Read: 2 Chronicle 33:1-20
Often in history a bad king succeeds a good one. This happened in 687BC when Hezekiah died and his son, Manasseh, became king of Judah. The greatest contrast between the father and his son can be seen the approach each one had to religion. Hezekiah centralised worship in the Temple in Jerusalem and Manasseh, initially, "practiced sorcery, divination and witchcraft, and consulted mediums and spiritists". The differences were truly astounding.
In Judah under Hezekiah a city-state based on Jerusalem seems to have developed. This is because the Assyrians had invaded Israel and many refugees had arrived in Jerusalem as living in the countryside had become largely impossible. In addition to adding to the fortification of the city, the king ordered the destruction of rural cultic sites, and he also sponsored much religious writing including the outpourings of several minor prophets.
The region had become a less dangerous place by the time Manasseh began his reign. In his approach to religion, he promoted the old practises as his reign progressed, even reinstating the worship of Baal and Asherah. Of course, practicing witchcraft was only one of a multitude of his evil deeds, all of which "the Lord spoke" against. This king totally ignored this warning so God allowed the Assyrians to capture him and deport him to Babylon.
The lesson here is clear. If you completely disregard God and continue to practice witchcraft and do what is evil in his eyes then you will be punished. For Manasseh this meant having a hook placed in his nose and being bound with bronze shackles. Only after being humiliated in this way did the king humble himself and pray; only then did God have compassion on him. He let Manasseh go back to Jerusalem. As a result king came to accept "that the Lord is God".
This is what people today who practice witchcraft need to do. Unfortunately, like Manasseh, these people see no real urgency in changing what they are doing. The light only begins to dawn if what they do leads to dire consequences. Then they are faced with a choice - repent or continue to suffer the consequences of their evil behaviour. And if these people choose to humble themselves and pray then they will be saved. Of this there can be no doubt.
After all, Manasseh went on to strengthen the fortifications of Jerusalem and to place soldiers in strongholds throughout Judah. This was more than he was able to do before he repented of his evil. So you can expect similar results if you repent of your evil. Your life will be more successful. You will discover, no matter how good your life might have seemed when you are practicing witchcraft, it will be even better because now you can really be like Jesus.
Prayer: Jesus. When we realise we have been doing the wrong thing, help us to repent so that we might be able to live a better, more successful life. Amen.
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