2 Chronicles 33:1–2: “Manasseh was twelve years old when he became king, and he reigned fifty-five years in Jerusalem. But he did evil in the sight of the LORD, according to the abominations of the nations whom the LORD had cast out before the children of Israel.”

October 20th, 2023 by Pastor Ed in devotional

When it says that King Manasseh “did evil”, it literally says he was committing disgusting actions, evil beyond imagination. Many categorize him as the worst king to ever reign in Judah. Yet he reigned for 55 years, longer than any other king, much longer than either David or Solomon. We can’t help but wonder why God allowed it to go on for so long.

The answer is that our God is patient, merciful, and long-suffering, “not willing that any should perish” (2 Peter 3:9). With all eternity behind Him and all eternity before Him, God has plenty of time on His hands. And He gave Manasseh abundant time and opportunity to turn to Him, which he did. After being taken captive for a time to Babylon, Manasseh humbled himself before the Lord and repented. When he was returned to Judah, he set about clearing away the idol worship he had brought in.

There is a non-biblical fable about Abraham that illustrates this point. The fable says that Abraham was sitting outside his tent one evening when he saw an old man, weary from age and journey, coming toward him. Abraham rushed out, greeted him, and invited him into his tent. There, he washed the old man’s feet and gave him food and drink. The man immediately began eating, without saying any prayer or blessing. Abraham asked him, “Don’t you worship God?” The old traveler replied, “I worship fire only and reverence no other god.” When Abraham heard this, he became incensed, grabbed the old man by the shoulders, and threw him out of his tent into the cold night air. When the old man had departed, God called to his friend Abraham and asked where the stranger was. Abraham replied, “I forced him out because he did not worship You.” God answered, “I have suffered him these 80 years, although he dishonors Me. Could you not endure him one night?”

So we pray:

“LORD, help us to patiently share Your love with others around us this day that need a quiet and solid witness.”