King Manasseh of Judah cared less about God, but focus on serving idols. He promoted idolatry to a great extent. He sacrificed his own children to an idol (as a human sacrifice). He also sponsored other evil practices such as witchcraft, sorcery, and spiritism. The scripture recorded about King Manasseh:
“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” (2 Chronicles 33:5-9).
God punished King Manasseh for his evil deeds: Invaders captured and transported him to Babylon as a prisoner of war. However, the king later repented, and God forgave him of his sins It is reported,
“Now when he was in affliction, he implored the Lord his God, and humbled himself greatly before God of his fathers” (2 Chronicles 33:12).
God restored Manasseh and gave him another opportunity to do damage control.
Lesson:
God will forgive our sins if we repent from them. There is no sin too big for him to forgive. Once we show true humility and genuine repentance, he will forgive us. Meanwhile, the Creator expects us to make definite improvements after repentance. He wants us to disengage from our old and sinful ways. He wants us to work in a just path that is fit for his kingdom. The scripture emphasized, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new” (2 Corinthians 5:17).
Prayer:
Dear Jesus Christ, you have done enough job to save my life. You sacrificed your life and die for my sins on the cross. I repent from my sins today. I confess them and forsake them. I accept you, Jesus Christ, as my personal Lord and Savior. From now on, I am determined to start working newly with you – and I forsake my old way of life. My total life is committed to you from today, and forever! Amen.
