2 Kings - Chapter 21

In this transcription, Julie Callio discusses chapter 21 of 2 Kings. She focuses on the reigns of Manasseh and Ammon, both of whom did evil in the eyes of the Lord. Manasseh's reign lasted from around 697-643 BC, during which Babylon began to grow. Manasseh worshipped false gods, sacrificed his own son, and practiced sorcery. The people of Judah followed his lead and committed even more evil than the nations before them. The prophets spoke out against Manasseh, and the Lord declared that Jerusalem and Judah would suffer disaster. Manasseh shed innocent blood and filled Jerusalem with evil. When Manasseh died, his son Amon took over but also did evil. He was assassinated, and Josiah became king. The assassination's purpose is unclear, but it may have been for religious or political reasons. Despite the prophets' warnings, the people of Judah did not listen. Assyria declined and Babylon I am Julie Callio, your host, and thanks so much for taking time out of your busy schedule to tune in with me today. If by chance you want to contact me, you can do that at vab.bc.pc at gmail.com. Today we are covering chapter 21 of 2 Kings, and it covers the reigns of Manasseh king of Judah, which was one of the longest reigns, and then Ammon king of Judah, which was only two years long. They both did what was evil in the eyes of the Lord. Manasseh's dad was King Hezekiah, and he was the most godly king since King David, and then his son turns around and becomes one of the most ungodly kings Judah has ever had. The general dates for Manasseh's reign were around 697-643 BC. It is during his reign that Sennacherib king of Assyria died in 681 BC, but his sons did a decent job keeping the kingdom in power. But keep in mind that at the end of King Hezekiah's life, Isaiah had prophesied that Babylon would one day come and take over Judah and Jerusalem, so Babylon keeps growing. Manasseh is described in verse 2, he did evil in the eyes of the Lord, following the detestable practices of the nations the Lord had driven out before the Israelites. Have you ever noticed that the description does not say he was evil? It always says he did evil. We know from the New Testament book of Romans that Paul the Apostle wrote in Romans 3.23, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. All the people in the Old Testament and the New Testament have sinned, no one is perfect except for one which was the Lord Jesus Christ. We inherited our sin from Adam and Eve in Genesis chapter 3, but Jesus who was not born of Adam but born of God was the only perfect human alive. Here these kings are known by their actions, what they did defined them. Manasseh was described as being like the pagan nations, then he rebuilt the high places that his father destroyed. He reintroduced polytheism by adding Baal and Asherah poles, like King Ahab the king of Israel. He worshipped the starry host and he even put these false gods into the temple of the Lord. He sacrificed his own son to the gods and he practiced sorcery, divination and consulted with mediums and spiritists. Verse 6b says he did much evil in the eyes of the Lord, provoking him to anger. In verse 9 it says that the people of Judah did not listen to the Lord, Manasseh led them astray so that they did more evil than the nations the Lord had destroyed before the Israelites. In verses 10-15 we learn that the Lord spoke through his servants, the prophets, against Manasseh. And verse 12 reads, 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 it will tingle. The same measuring line the Lord used for Israel, the northern ten tribes, who are now wiped out, will be used and Jerusalem will be found failing. The Lord will wipe out Jerusalem because they have done such evil and because they have aroused the Lord's anger like their forefathers did when they came out of Egypt. Verse 16 says moreover Manasseh also shed so much innocent blood that he filled Jerusalem from end to end, beside the sin that he had caused Judah to commit so that they did evil in the eyes of the Lord. Now both of the commentators I read made comments that the blood could have been the blood of the prophets who stood in opposition to the king and tradition says that King Manasseh had Isaiah the prophet son in two. When Manasseh died his son Amon at age 22 reigned for two years. He also did evil in the eyes of the Lord just like his father did. Verses 23 and 24 explain Amon's officials conspired against him and assassinated the king in his palace. Then the people of the land killed all who had plotted against King Amon and they made Josiah his son king in his place. There are two main thoughts as to why the assassination and the first was of religious reasons in a hope to bring the kingdom back to the Lord and the second thought was political reasons Manasseh and Amon were both pro Assyrian and paid tribute to Assyria but there was also a group that wanted to join forces with Egypt in the south. Scripture does not give the purpose of the assassination. Going back to verse 10 the Lord said through his servants the prophets. Notice that it is plural Isaiah is now gone but the Lord raised up other men and women to proclaim truth to his people with the hope that the Lord's people would turn back to him but they would not listen. With the reign of King Josiah of Judah Assyria declined and Babylon increased this era is known as the Neo Babylonian period. The rest of this week and next we will be reading some minor prophets that the Lord raised up and they wrote down their message during this time frame. Those prophets are Joel, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah and Obadiah and then we will look at the reign of Josiah which will lead us to the major prophet of Jeremiah. Judgment is coming to Judah but they would not listen. The king even tried to quiet the voice of the Lord but he could not. One thing that Dr. Betts said in Old Testament class. Judgment is not God's default setting. God's default setting is a call to restoration and repentance. Ladies are you restored to the Lord? Is there anything you need to repent unto the Lord? If you have heard his voice today please don't try to silence it like Manessa. Instead let's be women who hear from the Lord and obey. Until next time and thank you so very much for listening.