Manasseh: The Comeback King

Meet the Artist Lim Zhi Chuan

For information on our resources, please write to the office nearest you from the list below, or go to www.rbc-addresses.info for the complete list of offices.

RBC Ministries, PO Box 15, Kilsyth, VIC 3137, Australia RBC Ministries, Caixa Postal 4190, 82501-970, Curitiba/PR, Brazil RBC Ministries, PO Box 86, Taman Sri Tebrau, 80057 Johor Bahru, Malaysia RBC Ministries, MacPherson Road Post Office, PO Box 146, Singapore 913405 RBC Ministries, PO Box 2637, Umhlanga Rocks, Durban 4320, South Africa RBC Ministries, PO Box 19, Dehiwala 10350, Sri Lanka RBC Ministries, PO Box 1, Carnforth, Lancashire, LA5 9ES, United Kingdom

Many people, making even the smallest of donations, enable RBC Ministries to reach others with the life-changing wisdom of the Bible. We are not funded or endowed by any group or denomination.

CH110

Publisher:

RBC Ministries © 2012 RBC Ministries.

All rights reserved.

Manasseh: The Comeback King

Born in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, in 1988, Lim Zhi Chuan began to develop his interest in art early on, with his passion leading to his graduation from Malaysia Institute of Art in 2008. In 2010, he was awarded a full scholarship to study animation in Korea National University of Arts. Today, Zhi Chuan continues to work hard to achieve his dream of being a comic artist and is delighted when he is able to serve the Lord with his gifts.

M a n a s s e h is his second project for RBC Ministries. His first was J o s e p h , t h e Overcomer.

In a true riches-to-rags story, King Manasseh was a man with a godly heritage who chose to walk down the path of wickedness. He committed some of the worse atrocities in Israel‛s history and invited God‛s wrath. However, despite Manasseh‛s monstrous sins, the Lord was still Manasseh‛s God. Although anger swept across God‛s face, He never turned away His eyes. Manasseh was not forsaken. Manasseh became for us a glorious example of God‛s unimaginable grace.

Authors:

Isaac Tan and Rachel Ang Artist:

Lim Zhi Chuan Art Directors:

Alex Soh and Neo Beng Poh Editors:

Alyson Kieda, Chia Poh Fang, Tracy Phua, Sim Kay Tee Special Thanks:

Nicholas Kwong Lic-Kae Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2007. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188.

All rights reserved.

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

12

13

14

15

16

17

18

19

20

21

22

23

24

25

26

27

28

29

30

31

32

33

34

35

36

37

38

39

40

41

42

43

44

45

46

47

48

49

50

51

52

53

54

55

56

57

58

59

60

61

62

63

64

65

66

67

68

69

70

71

72

73

74

75

76

77

78

79

80

81

82

83

84

85

86

87

88

89

90

91

92

93

94

The End

95

OVERCOMING

A B A D S TA RT Despite Manasseh’s monstrous wickedness, the Lord was still Manasseh’s God. Although anger swept across God’s face, He never turned away His eyes. Manasseh was not forsaken.

In Harriet Beecher Stowe’s Uncle Tom’s Cabin, Tom laments, “I’s wicked I is—mighty wicked. Anyhow I can’t help it!” Sin is our nature. It’s how we make our way through life—and we can’t help it. Yet our repeated failures do not change God’s fundamental disposition toward us. If it’s our nature to sin, it’s His nature to save.

Without that understanding we could never survive our sin. It would only terrorize us and drive us away from God. We’d have grounds for that terror if God had chosen us in the beginning because we were so wonderful. But since our original acceptance did not depend on anything in us, it cannot be undone by anything in us now. Nothing in us deserved His favor before our conversion; nothing in us merits its continuation.

God saved us because He determined to do so. He created us for Himself, and without that fellowship His heart aches in loneliness.

That’s why Christ suffered for us—“the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring [us] to God” (1 Peter 3:18). He will never give up. He loves us too much to give up. “He who began a good work in [us] will carry it on to completion” (Philippians 1:6).

We must accept God’s full and free forgiveness, and then forget ourselves. That we are sinners is undeniably true. That we are forgiven sinners is undeniable as well. We must not dwell on our sinfulness. God’s heart is open to us. We must take what forgiveness we need and get on with life.

There is more. God not only forgives our sin, He uses it to make us better than ever before. Consider Manasseh. He was released from prison after 12 years and restored to his throne. Then he set out to strengthen his defenses. He demonstrated true repentance.

True repentance involves a fundamental change in our outlook and attitude. It is not mere sorrow over sin. It is a radical reversal of 96

our thinking. It will manifest itself in a determined effort to strengthen ourselves in those areas where we are weak and where we have fallen before. There will be a fierce determination to guard ourselves against sin.

True repentance will mean staying away from the company of men or women whose influence corrupts us. It will mean staying out of situations in which we’re inclined to stumble and fall. It will mean staying away from polluting influences in movies, books, magazines, and cyberspace. It will mean finding another person to hold us accountable. Whatever it means, our waywardness will have made us stronger and better than ever before. Even from our sin God can draw good.

Manasseh was a glorious example to Israel of God’s unimaginable grace. God will do the same for you.

—Extracted from the Discovery Series booklet David & Manasseh: Overcoming Failure

Recommended readings: • David & Manasseh: Overcoming Failure http://discoveryseries.org/discovery-series/david-manassehovercoming-failure/ • The Way Back http://discoveryseries.org/discovery-series/the-way-back/ • The Forgiveness Of God http://discoveryseries.org/discovery-series/the-forgiveness-of-god/

97

FOR PERSONAL REFLECTION OR SMALL GROUP DISCUSSION We hope you’ve enjoyed this story and its many characters.

It is our desire to whet your appetite for God’s Word and His ways—to apply His principles to your life.

We pray that after reading this comic you will pick up the Bible with a new excitement and anticipation of knowing the God of the Word more deeply. May you search Scripture for the sheer joy of being in God’s presence. Below are some questions to get you started: CHAPTER 1 Read 2 Kings 18:1–20:10 Reflect: Considering Manasseh’s upbringing and the man he turned out to be, would you agree or disagree that a godly heritage is no guarantee that a person will turn out to be good? Why? If there is no such guarantee, is there any value in a godly heritage? Why or why not?

CHAPTER 2 Thinking Through: What do you think is the “redemptive judgment of God”?

Why can this be a good thing? Have you ever experienced His “redemptive judgment”? How? Key Text: 2 Kings 21:3-7 What kind of a man was Manasseh? How was that expressed 98

in his actions? How did his actions influence the nation?

What was the result?

Consider the statements from God in verses 4 and 7. What did God mean when He said, “In this house and in Jerusalem, which I have chosen out of all the tribes of Israel, I will put My name forever”? (v. 7).

Why would the writer of 2 Kings insert this divine promise into the record that highlights the wrongdoing of Manasseh, one of David’s descendants? (See the Davidic Covenant in 2 Samuel 7:12-16 and 1 Kings 5:5.)

Refer: Read Galatians 6:7. What is Paul saying? Is this a warning or an encouragement to you? Why? Reflect: Manasseh is an example of the strange work of God’s judgment that brought about his repentance. Give two Bible examples where the strange work of judgment did not bring people back to God. Why do you think they did not repent?

CHAPTER 3 Thinking Through: Will shame or feeling ashamed necessarily lead one to repentance? Why or why not?

Key Text: 2 Chronicles 33:12-16 How did Manasseh act after experiencing God’s mercy? (v.13). What did it mean for Manasseh to “humble himself greatly”? (v.12).

Does God always take such extreme measures to bring His 99

people back on track? Why or why not? Are such measures always effective? Why or why not?

What actions taken by Manasseh show that he had truly repented? Why is he an example of true repentance?

Refer: Looking at Isaiah 43:25, is God’s forgiveness the same as His forgetfulness? Why or why not? What does this verse teach about who God is and about the forgiveness He offers? Why does He say that He does this?

Reflect: Is there anything God will not forgive if you truly repent?

Why? Reflect and share a time when you experienced God’s strange work of judgment. What did God do to bring you back to Himself?

These questions are extracted from the Discovery Series Bible Study guide David & Manasseh: Overcoming Failure. Each Discovery Series Bible Study guide is built on one of our Discovery Series booklets enhanced with thought-provoking questions. It is a helpful resource for anyone who wants to go deeper into God’s Word.

100

101

102

103

104

Meet the Artist Lim Zhi Chuan

For information on our resources, please write to the office nearest you from the list below, or go to www.rbc-addresses.info for the complete list of offices.

RBC Ministries, PO Box 15, Kilsyth, VIC 3137, Australia RBC Ministries, Caixa Postal 4190, 82501-970, Curitiba/PR, Brazil RBC Ministries, PO Box 86, Taman Sri Tebrau, 80057 Johor Bahru, Malaysia RBC Ministries, MacPherson Road Post Office, PO Box 146, Singapore 913405 RBC Ministries, PO Box 2637, Umhlanga Rocks, Durban 4320, South Africa RBC Ministries, PO Box 19, Dehiwala 10350, Sri Lanka RBC Ministries, PO Box 1, Carnforth, Lancashire, LA5 9ES, United Kingdom

Publisher:

RBC Ministries © 2012 RBC Ministries.

All rights reserved.

Manasseh: The Comeback King

Born in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, in 1988, Lim Zhi Chuan began to develop his interest in art early on, with his passion leading to his graduation from Malaysia Institute of Art in 2008. In 2010, he was awarded a full scholarship to study animation in Korea National University of Arts. Today, Zhi Chuan continues to work hard to achieve his dream of being a comic artist and is delighted when he is able to serve the Lord with his gifts.

M a n a s s e h is his second project for RBC Ministries. His first was J o s e p h , t h e Overcomer.

In a true riches-to-rags story, King Manasseh was a man with a godly heritage who chose to walk down the path of wickedness. He committed some of the worse atrocities in Israel‛s history and invited God‛s wrath. However, despite Manasseh‛s monstrous sins, the Lord was still Manasseh‛s God. Although anger swept across God‛s face, He never turned away His eyes. Manasseh was not forsaken. Manasseh became for us a glorious example of God‛s unimaginable grace.

Authors:

Isaac Tan and Rachel Ang Artist:

Lim Zhi Chuan Art Directors:

Alex Soh and Neo Beng Poh Editors:

Alyson Kieda, Chia Poh Fang, Tracy Phua, Sim Kay Tee Special Thanks:

Nicholas Kwong Lic-Kae Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2007. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188.

All rights reserved.