IN AFFLICTION HE SOUGHT THE LORD HIS GOD

Manasseh came to the throne at the age of twelve and reigned for fifty-five years. The scriptural record of most aspects of his reign is scathing; ‘he wrought much evil in the sight of the Lord, to provoke him to anger’, v. 6, and he ‘made Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem to err, and to do worse than the heathen’, v. 9.

He compromised the religion of Judah and imported and encouraged indulgence in the religions of the surrounding nations with their associated immorality, witchcraft and evil ritual; ‘he caused his children to pass through the fire in the valley of the son of Hinnom’, v. 6.

Manasseh was warned by God but continued in his evil ways. He was taken captive and unceremoniously transported to Babylon; ‘the king of Assyria took Manasseh with the hooks, and bound him with fetters, and carried him to Babylon’, v. 11 NEWBERRY margin. This was retribution for his evil conduct, but God’s judgement is always tempered with mercy and is designed to bring repentance before the final judgement falls.

So we read of Manasseh, ‘in affliction, he besought the Lord his God, and humbled himself greatly’, v. 12. Through his prayer of supplication, backed by humble, true repentance, the Lord ‘was entreated of him, and heard his supplication, and brought him again to Jerusalem into his kingdom. Then Manasseh knew that the Lord he was God’, v. 13.

Despite the depth of Manasseh’s depravity and sin, God had mercy upon him; ‘It is of the Lord’s mercies that we are not consumed’, Lam. 3. 22. Note, however, that the activities of Manasseh’s reign had dire consequences which could not be eradicated from the pages of history. His repentance occurred late in his reign, and whilst God forgave him, the testimony of his reign remained - ‘but did that which was evil in the sight of the Lord’, v. 2. It was not until the reforms during the reign of Josiah (Manasseh’s grandson) that the people returned to the things of the Lord.

We rejoice in forgiveness but how we need to learn that the testimony of our lives and of the people of God, be it good or less good, is that which is etched deeply and is not easily changed in the eyes of men.