You don’t have to read far into the Chronicles of the Kings to come across one of the most wicked kings that Judah had. Manasseh’s name is synonymous with evil. What’s sad is that his reign follows the reign of one of Israel’s most godly kings. Hezekiah was a strong, faithful King. He wasn’t perfect, but even when he stumbled, he walked with God and died as a King God counted as a righteous king.
But he had a son, Manasseh, who took the throne at age 12:
“Manasseh was twelve years old when he began to reign, and he reigned fifty-five years in Jerusalem.
And he did what was evil in the sight of the LORD, according to the abominations of the nations whom the LORD drove out before the people of Israel.” (2 Chronicles 33:1-2 ESV).
Thus is the introduction to this infamous King. For over a half century, this King left such a reputation behind that even when he repented and turned to the Lord at the end of his life, history would still remember his atrocious, evil acts. That’s the burden we may sometimes have to bear when we live a life of sin and later turn to the Lord. Though we may be right in the eyes of God, our previous life may be hard to run from.
Even Paul had to deal with his reputation as an enemy of King Jesus who killed the followers of Jesus and threw many in prison even after he converted to Christianity. Sometimes, turning from evil toward the Truth does not mean that people will no longer forget the sins that we committed. Our burden we may have to bear is living with that reputation long after we left that life. But there are a few roses among the thorns if we’re willing to look for them.
Look how bad Manasseh had turned away from God. It’s hard to believe that he was the son of a man like Hezekiah.
“For he rebuilt the high places that his father Hezekiah had broken down, and he erected altars to the Baals, and made Asheroth, and worshiped all the host of heaven and served them.
And he built altars in the house of the LORD, of which the LORD had said, “In Jerusalem shall my name be forever.”
And he built altars for all the host of heaven in the two courts of the house of the LORD.
And he burned his sons as an offering in the Valley of the Son of Hinnom, and used fortune-telling and omens and sorcery, and dealt with mediums and with necromancers. He did much evil in the sight of the LORD, provoking him to anger.” (2 Chronicles 33:3-6 ESV).
Imagine turning away from God so far that you caused your people to offer human sacrifices to false gods, killing innocent babies on pagan altars. God said that nothing like this ever entered His mind as something He’d want people to do for Him.
Manasseh caused the people to turn their hearts away from God. He was supposed to be the shepherd of God’s people, yet he was the very one who led them away from their God.
Yes, when we think of King Manasseh, most of us remember him as one of the most wicked kings in Judah’s history. His life is marked by stories that make us shudder—idol worship, child sacrifice, and filling Jerusalem with bloodshed (2 Kings 21:1–16). He didn’t just flirt with sin; he dove headfirst into it, dragging his nation down with him. But buried at the end of his story is something remarkable: repentance.
Toward the end of his life, when Manasseh was taken captive by the Babylonians, he finally hit rock bottom. In his distress, he humbled himself and sought the Lord. And here’s the amazing thing—God heard him. The same God who had every right to write Manasseh off chose instead to forgive him and restore him.
“The LORD spoke to Manasseh and to his people, but they paid no attention.
Therefore the LORD brought upon them the commanders of the army of the king of Assyria, who captured Manasseh with hooks and bound him with chains of bronze and brought him to Babylon.
And when he was in distress, he entreated the favor of the LORD his God and humbled himself greatly before the God of his fathers.
He prayed to him, and God was moved by his entreaty and heard his plea and brought him again to Jerusalem into his kingdom. Then Manasseh knew that the LORD was God.” (2 Chronicles 33:10-13 ESV).
Manasseh’s story is a powerful reminder that God’s grace reaches even the darkest places. Yet, it also teaches us a sobering truth: repentance doesn’t always erase the consequences of our sin or change how others see us. 2 Chronicles 33 tells us all the good that Manasseh did when he repented. Even though he purged the land of idols and built altars to God, people still remember his evil deeds.
If you’re someone who has come to faith after years of rebellion against God, you might feel the weight of Manasseh’s story. Here are some truths to hold onto when your past feels like it’s haunting you.
God’s Grace Is Bigger Than Your Sin: No matter how far you’ve run, God’s arms are open wide to receive you. Manasseh humbled himself, and God heard him. If God could forgive someone who defiled the temple, led a nation into sin, and shed innocent blood, He can forgive you too. “Where sin increased, grace abounded all the more” (Romans 5:20). Don’t let the enormity of your sin overshadow the enormity of God’s grace.
Repentance Leads to Restoration, Not Erasure: When Manasseh returned to Jerusalem, he tried to undo some of the damage he’d done—tearing down altars and restoring worship to God (2 Chronicles 33:14–16). But the people still remembered him as the king who led them astray. Repentance restores our relationship with God, but it doesn’t wipe away our earthly reputation. And that’s okay. What matters most is how God sees you.
Your Past Can Be a Testimony: It’s tempting to wish your past could disappear, but your story—messy as it is—can become a powerful tool for God’s glory. Imagine how Manasseh’s story might have inspired others to turn back to God. Your life, transformed by grace, is a testimony to God’s power to redeem.
God’s Love Isn’t Performance-Based: The beauty of Manasseh’s story is that God didn’t wait for him to clean up his act before responding to his prayer. God hears the cries of the humble. You don’t have to earn God’s love or work your way out of your past. Come as you are, and let Him do the work in you.
Don’t Be Defined by Your Sin—Be Defined by God’s Grace: Yes, people may remember you for your mistakes. When we hear the name “Manasseh,” we think “wicked king.” But Manasseh’s story doesn’t end with wickedness; it ends with God’s mercy. Let your life, moving forward, reflect the God who saved you. People may focus on your past, but God sees you as His beloved child, washed clean by the blood of Jesus.
Remember, Manasseh’s story teaches us that it’s never too late to turn to God, but it also reminds us that our past doesn’t get erased. Instead of running from it, let’s let God use it. How can your story—sins, scars, and all—become a testimony of God’s amazing grace?
8 and a half hours until 2025 here in DFW.
That is, if the Father doesn’t have anything else on His calendar.
“But concerning that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father only.” (Matthew 24:36 ESV).
We rely on God for the new day let alone the New Year. Begin this day, this year, with prayer to God.
If we feel the need to be resolved today, let us be resolved to glorify God, walk with Jesus, read His word, and speak to Him in prayer, and show love to our neighbor.
Give Him the first of our time. Let 2025 be the new beginning we have been longing for in our faith to Him.
I’m in Deuteronomy 18 in my daily Bible reading. This is the chapter where Moses tells Israel God will raise up a Prophet like him and they should listen to the words that God puts into His mouth.
“I will raise up for them a prophet like you from among their brothers. And I will put my words in his mouth, and he shall speak to them all that I command him.
And whoever will not listen to my words that he shall speak in my name, I myself will require it of him.” (Deuteronomy 18:18-19 ESV).
Moses goes on to say that when someone speaks in the name of God, here is how you shall know if that is the prophet He is sending to them:
“And if you say in your heart, ‘How may we know the word that the LORD has not spoken?’--
when a prophet speaks in the name of the LORD, if the word does not come to pass or come true, that is a word that the LORD has not spoken; the prophet has spoken it presumptuously. You need not be afraid of him.” (Deuteronomy 18:21-22 ESV).
Jesus was that Prophet Who God raised up like Moses. The words Jesus spoke were God’s words and God worked the signs Moses said would be His confirmation, yet the people refused to listen to Moses or to Jesus about this Messiah.
Jesus calls their attention back to this passage in Deuteronomy when He tells them,
“do you say of him whom the Father consecrated and sent into the world, ‘You are blaspheming,’ because I said, ‘I am the Son of God’?
If I am not doing the works of my Father, then do not believe me;
but if I do them, even though you do not believe me, believe the works, that you may know and understand that the Father is in me and I am in the Father.” (John 10:36-38 ESV).
The Spirit confirmed Jesus was the promised Messiah through the mighty works He performed. If we reject Him, then we are guilty of the only unforgivable sin. We have rejected the one whom the Holy Spirit has confirmed, just as Moses said God would confirm.
On the Day of Judgment, make sure you stand with the Messiah, the only way to the Father. Rejecting Him is to reject the Prophet like Moses, Whom God raised up and confirmed with many signs and wonders.
It is very disheartening to watch people make all kinds of justification for evil. I am watching YouTube videos where people embrace sinful lifestyles and claim that because God made people in His image, He loves them and accepts them the way they are.
First, every person is made in the image of God. That is why we must have compassion for all people, and give them the dignity due to every image bearer of God.
And because every person is made in God’s image, He loves them beyond what we can ever imagine. That’s why we must hate no person, regardless of the sin. Our love for image bearers of God must cause us to weep for them when they reject God and not cause us to harbor an attitude for justice and judgment for any man.
But God only accepts those who are in His Son. Jesus, our King, gives us a moral code to live by. Our lifestyles we choose must mirror the lifestyle He preached and the lifestyle the inspired writers delivered after His ascension into Heaven.
We have no right to adopt sinful lifestyles and justify it because of our status as image bearers of God. It is because we are so unique among creation as image bearers of God that we must deny the carnal man and let God transform us into the image of His dear Son.
If we, as image bearers of God, reject the transformation from the carnal to the spiritual man, there is nothing to boast in. There is nothing to find divine justification in. There is nothing to glory in.
Only when we deny ourselves and allow God’s transforming power in our lives to make us like His Son will we be pleasing and accepted by Him. If we act out in rebellion to God’s transforming power, we are walking away from the Kingdom God invites all men and women into.
As Kingdom citizens, our hearts should break when we see people reject God, justify evil lifestyles, and we must pray for their deliverance before it’s too late. We must have a deep love for them and refrain from hate or a desire to see judgment for them. These attitudes have no room in the heart of Jesus’ Kingdom citizens for those also made in God’s image.
When man sinned, a curse entered the paradise God made for man.
When man sinned, pain and sweat became his.
When man sinned, he died.
When man sinned, God said He, too, would die.
Man created the mess we find ourselves in,
But God chose to walk with us, in our flesh, and die with us, in this broken world,
So we might live and He could restore our lost paradise back to us.