“Manasseh led Judah and the people of Jerusalem astray, so that they did more evil than the nations the LORD had destroyed before the Israelites.” (2 Chronicles 33:9, NIV)

In 2 Chronicles 33 we get Manasseh, whose life is marked in two distinct ways: 1) the great evil he did in leading Judah and the people of Jerusalem astray and 2) repentance.

Manasseh goes down as one of the worst rulers of Jerusalem. You might even say he was the worst. The text comes about as close as you can to making that point. He was twelve years old when he became king and it went downhill from there.

He did evil in the eyes of the LORD.
He followed the detestable practices of the nations the LORD had driven out before the Israelites.
He rebuilt the high places his father Hezekiah had demolished.
He erected altars to the Baals and made Asherah poles.
He bowed down to all the starry hosts and worshipped them.
He built altars to all the starry hosts in the temple of the LORD.
He sacrificed his children in the fire in the Valley of Ben Hinnom.
He practiced divination and witchcraft.
He sought omens.
He consulted mediums and spiritists.
He aroused the anger of the LORD.
He led Judah and the people of Jerusalem astray, so that they did more evil than the nations the LORD had destroyed before the Israelites.

Manasseh had the power to do whatever he wanted and so he did. The problem for him—although he didn’t recognize it as a problem—was that everything he did put distance between himself and God. He had lived his life as king in defiance of the God of Israel—the one who established his kingship. He even ignored God when God spoke to him directly and, as far as we know, Manasseh had no plans to make any changes. That is, until God had enough of it.

Immediately following the text’s description of Manasseh’s sin-filled leadership, we read that God brought against them (the people and Manasseh) 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 (v. 11). This has to be it for Manasseh, right? God has had enough of his folly and he’s going to put Manasseh down after teaching him a lesson.

Not exactly.

That was it for Manasseh, but what God was doing to him wasn’t what I think we would have been expecting. This “judgment” from God of Manasseh wasn’t a judgment of punishment and handing over; this “judgment” was one of longsuffering patience and mercy. God did send an army to capture Manasseh but he sent the army in order to lead Manasseh to repentance. God would have been justified in sending an army to destroy Manasseh. He had it coming. But God didn’t do that. The army was sent by God, they captured Manasseh, and then the text says: “In his (Manasseh’s) 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 Chronicles 33:12-13)

God was patient with Manasseh and, through that patience, brought him to a place where he was able to repent. God did not have to do this for Manasseh and he does not have to do it for us, but in his mercy he does.