READING: 2 Kings 21:1-9, 2 Chronicles 33:1-9, 2 Kings 21:10-17, 2 Chronicles 33:10-19, 2 Kings 21:18, 2 Chronicles 33:20, 2 Kings 21:19-26, 2 Chronicles 33:21-25, 2 Kings 22:1-2, 2 Chronicles 34:1-7, Jeremiah 1:1-2:22
King Manasseh was trouble. Unlike his father Hezekiah, he turned against God and led the people in that direction, too. In fact, he “did a huge amount of evil in the Lord’s sight” (2 Chron 33:6), including burning his own sons in the fire. The people followed him, doing “worse evil than the nations the Lord had destroyed before the Israelites” (2 Chron 33:9). So great was the evil of the king and the people that God raised up the Assyrian army to carry them away into exile in Babylon.
While there in the distress of captivity, Manasseh humbled himself and sought the Lord’s favor. The Lord heard him, granted his request, and allowed him to return to Jerusalem as he increasingly “came to know that the Lord is God” (2 Chron 33:13). The result? The king removed the foreign gods and pagan altars from the land, built the altar of the Lord and restored sacrifices there, and challenged the people to serve the Lord.
That’s what genuine repentance looks like. Everything changes when we turn to the Lord.
PERSONAL REFLECTION: Where in your life do you need to repent?
DAILY PRAYER: “Thank You, Father, that You hear our cries in distress.”
TOMORROW’S READING: Jeremiah 2:23-5:19
