Title: Even Belated Repentance is Valuable
2 Kings (51) Belated repentance is also precious (2 Kings 21:19-26)
< Belated repentance is also precious >
Amon became king at the age of 20 and reigned in Jerusalem for two years (verse 19). Like Manasseh, Amon worshiped idols and did evil in the sight of the Lord (verses 20-21). Eventually, the servants rebelled and killed King Amon in the palace (verses 22-23). Why did the servants rebel to kill the king? How painful must it have been for the servants who suffered from evil during the 55 years of the reign of Manasseh, thinking that they would have to live in idolatry for a few more decades under the young king, unable to breathe properly? So, there is a high possibility that the spirit of rebellion gradually sprouted in the spirit of this judge's board.
Of course, the Bible does not say anything about the reason for the rebellion. However, some assumptions are possible: First, the servants challenged by the unknown prophet would have killed the idolatrous king. Second, in the dynamics of the international situation at that time, the officials must have killed the king with foreign powers on their backs. Third, because Manasseh usually killed many innocent people, he must have been killed by vindictive servants.
Of course, no one knows exactly why. However, it is clear that the servants and the people had the idea that they would no longer be able to live under tyranny for a long time. Then he found a decisive opportunity and would have made a big deal. The times of darkness do not last so long. One day, when prayers are piled up, the darkness will dissipate and light will shine in an instant. It seems that such a time is coming to North Korea.
A strange thing happened when the servants killed the young king who had practiced idolatry and evil. I thought the people would rejoice, but instead of rejoicing, they killed all those who rebelled against King Amon and made Amon's son Josiah king in their place (verse 24). Why did that happen? It must have been because of the Davidic Covenant that the throne of David would be eternal. Furthermore, Manasseh's repentance in his last years must have been a great opportunity to regain God's grace.
The sooner you repent, the better. However, belated repentance is also valuable. God honors even belated repentance. No matter how lacking the saints may appear, there is always a new opportunity for grace until death. What was the decisive factor in gaining such an opportunity? That is true repentance. Even if you repent late, if you repent sincerely, it will become a precious spark for you to gain the grace of restoration.
< Repentance is the spark of recovery >
To clear the roadblocks, we must start with repentance. If we accept the crisis as an opportunity for repentance, we become a being without harshness. Those who accept that things are not working, the road is not opened, and the blessings are delayed as voices challenging repentance are the most blessed people. When there is an urgent prayer topic, the person who knows that the more urgent prayer topic is to repent in search of God to repent in front of God is a person full of heavenly wisdom. The size of the awareness of repentance determines the size of the character.
Ultimately, repentance is the starting point that decisively opens the door of blessing. The saints with the best life of faith are those who repent well, and the saints with the highest spirituality are those who repent well. However, the thing that people are not able to do the most is ‘to be good at repentance’. I am good at pretending to repent, but I am not good at real repentance. Repentance is not easy. A person who thinks repentance is easy is not a good repentant person. Ultimately, God must also give us a heart of repentance. The principle of blessing is surprisingly simple. If we sincerely repent, the seeds of blessing are sown.
Even now, God challenges repentance through various problems. So, train yourself not to be offended by bad comments and not to take bad things badly. If you are well trained to hear and accept offensive words and problems in a voice calling for repentance, the door to blessings will gradually open.
No one in this world is perfect before God. Therefore, no matter what harsh words you hear, think of them as less serious than your sins, and no matter what great problems you encounter, consider them to be less serious than your sins. Such a heart is a repentant heart. It is as important to have a repentant heart as much as confession of repentance is verbal. Furthermore, if even those who get angry, harass, frame, and kill are regarded as 'a messenger acting as a teacher while urging their repentance' instead of 'the evil Satan the devil', then he is a being with a deeper spirituality of repentance than anyone else. And from then on, the history of the great reversal will begin.