2 Chronicles 33: Manasseh S Merciful Master

2 Chronicles 33: Manasseh’s Merciful Master

Chapter Summary by Adam Clarke: Manasseh reigns fifty-five years, and restores idolatry all kinds of abominations, 1-9. He and the people are warned in vain, 10. He is delivered into the hands of the Assyrians, bound with fetters, and carried to Babylon, 11. He humbles himself, and is restored, 12,13. He destroys idolatry, and restores the worship of God, 14-16. The people keep the high places, but sacrifice to the Lord on them, 17. His acts, prayer, and death, 18-20. His son Amon succeeds him; and after a wicked idolatrous reign of two years, is slain by his own servants in his own house, 21-24. The people rise up, and slay his murderers, and make Josiah his son king in his stead, 25.

I. Verses 2-7: A List of Manasseh’s Sins (and what a list it is!): He did evil in the eyes of the LORD, A. following the detestable practices of the nations the LORD had driven out before the Israelites. B. He rebuilt the high places his father Hezekiah had demolished; (He demolished every reform his father had worked so hard to construct.) C. he also erected altars to the Baals and made Asherah poles. D. He bowed down to all the starry hosts and worshiped them. E. He built altars in the temple of the LORD, of which the LORD had said, "My Name will remain in Jerusalem forever." F. In both courts of the temple of the LORD, he built altars to all the starry hosts. G. He sacrificed his sons in the fire in the Valley of Ben Hinnom, H. practiced sorcery, I. divination and J. witchcraft, K. and consulted mediums L. and spiritists. M. He did much evil in the eyes of the LORD, provoking him to anger. He took the carved 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.” “2 Kings 21:7 tells us that this idol was Asherah, the Canaanite goddess of fertility, worshipped through ritual prostitution. This means that Manasseh made the temple into an idolatrous brothel, dedicated to Asherah” (Guzik). This seems like the most offensive sin possible, right? Except when we’re reminded that we are now living temples; what have we exposed His temple to? My guess is that every person reading this would have to admit that at the very least we’ve let this temple’s eyes see things as heinous as what Manasseh was allowing in that temple. Thank God for his patience, mercy, and grace because, in some sense, we’ve all been Manasseh.

II. Now go back to Verse 1: Manasseh was twelve years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem fifty-five years. A. This makes no sense to me; the worst king ever gets to reign longer than everyone else? B. But…That’s why I’m not God; He had a plan, even for one as evil as Manasseh. Praise Him for his patience with all of us! Amen?! C. This is also an excellent argument against prosperity gospel; our material success and wealth are not in direct proportion to our sin or good deeds; this is seen in both the Old and New Testaments.

III. Verse 8: I will not again make the feet of the Israelites leave the land I assigned to your forefathers, if only they will be careful to do everything I commanded them concerning all the laws, decrees and ordinances given through Moses. Wow. They had actually been promised no more slavery, no more leaving home…just be faithful. IV. Verse 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. Put your name after that “but.” How many times do we not receive God’s best for us because our story reads, “But Your Name Here” just like Manasseh’s does? V. Verse 10: The LORD spoke to Manasseh and his people, but they paid no attention. Oh, the conviction in this one! Look back at that list at the beginning of the chapter. What do these people deserve? Death! Yet, Almighty Merciful God granted them grace and spoke to them, reached out to them in their sin. Their response is ours so often: they paid no attention to their creator’s precious attempt to turn them away from their sin. VI. Verse 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. Such is the result of our sin, our refusal to pay attention when our Heavenly Father speaks to us: a hook in the nose, shackles, slavery. Why did God do this? Many would argue that he did it to punish them for their sin, and I agree. However, why does a good father punish his children? Keep reading…

VII. Verse 12-16: In his distress he sought the favor of the LORD his God and humbled himself greatly before the God of his fathers. 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… 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. Then he restored the altar of the LORD and sacrificed fellowship offering and thank offerings on it, and told Judah to serve the LORD, the God of Israel. God’s hope in reprimanding his children is restoration! My favorite commentator, F.B. Meyer, explains, “So long as this story stands on the page of revelation, no sinner need despair of mercy. There was hardly a sin possible to man that Manasseh did not commit…And he made his people do worse than the heathen.

Then came awful sorrow. Bound, exposed to cruelty and disgrace, he was carried to Babylon, and thrust into the dungeons…with little chance of liberation or permission to revisit his native land. But there the Spirit of God did His work. He humbled himself greatly, and prayed. What tears, and cries, and bursts of heart-broken penitence, were his! How those walls were saturated with the breath of confession, and those stone floors indented by his kneeling at perpetual prayer! And God came near to his low dungeon, and graciously heard his supplication, and brought him back again.

Yes, and He will do as much for you. The blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses from all sin; the grace of God is exceedingly abundant with faith and love; all sins and blasphemies may be forgiven to the sons of men. Turn to Him with brokenness of soul, and He will not only forgive, but bring you again; and give you, as He did Manasseh, an opportunity of undoing some of those evil things which have marred your past. For the rest, it is good not to wait for affliction to stir us up to seek God, but to abide in Him for love’s dear sake.” I don’t think I should try to add anything to that except, Amen!

VIII. Verses 17-25: Manasseh died, and Amon became king, But unlike his father Manasseh, he did not humble himself before the LORD; Amon increased his guilt. So, Manasseh’s son missed out on God’s restoration because he refused to humble himself as his father did. Don’t let yourself just skim over this; personalize it. When you’re wrong, are you willing to admit it? What if you’ve been wrong for a very long time, like Manasseh was? That makes it a lot more difficult, doesn’t it? Our God delights in humility; …All of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, because, ‘God opposes the proud but shows favor to the humble’ (1 Peter 5:5).

Thank You, Lord For your Mercy and Forgiveness, For Your Grace. Not one of us is any better than Manasseh. May we all be humbled and allow for your restorative work in our lives.