not turn, and God destroyed it. If America does not turn, we will be destroyed. Let's pray.

  #68 | 56:03 to 57:07 | cleaned

• Father, in the name of Jesus Christ, we ask for Your grace, for Your mercy. Lord, I pray that you'd impress upon our heart this simple truth that there are sanctions in the Word of God, both positively and negatively, and government is indeed covenantal in nature. Help us, Lord, to be as holy and as godly and as obedient as we can be by the grace of God. Give us grace that we may bring our lives in conformity to your Word and turn from our wicked ways. In the name of Jesus Christ we ask and pray. Amen.

  #69 | 57:07 to 57:48 | cleaned

deepseek | deepseek-v4-pro | clean_readable_transcript | 2026-06-05T14:46:07Z