Manasseh’s prayer and God’s pity for him, his sins, his unfaithfulness, the places he built for worshiping gods and the Asherah idols before he humbled himself—all are written in the book of the seers.
You are our father. Abraham doesn’t know we are his children, and Israel doesn’t recognize us. Lord, you are our father. You are called “the one who has always saved us.”
“I, the Lord, said, ‘How happy I would be to treat you as my own children and give you a pleasant land, a land more beautiful than that of any other nation.’ I thought you would call me ‘My Father’ and not turn away from me.
“You know that Israel is my dear son, The child I love. Yes, I often speak against Israel, but I still remember him. I love him very much, and I want to comfort him,” says the Lord.
“Since the stump of the tree and its roots were left in the ground, your kingdom will be given back to you when you learn that one in heaven rules your kingdom.
Even though you are bad, you know how to give good gifts to your children. How much more your heavenly Father will give good things to those who ask him!
“The tax collector, standing at a distance, would not even look up to heaven. But he beat on his chest because he was so sad. He said, ‘God, have mercy on me, a sinner.’