2 Kings 21
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CHAPTER 21
Manasseh King of Judah (21:1-18)
(2 Chronicles 33:1-20)
1-6 Manasseh was born during the fifteen years of added life that the Lord gave to Hezekiah (2 Kings 20:6). During his reign Manasseh overturned every religious reform that Hezekiah had undertaken, and returned to the practices of the Canaanites (verse 2). He reintroduced the worship of Baal and Asherah (verse 3), just as the wicked Ahab had done in Israel (1 Kings 16:32-33). Manasseh built altars in the temple (verse 4)—the temple where the Lord had put His Name (see 1 Kings 9:3). He did the evil things for which the Israelites had earlier been punished and driven from their land (see 2 Kings 17:717)—including the sacrificing of his own son in the fire (verse 6), an act his grandfather Ahaz had also carried out80 (2 Kings 16:3).
7-9 It was Manasseh’s desecration of the temple itself that the writer of 2 Kings most abhorred (verse 7). The Lord had put His Name in the temple; He had especially chosen Jerusalem as His dwelling place forever (1 Kings 9:3; 11:13). He had promised to preserve the Israelites in their promised land; He would not make their feet wander from the land (verse 8). But all this was contingent on their keeping the whole Law given by Moses.81 This the people did not do; under Manasseh, they again broke the Lord’s covenant. The reforms of Hezekiah had not truly changed the people’s hearts; now with their former godly leader gone, they soon reverted to their evil ways.
10-11 As with Israel earlier, the Lord’s patience with Judah finally ran out. Because the people of Judah continued to violate His covenant and refused to listen to His prophets, the Lord withdrew from Judah His covenant blessing and protection. The punishment He had long ago spoken of through His servant Moses was now about to be carried out (Leviticus 26:14-39).
12-15 In these verses, the Lord pronounces His judgment on Judah. Using the same measuring line and plumb line (means of measuring) that He used to punish Samaria (Israel) and the house of Ahab, He would now punish Judah (verse 13). He would forsake the remnant of [His] inheritance and hand them over to their enemies82 (verse 14).
16 Among those whose blood Manasseh shed were some of the prophets who were sent to warn him of the Lord’s impending judgment. According to Jewish tradition, one of these prophets was Isaiah, who is said to have been sawed in two (Hebrews 11:37).
17-18 According to 2 Chronicles 33:1117, Manasseh was captured by the Assyrians later in his reign and taken prisoner to Babylon, which at the time was under the control of Assyria. In his distress he repented of his sins and cried out to God. God brought him back to Jerusalem, and then Manasseh knew that the LORD is God (2 Chronicles 33:13).
When he arrived back in Jerusalem, Manasseh attempted to restore the true worship of the Lord. He removed the pagan altars and idols from the temple; he offered sacrifices on the true altar, and urged the people of Judah to serve the Lord (2 Chronicles 33:15-16). However, all this was too late to change the course of Judah’s history. Manasseh’s son Amon was as evil as Manasseh himself had been before he repented, so as soon as Manasseh died the people returned to their idolatry as before.
Manasseh, in spite of all his evil, teaches us one important thing: from a human perspective it is never too late to repent. Yes, for Judah it was too late, but not for Manasseh. We must never give up hope for people, no matter how wicked they are; we must never stop praying for them. Yes, God may have rendered final judgment on them, but we humans can never know that. Like the thief on the cross, people can come to faith in the final moments of life (Luke 23:32,39-43); as long as breath remains, it is never too late to repent.
Notice how God brought about Manasseh’s repentance: He caused him distress (2 Chronicles 33:12). It was the distress of imprisonment that prompted Manasseh to turn to the Lord. Thus Manasseh’s distress” was a sign of God’s mercy and grace. God often uses distress to bring us to repentance. During times of distress, we should always be asking: “God, what are you trying to show me?” If we respond to God’s discipline in this way, we shall be able to thank Him for it in the end83 (Hebrews 12:11).
Amon King of Judah (21:19-26)
(2 Chronicles 33:21-25)
19-26 Amon undid any good that his father Manasseh had done during the last years of his reign. The former idolatrous worship was quickly reestablished. Then after two years, Amon was assassinated by conspirators, who in turn were killed by the people of the land—ordinary citizens (verses 23-24). Then Amon’s son Josiah, the last godly ruler of Judah, became king (verse 26).