Tuesday, August 29, 2006
2 Chronicles 33:9 So Manasseh seduced Judah and the inhabitants of
Jerusalem to do more evil than the nations whom the LORD had
destroyed before the children of Israel.
GOOD KING MANASSEH?
How well do you remember the kings of Israel and Judah? Most of us
have a difficult time remembering just a few of the more familiar
kings that ruled the united and divided kingdoms of Israel, to say
nothing of those who are less familiar like Manasseh. But the verses
of 2 Chronicles which recount the reign of king Manasseh have an
important lesson for us today as well.
The verse above doesn't have much good to say about Manasseh, does
it? Just the opposite, it reveals how wicked he was, stating that he
was even more wicked than the foreign nations that the LORD had
destroyed to give the land to the people of Israel. The following
verses describe his wickedness -- how he worshiped many foreign gods,
and turned the house of the LORD into a heathen temple.
But the LORD's grace is also revealed. We are told: "The LORD spoke
to Manasseh and his people, but they would not listen" (v. 10). In
spite of their stubbornness and rebellion, the LORD continued to
reach out to Manasseh and his wayward people. Finally He sent the
Assyrians against His people who took Manasseh prisoner to Babylon.
There we are told, "He implored the LORD his God, and humbled himself
greatly before the God of his fathers" (v. 12). Hearing his prayer the
LORD delivered Manasseh and returned him to his kingdom and throne.
Then Manasseh knew that the LORD was the true God, and upon his
return. He disposed of all the idols in the LORD's temple, destroyed
the altars to false gods in Jerusalem, and "commanded Judah to serve
the LORD God of Israel" (v. 16). Quite a change -- a change made
possible only by the LORD!
Manasseh may have been the most wicked king the people of Judah ever
had. He became king at the age of twelve and ruled for fifty-five
years, the longest reign of any other king in Israel or Judah. The
LORD knows those who are His, and He continues to reach out to us in
our sin and faithlessness to draw us to Himself. The LORD in His
grace paid for Manasseh's sins, brought him to repent of his sins and
to believe in the LORD as God, just as He has us. Let us give thanks
to God for His indescribable gift!
