It Doesn’t Matter How Wicked You Were

2 Chronicles 33:1-20

Corrie Ten Boom was a Christian. As a young lady, she and her family were sent to a Nazi concentration camp because they harbored Jews in their home. Coupled with the conditions, sickness, and brutal treatment, her sister Betsie died. Corrie survived, by the grace of God. However, she could never forget one guard, in particular, who had been responsible for her sister’s death. His cruelty was unimaginable. After the war, she shared her testimony about her time at the camp. Her conclusion was that God helps us to forgive, because he forgives even the worst sinner. At the end of the meeting, she recognized one person in the group as the guard who tortured her and Betsie. He was much older and looked sickly and destitute. But thoughts of his cruelty and brutality came back to her when she saw him. She remembered the bright lights in the room where he had made all the women strip naked and parade before him. She burned with anger.

He came up to her to thank her for her testimony. He told her he’d been a guard at her concentration camp. He didn’t recognize her but he said – “Since that time I’ve become a Christian. I know that God has forgiven me for the cruel things I did there, but I’d like to hear it from your lips as well. Will you forgive me?” Corrie Ten Boom struggled to forgive that man. But knowing that it was God’s command to her, she finally said with earnest surrender – “I forgive you, brother! With all my heart!” This, then, became a lasting memory in her mind that no matter how wicked we once were, God does forgive.

Today, we look a man who was considered the most wicked king in Judah’s history. His name was Manasseh. And as examine his life, we learn how gracious and merciful God is to sinners. It doesn’t matter how wicked you were, or how wicked you are – God forgives completely when you repent. There are three stages of Manasseh’s life. Firstly, the wickedness of Manasseh’s youth. Secondly, the repentance because Manasseh’s affliction. And thirdly, the fruitfulness of Manasseh’s salvation.

Firstly, the wickedness of Manasseh’s youth. We learn in verse 2 just how wicked he was. He “did that which was evil in the sight of the LORD, like unto the abominations of the heathen, whom the LORD had cast out before the children of Israel.” Normally, when a new king is anointed, he’s usually compared to his predecessor. Kings in the north were compared with Jeroboam because they were very wicked. But Manasseh, King of the southern kingdom of Judah wasn’t even compared to them. His sins were worse. So he was compared to the heathen kings. Whereas the northern kings had some knowledge of God, these heathen had no knowledge. In the past, God had kicked out the heathens from the promised land because of their sins. Now, an Israelite was committing the same sins as they. And he didn’t even bother hiding his sins. When people sin, they keep it quiet and covert. Adulteries are done in secret, pornography in privacy, even gossiping is done behind closed doors. But here, he didn’t even bother to hide what he did.

In verse 3 he rebuilt the pagan worship sites that his father had demolished. He rebuilt the high places - altars on hills and mountains. Superstitious pagans would go there to feel closer to their gods. And he made groves - wooden poles that signified the goddess Ashtoreth. We see that in Singapore even today. Shrines - especially wooden ones - are built by pagans in different nature locations. So his sin was worshiping other gods. And it sounds unkind to say this in multiracial and multi religious Singapore. But we say without apology that the worship of any idol or god besides the living and true God alone is sin.

But he also corrupted true worship. He also mixed the worship of God with the worship of idols. Verse 4 tells us he built altars for other gods in the temple of God. And it wasn’t for one or two idols; Manasseh built altars for all kinds of false gods. Verse 5 says he filled two courts with altars for all the host of heaven. The temple in Jerusalem was only meant for the worship of one God - the living and true God. But he mixed it. Verse 7 says he put a carved image into the house of God. He wasn’t only overtly pro-pagan, he was committed to blurring the lines. God must be worshiped rightly. But we see even in many churches today - where God’s worship is corrupted with pagan ideas. Candles, bells, and incense smoke in some churches; but strobe lighting, sound and smoke effects in other churches.

And he didn’t only promote these things as king, he was personally involved. It’s one thing to do this for the citizens, but he was involved. King Solomon first erected altars for his wives, then was subsequently seduced by them. But Manasseh had them built so he could worship. Verse 6 says he publicly practiced the rites. And part of pagan worship was to sacrifice your own sons. “And he caused his children to pass through the fire in the valley of the son of Hinnom.” He burned his own sons alive. He practiced sorcery and divination; he consulted mediums and spiritists. These are the sins of spiritual idolatry.

Friends here, I don’t know you. But to worship any other god but the living and true God alone is sin. He alone is creator. He’s not a creature. How can one worship trees, and gods which have animal parts, or make famous men gods? Not to worship the living and true and eternal God who is Spirit is sin. And many may worship him wrongly. Many churches today worship worship and praise music, the worship emotion rather than worshiping the living and true God who commands us to worship him on his terms. This was Manasseh’s wickedness.

But furthermore, he taught the people to sin. Verse 9 tells us he made the inhabitants of Jerusalem and Judah to err. And he persecuted those who would speak against his sins. Anyone who opposed him, he’d destroy. We’re told in Jeremiah 2:30 that he killed the prophets. Tradition tells us that the prophet Isaiah died at the hands of Manasseh. He had apparently fled from Manasseh and hid in a tree. But having been discovered, the tree was cut down with him inside. This was Manasseh’s wickedness. He didn’t hide it. He promoted it and was personally involved. He taught others to do the same. And he destroyed any opposition.

Now why was Manasseh so wicked? I believe there were two reasons. Firstly, he was born when his father’s heart was proud. 2 Chronicles 32:25 tells us this. Hezekiah had done a lot of good for Judah. But at the end of his life, he was proud. Maybe Manasseh saw his father’s hypocrisy. But we can’t blame our parents for our sins. There may be influence and upbringing; but secondly, Manasseh made a personal choice not to follow after God. This is what we all are. We all know what is good and right. But we choose not to do it. It was he who did evil in God’s sight not his father. He couldn’t blame anyone but himself.

One scholar remarked that Manasseh could only be so wicked if he knew what the Bible said. Because he was doing everything he shouldn’t. He would’ve been raised in the faith of this father. About 200 years before Manasseh was born, God said in 2 Chronicles 7:19-22 that he’d judged the land and exile the people if they forsook God’s commandments and served other gods. He’d even destroy the temple. So it’s like Manasseh saw these threats and did everything he could to make it come to pass. This was the wickedness of Manasseh’s youth.

But secondly, we see the repentance because Manasseh’s affliction. The Bible says that God is gracious. When people sin, even grievously, even to torture, maim, rape, and kill - even that Nazi soldier - God is patient. And he gives opportunity for people to repent. God uses many resources to try and get our attention. In verse 10 we saw what already happened. God spoke to Manasseh and his people - probably through the prophets. But as we also saw in Jeremiah 2:30, they killed the prophets. Manasseh didn’t like God’s message. He still wanted to sin. And so God sent, according to verse 11, the captains of the armies of the king of Assyria, and they carried him away to Babylon.

At that point in time, Judah was attacked by Assyria. Being banished was a terrible punishment for an Israelite. God had promised his people this land. But he also warned them that they’d be prevented from entering the land if they committed idolatry. And so this experience was humiliating. He was taken captive by a pagan king. “You love paganism so much? Be conquered by a pagan king!” And that was humiliating for Manasseh - especially the manner in which he was taken. Verse 11 - “Wherefore the LORD brought upon them the captains of the host of the king of Assyria, which took Manasseh among the thorns, and bound him with fetters, and carried him to Babylon.” He was bound with fetters, meaning chains, and he was took among the thorns. This means that he was led away by hooks in his nose. Now, this was not a nice nose piercing, but it was a hook in the nose, like an animal. It was a form of humiliation. This was his affliction. If we don’t listen to the gospel of grace and warning, we may have to listen to the affliction of the flesh. And this is the grace of God here. Verse 12-13 – “And when he was in affliction, he besought the LORD his God, and humbled himself greatly before the God of his fathers, And prayed unto him: and he was intreated of him, and heard his supplication…” According to tradition, he was tortured in a heated oven. There, he prayed in vain to the idols he had formerly worshiped. But at last he sought the God of his fathers. In his pain, Manasseh asked God for mercy. So yes, one one of the resources of God to evoke repentance is pain. Repentance is necessary for forgiveness. And when warnings brought no repentance, pain got his attention. And when he prayed, God answered. This shows that God’s loving, he's not malicious. A malicious God would’ve used pain and then not forgiven. But a loving God used pain and then forgave. Romans 2 tells us that it is the goodness of God that leads us to repentance. And goodness is seen in trials for Manasseh. It looks painful and doesn’t always look like goodness, but it is. And the repentance of Manasseh was one of great humility. He acknowledged the Lord to be his God – something he never did before, and he prayed. This tells us that repentance includes belief and faith in God. Repent of your sins, and believe in the Lord.

Whereas he was a model of wrong doing before, he was a model of right repentance now. In the same passage as we read just now about the consequences – 2 Chronicles 7, we see in verse 14 the kind of repentance that is needed to obtain complete restoration. It reads – “If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.” This is what Manasseh did. And he was completely restored. The rest of verse 13 says God “brought him again to Jerusalem into his kingdom. Then Manasseh knew that the LORD he was God.” God brought him back to Jerusalem and he was king again. He was humbled to the dust, and exalted back again. And as a result, he obeyed God.

We see lastly, the fruitfulness of Manasseh’s salvation. Verse 14-17 tell us who he was and what he did after he was saved. We see that he did all he could to be a good king. He did this politically and spiritually. Firstly, he built up the outer walls of Jerusalem. This was a project that Hezekiah his father had started and so he aligned himself with the godly policies of his father. He placed army officers to protect Judah. And spiritually, he told the people how to worship God. He removed the idols from the temple and cast them outside the city, he repaired the bronze altar of the temple and sacrificed on it once again. And he commanded the people to worship God. Where once he caused the people to err, now he caused the people to do right. As a king, this is what he could do. This was the evidence of his salvation. They were fruits of his repentance. If he had continued in disobedience, we would question his penitence. He did what he could.

But unfortunately, he couldn’t reverse all of what he had previously instituted. He couldn’t take back or prevent the natural course of what he had started. In verse 17, the people started to worship God again, but they worshiped him by using the high places. Now, sure, they didn’t worship other gods or idols, and they worshiped the Lord, but this was still not a good thing. The worship of God was to be in the temple. But they abandoned the temple for the high places. Half obedience to God is no obedience at all. Manasseh had so drummed paganism into the minds and hearts of the people, that he couldn’t possibly have removed it, even though he reigned for 55 years – one of the longest reigns of Judah’s history. These were the temporal consequences of his sins that he had to live with and face.

To be sure, life on earth after repentance is not trouble free. We are living on earth. We are faced with sin daily. Our own sin. But we’re forgiven because we’ve repented. As we look at Manasseh, some of us may have 2 thoughts. How could Manasseh be forgiven? His sins were so great. Too great. Such a person deserves to be locked away and never released. Such a person deserves to be in hell. And if we think this way, we’d be right. No one deserves forgiveness. Forgiveness is by definition undeserved. Another thought we have is that we don’t need to repent because our sins are not as great as Manasseh’s. But we all have the same categories of sin. You see, God is infinitely holy. And our sins, therefore, despite being small to us are infinitely unholy to him. There maybe some here who worship idols instead of the living and true God who dwells in heaven and is not the product of the hands of man. This is a great sin. And God judges this sin. There may be some here who worship God but according to your own desires - you’re not giving an intelligent God the worship he is due; but instead, you worship your desires - your feelings are more important than God. While you don’t sacrifice your children, some of you sacrifice them on the altars of education - which is your idol. He didn’t obey God’s laws. Neither do you. God says that whoever is angry in his heart without a cause is guilty of murder. He says whoever looks at a person with lust is already guilty of adultery. God’s standards are not ours. The heart matters. The motives matter. And that’s why the Bible says that all have sinned and come short of God’s glory. God demands absolute perfection in words, thoughts, and deeds. Manasseh may have been in words, thoughts, and deeds completely wicked; but our wickedness is only in terms of degrees. And if God looks at the heart, he doesn’t look at degrees, he looks for the presence of sin. That’s why we’re all guilty. But it doesn’t matter how wicked we are - all we have to do is humble ourselves and repent. God shows mercy. But how can he, if he’s a holy God, and must punish sin?

We learn in verse 8 that if the people are careful to do ALL God has commanded them, according to the WHOLE law, statutes, and ordinances, then he will not punish them. He will give them an inheritance. All and whole mean all and whole. Not part. And God’s law is described in 3 ways - law, statutes, and ordinances. These are not 3 different things, but 3 comprehensive ways to describe the same thing. God’s commandments. If we obey perfectly, God will give us an inheritance. If not, he will punish to the uttermost. He’s God. But the Bible tells us that God knows we can’t obey perfectly. Romans 8:3 says, “For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh.” We can’t obey the law perfectly. We are sinful. We’re weak. The law is unable to good before God. So God himself came in human form - as the Lord Jesus Christ - so that he’d obey the law perfectly on our behalf. And he took the punishment for our sins on himself. He was condemned for sinners. He was put to death - he was crucified - so that those who believe on him and acknowledge their sin, wouldn’t have to face his judgment for sin.

Friends, you may not be as wicked as Manasseh. But it doesn’t matter how wicked you are. You are wicked enough for God to condemn you. It’s not the degree of wickedness, it’s the presence of wickedness. And if you do not acknowledge your guilt, nor accept Christ and believe that he died for sinners, accepting that you need his obedience for your lack of obedience, and accepting that you need him to be punished for you; then you will be punished for your lack of perfect obedience. But God is merciful. It doesn’t matter how wicked you are. But it matters how humble and sorry you are. God accepts a humble heart that admits sin and desires a savior. And he gives you an inheritance - of salvation, forgiveness, and blessings. And while our sins may have consequences here like Manasseh’s - we will never be barred from our heavenly inheritance. God receives us into heaven forever.