From Far, To Near

Manasseh led the people of Judah and Jerusalem to do even more evil than the pagan nations whom the Lord had destroyed when the Israelites  entered the land…So the Lord sent the Assyrian armies, and they took Manasseh prisoner. They put a ring through his nose, bound him in bronze chains, and led him away to Babylon. But while in deep distress, Manasseh sought the Lord his God and cried out humbly to the God of his ancestors. And when he prayed, the Lord listened to him and was moved by his request for help. (2 Chronicles 33:9-14. Manasseh not only practiced evil himself; he led the nation of Judah and the people of Jerusalem to do even more evil than the pagan nations had thought of. He practiced the worship of idols, witchcraft, and sorcery, burned his own sons at a pagan alter, and if that weren’t enough, he even defiled the temple of God by placing an idol of the sex goddess Asherah there. God had had enough of Manasseh’s rebellion. So He sent many warnings to Manasseh for him to change. He would not listen, and God brought the Assyrian army to capture him and lead him away like an animal. Manasseh surely did not deserve God’s mercy. But in his captivity he cried out to God in humility and repentance, the Lord not only heard his cry for help, but also let Manasseh go back to Jerusalem and restored his kingdom. After what had happened to him, Manasseh would always know that the Lord alone is God. Many of us fall away from God from time to time either in open rebellion or in taking small steps off His path. But be encouraged, this passage tells us of God’s loving grace and His desire to forgive us and to restore us. He wants us to come to Him humbly so He can heal us and redeem our lives from whatever “pit’ we may be in. Please read and “pray” through Psalm 103. God Bless You!

THE MOST MARVELOUS INGREDIENT IN THE FORGIVENESS OF GOD IS THAT HE ALSO FORGETS, THE ONE THING A HUMAN BEING CAN NEVER DO. Oswald Chambers (1874-1917)