by By David Jeremiah
Then Manasseh knew that the Lord was God.
2 Chronicles 33:13
Franklin Graham once preached a sermon on the “most wicked man in the Bible.” It was about King Manasseh, whose life is described in 2 Chronicles 33. Manasseh became king when he was twelve, and from the beginning he was as evil as any ruler in antiquity. He loved the false gods that let him live as he pleased, and he sacrificed his children in their flames. The occult fascinated him; he used witchcraft and sorcery. Nor did he avoid violence. He filled Jerusalem with the blood of innocent martyrs.
Then to our surprise we come to 2 Chronicles 33:12-13, which says Manasseh “humbled himself greatly before the God of his fathers, and prayed to Him…. Then Manasseh knew that the Lord was God.”
Manasseh’s new beginning reminds us that no one is beyond God’s grace. If you’re praying for a loved one who seems far from God, don’t give up. Manasseh in the Old Testament and Saul of Tarsus (the apostle Paul) in the New Testament are examples of how God is able to save to the uttermost.
Keep praying to the God who gives new beginnings.
Against our besetting sins, against the spirit of the world, against the wiles of the devil, let us pray on.
J. C. Ryle