The title of this article seems axiomatic. Leaders lead and that means people follow them. If nobody follows the leader, then obviously they aren’t leading anybody, are they.
According to II Kings 21:1, Manasseh was 12 years old when he became king of Judah, and he reigned 55 years. Manasseh’s father, Hezekiah, was a good and godly man, but unfortunately, in this case, it wasn’t “like father, like son.” Manasseh was incredibly wicked, and if you want to read a catalogue of his sins, read II Kings 21. That catalogue isn’t the purpose of this article.
My point here is Manasseh as a leader, or maybe more to the point, the people as followers. “Manasseh seduced them to do more evil than the nations whom the Lord had destroyed” (II Kings 21:9); he “has also made Judah sin with his idols” (v. 11); “besides his sin by which he made Judah sin” (v. 16). Manasseh was indeed a wicked man, though, interestingly, we learn from II Chronicles that he actually repented of much of this evil in later life.
But again, to the point of this essay. In one sense, nobody “makes” somebody else sin. We are all free moral agents, and we choose our own actions. The people of Judah made their own choices—they followed their leader willingly, and the Lord, in no uncertain terms, indicated the consequences of their actions (II Kings 21:12-15). It wasn’t pretty.
It obviously takes great moral courage to stand alone, or in a small group, against a wicked totalitarian tyrant like Manasseh who controls the military, the FBI, and every other DOJ tool—whatever they were called in Manasseh’s day. There may have been some in Judah who did just that: “Manasseh shed very much blood, till he had filled Jerusalem” (v. 16). He was either killing his enemies, or he was a Democratic Party member who believed in abortion. Regardless, by and large, the people followed Manasseh to do evil.
The masses nearly always follow their leaders. We’ve seen it in America over the last several decades. Americans, by nature, are no different from any other peoples who have ever lived. Our leaders are shedding “very much blood” in our country today, too. And the people allow it. Follow the leader.
There are, of course, many courageous Americans in the country who are staunchly opposing the direction Manasseh Biden and the Democratic Party is leading America. Uniparty Republicans aren’t doing it, but others are. But America’s “leaders” have been taking the country down a “Manasseh” path for decades now, and the majority of American people, like sheep, are trotting blindly behind them, being led to the slaughter that is coming. For if the Lord didn’t spare Judah (read again II Kings 21:12-15), He won’t spare America. We should know better. We have the historical example of Manasseh to guide us.
But when have humans ever paid attention to history when it warns them against the pleasure-loving, debauched, selfish pathway they are treading? I can answer that question easily. Never.
The Lord tolerated Manasseh for 55 years. Imagine having Joe Biden or Barack Obama as President of the United States for 55 years, and you get some kind of idea what Judah went through. From historical records, we learn that Manasseh apparently reigned in the early 7th century B.C., from around 697 B.C. to 643/2 B.C. Solomon’s temple in Jerusalem wasn’t destroyed until 586 B.C., over 50 years later, though Babylonian Captivity started a few years earlier than that. God moves in His own time. Godly Americans wish the country would repent and turn back to God; however, that doesn’t appear either imminent or likely. Given that improbable repentance, we would like to see the Lord’s vengeance on the wickedness our “leaders” have led so many into so that, hopefully, we can start afresh with a righteous nation. I’m 69 years old; depending upon when the Lord decides to act, I may or may not live to see either repentance or destruction. It will be in the Lord’s time, not ours. The only thing we can be sure of is that it WILL come, if the country does not return to God in humble repentance.
People follow their leaders. And too often, the consequences for doing so are catastrophic indeed.
America needs new leaders. Here was my suggestions over a year ago.