Introduction
At the end of the Red Green television program, the Possum Lodge members conclude the show by reciting the man’s prayer. It goes like this, spoken in a very humble manner, "I'm a man, but I can change, if I have to, I guess." This “prayer” sounds like an apology, but what an apology! It is humorous on so many levels. Why would a man have to apologize just for being a man? Even if a man had done something wrong, the apology isn’t at all sincere when he says, “if I have to, I guess.”
Although it says a lot about self image and relationships, it also says something about the nature of admitting when we are wrong. Sometimes we feel pressure to apologize for things we haven’t done wrong. When we have done something wrong, we know that it is right to admit it, but that is so hard for us to do.
The Bible has a lot to say about admitting when we have done wrong. It calls it “repentance.” This morning, we will look at a story about repentance from II Chronicles 33. It is the story about Manasseh. We will look at his story and also at other things the Bible has to say about repentance.
The key verse, which we will examine, which will also provide our outline is II Chronicles 33:12,13 which says, “In his distress he sought the favor of the Lord his God and humbled himself greatly before the God of his fathers. 13 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.”
In His Distress
The first line of this text says, “In his distress he sought the favor of the Lord his God…”
What had he done to be in distress? What had happened to him to bring him to distress?
Last time we looked at II Chronicles, we talked about Hezekiah. You may recall, as II Chronicles 29:2 says, that Hezekiah, “…did what was right in the eyes of the Lord…” Hezekiah’s son, Manasseh, ascended the throne after him. Manasseh was 12 years old when he became king and reigned 55 years in Judah. He is the exception to the observation we made at one point that the kings who followed God reigned longer than the ones who did not. Perhaps it is because of the story of his life we are examining today. The first thing we learn about Manasseh is found in II Chronicles 33:2 where it says that “He did evil in the eyes of the Lord.”
A list of his evil deeds follows in II Chronicles 33:2-9. Some of the things which he did wrong were not new, but had been done in previous generations. He rebuilt the high places. He erected altars to the Baals and he made Asherah poles. In this way he followed the practices of the surrounding nations. Like others before him, Saul for example, he also practiced divination, witchcraft and he consulted mediums. But he also discovered new ways of disobeying God. Possibly from the influence of Assyria and Babylon, he began to bow down to the stars and built altars to the stars in the temple of God, which was of course a very serious sin. II Samuel 7:13 indicates that God had declared that the temple was to be “a house for my Name.” He also sacrificed his sons in the fire, which was another pagan practice. He also put a carved image in the temple of God, which was strictly forbidden. He not only practiced these evil things, but in doing so also led the nation astray. The conclusion of this section, in verse 9, is that “he did more evil than the nations the Lord had destroyed.” This is truly an amazing statement. Many other nations had been destroyed because of these things. Why was Judah spared? Why did God not destroy them? It shows us something of the patience of God and the promise that God was going to bring redemption through these people, even though at this time they were far from God.
Verse 10 tells us that even though God spoke to Manasseh about these evil things through His prophets, he paid no attention and continued to do them. The primary sin of Manasseh was that he rejected God. The Bible tells us that in this way all of us sin.
Eventually God acted. We read that the king of Assyria took Manasseh prisoner and he put a hook in his nose – Manasseh had a nose ring, but it was a symbol of subjection and captivity. He was bound and taken to Babylon. It is a little puzzling that the king of Assyria took him to Babylon and there are some questions about what this means historically, but we will just take note that he was captured, imprisoned and taken far from his home.
When he was in captivity, his eyes were finally opened and he saw his evil and we read that “in his distress he sought the favour of the Lord…” He had done some terribly evil things and God used punishment to bring him to the place where he was able to see just how evil his ways were and to repent of them. God used discipline or punishment to bring Manasseh to the place of repentance.
How does God bring us to repentance? Repentance happens when we recognize that we have done wrong. How does God help us recognize that we have done wrong? Sometimes it is through discipline. We read in Revelation 3:19, “Those whom I love I rebuke and discipline. So be earnest, and repent.”
Sometimes the consequences of our sin force us to recognize that we have done wrong. If in the difficulty that comes because of the consequences of our sin we recognize that we have done wrong, we are brought to the place where we repent.
Sometimes God punishes us for the wrong we do. It is not only consequences, but direct punishment. The difference isn’t great. In both cases, it is hardship and trial which come because of sin that lead us to recognize our wrong doing.
A.W. Tozer says, “Deliverance can come to us only by the defeat of our old life. Safety and peace come only after we have been forced to our knees. God rescues us by breaking us, by shattering our strength and wiping out our resistance.”
In a similar way Malcolm Muggeridge says, “Human beings are only bearable when the last defences of their egos are down; when they stand, helpless and humbled, before the awful circumstances of their being. It is only thus that the point of the cross becomes clear, and the point of the cross is the point of life.”
But what happened to Manasseh is not the only way in which God brings us to repentance. Romans 2:4 says, “Or do you show contempt for the riches of his kindness, tolerance and patience, not realizing that God’s kindness leads you toward repentance?” All of the good gifts of God are also intended to bring us to repentance. When God provides rain for our crops, when he gives us the blessing of family and good relationships, when he gives us health, all of these blessings from God are intended to help us see that we are greatly loved. It is like the disobedient child who is given a gift and recognizes that he is loved and that his misbehavior is out of place and he admits it and starts to obey. God’s goodness helps us understand His great love and leads us to acknowledge that we have not lived in a way worthy of this love.
He Humbled Himself Greatly
But when we are brought to the point of knowing our need of repentance, the next step which must be taken is repentance. But what is repentance?
The words used in the Bible for repentance bring out two primary ideas. One is “to change one’s mind.” That is, that we have been living and thinking in one way – that is justifying our self sufficiency and self-centeredness and we change our mind and begin to think in the way God wants us to think. The other idea that comes out of the Biblical words is to turn around. It conveys a similar idea that we have been walking in one direction and we change directions and walk in a different direction.
Dwight L. Moody puts it this way: “Man is born with his face turned away from God. When he truly repents, he is turned right round toward God; he leaves his old life.”
The question about Manasseh is, “did he really repent?” The story about Manasseh is also found in II Kings 21. In that account, there is no mention of repentance. He is described as an evil man. Manasseh’s son, Amon, reigned with the same wickedness as Manasseh had. Did he learn nothing from his father’s repentance? One commentator actually suggests that “It was not a ‘thorough conversion.” He writes further, about II Kings 24:3; 23:26 that, “Manasseh is here named as the person who by his godlessness made the punishment of Judah and Jerusalem unavoidable, because he so corrupted Judah by his sins, that it could not now thoroughly turn to the Lord, but always fell back into the sins of Manasseh.” This makes us wonder if Manasseh truly repented and raises the question. “Is there such a thing as false repentance?”
In the New Testament, there is one verse which teaches us that there is a difference. II Corinthians 7:10 says, “Godly sorrow brings repentance and leads to salvation, but worldly sorrow brings death.”
What is the nature of our sorrow? Is it because we have been caught or been in trouble. That may be earthly sorrow, which may bring a change, but not true repentance and salvation. Is that what happened to Manasseh? Godly sorrow is different. It is a recognition that God’s way has been violated and that therefore we are on the path to death. Philip Hughes says, “Self is its central point; and self is also the central point of sin. Thus the sorrow of the world manifests itself in self-pity rather than in contrition and turning to God for mercy.”
We have Biblical examples of both of these kinds of sorrow for sin. Esau had done wrong and Hebrews 12:17 says, “He could bring about no change of mind, though he sought the blessing with tears.” David also sinned, but we see a very different kind of sorrow for sin in both Psalm 32 and 51. For example, in Psalm 51:4 David says, “Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight.”
John Piper says, “Worldly regret is when you feel sorry for something you did because it starts to backfire on you and leads to humiliation or punishment. It's the reflex of a proud or fearful ego.” “…godly regret is the reflex of a conscience that has wounded God's ego, not its own. Godly regret grieves that God's name has come into disrepute. The focus of godly regret is God.”
What happens in our hearts when we truly repent? It is clear from the story in II Chronicles that some significant change did take place and we should probably take that at face value. From what it says about Manasseh in II Chronicles 33:12 we get some idea. It says, “…he sought the favor of the Lord his God and humbled himself greatly before the God of his fathers.”
The Bible has much to say about what happens when we truly repent.
Repentance begins when we have a revulsion about the evil things that we have done. II Corinthians 7:11 says, “See what this godly sorrow has produced in you: what earnestness, what eagerness to clear yourselves, what indignation, what alarm, what longing, what concern, what readiness to see justice done.”
W. M. Taylor writes, “True repentance hates the sin, and not merely the penalty; and it hates the sin most of all because it has discovered and felt God's love.”
With that revulsion there is shame. Much later in the history of Israel when they had been in Babylon for almost 70 years and were about to return, Daniel prayed a prayer of repentance. He began by saying in Daniel 9:7, “Lord, you are righteous, but this day we are covered with shame.”
Then repentance involves turning. It isn’t just an acknowledgement of the trouble we are in, but a turning from the sins which have been a part of our life. In Ezekiel 18:30-32 we read a description of repentance. It says, “Repent! Turn away from all your offences; then sin will not be your downfall. Rid yourselves of all the offences you have committed, and get a new heart and a new spirit.”
In Acts 14:15 we have another similar description which says, “turn from these worthless things to the living God.”
Such a hatred of sin and turning from it involves humbling ourselves, as Manasseh did. II Chronicles 7:14 describes this as well when it says, “if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways…”
C.S. Lewis said, “Fallen man is not simply an imperfect creature who needs improvement; he is a rebel who must lay down his arms ... This process of surrender-this movement full speed astern-is what Christians call repentance. Now repentance is no fun at all. It is something much harder than merely eating humble pie. It means unlearning all the self-conceit and self-will that we have been training ourselves into for thousands of years. It means killing part of yourself, undergoing a kind of death.”
The Lord Was Moved
Repentance seems like such a negative thing. It is hard to do, it is so humbling and very uncomfortable. Why is it so necessary?
It is necessary because God has chosen to let us go our own way. As long as we want to go our own way, God lets us. But, when we go our own way, we always go on a path that leads to death. Repentance is the only way to turn around to God’s way and to leave the path of death and find the path of life. So although it is hard for us, it is in fact the only possible way for us to find life.
This is what happened to Manasseh. We read in II Chronicles 33:13, “…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.”
Throughout the Bible there is a call to repentance. Proverbs 28:13 says, “He who conceals his sins does not prosper, but whoever confesses and renounces them finds mercy. In Acts 2:38 on the day of Pentecost when the people wondered how they should respond to the message about Jesus, Peter said to them, “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.”
Repentance is a necessary step towards the life God gives and just as it resulted in a time of release for Manasseh, God’s refreshing and renewal comes when we are willing to be done with sin and turn to Him. After Peter and John had asked God to heal the blind beggar, Peter preached to the crowd in Acts 3:19 saying, “Repent, then, and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out, that times of refreshing may come from the Lord.”
So since repentance is so important for salvation, the invitation goes to each one of us to repent. If we have any sin in our life that is ongoing, if we are living in a self centred way, if we are justifying sin in our life, then the invitation is for us to repent. God repeats this invitation over and over in His Word. In fact many times we are warned as in Hebrews 4:7, “Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts.”
He Knew That The Lord Is God
But there is one other aspect of repentance that is important. Once we have repented, truly repented, there will be a change in our lives. This happened in Manasseh’s life. The beginning of it is described in II Chronicles 33:13b, “Then Manasseh knew that the Lord is God.” Previously he had worshipped all kinds of other gods and had all kinds of other religious practices, but now he served the Lord. The evidence of that service to the Lord was evident in the rest of his life. Second Chronicles 33:14-17 tells us the story of his changed life. He rebuilt the outer wall, got rid of the foreign gods, removed the image from the temple, restored the altar of the Lord and sacrificed offerings according to God’s requirements.
If there is true repentance, there will be a change. When John the Baptist called on people to repent of their sins, he also said, in Matthew 3:8, “Produce fruit in keeping with repentance.”
Chuck Colson met a man by the name of Jack Eckerd. He was a businessman from Florida, the founder of the Eckerd Drug chain, the second largest drugstore chain in America. In his first conversation, Jack expressed an interest in Christianity, but did not believe. For the next year, Chuck met with Jack and gave him books to read and talked to him about Jesus. One day Jack phoned Chuck and said that he had finally come to understand the gospel and had believed.
Chuck goes on to say that “The first thing he did was to walk into one of his drugstores and walked down through the book shelves and he saw Playboy and Penthouse. And he'd seen it there many times before, but it never bothered him before. Now he saw them with new eyes. He'd become a Christian.
“He went back to his office. He called in his president. He said, ‘Take Playboy and Penthouse out of my stores.’ The president said, ‘You can't mean that, Mr. Eckerd. We make three million dollars a year on those books.’ He said, ‘Take 'em out of my stores.’ And in 1,700 stores across America, by one man's decision, those magazines were removed from the shelves because a man had given his life to Christ.”
That is the fruit of repentance! As God changes our hearts, we become willing to make the changes in our lives that fit with repentance. What needs to change in your life? What will be the fruit of repentance in your life?
Conclusion
Repentance is unusual, it is refused by many people. However, God wants us to repent and if we want life, then we must repent. In Acts 17:30 God says, “He commands all people everywhere to repent.” We must recognize the evil of sin in our lives and we must turn from it and we must live in repentance.
This morning, I would like to call us to true repentance. Perhaps there are some of you here this morning who know that you are walking in sin. You recognize that it is nothing but trouble. I invite you to see your sin through God’s eyes, to acknowledge its horror, turn from it and look to God for renewal.
There are some of you here this morning who have repented, but the sin you have repented of continues in your life. I challenge you to seek God for the renewal which comes from Him through repentance and bring forth fruits of repentance.
Let us seek the refreshing and renewal which come when we turn to God from our sin.
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