This chapter describes the later part of Manasseh’s rule in Judah as God allows him to suffer some consequences of his sin.
“The Lord spoke to Manasseh and to his people, but they paid no attention. Therefore the Lord brought upon them the commanders of the army of the king of Assyria, who captured Manasseh… and brought him to Babylon. 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. 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.” (v10-13 abr)
Faced with some serious consequences, Manasseh wholeheartedly repents and God restores him to his reign in Judah. Manasseh then begins casting out the idols and steers Judah back to God. The chapter ends with a few verses about his son Amon, who commits wicked acts during his brief reign (he is assassinated).
I’m not sure about you, but I sometimes find myself behaving similarly to Manasseh. It’s often when I’m suffering the consequences of my sin that I will repent, humble myself, and return to God. Optimally I would stay rooted in God at all times, not falling prey to temptation, but I guess I’m not there yet.
Thankfully, God is abundantly gracious and the blood of Jesus removes the spiritual death penalty for all of our sin, past, present and future. Praise God and Jesus for this amazing gift! This means we are officially God’s children again – we were His children created in His image, but we broke the family tie by sinning. Jesus restores that relationship with the riches of His grace, so we are adopted back into the family and regain access to our inheritance in heaven (see Eph 1).
I encourage us to remain faithful and obedient to God whenever possible, and repent quickly when we sin. Let’s not wait until we’re (metaphorically) captured and tortured by the enemy before we humble ourselves and repent.
Father God, our Abundantly Gracious and Glorious Lord, we praise Your holy name. You have blessed us with forgiveness of sin before we even commit it, and there are no bounds to Your mercy. Father we accept the salvation available to us through Jesus’ loving sacrifice. We ask that Your Spirit would please guide us along Your paths and keep us from sinning. Please help us to obey as often as possible, and repent quickly should we go astray. We love You and will serve You to the best of our abilities, forever and ever, amen.
~ Conqueror in Training