Wicked King Manasseh and a balanced view of history

Do we think, in our debauched society today, that we are really better than the historical figures we condemn and refuse to honor?

I wrote about wicked King Manasseh of Judah at the end of April. His story provides an example of how God can forgive and restore even the most wicked sinners. Manasseh, of course, burned his own children to death to sacrifice them to demons. This sin is so terrible that God tells us in the book of Jeremiah that it was a sin that never even entered His mind. Yet when Manasseh calls out to God for mercy in II Chronicles 33, he is restored as king of Judah. Not only that, but Manasseh threw the idols to demons out of the Temple and commanded that the people only worship God. Manasseh is given the honor of being in the line of Christ.

Does Manasseh's repentance and banning of demon worship erase the terrible things he did? Does it mean we should not remember and condemn this wickedness? Obviously not. After all, God's Word records for us the evil things the king did, and how God judged him for it. God also harshly judged Manasseh's ancestor King David for committing adultery and then murdering a loyal and honorable man to cover it up. David is honored throughout Scripture despite this horrible sin. But human beings are complicated creatures. By God's grace, we are capable of great loyalty, courage, love, sacrifice, and kindness. We are also capable of the most evil, vicious, cruel, depraved, and violent things imaginable. Sometimes the same person exhibits all these virtues and vices.

The examples set before us in Scripture, of how all our heroes of the faith have their sins put in front of us in graphic detail, ought to inform how Christians should think about history and honoring certain historical figures. We should not honor this or that person because of the terrible things he did, some say, and the good and honorable things he did do not matter. But that is not what God does, and it should not be how we operate either. Should we not seek to emulate Him in all that we do? Do we think, in our debauched society today, that we are really better than the historical figures we condemn and refuse to honor? No, we are not. Do we have that small a view of our own sins? Sadly, yes we do. We need to be a lot more humble and a lot less self-righteous.

This is not a call to abandon all discernment and moral judgment. Some historical figures should never be honored under any circumstances. Others, however, have a more complicated legacy and have legitimately done things worthy of honor and respect. We can honor these men's achievements and contributions to society and history while also condemning the evil things they did - just as God Himself does with King Manasseh.