LEARNING THE HARD WAY

II Chronicles 33 tells us about Manasseh's life.

His father, Hezekiah, had been King of Judah for twenty-nine years.  Hezekiah had been a good, God-serving king!

Manasseh became king when he was twelve years old.  That means he was born when his dad was forty-two years old.  Although we have no details, Manasseh chose to rebel against his father's values - and therefore against God.

The Bible describes him as follows:
v.2  -  ...it was an evil reign, for he encouraged his people to worship the idols of the heathen nations...
v.9  -  ...Manasseh encouraged the people...to do even more evil than the nations the Lord destroyed when Israel entered the land.

But here's the critical line: 
v.10  -  Warnings from the Lord were ignored by both Manasseh and his people.

So:
v.11  -  ...God sent the Assyrian armies, and they seized Manasseh with hooks and bound him with chains and carted him away to Babylon.



It's a dangerous thing to ignore the warnings of God!

But this isn't the end of Manasseh's story.
v.12  -  Then at last he came to his senses and cried out humbly to God for help. 

Fat chance of getting any help from God now - right?  WRONG!
v.13  -  And the Lord listened, and answered his plea by returning him to Jerusalem and to his kingdom!  At that point Manasseh finally realized that the Lord was really God!

For the record, Manasseh spent the rest of his life trying to right all his previous wrongs. 
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Aren't you glad we serve a God of second chances?

Do you need a second (or third or fourth or fifteenth) chance today?  Have you messed up again?  Have you broken your vows?  Have you been dragged away by hooks again?

Fat chance of getting any help from God - right? 

WRONG! 

Suggestion:  CRY OUT HUMBLY TO GOD FOR HELP!