Good day dear listeners and welcome again to overcoming temptations, My name is Oyisi Okatahi. Today our topic is titled “God’s Mercy on Manasseh”. Today I will like to share with you on a bible character called Manasseh, Manasseh was a King in Judah. Many bible scholars consider Manasseh as the most evil man in the Bible apart from Satan himself. Manasseh was definitely Satan himself in human form, hearing about his wickedness could make one sick. Yet God still showed this very evil man great mercy.
Lets read 2 Kings 21- Manasseh was twelve years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem fifty-five years. His mother was Hephzibah. 2 He did what was evil in the Lord’s sight, following the detestable practices of the pagan nations that the Lord had driven from the land ahead of the Israelites. 3 He rebuilt the pagan shrines his father, Hezekiah, had destroyed. He constructed altars for Baal and set up an Asherah pole, just as King Ahab of Israel had done. He also bowed before all the powers of the heavens and worshiped them.
4 He built pagan altars in the Temple of the Lord, the place where the Lord had said, “My name will remain in Jerusalem forever.” 5 He built these altars for all the powers of the heavens in both courtyards of the Lord’s Temple. 6 Manasseh also sacrificed his own son in the fire.[a] He practiced sorcery and divination, and he consulted with mediums and psychics. He did much that was evil in the Lord’s sight, arousing his anger.
So you see Manasseh was an inventor of evil, he practiced witchcraft, worshipped idols and even sacrificed his own children in fire. According to the Talmud Manasseh was the King that killed Prophet Isaiah by sawing him into 2 pieces. Bible says that Manasseh shed so much innocent blood while he was king that it filled Jerusalem from end to end, he killed people for fun and entertainment.
The bible says that Manasseh did more evil than even the evil nations like the Amorites, which God asked the children of Israel to overcome and take their land.
Even after Manasseh died see what God said in 2 Kings 24:3-4. Surely these things happened to Judah according to the Lord’s command, in order to remove them from his presence because of the sins of Manasseh and all he had done, 4 including the shedding of innocent blood. For he had filled Jerusalem with innocent blood, and the Lord was not willing to forgive. Manasseh’s sins made God wipe out a whole nation and God said he could not pardon their sins.
But something happened to Manasseh still in 2 Chronicles 33, God allowed the King of Assyria to capture and punish Manasseh. In his suffering he humbled himself asked God for forgiveness. God answered and forgave him and restored him back as King. Surprisingly Manasseh was the longest serving King of Israel and Judah, he reigned for 55 years, even the likes of David and Solomon reigned for 40 years. In the Apocrypha or Deuterocanonical books, we have a book called the “Prayer of Manasseh”. The prayer is a very touching and sincere prayer.
The lesson here is that the mercy of God is so great and incomprehensible, unsearchable and immeasurable. So no matter how much evil one has done, it is not too late, you can ask God for forgiveness, if you are humble and sincere and truly repent, He will forgive you in Jesus name. Have a blessed day and God bless you in Jesus name.
