Then Manasseh knew that the LORD was God
Thu, 28 December, 2006: Today’s Bible readings.
10 The LORD spoke to Manasseh and to his people, but they paid no attention. 11 Therefore the LORD brought upon them the commanders of the army of the king of Assyria, who captured Manasseh with hooks and bound him with chains of bronze and brought him to Babylon. 12 And when he was in distress, he entreated the favor of the LORD his God and humbled himself greatly before the God of his fathers. 13 He prayed to him, and God was moved by his entreaty and heard his plea and brought him again to Jerusalem into his kingdom. Then Manasseh knew that the LORD was God.
14 Afterward he built an outer wall for the city of David west of Gihon, in the valley, and for the entrance into the Fish Gate, and carried it around Ophel, and raised it to a very great height. He also put commanders of the army in all the fortified cities in Judah. 15 And he took away the foreign gods and the idol from the house of the LORD, and all the altars that he had built on the mountain of the house of the LORD and in Jerusalem, and he threw them outside of the city. 16 He also restored the altar of the LORD and offered on it sacrifices of peace offerings and of thanksgiving, and he commanded Judah to serve the LORD, the God of Israel. 17 Nevertheless, the people still sacrificed at the high places, but only to the LORD their God.
Manasseh was a wicked king. In the beginning of this chapter, we have a recitation of the evils he did as king of Judah. Manasseh even offered his sons as sacrifices and was so bad that he led Judah to do more evil than the nations whom the LORD destroyed before the people of Israel.
But late in his life, Manasseh repented and was restored.
What do we learn from this?
Although Manasseh did terrible things, he could still repent and find forgiveness. We have so much hope from this story of Manasseh. No one has done so much evil their sins would keep God from greeting them forgiveness if they would but turn to God in repentance and faith. We can’t disqualify ourselves from God’s grace by our actions in the past. Salvation is not an issue of refraining from sinning the “big” sins that would close the door to us. Salvation is about repenting and turning to God in faith, regardless of the sins we have sinned.
Manasseh sinned the “big” sins, but he found forgiveness when he repented and turned to God in faith.
Where is Christ in this passage?
I expect we will see Manasseh in heaven. And if so, he will be there for the same reason we are there: because the sins we have committed have been imputed to Jesus Christ and paid for on the cross. We are saved as we trust in the substitute God has provided for our salvation. All who are saved, Manasseh included, are saved by the work of Jesus Christ.
