Biblical manhood 4--Real Men Bow Down in Repentance

My Biblical Manhood reading today had me read about the wickedest king of Judah—King Manasseh. Manasseh’s story has awed me from shortly after I was first saved. He doesn’t inspire me, but his is a comforting story for those saved by grace alone—of whom I am one. Second Chronicles 33:10-17 tells the story:

The LORD spoke to Manasseh and his people, but they didn’t listen. So He brought against them the military commanders of the king of Assyria. They captured Manasseh with hooks, bound him with bronze ⌊shackles⌋, and took him to Babylon. When he was in distress, he sought the favor of Yahweh his God and earnestly humbled himself before the God of his ancestors. He prayed to Him, so He heard his petition and granted his request, and brought him back to Jerusalem, to his kingdom. So Manasseh came to know that Yahweh is God. After this, he built the outer wall of the city of David from west of Gihon in the valley to the entrance of the Fish Gate; he brought it around the Ophel, and he heightened it considerably. He also placed military commanders in all the fortified cities of Judah. He removed the foreign gods and the idol from the LORD’s temple, along with all the altars that he had built on the mountain of the LORD’s temple and in Jerusalem, and he threw them outside the city. He built the altar of the LORD and offered fellowship and thank offerings on it. Then he told Judah to serve Yahweh, the God of Israel. However, the people still sacrificed at the high places, but only to Yahweh their God.

There is more to his story prior (33:1-9) and after (33:18-20), but the focus is on these verses.

Biblical men repent. Maybe they’ve lived wickedly their whole life, or maybe there’s just small sins that need repented of. Biblical men will repent. Manasseh is a prime example.

Manasseh was the typical teenager since he became king at age twelve (33:1) and immediately undid the good that his father Hezekiah had done in Judah (33:3). He built altars for other gods in God’s temple (33:4). He sacrificed his own children in the fire (33:6). In short he—as Judah’s leader—led the people into such evil that they were labeled as doing “worse evil than the nations the LORD had destroyed before the Israelites” (33:9).

Despite all this evil, God still spoke to Manasseh (33:10a). God is so good. Way more good than we deserve most of the time. However, Manasseh didn’t listen (33:10b). I see myself here in a sense: senior year of high school the only thing I wanted was for God to speak to me, but unfortunately I missed His voice until after I graduated, because I was looking for an audible voice and didn’t touch His Word. God will get the elect’s attention somehow though, and we see that in the next verses.

When Manasseh ignored God’s voice—through the prophets, Law, or auditory voice—God didn’t give up on him. It was all part of God’s sovereign will for Manasseh’s life. God sent Assyria to take him to Babylon (33:11). If Manasseh won’t listen to God when it’s just God, maybe he’ll listen to God when enemies are pressing against him and have him captured. It took me declaring God a liar and calling myself an atheist and contemplating suicide in order to come to the point where I could be changed by God’s grace.

Manasseh was changed. In a dank, dark, dirty prison he humbled himself and cried out to God (33:12). He prayed and confessed his sin (33:13). God is so good that He brought Manasseh back to Jerusalem and made him king again. Manasseh proved his repentance real by removing idols and altars to false gods and telling Judah to worship God alone (33:15-16).

Repentance means turning away from something to something else. Second Chronicles 33:13 ends with the words, “So Manasseh came to know that Yahweh is God,” which shows that he believed in God. True belief manifests itself with repentance—two sides of the same coin—and Manasseh displayed repentance too; 33:15 says, “He removed the foreign gods and the idol from the LORD’s temple, along with all the altars that he had built on the mountain of the LORD’s temple and in Jerusalem, and he threw them outside the city.” When people truly believe in Christ it intrinsically includes turning away from sin. This is why repentance is not a one-time altar call. The story of Manasseh is good for believers just as much as unbelievers. We all need God’s grace, and we all can do better at falling on our knees and repenting of our sins. I know I can. Real men bow down in repentance.

Unfortunately, godliness is not passed down genetically. Just as Manasseh was the opposite of his father, Hezekiah (33:3), his son, Amon, would follow his father’s original steps and do evil (33:21). Not only must we daily fall on our knees and repent, but we must cry out for God to grant repentance to our children. I should repent of not starting to pray sooner for my future children’s repentance.

Do I repent? Why not? How can I repent? What can I repent of?

God, help me to be quick to repent when I sin, and let my life be a life of habitual repentance in which I habitually choose You over sin. Thank You for choosing me over wrath. I should choose You over sin for that reason. I love You.