2 CHRONICLES 33:1-6, 10-13 – Manasseh was twelve years old when he began to reign, and he reigned fifty-five years in Jerusalem. And he did what was evil in the sight of the Lord, according to the abominations of the nations whom the Lord drove out before the people of Israel. For he rebuilt the high places that his father Hezekiah had broken down, and he erected altars to the Baals, and made Asheroth, and worshiped all the host of heaven and served them. And he built altars in the house of the Lord, of which the Lord had said, “In Jerusalem shall my name be forever.” And he built altars for all the host of heaven in the two courts of the house of the Lord. And he burned his sons as an offering in the Valley of the Son of Hinnom, and used fortune-telling and omens and sorcery, and dealt with mediums and with necromancers. He did much evil in the sight of the Lord, provoking him to anger. 10 The Lord spoke to Manasseh and to his people, but they paid no attention. Therefore the Lord brought upon them the commanders of the army of the king of Assyria, who captured Manasseh with hooks and bound him with chains of bronze and brought him to Babylon. 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. “
Few people in the scripture displayed the level of evil as King Manasseh. He followed the abominations of other nations. He abandoned the worship of the One true God and erected altars to the worship of Baal. As bad as this was, he sought fortune-telling, sorcery, used witches, and even practiced child sacrifice offering his own sons! Yet, God did not abandon Manasseh to his sins. Instead, He displayed “tough love” to attack the king’s prideful heart, bring him to his knees in humility which led to him seeking the Lord, and knowing Him.
We don’t need to exercise the level of depravity as King Manasseh to experience the tough love of God in His dealing with our pride. He knows pride is rooted in all people and not eradicated just because He made us His children. And to enjoy the Lord and be effective in His service, He must develop humility in us. His choice means of doing so is suffering. For Manasseh? The Lord brought great distress upon him. He may do the same with us in the form of physical, spiritual or emotional suffering because it is in the furnace of affliction, we know our pride and need for God; a need only realized through humility. And what comes with humility? Read the last sentence in today’s scripture – Then Manasseh knew that the Lord was God. It will be the same with us. Humility leads to knowing the Lord, and humility leads to a deeper knowing of the Lord for which we will praise Him for “the painful hand of His love”.
PRAYER: “Father, I praise You for Your ‘tough love’ that draws me and never lets me go.”
QUOTE: “God will spare us no pain to attack our pride and bring us to humble dependency on Him.”