You’re familiar with David, the Goliath-killer and shepherd king of Israel. You know a few things about his son, Solomon, the builder of the temple in Jerusalem and the guy who had 700 wives. But can you name any other Israelite king? Saul (the first king of Israel), and Ahab (the wicked king married to Jezebel) may come to mind, but what about King Manasseh? That’s not a familiar name to many Bible students and that’s surprising when you consider that Manasseh reigned 55 years, the longest of any Israelite king. Our Old Testament Scripture reading today tells us something about the life of Manasseh, which we could summarize like this: “Big Mess. Boundless Mercy.” Let’s see what lessons we can learn from Manasseh’s memoirs.
Manasseh lived about 700 years before the birth of Christ and 300 years after David had become king. His father was Hezekiah, a god-fearing king and friend of the prophet Isaiah. Hezekiah re-opened the temple which his father, King Ahaz had closed to worship. He also removed from the temple the idols Ahaz had set up in the courtyard. That’s why it’s so shocking to hear that when Manasseh became king at age 12, he didn’t follow in his father’s god-fearing footsteps. Instead he emulated his wicked grandfather, Ahaz. Listen again to our text describe the big spiritual mess for which Manasseh was responsible. “He rebuilt the high places his father Hezekiah had demolished; he also erected altars to the Baals and made Asherah poles... 5 In both courts of the temple of the LORD, he built altars to all the starry hosts. 6 He sacrificed his sons in the fire in the Valley of Ben Hinnom, practiced sorcery, divination and witchcraft, and consulted mediums and spiritists. He did much evil in the eyes of the LORD, provoking him to anger. 7 He took the carved image he had made and put it in God’s temple…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” (2 Chronicles 33:3a, 5-7a, 9b).
We’re not told why Manasseh rebelled spiritually, but it probably had something to do with wanting to be like the kings of the nations around him. During Manasseh’s day Judah wasn’t a particularly powerful kingdom. It was sandwiched between the superpowers of Egypt to the south and Assyria to the north. Perhaps Manasseh thought that what made those nations so powerful were the gods that they worshipped. So why not adopt those gods as his own? That’s not unlike what a mediocre national soccer team today will do when it imports a coach from another country that’s a soccer superpower. But Manasseh was playing a dangerous spiritual game. His imports led to one sin after another. He first built altars to foreign gods and put them in the temple, then he even sacrificed his own sons by fire in a putrid form of Canaanite worship. Since Manasseh would not have received any comfort from such an act, it’s no wonder he started to consult spiritists and mediums. He must have been desperate to communicate with his sons whom he had killed, as if such communication was possible. But why not turn to the God of Israel for help? Well, no other nation’s king did that. Why should Manasseh?
Manasseh’s attitude is sadly not unheard of among the children of God-fearing parents today. When these children get on their own for the first time, they will often run from the faith, not just drift from it. Why? Because they want to fit in. But the thing is the people of this world, those who rely on themselves and on the latest pop psychology for wisdom, have nothing to offer believers that will make life better. Why, there are first graders here who know more than many college professors because you believe and acknowledge that God made the world in six days with his powerful Word. There are high school students here who, through a study of God’s Word, know better what makes a relationship work than do some of their teachers who may be on their second or third marriage. Young friends, when you get old enough to leave your parents’ home, don’t despise the spiritual training that you have received from them, shoving it into the back of your life as if it was an action figure or a Barbie you once thought was cool but now are embarrassed to be seen with. Don’t be eager to adopt the ways of the unbelieving world because you’ll just make a big mess of your life, as did Manasseh.
But parents, I have to speak to you as well. Although Manasseh’s father, Hezekiah, was a god-fearing king, I wonder how much time he spent with his son in the twelve years they had together. Was Hezekiah perhaps more concerned about his work as king than in his calling as father? Did he think he would have plenty of time later with his son to train and teach him God’s Word? Or did he think that bringing him to the temple to worship was good enough, that in this way Manasseh would receive all the spiritual training he needed from the priests? It’s easy to fall into that trap as a parent, isn’t it – to think that it’s the church’s job to train the kids?
Another reason children often bolt from the faith when they get on their own is because their parents were hypocrites. Sure, everyone at church thought that the parents were wonderful, god-fearing people, but they didn’t have to experience the unbridled tongue-lashing and the put downs from those moms and dads at home. They didn’t have to put up with parents who seemed to love drink and Facebook more than spending time with their kids. Is it surprising that the children of such people want to leave behind anything that reminds them of their parents’ behavior, including the Sunday worship ritual?
Perhaps my words have pricked a conscience or two. If so, what will you do next? Follow in the footsteps of Manasseh? Our text records this behavior: “The LORD spoke to Manasseh and his people [about their sin], but they paid no attention” (2 Chronicles 33:10). Manasseh had gotten himself into a big mess yet in his boundless mercy God reached out to him. He called for the king’s attention through the sermons of his prophets. But those sermons fell on deaf ears. Worse than that, Manasseh seemed to try to silence these godly voices. A parallel account in 2 Kings 21:16 reports that Manasseh shed much innocent blood. Did this include the blood of the prophets? Tradition says that Manasseh sawed in two the prophet Isaiah! Haven’t we often wanted to saw in two or at least double over with a cutting remark someone who calls attention to our grumpiness or some other sin?
Manasseh had made a mess of things, but the king didn’t seem to see it that way. His health was good, and the economy seemed to be humming along. Who needed the prophets of God anyway? Manasseh would find an answer to that question when God made his next move. Our text reports: “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” (2 Chronicles 33:11).
You can only thumb your nose at God so many times before he’ll put a hook in it. Was this the end of Manasseh? Was God finally punishing the rebellious king? No! This arrest and subsequent imprisonment was ongoing evidence of God’s boundless mercy. If God had wanted to punish Manasseh, he would have ended the king’s life and sent him to hell to start serving his eternal sentence. Instead God was still trying to grab Manasseh’s attention and bring him to repentance. And it worked! Our text says that Manasseh humbled himself and called out to the Lord in his distress.
God answered Manasseh’s prayer and restored the king to his throne in Jerusalem. What we learn from this is that no matter how big the mess is that you have gotten yourself into, God’s mercy is boundless. God’s mercy moved him to forgive Manasseh for turning his temple into a place that promoted idol worship. His mercy even forgave Manasseh for the murder of his sons when he offered them to the Canaanite god. God’s mercy for you is also boundless. There is no sin too large, whether the sin of abortion, the sin of ignoring God’s prophets, or the sin of filling the temple of your heart with things this sinful world values – there is no sin whatsoever that God has not forgiven. As surely as Jesus was led away as a bound captive in the Garden of Gethsemane, so as certainly were all of your sins led away from you. They were glued to the cross at the crucifixion and there they remain. There will be no day of resurrection for them, for God keeps no record of our sins.
When Manasseh returned to Jerusalem he was a different king. He cleared out the idols he had put in the temple and urged his people to worship the Lord. God’s boundless mercy motivates us to do that kind of spring cleaning in our hearts every day, for God is not content to share the sanctuary of our heart with altars dedicated to our ego or anything else! And there is no need to worship anything else. The God of the Bible is all we need.
Big mess. Boundless mercy. Those are the lessons we learn from Manasseh’s memoirs but they’re also lessons we would learn if we studied the lives of David and Solomon, and every other person in this world for that matter. Like self-absorbed two-year olds we’re all good at making spiritual messes wherever we go. So thank God for his boundless mercy. He intervenes with his Word, calling us to repentance. And if need be, he grabs our attention with pain in our lives. Don’t mistake that pain for punishment. It comes from a loving God who already swatted away your sins in the person of Jesus. That’s why this God is worthy to be king over all, including your heart. Amen.
SERMON NOTES
What was King Manasseh like at the beginning of his reign?
How do you explain Manasseh’s spiritual rebellion? What warning is there for children of God-fearing parents today? What warning is there for parents?
Describe two ways God showed his boundless mercy to Manasseh. How has God shown you similar mercy?
When Manasseh returned to Jerusalem, he cleared out the idols from God’s temple. What are the idols that need constant clearing from God’s temple in your heart?
