2Kings 21:1 ¶ Manasseh was twelve years old when he began to reign, and reigned fifty and five years in Jerusalem. And his mother’s name was Hephzibah.
2Kings 21:2 And he did that which was evil in the sight of the LORD, after the abominations of the heathen, whom the LORD cast out before the children of Israel.
Manasseh was 12 years old when he became king; his reign lasted 55 years—the longest of the kings of Judah. His mother’s name was Hephzibah; that name has a beautiful meaning, “my delight is in her.” It’s actually the future name that God gives His people Israel.
Isaiah 62:4–5 “Thou shalt no more be termed Forsaken; neither shall thy land any more be termed Desolate: but thou shalt be called Hephzibah, and thy land Beulah: for the LORD delighteth in thee, and thy land shall be married. For as a young man marrieth a virgin, so shall thy sons marry thee: and as the bridegroom rejoiceth over the bride, so shall thy God rejoice over thee.”
Manasseh was an evil king that followed the idolatrous customs of the heathen nations that the LORD had cast out of Canaan to give it to the children of Israel.
2Kings 21:3 For he built up again the high places which Hezekiah his father had destroyed; and he reared up altars for Baal, and made a grove, as did Ahab king of Israel; and worshipped all the host of heaven, and served them.
2Kings 21:4 And he built altars in the house of the LORD, of which the LORD said, In Jerusalem will I put my name.
2Kings 21:5 And he built altars for all the host of heaven in the two courts of the house of the LORD.
2Kings 21:6 And he made his son pass through the fire, and observed times, and used enchantments, and dealt with familiar spirits and wizards: he wrought much wickedness in the sight of the LORD, to provoke him to anger.
These verses list many of the wicked things Manasseh did.
He rebuilt the high places that his father Hezekiah had destroyed.
He built altars for Baal and made a grove just as Ahab had.
He worshipped all the hosts of heaven and served them like those who follow astrology today.
He built altars to his false gods in the house of the LORD—a direct slap in the face, so to speak, to the LORD since He had chosen Jerusalem as the place to identify with His name.
He built altars to the host of heaven in the two courts of the house of the LORD.
He sacrificed his son by fire to his false god (Molech).
He practiced magic (from the Hebrew for “observed times”).
He made use of magic spells and fortune telling (from the Hebrew for “used enchantments”).
He made use of mediums and conjurers (from the Hebrew for “familiar spirits and wizards”).
Manasseh did a lot of wicked things in the sight of the LORD, provoking Him to anger.
2Kings 21:7 And he set a graven image of the grove that he had made in the house, of which the LORD said to David, and to Solomon his son, In this house, and in Jerusalem, which I have chosen out of all tribes of Israel, will I put my name for ever:
2Kings 21:8 Neither will I make the feet of Israel move any more out of the land which I gave their fathers; only if they will observe to do according to all that I have commanded them, and according to all the law that my servant Moses commanded them.
2Kings 21:9 But they hearkened not: and Manasseh seduced them to do more evil than did the nations whom the LORD destroyed before the children of Israel.
We see from the previous verses that Manasseh did many evil things, but one of the most evil things he did to blaspheme the LORD was to set up an idol of the grove in the house of the LORD, the temple that was made specifically as a place of worship to the LORD.
Guzik makes this note about the “graven image” that other translations call Asherah: “Asherah was the Canaanite goddess of fertility, and worshipped through ritual prostitution. This means that Manasseh made the temple into an idolatrous brothel, dedicated to Asherah.”
It was Solomon that had the temple built. The LORD had told both David and Solomon that He had chosen to place His name in Jerusalem and had chosen the tribe of Judah specifically out of all the tribes of Israel as a place and people to represent His name. The LORD had promised that the people of Israel would never have to move out of the land He had given them IF they would obey His commands as recorded by Moses. Sadly, they refused to obey the LORD. Manasseh even seduced the people to become more evil than the nations that the LORD had driven out of Canaan in order to give the land to the children of Israel.
I couldn’t help but think of what the LORD had told Abraham about waiting to put the Amorites out of the land of Canaan.
Genesis 15:16 “But in the fourth generation they shall come hither again: for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet full.”
The LORD waited until the Amorites had become full of evil, past the possibility of repentance. Verse 9 is saying that the people of Judah were even worse than the Amorites. It seems that there comes a point when the LORD’s longsuffering is exhausted and judgment is certain. I think the LORD’s longsuffering is directly connected to His omniscience. I think the reason for His longsuffering with Manasseh was because He knew that he would eventually fall before Him in repentance and obedience. The more we learn about Manasseh, the more we understand that the LORD is not willing that any should perish for Him to show such grace and mercy to such an evil king.
2 Peter 3:9 “The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.”
Ezekiel 33:11 “Say unto them, As I live, saith the Lord GOD, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked; but that the wicked turn from his way and live: turn ye, turn ye from your evil ways; for why will ye die, O house of Israel?”
2Kings 21:10 ¶ And the LORD spake by his servants the prophets, saying,
2Kings 21:11 Because Manasseh king of Judah hath done these abominations, and hath done wickedly above all that the Amorites did, which were before him, and hath made Judah also to sin with his idols:
2Kings 21:12 Therefore thus saith the LORD God of Israel, Behold, I am bringing such evil upon Jerusalem and Judah, that whosoever heareth of it, both his ears shall tingle.
2Kings 21:13 And I will stretch over Jerusalem the line of Samaria, and the plummet of the house of Ahab: and I will wipe Jerusalem as a man wipeth a dish, wiping it, and turning it upside down.
2Kings 21:14 And I will forsake the remnant of mine inheritance, and deliver them into the hand of their enemies; and they shall become a prey and a spoil to all their enemies;
2Kings 21:15 Because they have done that which was evil in my sight, and have provoked me to anger, since the day their fathers came forth out of Egypt, even unto this day.
The LORD warned His people through His servants the prophets—Hosea, Joel, Nahum, Habakkuk and Isaiah—who were on the scene during this time. Clarke adds this historical note: “It is said that Isaiah not only prophesied in those days, but also that he was put to death by Manasseh, being sawn asunder by a wooden saw.” This could be what the writer to Hebrews references.
Hebrews 11:32 & 37 “And what shall I more say? for the time would fail me to tell of Gedeon, and of Barak, and of Samson, and of Jephthae; of David also, and Samuel, and of the prophets….They were stoned, they were sawn asunder….”
The prophets boldly declared that because Manasseh had acted so wickedly and led the people to follow in his evil ways, more evil than even the Amorites, the LORD would bring terrible evil upon Jerusalem and Judah. The teeth of those who heard about it would chatter in fear (from the Hebrew for “tingle”).
The prophets declared that the LORD would stretch over Jerusalem the line of Samaria and the plummet of the house of Ahab. In other words, He would judge Judah using the same standards. The LORD is going to clean it just as thoroughly as one would wipe a dish and turn it upside down; the people would be cast out of the land.
The LORD had chosen Israel as His portion, His inheritance among all the nations on earth.
Deuteronomy 7:6 “For thou art an holy people unto the LORD thy God: the LORD thy God hath chosen thee to be a special people unto himself, above all people that are upon the face of the earth.”
The Hebrew for “forsake” in verse 14 states, “to pound, smite; by implication (as if beating out, and thus expanding) to disperse.” The LORD isn’t saying that He is abandoning the children of Israel and disregarding His promise to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. He is going to strike the people of Judah and cast them out of the land for many years. He is going to deliver them to their enemies as the spoils of war. He is going to send this judgment because they have continued to persist in doing evil and provoking Him to anger ever since they left Egypt.
2Kings 21:16 Moreover Manasseh shed innocent blood very much, till he had filled Jerusalem from one end to another; beside his sin wherewith he made Judah to sin, in doing that which was evil in the sight of the LORD.
It is noted that Manasseh was responsible for the death of so many innocent people that he had filled Jerusalem with innocent blood. This is in addition to leading the people of Judah into the sin of worshipping false gods and living sinful lives before the LORD.
I could not help but draw a comparison to our nation. Though we cannot lay the blame at the feet of just one person, we have filled our country with the deaths of the innocent with the millions of babies that have been aborted.
The Chronicler tells us that the LORD eventually sent the Assyrians against Judah, and they took Manasseh captive to Babylon. In his affliction, he finally humbled himself before the LORD in repentance. The LORD actually brought him back to Jerusalem (though we don’t know the circumstances), and Manasseh showed by his actions that he knew the LORD as his God. He fortified the city and got rid of all the strange gods, idols and altars that he had built. More importantly, he repaired the altar of the LORD and commanded the people to serve the LORD God of Israel. (see 2Chronicles 33)
I liked this observation by Guzik: “This is a wonderful example of the principle, Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not depart from it (Proverbs 22:6). Manasseh was raised by a godly father, yet he lived in defiance of his fathers faith for most of his life. Nevertheless, at the end of his days he truly repented and served God.”
2Kings 21:17 Now the rest of the acts of Manasseh, and all that he did, and his sin that he sinned, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah?
2Kings 21:18 And Manasseh slept with his fathers, and was buried in the garden of his own house, in the garden of Uzza: and Amon his son reigned in his stead.
The historian closes his record on Manasseh by stating that more was written about all his wicked deeds in the chronicles of the kings of Judah.
When Manasseh died, he was buried in the garden of his own house, in the garden of Uzza. His son Amon became the next king.
2Kings 21:19 ¶ Amon was twenty and two years old when he began to reign, and he reigned two years in Jerusalem. And his mother’s name was Meshullemeth, the daughter of Haruz of Jotbah.
2Kings 21:20 And he did that which was evil in the sight of the LORD, as his father Manasseh did.
2Kings 21:21 And he walked in all the way that his father walked in, and served the idols that his father served, and worshipped them:
2Kings 21:22 And he forsook the LORD God of his fathers, and walked not in the way of the LORD.
Amon was 22 years old when he became king, and he reigned for 22 years in Jerusalem. His mother was Meshullemeth, daughter of Haruz of Jotbah.
Amon followed the example of his father and did evil before the LORD, including serving and worshipping the idols of his father. He was disobedient to all the commands of the LORD. Unlike his father, however, he never repented of his evil.
2Kings 21:23 And the servants of Amon conspired against him, and slew the king in his own house.
2Kings 21:24 And the people of the land slew all them that had conspired against king Amon; and the people of the land made Josiah his son king in his stead.
The servants of Amon plotted against him and killed him in his own house. When the people learned what had happened, they executed those that had conspired against the king. The people then made Amon’s son Josiah the king.
2Kings 21:25 Now the rest of the acts of Amon which he did, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah?
2Kings 21:26 And he was buried in his sepulchre in the garden of Uzza: and Josiah his son reigned in his stead.
The historian closed his account of Amon by noting that more about him is recorded in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah. He was buried in the garden of Uzza along with his father. His son Josiah became the next king.
2Kings 22:1 ¶ Josiah was eight years old when he began to reign, and he reigned thirty and one years in Jerusalem. And his mother’s name was Jedidah, the daughter of Adaiah of Boscath.
2Kings 22:2 And he did that which was right in the sight of the LORD, and walked in all the way of David his father, and turned not aside to the right hand or to the left.
Josiah was 8 years old when he became king, and his reign lasted for 31 years in Jerusalem. His mother was Jedidah, daughter of Adaiah of Boscath. Josiah followed in the footsteps of King David and did what was right before the LORD; he faithfully chose to obey the LORD.
2Kings 22:3 And it came to pass in the eighteenth year of king Josiah, that the king sent Shaphan the son of Azaliah, the son of Meshullam, the scribe, to the house of the LORD, saying,
2Kings 22:4 Go up to Hilkiah the high priest, that he may sum the silver which is brought into the house of the LORD, which the keepers of the door have gathered of the people:
2Kings 22:5 And let them deliver it into the hand of the doers of the work, that have the oversight of the house of the LORD: and let them give it to the doers of the work which is in the house of the LORD, to repair the breaches of the house,
2Kings 22:6 Unto carpenters, and builders, and masons, and to buy timber and hewn stone to repair the house.
2Kings 22:7 Howbeit there was no reckoning made with them of the money that was delivered into their hand, because they dealt faithfully.
In the 18th year of his reign (over halfway through it), Josiah sent the scribe Shaphan, son of Azaliah, son of Meshullam, to Hilkiah the priest with a message. He was to determine how much money the doorkeepers of the temple had gathered from the free will offerings of the people. He was then to deliver the money to those that supervised the upkeep of the house of the LORD to hire workers—the carpenters, builders and masons—to make the needed repairs and to purchase the timber and stone that was needed for those repairs.
I think it is significant that the historian noted that no accounting was required from the supervisors or workers because they were all trustworthy men. Wow! I know that men like that out there today; but relatively speaking, it seems they are few.
The Chronicler fills in some information about the years preceding this time. It is noted that in the 8th year of his reign (age 16) Josiah began to seek after God. This indicates a transition from child to adult and recognizing his accountability to the LORD. In the 12th year he began take significant action to purge Judah of the high places, groves, idols and altars that were dedicated to false gods.
2Kings 22:8 And Hilkiah the high priest said unto Shaphan the scribe, I have found the book of the law in the house of the LORD. And Hilkiah gave the book to Shaphan, and he read it.
2Kings 22:9 And Shaphan the scribe came to the king, and brought the king word again, and said, Thy servants have gathered the money that was found in the house, and have delivered it into the hand of them that do the work, that have the oversight of the house of the LORD.
2Kings 22:10 And Shaphan the scribe shewed the king, saying, Hilkiah the priest hath delivered me a book. And Shaphan read it before the king.
Hilkiah the high priest told Shaphan the scribe that he had found the book of the law in the temple—probably the book of Deuteronomy. He then gave it to Shaphan to read. Shaphan went to King Josiah and told him that the money had been gathered and given to the supervisors and the workmen to repair the temple. Shaphan then showed the king “the book” that Hilkiah had found and read it to him.
2Kings 22:11 ¶ And it came to pass, when the king had heard the words of the book of the law, that he rent his clothes.
2Kings 22:12 And the king commanded Hilkiah the priest, and Ahikam the son of Shaphan, and Achbor the son of Michaiah, and Shaphan the scribe, and Asahiah a servant of the king’s, saying,
2Kings 22:13 Go ye, enquire of the LORD for me, and for the people, and for all Judah, concerning the words of this book that is found: for great is the wrath of the LORD that is kindled against us, because our fathers have not hearkened unto the words of this book, to do according unto all that which is written concerning us.
When Josiah heard God’s word, he tore his clothes in deep distress. The king then commanded Hilkiah the high priest, Ahikam, son of Shaphan, Achbor, son of Michaiah, Shaphan the scribe and Asahiah his servant to go and seek direction from the LORD concerning what he had heard from God’s word. Josiah declared that he knew that the LORD was angry with His people because they had disobeyed His word and broken their covenant with Him. The curses recorded in Deuteronomy are very specific.
When our hearts are tender before the LORD, our spirit will always respond appropriately to His word—whether with conviction, motivation, comfort, encouragement, etc.
Commentators note that Ahikam was a friend of Jeremiah’s.
Jeremiah 26:24 “Nevertheless the hand of Ahikam the son of Shaphan was with Jeremiah, that they should not give him into the hand of the people to put him to death.”
2Kings 22:14 So Hilkiah the priest, and Ahikam, and Achbor, and Shaphan, and Asahiah, went unto Huldah the prophetess, the wife of Shallum the son of Tikvah, the son of Harhas, keeper of the wardrobe; (now she dwelt in Jerusalem in the college;) and they communed with her.
2Kings 22:15 And she said unto them, Thus saith the LORD God of Israel, Tell the man that sent you to me,
2Kings 22:16 Thus saith the LORD, Behold, I will bring evil upon this place, and upon the inhabitants thereof, even all the words of the book which the king of Judah hath read:
2Kings 22:17 Because they have forsaken me, and have burned incense unto other gods, that they might provoke me to anger with all the works of their hands; therefore my wrath shall be kindled against this place, and shall not be quenched.
The king’s delegation went to consult Huldah the prophetess who was married to the grandson of Harhas, keeper of the wardrobe—at the temple I presume. It is noted that Huldah lived in Jerusalem “in the college,” or Second Quarter, as stated in some translations, indicating a specific area in Jerusalem.
Commentators make note that the delegation probably went to Huldah because she was the prophet most readily available. Jeremiah lived in Anathoth, and Zephaniah had not yet begun his prophetic ministry.
Huldah proceeded to give them an answer from the LORD to deliver to the king. My paraphrase: I, the LORD God of Israel, am going to judge this land and My people in accordance with all that was written in My law. Because they have broken covenant with Me and have worshipped false gods, My anger cannot be quenched without judgment.
2Kings 22:18 But to the king of Judah which sent you to enquire of the LORD, thus shall ye say to him, Thus saith the LORD God of Israel, As touching the words which thou hast heard;
2Kings 22:19 Because thine heart was tender, and thou hast humbled thyself before the LORD, when thou heardest what I spake against this place, and against the inhabitants thereof, that they should become a desolation and a curse, and hast rent thy clothes, and wept before me; I also have heard thee, saith the LORD.
2Kings 22:20 Behold therefore, I will gather thee unto thy fathers, and thou shalt be gathered into thy grave in peace; and thine eyes shall not see all the evil which I will bring upon this place. And they brought the king word again.
That was the bad news; this is the good news for Josiah. My paraphrase continued: Because your heart was tender and convicted, causing you to humble yourself before Me after hearing My law, and the sincerity of your conviction war evidenced when you tore your clothes and wept before Me, I have heard your prayers. I will not bring judgment upon the people of Judah until after your death.
The delegation took this answer back to the king.
As a woman student of God’s word, I was encouraged by this observation by Clarke: “…a simple woman, possessing the life of God in her soul, may have more knowledge of the Divine testimonies than many of those whose office it is to explain and enforce them.”
Clarke also include this quote from Dr. Priestly: “It pleased God to distinguish several women with the spirit of prophecy, as well as other great attainments, to show that in his sight, and especially in things of a spiritual nature, there is no essential pre-eminence in the male sex, though in some things the female be subject to the male."