We are nearing the end of King Manasseh’s life. But not yet the end of 2nd Chronicles chapter 33, for Manasseh’s Son (Amon) will briefly assume the Throne of Judah.

But the Holy Spirit does encapsulate (review, condense) Manasseh’s life (and death) and royal administration into 3 helpful verses. “Now the rest of the acts of Manasseh, and his prayer unto his God, and the words of the seers that spake to him in the name of the LORD God of Israel, behold, they are written in the book of the kings of Israel. His prayer also, and how God was intreated of him, and all his sin, and his trespass, and the places wherein he built high places, and set up groves and graven images, before he was humbled: behold, they are written among the sayings of the seers. So Manasseh slept with his fathers, and they buried him in his own house: and Amon his son reigned in his stead.” 2nd Chronicles 33:18-20

Today, just verse 18. “Now the rest of the acts of Manasseh, and his prayer unto his God, and the words of the seers that spake to him in the name of the LORD God of Israel, behold, they are written in the book of the kings of Israel.”

The noun “acts” is “dabar” in Hebrew. It is translated “word” (speech) 807 times in the Old Testament, and “acts” 51 more times. A dual meaning here, obviously. By the way, this teaches us that (in God’s Eyes anyway) one’s “words” basically constitute one’s “actions.” It’s like this … What I SAY is a pretty good predictor of what I’m going TO DO!

A “seer” is basically a “prophet” in Scripture, in this context. One who “sees” God’s Hand in future events. Apparently more such “preachers” warned Manasseh of his sinful ways that Scripture elsewhere records. (God working in Jeremiah 25:4 is here pertinent. “And the LORD hath sent unto you all his servants the prophets, rising early and sending them; but ye have not hearkened, nor inclined your ear to hear.” Amazing!)

Most Nations, little Judah included, have “dual” records, “parallel” histories of their deeds. And the Chronicler here so indicates such a practice.

Manasseh’s “acts” … “They are written in the book of the kings of Israel.” In 2nd Kings chapter 21, for the most part, concerning Manasseh and his son.  (The Life of our Lord Jesus is also presented in this fashion. Via 4 sets of eyes, Matthew’s and Mark’s and Luke’s and John’s. As directed by the Holy Spirit of God.)

Yes, the Bible is not fantasy or fable or “make-believe.”

It is a recording of actual events.

Even to the point Paul can later say: “Now all these things (Old Testament history) happened unto them for ensamples: and they are written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the world are come.” 1st Corinthians 10:11

Plus Romans 15:4, so powerful. “For whatsoever things were written aforetime (Old Testament) were written for our learning, that we through patience and comfort of the scriptures might have hope.”

Then the life of Manasseh says volumes!

More tomorrow, the Lord willing.

— Dr. Mike Bagwell

 

Wicked King Manasseh has repented!

And has furthermore attempted to restore godly worship to Judah, his Country.

And has succeeded, to a great extent.

Yet today we read of a “compromise” in the area of “obedience” to the King, more so … obedience to the Lord! The people did NOT fully comply with the Word of God, the Mosaic Law.

“Nevertheless the people DID SACRIFICE STILL IN THE HIGH PLACES, yet unto the LORD their God only.” 2nd Chronicles 33:17

The “high places” indicate former “idol worship” locations!

“High places,” simply meaning “elevated areas” … because the ancient mind figured that was closer to the heavens, the places where their many false gods and goddesses lived (and fought and cheated and lied and died)!

If you’d like to know God’s real Feelings about those despicable “high places,” read Leviticus 26:30. “I (the Lord) will destroy your HIGH PLACES, and cut down your images, and cast your carcases upon the carcases of your idols, and my soul shall abhor you.” This is pretty clear, isn’t it?

So … here’s what happened in our Text today.

They (the people of Judah) worshipped the RIGHT God now. Or maybe I should say they again worshipped Him. BUT … in the vile places where they previously worshipped the heathen gods!

And the Lord was not fully pleased!

Moses (but behind Moses’ words, God Himself really) would not accept worship from (even) the wrong kind of altar! Much less a polluted sanctuary. Read with me Exodus 20:23-26. “Ye shall not make with me gods of silver, neither shall ye make unto you gods of gold. AN ALTAR OF EARTH THOU SHALT MAKE UNTO ME, and shalt sacrifice thereon thy burnt offerings, and thy peace offerings, thy sheep, and thine oxen: in all places where I record my name I will come unto thee, and I will bless thee. AND IF THOU WILT MAKE ME AN ALTAR OF STONE, THOU SHALT NOT BUILD IT OF HEWN STONE: for if thou lift up thy tool upon it, thou hast polluted it. NEITHER SHALT THOU GO UP BY STEPS UNTO MINE ALTAR, THAT THY NAKEDNESS BE NOT DISCOVERED THEREON.”

Wow!

All those “rules” (each for a good purpose) about altars!

So, obviously, God’s prescribed altar was quite easily polluted!

Easily “profaned, desecrated,” the Hebrew verb “chalal” being used here, carefully framed in the Piel stem … meaning an intense and vigorous polluting! Especially obnoxious to the Lord!

Based on these observations, I say today’s verse presents only a partial obedience to the Lord God, our Heavenly Father. “Nevertheless the people did sacrifice still in the high places, yet unto the LORD their God only.”

I say the “idols” of Manasseh’s “wild days” … though now expelled from all the Land … have still made an “impact” on Judah!

Sadly so.

God never has (still doesn’t) appreciate half-hearted Service in His name.

Paul may have stated this truth more clearly than anyone in scripture. “And whatsoever ye do, DO IT HEARTILY, as to the Lord, and not unto men; knowing that of the Lord ye shall receive the reward of the inheritance: for ye serve the Lord Christ.” Colossians 3:23-24

The expression “heartily” translated two Greek words, “ek psuche.” Meaning “out of one’s soul!” With all one’s mind! With all one’s will! With all one’s emotion!

TOTAL obedience!

Of this He is Worthy!

— Dr. Mike Bagwell

 

Yes, King Manasseh “repaired” some things he had previously ignored. Including the “altar” at Solomon’s Temple! “And he repaired the altar of the LORD, and sacrificed thereon peace offerings and thank offerings, and commanded Judah to serve the LORD God of Israel.” 2nd Chronicles 33:16, our text this morning.

The verb here translated “repaired” (in Hebrew “banah”) is only used that way twice in the Bible, just twice in its 376 Old Testament appearances! But 354 times it is expressed as “built” or “built up” … in the King James Bible anyway. Two times “banah” means “to set up” something.

This altar (likely the brass altar, the main altar of sacrifice, not the golden altar of incense) must have been so misused (or abused) that it had about become marginal!

How sad!

Yes, Manasseh is trying to correct his many years of rebellion.

And such repentance always leads to worship!

Now look what the King did next. He “sacrifices” to Almighty God, both “peace offerings” and “thank offerings.” Get this. Most of the time the “peace offering” was voluntary, a free-will act on the part of the bringer. And the “thank offering” was always optional!

Maybe Manasseh has begun to develop a real love for the Lord!

And he wanted his people (the very Jews he had led astray, led into apostasy, for several decades) to now “follow” the Lord as well. In fact … “He commanded Judah” to do so, to serve the Lord. The verb used to express “commanded” is simply “amar,” meaning “to speak” the word!

He told the Israelites to “do right!”

But following God is not always something that can be mandated. Real eagerness to serve God comes, must come, from a willing heart!

Many, many times what the Law cannot do … Love can accomplish!

Yet today’s verse does show come good signs … about Manasseh’s “new” way of doing things.

“And he repaired the altar of the LORD, and sacrificed thereon peace offerings and thank offerings, and commanded Judah to serve the LORD God of Israel.”

These acts have the “savor” of Revival, don’t they?

And yet tomorrow (and days following) we learn that everyone did not adhere to Manasseh’s new rules. Not “from the heart” anyway. Including his Son, Amnon, the next King of Judah!

A Lesson I’m leaning: Moral “decay” does not occur overnight. Neither does moral “rectitude” return overnight! (The word is Latin, “rectus,” meaning “straight, right.”)

Oh, how our Nation needs genuine Revival!

— Dr. Mike Bagwell

 

Today’s Verse tells us about even more of the actions of a repentant King Manasseh. He seems now to be as vigorous FOR the Lord as he earlier was AGAINST the Lord! What a difference GRACE makes, when FORGIVENESS is extended to a rebellious human heart, now broken in grief over sin.

“And he (Manasseh) took away the strange gods, and the idol out of the house of the LORD, and all the altars that he had built in the mount of the house of the LORD, and in Jerusalem, and cast them out of the city.” 2nd Chronicles 33:15

Trying to “undo” earlier mistakes!

Out go the “gods” and “idols” and “altars” dedicated to heathenism, demonism. (In some ways this dramatic “turnabout” makes me think of the Saul/Paul transition in the New Testament. “Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.” 2nd Corinthians 5:17)

Now, for a few definitions from our text today.

“And he (Manasseh) took away the strange gods, and the idol out of the house of the LORD, and all the altars that he had built in the mount of the house of the LORD, and in Jerusalem, and cast them out of the city.”

The verb “took away” (in Hebrew spelled “sur”) means “removed” in a general sense, but 3 times “eschewed” (absolutely hated)! The verb is an “imperfect” as well, suggesting that King Manasseh thereafter kept constant vigil … to be sure no other gods, idols or altars were ever again installed within the Temple Mount! During his lifetime, anyway.

The adjective “strange” means “foreign.” (The God of Abraham and Isaac and Jacob was Sufficient! No foreign deities were allowed. The “Ten Commandments” made this abundantly clear!)

The noun “gods” is “elohiym,” the same name used for the Real God, the Creator, just without its initial capital letter. In Hebrew grammar, only the “context” would determine such a fact.

The very rare word “idol” (Hebrew “semel”) means “image.” It’s from a root word meaning “to resemble!” All an idol is, of course, is a piece of wood or rock or silver or gold alloy … carved or shaped or twisted into some “visible idea” of a god or goddess it might represent! (“Semel” is only used 5 times in the Bible!)

This is essentially what Paul later teaches us. The “idol” is nothing, physically. A dead piece of material! But the god it stands for … therein is the evil power of idolatry! I mean “demons,” folks. “We know that an idol is nothing in the world, and that there is none other God but one.” (Paul in 1st Corinthians 8:4) But now these “idols” are invested with evil I some mystical way … “But I say, that the things which the Gentiles sacrifice, they sacrifice to devils, and not to God: and I would not that ye should have fellowship with devils.” 1st Corinthians 10:20, still Paul writing.

Yes, the devil is real.

Not to be under-emphasized. He has (limited) power.

But not to be over-emphasized either! He is never going to overthrow Almighty God! He was defeated at Calvary! He will spend eternity in torment!

Then the word “altars,” (in Hebrew “mizbeach”) means “places of slaughter!” Where blood is shed, for religious purposes. Violent deaths, often rituals of unforgettable horror.

And Manasseh did what to these abominations?

“Cast them out” of Jerusalem.

The verb “cast” means “to throw,” or hurl or fling! The accompanying “out” is sometimes translated as “streets” or “highways.” (I wish he had burned them out of existence.)

Still … we have here reformation.

Cleansing.

A king seeking to led his people in a new direction!

For which we can only say, “Praise the Lord!”

Maybe Revival is on the way!

— Dr. Mike Bagwell

 

In my preparation time for this Lessons I totally missed this verse. It escaped my attention, yet is critically important. What a spiritual truth we have here!

“Now after this he (King Manasseh) built a wall without the city of David, on the west side of Gihon, in the valley, even to the entering in at the fish gate, and compassed about Ophel, and raised it up a very great height, and put captains of war in all the fenced cities of Judah.” 2nd Chronicles 33:14

The King built a wall around the City!

Perhaps he (for the first time on record) here reinforced His Dad’s (King Hezekiah of Judah) intention of keeping Jerusalem safer. It appears that Hezekiah also tried to keep such a wall intact.

I base this observation on 2nd Chronicles 32:5. “Also Hezekiah strengthened himself, and built up all the wall that was broken, and raised it up to the towers, and another wall without … and made darts and shields in abundance.” This occurred when the Assyrian army had Jerusalem under siege.

In fact, maybe even Kings Uzziah and Jotham had both worked on fortifications such as these, way back during their reigns. As in 2 Chronicles 26:9 … “Moreover Uzziah built towers in Jerusalem at the corner gate, and at the valley gate, and at the turning of the wall, and fortified them.” And in 2 Chronicles 27:3 … “He (King Jotham) built the high gate of the house of the LORD, and on the wall of Ophel he built much.”

Earlier when Manasseh lived in open sin … he did not seem to care much about the safety of the Homeland! Maybe godliness and patriotism go together. If a righteous Nation is in view!

The geographical identifiers given in today’s verse … Gihon, the Fish Gate, and Ophel … tell us the wall encircled the whole Metropolis. Scholars say the city is being fortified first toward the west, then  toward the east.

But … is there a spiritual lesson to all this data?

Yes!

Yes indeed!

When Manasseh got “right” with God … one of the first things he did was erect a barrier between himself (including his City and his people) … and the enemy encamped without (but still close by) in the many hills and valleys, in the surrounding terrain.

A wall, folks!

Mr. “inclusive” has now become quite “exclusive!”

In reality, Nehemiah also was dedicated to building (rebuilding really) a wall around Jerusalem.

To keep the citizens, family members, loved ones … “in.”

And to keep harm and evil … “out!”

This is the Bible principle of … SEPARATION!

Here’s how Paul described such a “wall,” such a “barrier,” metaphorically, spiritually. “Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness?” 2nd Corinthians 6:14

This too: “Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you, and will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty.” 2nd Corinthians 6:17

Wow!

Oh, how we need to build some “walls” in our lives yet today.

Walls of protection … with the enemy in view.

Walls of prevention … with myself in view.

I think this sound so unusual … but Biblically true … MANASSEH, THE WALL BUILDER!

Wow!

— Dr. Mike Bagwell