In yet another complete reversal from one king to the next, Manasseh returns to the sins of his grandfather Ahaz. In so doing, it was more than a reversal of Hezekiah's revival. Manasseh brought in his own new pagan twists.
2 Chronicles 33:1-9 -- Manasseh had the longest reign in the House of David, 55 years (696-642 BC). In the Temple courts he placed new shrines to the Canaanite Baals and Ashtarte. With a boldness not seen in any other fallen king, Manasseh placed altars to them inside the Temple itself, along with carved images. He even went so far as to resurrect the filthy cult of Molech in the Valley of Hinnom below the old Jebusite city of Ophel, off the lower end of the ridge of Jerusalem. He brought back the practices of consulting the dead, conjuring various spirits, and just about everything God told Moses was forbidden. Finally, we have indications he brought back both male and female temple prostitution. The entire atmosphere of the city changed, affecting the rest of Judah as well. Every ready to sin, we see hints of the nobles of Judah helping take the lead in all this. This loosed a reign of terror, as well. The City of Jerusalem was the home of tyranny and senseless murder and oppression of every kind. One of the prophets warned it was worse than Samaria had ever been.
When Esar-haddon came down in 676 BC, bringing the new residents of Israel, and to remove the bulk of the remaining northern Tribes of Israel, Manasseh went out to meet him. The lesson of Assyrian defeat meant nothing to him. Instead, he sought to become a servant of the Empire. Imperial records point to his sending tribute. As a willing servant, he imported the gods of his master. Assyria practiced a version of the ancient Babylonian Astrology. This was the "hosts of heaven" mentioned in the text. More than just images of the various star-gods, this would require decorative seasonal markers based on the annual track of the sun's angle and height. Similar markers were used at night to track the stars. Manasseh would celebrate the various festivals to the star-gods, which broke the rhythm of the Mosaic calendar. He placed these observatories in the Temple courts.
33:10-20 -- As always, the Lord sent prophets. While we know Isaiah joined in the denunciations, he managed to survive. Many other prophets were murdered. Micah and Nahum were known to have been active during this time, though their writings indicate nothing about their possible confrontation of Manasseh. The former wrote of his ministry under Hezekiah, for the most part, and the latter addresses the eventual fall of Nineveh. The obvious point would be they cannot be trusted to protect Judah. We can be sure there were plenty of prophets whose words were not recorded. They were all ignored, not just by the King, but by the people, as well.
In his dealings with Assyria, it appears at one point Manasseh considered an alliance with Egypt, too. Esar-haddon passed and two brothers fought to succeed him on the throne. It would seem Manasseh aligned himself with the losing brother, who had raised up a rebellion in Babylon. During the four-year war fought in Mesopotamia, Egypt had risen up to resist Assyrian policy. Recall that Egypt lost a major battle to Senacherib during Hezekiah's reign; defeated armies surrender their nation to the victorious rulers. Thus, having won that war in Babylon, Ashurbanipal in 648 BC passed through Palestine on his way to confront Egypt. Along the way, he had Manasseh arrested and deported to the prison in Babylon where the co-conspirators were held with Ahurbanipal's brother. We aren't quite certain what Assyrian nose-hooks looked like, but we can be sure it was exceedingly painful as a form of torture to be lead by the nose.
It was most likely during the time Manasseh contemplated his doom after the failure of his ally in Babylon that he sacrificed a son on the altar to Molech. During his captivity, he repented of his former sins. The Lord heard and restored him, allowing the King to return to Jerusalem. There, Manasseh set about correcting his mistakes, but too late. For more than 50 years he pressed his people to idolatry. A mere two or three years' effort was not enough to change much in the minds of a whole generation raised in sin. Thus, his efforts to cleanse the Temple and city did little real good. More useful, perhaps, was his rebuilding of the city wall, probably damaged or destroyed by Ashurpanipal. It's possible his project extended the wall out over the Central Valley of the city, and took in some of the western ridge. It's referred to as the "Second Quarter" of Jerusalem.
33:21-25 -- Upon his death, Manasseh passed the throne to Amon. This heir thought nothing of his father's repentance, and renewed the hideous practices of his upbringing. It's most likely the policy of continued submission to Assyria that provoked his death. Traditions of the time indicate an element of deep southern nobility who resented this submission. Such would be the perfect source of a plot to assassinate King Amon. It was reputed these same southern nobles also resented the pagan practices, but that was not the primary reason for the conspiracy. Either way, we know the Lords of Judah, based in Kiriath-jearim, rose up to execute all the known members of the conspiracy. They would have been concerned with a renewed attack from Assyria, and so hoped to appease the Imperial Court by this move.
The die had been cast. The end of Judah, and of the Nation of Israel, had been set.
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Ed Hurst
21 May 2005
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