MPV Commentary

Manasseh was twelve years old when he began to reign. He must have been born three years after his father's recovery from illness. His minority, spent under the influence of guardians who opposed the religious principles and reforming policies of his father, may account for the anti-theocratic nature of his reign.

The work of religious reformation that Hezekiah had zealously carried out was only partially accomplished. There was little evidence of its influence on the hearts and behavior of the people at large. On the contrary, the true fear of God had vanished from the majority of the people; corruption and vice increased, and were openly practiced by the degenerate leaders.

These leaders, who had gained control over the young prince Manasseh, directed his education and trained him in their views. They seduced him into openly patronizing idolatry. When he became sovereign, Manasseh introduced the worship of idols, restored high places, erected altars or pillars to Baal, and placed a graven image of Asherah within the temple itself.

This image represented "all the host of heaven," which was not idolatry but pure star-worship, originating from Chaldaic and Assyrian practices. The sun had chariots and horses consecrated to it, as among the Persians; incense was offered to the stars on rooftops and in the temple area with the face turned toward the sunrise.

Manasseh made his son pass through the fire (2Ki 16:3), observed times by watching clouds, used enchantments or jugglery, dealt with familiar spirits who pretended to ask counsel from a spirit and gave responses to others, and consulted wizards who claimed to reveal secrets, recover lost items, and interpret dreams.

A great influx of these impostors had entered the land of Israel during various periods, especially during the reigns of the latter kings. Manasseh was not only their patron but also zealous to appear an adept in their arts. He raised them to be an influential class at his court, as they were in Assyria and Babylon.

He set a graven image within the temple precincts, which was dedicated to the worship of the true God. This act is considered the most egregious outrage of the royal idolater.

The Lord declared through His prophets that He would not make Israel's feet move out of the land He gave their fathers (2Sa 7:10) unless they observed His commands. However, the people did not keep these commands and were seduced into greater excesses of idolatrous corruption than even the original Canaanites.

The Lord spoke through His prophets, including Hosea, Joel, Nahum, Habakkuk, and Isaiah. Their counsels, admonitions, and prophetic warnings were recorded in the national chronicles (2Ch 33:18) and now form part of the sacred canon.

Those who heard these prophecies would be shocked to their core (1Sa 3:11; Jer 19:3). The line of Samaria and the plummet of the house of Ahab signify that Judah would be utterly destroyed, just as Samaria and the dynasty of Ahab had been.

The Lord declared that He would wipe Jerusalem clean, leaving no remnant. This doom is denounced more strongly in a figure unmistakably significant (Isa 34:11).

The Lord would forsake the remnant of His inheritance, which refers to the people of Judah who remained. The consequence of this would be their fall into the power of their enemies.

Moreover, Manasseh shed innocent blood; he was not only a patron and practitioner of idolatrous abomination but also a cruel persecutor of those who did not conform. The land was deluged with the blood of good men, among whom it is traditionally said that Isaiah suffered a horrid death by being sawn asunder (Heb 11:37).