Manasseh, in Hebrew, “manaché,” means forgetfulness. His father was King Hezekiah, a good king of Judah, and his grandfather was the idolatrous King Cassi. While his father, Hezekiah, was in power, he was righteous and did what was right. However, King Hezekiah died, and Manasseh, his son, reigned in his place. Unfortunately, King Manasseh was nothing like his father, as he chose a sinful path in life. King Manasseh was 12 years old when he began to reign and reigned for 55 years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was revisibar, which for curiosity’s sake means “my pleasure is in her.” Manasseh was one of those wicked kings and exceeded all the other kings of Judah in wickedness, for he did evil in the eyes of the Lord, following the detestable practices of the Canaanites, his predecessors, whom the Lord had driven out of the land. In this video, you will learn in detail the story of this king and all the wickedness he did, which is recorded in the Bible. So, in today’s video, we will talk about the history of King Manasseh. Welcome to “Witnessing Jesus Christ.” Sin overflowed grace. Peace, beloved. I ask for everyone’s help to subscribe to the channel and activate the notification bell. If you like the video, leave that like, it helps me a lot to produce more videos. Without further ado, let’s go to the video. The sins of King Manasseh. King Manasseh perpetuated some evil actions. He rebuilt the idols that his father, King Hezekiah, had destroyed. He also erected altars to Baal and made an idol pole called the Grove, as Ahab, king of Israel, had done. He bowed down to all the host of heaven and worshiped them. You can read about this in 2 Kings 21, verse 3. As I said, he built altars for all the host of heaven, like the sun, the stars, the moon, etc. He built them in the temple of Solomon, which was built exclusively to worship God. Therefore, he defiled the temple. He sacrificed his own son in the fire, practiced divination, used enchantments, and dealt with familiar spirits and sorcerers. He did much evil in the eyes of the Lord, arousing His anger. Then you may ask, what were these familiar spirits that Manasseh consulted? In Leviticus 19:31 and 20, verses 6 and 27, as well as in Deuteronomy 18, from verses 9 to 14, they refer to mediums and familiar spirits, depending on your translation. God prohibits involvement with them because they are an abomination to the Lord. A medium is one who acts as a conduit to supposedly contact or communicate with the dead on behalf of the living. The word “familiar” is from the Latin “familiares,” meaning household servant, and is intended to express the idea that sorcerers had spirits as their servants, ready to obey their commands. Even today, those who attempt to contact the dead often have some sort of spiritual guide who communicates with them. These are familiar spirits. In summary, demons that deceive people, just as they did with King Manasseh. But this topic is for another video. Anyway, King Manasseh took the carved Asherah pole he had made and put it in the temple of Solomon, where the Lord had said he would put his name forever. Manasseh led the kingdom of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem to turn away to idolatry and to practice more wickedness than the nations that the Lord had destroyed before the people of Israel. In addition to turning the kingdom to idolatry, Manasseh also shed so much innocent blood in Jerusalem that it is figuratively said that he filled Jerusalem from end to end with the blood of the innocent. Now, God, through His prophets, spoke to King Manasseh and the people of the kingdom, but they did not listen. Therefore, God brought upon them the commanders of the army of the king of Assyria, who seized King Manasseh with hooks, bound him with bronze chains, and sent him to Babylon, into captivity and imprisonment. When he was in distress, he humbled himself greatly before God and prayed to plead for the Lord’s help. And God was moved by his prayer and heard his plea. So, God delivered him and brought him from captivity to Jerusalem, to his kingdom. King Manasseh returned from captivity as a changed man, for he repented of evil and feared the Lord. Then, he began to undo some of the things he had done. Let’s see what Manasseh’s repairs were. Manasseh removed the foreign gods and the idol from the Temple of Solomon and all the altars he had built on the hill of the house of the Lord and in Jerusalem, and threw them out of the city. He repaired the altar of the Lord and offered peace offerings and thanksgiving offerings on it. Idolatrous altars, but only to the Lord his God, he also built. A outer wall for the city of David, to the west, from the Valley and to the entrance of the fish gate. And he surrounded it with Ophel and raised the wall to a very high height. For curiosity’s sake, let’s analyze this image in three dimensions to have a good idea of what you were talking about. Let’s go! This is the city of David. So, Manasseh was probably talking about this wall, this part of this wall here. Because the temple, it’s been here for a while since Solomon’s time. Let me advance a bit: the temple facing Geon is over here, like this. So, he would be talking about this wall here. He also placed the commanders of the army in all the fortified cities of Judah. Finally, King Manasseh, after a long and turbulent reign of 55 years, died of natural causes. And his son succeeded him as king. The effects of King Manasseh’s sin. Although there were other wicked kings before King Manasseh, none of them provoked God as King Manasseh did. King Manasseh did so much evil that God pronounced a judgment of condemnation on the kingdom. God spoke through His prophets that He would bring evil upon the kingdom and He would do to them what He did to the Northern Kingdom of Israel. Many years after the death of King Manasseh, in the days of Jeremiah, God still remembered the sins of King Manasseh against the kingdom of Judah. In fact, God spoke through Jeremiah that, because of what King Manasseh did, He would make the inhabitants of the kingdom of Judah go into exile as He did with the northern kingdom of Israel. He said: I will make them be removed to all the kingdoms of the earth because of Manasseh son of Hezekiah King of Judah, for what he did in Jerusalem. Two years after the death of King Manasseh, the good King Josiah inherited the throne from his father, King Amon. He was the most righteous king of all the kings who.
The story of King Manasseh, known as the Sorcerer King, is a tale of great wickedness and eventual redemption. Manasseh, son of the righteous King Hezekiah, ascended the throne of Judah at the age of 12 following his father’s death. However, unlike his father, Manasseh chose a path of sin and idolatry. He rebuilt the idols destroyed by his father, erected altars to pagan gods, sacrificed his own son, practiced divination, and consulted with sorcerers and mediums, provoking the anger of the Lord.
Despite warnings from prophets, Manasseh persisted in his evil ways, leading Judah into further idolatry and bloodshed. As a result of his disobedience, God allowed the Assyrians to capture Manasseh and exile him to Babylon in chains.
In his captivity, Manasseh humbled himself before God, seeking forgiveness and redemption.
The story of King Manasseh is told in 2 Kings 21:1–18 and 2 Chronicles 32:33–33:20, and he is also mentioned briefly in Jeremiah 15:4. Manasseh was king of the southern kingdom of Judah and the son of the godly king Hezekiah. Hezekiah had undertaken reforms in Judah to rid the land of idolatry. Manasseh, a wicked king, reversed these reforms and did much worse. The first five verses of 2 Kings 21 are a frank and stunning account of Manasseh’s apostasy:
“Manasseh was twelve years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem fifty-five years. . . . He did evil in the eyes of the LORD, following the detestable practices of the nations the LORD had driven out before the Israelites. He rebuilt the high places his father Hezekiah had destroyed; he also erected altars to Baal and made an Asherah pole, as Ahab king of Israel had done. He bowed down to all the starry hosts and worshiped them. He built altars in the temple of the LORD, of which the LORD had said, ‘In Jerusalem I will put my Name.’ In the two courts of the temple of the LORD, he built altars to all the starry hosts. He sacrificed his own son in the fire, practiced divination, sought omens, and consulted mediums and spiritists. He did much evil in the eyes of the LORD, arousing his anger.” Although we are not given the specifics, Manasseh was also a treacherous king, killing innocent people: “Manasseh also shed so much innocent blood that he filled Jerusalem from end to end” (2 Kings 21:16). He was pronounced by God to be more wicked than the Amorites who had lived in Canaan before they were displaced by Israel in an act of God’s judgment (2 Kings 21:11; see also 2 Chronicles 33:9).
Not only did Manasseh sin personally, but as king he led Judah in forsaking the LORD and worshiping idols. Such was the extent of their sin that God declared He would wipe out Jerusalem as He had the northern kingdom of Israel (2 Kings 21:13–15). Jeremiah 15:4 notes that it was the sin of Judah, initiated by Manasseh, that brought the judgment that Jeremiah proclaimed (the destruction of Jerusalem and the temple and the exile of the people). According to Jewish tradition, it was King Manasseh who murdered the prophet Isaiah.
Even though Manasseh had a personal conversion, he was never able to lead Judah out of the sin that he had previously led them into. They did not follow him in his reforms. The people continued in their idolatry (2 Chronicles 33:17), and, when Manasseh died, his son Amon “did evil in the eyes of the LORD, as his father Manasseh had done. Amon worshiped and offered sacrifices to all the idols Manasseh had made. But unlike his father Manasseh, he did not humble himself before the LORD” (2 Chronicles 33:22–23).
Moved by his repentance, God restored Manasseh to his kingdom in Jerusalem. A changed man, Manasseh sought to undo the damage of his reign. He removed idols from the temple, repaired the altar of the Lord, and fortified the city of David.
In conclusion, the story of King Manasseh presents a compelling narrative of the human experience—marked by sin, repentance, and the enduring consequences of one’s choices. Manasseh’s reign serves as a cautionary tale, illustrating the destructive power of disobedience and the far-reaching impact of individual actions on a nation’s fate.
Yet, amidst the darkness of his deeds, Manasseh’s journey also offers a glimmer of hope. His eventual repentance demonstrates the transformative power of humility and the boundless mercy of a forgiving God. It serves as a reminder that no matter how far one may stray, the opportunity for redemption remains within reach.
However, Manasseh’s story also underscores the sobering reality that while forgiveness is possible, the consequences of our actions often endure, affecting not only ourselves but also those around us. Thus, his tale serves as a poignant reminder to heed the warnings of righteousness and to choose the path of obedience and virtue.
In the end, the legacy of King Manasseh is one of complexity—a testament to the complexity of the human condition, the fragility of power, and the enduring hope for redemption amidst the consequences of our choices.
However, the consequences of Manasseh’s sins lingered. Despite his reforms, God’s judgment was upon Judah, and the kingdom faced exile and destruction. The prophet Jeremiah foretold that because of Manasseh’s sins, Judah would be scattered among the nations.
After Manasseh’s death, his son succeeded him, but the effects of his reign persisted. Despite the righteous efforts of King Josiah, who sought to reform Judah, God’s judgment could not be averted. Jerusalem was ultimately destroyed, and the people of Judah were exiled to Babylon, fulfilling the prophecy of God’s punishment.
In summary, King Manasseh’s reign serves as a cautionary tale of the consequences of sin and the importance of repentance. Despite his wickedness, Manasseh’s humility before God demonstrates the power of forgiveness and redemption, albeit with enduring consequences for his kingdom.
