2 Chronicles 33:12-13
12While [Manasseh] was in distress he entreated the favor of the Lord his God and humbled himself greatly before the God of his ancestors. 13He prayed to him, and God received his entreaty, heard his plea, and restored him again to Jerusalem and to his kingdom. Then Manasseh knew that the Lord indeed was God.
The earlier verses in chapter 33 tell us that Manasseh ruled for 55 years and that during that time he did much evil. He built altars for foreign gods within the temple of the Lord, and he misled the nations. And when the Lord tells him to stop, he does not heed the advice. Generally, I've discovered, that's a bad idea. So, the story continues that the armies advanced and then there was some distress, which is where these verses pick up.
There are many occasions in our scriptures when God hears the pleas of people who have done evil and restores them. And, like a child who doesn't see the obvious plot, nearly every time I think to myself, "Seriously, God? Did you not just read the same verses that I read? This character Manasseh has been messing with your world for 55 years condensed into 11 verses, and it only takes one entreaty for you to reverse and restore the whole thing? I mean, really, God, where is the justice?"
O, Lord, hear the entreaties of our hearts that have been hardened. Restore us daily to your kingdom. Remind us that you, indeed, are God.
Peace,
Pastor Jenn
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