He Entreated The LORD

⏱️ 5 minutes.

When he was in distress, he entreated the LORD his God and humbled himself greatly before the God of his fathers.
— 2 Chronicles 33:12

This passage opens by telling us that the Lord came and spoke to Manasseh and his people — but they did not pay attention. That is verse 10. Immediately after, we are told that because they did not listen, God sent the king of Assyria and his army to bind Manasseh with bronze chains and bring him to Babylon. And it is there, in that place of captivity and distress, that the change of heart came.

God Speaks First

In the unfolding of this story, we see the hand of God at work in the conversion of a heart — and it begins, as it always does, with God speaking.

God first sent His word to Manasseh. He spoke to him, warning him that what he was doing was evil — that the sacrifices to Baal, the worship of idols, and the leading of the people astray were not pleasing to Him. God started with His word.

This is how God typically works when He is turning a heart toward Himself. He starts by speaking — through His word and through His revelation.

In our world today it is not uncommon to hear people say that they have not heard from God, or that if only He would speak with an audible voice they would listen. But Paul addresses this directly in Romans 1:

For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who suppress the truth in unrighteousness.
— Romans 1:18

The problem is not that God is not speaking. The problem is that man is not listening. Paul goes on to tell us that everything that can be known about God — His divine nature and His eternal power — has been clearly revealed in the things that have been created, so that no one has any excuse.

God has revealed Himself in general revelation — in everything that is created — declaring that He is there, that He is watching, and that He requires something of us. And He has revealed Himself in special revelation — in the sacred Scripture we hold in our hands — telling us what He delights in, what He desires, and calling us to follow Him.

In Isaiah 55 we are told to seek the Lord while He may be found, and to turn from our ways and follow Him.

But this is not the natural inclination of the heart of man. The heart of man is enslaved to sin and therefore not inclined toward God. Instead, under the influence of the enemy, man follows his own desires.

God Disciplines Those He Loves

And so God moved to the next step. In verse 11, He released His discipline upon Manasseh — bringing the commanders of the Assyrian army to capture him, bind him with hooks and bronze chains, and carry him off to Babylon.

It should not be overlooked that the Assyrian king came precisely because God directed it. Here again we see a glimpse of the doctrine of concurrence — the king of Assyria, if asked, would have told you that this was entirely his own desire. He wanted to attack Manasseh. His will was not manipulated or forced. He acted according to his highest desire at the time. And yet, in God’s divine providence, He used that very desire to discipline His wayward king.

The author of Hebrews speaks to this pattern:

Do not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord, nor faint when you are reproved by Him; for those whom the Lord loves He disciplines.
— Hebrews 12:5-6

And while discipline is good and necessary, is it not better if we never have to go through it in the first place — because we simply obeyed the Lord’s instruction from the beginning? This is the kind of people we should strive to be. Rather than stiffening our necks and hardening our hearts, we should listen at the first word of the Lord and follow Him.

But when we do harden our hearts and fall back to our own devices, we find ourselves where Paul describes in Romans 1 — with the wrath of God revealed against all ungodliness. And this is exactly what Manasseh experienced.

Humbling Himself Before God

The final movement in this story is Manasseh’s response — and it is where our text lands. In his distress, he entreated the favour of the Lord his God and humbled himself greatly before the God of his fathers.

This is the place we ought to come to — and the sooner, the better. If we hear the word of God, know what we are supposed to do, and yet stiffen our hearts, may we stop ourselves there and turn to Him. And if the Lord disciplines us because of our hardness, may we be a people who heeds that discipline — who recognises the loving hand of the Father in it — rather than fighting against His will until our hearts shatter under the weight of our own stubbornness.

And the outcome for Manasseh is deeply encouraging. In verse 13 we read that he prayed to God — and God, moved by his entreaty, heard his plea and restored him to Jerusalem and to his kingdom. Then Manasseh knew that the Lord was God.

May we be a people who, when we hear the voice of God — whether in His holy Scripture, in His creation, or in the discipline of His loving hand — respond as Manasseh finally did. May we humble ourselves, turn to Him, and know with certainty that the Lord, He is God.

Amen.