First, imagine a middle schooler becoming a king! Would you like to be ruled by your middle schooler? Manasseh, age 12, is given all kinds of power and authority only because of the position. He is not king because he has proven himself by showing the wisdom of a king; but merely because his father has passed the crown to him as the oldest son, next in line for the throne!
Manasseh was born the son of the great King Hezekiah who loved the Lord God and love the people he served. King Hezekiah restored and built new all that was broken in the kingdom of Judah. Guided by God he tore down all the altars of Baal, ceasing the worship of anything or anyone but God. He rebuilt the Temple of God and restored the ministry of the Levitical priests to God’s people.
But now, his middle school age son has come to inherited power and undoes all the good that King Hezekiah did who “did evil in the eyes of the Lord”. The new king destroyed all that is father had done for the glory of God. He became known as the most evil king Judah has ever seen—the opposite of what his father was known as king.
But God…
2 Chronicles 33
Manasseh King of Judah
Manasseh was twelve years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem fifty-five years. 2 He did evil in the eyes of the Lord, following the detestable practices of the nations the Lord had driven out before the Israelites. 3 He rebuilt the high places his father Hezekiah had demolished; he also erected altars to the Baals and made Asherah poles. He bowed down to all the starry hosts and worshiped them. 4 He built altars in the temple of the Lord, of which the Lord had said, “My Name will remain in Jerusalem forever.” 5 In both courts of the temple of the Lord, he built altars to all the starry hosts. 6 He sacrificed his children in the fire in the Valley of Ben Hinnom, practiced divination and witchcraft, sought omens, and consulted mediums and spiritists. He did much evil in the eyes of the Lord, arousing his anger.
7 He took the image he had made and put it in God’s temple, of which God had said to David and to his son Solomon, “In this temple and in Jerusalem, which I have chosen out of all the tribes of Israel, I will put my Name forever. 8 I will not again make the feet of the Israelites leave the land I assigned to your ancestors, if only they will be careful to do everything I commanded them concerning all the laws, decrees and regulations given through Moses.” 9 But Manasseh led Judah and the people of Jerusalem astray, so that they did more evil than the nations the Lord had destroyed before the Israelites.
10 The Lord spoke to Manasseh and his people, but they paid no attention. 11 So the Lord brought against them the army commanders of the king of Assyria, who took Manasseh prisoner, put a hook in his nose, bound him with bronze shackles and took him to Babylon. 12 In his distress he sought the favor of the Lord his God and humbled himself greatly before the God of his ancestors. 13 And when he prayed to him, the Lord was moved by his entreaty and listened to his plea; so he brought him back to Jerusalem and to his kingdom. Then Manasseh knew that the Lord is God.
14 Afterward he rebuilt the outer wall of the City of David, west of the Gihon spring in the valley, as far as the entrance of the Fish Gate and encircling the hill of Ophel; he also made it much higher. He stationed military commanders in all the fortified cities in Judah.
15 He got rid of the foreign gods and removed the image from the temple of the Lord, as well as all the altars he had built on the temple hill and in Jerusalem; and he threw them out of the city. 16 Then he restored the altar of the Lord and sacrificed fellowship offerings and thank offerings on it, and told Judah to serve the Lord, the God of Israel. 17 The people, however, continued to sacrifice at the high places, but only to the Lord their God.
18 The other events of Manasseh’s reign, including his prayer to his God and the words the seers spoke to him in the name of the Lord, the God of Israel, are written in the annals of the kings of Israel.[a] 19 His prayer and how God was moved by his entreaty, as well as all his sins and unfaithfulness, and the sites where he built high places and set up Asherah poles and idols before he humbled himself—all these are written in the records of the seers. 20 Manasseh rested with his ancestors and was buried in his palace. And Amon his son succeeded him as king.
Amon King of Judah
21 Amon was twenty-two years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem two years. 22 He did evil in the eyes of the Lord, as his father Manasseh had done. Amon worshiped and offered sacrifices to all the idols Manasseh had made. 23 But unlike his father Manasseh, he did not humble himself before the Lord; Amon increased his guilt.
24 Amon’s officials conspired against him and assassinated him in his palace. 25 Then the people of the land killed all who had plotted against King Amon, and they made Josiah his son king in his place.
WHAT DO WE LEARN—HOW DO WE RESPOND?
For fifty-five years, this man of evil reigned in Judah! From age 12 to 67, King Manasseh reigned. That godly King Hezekiah should have such a wicked son is another one of those puzzles in biblical history. If Manasseh was born in 709 B.C., then he was seven years old when his father was healed and when the miracle of the shadow occurred. He was eight years old when the 185,000 Assyrian soldiers were slain by God’s Hand to protect the kingdom of Judah while his father, King Hezekiah reigned! But apparently these miracles during his father’s tenure made little impression on young Manasseh! Until that one day when God…
Many Bible scholars think that Manasseh reigned with his father for perhaps ten years (697–687), from ages twelve to twenty-two, so he lived in close relationship with a godly father. But the remarkable thing is that Manasseh became the most wicked king in Judah’s history, so much so that he is blamed for the fall of the southern kingdom! (See also, 2 Kings 24:3; Jeremiah 15:4)
Why was God’s glory of wisdom lost on him? We don’t know but what we are privileged to know is that the evil pride that overtook this young king was soon dealt with by God who humbled Manasseh. God used the enemy Assyrians to bring him to his knees. The enemy of Judah shackled him, put a ring in his nose and led the king off to Babylon! But God—intervened when the Manasseh sought the Lord in humility.
Remember the promise of God spoken earlier in our study of the Chronicles?
“If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land.” 2 Chronicles 7:14
This experience was greatly humiliating for this wicked king, but God used it to chasten him, break his pride, and bring him to his knees. Manasseh prayed for forgiveness, and the Lord kept His promise and forgave him. Even more, God moved the Assyrians to free Manasseh and allow him to return to Jerusalem to rule over the people. THIS is Amazing Grace!
Manasseh humbled himself, but the Lord first humbled him. True repentance is a work of God in the heart and a willing response of the heart to the Lord.
With a cleansed heart, renewed mind and refreshed soul by God’s mercy, King Manasseh returned home with the goal to undo all the evil he had done. He fortified Jerusalem and other cities in Judah, removed all the idols from the temple, as well as the altars in Jerusalem he had set up to false gods. After cleansing the temple, he then repaired the altar of the Lord that had been neglected. He also offered peace and thanksgiving offerings to the Lord who had rescued him. He commanded the people of Judah to serve God, and he set the example. But they did not listen to him—and neither did his young son, Amon. The young son, Amon had been too influenced by his father’s sins to appreciate his new life of obedience to God. Whereas Manasseh humbled himself before the Lord, his son Amon refused to do so; and the longer he sinned, the harder his heart became. The Enemy of God destroys its own for evil leads to death. Amon is assassinated by his own court of officials.
In our own world, we can sometimes think that evil is winning but then God steps in. Our God who sees and knows all because He never fails. In the middle of the storms, He is there. In the worst of times to us; God has not given up His authority or turned to look away. God is using all that happens around, in and to us to show us His glory is consistently at work. God is patient, kind, compassionate and merciful. All these traits of God’s character are wrapped in His infinite, relentless love for us!
Our response to His merciful love is to fall to our knees and seek the Lord with honest humbled words of trust with an obedient heart. In the seeking we must surrender our pride; for it is our pride that blocks us from His glorious work within us that longs to unshackle us and set us free!
Pray the prayer of Manasseh—Surrender all the troubles and pain that have you bound up in worry and anxiety right now. Whatever it is, disease, addictions, kids in trouble, cash flow, debts, or job loss and bow to God who still has the authority and power to transform life. Prayer: “Lord, have mercy on me and my family. Teach me to see your way through the storm.” God answers prayers of humbled surrender with healing, forgiveness and restoration in ways we never dreamed possible. With God all things are possible. With God, troubles are seen from a new perspective. With God, peace comes to replace anxious thoughts. With God, love drives our fear and displaces worry.
“If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land.” 2 Chronicles 7:14
I sought the Lord and He heard and He answered. May this statement be our testimony and our song of redemption forever and ever, Amen!
Lord,
Thank you for giving us the privilege to come to you with all that is on our minds, knowing you know and are already at work on our behalf. What amazing love, mercy, and grace you provide daily in miraculous, glorious ways—so others will know you and see your glory at work and come to you, too. Thank you, thank you, thank you!
In Jesus Name, Amen
Daily Manna (Coffee with Jesus) 