When We Know

I read a short little story a few days ago that I thought might be worth re-telling here. It is a story of sin, repentance, forgiveness and blessing. It is the story of Manasseh, King of Judah. But it is also the story of every human that has even lived.

Manasseh was not your typical boy growing up. He was the son of the king (Hezekiah) so he lived a pretty luxurious life. Naturally, as a teen, he rebelled against his parents like we all have. Unfortunately, it was also in his teen years that Manasseh became king of Judah.

Manasseh's rebellion against his father was massive,  undoing nearly everything his father had done. He was so out of control that God Himself intervened and had Manasseh carried of by the Assyrians and put in prison.

But prison was just what Manasseh needed. It was there that he repented and sought the Lord in prayer with all his heart. Manasseh humbled himself so greatly before the Lord that God heard his prayer and rescued Manasseh. From that moment on Manasseh lived a new life, devoted to doing what was right in the eyes of God.

Isn't that just like you and me? We rebel against God in our ignorance. But when we finally learn that God is real, as Manasseh did in verse 13, things change in a rather large way.

"And the Lord spoke to Manasseh and his people, but they would not listen. 11 Therefore the Lord brought upon them the captains of the army of the king of Assyria, who took Manasseh with hooks, bound him with bronze fetters, and carried him off to Babylon. 12 Now when he was in affliction, he implored the Lord his God, and humbled himself greatly before the God of his fathers, 13 and prayed to Him; and He received his entreaty, heard his supplication, and brought him back to Jerusalem into his kingdom. Then Manasseh knew that the Lord was God." - 2 Chronicles 33:10-13

That's the point we all need to arrive at. We need to KNOW that the Lord is God. But there is quite a large difference between knowing about God and allowing Him to BE God. We must obey rather than rebel, submit to God rather than become our own God.

Are we being obedient when we riot and burn our cities in the name of what WE believe? Who is the defiant one? The governor imposing his will on the people? Or the people defying their governor and worshipping God anyway?

God sees everything we do. He hears everything we say. Are our words worthy of God's hearing? Or are they displeasing to his ears?

All lives matter to God. 2 Peter 3:9 says that God is "not wanting anyone to perish but everyone to come to repentance." And we are not to take matters into our own hands and start punishing others in anyway we see fit. That's God's job. "Vengeance is mine, I will repay." - Deuteronomy 32:35

Our job is to be like Manasseh, the repenting Manasseh. THEN God will hear us from heaven. THEN God will act. When we KNOW . . . that He is God.

Manasseh King of Judah