Grace, grace, God’s grace, Grace that will pardon and cleanse within; Grace, grace, God’s grace, Grace that is greater than all our sin. Is it too good to be true, or is God’s grace really greater than all our sin? No matter who that sinner is, and what sins that person has committed? Even if these sins have ruined a family, a whole community, an entire nation? The message of 2 Chronicles 33 is an unequivocal, “YES! God’s amazing grace is greater than ALL our sin—and that includes yours and mine!” Manasseh reigned fifty years over Judah, and he was an extremely evil king who led the hearts of his people away from the LORD. Though Hezekiah, his father, “did what was good and right and faithful before the LORD his God” (31:20), Manasseh did the exact opposite. In fact, his reign was both longer and worse than any other king of Judah. He welcomed pagan religious practices and desecrated God’s sanctuary. He despised God’s Word, choosing magic and the occult instead. He even burned his own sons as a sacrifice. Manasseh was doing the very things which had caused the Canaanites to forfeit the land which Israel now inhabited. Yet God had warned that He would also drive out His own people if they were unfaithful to Him (v 1-9). As the author of Kings made clear, Manasseh’s evildoing was the last straw (2 Kings 21:10-15; 23:26-27; 24:3-4). The damage he inflicted was irreversible. Judah was now headed for exile. The destiny of the nation was sealed due to the wicked leadership of this one man. Manasseh was the worst king ever! That’s why the second half of 2 Chronicles 33 is so surprising to us. The author of Kings had no good word to say about Manasseh; there was no mention of his later repentance. Why not? Presumably, because his main purpose was to explain what caused the exile of Judah. Manasseh’s sin destroyed the nation and no subsequent repentance on his part could undo these consequences. But the Chronicler writes many years later and is more interested in how to get his people out of the exile than how they got in. Manasseh’s sin led to a personal exile in Babylon, which by God’s grace, led to a personal repentance, a genuine knowledge of the LORD, and some notably positive changes in his administration (v 10-20). The spiritual decline could not be reversed, as shown by Amon, Manasseh’s son (v 21-25). But if Manasseh, the most resounding failure of all David’s sons, could find a place of repentance and mercy, surely there is hope for all Judah, and for all of us, however we may have failed. For further meditation: