Scripture in Action

Aneel Aranha is an author, preacher, and evangelist who has spoken to hundreds of thousands of people around the world. You can find a huge selection of his reflections, articles, sermons, songs and other resources on his app.

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Scripture in Action

Day 187

September 17, 2025 • Aneel Aranha • Season 3 • Episode 187

0:00 | 15:09

Explore God's transforming grace through King Manasseh's repentance, the psalmist's faithful trust, and Paul's teaching on the new covenant's glory.

Day 187 – The Mercy That Reached Manasseh

2 Kings 21
2 Chronicles 33
Psalm 71
2 Corinthians 3

If you wanted to prove that some people are past saving, Manasseh would be your best evidence. He tore down everything his father Hezekiah had built. He put idols in the temple itself. He consulted mediums and sacrificed his own sons in the fire. 2 Kings says he filled Jerusalem with innocent blood from end to end. Fifty-five years of it, the longest reign in Judah's history and the worst. 2 Kings stops there and lets the verdict stand. Chronicles keeps going, and what it shows is hard to believe. The Assyrians come with a hook and bronze shackles and drag him to Babylon. And there, in his distress, he humbles himself greatly and seeks the favor of the Lord. God is moved by his plea and brings him home. Then Manasseh knew that the Lord is God. The knowing came last, in chains. Psalm 71 prays from the far end of a life, asking God not to cast him off when his strength is gone. And Paul explains how any of us change. With unveiled faces we contemplate the Lord's glory and are transformed into his image with ever-increasing glory. Taken together, these readings point to a mercy that arrives late and a change that comes by looking.

What connects these readings is this. No record is long enough to use up God's mercy, and the change that follows doesn't come from trying harder. It comes from a face turned toward him and left there.

How might we walk this out today?

First, bring to mind the person you've quietly decided will never change. Say their name to God today. Pray for them with Manasseh in mind instead of with your own history of disappointment in mind.

Second, spend ten unhurried minutes with a passage about Jesus himself. Not a passage about what you should do. Resist turning it into a task list. Paul says the transformation happens in the looking.

Third, call someone older than you who wonders if their useful years are over. Ask them to tell you one thing God has done that you've never heard before. Then tell them plainly that Psalm 71 puts telling the next generation right in the job description.

Wherever today takes you, hold onto this. Manasseh prayed in chains and God listened. Your prayer isn't being weighed against your record either.

Thank you for joining me today. May the Lord give you hope for the hardest person you know, patience with slow change, and a face turned toward him. Until tomorrow, live what you've read and let it shape all you do.