2 Chronicles 33:1-25

Memory Verse: 13

Questions

Outline

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I. Manasseh King of Judah (33:1-9)

* See a picture of a terracotta relief from early 2nd millennium B.C. to the right. The relief is of the idol Ishtar holding her symbol was found in Eshnunna, an ancient Sumerian city and is now housed in the Louve in France.

>1. How is King Manasseh's life described in verses 1-3?

* 2 Chronicles 33:1-3 "Manasseh was twelve years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem fifty-five years. 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. 3 He rebuilt the high places his father Hezekiah had demolished; he also erected altars to the Baals and made Asherah poles. He bowed down to all the starry hosts and worshiped them."

* 2 Kings 21:1-18 also records Manasseh king of Judah.

* Manasseh and his son Amon did evil in the sight of the Lord. Hezekiah must have know what kind of people his son and grandson were. What does a parent who loves the Lord do when he sees his children and grandchildren turn away from Jesus?

Manasseh and Amon must have saw all that the Lord had done for their father and grandfather, especially the Assyrian soldiers dying at the hand of the Lord this saving Judah.

Yet they chose to turn their back on the Lord and serve idols, even sacrificing their children and filling the streets with human blood.

Everyone decides who they will serve. We all serve someone or something. I chose to serve the Lord. I will pray for my children to do the same.

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>How did he desecrate the temple of the Lord? (4-5)

* 2 Chronicles 33:4-5 "He built altars in the temple of the LORD, of which the LORD had said, "My Name will remain in Jerusalem forever." 5 In both courts of the temple of the LORD, he built altars to all the starry hosts."

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>How far from love did his religious practices bring him? (6)

* 2 Chronicles 33:6 "He sacrificed his sons in the fire in the Valley of Ben Hinnom, practiced sorcery, divination and witchcraft, and consulted mediums and spiritists. He did much evil in the eyes of the LORD, provoking him to anger."

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>What does this say about people who refuse to worship the Lord?

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>2. What is a Asherah pole and where did he put it? (7-8)

* 2 Chronicles 33:7-8 "He took the carved image he had made and put it in God's temple, of which God had said to David and to his son Solomon, "In this temple and in Jerusalem, which I have chosen out of all the tribes of Israel, I will put my Name forever. 8 I will not again make the feet of the Israelites leave the land I assigned to your forefathers, if only they will be careful to do everything I commanded them concerning all the laws, decrees and ordinances given through Moses.""

* "Asherah pole" -An Asherah (Ashraroth) pole is a sacred tree or pole that stood near Canaanite religious locations to honor the Ugaritic mother-goddess Asherah, consort of El. Asherah was probably also known as the Queen of Heaven. The relation of the literary references to an Asherah and archaeological finds of Judaean pillar-figurines has produced debate.

* See artifacts of Ashraroth (left) and Baal (right) to the right. Clay figures such as these, depicting Ashraroth (Astarte) the naked goddesses of fertility are frequently referred to in the Bible, have been found by archaeologists all over Palestine. The fact that they occur in such numbers in the layers dating from Israelite times confirms all that the Bible has to say about the danger of idolatry spreading through the whole people. The noticeable accentuation of sexual characteristics not only makes it clear what was the nature of these Canaanite cults, but also explains why the prophets thundered against them with all the power at their command and denounced them as a menace to society. The discovery of such statuettes also helps us to see the point of many frequently misunderstood passages in the Old Testament. Baal was also one of the gods whose worship was forbidden. (The Bible as History in Pictures, Werner Keller)

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>What had the Lord promised do if they kept his law?

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>Did they listen to the Lord? (9)

* 2 Chronicles 33:9 "But Manasseh led Judah and the people of Jerusalem astray, so that they did more evil than the nations the LORD had destroyed before the Israelites."

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* The painting to the right showing Manasseh's repentance was in Bibles and is now in public domain.

II. Manasseh Repentance (33:10-20)

>3. How did the Lord speak to his people? (10; 2 Kings 21:10-18)

* 2 Chronicles 33:10 "The LORD spoke to Manasseh and his people, but they paid no attention."

* 2 Kings 21:10-18 "The LORD said through his servants the prophets: 11 "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. 12 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. 13 I will stretch out over Jerusalem the measuring line used against Samaria and the plumb line used against the house of Ahab. I will wipe out Jerusalem as one wipes a dish, wiping it and turning it upside down. 14 I will forsake the remnant of my inheritance and hand them over to their enemies. They will be looted and plundered by all their foes, 15 because they have done evil in my eyes and have provoked me to anger from the day their forefathers came out of Egypt until this day. 16 Moreover, Manasseh also shed so much innocent blood that he filled Jerusalem from end to end--besides the sin that he had caused Judah to commit, so that they did evil in the eyes of the LORD. 17 As for the other events of Manasseh's reign, and all he did, including the sin he committed, are they not written in the book of the annals of the kings of Judah? 18 Manasseh rested with his fathers and was buried in his palace garden, the garden of Uzza. And Amon his son succeeded him as king."

* 2 Chronicles 32 and 33, Isaiah 36-37, and 2 Kings 18-19 & 21 record Judah's battles with the Assyrians.

* The LORD spoke to Manasseh and his people" -The author of Chronicles does not state the fact that it was the prophets who God conveyed his messages to his people. 2 Kings 21:10-18 does.

* "they paid no attention"

* Manasseh did evil. However, the Lord did not give up on him. Verse 10 states, "The Lord spoke to Manasseh and his people, but they paid no attention."

The Lord brought Assyria to capture and remove him from his throne with a hock and shackles. He humbled himself just as his father had done before him. He repented. His repentance wasn't just in thought nor just in heart. Manasseh's actions showed his sincerity. He stopped sinning and started to worship the Lord in the cleaned out temple.

God often has to do drastic measures so we accept the truth in our hearts. May I not be so stubborn.

* 2 Kings 21:16 records Manasseh shed much innocent blood in Jerusalem.

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>What did the Lord do when they refused to listen to him? (11)

* 2 Chronicles 33:11-13 "So the LORD brought against them the army commanders of the king of Assyria, who took Manasseh prisoner, put a hook in his nose, bound him with bronze shackles and took him to Babylon."

* "the king of Assyria" -See study 14 (Chapter 32) for information about Assyria and their attacks on Judah.

* Manasseh's capture, release, and repentance is not recorded in 2 Kings 21.

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>Was it to late for Manasseh? (12-13)

* 2 Chronicles 33:12-13 "In his distress he sought the favor of the LORD his God and humbled himself greatly before the God of his fathers. 13 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."

* "the king of Assyria" -See study 14 (Chapter 32) for information about Assyria and their attacks on Judah.

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>What can we learn about the character of the LORD God?

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>4. When the Lord allowed Manasseh to return to Jerusalem and reestablish his rule what did the do to Jerusalem? (14)

* 2 Chronicles 33:14 "Afterward he rebuilt the outer wall of the City of David, west of the Gihon spring in the valley, as far as the entrance of the Fish Gate and encircling the hill of Ophel; he also made it much higher. He stationed military commanders in all the fortified cities in Judah."

* 2 Kings does not record this.

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>What did he do spiritually? (15-16)

* 2 Chronicles 33:15-16 "He got rid of the foreign gods and removed the image from the temple of the LORD, as well as all the altars he had built on the temple hill and in Jerusalem; and he threw them out of the city. 16 Then he restored the altar of the LORD and sacrificed fellowship offerings and thank offerings on it, and told Judah to serve the LORD, the God of Israel."

* 2 Kings does not record this.

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>What can be learned about repentance?

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>5. Did the people of Judah change? (17)

* 2 Chronicles 33:17 "The people, however, continued to sacrifice at the high places, but only to the LORD their God."

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>Did the Lord want his people to worship him at the high places?

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>How can we apply this to our life?

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>6. What are verses 18 and 19 referring to?

* 2 Chronicles 33:18-19 "The other events of Manasseh's reign, including his prayer to his God and the words the seers spoke to him in the name of the LORD, the God of Israel, are written in the annals of the kings of Israel."

* Jeremiah 15:3-4 "I will send four kinds of destroyers against them," declares the LORD, "the sword to kill and the dogs to drag away and the birds of the air and the beasts of the earth to devour and destroy. 4 I will make them abhorrent to all the kingdoms of the earth because of what Manasseh son of Hezekiah king of Judah did in Jerusalem."

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>7. What is verse 20 referring to?

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

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>8. What does the Bible mean by "rested with his fathers"? (20)

* 2 Chronicles 33:20 "Manasseh rested with his fathers and was buried in his palace. And Amon his son succeeded him as king."

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III. Amon King of Judah (33:21-25)

>9. How is Amon's life described in verses 21-22?

* 2 Chronicles 33:21-22 "Amon was twenty-two years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem two years. 22 He did evil in the eyes of the LORD, as his father Manasseh had done. Amon worshiped and offered sacrifices to all the idols Manasseh had made."

* 2 Kings 21:19-26 also records Amon king of Judah.

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>How was he different than his father? (23)

* 2 Chronicles 33:23 "But unlike his father Manasseh, he did not humble himself before the LORD; Amon increased his guilt."

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>10. How had the people of Judah followed the sins of their king? (24-25)

* 2 Chronicles 33:24-25 "Amon's officials conspired against him and assassinated him in his palace. 25 Then the people of the land killed all who had plotted against King Amon, and they made Josiah his son king in his place."

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