The Forgiven King: Manasseh

I’m grateful for men of influence in my life!

I think there’s no greater privilege that a Father can have than to hear one of his children say, “I want to be just like my Dad when I grow up”. I know that as a kid, my dad was my hero and I wanted to be just like him. In fact, I’m really blessed to be able to say the same thing today. There are a thousand things in my life that I try to do the way that I watched him do them! I’m an Alabama fan because he led me. I drink my coffee with one sugar because that is the way that he drinks it. So much of how I have tried to live as a husband and as a father has been based on his example.

-God offers failed followers the opportunity for redemption and restoration

I. A Godly Heritage Does Not Insure a Faithful Present vv. 1-9

Tonight, we are taking a look at a guy that, by all accounts, was a bad guy

Manasseh was, in a lot of ways, the worst king in the history of Judah

In fact, under his leadership, the nation becomes just as wicked as any of the nations around them!

However, he can’t blame it on the way that he was raised!

He was the son of Hezekiah, an imperfect leader, but generally a good and godly king

He was likely the grandson of Isaiah the prophet!

From the beginning of his reign as king, he chose to live in an evil way!

He participated in the abominable deeds of the world

He undid the good work of his father, Hezekiah

He reestablished pagan worship and desecrated the Temple

He even went so far as to offer his own children in sacrifice

His leadership became a snare, directing others to unrighteousness!

I think we need to pause here for a second and consider things, though

By all outward appearances, Manasseh was probably viewed as a big success

He was able to reign for 55 years, being the longest tenured leader in Judah

There was financial prosperity in his time

He was popular with the people

Generally speaking, he led Judah through great peace

None of the good things that we can say about his leadership changes the underlying reality!

A godly heritage doesn’t insure faithfulness

An appearance of religiosity doesn’t insure faithfulness

A lot of practical success doesn’t insure faithfulness

I’ve got to face the reality: I may not be living in a way that honors the Lord!

For fifteen years Jim Fixx, author of the 1978 bestseller, The Complete Book of Running, ran eighty miles a week. He appeared to be in tip-top shape. It didn't seem possible that a man his age could be in better condition. Yet at age fifty-two Fixx died of a massive heart attack while running alone on a Vermont road. His wife, Alice, later said she was certain that Fixx had no idea he suffered from a heart problem. Why? Because he refused to get regular checkups. After Jim Fixx's death, doctors speculated that his heart was so strong he may not have had the telltale chest pains or shortness of breath that usually signal arterial heart disease!

II. God Works to Redeem and to Restore vv. 10-13

Pay close attention the next few verses: God is not silent!

The Lord spoke to Manasseh, through His prophets to offer words of warning

They refused to listen. In fact, there is solid evidence that Manasseh had his own grandfather Isaiah killed!

Sometimes, when we do not listen to the voice of the Lord, He turns up the volume

We do not know exactly when this takes place, but the Lord sent commanders of the Assyrian army against Manasseh and he was carried away into Babylon

Now, the picture here is pretty gruesome:

Manasseh has hooks in his nose being pulled along and chains on his feet

Whatever pride and dignity that he had before had been replaced with pain and shame

I think we need to understand, however, that even this is a gift from God

It is His way of waking us up from our spiritual sleep to understand the gravity of our situation

We can’t afford to miss the message

Here is where I want to give Manasseh credit. Notice what he does with his pain:

He sought the favor of the Lord, his God (this is incredibly personal for someone who has fled so far for so long)

He humbled himself before the Lord

He prayed and the Lord heard his cries and delivered him back to his kingdom

This was the whole point!

It did not have to be this way, but God wouldn’t leave Manasseh alone

We have the same kind of hope, but with even greater certainty through Jesus our Lord

He was the one who was obedient in our place!

Many of you have followed and prayed for my daughter as she was given a unique opportunity to donate stem cells to a patient in need. A few weeks ago, she got this note:

“To My Amazingly Beautiful Donor:

I wanted to write you to thank you for donating your stem cells. I believe you are a true gift from God and He is using you to save my life. I hope you are doing well and please just know how grateful I am that you chose to do something so selfless. I am home and doing well.

May God bless you and all your future endeavors. I can’t wait to start living my life again with my husband, my two boys, and my family and friends thanks to you.

Sincerely,

Your Donor Recipient”

That story could be your story, because of Jesus!

2 Corinthians 5:21

[21] For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. (ESV)

III. A Wicked Past Does Not Guarantee a Fruitless Future vv. 14-16

Finally, I want us to see the man that Manasseh became:

He began to work for the good of his people, fortifying the city of Jerusalem and strengthening the nation

He took away the foreign gods and cleansed the Temple

He restored the altar of the Lord and began worshipping Him

He led the people back towards righteousness!

This is what repentance looks like: It is a new way of living that is focused on God and His glory

And, we will see that it seems that this kind of repentance changes things

Unfortunately, Amon, Manasseh’s son lived like the old Manasseh and within 2 years, the people rose up against him

However, his grandson, Josiah became one of the most righteous kings in the history of the nation

Josiah was 6 years old when his grandfather died, but think about the man that Josiah knew

Josiah knew a righteous man who served the Lord

Josiah knew the story of repentance and restoration

Josiah learned to walk in the ways of his grandfather and it changed a nation!

What could God do with a generation of men who walked in repentance?

When I was a kid, I grew up on a little dirt road just outside of our small town. Past my house, there really wasn’t much. There were a few busted up old rental houses and a pasture where my uncle kept a few cows. Eventually you’d make it to the dirt pit if you kept on driving and finally you would dead-end in the marsh on the Mississippi Sound. In short, when I was a little boy playing in the yard, if you drove past me, you were probably lost. I can remember watching countless vehicles come past me, moseying on down that washboard road. Not sure where they were going, or what they were trying to find, but they couldn’t find it at the end of our road. The only way out was to turn around. That’s exactly what repentance is: you have to turn around to find what you are looking for!