“The Merchant of Death is Dead!” That was the headline for an obituary that may have caused Alfred Nobel, the inventor of dynamite, to make a course correction in his life. But the newspaper made a mistake—Alfred was very much alive. It was his brother Ludvig who had died. When Alfred realised he’d be remembered for a dangerous invention that claimed many lives, he decided to donate most of his significant wealth to establishing an award for those who had benefited humanity. It became known as the Nobel Prize.
More than two thousand years earlier, another powerful man had a change of heart. Manasseh, king of Judah, rebelled against God. As a result, he was taken captive to Babylon. But “in his distress he sought the favour of the Lord,” and “when he prayed,” God “brought him back to Jerusalem and to his kingdom” (2 Chronicles 33:12-13). Manasseh spent the rest of his rule in peace, serving God and doing his best to undo the wrongs he’d done before.
“The Lord was moved” by Manasseh’s prayer (v. 13). God responds to humility. When we realise we need to make a change in the way we’re living and turn to Him, He never turns us away. He meets us with grace we don’t deserve and renews us with the self-giving love He poured out at the cross. New beginnings begin with Him.
By James Banks
REFLECT & PRAY
Where in your life do you need to have a change of heart? How will you turn to God today?
Forgiving Father, thank You that You’ll never turn me away. Please help me to turn to You with all my heart in all I do today.
The fifty-five-year reign of Manasseh, king of Judah, is summarized in 2 Kings 21:2: “He did evil in the eyes of the Lord.” Manasseh “rebuilt the high places” and set up “an Asherah pole” (21:3), a sacred pole that honoured the pagan goddess Asherah. In addition, he shed “much innocent blood” and led his people to follow his wrongdoing (v. 16). His life is further described in 2 Chronicles 33 . He defiled the temple by setting up “altars to the Baals” and “bowed down to all the starry hosts” (v. 3). He even sacrificed his own children (v. 6). But after being taken captive to Babylon, Manasseh humbly prayed to God, was returned to his throne in Jerusalem, and ended his reign seeking to right his many wrongs (vv. 10-17). Likewise, we can humbly turn to Him for a fresh start.
Alyson Kieda
Our mission is to make the life-changing wisdom of the Bible understandable and accessible to all.
