Blood Guilt and Manasseh

We find in the word of God a record of a king named Manasseh.  He was the son of godly King Hezekiah, but chose the way of iniquity and idolatry and led Judah into gross abominations in God's face.  

Deuteronomy 18:9 "When thou art come into the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee, thou shalt not learn to do after the abominations of those nations."

First on the list?

Deuteronomy 18:10 "There shall not be found among you any one that maketh his son or his daughter to pass through the fire..."  CHILD SACRIFICE.

But Manasseh disregarded the Law of God, and led his people into those very things.

"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" (II Chronicles 33:9). 

"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" (II Kings 21:16).

"And they built the high places of Baal, which are in the valley of the son of Hinnom, to cause their sons and their daughters to pass through the fire unto Molech; which I commanded them not, neither came it into my mind, that they should do this abomination, to cause Judah to sin" (Jeremiah 32:35).

The shedding of innocent blood defiles a people and pollutes a land.  Not Judah--not even Jerusalem, the apple of God's eye--was spared the devastating judgment for the sin of child sacrifice.  

That was the kingdom of Judah.

"And they served their idols: which were a snare unto them.  Yea, they sacrificed their sons and their daughters unto devils,  And shed innocent blood, even the blood of their sons and of their daughters, whom they sacrificed unto the idols of Canaan: and the land was polluted with blood" (Psalm 106:36-38).  

Let's look at another nation, say, the United States of America.  Here is a pie chart showing the comparison of deaths in various wars that the United States have been involved in:

We murder roughly the same number of innocent image-bearers in the womb each year, as American military personnel who have died in all American wars put together. 

We have slain over 65 million children under "color" of law, and those are just the reported abortion murders.  

I tremble for my country.

Innocent blood stains "the amber waves of grain".

It gushes in a trespass higher than the "purple mountain majesties".

It flows "from sea to shining sea".

The Blood Guilt Runs Deep

Bloodguilt splatters all of society, which promotes the shedding of innocent blood, celebrating the slaughter of son and daughter as they exult in the worship of Self and so many other false gods.

Bloodguilt splatters ProAbort leaders who have pursued the murder of color of law,

AND

Bloodguilt splatters ProLife leaders (politicians, organizations, etc.) who have produced iniquitous bills and measures to regulate that murder INSTEAD of establishing equal protection under that law, thus prolonging the Holocaust (Jeremiah 22:3; Psalm 82).

Bloodguilt splatters the medical community, which swears to "do no harm" at yet calls homicide "healthcare", and practices the butchering and poisoning the most vulnerable; who kill with forceps, needle, vacuum, or pill, assassinating their victims for a fee; and as doctors and nurses bring on themselves curses from the One Who said, "Cursed be he that taketh reward to slay an innocent person" (Deuteronomy 27:25).

Bloodguilt splatters mommies and daddies, who procure the murder of their children, and also grandmas and grandpas, and other relatives, and friends, who push for that murder, who pacify the conscience, saying 

"It's for the best."

"You're not ready yet."

"It's not really a person yet."

"God knows your heart." 

And for those who play an active part, such as driving the mom to the assassin's business and providing immoral support?  Bloodguilt.

It also splatters Christians and churches, who have permitted the murder of our neighbors:

By our silence and absence from the gates of death (Proverbs 31:8-9; I Corinthians 15:34),

By our neglect to obey God in seeking to deliver those ready to be slain (Proverbs 24:11-12).

By our failure to warn the wicked to turn from his wicked and trust on Christ (Ezekiel 3:18-19 & 33:7-9).

By not demanding that our leaders cease to do evil in regulating murder, and prod them to do well in establishing equal protection of the preborn (Isaiah 15-18 & 59:2-4).

By (sincerely and/or misguidedly) paying financially to support candidates, ProLife organizations, and bills that are partial and wrest protection of the ones we think to help (Exodus 23:2-3,6-7; James 2:8-9).

It splatters on pulpits, whose pastors do not speak about it in church or in the open public square for fear of offending someone, and it splatters on pews and parishioners, some of whom subsequently have not done their duty to love their neighbors as themselves in word AND deed, and some of whom are murdering their babies, thinking it no big deal, because it is not dealt with by the Christian community as it ought to be (Ezekiel 22; 23:37-39).

Because God's Law and Gospel are not brought into conflict with the culture of child sacrifice.

We are told in the Scriptures...

The bloodguilt runs deep indeed.

"Righteousness exalteth a nation: but sin is a reproach to any people" (Proverbs 14:34)

The name Manasseh means "causing to forget".  Have we forgotten Who the LORD is?  "Now consider this, ye that forget God, lest I tear you in pieces, and there be none to deliver" (Psalm 50:22).

"Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right?"

Let U.S. repent.  Let US repent.

And let us bring the Gospel into conflict with this bloody abomination, and call our countrymen to turn to Jesus Christ, Who is the only Savior from sin.  He is the only One Who can redeem those who are stained with the blood of the innocent, because He shed His own blood for the guilty.  "In whom we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins:" (Colossians 1:14).

Abortion must be abolished.