2 Chronicles
Chapter 33
Manasseh of Judah (698-643)
Manasseh was twelve years old when he came to the throne, and he reigned for fifty-five years in Jerusalem.
He did what was evil in the eyes of the Lord and followed the disgusting practices of the nations that the Lord had removed from the land before giving it to Israel.
He rebuilt the high places his father, Hezekiah, had wrecked. He set up altars for the Baals and made sacred trunks. He worshiped the whole array of heaven and served it.
He built altars in the Lord’s house of which the Lord had said: “In Jerusalem shall my Name be forever.”
He built altars to the whole array of heaven in the two courts of the Lord’s house.
He caused his sons to pass through the fire in the Valley of Ben-Hinnom. He practiced soothsaying, magic, and witchcraft and introduced necromancers and wizards. He did many things displeasing to the Lord, thus provoking his anger.
He placed the idol he had made in the house of which God had said to David and his son Solomon: “In this house and in Jerusalem, the city I chose out of all the tribes of Israel, I will give my Name a home forever.
I will no longer turn Israel’s footsteps away from the land I assigned to their ancestors, provided they observe all I have ordered them by the whole law, the statutes and the ordinances, given through Moses.”
Manasseh led Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem astray so that they did more evil than those nations the Lord had destroyed before the Israelites.
The Lord spoke to Manasseh and his people, but they paid no attention.
Then the Lord sent the generals of the king of Assyria against them, who captured Manasseh with hooks, put him in chains, and led him away to Babylon.
In his distress, he sought to appease the Lord his God. Humbling himself deeply before the God of his ancestors, he prayed to him,
and God changed his mind. Hearing his plea, he allowed him to return to Jerusalem and reign again. Manasseh realized then that the Lord is God.
After that, he rebuilt the outer wall of the Citadel of David, west of Gihon in the wadi, as far as the Fish Gate. It encircled the Ophel, and he increased its height very considerably. He stationed military governors in all the fortified towns of Judah.
He removed the alien gods and the idol from the Lord’s house and all the altars he had built on the mountain of the Lord’s house and in Jerusalem and threw them out of the city.
He rebuilt the altar of the Lord, offered peace and praise offerings, and ordered Judah to serve the Lord, the God of Israel.
However, the people continued to sacrifice in the high places, although only to the Lord their God.
The rest of the history of Manasseh, his prayer to God, and the words of the seers who spoke to him in the name of the Lord the God of Israel can be found in the Annals of the Kings of Israel.
His prayer and how God heard his prayer, all his sins, his unfaithfulness, and the sites where he built high places and set up sacred trunks and idols before he humbled himself are recorded in the Annals of Hozai.
Then, Manasseh rested with his ancestors and was buried in his palace. His son Amon succeeded him.
Amon of Judah (643-640)
Amon was twenty-two years old when he became king and reigned for two years in Jerusalem.
He did what is displeasing to the Lord, as Manasseh, his father, had done. Amon offered sacrifice and worship to all the idols Manasseh, his father had made,
but did not humble himself before the Lord as he had done. Instead, he made Judah’s guilt worse.
His officers plotted against him and killed him in his palace.
But the nation’s people struck down all who had plotted against King Amon and proclaimed his son Josiah, his successor.
Commentaries
The Kings of Judah Until the Exile.
The final section of the Chronicler’s work focuses on the history of the kingdom of Judah, covering from Solomon to the exile, with little mention of the Northern Kingdom. For the Chronicler, the kingdom of Judah represents the entire nation of Israel. The primary standard for judging each king is their loyalty to God. Four notable figures stand out as models of this loyalty: Asa, Jehoshaphat, Josiah, and especially Hezekiah. The prophets are also depicted alongside the kings, delivering messages that include warnings and sincere calls to stay loyal to the Lord. Ultimately, the Chronicler encourages the post-exilic community to seek God and remain faithful to the One who has remained true to his people despite their difficulties.
Manasseh of Judah.
In 2 Kings 21:1-18, the story of Manasseh is shown as that of a wicked king who built many idols and altars, led his people astray, shed innocent blood, and ignored the prophets, which made the destruction of Jerusalem inevitable because of his sins. The Chronicler partly reflects this image, splitting it into two parts: before and after his humiliation. Strangely, an unfaithful king would have had such a long reign (55 years), which might seem like a sign of divine blessing; so, he introduces the idea of humiliation and exile in Babylon to explain this.
Amon of Judah.
Following 2 Kings 21:19-26, the Chronicler’s view of Amon’s short reign is quite negative. He attributes to Amon the condemnation that 2 Kings 21:12 assigns to Manasseh. According to the Chronicler’s theology, Amon’s tragic end was a result of his sins.