29th.: If My People, Which are Called… part 1
Manasseh had not yet been born, when his father, King Hezekiah,
asked God to defend Israel from the Assyrians attack.
Nor had he seen Hezekiah's sickness, and the shadow on the sun-dial got back ten degrees.
As a result, Manasseh did not learn to follow Hezekiah's example of trusting God.
Years later, when he became king at age twelve (2nd Chr. 33:1),
Manasseh encouraged the Israelites to worship false gods (2nd Chr. 33:2-7).
This disgusted God. Therefore, God exiled Manasseh to Babylon (2 Chr. 33:12).
While in Babylon, Manasseh, “… besought the Lord his God, and humbled himself greatly before the God of his fathers. And prayed unto him, and he [God] was intreated of him, and heard his supplication, and brought him again to Jerusalem, into his kingdom. Then Manasseh knew that the Lord, he was God. (2nd Chr. 33:12b-13).
Even though he had not seen it first hand, nevertheless,
Manasseh must have remembered the stories that he had heard growing u
about the Assyrian Massacre, and his father's sickness, and the Sundial going backwards (2 Kings 20:11) etc.).
Manasseh then turned his attention to the God of his fathers.
We can hear him desperately pray something like,
“God, if you are real, please get me out of here [Babylon], and back home to Israel, and I will serve you forever.”
God heard his cry, and sent Manasseh back to his homeland.
Once back in Israel, Manasseh sought the Lord greatly, and encouraged the people of Israel to also serve the Lord as well (2nd Chr. 33:16).
Manasseh had learned his lesson.
“If the wicked, … walk in the statues of life, … none of his sins, that he has committed shall be mentioned against him.” (Eze. 33:15-16)