Read the Passage: 2 Kings 21:1–22:2

Manasseh’s Sin (21:1–18)

After the 29-year reign of godly king Hezekiah, and in light of the positive spiritual reforms he instituted and the economic flourishing of the nation, we might expect that Hezekiah’s son Manasseh would follow in his father’s footsteps. Unfortunately, however, Manasseh would become arguably the worst king of Judah, and he would reign for a lengthy 55 years. In a sense, this is surprising, for Manasseh was born during the fifteen additional years of life that God had granted to Hezekiah (cf. 2 Kings 20:6). 2 Kings 21:3–8 records many of the evil acts of Manasseh, including: rebuilding the high places, restoring Baal worship in Judah, constructing an image of Asherah, worshiping the gods of the Assyrians, making pagan altars in the temple, sacrificing his own son, as well as engaging in occultic practices such as soothsaying, witchcraft, and consulting mediums.

Two statement in the opening verses of this chapter summarize the wickedness of Manasseh. First, it is recorded that Manasseh did “as Ahab king of Israel had done” (2 Kings 21:3). Second, in regard to the Israelite people, 2 Kings 21:10 says, “Manasseh seduced them to do more evil than the nations whom the Lord had destroyed before the children of Israel.” This is an indicting statement, for God had told His people that He was giving them the Promised Land because of the sins of the Canaanites (cf. Deut. 9:4–5). Of course, Manasseh could have been led astray by evil counselors, for he was only twelve years old when he became king. However, Manasseh’s wickedness continued all throughout his reign. In summary, 2 Kings 21:16 reports, “Manasseh shed very much innocent blood, till he filled Jerusalem from one end to the other . . . in doing evil in the sight of the Lord.”

Just as Manasseh’s reign had been likened to the wicked rule of King Ahab in Israel (cf. 2 Kings 21:3), so at 2 Kings 21:13–15 God declared, “I will stretch over Jerusalem the measuring line of Samaria and the plummet of the house of Ahab; I will wipe Jerusalem as one wipes a dish, wiping it and turning it upside down . . . because they have done evil in My sight, and have provoked Me to anger since the day their fathers came out of Egypt, even to this day.” Much later, at Heb. 11:37, in reference to certain Old Testament saints, the author of the book of Hebrews wrote, “They were sawn in two.” Jewish and Christian historians have identified this as a reference to Manasseh’s gruesome murder of the prophet Isaiah. While Manasseh was wicked, it is surprising that after he was exiled to Babylon, Manasseh repented of his sins and turned to God (cf. 2 Chron. 33:10–17).

Amon’s Murder (21:19–26)

The pattern in Scripture is that sinful leaders tend to produce sinful leaders. Indeed, godly leaders are not the norm, rather they are the exception that proves the rule. As was noted above, toward the end of his life, Manasseh repented of his sins and sought to restore the true worship of God (cf. 2 Chron. 33:10–17). At Manasseh’s death, his son Amon ascended to the throne. Unfortunately, however, Amon’s brief reign was modeled after his father’s earlier example of wickedness, not Manasseh’s later acts of repentance. Indeed, this was a very turbulent time in Judah. Evidently some people realized the trajectory of Amon’s rule, thus they murdered him after a brief two-year reign. This, in turn, led others to kill those who had assassinated Amon. Next, they appointed Amon’s young son Josiah as king. Note that Manasseh and Amon were buried in a garden, not with the earlier kings.

Josiah’s Righteousness (22:1–2)

Given that God had already pronounced judgment upon Israel (cf. 2 Kings 21:12–15), it is surprising that Josiah’s reign was marked by righteousness. This is unexpected, for God’s wrath had been repeatedly provoked and Josiah was only eight years old when he became king. Nevertheless, Josiah is one of four truly godly kings of Judah—the others being Asa, Jehosophat, and Hezekiah—and his reign would last for 31 years. 2 Kings 22:2 summarizes the reign of Josiah as it says, “He did what was right in the sight of the Lord, and walked in all the ways of his father David; he did not turn aside to the right hand or to the left.” Although the deportation of Judah would begin shortly after the death of Josiah, his righteous rule would have been a reminder to the original readers of this book that God’s grace and mercy are present even in the midst of His judgment.

Application Questions:

1. What is the relationship between internal character and external actions (cf. Matt. 7:16–20; Jas. 2:14–18)?
2. Given the many blessings upon the nation tied to Hezekiah’s reforms, why did Manasseh turn away from God?
3. Is inexperience, youth, or bad counsel ever a valid excuse for committing sins (cf. Ps. 25:7; 2 Tim. 2:22)?
4. Why does the author of 2 Kings not mention Manasseh’s later repentance and his attempts at restoring true worship?
5. When, if ever, is it too late to repent? What is the difference between sorrow, remorse, and repentance?