Then He Knew
Scripture Reading: 2 Chronicles 33-34; Psalm 21
Then Manasseh knew that the LORD was God. – 2 Chronicles 33:13
It’s hard for me to wrap my head around how a good man, a man like Hezekiah, could father a guy like Manasseh. But when you read through the record of the kings, you see it happen over and over again. Of course, it works the other way, too. Sometimes the sons of wicked kings turn out to be faithful, godly men.
But Manasseh? He was one of the worst. His father, Hezekiah, was one of the best. Go figure.
After Hezekiah died, Manasseh set out to systematically destroy his father’s spiritual legacy. Under his rule, idolatry wasn’t just tolerated, it was back in full force. And it wasn’t casual, run-of-the-mill idolatry. Manasseh sacrificed children, even his own sons, to demon gods. He set up idols in the temple of God. He willfully and aggressively led the nation into wickedness.
And, no surprise, it didn’t end well.
Manasseh was captured, humiliated, and dragged away in chains to Assyria. But here’s the surprising part: that’s where repentance finally happened. His suffering broke him. It humbled him. And through the tears, through the pain, he finally saw clearly. He came to know that the LORD was God.
Yesterday I wrote about the suffering of saints. Today, we see the suffering of sinners. And as much as we hate to see anyone suffer, sometimes, it’s that very suffering that finally brings a person to their knees… and to the Lord.
We wouldn’t wish suffering on anyone. But we do pray that, when it comes, as it so often does, it would lead people to Christ.
