II Kings 21: Manasseh's Wicked Reign and its Consequences
Manasseh was twelve years old when he began to reign, and reigned fifty and five years in Jerusalem. And his mother’s name was Hephzi–bah.
And he did that which was evil in the sight of the Lord, after the abominations of the heathen, whom the Lord cast out before the children of Israel.
For he built up again the high places which Hezekiah his father had destroyed; and he reared up altars for Baal, and made a grove, as did Ahab king of Israel; and worshipped all the host of heaven, and served them.
And he built altars in the house of the Lord, of which the Lord said, In Jerusalem will I put my name.
And he built altars for all the host of heaven in the two courts of the house of the Lord.
And he made his son pass through the fire, and observed times, and used enchantments, and dealt with familiar spirits and wizards: he wrought much wickedness in the sight of the Lord, to provoke him to anger.
And he set a graven image of the grove that he had made in the house, of which the Lord said to David, and to Solomon his son, In this house, and in Jerusalem, which I have chosen out of all tribes of Israel, will I put my name for ever:
Neither will I make the feet of Israel move any more out of the land which I gave their fathers; only if they will observe to do according to all that I have commanded them, and according to all the law that my servant Moses commanded them.
But they hearkened not: and Manasseh seduced them to do more evil than did the nations whom the Lord destroyed before the children of Israel.
And the Lord spake by his servants the prophets, saying,
Because Manasseh king of Judah hath done these abominations, and hath done wickedly above all that the Amorites did, which were before him, and hath made Judah also to sin with his idols:
Therefore thus saith the Lord God of Israel, Behold, I am bringing such evil upon Jerusalem and Judah, that whosoever heareth of it, both his ears shall tingle.
And I will stretch over Jerusalem the line of Samaria, and the plummet of the house of Ahab: and I will wipe Jerusalem as a man wipeth a dish, wiping it, and turning it upside down.
And I will forsake the remnant of mine inheritance, and deliver them into the hand of their enemies; and they shall become a prey and a spoil to all their enemies;
Because they have done that which was evil in my sight, and have provoked me to anger, since the day their fathers came forth out of Egypt, even unto this day.
Moreover Manasseh shed innocent blood very much, till he had filled Jerusalem from one end to another; beside his sin wherewith he made Judah to sin, in doing that which was evil in the sight of the Lord.
Now the rest of the acts of Manasseh, and all that he did, and his sin that he sinned, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah?
And Manasseh slept with his fathers, and was buried in the garden of his own house, in the garden of Uzza: and Amon his son reigned in his stead.
Amon was twenty and two years old when he began to reign, and he reigned two years in Jerusalem. And his mother’s name was Meshullemeth, the daughter of Haruz of Jotbah.
And he did that which was evil in the sight of the Lord, as his father Manasseh did.
And he walked in all the way that his father walked in, and served the idols that his father served, and worshipped them:
And he forsook the Lord God of his fathers, and walked not in the way of the Lord.
And the servants of Amon conspired against him, and slew the king in his own house.
And the people of the land slew all them that had conspired against king Amon; and the people of the land made Josiah his son king in his stead.
Now the rest of the acts of Amon which he did, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah?
And he was buried in his sepulchre in the garden of Uzza: and Josiah his son reigned in his stead.
II Kings 21 recounts one of the darkest periods in Judah's history, focusing on the reign of King Manasseh. This chapter serves as a stark warning against apostasy and the devastating consequences of turning away from God. It also highlights God's unwavering justice and his commitment to holding his people accountable for their actions. This chapter sets the stage for the reforms of Josiah in the subsequent chapters.
Manasseh's Detestable Practices (II Kings 21:1-9)
Manasseh, the son of the righteous King Hezekiah, ascended to the throne at the age of twelve (II Kings 21:1). Tragically, he proved to be the most wicked of Judah's kings, reigning for fifty-five years in Jerusalem (II Kings 21:1). Where his father had purged idolatry, Manasseh embraced and amplified it, imitating the abhorrent practices of the nations God had driven out before Israel (II Kings 21:2). He was, in essence, an Israelite by birth but a Canaanite in spirit.
The specifics of Manasseh's wickedness are detailed, revealing the depth of his depravity. He rebuilt the high places that his father Hezekiah had destroyed (II Kings 21:3). While other kings were criticized for tolerating these idolatrous shrines, Manasseh actively resurrected them. He reinstituted Baal worship and erected an Asherah pole, reminiscent of the infamous King Ahab of Israel (II Kings 21:3). He built altars for astral worship in the very temple of the Lord (II Kings 21:4-5), defiling the sacred space dedicated to God's name. Most horrifyingly, he sacrificed his own son in the fire and practiced various forms of occultism (II Kings 21:6).
Manasseh went so far as to place a carved image of Asherah in the temple itself, a direct affront to God's promise to establish his name there (II Kings 21:7). Under Manasseh's wicked influence, the people of Judah surpassed even the wickedness of the nations God had destroyed to give them the land (II Kings 21:9). The principle of "like king, like people" played out in devastating fashion.
God's Judgment Announced (II Kings 21:10-15)
Manasseh's actions provoked God's righteous anger, leaving no option but to pronounce judgment upon Judah. Prophets, possibly including Isaiah (Jewish tradition suggests he was sawn in two under Manasseh's orders, a potential reference found in Hebrews 11:37), delivered this message of impending doom. Manasseh's evil was compared to that of the Amorites (II Kings 21:11), highlighting its extreme wickedness, as the Amorites were known as one of the most morally corrupt people groups in Joshua's time.
God declared that he would bring such disaster upon Jerusalem and Judah that it would shock all who heard it (II Kings 21:12). The people of Jerusalem, secure in their belief that God would never allow his holy city and temple to be destroyed, were about to face a rude awakening.
God's word of doom invoked the names of Samaria and Ahab (II Kings 21:13-15), references that would have sent shivers down the spines of Jerusalem's inhabitants. God would measure Jerusalem by the same standard of destruction that had befallen Samaria, and he would apply the same plumb line of judgment to Manasseh as he had to the house of Ahab. The Lord threatened to wipe Jerusalem clean, like one wipes a bowl after a meal, and abandon his people to their enemies because of their wickedness.
Manasseh's Innocent Blood and Amon's Evil (II Kings 21:16-26)
Manasseh's guilt was compounded by the innocent blood he shed (II Kings 21:16), which undoubtedly included the children sacrificed to idols but may also have encompassed the innocent people he murdered to maintain his power.
Manasseh's legacy of evil persisted in his son Amon (II Kings 21:19-22), who followed in his father's footsteps, continuing the idolatrous practices that had provoked God's wrath. Amon's reign was short-lived, ending in assassination (II Kings 21:23-24). The people of the land, however, rose up and killed the conspirators who had murdered Amon, placing his son Josiah on the throne. This sets the stage for a dramatic shift in the kingdom, as Josiah would prove to be a righteous king who sought to restore the worship of the Lord.
Manasseh was twelve years old when he began to reign, and reigned fifty and five years in Jerusalem. And his mother’s name was Hephzi–bah.
And he did that which was evil in the sight of the Lord, after the abominations of the heathen, whom the Lord cast out before the children of Israel.
For he built up again the high places which Hezekiah his father had destroyed; and he reared up altars for Baal, and made a grove, as did Ahab king of Israel; and worshipped all the host of heaven, and served them.
And he built altars in the house of the Lord, of which the Lord said, In Jerusalem will I put my name.
And he built altars for all the host of heaven in the two courts of the house of the Lord.
And he made his son pass through the fire, and observed times, and used enchantments, and dealt with familiar spirits and wizards: he wrought much wickedness in the sight of the Lord, to provoke him to anger.
And he set a graven image of the grove that he had made in the house, of which the Lord said to David, and to Solomon his son, In this house, and in Jerusalem, which I have chosen out of all tribes of Israel, will I put my name for ever:
Neither will I make the feet of Israel move any more out of the land which I gave their fathers; only if they will observe to do according to all that I have commanded them, and according to all the law that my servant Moses commanded them.
But they hearkened not: and Manasseh seduced them to do more evil than did the nations whom the Lord destroyed before the children of Israel.
And the Lord spake by his servants the prophets, saying,
Because Manasseh king of Judah hath done these abominations, and hath done wickedly above all that the Amorites did, which were before him, and hath made Judah also to sin with his idols:
Therefore thus saith the Lord God of Israel, Behold, I am bringing such evil upon Jerusalem and Judah, that whosoever heareth of it, both his ears shall tingle.
And I will stretch over Jerusalem the line of Samaria, and the plummet of the house of Ahab: and I will wipe Jerusalem as a man wipeth a dish, wiping it, and turning it upside down.
And I will forsake the remnant of mine inheritance, and deliver them into the hand of their enemies; and they shall become a prey and a spoil to all their enemies;
Because they have done that which was evil in my sight, and have provoked me to anger, since the day their fathers came forth out of Egypt, even unto this day.
Moreover Manasseh shed innocent blood very much, till he had filled Jerusalem from one end to another; beside his sin wherewith he made Judah to sin, in doing that which was evil in the sight of the Lord.
Now the rest of the acts of Manasseh, and all that he did, and his sin that he sinned, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah?
And Manasseh slept with his fathers, and was buried in the garden of his own house, in the garden of Uzza: and Amon his son reigned in his stead.
Amon was twenty and two years old when he began to reign, and he reigned two years in Jerusalem. And his mother’s name was Meshullemeth, the daughter of Haruz of Jotbah.
And he did that which was evil in the sight of the Lord, as his father Manasseh did.
And he walked in all the way that his father walked in, and served the idols that his father served, and worshipped them:
And he forsook the Lord God of his fathers, and walked not in the way of the Lord.
And the servants of Amon conspired against him, and slew the king in his own house.
And the people of the land slew all them that had conspired against king Amon; and the people of the land made Josiah his son king in his stead.
Now the rest of the acts of Amon which he did, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah?
And he was buried in his sepulchre in the garden of Uzza: and Josiah his son reigned in his stead.
II Kings 21 recounts one of the darkest periods in Judah's history, focusing on the reign of King Manasseh. This chapter serves as a stark warning against apostasy and the devastating consequences of turning away from God. It also highlights God's unwavering justice and his commitment to holding his people accountable for their actions. This chapter sets the stage for the reforms of Josiah in the subsequent chapters.
Manasseh's Detestable Practices (II Kings 21:1-9)
Manasseh, the son of the righteous King Hezekiah, ascended to the throne at the age of twelve (II Kings 21:1). Tragically, he proved to be the most wicked of Judah's kings, reigning for fifty-five years in Jerusalem (II Kings 21:1). Where his father had purged idolatry, Manasseh embraced and amplified it, imitating the abhorrent practices of the nations God had driven out before Israel (II Kings 21:2). He was, in essence, an Israelite by birth but a Canaanite in spirit.
The specifics of Manasseh's wickedness are detailed, revealing the depth of his depravity. He rebuilt the high places that his father Hezekiah had destroyed (II Kings 21:3). While other kings were criticized for tolerating these idolatrous shrines, Manasseh actively resurrected them. He reinstituted Baal worship and erected an Asherah pole, reminiscent of the infamous King Ahab of Israel (II Kings 21:3). He built altars for astral worship in the very temple of the Lord (II Kings 21:4-5), defiling the sacred space dedicated to God's name. Most horrifyingly, he sacrificed his own son in the fire and practiced various forms of occultism (II Kings 21:6).
Manasseh went so far as to place a carved image of Asherah in the temple itself, a direct affront to God's promise to establish his name there (II Kings 21:7). Under Manasseh's wicked influence, the people of Judah surpassed even the wickedness of the nations God had destroyed to give them the land (II Kings 21:9). The principle of "like king, like people" played out in devastating fashion.
God's Judgment Announced (II Kings 21:10-15)
Manasseh's actions provoked God's righteous anger, leaving no option but to pronounce judgment upon Judah. Prophets, possibly including Isaiah (Jewish tradition suggests he was sawn in two under Manasseh's orders, a potential reference found in Hebrews 11:37), delivered this message of impending doom. Manasseh's evil was compared to that of the Amorites (II Kings 21:11), highlighting its extreme wickedness, as the Amorites were known as one of the most morally corrupt people groups in Joshua's time.
God declared that he would bring such disaster upon Jerusalem and Judah that it would shock all who heard it (II Kings 21:12). The people of Jerusalem, secure in their belief that God would never allow his holy city and temple to be destroyed, were about to face a rude awakening.
God's word of doom invoked the names of Samaria and Ahab (II Kings 21:13-15), references that would have sent shivers down the spines of Jerusalem's inhabitants. God would measure Jerusalem by the same standard of destruction that had befallen Samaria, and he would apply the same plumb line of judgment to Manasseh as he had to the house of Ahab. The Lord threatened to wipe Jerusalem clean, like one wipes a bowl after a meal, and abandon his people to their enemies because of their wickedness.
Manasseh's Innocent Blood and Amon's Evil (II Kings 21:16-26)
Manasseh's guilt was compounded by the innocent blood he shed (II Kings 21:16), which undoubtedly included the children sacrificed to idols but may also have encompassed the innocent people he murdered to maintain his power.
Manasseh's legacy of evil persisted in his son Amon (II Kings 21:19-22), who followed in his father's footsteps, continuing the idolatrous practices that had provoked God's wrath. Amon's reign was short-lived, ending in assassination (II Kings 21:23-24). The people of the land, however, rose up and killed the conspirators who had murdered Amon, placing his son Josiah on the throne. This sets the stage for a dramatic shift in the kingdom, as Josiah would prove to be a righteous king who sought to restore the worship of the Lord.