Morning Bible Study 2 Kings 21 20141012 2Ki 21:1 Manasseh was twelve years old when he became king, and he reigned fifty-five years in Jerusalem; and his mothers name was Hephzibah. 2Ki 21:2 He did evil in the sight of the LORD, according to the abominations of the nations whom the LORD dispossessed before the sons of Israel. 2Ki 21:3 For he rebuilt the high places which Hezekiah his father had destroyed; and he erected altars for Baal and made an Asherah, as Ahab king of Israel had done, and worshiped all the host of heaven and served them. 2Ki 21:4 He built altars in the house of the LORD, of which the LORD had said, In Jerusalem I will put My name. 2Ki 21:5 For he built altars for all the host of heaven in the two courts of the house of the LORD. 2Ki 21:6 He made his son pass through the fire, practiced witchcraft and used divination, and dealt with mediums and spiritists. He did much evil in the sight of the LORD provoking Him to anger. 2Ki 21:7 Then he set the carved image of Asherah that he had made, in the house of which the LORD said to David and to his son Solomon, In this house and in Jerusalem, which I have chosen from all the tribes of Israel, I will put My name forever. 2Ki 21:8 And I will not make the feet of Israel wander anymore from the land which I gave their fathers, if only they will observe to do according to all that I have commanded them, and according to all the law that My servant Moses commanded them. 2Ki 21:9 But they did not listen, and Manasseh seduced them to do evil more than the nations whom the LORD destroyed before the sons of Israel. 2Ki 21:10 Now the LORD spoke through His servants the prophets, saying, 2Ki 21:11 Because Manasseh king of Judah has done these abominations, having done wickedly more than all the Amorites did who were before him, and has also made Judah sin with his idols; 2Ki 21:12 therefore thus says the LORD, the God of Israel, Behold, I am bringing such calamity on Jerusalem and Judah, that whoever hears of it, both his ears will tingle. 2Ki 21:13 I will stretch over Jerusalem the line of Samaria and the plummet of the house of Ahab, and I will wipe Jerusalem as one wipes a dish, wiping it and turning it upside down. 2Ki 21:14 I will abandon the remnant of My inheritance and deliver them into the hand of their enemies, and they will become as plunder and spoil to all their enemies; 2Ki 21:15 because they have done evil in My sight, and have been provoking Me to anger since the day their fathers came from Egypt, even to this day. 2Ki 21:16 Moreover, Manasseh shed very much innocent blood until he had filled Jerusalem from one end to another; besides his sin with which he made Judah sin, in doing evil in the sight of the LORD. 2Ki 21:17 Now the rest of the acts of Manasseh and all that he did and his sin which he committed, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Judah? 2Ki 21:18 And Manasseh slept with his fathers and was buried in the garden of his own house, in the garden of Uzza, and Amon his son became king in his place. 2Ki 21:19 Amon was twenty-two years old when he became king, and he reigned two years in Jerusalem; and his mothers name was Meshullemeth the daughter of Haruz of Jotbah. 2Ki 21:20 He did evil in the sight of the LORD, as Manasseh his father had done. 2Ki 21:21 For he walked in all the way that his father had walked, and served the idols that his father had served and worshiped them. 2Ki 21:22 So he forsook the LORD, the God of his fathers, and did not walk in the way of the LORD. 2Ki 21:23 The servants of Amon conspired against him and killed the king in his own house. 2Ki 21:24 Then the people of the land killed all those who had conspired against King Amon, and the people of the land made Josiah his son king in his place. 2Ki 21:25 Now the rest of the acts of Amon which he did, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Judah? 2Ki 21:26 He was buried in his grave in the garden of Uzza, and Josiah his son became king in his place. NEW AMERICAN STANDARD BIBLE Copyright (C) 1960,1962,1963,1968,1971,1972,1973,1975,1977,1995 by THE LOCKMAN FOUNDATION A Corporation Not for Profit LA HABRA, CA My Commentary Manasseh worshiped and made false idols. Manasseh worshiped any god that came along and made the Lord angry. So angry that God promised He would wipe Jerusalem as one wipes dishes. and He would abandon the remnant and deliver them into the hands of their enemy. This is a for shadow of what will happen to us and how angry God will be with us if we do not obey His commands. This is a picture of our eternal punishment, Hell as we know it. I do not know about you but this is a place I never want to be. I want to please and serve God all of my life, Amen!! The Preachers Commentary Copyright © 1982-1992 by Word, Inc. Published in Nashville, Tennessee, by Thomas Nelson, Inc. All rights reserved. No portion of this book may be reproduced in any form whatsoever, except for brief quotations in reviews, without written permission from the publisher. 2 Kings 21:1-9 Manasseh Reigns in Judah It would be difficult to imagine a more dramatic reversal in character and practice than that which took place when Manasseh assumed the throne of Judah in the place of his father. If Hezekiah was the best king Judah had, then his son Manasseh must have been the worst. Hezekiah received the high distinction of being compared to David, but Manasseh was the only king of Judah who was likened to wicked king Ahab of Israel (2Ki_21:3). Under Manasseh the greatest infidelity and apostasy against Yahweh in the history of Judah emerged. Of Hezekiah, the author of Kings writes: He did what was right in the sight of the LORD … so that after him was none like him among all the kings of Judah, nor who were before him (2Ki_18:3, 2Ki_18:5). But of Manasseh, the author writes, He did much evil in the sight of the LORD, to provoke Him to anger (2Ki_21:6). The prophets declare that he has acted more wickedly than all the Amorites who were before him (2Ki_21:11). How could the son of such a noble father turn out so bad? A more important question is, How does the same thing happen today? Obviously the old adage Like father, like son is not always true. One pastor I know, whose daughter went astray, tried to blame her failures on the university she attended. But universities, even denominational schools, are not designed to be remedial institutions. They cant correct in four years what parents have failed to accomplish in eighteen or twenty years. Another well-known religious leader said recently, Inevitably, the children of famous personalities who are popular and constantly in the public arena always turn out to be problem children. As you might guess, his own children were sad disappointments to him and his wife. It seems illogical to us that children of godly parents should turn out bad, so we naturally look for something or someone to blame. Who or what can be blamed for the unprecedented spiritual collapse of Hezekiahs son Manasseh? One clue to the puzzle may be the statement in verse 2Ki_21:1 that Manasseh was only twelve years old when his father died and he began to reign. He must have been born in the third of the extra fifteen years of life God gave Hezekiah after his serious illness (2Ki_20:6). Unlike King Joash, who also assumed the throne as a young boy after his fathers death but who was surrounded by godly advisers like Jehosheba and Jehoiada (2Ki_11:1-12), young Manasseh must have fallen under the influence of godless counselors. Some idolatrous faction in the court of Hezekiah must have gained control of the young and inexperienced monarch early in his reign in order to get their way in Judah and return the country to pagan worship. His fifty-five-year reign was not only the worst but also the longest of any king in Judah or in Israel. Manassehs name means he causes to forget. It may have been given to him because he brought consolation to Hezekiah his father after the loss of an earlier child or because his coming caused his mother Hephzibah to forget the pain of childbirth. Her name, incidently, means my delight is in her. Isaiah used that name poetically to suggest that Zion would be blessed by God. He said that Zions name would be Hephzibah (my delight is in her) rather than Azubah (forsaken) or Shemamah (desolate) (Isa_62:4). Abominations in verse 2Ki_21:2 can be literally translated disgusting actions, and the abominations of the nations is a generic, inclusive term for all the sins listed in the next verses. Here is the catalogue of Manassehs transgressions: 1. He rebuilt the high places his father had torn down (2Ki_21:3; cf. 2Ki_16:4; 2Ki_18:4). 2. He built altars to Baal and images to Asherah, the consort of Baal, just as Ahab had done in Israel (2Ki_21:3; cf. 1Ki_16:33). 3. He went beyond the sins of Ahab, however, by introducing into Judah the Assyrian practice of worshiping the sun, moon, and stars—that is, the host of heaven (2Ki_21:3). Archaeologists have discovered a seal from the time of Manassehs reign that bears the inscription, [belonging] to Manasseh, son [or steward] of the king. On the seal are a six-pointed star and a crescent, suggesting that the owner worshiped the host of heaven. It has been dated close to the beginning of Manassehs reign, and if it did indeed belong to him, it indicates that he became a practicing idolater as a young man. 4. He actually erected altars to the sun, moon, and stars in the temple itself (2Ki_21:4-5). Since the temple as described in 1 Kings 6 had only one court, the second court mentioned in this verse must refer to the palace court next door. This was called middle court and was considered almost a part of the temple. 5. He sacrificed his son on the fiery altar of the god Molech and apparently encouraged the people of Jerusalem to do the same thing (2Ki_21:6). 6. He practiced soothsaying or augury (2Ki_21:6). The word is ῾ônēn. Because of the similarity of this word to ῾ānān, which means cloud, some believe the word points to the practice of telling fortunes by looking at the changing patterns of the clouds. Others assert that ῾ônēn is an onomatopoeic word based on the crooning sound made by the soothsayer himself in imitation of the cooing of a dove as he drifted into a trance before telling fortunes. 7. He practiced witchcraft or divination (2Ki_21:6). This might refer to snake charming or hydromancy, that is, the telling of fortunes by looking at water. 8. He consulted spiritists and mediums (2Ki_21:6). Some translators say the two words here should be translated mediums and wizards. Either way, they both refer to foretelling the future by making con tact with the dead or calling up departed spirits (necromancy). 9. He set up a newly carved image of Asherah in the holy temple of Yahweh (2Ki_21:7). This last sin was serious because of Gods promise to David and Solomon that His presence would dwell in that temple in a special way (2Sa_7:13; 1Ki_8:27). He also promised that He would bless and protect His people as long as they obeyed the law that My servant Moses commanded them (2Ki_21:8). What a dreadful list of deplorable sins! Paying no attention to the warnings of God, the people let Manasseh seduce them into following his example so that they became more pagan than the pagans, doing more evil than the nations whom the LORD had destroyed before the children of Israel (2Ki_21:9). The prophets make much of this theme that Gods people should have behaved better than their neighbors who worshiped idols (cf. Amo_9:7; Jer_2:9-13). That theme even finds its way into the teaching of Jesus: It will be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon in the day of judgment than for you (Mat_11:22). The contrast between the wicked reign of Manasseh and the commendable reign of his father Hezekiah is so dramatic that it leads one to suspect that Manasseh deliberately repudiated his fathers reforms. Some scholars have pointed out that the terrible idolatry during this period might have been due to Judahs domination by Assyria, but Manassehs radical reversal of national religious practice in the very opposite direction of godliness seems too intense to have been circumstantial. Manasseh was plainly on an intentional anti-Yahweh crusade. It may be that the young king yielded to pressures from a group in Jerusalem who did not agree with his fathers reforms and influenced him toward apostasy and infidelity, but it is difficult to place the blame anywhere but on Manasseh himself. Isaiah was dead, and there was no prophet in Judah strong enough to oppose the royal campaign for idolatry. Furthermore, some of the people were restless and unhappy because Hezekiah had taken away the pleasures of their pagan worship practices. To worship only Yahweh, with His insistence on justice and morality, seemed to them too narrow, too strict. Even the priests probably favored a return to worshiping Yahweh in the pagan high places because such decentralization of worship, scattering worship sites throughout the land rather than only in Jerusalem, brought in more money. In spite of extenuating circumstances, even though conditions were somewhat stacked against him, Manasseh was responsible for what has been called the era of the greatest infidelity and apostasy in the history of Judah. Years later, when Jerusalem fell to the Babylonians, the writer would blame Judahs punishment on the sins of Manasseh (2Ki_24:3-4). 2 Kings 21:10-18 The Prophets Judge Manasseh and He Dies Fifty-five years is a long time for wickedness in high places to continue without challenge, but eventually the long-suffering of God reached its limits, and He judged Manasseh through His servants the prophets. Literally the verse says He spoke by the hand of His servants the prophets. Who were these nameless spokesmen for God? Not Jeremiah. He had not yet begun his ministry. It was neither Micah nor Isaiah, since they were no longer on the scene. In fact, one tradition says that Manasseh was the one who put Isaiah to death. In a pseudepigraphal book called The Martyrdom of Isaiah, there is a story of a false prophet named Belchira of Bethlehem who accused Isaiah of disloyalty before the court of Manasseh. The passage from the book says: And he [Belchira] brought many accusations against Isaiah and the prophets before Manasseh. But Beliar [angel of lawlessness and ruler of this world] dwelt in the heart of Manasseh … and he sent and seized Isaiah. And he sawed him asunder with a wood-saw…. But Isaiah was [absorbed] in a vision of the Lord, and though his eyes were open, he saw them [not]. It was not Jeremiah, Micah, nor Isaiah, but perhaps one of the prophets referred to in verse 2Ki_21:10 was Habakkuk, since he so vividly predicted the Babylonian judgment in his book (Hab_1:5). The authoritative message from Yahweh through these anonymous prophetic voices is recorded in verses 2Ki_21:11-15 through 2Ki_21:11-15. The Amorites in verse 2Ki_21:11 were one of the original peoples who occupied Canaan when the children of Israel entered the Promised Land. Here the name stands for all the idolatrous inhabitants of Canaan. Because of Judahs disobedience, Gods calamitous judgment would soon fall on Judah and its capital city of Jerusalem. The punishment would be of such magnitude that hearing the news of it would cause the ears of the hearer to tingle (2Ki_21:12). In other words, such calamity had never been heard of before. This metaphor of tingling ears is also used in 1Sa_3:11 and Jer_19:3. Another metaphor for the judgment soon to fall upon Judah is taken from the vocabulary of the builder. The measuring line would be used to calculate the extent of her destruction. The plummet may refer either to the instrument used in demolition or to the plumb line by which a builder determines whether or not a wall is perpendicular. Amos used this same symbol when he pictured God as a judge with a plumb line in His hand, using it to determine if Israel was leaning away from the standard of His law (Amo_7:7-8). When the bricklayers were building the walls of the new library on our seminary campus a few years ago, I was surprised to see that after all these years of advancing technology these skilled craftsmen were still using the ancient plumb line to keep the walls perfectly straight. Suspended from the scaffold on which the bricklayers worked was a piece of heavy string. Tied to the end of the string was a pointed piece of lead. (The Latin word plumbum means lead.) When the weighted string, hanging just an inch from the new wall, stopped swinging and stood still it told the bricklayers whether or not the wall was perfectly vertical. Later, when the architect came by to inspect their work in order to approve it so we could pay them, he also carried a plumb line to measure the perpendicular quality of the wall. The Bible says that God judges us in the same way. He has a plumb line in His hand to measure whether our lives are straight according to His standard, or whether they lean away from the vertical ideal of the Ten Commandments. Another prophetic symbol is found in verse 2Ki_21:13; this time it comes from the kitchen. Before the modern convenience of electric dishwashers, the familiar scene in family kitchens for centuries was the busy cook with a dish towel in hand, drying the freshly washed dishes. In rural areas, after a sumptuous feast, I can remember seeing the cook put the dried plates back on the clean tablecloth upside down, ready for the next meal. Supposedly, this was designed to keep the plates free from dust until they were used again. When the host said amen after the blessing at the next meal, all of us would ceremoniously turn our plates right side up in readiness to pass the fried chicken and mashed potatoes. In verse 2Ki_21:13, God says, I will wipe Jerusalem as one wipes a dish, wiping it and turning it upside down. This could indicate that, once cleansed by His judgment, Jerusalem would be ready for His use again. Or the symbol may mean that God was turning the dish up-side down to show that not a drop remained in it, indicating that Jerusalem would be completely depopulated. This seems to be the meaning in Jer_51:34, Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon has made me an empty vessel. The remnant in verse 2Ki_21:14 refers to the people in the Southern Kingdom. They were the only ones remaining since the ten tribes of the North had already been deported. Forsake is a strong, forceful word used to describe the skinning of an animal. It is sometimes translated cast off. Several explanations have been proposed for the shedding of innocent blood mentioned in verse 2Ki_21:16. One suggestion is that it refers to Manassehs sacrificing of children to the god Molech. Another is that, like Ahab, the king was guilty of executing innocent victims in order to confiscate their property. Still another explanation is that the shedding of innocent blood refers to Manassehs killing of Gods prophets, particularly Isaiah, according to the Jewish leg end described above. Josephus Antiquities 10.3.1) indicates that Manasseh killed a few prophets every day during his reign! Who ever was being killed, their blood filled Jerusalem from one end to another. This is an interesting phrase meaning literally, from mouth to mouth—that is, from one entrance of the city to another. Manasseh died a natural death at the age of sixty-seven and was buried in the garden of his own house, in the garden of Uzza (2Ki_21:18). Apparently the regular burial place for Judean kings in the southern extremity of the old city of David was already full or maybe Manassehs apostasy precluded his being buried with the others. Notice, however, that his father Hezekiah, the good king, was not buried with the other kings either, so the explanation that there was no more space in the traditional tombs is more likely (2Ch_32:33). Scholars are not sure where the grave site named the garden of Uzza was located. The name Uzza may be a shortened form of Uzziah, leading some to suggest that the garden had been built by Uzziah as an addition either to the royal palace in Jerusalem or perhaps to one of his summer or winter palaces. Gray believes that Uzza is the name of a Canaanitish desert deity, maybe of Arabian origin, and that a shrine to this god was built in the kings garden. Therefore, the garden took its name from this pagan deity. Wherever it was located, Manassehs son Amon was also buried there (2Ki_21:26). According to the parallel passage in 2 Chronicles 33, Manasseh was put in chains and carried to Babylon by the king of Assyria. There he repented and prayed to God, who accepted his supplication and restored him to his throne in Jerusalem. He then abolished the pagan idols, rebuilt the altar of the Lord, and called upon the people of Judah to serve Him alone. But the repentance was too little too late. The dock of divine judgment had already begun its count down. 2 Kings 21:19-26 Amon Reigns in Judah Because of his long and wicked reign, Manasseh looms large on the pages of Judahs history. His son Amon, on the other hand, is dismissed as not much more than a worthless cipher, a wretched footnote at the bottom of the historical page. Since he was twenty-two years old when he began to reign and had therefore been under the influence of Judahs wickedest king for nearly a quarter of a century, it is no surprise that he too did evil in the sight of the LORD (2Ki_21:20). In fact, his father dramatized Amons pagan upbringing by naming him for an Egyptian deity. Amons mother, who bore the Arabian name Meshullemeth, is mentioned only here. Her fathers name, Haruz, is also thought to be Arabian, which might give credence to the idea that the garden of Uzza mentioned above was indeed the location of a shrine to an Arabian desert god. Manasseh might well have included such a deity among his many idols if indeed his father-in-law was Arabian. Num_33:33 mentions Haruzs hometown of Jotbah. It has been identified with a location in Edom about twenty miles north of Aqaba. This also supports the Arabian connection. Amons assassins, called his servants in verse 2Ki_21:23, may have been representatives of a priestly party in the royal household who objected to the idolatry and apostasy of Manasseh and his son and took advantage of the young king before he could consolidate his royal power. But another party, perhaps pro-Assyrian in their loyalty, quickly executed the assassins and established Amons eight-year -old son, Josiah, on the throne of Jerusalem. These people of the land no doubt assumed that they could manipulate the boy-king to carry out their policies. Amon was buried beside his father Manasseh in the garden of Uzza. If it is difficult to understand how such an outstanding leader as Hezekiah could have had a son as wicked as Manasseh, it is even more incredible that such a weak and wicked character as Amon could have had such an illustrious son as Josiah. The only positive contribution Amon made to the history of Judah was to produce one of the best kings to reign on the throne of Jerusalem. The story of Josiah, a noble king like his grandfather, Hezekiah, is told in the next chapter. The Reign and Reforms of Josiah 2Ki. 22:1-23:30 Scripture Outline The Discovery of the Book of the Law (2Ki_22:1-13) The Prophecy of Huldah (2Ki_22:14-20) The Reforms of Josiah (2Ki_23:1-30)
Posted on: Sun, 12 Oct 2014 13:01:17 +0000
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