2 Chronicles 33
2 Chronicles 33 records the time of Manasseh, the twelfth king of the kingdom of Judah, and his son Amon. Manasseh ruled longer than any other king of Judah, but his reign is characterized by evil. However, the latter part of the chapter deals with Manasseh’s repentance and change, as well as Amon’s brief reign and his final days. This chapter contains important themes of sin and repentance, as well as God’s mercy and judgment.
1verseManasseh was twelve years old when he began to reign, and he reigned fifty-five years in Jerusalem.
2verseHe did that which was evil in the LORD’s sight, after the abominations of the nations whom the LORD cast out before the children of Israel.
3verseFor he built again the high places which Hezekiah his father had broken down; and he raised up altars for the Baals, made Asheroth, and worshiped all the army of the sky, and served them.
4verseHe built altars in the LORD’s house, of which the LORD said, “My name shall be in Jerusalem forever.”
5verseHe built altars for all the army of the sky in the two courts of the LORD’s house.
6verseHe also made his children to pass through the fire in the valley of the son of Hinnom. He practiced sorcery, divination, and witchcraft, and dealt with those who had familiar spirits and with wizards. He did much evil in the LORD’s sight, to provoke him to anger.
7verseHe set the engraved image of the idol, which he had made, in God’s house, of which God said to David and to Solomon his son, “In this house, and in Jerusalem, which I have chosen out of all the tribes of Israel, I will put my name forever.
8verseI will not any more remove the foot of Israel from off the land which I have appointed for your fathers, if only they will observe to do all that I have commanded them, even all the law, the statutes, and the ordinances given by Moses.”
9verseManasseh seduced Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, so that they did more evil than did the nations whom the LORD destroyed before the children of Israel.
10verseThe LORD spoke to Manasseh and to his people, but they didn’t listen.
11verseTherefore the LORD brought on them the captains of the army of the king of Assyria, who took Manasseh in chains, bound him with fetters, and carried him to Babylon.
12verseWhen he was in distress, he begged the LORD his God, and humbled himself greatly before the God of his fathers.
13verseHe prayed to him; and he was entreated by him, and heard his supplication, and brought him again to Jerusalem into his kingdom. Then Manasseh knew that the LORD was God.
14verseNow after this, he built an outer wall to David’s city on the west side of Gihon, in the valley, even to the entrance at the fish gate. He encircled Ophel with it, and raised it up to a very great height; and he put valiant captains in all the fortified cities of Judah.
15verseHe took away the foreign gods and the idol out of the LORD’s house, and all the altars that he had built in the mountain of the LORD’s house and in Jerusalem, and cast them out of the city.
16verseHe built up the LORD’s altar, and offered sacrifices of peace offerings and of thanksgiving on it, and commanded Judah to serve the LORD, the God of Israel.
17verseNevertheless the people still sacrificed in the high places, but only to the LORD their God.
18verseNow the rest of the acts of Manasseh, and his prayer to his God, and the words of the seers who spoke to him in the name of the LORD, the God of Israel, behold, they are written among the acts of the kings of Israel.
19verseHis prayer also, and how God listened to his request, and all his sin and his trespass, and the places in which he built high places and set up the Asherah poles and the engraved images before he humbled himself: behold, they are written in the history of Hozai.
20verseSo Manasseh slept with his fathers, and they buried him in his own house; and Amon his son reigned in his place.
21verseAmon was twenty-two years old when he began to reign; and he reigned two years in Jerusalem.
22verseHe did that which was evil in the LORD’s sight, as did Manasseh his father; and Amon sacrificed to all the engraved images which Manasseh his father had made, and served them.
23verseHe didn’t humble himself before the LORD, as Manasseh his father had humbled himself; but this same Amon trespassed more and more.
24verseHis servants conspired against him, and put him to death in his own house.
25verseBut the people of the land killed all those who had conspired against King Amon; and the people of the land made Josiah his son king in his place.
Manasseh’s Evil Deeds and Their Consequences
At the beginning of Manasseh’s reignunlike his father Hezekiah, he falls into idolatry, serving many foreign gods and setting up Asherah images. This is recorded as a great wickedness against Jerusalem and Judah, and becomes a factor that leads the people themselves to commit wrongdoing. Because of these evil deeds, God warns Manasseh and the people, and in the end Manasseh is captured by Assyria and suffers greatly.
Manasseh’s Repentance and Change
Amid his suffering, Manasseh humbly repents and pleads with God, and God hears his prayers, restoring him to Jerusalem. After that, Manasseh removes the idols he had served and worships only the Lord God. This part shows the importance of God’s mercy and forgiveness, as well as the significance of true repentance.
Amon’s Brief Reign
Although Manasseh’s son Amon became king, he does not follow the life after his father’s repentance; instead, he repeats the evil deeds Manasseh once committed. He did evil in the sight of the Lord, and in the end he is assassinated by his officials. This shows the consequences and warnings that can occur when a life of repentance and obedience is not continued.
Meditation Points
- Manasseh’s repentance makes you think deeply about the sincerity of repentance and God’s forgiveness. Reflect and ask yourself whether there is any part of my life that I should return to with true sincerity.
- Let’s examine what my repeating wrongs are, what the path is from there back to God, and how I have experienced God’s mercy.
Try Applying It to Yourself
- If there are life attitudes—such as wrong habits or idols—that I did not even realize, let’s truly repent and choose to live a life that obeys God’s will.
- Let’s remember how tragic the consequences can be when the opportunity to repent is disregarded like Amon, and let’s make a decision to live by humbly asking for God’s guidance.
