Manasseh's change of heart in Babylonian captivity is one of the most remarkable examples of repentance in the Bible. God accepted Manasseh's repentance and allowed him to be king of Judah again.

King Manasseh's personal example had an important effect on his people. Biblical history shows us repeatedly the lesson of "As the king goes, so goes the people". Prior to being taken captive to Babylon Manasseh was not the only one in Judah who was worshiping false gods. His bad example had a big impact on the Jews.

"Manasseh seduced Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem to do more evil than the nations whom the Lord had destroyed before the children of Israel. And the Lord spoke to Manasseh and his people, but they would not listen" (2 Chronicles 33:9-10).

After his return from Babylonian captivity Manasseh "took away the foreign gods and the idol from the house of the Lord, and all the altars that he had built in the mount of the house of the Lord and in Jerusalem; and he cast them out of the city. He also repaired the altar of the Lord, sacrificed peace offerings and thank offerings on it, and commanded Judah to serve the Lord God of Israel" (verses 15-16).

The repentance of the Jews was apparently not as deep as that of their king: "Nevertheless the people still sacrificed on the high places, but only to the Lord their God" (verse 17). That would be similar to worshiping the true God today by bowing down to an idol in one of the large Christian churches.

One Bible scholar summarized Manasseh's reign and his repentance this way: "Half a century of paganism could not be counteracted by half-a-dozen years of reform."

Manasseh's example shows us how important the example of a Godly leader is for other people.

With these thoughts I wish everyone a rewarding Sabbath!