Based on 2 Chronicles 33:1-20 (New King James Version)
“Manasseh was twelve years old when he became king, and he reigned fifty-five years in Jerusalem. But he did evil in the sight of the Lord, according to the abominations of the nations whom the Lord had cast out before the children of Israel. For he rebuilt the high places which Hezekiah his father had broken down; he raised up altars for the Baals, and made wooden images; and he worshiped all the host of heaven and served them. He also built altars in the house of the Lord, of which the Lord had said, ‘In Jerusalem shall My name be forever.’ And he built altars for all the host of heaven in the two courts of the house of the Lord. Also he caused his sons to pass through the fire in the Valley of the Son of Hinnom; he practiced soothsaying, used witchcraft and sorcery, and consulted mediums and spiritists. He did much evil in the sight of the Lord, to provoke Him to anger. He even set a carved image, the idol which he had made, in the house of God, of which God had said to David and to Solomon his son, ‘In this house and in Jerusalem, which I have chosen out of all the tribes of Israel, I will put My name forever; and I will not again remove the foot of Israel from the land which I have appointed for your fathers—only if they are careful to do all that I have commanded them, according to the whole law and the statutes and the ordinances by the hand of Moses.’ 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. And the Lord spoke to Manasseh and his people, but they would not listen. Therefore the Lord brought upon them the captains of the army of the king of Assyria, who took Manasseh with hooks, bound him with bronze fetters, and carried him off to Babylon. Now when he was in affliction, he implored the Lord his God, and humbled himself greatly before the God of his fathers, and prayed to Him; and He received his entreaty, heard his supplication, and brought him back to Jerusalem into his kingdom. Then Manasseh knew that the Lord was God. After this he built a wall outside the City of David on the west side of Gihon, in the valley, as far as the entrance of the Fish Gate; and it enclosed Ophel, and he raised it to a very great height. Then he put military captains in all the fortified cities of Judah. He took away the foreign gods and the idol from the house of the Lord, and all the altars that he had built in the mount of the house of the Lord and in Jerusalem; and he cast them out of the city. He also repaired the altar of the Lord, sacrificed peace offerings and thank offerings on it, and commanded Judah to serve the Lord God of Israel. Nevertheless the people still sacrificed on the high places, but only to the Lord their God. Now the rest of the acts of Manasseh, his prayer to his God, and the words of the seers who spoke to him in the name of the Lord God of Israel, indeed they are written in the book of the kings of Israel. Also his prayer and how God received his entreaty, and all his sin and trespass, and the sites where he built high places and set up wooden images and carved images, before he was humbled, indeed they are written among the sayings of Hozai. So Manasseh rested with his fathers, and they buried him in his own house. Then his son Amon reigned in his place.”
In this passage, we can see the different aspects of God, both His zeal and anger, as well as His great love and mercy. It cannot be said that if something happens to a person that it always has to do with sin or sins they may have committed personally. There are always exceptions. But, the majority of the time, God allows for difficult things to happen because there was sin, and in some way, that brought on God’s anger. Whoever says that God does not punish does not know the Scriptures, and ultimately, Who God is. God is love, but He is also consuming fire, and what determines how God acts depends on our actions. Nothing happens just because. There is always something.
In today’s case, we see the acts of this King Manasseh, someone that did take God to a point of anger, which is not easy because God is great in mercy. That is the other falsehood that many believe that the God of the Old Testament was harsh and inflexible. God was not as strict as some make Him out to be. Just look at Manasseh’s actions and everything he did before God’s anger came. Manasseh didn’t steal some gum, per se. Manasseh dedicated himself to practically do everything that could be done against the Lord. It’s as if though he had a checklist somewhere of everything that displeased God and he started crossing things off one by one, to make sure he wasn’t missing anything. Manasseh sinned to the point against God that he even passed his children by fire meaning that he sacrificed his children alive on an altar as worship to a completely pagan and evil god. Manasseh killed his own children, and did everything to worship a false god, to be able to find some favor to gain something material or some success in something, because none of those sacrifices had to do with any type of spiritual wellbeing, under no circumstances. So then, after seeing all of this, can anyone say that God was inflexible or harsh? God has always been great in mercy and all loving before, and is now. Many dare to judge God, but all of those people that dare to judge God never think about the evil that is done against God, all of the contempt and daily sinning that so many people commit against God. Many people comment: If God is love, why is the world the way it is? And I would answer, “what evil did God do to the world so that He could be so despised and hated? And I would also say, “Let’s not blame God so much for the things that happen because it is man’s sin that has made the world as hard as it is.” If you don’t believe it, just see what Manasseh did. What reason did Manasseh have to sacrifice his own children in flames? Was that God’s fault? Under no circumstance. Sin produces death, no matter how much people want to decorate it and justify it. Man must take responsibility for all their actions. And every single one of us has sinned.
Yet, despite all of the evil that Manasseh did, we can see God’s incredible grace, but when Manasseh repented. Nothing can change unless there is complete and true repentance before the Lord. It is necessary to understand that it is not God in the wrong, but rather, we are in the wrong. Ultimately, and seeing it very practically, it is not really humbling yourself being able to acknowledge a reality. In Manasseh’s case, he simply acknowledged the reality that he had sinned against God, and like that, harmed himself and all those that surrounded him, because we even read that he helped the entire kingdom stray away from God. Nonetheless, God always leaves an opening for repentance. Despite all of the evil that is committed against Him, God is so great in love and mercy that He leaves an opportunity for us to turn from our sins.
But, if we could see something else it would be this, and especially referring to God’s mercy, that it is not necessary to push the limits of God’s mercy. There are people that believe erroneously that God is the One that dictates when a person changes. That is not true. God is always with His arms wide open, always calling, and waiting for people to turn to Him. The problem is that the great majority of people do not want to understand until something catastrophic happens in their lives, until God allows something to happen that shakes the very foundations of their lives, per se. God loves everyone, and desires good for all, especially their eternal wellbeing. So then, since it all depends on you, do you want to experience God’s temporary and eternal punishment or do you desire to experience His grace, mercy, and love? Lord bless! John