Day 198 – Manasseh (Southern King 55 years)

• Continuing in our run-through of the remaining kings of Judah, we arrive today at Manasseh. He’s the son of the good king Hezekiah, and grandson of evil king Ahaz. So does Manasseh follow in the footsteps of his dad or his granddad?
• We read two accounts of Manasseh’s life today – one from 2 Kings and one from 2 Chronicles. Look at the Kings passage first. How would you describe Manasseh’s reign when looking only at this passage?
• Continuing in 2 Kings, what punishment is brought about on the people of Judah in verses 10-15 because of the sin of their king? These verses are talking about a punishment that was still to come – the defeat and exile of Judah, just like the exile of the Israel earlier. Why do you think God didn’t punish them instantly?
• Look now at the passage in 2 Chronicles 33. What extra information about Manasseh do we read about in this account, specifically in verses 10-13?
• How does Manasseh’s unpleasant experience in Assyria help to re-define his reign?
• Think again about the question about why God didn’t punish Judah with exile immediately. Manasseh was given a tough lesson about following God and (generally speaking) came away from it a changed man. God gave him a second chance that he would have not had if the punishment had been handed down instantly. What important characteristic of God does this help to show us? Are you personally thankful for God’s patience and mercy?
• In the intriguing extra verses in Ezekiel, we hear the author answer people who say that God is “not just”. Ezekiel 18:23 is a well known verse that sums it up. How do these verses show that God is more just than any man? Isn’t verse 32 also a great message?!

It’s easy for us to make judgements about people, or come to conclusions about what God should do in a certain situation, especially if that person looks to be evil, or the situation desperate.

It’s a natural reaction, in part, to the in-built desire in our hearts to see a sinless world, and shows we’re desiring after good. That’s OK!

But we’re not God, and we are imperfect in our understanding and our knowledge. God, however, is not imperfect. He knows all, sees all, understands all, and is perfect in His holiness and righteousness.

With that in mind, we can trust fully in Him. We saw a man changed today because God knew to extend grace to him. In the wider context of the books of the Kings and Chronicles, we know now that God’s unshakeable plans continued despite the evil and despair in many of the events.

I wonder if there is a situation that you wish could be different, but you can’t affect it. You can pray about that situation tonight. Pray too, however, that you will trust in a perfect God to deal with that situation in the way and the time that He sees fit, whether that’s now, or later, or not at all. Remember that when Christ comes again, all will stand at his throne and give an account of their lives, and the God of all justice will make all things right.

That is a powerful promise and one which you can hold onto in tough times.