13 And when he prayed to him, the Lord was moved by his entreaty and listened to his plea; SO HE BROUGHT HIM BACK TO JERUSALEM AND TO HIS KINGDOM. THEN Manasseh knew that the Lord is God. 2 Chronicles 33
No matter how far we go down, God will answer earnest prayer!
Manasseh was twelve years old when he became king after his father Hezekiah. He must have been guided OR MISGUIDED by older advisers. He basically set about undoing all the good work that his father Hezekiah had done in Jerusalem and Judah. He personally committed terrible sins against his own family put idols in the heart of the Temple of God in Jerusalem.
9 But Manasseh led Judah and the people of Jerusalem astray, so that they did more evil than the nations the Lord had destroyed before the Israelites. 2 Chronicles 33
God has borne the sins of mankind for many generations, how patient and loving is our God. A line from Eric Liddell’s father in the movie, ‘Chariots of Fire’, “He’s a dictator, but a benign dictator.”
The Lord spoke to Manasseh and his people but they didn’t listen and so he went into exile to Babylon, ‘with a hook through his nose and bronze shackles’.
12 In his distress he sought the favour of the Lord his God and HUMBLED HIMSELF GREATLY before the God of his fathers.
‘The way up is down’, by Derek Prince.
Manasseh had strayed a long way from God, but when he decided to HUMBLE HIMSELF AND SEEK GOD’S FAVOUR, God brought him back all the way from Babylon AND RESTORED HIS KINGDOM. God alone knows when people have gone beyond His reach and I’m sure many times when religious people have turned their backs on them, God’s Grace is still available!
Don’t stop praying and declaring freedom for those whom God lays on your heart. The Lord’s reach is long and, ‘He is mighty to save.’
15 He got rid of the foreign gods and removed the image from the temple of the Lord, as well as all the altars he had built on the temple hill and in Jerusalem; and he threw them out of the city. 16 Then he restored the altar of the Lord and sacrificed fellowship offerings and thank-offerings on it, and told Judah to serve the Lord, the God of Israel. 2 Chronicles 33
Manasseh threw out the false and brought back the worship of the Lord in Judah again. The first verse of this chapter talked about his reign beginning at twelve years, but it also says he ruled for fifty-five years. Once he turned back to God, the Lord blessed him with a long reign in Jerusalem. The God of Judah honoured the repentance of the king!
God bless and keep you today. Immanuel, God is with us.