The Dusty Book ~ 2 Chronicles 33

“The Lord spoke to Manasseh and to his people, but they paid no attention.” 2 Chronicles 33:10 ESV

              The year is 1983 in a small town in north Texas.  Crandall to be exact.  The location is a 6th grade classroom.  The desks and students are ordered well, likes soldiers in precise rows, and directly in front of the platoon stands the teacher.  Mr. Martin to be exact.  And yes, sitting somewhere in that small band of students sits this guy, Dan Potter.  Mr. Martin is what I would call today, a disciplinarian.  He demanded attention, order, and structure from his students so that he could maximize his teaching environment.  And what was curious about his disciplinary methods was how he corrected unruly students.  For his corrective tool of choice resided in the corner of the room, easily at home upon a bookshelf.  It was a single, black leather-bound book.  And for students that dared to venture beyond the boundary of Mr. Martin’s line in the sand, they were told to go get the book upon the shelf and start copying from it.  And just what was the book upon the shelf?  Well, it was none other than the best-selling book in the history of this created world, the Bible.

              As we near the close of the book of 2 Chronicles, the stories we read get uglier and uglier.  Just as is the slow slide of all unchecked sin.  In chapter 33 we find one of the most evil, debaucherous kings in the history of the split kingdoms, king Manasseh.  It is not much longer before God will move in swift righteous judgement and hand over both the northern kingdom of Israel and the southern kingdom of Judah into violent, torturous Babylonian slavery.  And king Manasseh is a big reason this event will occur when it does.  But as always, “the Lord is merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.” (Psalm 103:8) This means that as God encounters a prideful heart in sinful rebellion to Him and His Law for that life, He gives it an opportunity to repent.  That is, a chance to correct its course, change its direction, right the ship.  And to offer that chance of repentance, even in the very lives that walk this world today, God uses the very same tool that He used in the life of wicked ol’ king Manasseh…His Words.

              What was rather curious about Mr. Martin’s use of God’s Word in his classroom was his eventual preaching upon its misuse.  Or rather I should say, its unuse.  As I meander this memory today, I realize that Mr. Martin must have been active in giving out the Word of God in his local church and this passion simply extended into his classroom.  Something that unfortunately today, is illegal in most nations.  Yet folks, regardless of what your local laws say, when the Word of God is embedded deep within your heart, it will come bubbling up to the surface and flow right out of your mouth. (Luke 6:45).  So as Mr. Martin would assign the guilty party the task of copying God’s Word, he would slide into a class-wide sermon that claimed the problem with the world was not enough of God’s Word.  He stated that God’s Word had never moved one inch from the people God intended to have it, yet ironically, those very same people had moved a great distance from the Word.  I do fear that Mr. Martin was reading my notes for this study.

              There are only two directions any heart will move in this life.  Towards God or away from God.  And personal sin prompts the path choice.  Yes, variables can exist within the two directions such as velocity, time, and intensity, but at the foundation, the two directions cannot be avoided.  And for the latter path, those moving away from God because of their pridefully fueled sin, God desires to call them back to Him.  You see, one of the single biggest miracles of God is His patience.  He desires for all to come to Him, love Him, know Him, and praise Him for His amazing grace. (1 Timothy 2:4) And for those hearts that are running away from Him, chasing the empty satisfaction of sin, He beckons them back with His Words.  Words tried through a furnace seven times. (Psalm 12:6) Words that speak volumes beyond themselves.  Words that stand as an anvil that have worn out many a hammer as they tried to disprove or discredit them.  Words that hold eternal life.  But as those mighty, truth-filled Words find the ears of those God desires to encounter them, one life-altering questions stands…will those ears allow them into the heart, or simply pay them no attention.

              Our study verse above speaks great volumes in not simply giving us historical context, but future promise.  You see, God’s Word is alive, active and will outlast the heavens and the earth. (Matthew 24:35) And as we see God carefully delivering His Words to the kingdom of Judah through prophets, we see that they heard them but paid no attention to them.  God’s Words bounced off their hard hearts just as the hard soil in the parable of the sower (Matthew 13:1-23) Folks, that life-altering question today remains the same, as the Lord brings you into contact with His Words, will you pay attention to what He has to say to you?

              Mr. Martin had something to say about those hard hearts as well.  He would say that most homes in the great United States of America have that same book upon the shelf.  But the dust upon the book mirrored the condition of the hearts that owned them.  Dusty, unused, unread, unheard.  Folks, today, carefully look at the direction of your feet.  For they are taking you in one of two directions.  Either closer to God or farther away from God.  And if you don’t feel you are moving closer to God today…you are not.  But praise be to God, you can correct your course.  Yet the only way to correct your course and get closer to God, is by drawing nearer to Him through His Words to you.  And those good Words my friends, lie in the book upon the shelf.

Blessings ~ Dan

“All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.” 2 Timothy 3:16-17

“For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.” Hebrews 4:12

“Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says.” James 1:22

"words to the throne", San Felipe Usila, Veracruz, Mexico