MIRACULOUS MERCY FOR MANASSEH
2 Kgs. 21:1-16
INTRODUCTION
A. ILLUS: Conversion of ISIS Fighters
1. It sounds unbelievable. Like something out of a movie. But it’s true.
2. In recent years, organizations working in the Middle East have shared testimonies of former ISIS fighters—men who were once filled with hate and committed acts of terror—encountering Jesus Christ and becoming followers of Him.
3. One such story is of a man who had been deeply involved in violence. He had blood on his hands. He was feared, even by his own people. But something started to happen—he had dreams. Night after night, he kept seeing a man in white. A man who said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life.”
4. Eventually, he met a Christian who dared to share the gospel with him, at great risk. And instead of responding with rage, he broke down. He had been haunted by guilt. By faces. By the weight of everything he had done.
5. And when he heard about Jesus—about a Savior who not only forgives sinners, but loves enemies—it shattered him.
6. He gave his life to Christ. He now lives in hiding—not from Christians, but from his former brothers in arms. (Source: persecution.org)
B. TEXT
“Manasseh...2 did evil in the eyes of the Lord, following the detestable practices of the nations the Lord had driven out before the Israelites. 3 He rebuilt the high places his father Hezekiah had destroyed; he also erected altars to Baal and made an Asherah pole...He bowed down to all the starry hosts and worshiped them. 4 He built altars in the temple of the Lord....6 He sacrificed his own son in the fire, practiced divination, sought omens, and consulted mediums and spiritists. 9 Manasseh led [Judah] astray, so that they did more evil than the nations the Lord had destroyed before the Israelites. 12” Therefore this is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: ‘I am going to bring such disaster on Jerusalem and Judah that the ears of everyone who hears of it will tingle...14 They will be looted and plundered by all their enemies.’” 16 Moreover, Manasseh also shed so much innocent blood that he filled Jerusalem from end to end—besides the sin that he had caused Judah to commit, so that they did evil in the eyes of the Lord.” 2 Kgs. 21:1-16, abbreviated.
C. THESIS
1. Today we’re going to look at the extravagant grace of God demonstrated to one of the most infamous sinners in the Bible.
2. The title of this message is “Miraculous Mercy to Manasseh.”
I.THE ATROCITIES OF MANASSEH
A. 7 SERIOUS SINS OF MANASSEH
1. ABANDONED HIS GODLY HERITAGE. Manasseh was the son of a good father, Hezekiah, whom God miraculously healed and sent angels to drive away his enemies. He was a man specially honored by the Lord.
2. HE DESTROYED HIS FATHER’S GOOD. Manasseh undid all his father’s actions; he threw down the altars his father had built up and tore down the faith Hezekiah had enthusiastically supported!
3. HE SERVED FALSE GODS. Manasseh desecrated the Lord’s courts by setting up altars & an Asherah pole to worship false gods. He made altars to worship the heavenly bodies and set up horses and chariots dedicated to the sun. – in God’s own house! The devil always wants to desecrate what is pure.
4. GAVE HIS CHILDREN TO THE DEVIL. He dedicated his children to the devil by burning them in a fire before his idol, Moloch. The Lord Jesus said that if someone hurts a child “it would be better for them to have a large millstone hung around their neck and to be drowned in the depths of the sea” Mt. 18:6.
5. ENTERED THE DEMONIC REALM. Not content with normal godlessness, Manasseh pursued satanism and demonism, witchcraft and necromancy. Everything that was forbidden perfectly suited his depraved taste; the more evil it was, the better he liked it!
6. HE LED MILLIONS ASTRAY. Not only did he choose evil himself, Manasseh actively led others astray. He reigned over Judah for 55 years. Over this long period the godly remnant was beaten down and went into hiding.
7. SHED INNOCENT BLOOD. Then Manasseh persecuted the remainder of God’s people. “Manasseh shed innocent blood...till he had filled Jerusalem from one end to another.” It was the fiercest persecution recorded in the Bible (2 Kgs. 21 & 24). Manasseh probably ordered the death of the prophet Isaiah by being sawed-in-two (Heb. 11:37).
B. HE DID WORSE THAN ALL BEFORE HIM
1. So overwhelming were the sins of Manasseh that they became a byword, “Manasseh king of Judah has committed...detestable sins....more evil than the Amorites who preceded him” 2 Kgs 21:11.
2. No one here has ever committed as horrible of crimes as Manasseh. No matter how guilty and condemned you feel, what happened next in Manasseh’s life should offer you a light of hope in the darkness!
3. Many times I’ve scanned the Bible looking for instances where God had mercy on notorious sinners because I reasoned, “If God forgave them, He’ll forgive me.” I figure that if the door of mercy is wide enough to admit an elephant, then a mouse can squeeze in too! Manasseh, as an extreme sinner, gives us hope that we can be forgiven too!
II. HIS JUDGMENT & TRANSFORMATION
A. GOD’S JUDGMENT ON MANASSEH
1. “The Lord spoke to Manasseh and his people, but they paid no attention. So the Lord brought against them the army commanders of the king of Assyria, who took Manasseh prisoner, put a hook in his nose, bound him with bronze shackles and took him to Babylon” 2 Chron. 33:10-11.
2. Both Babylonia and Assyria have sculptures showing captives with hooks through one of their lips. Sargon is pictured receiving prisoners with perforated lips. They would put a hook in a man’s mouth or a bridle in his jaws (2 Kgs. 19:28).
3. Manasseh’s eyes were opened to his sin and guilt & he prayed to the Lord for forgiveness.
B. MANASSEH’S TRANSFORMATION
1. “In his distress he sought the favor of the Lord his God and humbled himself greatly before the God of his ancestors. And when he prayed to him, the Lord was moved by his entreaty and listened to his plea; so he brought him back to Jerusalem and to his kingdom. Then Manasseh knew that the Lord is God.” 2 Chron. 33:12-13.
2. Manasseh “sought” God, “humbled” himself, prayed, and God was moved to listen and help him. The Good News is – IF God did it for him, He’ll do it for you!
C. ILLUS.: BROKENNESS RESTORED
1. In Japan, there’s an ancient art form called kintsugi. It means “golden joinery.” When a piece of pottery breaks—say, a bowl or a vase—they don’t throw it away.
2. Instead, they gather the broken pieces, and then a master craftsman carefully repairs it using a special lacquer mixed with powdered gold. The cracks aren’t hidden—they’re highlighted. The scars shine. The fractures are lined with brilliance.
3. And the result? The bowl is more beautiful than it was before it broke. More valuable. More treasured. Not in spite of the cracks—but because of them.
4. That is saving grace. When we come to Jesus, we are not flawless vessels. We are cracked. Broken. Ashamed. But God doesn’t throw us out.
5. He doesn’t pretend the cracks were never there. He doesn’t smooth over the damage like it never happened. He redeems it.
6. He fills the broken places with His mercy. He seals the fractures with His love. And when He’s done, your story isn’t uglier—it’s more radiant. The scars tell the story of grace!
III. PICTURE OF GOD’S UNLIMITED GRACE
A. THE MEANING OF GRACE
1. Grace is the “the free and unmerited favor of God.” Grace is the ATTITUDE God chooses to show us. The Greek word “Xaris” is translated as “acceptance’” “benefit,” “favor,” “gift,” and “grace.”
2. This is God’s attitude even while we are enemies of God. The root of Grace (Xairo) means “to cheer.” God is cheering us to return to Him. So instead of a stern reception, God wants to give us grace and a gift! (Rom. 5:15; 6:23; 2 Cor. 1:11).
3. Eph. 2:8 says, “For by grace you are saved, through faith, and that not of yourselves.” The only way any of us can enter into a relationship with God is because of His grace toward us.
B. GOD’S DIVINE SWAP - ILLUSTRATION
At the Cross God made the divine swap: He put our sins on Christ and put Christ’s righteousness on us! Here’s how Paul described it; “For He made Him (Jesus) who knew no sin, to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him” 2 Cor. 5:21. Here’s an example of it:
1. According to the Chicago Tribune, on June 22, 1997, parachute instructor Michael Costello, 42, of Mount Dora Florida, jumped out of an airplane at 12,000 feet altitude with a novice skydiver named Gareth Griffith, age 21.
2. The novice would soon discover just how good his instructor was, for when the novice pulled his ripcord, his parachute failed. Plummeting to the ground, they faced certain death.
3. But then the instructor did an amazing thing. Just before hitting the ground, the instructor rolled over so that he would hit the ground first and the novice would land on top of him.
4. The instructor was instantly killed. The novice fractured his spine in the fall, but he was not paralyzed.
5. One person took the place of another, and took the brunt for another. One substituted himself to die so that another might live. So it was at the cross, when Jesus died for our sins. (Choice Contemporary Stories and Illustrations, Baker Books, compiled by Craig Bryan Larson, p. 57.)
CONCLUSION
A. ILLUS: Shoplifting Widow, Officer’s Grace
1. The 61-year-old grandmother was checking out at the Woodbury Walmart. When all her groceries were rung up, she didn’t have enough money. Sarah made a split-second decision and I just bagged them anyway.
2. She was walking out when a Walmart employee stopped her. She was taken to a back room and the Police Department was called.
3. Her 18-year-old autistic daughter, Danielle, who’d accompanied her to the store, was sobbing. Officer Wagner arrived and heard Sarah’s story; In addition to Danielle, eight other children and grandchildren live with Sarah. Sarah’s husband had been the family’s provider until his death 15 years ago. She said, “You get to a point where you're drained, you can't even think.”
4. Wagner wrote Sarah a citation, then returned to his car and ran a background check. Wagner said, “There was nothing. She has fewer speeding tickets than I do. That’s when I decided that she needed help.”
5. Sarah left the Walmart and drove home with her daughter. Roughly an hour later her phone rang. It was Wagner. Sarah pictured herself being led away in handcuffs. She thought, “He's coming back to get me.”
6. He wasn't. Officer Wagner had made a stop at the Emergency Food shelter. The volunteers started packing. By the time they were done, boxes, cans, fresh fruits, and vegetables filled the backseat, passenger seat, and trunk of Officer Wagner’s squad car.
7. Then, Wagner drove to Sarah's home and knocked on her door. Sarah said, “I couldn't believe it. I was just overwhelmed, in disbelief.” She also experienced a rush of guilt. Wagner said, “She told me, ‘I don't deserve this, I committed a crime.’” Wagner wouldn’t hear of it.
8. Officer Wagner had more news; He’d talked to Walmart and voided the citation he had written her. “Throw it in the garbage. God gives us second chances and you've got to take advantage of them.”
B. THE CALL
1. How many of you need some GRACE from God today? Forgiveness? Mercy? A new start? Do you have some sins you need to get under the Blood?
2. Let’s PRAY!
