BIBLE PEOPLE | MANASSEH, KING OF JUDAH

1. Bible People

a) The Bible is an historic record of real people and places. 

b) Here is a brief biography of such a person during Bible times.

2. Manasseh, King of Judah

a) Manasseh, son of King Hezekiah, and mother Hephzibah, began his reign at age 12. He reigned 55 years, the longest of any Hebrew King, but it was an evil reign. He rebuilt the heathen altars that his father Hezekiah had destroyed - the altars of Baal. He even built pagan altars in both courts of the Temple of the Lord, for worshiping the sun, moon and stars.

b) And Manasseh sacrificed his own children as burnt offerings in the valley of Hinnom. He consulted spirit mediums, fortune tellers and sorcerers. He angered the Lord by encouraging every sort of evil (2 Chronicles 33:4-6). He also murdered large numbers of innocent people (2 Kings 21:16).

c) Warnings by the Lord were ignored by both Manasseh and his people, so God sent the Assyrian armies, who captured him and took him into exile. It was in captivity that he came to his senses and cried out to God for help. As recorded in 2 Chronicles 33:13, The Lord answered his prayers by returning him to Jerusalem. At that point Manasseh realized that the Lord was really God.

d) Manasseh removed the foreign idols from the hills and the Temple and tore down the pagan altars. He then rebuilt the altar of the Lord, and offered sacrifices upon it. When Manasseh died, he was buried beneath his own palace, and his son Amon became the new king. The story of Manasseh is found in 2 Kings 21:1-17, and 2 Chronicles 33:1-20.

e) Interesting fact: The Lord had told Manasseh's father, Hezekiah, who was deathly sick, to prepare to die (2 kings 20:1). When Hezekiah broke down, cried and prayed to God, The Lord added 15 years to Hezekiah's life. Three years later his son, Manasseh, was born. If Hezekiah had accepted death when first told by the Lord, then his son Manesseh, the most evil of kings, would have never been born.