MANASSEH
Wicked King of Judah
Teen Bible Study
Presenter: Sheldon Monson
Date: March 18, 2012
Introduction: Does the most wicked king who ever ruled the land of Judah still have a
chance to enter the Kingdom of God?
As a boy Manasseh had everything a boy could ever hope for: royalty, comforts,
security, and a father who obeyed God and was richly blessed for doing so. As a young
prince, and son of righteous and prosperous King Hezekiah, he lived a life of luxury.
As a young crown prince Manasseh knew that someday he would rule the Kingdom of
Judah, and he could hardly wait! Then his dream came true. When he was only twelve
years old Hezekiah died, and before long Manasseh was “sowing his wild oats” with the
full resources of the kingdom. Thus began his 55-year reign.
S.P.S.: Today we examine the life of King Manasseh and the hard lessons he learned.
Furthermore, we will see how these lessons apply to us.
Body: The name “Manasseh” means making to forget – and Manasseh very quickly
forgot whatever good his father had taught him. He quickly discarded God’s laws and
began his evil reign.
The ancient Jewish historian Josephus mentions that Manasseh “departed from the
conduct of his father, and fell into a course of life quite contrary thereto, and showed
himself in his manners most wicked in all respects, and omitted no sort of impiety…”
(Antiquities, X, 3, 1).
There was one trait that he remembered from his father. When Hezekiah sought God, he
did it with all his heart (II Chronicles 31:21).
II Chronicles 31:21 “And in every work that he began in the service of the house of
God, in the law and in the commandment, to seek his God, he did it with all his heart. So
he prospered.”
Manasseh lived wholeheartedly, and this included sinning!
II Kings 21:1-5: V1 “Manasseh was twelve years old when he became king, and he
reigned fifty-five years in Jerusalem…”
V2 And did evil in the sight of the LORD, according to the abominations of the nations
whom the LORD had cast out before the children of Israel.
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He was as wicked as King Ahab of Israel had been some years earlier. Manasseh
actually had contempt for God, and he proved it by his actions.
He rebuilt the “high places” that Hezekiah had destroyed. He built altars for pagan
worship and placed them in prominent locations. He made altars for Baal, and he built
altars for “all the host of heaven” (sun, moon and star worship) inside the House of God.
V3 For he rebuilt the high places which Hezekiah his father had destroyed; he raised up
altars for Baal, and made a wooden image, as Ahab king of Israel had done; and he
worshiped all the host of heaven and served them.”
V4 He also built altars in the house of the LORD, of which the LORD had said, ‘In
Jerusalem I will put My name.’
V5 And he built altars for all the host of heaven in the two courts of the house of the
LORD.”
The list of the outrageous acts that Manasseh committed, are unbelievably perverse.
The worship of heavenly bodies was strictly forbidden, and yet Manasseh rejected God’s
clear commands regarding this (Deuteronomy 4:19).
Deuteronomy 4:19 “And take heed. Lest you lift your eyes to heaven, and when you see
the sun, the moon, and the stars, all the host of heaven, you feel driven to worship them
and serve them, which the LORD your God has given to all the peoples under the whole
heaven as a heritage.”
Manasseh lived by astrology, as do many today who check their horoscopes in the daily
newspapers. But this was only one of the many grievous sins God was holding against
him.
If this wasn’t enough, he sacrificed his own son in the Valley of Hinnom (Gehenna) as an
offering to a pagan god! He also consulted with evil spirits, was involved in rank
demonism, and practiced witchcraft and enchantments.
II Kings 21:6-7: V6 “Also he made his son pass through the fire, practiced soothsaying,
used witchcraft, and consulted spiritists and mediums. He did much evil in the sight of
the LORD, to provoke Him to anger.
V7 He even set a carved image of Asherah that he had made, in the house of which the
LORD 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;”
The results of bad leadership
The new king didn’t stop by polluting just his own life. He set about to cram pagan
religion down the throats of all of his subjects. He led the entire nation astray.
II Chronicles 33:9 “So Manasseh seduced Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem to do
more evil than the nations whom the LORD had destroyed before the children of Israel.”
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In fact, it became extremely dangerous for anyone to worship God. Judah’s wicked ruler
simply would not tolerate any warnings from God’s servants, and wasn’t about to change
his way of life. “He barbarously slew all the righteous men that were among the
Hebrews; nor would he spare the prophets, for he every day slew some of them, till
Jerusalem was overflown with blood” (Antiquities, X, 3, 1).
Tradition has it, according to Clarke’s Commentary, that Manasseh put Isaiah the prophet
to death, and that Isaiah was sawn asunder by a wooden saw (Hebrews 11:37).
And the Bible vividly states that Manasseh had shed innocent blood until “he had filled
Jerusalem from one end to another” (II Kings 21:16).
II Kings 21:16 “Moreover Manasseh shed very much innocent blood, till he had filled
Jerusalem from one end to another, besides his sin by which he made Judah sin, in doing
evil in the sight of the LORD.”
God gives warning first
But even though Isaiah was executed for his loyalty to his country, God still spoke
through other prophets. Among them were: Hosea, Joel, Nahum, Habakkuk – and
others.
The warning was plain. God said that He would bring such evil upon His people for their
sins that “whoever hears of it, both his ears would tingle.” And that He would wipe
Jerusalem as a dish, turning it upside down; and He would send the inhabitants of Judah
into captivity.
II Kings 21:12-15: V12 “Therefore thus says the LORD God of Israel: ‘Behold, I am
bringing such calamity upon Jerusalem and Judah, that whoever hears of it, both is ears
will tingle.
V13 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.
V14 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,
V15 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.”
If God’s purpose were merely to bring judgment, He would have done so without an
announcement. But God gives warning – the message was clear – REPENT! But neither
the king nor his subjects would listen.
II Chronicles 33:10 “And the LORD spoke to Manasseh and his people, but they would
not listen.”
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Instead, Manasseh had anyone who was disloyal, or unwilling to follow him in his pagan
customs, executed!
God in His great mercy gave Manasseh plenty of time to repent, but to no avail. Not only
did this wicked king think he knew better than his father, but he became more and more
evil throughout his twenties and into his early thirties.
The roots of paganism became so deeply planted throughout the land of Judah that God
knew there was only one way to totally uproot them – by uprooting the people
themselves.
The time had come for a reckoning. So God sent King of Assyria and his armies which
lay waste the country. They caught Manasseh and took him captive, bound in chains and
hooks, to Babylon. It looked like this Jewish king was done for…
II Chronicles 33:11 “Therefore the LORD brought upon them the captains of the army
of the king of Assyria, who took Manasseh with hooks, bound him with bronze fetters,
and carried him off to Babylon.”
Manasseh obtains mercy!
What happened next is incredible! The Bible account simply states:
II Chronicles 33:12 “Now when he was in affliction, he implored the LORD his God,
and humbled himself greatly before the God of his fathers,
Suddenly the wretchedness of his whole life stared him in the face – his stinking sins in
full, painful and unforgettable view. Not only did he realize that he was at the mercy of
the Babylonian king, in danger of death, but he also had weighing on his conscience the
fact that he had been personally responsible for the death of thousands of his own people.
As he now faced death – he knew that he was about to reap what he had sown.
Put yourself in Manasseh’s shoes for a minute. Suppose you knew that God had added
fifteen years to your father’s life after he prayed? You knew that God has supernaturally
caused the sun to retreat ten degrees – simply to show Hezekiah that his life would be
spared. You knew that you’d been a wicked tyrant, having killed countless righteous
men and women. What thoughts would race through your mind?
Wouldn’t you ask for another chance – realizing that you were not worthy of that second
chance – and wouldn’t you promise God that this time things would be different?
The Bible doesn’t record Manasseh’s prayer, but whatever he said it was effective! It got
results!
V13 And prayed to Him; and He received his entreaty, heard his supplication, and
brought him back to Jerusalem into his kingdom. Then Manasseh knew that the LORD
was God.”
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Our merciful God forgave even wicked King Manasseh. And he restored him to his
kingdom, even though he had committed horrible, wicked, and sinful acts for well over
two decades!
If you had been God, would you have been willing to forgive? And furthermore, would
you have ever been willing to put this man back into office?
Was Manasseh’s repentance real?
Jesus Christ said, “Therefore by their fruits you will know them” (Matthew 7:20). By
looking at the fruits in Manasseh’s life we can know whether he meant business or not.
This newly reinstated Jewish king, Manasseh, was only in his early to mid-thirties when
he was carried off to Babylon. But he lived to be 67 years old. This means that, while he
had ruled in tyranny for a little more than 20 years, he was given over 30 years to reign
righteously.
When we read the account in II Chronicles 33:13, we find that God “heard his
supplication, and brought him back to Jerusalem into his kingdom. Then Manasseh
knew that the LORD was God.”
He not only knew the LORD was God, but he did something about it!
II Chronicles 33:15-17: V15 “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.
V16 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.
V17 Nevertheless the people still sacrificed on the high places, but only to the LORD
their God.”
If we read between the lines it took character to publicly admit that he needed to change
his life. That he had been wrong. He had to swallow his pride when he commanded the
people to serve the true God, after he had spent years telling them just the opposite.
Josephus’ account goes into Manasseh’s later life: “So Manasseh was released by the
king of Babylon, and escaped the danger he was in; and when he had come to Jerusalem,
he endeavored, if it was possible, to cast out of his memory those his former sins against
God, of which he now repented, and to apply himself to a very religious life. He
sanctified the temple, and purged the city, and for the remainder of his days he was intent
on nothing but to return his thanks to God for his deliverance…” (Antiquities, X, 3, 2).
Manasseh didn’t just pray; he changed his whole way of living!
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Josephus goes on to show that “he offered the legal sacrifices as Moses commanded; and
when he had reestablished what concerned the divine worship, as it ought to be, he took
care of the security of Jerusalem.”
The Biblical account in II Chronicles mentions the building of the wall, the security of
Jerusalem, in the verse preceding the ones about Manasseh taking away the “strange
gods”; but the account in the Bible does not necessarily say which came first. If the
account in Josephus is correct, Manasseh wanted to get right with his God before
worrying about the security of the country – apparently trusting God to protect Jerusalem
while he was busy destroying the evil that brought on the punishment.
Was his repentance lasting?
Read on…”And indeed, when he had changed his former course, he so led his life for the
time to come, that from the time of his return to piety towards God, he was deemed a
happy man, and a pattern for imitation.”
The story of Manasseh is truly and inspiring example of change – for a man who had
made such a mess of his life.
Lessons learned
In his youth, King Manasseh tried to forget God. In his maturity, he tried to forget the
sins of his youth.
What lessons did he learn? How can we apply these lessons in our own lives? Let’s look
at 4 key lessons:
Lesson #1 – Remember that God does not expect penance, but He does expect us to
change.
God didn’t expect penance from Manasseh, but He did expect him to change.
Repentance involves a change of direction, to turn around and go the other way – to turn
from sin, to obedience to God.
Ezekiel 33:12-16: V12 “Therefore you, O son of man, say to the children of your
people: ‘The righteousness of the righteous man shall not deliver him in the day of his
transgression; as for the wickedness of the wicked, he shall not fall because of it in the
day that he turns from his wickedness; nor shall the righteous be able to live because of
his righteousness in the day that he sins.’
V13 When I say to the righteous that he shall surely live, but he trusts in his own
righteousness and commits iniquity, none of his righteous works shall be remembered;
but because of the iniquity that he has committed, he shall die.
V14 Again, when I say to the wicked, ‘You shall surely die,’ if he turns from his sin and
does what is lawful and right,
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V15 if the wicked restores the pledge, gives back what he has stolen, and walks in the
statutes of life without committing iniquity, he shall surely live; he shall not die.
V16 None of his sins which he has committed shall be remembered against him; he has
done what is lawful and right; he shall surely live.”
Lesson #2 – We must learn to forgive ourselves, after we repent, and get on with our
lives.
And Manasseh, rather than living in sorrow for the rest of his life because of his wicked
youth, was deemed a happy man! He couldn’t have been happy if he wasn’t forgiven.
And he couldn’t have been happy unless he obeyed God.
Proverbs 29:18 states, “…happy is he who keeps the law.”
Psalm 32:1-2: V1 “Blessed [the word that begins the Book of Psalms – “blessed” –
means “to be happy”] is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered.”
Note: Sin can be taken away, or covered. It can be atoned for.
Notice how merciful God is…
Ezekiel 33:11 “Say to them: ‘As I live,’ says the LORD GOD, ‘I have no pleasure in the
death of the wicked, but that the wicked turn from his way and live, Turn, turn from your
evil ways! For why should you die, O house of Israel?”
Psalm 103:10-12: V10 “He has not dealt with us according to our sins, nor punished us
according to our iniquities.
V11 For as the heavens are high above the earth, so great is His mercy toward those who
fear Him;
V12 As far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our transgressions from
us.”
Note: King David committed a crime – a good man’s wife was taken, and he was
murdered [Uriah the Hittite]. Later, the son that Bathsheba delivered, died as result of
this sin. In this case God forgave the sin. David fasted for the child, but God allowed the
baby to die. After the baby died, David went to God one last time regarding the matter.
Then he washed himself up, and got on with his life. He did not allow guilt to destroy
him. Manasseh did the same. Let’s not let guilt destroy us either.
Lesson #3 – We must learn to forgive and be merciful to others, because we need
forgiveness and mercy ourselves.
It takes a lot of love to forgive – and God loved even wicked King Manasseh. Would
you have been willing to forgive Manasseh? Are you even willing to forgive your
brother, or your sister?
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Matthew 6:14-15: V14 “For if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father
will also forgive you.
V15 But if you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your
trespasses.”
We all sin: I John 1:8-9: V8 “If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the
truth is not in us.
V9 If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us
from all unrighteousness.”
James 2:13 “For judgment is without mercy to the one who has shown no mercy. Mercy
triumphs over judgment.”
What this Scripture is saying is - those who have not shown mercy will not receive
mercy. Forgiveness is key to happiness for both the one being forgiven and the one who
forgives.
Conclusion: In conclusion, possibly the most important lesson we can draw from the life
of Manasseh is this:
Lesson #4 – Realize that God is ready to forgive us our sins, upon genuine
repentance, regardless of how terrible or how many.
God always blesses anyone who confesses and turns from his or her sin. Manasseh’s
repentance is one of the most profound in all the Bible, because it shows that our God is
so filled with compassion that He will honor the sincere repentance of anyone, no matter
how sinful their past
Surely no king of Israel of Judah ever provoked God’s wrath more, with his blatant
idolatry, than this king. Only Ahab could begin to rival Manasseh in wickedness.
The story of Manasseh proves that God will forgive any person who makes a full
surrender to Him without any reservations – no matter how terrible, or how many sins
they may have committed. God forgives them all!
God made sure that His Word contained examples of the real repentance of grievous
sinners. So no one should ever say, “My sins are to bad that God couldn’t possibly
forgive me.” No matter how you may feel about your personal sins, that same merciful
God stands ready to forgive you upon genuine repentance!