Most of us have, at one time or another, encountered someone for the first time that left a less than outstanding impression on us. Whenever I was tempted to write such a person off as a potential friend, my parents would remind me that we should “never judge a book by its cover.” After all, they would tell me, maybe the person was having a bad day. Until we spend time getting to know the person’s heart, we cannot come to any real conclusion concerning their character. This advice has been a blessing to me throughout my life. Interestingly enough, I found this to be true even in the Bible.
As I was doing my Bible reading, I came across a chapter 21 in 2 Kings concerning Manasseh. He reigned as King of Judah after the death of his father Hezekiah. According to God’s Word, Hezekiah “...did what was right in the eyes of the Lord, according to all that David his father had done.” However, when he died, his son Manasseh took the throne (chapter 21): “And he did what was evil in the sight of the Lord, according to the despicable practices of the nations whom the LORD drove out before the people of Israel.” The chapter goes on to recite that Manasseh rebuilt the high places for pagan worship and made altars to Baal and Asherah. He even built altars inside God’s temple to the host of heaven. As if this were not enough, he burned his own son as a sacrifice to a pagan god and dealt with the forbidden mediums and necromancers. God promised that He would judge Judah for such sins. Now, if I had stopped reading at this point, I would have been left with the opinion that Manasseh was beyond reach. He was unfaithful to God as much as his own father Hezekiah had been obedient to the Lord. The chapter ends with his son Amon taking the throne. However, this was not the end of my reading for the day.
2 Chronicles 33 repeats some of the story of Manasseh but expounds even more on his life. Indeed, he did evil in the sight of the Lord and reversed much of the good that his father Hezekiah had accomplished. The Bible tells us: “The LORD spoke to Manasseh and to his people, but they paid no attention” (vs.10). So the Lord brought the army of the King of Assyria to take Manasseh captive to Babylon. This action caught Manasseh’s attention. He pleaded with God and humbled himself in prayer. God heard his cry and brought him again to his kingdom. Verse 13c says: “Then Manasseh knew that the LORD was God.”
Following his encounter with the Living God, Manasseh became a changed man. He built walls around Jerusalem to protect it. He fortified the cities of Judah and took away all the foreign gods and idols from the Temple. Not only did he restore the altar of the LORD but he also offered peace offerings and thanksgiving offerings to God. Furthermore, Manasseh commanded the people to serve the LORD, the God of Israel. What a turn around for a man who began his reign as a faithless King! The change came when God got his attention and gave him a new heart. Here is an important picture for all of us.
We are all like Manasseh going our sinful way in life until God touches us and gives us a new heart. When He opens our eyes, we can see what we have done. Then, like Manasseh, we humble ourselves before the LORD and repent of our sins. This great exchange....Christ’s righteousness for our sinfulness is what salvation is all about. Look at the fruit that came from this transformation! This is precisely why we cannot “judge a book by its cover”. God sees the possibilities that we cannot, and He has tasked us to tell others the Good News of Jesus Christ so they can be set free like Manasseh. Rather than writing someone off because the “cover” of their life is tattered and torn, we should look inside with the Holy Spirit’s help and share the Gospel instead. This will bring glory to God! Selah!
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