Wicked King Manasseh 2 Chr 33:1-17 CLICK TITLE FOR AUDIO
Wicked King Manasseh reigned as a young man and had the reputation of being the wickedest king that Judah ever had. The reason that Judah was destroyed by Nebuchadnezzar is that Manasseh had sinned so wickedly [2 Ki 24:1-4].
What we see in this man’s character is the character of a man who neglected his salvation until he had reaped sufficiently of his old sinful ways. The time to get saved and live for Jesus is in your youth. And then live for Jesus from then on, because when you get saved later in life there is still a temporal reaping for your sin.
How did Manasseh develop this wicked character?
He lived like the heathen – 2 Chr 33:2 – see Prov 1:10; 13:20-21. You hang around wicked people and you become like them. Evil communications corrupt good manners.
A Methodist preacher was invited to speak at a prison work camp. The prisoner introducing him recalled his earlier days of association with this preacher. He said, “Several years ago, two boys lived in the same city in Georgia. They attended the same school, played with the same friends and went to the same Sunday school. One of the boys dropped out of Sunday school because he felt he had outgrown it. The other boy kept on going because he believed that it really meant something in his life. The boy who dropped out is the one who is making this introduction. The boy who stayed in Sunday school is the preacher who is going to speak to us this morning.
He disobeyed God’s words – 2 Chr 33:3-6 – as a king he was supposed to copy, read and obey God’s words [Deut 17:18-20]. Instead, Manasseh disobeyed God by building high places [Deut 12:1-14]; by worshipping Baal [Ex 20:3]; by planting a grove [Deut 16:21]; by worshipping the host of heaven [Deut 4:19]; by making his children to pass through the fire and by consulting spirits [Deut 18:10-12]; and by making a carved image [Deut 4:25-26].
He influenced others to sin – 2 Chr 33:9 – he made Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem to err. When someone sins they always try to get someone else to go along with them. You don’t want to go along with them, Prov 1:10; Prov 4:14-16.
He rejected preaching – 2 Chr 33:10 – in this he was just like Saul [1 Sam 15:23-24].
So the Lord sent the king of Assyria [a type of the devil] against him to deal with him [compare 1 Tim 1:20]. After that he repented of his evil. But, because he had been so wicked, he still had to reap what he had sown.
Conclusion: When you get saved later in life you end up living with the sins of your past. They are forgiven, but you still reap and remember. Manasseh will always be known as the wickedest king Judah ever had.