Manasseh became the 14th king of Judah when he was 12 years old. He is considered the most wicked of all the kings who sat on David's throne. He led the people in restoring the pagan worship his father Hezekiah had suppressed. He even set up idolatrous altars in the Temple, sacrificed his sons in the fires, and engaged in sorcery. Tradition claims that he ordered the death of his grandfather, the prophet Isaiah, because he did not wish to hear the rebukes of the Lord. The Bible records that he filled Jerusalem with the innocent blood of his own people.
Finally, God used the Assyrians to punish Manasseh and the people who followed him. The king was taken in chains to Babylon where he repented of his wickedness. Some say the angels refused to carry his prayers to heaven. So God, being filled with mercy, cut a hole under His heavenly throne to let his tears of repentance in.
Forgiven by his Lord, Manasseh returned to Jerusalem a changed man. He restored the Temple worship and tried to wipe out the idolatrous practices he had led his people into but their hearts were hard and he was never as successful as his father had been.
His prayer of repentance has been lost but his life story along with the apocryphal 'Prayer of Manasseh' (written a few hundred years before the birth of Christ) remain as a testimony of God's mercy towards sinners.
2 Kings 21:1-18; 2 Chron 33:1-20; The Prayer of Manasseh; Mt 1:10
All scripture quotes are from the REB Bible unless otherwise indicated.
Comments© 1998 by Suzetta Tucker
To cite this page:
Tucker, Suzetta. "Jesse Tree Advent Calendar - December 22
- Manasseh." ChristStory Christian Bestiary. 1998.
http://ww2.netnitco.net/users/legend01/22manass.htm ().