Manasseh succeeded his father Hezekiah as king. At age 12 he was made to co-reign with his father. His time of sole reign started when he was 22 years of age. The duration of his reign over Judah was 52 years in total. That is a good length for any king. Unfortunately, he was an ungodly king, who did evil in the sight of the Lord. Second Kings 21:1-9 describe seven things that defined him so
Firstly,
he led the nation back into the abominable idolatrous worship of the foreign
nations which God had Israel gotten rid of. Secondly, he allowed the high places which his father had removed to thrive again. Thirdly,
he adopted Baal and Asherah worship like King Ahab of Israel. Fourthly, he
indulged in the worship of the starry hosts. Fifthly, verse 5 said, “…he built altars for all the host of heaven in the two
courts of the house of the Lord.”
He had violated God’s plan for establishing His own name in Jerusalem. Sixthly,
he made his son to pass through the fire, and seventhly, he practiced all sorts of
witchcraft by consulting mediums and spiritists.
What a horrendous reign! He virtually emulated all the wrong people
and practices. He entertained the abominations of the Canaanites. Like Jeroboam,
he rebuilt the high places. Like Ahab,
he introduced the worship of Baal and Asherah. Like Ahaz, he made his son
to pass through the fire. And like Saul, he consulted mediums and spiritists. What a
catalog of evil that stunk to high heaven.
Fundamentally, Manasseh had violated two covenants that God had made
with his predecessors. Verse 7 shows that he literally broke the Davidic
covenant. By setting the carved image of
Asherah in the house of the Lord,
he had blatantly breached the LORD’s instruction which stipulates that “In this house and in Jerusalem, which I have chosen from all the tribes of
Israel, I will put My name forever.” Secondly, in verse 8, he had broken the Mosaic covenant that guaranteed that they would
not need to wander if they would obey what was stipulated in the law given
through Moses. Instead of adhering to the word of God. Manasseh had led the
people of Judah right back into all the evil God had destroyed before the children
of Israel.
The first lesson we learn from Manasseh’s life is that when a
person is not living in sync with God, there is no telling of how recklessly
evil that person can be. Such a person will have no qualm violating the instruction
of God evil though it would mean a terrible end. Remember to guard our relationship
with God vigilantly. If we don’t all the good foundations of our past will be
destroyed by one wrong decision. The second lesson we learn is that godly children
are not guaranteed unless parents take time to train their children in the way
of the Lord. This is what we parents must remember and do. Finally, we must know
that the length of being a Christian would mean nothing if we do not walk faithfully with the Lord and live a God-pleasing life.
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