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2 Kings Chapter 21
Manasseh Reigns in Judah
- 2Kings 21:1 Manasseh was twelve
years old when he began to reign, and reigned fifty and five years
in Jerusalem. And his mother's name was Hephzibah.
- 2 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.
Manasseh was born during the 15 years
God extended the life of Hezekiah. Some bible theologians believe it
would have been better if Hezekiah had of submitted to the first
will of God and die earlier. We kind of wonder how things would have
turned out if Manasseh had not been born. Perhaps in his old age
Hezekiah was too tired and old to instruct this son in the things of
God. I'm just speculating here. This we don't know for sure.
- 2Kings21:3 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.
- 4 And he built
altars in the house of the LORD, of which the LORD said, In
Jerusalem will I put my name.
- 5 And he built
altars for all the host of heaven in the two courts of the house
of the LORD.
- 6 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.
- 7 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:
- 8 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.
This is why they lost their nation and
became subjects to Babylon. Not only did the king rebel against God
but the people followed after him. Exceptions were the prophets of
Isaiah, Hosea, Joel, Nahum, Habakkuk and a few others. Also the
three Hebrew children we read about in the book of Daniel, plus
Daniel himself stayed faithful to God. We see in verse 8 how the
Lord promises they will never lose their land only if they observe
His commanments given through Moses. They lost their land a few
years later because they forsook the law and ignored His
commandments. He even brought those idols in the temple of the Lord.
When a nation that once knew God begins
to sin more than the nations they once thought were evil there is no
excuse, they knew better and it is worse than if they were one of
the nations they considered to be heathen. I see that happening now
in this day and age. Nations we once thought were evil live more
righteous than the ones that knew the Lord in the past. At least among the
leadership.
What happens to those that obtain power
then they forget God? I makes them stray so far from God like
that? They serve false gods or
false religions that causes them to harm the children? When we cast
out the real God, the door opens to abominble things that 50 years
ago we would never consider possible. Take heed. We need to return
heart and soul back to our creator.
Manasseh's Idolatry Denounced
- 2Kings 21:10 And the
LORD spake by his servants the prophets, saying,
- 11 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:
- 12 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.
- 13 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.
- 14 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;
- 15 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.
- 16 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.
- 17 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?
- 18 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.
In 2 Choronicles it records Manasseh
was going through a season of repentance but his son after him went
back to doing evil. So the end of the nation of Judah draws closer
with the rise of the Babylonian Empire. There comes a time when God
says, it is enough and has to bring severe judgment because sin
would get so bad no flesh would be saved.
Manasseh was so evil that he not only
began to worship idols and false gods, he killed many innocent
people. He didn't respect life or God the creator but deliberately
rebelled against God. He wasn't an innocent person who didn't know
any better. They all knew better than this. He was destroying his
own nation and many souls who followed after him.
Even if he went through a season of
repentance we see that his son returns to evil. According to
Josephus he killed some of the prophets. Isaiah may have been killed
by him since he was a prophet in that time frame. There are some of
the Jewish writers who believed Manasseh had Israel sawn in half.
This is tradition and may not have been true but Hebrews 11 mentions
some sawn assunder.
- Hebrews 11:35
Women received their dead raised to life again: and others were
tortured, not accepting deliverance; that they might obtain a
better resurrection:
- 36 And others
had trial of cruel mockings and scourgings, yea, moreover of
bonds and imprisonment:
- 37 They were
stoned, they were sawn asunder, were tempted, were slain with
the sword: they wandered about in sheepskins and goatskins;
being destitute, afflicted, tormented;
- 38 (Of whom the
world was not worthy:) they wandered in deserts, and in
mountains, and in dens and caves of the earth.
- 39 And these
all, having obtained a good report through faith, received not
the promise:
- 40 God having
provided some better thing for us, that they without us should
not be made perfect.
Amon Reigns in Judah
- 2Kings 21:19 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.
- 20 And he did that
which was evil in the sight of the LORD, as his father Manasseh
did.
- 21 And he walked in
all the way that his father walked in, and served the idols that
his father served, and worshipped them:
- 22 And he forsook
the LORD God of his fathers, and walked not in the way of the
LORD.
Even though 2 Chronicles tells of Manasseh's
repentance it was too late to influence his son. The son did as he
saw his father do before his father repented. We must teach our
children and live a life for God in front of them. Now we have help. Jesus our Messiah. We
must strive to save our children from following evil. No amount of
money, education, high positions of authority is worth having if we
lose our children.
- 2 Kings 21:23 And
the servants of Amon conspired against him, and slew the king in
his own house.
Without the protection of God there is never
a guarantee of our safety. What their motive was in this I don't
know. Maybe they were hoping for a better king.
- 2Kings 21:24 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.
- 25 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?
- 26 And he was buried
in his sepulchre in the garden of Uzza: and Josiah his son
reigned in his stead.
No matter who did what to whom, the people
kept the line of Judah safe from anyone else reigning as king.
Josiah began to reign. DC
2 Kings Chapter 22
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