He is certainly considered to be the most wicked king of Judah.
His grandfather, Ahaz, was a wicked king, but his father, King Hezekiah is considered to be the most godly king of Judah.
It's hard to imagine that someone as righteous as Hezekiah could have a son as evil as Manasseh. This wicked monarch reigned longer than any other king in Judah.
Hezekiah was one of the few kings in David's line, the kings of Judah, called "good." Most of them were evil,
Hezekiah was responsible for a spiritual revival during his reign that swept the entire nation. He did away with the idolatry that his father, Ahaz, had established, and purged the nation of apostasy.
It was Hezekiah's wise leadership that made him a powerful spiritual force in Judah.
But 2 Kings 21 begins by telling us that the great King Hezekiah had died.
Manasseh came to the throne when he was only twelve years of age. He co-reigned with his father for about ten years.
What a wonderful opportunity he had for his life.
• He had the wonderful example of his father to follow
• He was exposed to the ministry of Isaiah and Micah
• He had personally seen the Lord deliver Jerusalem in a very miraculous way, when it was under siege by the Assyrians
Yet note what he did once he had power as king when he took over. Look at verse 2, we read, “And he did that which was evil in the sight of the LORD, after the abominations of the heathen, whom the LORD cast out before the children of Israel.”
It seems once his father died, he wasted no time turning to evil. We learn two things from the life of King Manasseh, such as:
(1) King Manasseh is the perfect example of a man throwing his life away to sin
(2) King Manasseh is the perfect example of a wicked man returning back to the God he once knew
Perhaps there are some here today who feel that your sins are so gross, that God could never save you from those sins.
If you are thinking this way, let me assure you God’s grace is sufficient to save the most wicked among us.
Let’s look at the life of King Manasseh. What do we see? We see-
I. HE WAS A CORRUPTED KING
Look at 2 Kings 21:1-7, we read, “Manasseh was twelve years old when he began to reign, and reigned fifty and five years in Jerusalem. And his mother's name was Hephzibah. And he did that which was evil in the sight of the LORD, after the abominations of the heathen, whom the LORD cast out before the children of Israel. For he built up again the high places which Hezekiah his father had destroyed; and he reared up altars for Baal, and made a grove, as did Ahab king of Israel; and worshipped all the host of heaven, and served them. And he built altars in the house of the LORD, of which the LORD said, In Jerusalem will I put my name. And he built altars for all the host of heaven in the two courts of the house of the LORD. And he made his son pass through the fire, and observed times, and used enchantments, and dealt with familiar spirits and wizards: he wrought much wickedness in the sight of the LORD, to provoke him to anger. And he set a graven image of the grove that he had made in the house, of which the LORD said to David, and to Solomon his son, In this house, and in Jerusalem, which I have chosen out of all tribes of Israel, will I put my name for ever.”
The Bible does not just say that King Manasseh was a wicked King, the Word of God describes his wickedness in great detail. Such as:
A. HIS WICKEDNESS AFFECTED HIS SPIRITUAL STANDING WITH GOD
Look at verse 2, we read, “And he did that which was evil in the sight of the LORD, after the abominations of the heathen, whom the LORD cast out before the children of Israel.”
B. HIS WICKEDNESS AFFECTED HIS FATHER’S LEGACY
He restored the altars of Baal that his godly father Hezekiah had removed.
Look at verses 3-5, we read, “For he built up again the high places which Hezekiah his father had destroyed; and he reared up altars for Baal, and made a grove, as did Ahab king of Israel; and worshipped all the host of heaven, and served them. heaven, and served them. And he built altars in the house of the LORD, of which the LORD said, In Jerusalem will I put my name. And he built altars for all the host of heaven in the two courts of the house of the LORD.”
C. HIS WICKEDNESS AFFECTED HIS FAMILY
Look at verse 6, we read, “And he made his son pass through the fire, and observed times, and used enchantments, and dealt with familiar spirits and wizards: he wrought much wickedness in the sight of the LORD, to provoke him to anger.”
D. HIS WICKEDNESS AFFECTED OTHERS.
Look at verse 9, we read “But they hearkened not: and Manasseh seduced them to do more evil than did the nations whom the LORD destroyed before the children of Israel.”
Here was a man doing everything he could do, with every resource he had, to promote evil.
HE WAS A CORRUPTED KING, but notice something else-
II. HE WAS A CURSED KING
God never has and never will bless the life of the wicked.
They have His general blessings, such as He allows the sun to shine on the just and the unjust. But the special blessings of God will never fall on the life of the wicked.
This is one of the most difficult lessons for mankind to learn!
That is, we have those today who are living in sin, and they can not understand why the Lord will not bless them.
LET ME TELL YOU WHY GOD WILL NOT BLESS THEM!
God sees the wickedness of mankind, and God will deal with them accordingly.
Look again at verse 2, we read, “And he did that which was evil IN THE SIGHT OF THE LORD, after the abominations of the heathen, whom the LORD cast out before the children of Israel.”
The Bible makes it clear, look at these words, “He did that which was evil in the SIGHT OF THE LORD…”
Did you know that if we do a wicked deed, we do it in the sight of the Lord? For example:
• If you took something that does not belong to you, God saw it.
• If you said something about someone, God heard it.
• If you read or watched something you should not have read or watched, God saw you do it.
• If you cheated in a business deal, God saw you do it.
• If you cheated on your spouse, God saw it.
• If you had a lustful thought for the opposite sex, God knows about it.
And God saw every wicked thing that King Manasseh did…EVERYTHING!
You see, it is essential for Him to see us if He is going to judge us fairly. He will be able to tell every wicked person, “I was there and I saw what you did!”
There may have been those who saw Manasseh as a great king, but in the sight of God He was a wicked king.
He had been living off the blessings of his godly father, but God was getting ready to bring those blessings to a close.
God is a patient God, but God’s patience was running out with him.
Look at verses 12-13, we read, “Therefore thus saith the LORD God of Israel, Behold, I am bringing such evil upon Jerusalem and Judah, that whosoever heareth of it, both his ears shall tingle. And I will stretch over Jerusalem the line of Samaria, and the plummet of the house of Ahab: and I will wipe Jerusalem as a man wipeth a dish, wiping it, and turning it upside down.”
God said He was going to send such rough times to Manasseh and Judah, that when people hear what He has done, their ears will “Tingle!”
Listen, God was angry with Manasseh, and no one in their right mind wants to get God angry with them.
HE WAS A CORRUPTED KING, HE WAS A CURSED KING, but also-
III. HE WAS A CONVERTED KING
We have said a great deal about this wicked king for a reason.
God’s Word probably reveals to us the wickedness of King Manasseh for a very specific purpose. A lot of space in God’s Word is taken to talk about this wicked King, who seemed to thumb his nose at God, and say, “I will do as I please!”
We look at people like this, and we say, “It is impossible for a man like this to be saved!” Really?
One thing for sure, there was not a man alive who could save him.
But when we say it is impossible for a man like this to be saved, we underestimate the AMAZING GRACE OF GOD!
God takes up all this space in His Word to show us that even a wicked man, like King Manasseh, can come to God and ask for forgiveness, and God will forgive Him.
After some difficult times, he became CONVINCED he needed to change his life.
Look at 2 Chronicles 33:12, we read, “And when he was in affliction, he besought the LORD his God, and humbled himself greatly before the God of his fathers,”
Look at the word “Affliction”, this is the word “Tsarar” (Pronounced as “Tsaw-rar”) which meas to besiege, bind (up), distress, pangs, shut up, be in a strait (trouble), vex.
In other words, he had been living his life like he was god, but now God has him all “hemmed in”.
That is, God placed him in a situation where the only one he could turn to was God.
But notice something else this verse brings out, look at these words, “And when he was in affliction, he BESOUGHT THE LORD HIS GOD…”
Notice, he besought the Lord HIS GOD.
He had left God, but God never left him. Manasseh said he was HIS GOD.
We never lose our relationship to him, if we are truly his.
So when Manasseh hit bottom, he turned to the Lord his God and he humbled himself greatly before the God of his fathers. He was saying, "Lord:
• I am sunk
• I am beat
• I've had it
• I am to blame
• I have sinned."
Josephus, the historian, says that he "esteemed himself to be the cause of it all."
That is, he saw that he had no one else to blame but himself.
The problem was:
• Not his circumstances
• Not the culture in which he lived. He had every advantage.
The problem was his own rebellious heart. He came to the place where he was willing to submit to the Lord. He humbled himself greatly before the Lord his God.
Look at 2 Chronicles 33:13, we read, “And prayed unto him: and he was entreated of him, and heard his supplication, and brought him again to Jerusalem into his kingdom.”
Conclusion:
Before we close, we need to look at one more verse of scripture.
Look at the last part of verse 13, we read, “Then Manasseh knew that the LORD he was God.”
Why would the Bible say he now had reached the place that he knew God was God? Why? Because this man had lived his life as if he was his own god, but now he finally realized he was not god.
The lost man lives his life this way:
• He doesn’t come to church, because the god he worships is the god of self.
• He doesn’t have any time for God, because the god of self requires all of his time.
• He doesn’t have any money for God, because the god of self requires all of his money.
Have you come to realize that God is God?
I. HE WAS A CORRUPTED KING
II. HE WAS A CURSED KING
III. HE WAS A CONVERTED KING
