DAILY TEXT, Today's  Friday, September 22, 2023,  Have you seen how Ahab humbled himself for me? (1 Kings 21:29).

Let us examine the scriptures every day 2023

Friday, September 22

Have you seen how Ahab humbled himself for me? (1 Kings 21:29).

Although Ahab humbled himself before Jehovah, what he did next showed that he was not truly repentant. He did not attempt to end Baal worship in Israel or encourage the people to worship Jehovah. After his death, Jehovah made clear what he thought of him. Jehu, a prophet of God, said that Ahab had been one of “the evil ones” (2 Chron. 19:1, 2). Let's think about this: if Ahab had truly repented, surely the prophet would not have included him among “the evil ones” and “those who hate Jehovah.” So it is clear that, although Ahab regretted to some degree what he had done, he never fully repented. What do we learn from his example? When Elijah announced the punishment his family would suffer, Ahab was initially humbled. That was a good first step. But the steps he took afterwards showed that he was not repentant at heart. This teaches us that true repentance involves more than simply saying we feel bad about what we have done. w21.10 3 paras. 4, 5, 7, 8.

What kind of king was Manasseh?

About 200 years later, Manasseh became king of Judah. His sins may have been worse than Ahab's. The Bible says that he “did on a large scale what was evil in the sight of the Lord to provoke him” (2 Chron. 33:1-9). He built altars to false gods and even placed in Jehovah's holy temple a carved image of a sacred pole, probably a symbol of sex worship. He used divination and practiced magic and sorcery. He also “shed a lot of innocent blood.” He murdered many people and even “burned his own children in the fire” as sacrifices to false gods (2 Kings 21:6, 7, 10, 11, 16).

How did Jehovah discipline Manasseh, and how did the king react?

Like Ahab, Manasseh refused to heed the warnings that Jehovah gave him through his prophets. Finally, “Jehovah caused the commanders of the army of the king of Assyria to come against them,” that is, against Judah. “They captured Manasseh with hooks, bound him with two copper shackles, and took him to Babylon.” It seems that while he was held captive there he reflected on what he had done. He “was deeply humbling himself before the God of his ancestors.” But he did something else: “He begged Jehovah his God” and “continued to pray to him.” That evil man was changing. He began to see Jehovah as “his God” and prayed to him again and again (2 Chron. 33:10-13).

How did Manasseh show that his repentance was sincere? (2 Chronicles 33:15, 16).

In time, Jehovah answered Manasseh's prayers. He saw that his heart had changed, and that was reflected in his prayers. Jehovah was moved by his prayer and restored him to his kingdom. Manasseh did his best to show that his repentance was sincere. He did what Ahab never did: he changed his ways, fought against false worship, and encouraged the people to worship Jehovah. (Read 2 Chronicles 33:15, 16.) He sure took faith and courage to do that, since for decades she had been a bad influence on his family, his nobles, and his people. But now in his old age he tried to repair some of the damage he had done. It is likely that he was a good influence on his granddaughter Josiah, who later became a very good king (2 Kings 22:1, 2).

What does Manasseh's example teach us about repentance?

What do we learn from Manasseh? He not only humbled himself, but prayed, pleaded for Jehovah's mercy, and changed his ways. Furthermore, he did everything he could to repair the damage he had done and strove to worship Jehovah and help others do the same. His example gives hope to even the worst of sinners. It is clear proof that God is good and “willing to forgive” (Ps. 86:5). Those who truly repent can obtain forgiveness from Jehovah.

What example helps us understand a very important lesson about repentance?

As we have seen, Manasseh did more than simply mourn his sins. This teaches us a very important lesson. To understand it, let's think about the following example. Let's imagine that we go to a bakery and order a cake. But instead of a cake they give us an egg. Would we settle for that? Of course not. What if the baker justified himself by saying that the egg is an important ingredient in the cake? Still, it wouldn't be enough for us. Similarly, Jehovah asks anyone who commits a sin to truly repent. If the person feels bad about his sin, he does well, because that is an important part of repentance. But that is not enough. To see what more is needed, let's look at a moving parable Jesus told.

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