Manasseh — The Most Wicked of Kings, Saved and Forgiven

The podcast explores the dramatic life of King Manasseh of Judah, widely considered one of the most wicked kings in biblical history, as a profound demonstration of God's grace, mercy, and willingness to forgive even the worst of sinners. It also serves as a cautionary tale about parental influence and legacy.

Major Points from the Narrative

• A Long, Wicked Reign: Manasseh became king at just 12 years old and ruled Jerusalem for 55 years—the longest reign of any Judean king. He completely reversed the godly reforms of his father, King Hezekiah, by rebuilding pagan high places, practicing sorcery, consulting mediums, desecrating the Temple with idols, and even sacrificing his own sons.
• Divine Judgment and Captivity: Because Manasseh and the people ignored God's prophets, the Assyrian army captured Manasseh "with hooks," bound him in bronze chains, and exiled him to Babylon.
• Repentance and Restored Grace: In his severe distress, Manasseh humbled himself and prayed fervently to God. Highlighting a reading from the Apocrypha text The Prayer of Manasseh, the podcast underscores his deep confession of guilt. God answered his plea, forgave him, and remarkably restored him to his throne in Jerusalem.
• Later Reforms: Following his restoration, Manasseh spent his remaining years tearing down the pagan idols he built, fortifying Jerusalem's defenses, and commanding Judah to serve Yahweh.
• The Long Shadow of a Parent's Legacy: Though Manasseh repented, his son Amon chose to imitate the wicked, idolatrous years of his father’s youth rather than his later years of righteousness. Amon refused to humble himself and was assassinated after a brief two-year reign, which ultimately paved the way for the godly King Josiah.

Practical Applications for Listeners

1. No One is Beyond the Reach of God's Grace. The primary spiritual takeaway is that God is exceptionally compassionate, patient, and ready to grant remission of sins to anyone who genuinely repents. If the "most wicked king" could be forgiven and saved, no listener has sinned too deeply to turn back to God.

2. Pay Attention to Divine Warnings The narrative warns against spiritual stubbornness. Listeners are urged to pay attention when rebuked by God—whether through scripture, preaching, or life circumstances—and to pivot quickly rather than ignoring the warnings as Manasseh initially did.

3. The Reality of Parental Influence The episode highlights how a parent's early life of rebellion can deeply impact their children. Children often mimic a parent's worst seasons rather than their later corrections.

4. Intercede for the Next Generation For listeners who may have come to faith later in life and worry about the negative influence they previously had on their children, the speaker exhorts them to turn to fervent prayer—asking God to awaken their children, show them mercy, and break the cycle of generational sin.

Bible Insights with  Wayne Conrad
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Transcript

Bible Insights with Wayne Conrad

Episode: Manasseh — The Most Wicked of Kings, Saved and Forgiven

Introduction

Welcome to Bible Insights with Wayne Conrad. God’s word is a lamp to our feet and a light on our path. Today’s topic is Manasseh, the most wicked of the kings — saved, forgiven. I want to read the Bible with you today, from 2 Chronicles and 2 Kings, about Manasseh, who is probably the most wicked of the kings of Judah.

And yet he is a great example of the grace of God. He is also an example of how the early life of a parent, when they are in rebellion and sin, has a lasting influence on their children. So that even though they turn to God in their later years and devote themselves to the pursuit of godliness and the worship of God, their earlier years made an impression upon their children. And often those children will imitate the earlier years of the parent rather than the later years.

Manasseh enjoys the longest reign of any king of Judah, and yet his rule is as wicked as his father Hezekiah’s was godly. The Chronicles, however, note Manasseh’s repentance later in his reign. Amon is his son who succeeds him, and Amon’s short two years on the throne are treated quickly in both Kings and Chronicles. Psalm 102, a lament of a suffering person, seems an appropriate companion reading in connection with the abuses of power under Manasseh.

That’s according to the chronological Bible, using the ESV as the translation, and I’ll be using that for today’s Bible reading. The reading comes from 2 Kings 21:1–26 and 2 Chronicles 33:1–25. Toward the end, I’ll also include a reading from the Apocrypha. This is not an accepted portion of the Protestant Bible, though it is used in the Orthodox and Catholic traditions, but it contains the Prayer of Manasseh. This prayer may very well be what he prayed or at least express what he prayed — it is a prayer of repentance.

So let’s read the Bible together today. I’m reading 2 Kings 21, and then I’m going to repeat from 2 Chronicles. You’ll see some overlap, but there are also some differences.

Scripture Reading: 2 Kings 21:1–26 (ESV)

Manasseh was twelve years old when he began to reign, and he reigned fifty-five years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Hephzibah. He did what was evil in the sight of the LORD — that is, in the sight of Yahweh — according to the despicable practices of the nations whom Yahweh drove out before the people of Israel.

For he rebuilt the high places that Hezekiah his father had destroyed. He erected altars for Baal and made an Asherah, as Ahab king of Israel had done, and worshiped all the host of heaven and served them. So you see, he is a great idolater. He built altars in the house of the LORD, the house of Yahweh, the temple of which Yahweh had said, “In Jerusalem I will put my name.” He built altars for all the host of heaven in the two courts of the house of the LORD. He burned his son — at least one of them — as an offering, and used fortune-telling and omens, and dealt with mediums and necromancers, those who consult the dead. He did much evil in the sight of the LORD, provoking him to anger.

And the carved image of Asherah that he had made, he set in the house of which the LORD had said to David and to Solomon his son, “In this house, and in Jerusalem, which I have chosen out of all the tribes of Israel, I will put my name forever, and I will not cause the feet of Israel to wander anymore out of the land that I gave to their fathers — if only they will be careful to do according to all that I have commanded them, and according to all the law that my servant Moses commanded them.” Notice it is a conditional promise. But they did not listen. Manasseh led them astray to do more evil than the nations whom the LORD destroyed before the people of Israel. And Yahweh said by his servants the prophets: “Because Manasseh king of Judah has committed these abominations, has done things more evil than all that the Amorites did who were before him, and has made Judah also to sin with his idols…”

“…therefore thus says the LORD, the God of Israel: Behold, I am bringing upon Jerusalem and Judah such disaster that the ears of everyone who hears of it will tingle. I will stretch over Jerusalem the measuring line of Samaria and the plumb line of the house of Ahab, and I will wipe Jerusalem as one wipes a dish, wiping it and turning it upside down. I will forsake the remnant of my heritage and give them into the hand of their enemies.”

They shall become a prey and a spoil to all their enemies, because they have done what was evil in my sight and have provoked me to anger, since the day their fathers came out of Egypt, even to this day. Moreover, Manasseh shed very much innocent blood, till he had filled Jerusalem from one end to another, besides the sin that he made Judah commit, so that they did what was evil in the sight of Yahweh.

Now the rest of the acts of Manasseh, and all that he did, and the sin that he committed — are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Judah? Manasseh slept with his fathers and was buried in the garden of his house, in the garden of Uzza, and Amon his son reigned in his place.

Scripture Reading: 2 Chronicles 33:1–25 (ESV)

Manasseh was twelve years old when he began to reign, and he reigned fifty-five years in Jerusalem. He did what was evil in the sight of the LORD, according to the abominations of the nations whom the LORD drove out before the people of Israel. For he rebuilt the high places that his father Hezekiah had broken down — so he undoes the revival that God had brought.

He erected altars to the Baals and made Asherahs — these are fertility gods, male and female. He worshiped all the host of heaven and served them. He built altars in the house of the LORD, in the temple of which the LORD had said, “In Jerusalem shall my name be forever.” He built altars for all the host of heaven in the two courts of the house of the LORD. He burned his sons as an offering in the Valley of the Son of Hinnom. He used fortune-telling and omens and sorcery, and dealt with mediums and necromancers. He did much evil in the sight of the LORD, provoking him to anger.

And the carved image of the idol that he had made, he set in the house of God, of which God had said to David and to Solomon his son, “In this house, and in Jerusalem, which I have chosen of all the tribes of Israel, I will put my name forever, and I will no more remove the feet of Israel from the land that I appointed for your fathers…”

“…if only they will be careful to do all that I have commanded them — all the law, the statutes, and the rules given through Moses” — that is, if they keep the covenant. Manasseh led Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem astray to do more evil than the nations whom the LORD had destroyed before the people of Israel. This is God’s people, whom he brought out of Egypt. He set them in this land and promised it to them, to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, saying they could remain forever — but they must keep the covenant, which they broke many times. Yet under Manasseh, they reached the greatest breaking of the covenant. The LORD spoke to Manasseh and to his people, but they paid no attention.

When God rebukes you through the prophets, or through the preaching of his word, or even through the reading of it, you need to pay attention. You need to turn to God. Therefore, the LORD brought upon them the commanders of the army of the king of Assyria, who captured Manasseh with hooks, bound him with chains of bronze, and brought him to Babylon. And when he was in distress, he entreated the favor of Yahweh his God, and humbled himself greatly before the God of his fathers. He prayed to him, and God was moved by his entreaty, heard his plea, and brought him again to Jerusalem, into his kingdom.

Then Manasseh knew that Yahweh was God.

The Prayer of Manasseh (Apocrypha, Revised English Bible)

Now I want to read you the Prayer of Manasseh. It is found in the Apocrypha; I’m reading from the Revised English Bible with the Apocrypha. In it, he expresses his repentance. God humbled him — with great punishment, taking him out of the land into a foreign land. But God heard this prayer. Listen:

Almighty Lord, God of our fathers, of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and of their righteous posterity; who made heaven and earth with all their order; who fettered the sea by your word of command, who closed the abyss and sealed it with your fearful and glorious name;

before whom all things quake and tremble before your power. For the majesty of your glory is more than can be borne, and none can endure the threat of your wrath against sinners. Yet your promised mercy is beyond measure and beyond fathoming; for you are Lord Most High, compassionate, patient, and of great mercy, relenting when men suffer for their sins.

For out of your great goodness, Lord, you promised repentance and remission to those who have sinned against you, and in your boundless mercy you appointed repentance for sinners as the way to salvation. Therefore, Lord, God of the righteous, you appointed repentance not for the righteous — Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, who did not sin against you — but for me, whose sins outnumber the sands of the sea.

My transgressions abound, Lord; my transgressions abound. Because of the multitude of my wrongdoings, I am not worthy to look up and gaze at the height of heaven. I am weighed down with many an iron chain. I grieve over my sins and find no relief, because I have provoked your anger and done what is wrong in your eyes, setting up idols and multiplying offenses. Now my heart submits to you, imploring your great goodness. I have sinned, Lord, I have sinned, and I acknowledge my transgressions.

I beg and beseech you: spare me, Lord, spare me. Do not destroy me along with my transgressions. Do not be angry with me forever, or store up punishment for me. Do not condemn me to the depths of the earth, for you, Lord, are the God of the penitent. In me you will show your goodness; for unworthy as I am, you will save me according to your great mercy, and I shall praise you continually all the days of my life. For the whole host of heaven sings your praise, and yours is the glory forever. Amen.

Manasseh repented. He prayed and acknowledged specifically his sins before Almighty God, and so he was returned to Jerusalem. He continued his reign, and afterward — after his repentance, after this salvation — this is what the word says:

Manasseh’s Reforms

He built an outer wall for the city of David, west of Gihon, in the valley, and for the entrance into the Fish Gate. He carried it around Ophel and raised it to a very great height. He also put commanders of the army in all the fortified cities of Judah. He took away the foreign gods and the idol from the house of Yahweh, and all the altars that he had built on the mountain of the house of the LORD and in Jerusalem, and threw them outside the city.

He also restored the altar of the LORD and offered on it sacrifices of peace offerings and of thanksgiving, and he commanded Judah to serve Yahweh, the God of Israel. Nevertheless, the people still sacrificed at the high places — but only to Yahweh their God. Notice: it is a restoration in part among the people. Manasseh does acts of repentance — he was changed by the mercy and grace of Almighty God, and he shows it by getting rid of the idols and returning to the pure worship of God as God had appointed. So this most wicked of kings is saved by the grace and mercy of God.

Now the rest of the acts of Manasseh, and his prayer to his God, which I have read, and the words of the seers who spoke to him in the name of Yahweh, the God of Israel — behold, they are in the Chronicles of the Kings of Israel. And his prayer, and how God was moved by his entreaty, and all his sin and his faithlessness, and the sites on which he built high places and set up the Asherim and the images before he humbled himself — behold, they are written in the Chronicles of the Seers.

So Manasseh slept with his fathers — that is, he died — and they buried him in his house, and Amon his son reigned in his place. God had mercy on Manasseh, this most wicked of kings. He heard his prayer of repentance and restored him — a partial restoration — to the land.

Amon’s Brief, Wicked Reign

But listen: when Manasseh dies, Amon, who is twenty-two years old, begins to reign in his place. He reigns only two years in Jerusalem.

And he did what was evil in the sight of Yahweh, as Manasseh his father had done. You see this? He imitates the earlier life and reign of his father. He pays no attention to his father’s salvation and his father’s later service to God. So he returns to the idolatry that Manasseh his father had made and served. And he did not humble himself before Yahweh, as Manasseh his father had humbled himself.

But this Amon incurred guilt more and more. His servants conspired against him and put him to death in his house — after only two years. The people of the land struck down all those who had conspired against King Amon, and the people of the land made Josiah his son king in his place. Josiah is one of the most godly of the kings of Judah.

So here we see: God showed mercy to Hezekiah, but Hezekiah’s earlier life impacted his son Manasseh, who did greater evil than any of the kings of Judah. Yet in his later life, after God punished and humbled him, he came to the Lord.

Then he did the acts of faith, trying to get rid of all the idolatry he had introduced — trying to undo all the evil, doing what he could. But when he died, his son Amon, twenty-two years old, a young adult, reigned in his place and restored idolatry to the land.

Yet Amon reigned only two years before God intervened through the acts of his servants — the servants of the king who saw this great evil unfolding. Surely some of them could remember all the evil Manasseh had done in his early years. Here was Amon following in his stead, and they killed him. And though they themselves were killed by the people for acting against the king, God used this to bring Josiah to the land. Josiah would be one of the most godly of the kings of Judah.

Closing Reflection

This has been Wayne Conrad with Bible Insights, reading God’s word with you and hoping that through the reading of the word, and the lessons I’ve tried to draw, you’ve heard God speak to you. If you are in sin, in rebellion against God, not serving him though you know that’s who you should serve, may God awaken you. May he bring you to repentance and to faith in the God who loves sinners so much that he gave his Son to be the propitiation — the atoning sacrifice — for their sins.

And if you are one whom God has visited in your later life with his great mercy and grace, remember that your children, who witnessed your earlier life of not walking with God, are often more influenced by that than by your later turning to him.

Turn in prayer to God. Pray for them. Pray for God to show them mercy. Pray for God to awaken them. Remember that our lives influence others — parents’ lives influence their children. Every phase of our life has an influence on others, as God’s people, those who have been sharers in his grace and mercy. We must remember this, and we must seek always to walk before the Lord in humility, with repentance and faith. God is the God of mercy, and he is a God who saves.

This has been Wayne Conrad with Bible Insights.