Jaw-dropping Jewels about Jesus
Rarely does Jesus, God the Son, do exactly what we expect of Him. It seems odd that He so frequently surprises us, given that He never changes. Hebrews 13:8 makes this absolute statement: “Jesus the same yesterday, and today, and forever.” Still, though He is blessedly consistent in His goodness, Jesus does unforeseen things. Even when He does what is expected, He does not always do it in the way that we anticipate. Let us join with Jesus on a jaw-dropping journey. (I will be using this opening paragraph for each of the brief messages in this series. The following material will change daily.)
“The Revelation of Jesus Christ” (1:1) affirms that “the prayers of all saints” arise “before the throne” of God (8:3-4). Certainly, supplications for forgiveness are included. Manasseh was a truly evil king. During his fifty-five year reign, “he did that which was evil in the sight of the LORD, like unto the abominations of the heathen” (II Chronicles 33:2a). No stronger denunciation can be imagined! Why did God permit this man to rule for so long? Of course, we sometimes get the leadership that we deserve. Most of the people of Judah (the southern part of Israel) willingly followed this evil king. However, there is another reason: Manasseh finally repented. II Chronicles 33:11-13 records, “Wherefore the LORD brought upon them [Judah] 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. 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 entreated of him, and heard his supplication, and brought him again to Jerusalem into his kingdom. Then Manasseh knew that the LORD He was God.” Verses 14-20 indicate that Manasseh was genuine in his repentance, for he tried to undo the harm that he had done (especially idolatry). God’s forgiveness of this wicked man reassures us that God forgives us, too.