Vol.14 No.6
King Manasseh
Of all the kings of Judah, few were so offensive to God as Manasseh, son of King Hezekiah.
But where “sin abounded, grace did much more abound.”
By Pat Mudgett
Manasseh’s feet burned from the stones and hot sand sifting into his sandals, and the ropes tore into his wrists as he struggled to maintain his balance against the compulsion of the barb that pierced his nose. Like so many conquered kings before him, Manasseh offered no resistance as his Assyrian captors marched him through the gates of the capital, to the cheers of an admiring crowd. Judah’s king was the big prize among their human cargo.
Once in the court, he listened as the king’s attendant announced the entry of King Ashurbanipal: “The great king, the legitimate king, the king of the world, king of Assyria, king of all the four rims of the earth, king of kings,” and the next words gripped his heart with a wave of fear, “prince without rival, who rules from the Upper Sea to the Lower Sea.”1 Being in the judicial custody of his enemies banished from Manasseh’s thoughts all but the bleak prospect of being publicly humiliated and killed. He realized then that he might never behold his own capital city again. The vivid memories of butchering thousands of his own citizens and filling Jerusalem’s streets with blood haunted him. Manasseh felt the stares of his surviving subjects as the Assyrian soldiers once again jerked the barb that placed him completely at their mercy. Yet, what devoured his peace more than all this was how far his own lost soul had wandered away from God. Of all the Hebrew kings who had reigned, few were so offensive to God and man as Manasseh, son of King Hezekiah of Judah.
In his history as king of Judah, he had plunged the population of his country into the most perverse wickedness and idolatry to be found in those heathen nations that bordered his own. And the irony was, he almost missed being born.
The Bible records that King Hezekiah became “sick unto death” and the prophet Isaiah told him, “Set thine house in order; for thou shalt die, and not live.” 2 Kings 20:1.
No one likes to hear that kind of bad news, least of all someone in the prime of life, and Hezekiah was no exception. The king was loathe to surrender to God’s purpose, to submit to His better judgment. In answer to the king’s agonized prayers, God granted him a fifteen-year extension of life—fifteen years that would alter the course of Judah’s future.
“One Who Causes to Forget”
Just three short years later, a beautiful boy was born to King Hezekiah and Queen Hephzibah. The name given this child, Manasseh, means “one who causes to forget.” Hezekiah found in the birth of this little baby a reason, a person, who could make him forget that his life had nearly ended just three years earlier.
After his father’s death, Manasseh ascended the throne at the age of twelve. He began almost immediately living out the darker meaning of his name by causing Judah to forget her Creator and Redeemer. Perhaps his father’s enemies took advantage of the youthful king’s inexperience, and influenced him to reinstate the varied forms of heathen worship that had been set aside during his father’s reign. Manasseh may have chosen to surround himself with young radical counselors, as did Rehoboam, who was advised to “chastise [his subjects] with scorpions.” 1 Kings 12:11. Without parental guidance, the young ruler may have followed the path of least resistance, and couldn’t stand anyone who disapproved of his chosen course. Maybe Manasseh was one of those unusually bad cases that surprise and disappoint good parents. There are no concrete answers to these questions, but Manasseh occupied the Jerusalem throne for an unparalleled fifty-five years, the longest reign before or after, and significant for one so bloodthirsty. “…Manasseh shed innocent blood very much, till he had filled Jerusalem from one end to another.” 2 Kings 21:16.
REBELLIOUS AND RUTHLESS
The first chapters of King Manasseh’s monarchy are dark with mounting abominations, including offering his own children to the fires of Molech, willfully provoking God’s anger. Among the many who were killed in the capital was the prophet Isaiah, who was placed in a log and sawed in half. 2 Kings 2:16; Hebrews 11:37. It was because of the young king’s rebelliousness and ruthless annihilation of so many faithful people, that God finally declared, “Because Manasseh king of Judah hath done these abominations …above all that the Amorites did…Behold, I am bringing such evil upon Jerusalem and Judah, that whosoever heareth of it, both his ears shall tingle. And I will wipe Jerusalem as a man wipeth a dish, wiping it, and turning it upside down.” 2 Kings 21:11-13.
Even after the godly reign of Manasseh’s grandson, Josiah, 2 Kings 23:26 records: “Notwithstanding the Lord turned not from the fierceness of his great wrath, wherewith his anger was kindled against Judah, because of all the provocations that Manasseh had provoked him withal.”
“Manasseh thumbed his nose at God for [so many] years, indulged himself in every lustful passion, corrupted and ruined an entire nation, and God sat on His hands. Or did He?” Not likely. “[God’s] anger must be released by a stiff safety lock, but His mercy has a hair trigger.”2 In the story of King Manasseh, we see God’s surpassing love and mercy—a perfect parable of the gospel.
Manasseh’s day of reckoning came none too soon. This king fell very low in the history of God’s people. He conspired against all things good and heavenly, and provoked the Lord’s anger with sins worse than those that caused God to destroy the heathen nations of Canaan.
RESCUED BY GOD’S GRACE
But “where sin abounded, grace did much more abound.” Romans 5:20. Against the backdrop of Manasseh’s excessive brutality and perverse idol worship, God set His saving grace. He is “longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.” 2 Peter 3:9.
Manasseh’s repentance was full and deep, and God moved the heart of King Ashurbanipal to release Manasseh to return home and be restored to his throne for many additional years. During that time, he undid much of the hellishness that he had revived. At his death, King Manasseh commanded that he be buried in the garden of his home, rather than alongside his more famous ancestor, King David. But he died a saved man. 2 Chronicles 33:12, 13.
How deep is God’s grace? Faced with King Manasseh’s unmitigated rebellion, we should completely banish the fear that God would desert us or cast us aside—if we return to Him in penitence. His love runs far deeper than we realize, and His arm of salvation is long enough to reach each one of us where we are. Manasseh found it true that the depth of God’s grace is unfathomable. And we can too!
References
- World Book Encyclopedia (1986), “Assyria.”
- David Soper, David and Manasseh: Overcoming Failure (RBC Ministries: Grand Rapids, MI, 1996).
* Pat Mudgett is a freelance writer, copyeditor, and frequent contributor to Last Generation magazine. She writes from Berkeley Springs, WV.
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