Time after time in the Old Testament we have seen a bad king follow a good one and reverse the good things the previous king did. Or, we have seen a good king spend much of his reign cleaning up the messes his predecessor left behind. Being raised and trained for years by a good king was no guarantee that a prince would follow in his dad’s footsteps.

Psalm 146:3-5 makes this point clearly:

“Do not put your trust in princes, in human beings, who cannot save. When their spirit departs, they return to the ground; on that very day their plans come to nothing. Blessed are those whose help is the God of Jacob, whose hope is in the Lord their God.”

It doesn’t pay to rely too heavily on an earthly leader. He or she may disappoint you in their lifetime and if they manage to please you, the next leader is likely to reverse many of their policies.

Manasseh Becomes King

Manasseh is an example of a prince who reversed the results of his father’s reign. Scholars believe that the first ten years of Manasseh’s kingship were a co-regency with his father Hezekiah, beginning when he was twelve and continuing until he was twenty-two when Hezekiah died.

God granted Hezekiah an extra fifteen years of life and he used most of that time to prepare Manasseh to become Judah’s next king. Those were also the years that Hezekiah became arrogant and complacent, so Manasseh didn’t receive the best his father had to offer. He was born after the great religious reforms of Hezekiah’s earlier days.

Manasseh was an evil king almost from the beginning. He undid the good his father Hezekiah had done and turned to the idolatry of his pagan neighbors.

“He rebuilt the high places his father Hezekiah had destroyed; he also erected altars to Baal and made an Asherah pole, as Ahab king of Israel had done. He bowed down to all the starry hosts and worshiped them. He built altars in the temple of the Lord, of which the Lord had said, “In Jerusalem I will put my Name.” In the two courts of the temple of the Lord, he built altars to all the starry hosts. He sacrificed his own son in the fire, practiced divination, sought omens, and consulted mediums and spiritists. He did much evil in the eyes of the Lord, arousing his anger.” 2 Kings 21:2-6

Manasseh must have made a study of these offensive religious practices for years because he turned to them so quickly, and he drew from so many different sources. King Hezekiah either didn’t notice or didn’t care that his son had these tendencies when they ruled together for ten years. He appointed Manasseh as his successor anyway.

God Punishes Manasseh

“The Lord said through his servants the prophets: “Manasseh king of Judah has committed these detestable sins. He has done more evil than the Amorites who preceded him and has led Judah into sin with his idols. Therefore this is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: I am going to bring such disaster on Jerusalem and Judah that the ears of everyone who hears of it will tingle.” 2 Kings 21:10-12

Apparently Manasseh was not alone in his sins. The people of Judah joined him in his murderous idolatry and so many innocent people lost their lives in Jerusalem that blood was spilled in every part of the city.

God was appalled. The sins of Manasseh and Judah were worse than the sins of the ancient Amorites whom God had driven out when he brought the Israelites to the Promised Land. The Lord tried speaking to his people, but they paid no attention.

“So the Lord brought against them the army commanders of Assyria, who took Manasseh prisoner, put a hook in his nose, bound him with bronze shackles and took him to Babylon.” 2 Chronicles 33:11

At this point Babylon was part of the Assyrian Empire and the Assyrians sent political prisoners there. Judah was also a vassal state under Assyria, and the Assyrians were able to march into Jerusalem, capture and humiliate King Manasseh without resistance from his people.

Manasseh Learns a Lesson

Manasseh discovered that the foreign gods he worshiped couldn’t help him when he was carried off into captivity.

“In his distress he sought the favor of the Lord his God and humbled himself greatly before the God of his ancestors. And when he prayed to him, the Lord was moved by his entreaty and listened to his plea; so he brought him back to Jerusalem and to his kingdom. Then Manasseh knew that the Lord is God.” 2 Chronicles 33:12-13

We don’t know how God got Manasseh home to Jerusalem again, but he was a changed man when he arrived. He returned to the God of Israel and got rid of the foreign gods and altars he had built. He restored the altar of the Lord at the temple and started sacrificing there again. He told Judah to serve the Lord, the God of Israel, and they agreed, but they modified their worship of Jehovah by doing it on the high places instead of at the temple.

Manasseh reigned longer than any other king in Israel or Judah, and he left a complicated legacy after his fifty-five years as king.

“His prayer and how God was moved by his entreaty, as well as his sins and unfaithfulness, and the sites where he built high places and set up Asherah poles and idols before he humbled himself – all these are written in the records of the seers.” 2 Chronicles 33:19

We frequently come across references to “the records of the seers,” or “annals of the kings” as we read the Old Testament. These historic records have been lost over time, but they were useful when the prophets Samuel and Jeremiah, and Ezra the priest, recorded Israel’s history in the books of Kings and Chronicles.

The Descendants of Manasseh

When Manasseh died his son Amon took his place and Amon emulated his father’s worst tendencies.

“He followed completely the ways of his father, worshiping the idols his father worshiped, and bowing down to them. He forsook the Lord, the God of his ancestors, and did not walk in obedience to him.” 2 Kings 21:21-22

Amon’s officials conspired against him and killed him after only two years on the throne.

His son Josiah succeeded him and reigned for thirty-one years, beginning at age eight. He must have had great mentors because Josiah learned about the way of his ancestor King David and decided to worship God as David had. He tore down the places of idol worship, smashed idols, and destroyed pagan altars. He even desecrated the graves of false priests and idol worshipers.

We will read more about King Josiah in a few days. Meanwhile, a very important prophet comes on the scene just at this time.

God Calls Jeremiah

Jeremiah gives us a glimpse into what it was like to receive the unmistakable and irresistible call of God to be a prophet. Jeremiah felt completely unqualified to be a prophet. He was too young and he didn’t know how to do public speaking, but God told him he was going to be a prophet anyway.

“Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart; I appointed you as a prophet to the nations.” Jeremiah 1:5

 Then God said the words that probably both comforted and terrified Jeremiah.

“‘Do not be afraid of them, for I am with you and will rescue you,’ declares the Lord” Jeremiah 1:8

It was good to know God was going to be with Jeremiah, but why would he need to be rescued? It didn’t take long to find out the scope of his assignment and the dangers it presented. There was going to be a lot of international upheaval in Jeremiah’s future.

“Then the Lord reached out his hand and touched my mouth and said to me, ‘I have put my words in your mouth. See, today I appoint you over nations and kingdoms to uproot and tear down, to destroy and overthrow, to build and to plant.” Jeremiah 1:9-10

God sent Jeremiah to prophesy to nations that didn’t want to hear the message. A confrontation was coming between God and rebellious people and Jeremiah was going to be right in the middle of it all. God was bringing charges against Israel.

“Has a nation ever changed its gods? (Yet they are not gods at all.) But my people have exchanged their glorious God for worthless idols. Be appalled at this, you heavens, and shudder with great horror.” Jeremiah 2:11-12

A cosmic conflict was developing and, as we will see, Jeremiah was going to face huge challenges as God’s prophet.