II Kings Chapter 21
Please read: II Kings 21 –
Oh my! It just breaks your heart to read that the son of one of the more godly kings of Judah, was known as being one of the most evil kings of Judah. In fact, God compared Hezekiah’s son Manasseh to King Ahab of the northern kingdom. This man took idolatry to a whole new level as he reigned over God’s people. And Manasseh reigned for a very long time too, 55 years. That is 55 years of leading the people down the wrong path and causing them to commit sins that were an abomination to the LORD God!
In the first few verses there is a long list of the evil this man perpetuated in Judah. He is described as a king who worshipped gods as the Canaanites did who occupied the land before the Israelites. He is also described as one who built all the high places of worship, worshipped Baal and Asherah. He practiced witchcraft and consulted mediums and necromancers (people who talked to the dead). He practiced worship of gods in the stars, astrological worship. He deliberately placed the idols that he created in the temple of God, including the idol of Asherah. Asherah was the Canaanite goddess of fertility and worshipped through ritual prostitution. The house of God became a house of sexual perversion.
Let's Reflect
1. According to verse 7 what had God declared previously in regards to the temple?
2. God had promised to bless the people of Israel if only they did what?
3. There is direct rebellion throughout Judah now. How does the Bible describe what the king and the people were like at this period of time according to verse 9?
4. God had warned the people over and over again that their stubborn ways would lead to His judgement. His judgement was told to Manasseh and the people through words spoken by His prophets, which was promptly ignored. God used imagery to describe how He will judge Judah. He will use a plumb line to compare Judah against the house of Ahab. We know what happened to the northern kingdom, they were taken captive by the Assyrians so what will happen to the southern kingdom?
5. What other imagery did God use to describe the way in which He will judge the southern kingdom?
Jeremiah 19:3 You shall say, Hear the word of the LORD, O kings of Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem. Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel: Behold, I am bringing such disaster upon this place that the ears of everyone who hears of it will tingle.
6. There is a short sentence that could easily be missed that describes how evil Manasseh was. According to verse 16 what other evil was Manasseh known for besides all the idolatry and sinful worship mentioned previously?
7. Here is the most incredible thing about God, His judgement was not immediate! He gave them time to repent. We know that His judgement wasn’t immediate because we learn that Manasseh’s son ruled next on the throne of Judah. What was his son’s name and was he a better king than his father?
