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Manasseh's Wickedness
v. 1. Manasseh was twelve years old when he began to reign, and he reigned fifty and five years in Jerusalem, including the time of his captivity;
v. 2. but did that which was evil in the sight of the Lord, like unto the abominations of the heathen whom the Lord had cast out before the children of Israel. Cf 2Ki_21:1-16.
v. 3. For he built again the high places which Hezekiah, his father, had broken down, his purpose being to make them sanctuaries of idolatry; and he reared up altars for Baalim, a great many of them, and made groves, erected the wooden pillars consecrated to the goddess Astarte, and worshiped all the host of heaven, and served them, thus introducing also the idolatry of the Chaldeans in addition to that of the Canaanites.
v. 4. Also, he built altars in the house of the Lord, whereof the Lord had said, In Jerusalem shall My name be forever. So he replaced the worship of Jehovah in the very house dedicated to His name with the abominations of idolatry.
v. 5. And he built altars for all the host of heaven in the two courts of the house of the Lord, thus openly worshiping the sun, the moon, the planets, and the stars.
v. 6. And he caused his children to pass through the fire in the Valley of the Son of Hinnom, the Valley Ben-hinnom, southwest of Jerusalem, thus becoming guilty of the abominable practise of the Moabites. Also, he observed times, and used enchantments, and used witchcraft, he made use of every form of sorcery and divination, even of that connected with the evil eye and with muttered and whispered charms, and dealt with a familiar spirit and with wizards, he actually appointed conjurors and soothsayers. He wrought much evil in the sight of the Lord to provoke Him to anger.
v. 7. And he set a carved image, the idol which he had made, probably an Asherah-pillar, in the house of God, of which God had said to David and to Solomon, his son, In this house and in Jerusalem, which I have chosen before all the tribes of Israel, will I put My name forever, Psa_132:14;
v. 8. neither will I any more remove the foot of Israel from out of the land which I have appointed for your fathers, 2Sa_7:10, so that they will take heed to do all that I have commanded them, literally, "only that they observe," for that was the condition under which the Lord would keep them in that land, according to the whole Law and the statutes and the ordinances by the hand of Moses.
v. 9. So Manasseh made Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem to err, in leaving the right way which they had walked under pious Rezekiah, and to do worse than the heathen whom the Lord had destroyed before the children of Israel.
v. 10. And the Lord spake to Manasseh and to his people, namely, by the mouth of His faithful prophets, 2Ki_21:11-16; but they would not hearken, idolatry had quickly and effectively hardened their hearts once more. The same thing happens today when people who have been Christians deny the better knowledge and turn to the abominations of the children of the world. There are no greater enemies of Christianity than such as have denied its truths.