2 Chronicles 33:12-13 – 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.
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How Gracious is God? I do not think we can even begin to imagine.
King Manasseh was arguably the most wicked king Israel had ever known. He did everything wrong. He worshipped idols. He set up idols in the temple. He sacrificed children to false gods. He did evil and led the people of Judah into evil. And, as you would expect, God sent in an enemy force to take care of this king.
But then come verses 12 and 13, and anyone who reads this story for the first time should be amazed. Manasseh, while in distress, calls out to God, repents, and God forgives him. God forgives him! God, the Holy and Just God who can not allow evil to stand before him, forgave this evil, idol worshipping king.
There are lots of things to think about when pondering this event, but let’s think about one thing: God is absolutely, positively, unbelievably gracious. There is absolutely nothing that compares to the infinite, matchless, unfathomable grace of God. He forgave an evil king who broke every law he could think to break. Yet, when he repented and placed his faith in God, when he cried out to God for grace, God forgave him.
If God can forgive Manasseh, you can bet that there is nothing that you or I can do that God can not forgive. He can forgive anyone of anything, so long as they come to him in faith, trusting in Jesus Christ for forgiveness. Nothing in your past, your present, or your future can separate you from the love of God in Christ Jesus. If you are in Christ, you are forgiven, as forgiven as Manasseh. This is no license to sin; but it is a wonderful reminder of the great depth and beauty of God’s grace.
And, lest you say that you are not as forgiven as Manasseh, let me remind you that all of us have sinned before God. God is infinite in his perfections. Therefore, all sin before that infinitely perfect God is an infinite offense before him. The sins of Manasseh or your own tendency toward selfishness are each worthy of an eternity in hell. Yet God has offered you grace in Christ, a grace that pays the infinite price for your sins and makes you clean enough to live with God forever. Grace truly is amazing.
Pastor Travis Peterson 