Jump Start # 4197

2 Kings 24:3-4 “Surely at the command of the Lord it came upon Judah, to remove them from His sight because of the sins of Manasseh, according to all that he had done, and also for the innocent blood which he shed, for he filled Jerusalem with innocent blood; and the Lord would not forgive.”

  Manasseh was the longest reigning king in Judah. More than five decades he reigned. His early years were corrupt, immoral, ungodly and violent. He put to death his own people. Why God allowed him to stay in power so long is something only known to Heaven. He was exiled and put in prison by the Assyrians. While in prison he reformed and changed. He prayed to the Lord. He knew that the Lord was God. He removed idols and reinstated the worship to the Lord.

However, the damage was done. Although Manasseh returned to the Lord, the people continued to serve the idols. The king learned his lesson but the people had not. And, in a remarkable statement, our verse ends with, “…and the Lord would not forgive.”

This is something that needs to be understood these days. It needs to be preached more. The way some talk, you’d think that God owes us forgiveness. He has to forgive us. But, that’s not the picture the Bible presents.

Paul referred to the salvation in Christ as a “gift” (2 Cor 9:15). A gift is just that, a gift. It’s not something that is owed, like a paycheck. In even a more stunning passage, Jesus’ parable about the man who was forgiven ten thousand talents, yet refused to forgive a fellow laborer who owed only a hundred denarii, the master withdrew the forgiveness and demanded the man to pay the full ten thousand talents. Forgiveness can be taken back!

In the example of prayer, Jesus said that “if you do not forgive others, then your Father will not forgive your transgressions” (Mt 6:15).

Side by side, there are times God won’t forgive and there are situations in which God will take back His gift of grace and forgiveness. These are not done without reason. They are based upon the actions and the heart of the people involved. But, what a profound lesson for us to remember.

First, knowing this ought to turn our hearts against sin. Thinking I can do something wrong and God will always forgive me, is making grace cheap and abusing the Lord. He doesn’t have to forgive you. Just do what you want and it will all be ok, just doesn’t fly with what the Bible teaches. Forgiveness is something that we need to be eternally grateful for and thankful for.

Second, just saying, “I’m sorry,” without changing our ways or our heart doesn’t guarantee salvation from the Lord. Repentance means a change of your ways and a change of your heart. You no longer want to do what you have done. You now recognize that what you were doing was wrong. It’s more than just saying you are sorry and continuing onward down the wrong path. It is stopping. It is turning around. It is heading back to the Lord. The prodigal didn’t stay with the pigs. He got up and came home. Many a person will realize that they have made wrong choices in their life. Few are the ones who have the courage and the faith to return back to God where they belong. There was no celebration in the pig pen. There was no forgiveness in the far country. The prodigal had to get up and come home.

Third, even though we may be sorry for what we have done, there may be long lasting consequences that follow the choices that we have made. Manasseh changed late in life, but he led a nation so deep into idolatry that they did not want to leave. He killed many innocent people. He sacrificed his own children upon the idols of pagan gods. Those things don’t just come back. Changing your ways doesn’t bring back the damage that has been done.

For many of us it would never been the slaughter of the innocent, but how many have we slain with the words of our mouth? Words that are remembered decades later. Words that cut to the core of a person. We can say we are sorry, but the children grow up remembering. The spouse remembers. The brethren remember.

And the Lord would not forgive…that ought to touch our hearts, make us consider our ways and humble us before the Lord.

Roger