Another event took place during Hezekiah’s fifteen year’s extension, it was the birth of his son Manasseh, who was twelve years old when he became king on the death of his father, Hezekiah. I wonder if Hezekiah was grateful for those fifteen years by having such an evil son. Manasseh reigned fifty-five years in Jerusalem. His mother was Hephzibah. Then the bad news, he did evil in God’s sight, following the abominations of the nations which the LORD had cast out (v1,2).
Manasseh’s reign was a long one, but a long reign is not necessarily evidence of God’s blessing. It was clear that following the abominations the Canaanites and the other nations was a downward path, and Manasseh should have expected the judgment of God as had befallen those nations.
Manasseh rebuilt the high places which Hezekiah had destroyed, raised up altars to Baal, made a wooden image which Ahab had done, and worshiped the host of heaven and served them, bringing Judah back into terrible idolatry with old idols and even new ones.
Despite a good father, Manasseh followed wicked Ahab and opposed all that his father had done (v3-9).
One must ask why. It seems strange that his father’s good reign was wasted and overlooked to return to the most wicked of kings and his lifestyle. It happens today that children of godly parents reject the good and turn to the evil. Not all children of Christian parents walk the same path. We cannot guarantee that our children will follow the Lord as we have, and it often fills us with great sadness. I don’t know the answer, and I must leave you to answer it, but we must search out the reason in case we have failed somewhere in our testimony as followers of Christ.
We see it today in the return to Satanic influences and following of the occult and such like. Idolatry on the rise, but there are also signs of returning to religion, but is it a return to God?
Manasseh went further by allowing idol worship in the house of the LORD and desecrating it. Is this happening in our day? I suggest that it is – many churches and leaders are becoming liberal and inclusive in their teaching, departing from the pure Word of God, and ignoring the promised judgment of God on such abominations.
Manasseh made his son pass through the fire to the god Molech, and the burning of children. Do we care for our children today or are they dispensable? The number of abortions is huge and often the church is silent. Our government are seeking to press ahead with assisted suicides and other such atrocities. Thankfully, many are seeking to oppose it.
Witchcraft, spiritists and mediums were re-introduced after they had been banned. 1 Samuel 28 shows us the dangers of this as well as Acts 19:11-20. Nowadays, Halloween is one such practice which is on the increase, but by no means alone. Manasseh set up a carved image in the LORD’s house. Asherah was a fertility god thus encouraging prostitution and whoremongering.
Manasseh and the people forgot or ignored the word of the LORD who had said to David and to Solomon his son, “In this house and in Jerusalem, which I have chosen out of all the tribes of Israel, I will put My name forever; and I will not make the feet of Israel wander anymore from the land which I gave their fathers— only if they are careful to do according to all that I have commanded them, and according to all the law that My servant Moses commanded them.” But they paid no attention, and Manasseh seduced them to do more evil than the nations whom the LORD had destroyed before the children of Israel.
The people paid no attention to the promises of God. He had promised them protection and success, if they followed Him, but they ignored it and took notice of Manasseh, and the wickedness went from bad to worse. 2 Chronicles 33:10 says, ‘The LORD spoke to Manasseh and his people, but they would not listen’. They even ignored the voice of God. Manasseh did his worst, and the people wanted it to happen.
What a fickle world we live in when we take notice of men and women and ignore the voice of God.
Is our world any different today? I think not. Paul writing to Timothy sums up the situation which still persists today.
1 Timothy 1:18,19 “…. wage the good warfare, having faith and a good conscience, which some having rejected concerning the faith have suffered shipwreck….”
1 Timothy 4:1 “…. In the latter times some will depart from the faith, giving heed to deceiving spirits and doctrines of demons….”
2 Timothy 3:1-17 “…. Know this that in the last days perilous times will come …. men will be lovers of themselves …. Rather than lovers of God, having a form of godliness, but denying its power. And from such people turn away …. But evil men and imposters will grow worse and worse, deceiving and being deceived.”
2 Timothy 4:2-4 “Preach the Word …. For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine …. They will turn away their ears from the truth and be turned aside to fables….”
It is worth reading the two letters written by Paul toward the end of his life to his young prodigy, and he even names names, to be aware of.
As was to be expected, the judgments of God followed. He spoke to them by the prophets Hosea, Joel, Nahum, Habakkuk and Isaiah. God in His mercy was still giving them opportunity, but they were not about to take it. God said that Manasseh had acted more quickly than the Amorites who occupied the land before them and were known for their evil and depraved culture. God had told his people that they were to drive them out and not follow or even learn their evil ways (see Deuteronomy 18), but Manasseh had ignored God and taken them down a speedy path of things described by God as abominations.
How we need to be careful that we are not doing the same. It is easy to fall into sin. Let us remember that God has promised a way of escape when we are tempted.
The prophets had said, “…. therefore, thus says the LORD God of Israel: ‘Behold, I am bringing such calamity upon Jerusalem and Judah, that whoever hears of it, both his ears will tingle. And I will stretch over Jerusalem the measuring line of Samaria and the plummet of the house of Ahab; I will wipe Jerusalem as one wipes a dish, wiping it and turning it upside down. So I will forsake the remnant of My inheritance and deliver them into the hand of their enemies; and they shall become victims of plunder to all their enemies, because they have done evil in My sight, and have provoked Me to anger since the day their fathers came out of Egypt, even to this day.’ ” (v10-15)
There was some strong language in God’s judgment – it would make their ears tingle, which was a sign of strong judgment (see 1 Samuel 3; Jeremiah 19); the measure of Samaria – judgment such as had befallen Samaria; wiping a dish and turning it upside down, meaning subjecting them to their enemies; forsake them – casting them off, like skinning an animal.
Manasseh shed much innocent blood that it is figuratively stated that it filled one end of Jerusalem to the other (v16). This implies that he killed young, innocent, godly victims. This is confirmed in 2 Kings 24:4.
We read that the rest of his acts are contained in the chronicles of the kings of Judah (v17). We do not have those, but God, in His mercy has given us some details. We need to look in 2 Chronicles 33:11 where we see that God sent the Assyrians who captured Manasseh and took him into exile, where, in his distress he cried out to God and humbled himself before Him. He prayed and, amazingly, God heard him, and brought him back to Jerusalem, and it is said that Manasseh knew that the LORD is God (v12,13). Manasseh was restored by God to his kingdom.
“After this he built a wall outside the City of David on the west side of Gihon, in the valley, as far as the entrance of the Fish Gate; and it enclosed Ophel, and he raised it to a very great height. Then he put military captains in all the fortified cities of Judah. He took away the foreign gods and the idol from the house of the Lord, and all the altars that he had built in the mount of the house of the Lord and in Jerusalem; and he cast them out of the city. He also repaired the altar of the Lord, sacrificed peace offerings and thank offerings on it, and commanded Judah to serve the Lord God of Israel.” (v14-16)
Sadly, he was not able to lead the people of Judah out of the sin he had led them into, they did not follow him, for the people still sacrificed on the high places, but only to the Lord their God (v17). Despite his personal repentance which led to God’s forgiveness, he was unable to undo the damage he had done to the nation or even to his own son Amon who followed him and did evil in the sight of the LORD continuing the idolatry which has father had done.
Manasseh shows that even though our repentance brings God’s forgiveness, it does not necessarily remove the consequences of our disobedience. I often say this to prisoners that we suffer the consequences of our evil deeds, and still have to serve our sentence, often unable to put right the wrong we have done, even though we, personally receive God’s forgiveness and are set free from the penalty of our sin.
Manasseh died and was buried in the garden of his own house, the garden of Uzza, and his son Amon ruled in his place (v18). His repentance was real, but it was too late to have much effect upon the nation
Amon was twenty-two years old when he became king. His reign was short, only two years. He did evil in God’s sight as his father had done, even worse (according to 2 Chronicles 33:23). He forsook the LORD God of his fathers and did not walk in His ways. His mother’s name was Meshullemeth the daughter of Hurd of Jotbah. It was a two-year evil reign (v19-22).
Amon’s own servants assassinated him, and in the chaos and anarchy, the people of the land executed his assassins. Up to this point, the people of Judah had gone along with fifty-seven years of evil kings, but now it seems they want righteousness and justice. God had given them the leaders they wanted and deserved, but now, seeking something better, God gives them something better (v23-26).
They made Josiah their king. God in his mercy, brought a good king from a bad one. Amon was buried in his tomb in the garden of Uzza.
