2 Chronicles 33:1-17,
1 Manasseh was twelve years old when he became king, and he reigned fifty-five years in Jerusalem.
2 But he did evil in the sight of the Lord, according to the abominations of the nations whom the Lord had cast out before the children of Israel.
3 For he rebuilt the high places which Hezekiah his father had broken down; he raised up altars for the Baals, and made wooden images; and he worshiped all the host of heaven and served them.
4 He also built altars in the house of the Lord, of which the Lord had said, “In Jerusalem shall My name be forever.”
5 And he built altars for all the host of heaven in the two courts of the house of the Lord.
6 Also he caused his sons to pass through the fire in the Valley of the Son of Hinnom; he practiced soothsaying, used witchcraft and sorcery, and consulted mediums and spiritists. He did much evil in the sight of the Lord, to provoke Him to anger.
7 He even set a carved image, the idol which he had made, 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 out of all the tribes of Israel, I will put My name forever;
8 and I will not again remove the foot of Israel from the land which I have appointed for your fathers—only if they are careful to do all that I have commanded them, according to the whole law and the statutes and the ordinances by the hand of Moses.”
9 So Manasseh seduced Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem to do more evil than the nations whom the Lord had destroyed before the children of Israel.
10 And the Lord spoke to Manasseh and his people, but they would not listen.
11 Therefore the Lord brought upon them the captains of the army of the king of Assyria, who took Manasseh with hooks, bound him with bronze fetters, and carried him off to Babylon.
12 Now when he was in affliction, he implored the Lord his God, and humbled himself greatly before the God of his fathers,
13 and prayed to Him; and He received his entreaty, heard his supplication, and brought him back to Jerusalem into his kingdom. Then Manasseh knew that the Lord was God.
14 After this he built a wall outside the City of David on the west side of Gihon, in the valley, as far as the entrance of the Fish Gate; and it enclosed Ophel, and he raised it to a very great height. Then he put military captains in all the fortified cities of Judah.
15 He took away the foreign gods and the idol from the house of the Lord, and all the altars that he had built in the mount of the house of the Lord and in Jerusalem; and he cast them out of the city.
16 He also repaired the altar of the Lord, sacrificed peace offerings and thank offerings on it, and commanded Judah to serve the Lord God of Israel.
17 Nevertheless the people still sacrificed on the high places, but only to the Lord their God.

This is the last and final of all the prodigals we're looking at. Started with Jonah, the prodigal son, Samson, and now finally Manasseh. The vs1 of chapter 33, it begins by saying, "Manasseh was 12 years old when he began to reign." And Manasseh by all records was one of the most evil kings in Israel. It is the reason why Israel went to Babylon. At least three times when we read Manasseh in the Book of Kings, it is explicitly written, "because of the sins of Manasseh, that the Lord took the people of Israel to Babylon."


What Went Wrong?
So, what's with this young man who starts reigning when he was just 12 years old? What we need to ask is, how can something go so drastically, radically, and extremely wrong? And we cannot also miss the fact that Manasseh was the son of Hezekiah. And Hezekiah was one of the best kings of Israel. You have in Manasseh the best of the best upbringing he could have ever got, given the times he was living in. He had a witness of God's great works through his father. He had a godly upbringing. How can something go so wrong?

It's also understood that when we read he began reigning when he was 12 years old. It was not exactly twelve but there was a thing in those days where the son would reign with the Father. There are historians who have backtracked the dates from Josiah and realize that if Manasseh started reigning when he was only 12 years old, then obviously Hezekiah was still alive at that time and at least for 10 years, they bought reign together. At least for 10 years. So for 10 years, he has a role model to see as to how to rule the kingdom.

Here is not an immature youngster going ransack and going berserk and doing all kinds of nonsense. He has a role model. He has been trained to reign in the Kingdom, and the moment his father dies, we see all hell break loose.


Failures in Family
Well, we can't look at the failures of Manasseh before looking at his father and probably even his grandfather. Indeed, or verse, chapter 32:25, "and Hezekiah rendered not again, according to the benefit done unto him for his heart was lifted up." When Hezekiah became proud God sent him a sickness. He pleaded and God gave him additional 15 years. So when Hezekiah became proud that would make Manasseh are very young boy about seven to eight years old.

And Hezekiah asking Manasseh to coreigning with him when he was a young kid is also out of this experience where God has given Hezekiah and only 15 years to live, and he wants his son to be trained and reign righteously. And that's why at a young age, he is allowing Manasseh to reign with him. But there's no evidence to say Hezekiah came out of this pride. In fact, there is evidence to say otherwise. There was an instance when Hezekiah met the envoy of Babylon and he dealt wrongly with the Babylonian envoy that the Prophet told Hezekiah that your sons and those who come out of your loins will be eunuchs in Babylon.

And then just to add a sweetener, the Prophet said it is not going to happen in your days. And Hezekiah his response to that is shocking. He says, Isn't it good that it doesn't happen in my days? Here is a warning giving your sons and those coming out of your loins will be eunuchs, and the father has no qualms about it at all. Here's a warning given that your sons will go astray. Here is a warning given and yet it according to that warning, we see Manasseh going astray.


Manasseh's Rebellion
Let's look at three things in the life of Manasseh. His Rebellion, His Repentance, and his Reforms. vs2, "but did that which was evil in the sight of the Lord, like unto the abominations of the heathen whom the Lord had cast out before the children of Israel." vs9, "So Manasseh made Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem to ere and to do worse than the heathen whom the Lord had destroyed before the children of Israel." That's the sum of Manasseh's rebellion.

If you notice its written he did like unto the abominations of the heathen, and towards verse nine, that is the end of his rebellion, it is written he did worse than them. What is the significance of starting a narrative and ending a narrative by stressing on the fact that Manasseh was worse than the people around him? Well, that is the danger that the Lord is saying that if you become as good, or as evil as the people around you and outside you, then God has all the liberty to deal with you like the way he dealt with them. Just like the Lord cast away the heathens and the Gentiles before Manasseh. The Lord is now going to do it with Israel. That God has now reasons to deal with Israel just the way he has dealt with the people that were before him.

Let's read Deuteronomy 18:9, "When you are come into the land which the Lord your God gives you, you shall not learn to do after the abominations of those nations. There shall not be formed among you any one that makes his son or his daughter to pass through fire, or that uses divination or observer of times or enchanter or a witch or a charmer, or consultor with familiar spirits, or a wizard or a necromancer, for all that do these things are the abominations unto the Lord. And because of these abominations, the Lord your God thus drived them out from before you."

This is the life of Manasseh written at least hundreds and hundreds of years before his life, where the Lord is warning when you come into the land don't do these things. And when we read in this chapter it's exactly those things. Sometimes it will be helpful just for people in leadership, kings and all to just read the Bible because when we read the failures of the kings we realize it is just because of ignorance. And you see the irony, the sadness when the Lord tells that you are become like the heathens, because then arises a question, what's the point?


What’s the Point?
What's the point of the Lord choosing the people of Israel in the loins of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and going all the way out of the way to redeem them from Egypt? What's the point of sending plagues and causing the death of 1000s of people of Egyptians and ravishing the resources and burying their army at the bottom of the sea and destroying that nation for the sake of selecting this one nation only that they would become like the people that went before them?

What's the point of having His glory tabernacle amidst them like a cloud in the daytime and a pillar of fire in the night-time and to lead them to make sure that even their clothes don't perish. To carry them like a father carries them on their shoulder for 40 years, only that they turn up like this. What's the point of displaying all of God's holiness and all of his attitudes and attributes to these children, only that they would become unholy. Here is a God who is all-loving and what's the point of that love? When do the people do exactly like the abominations of the heathens?

Brethren, what's the point of our disobedience, of our rebellion when God has done much more for us than he did for the people of Israel? When he has sent his own son and when he has given someone who was one with himself for our sake to become sin on the cross. What's the point if after having believed on him, and tasted of all his goodness, we become like the heathens around us?

What's the point of this sacrifice, this death, this ultimate sacrifice, if we are just like the people around us? That's why Paul says such were some of you. Praise God he says that in past tense. Because this were some of you but today you are not. And that's the call. That's the call to show forth works that are worthy of your repentance. That's the call for you to come into the light so that your works are displayed that they are not rotting you but rotten God.


Abuse of Grace
This is the common trait in all the prodigals, the abuse of grace. But let's just look into a little bit more of Manasseh' rebellion. In vs3. He built again, the high places which Hezekiah his father had broken down. vs4 He built altars in the house of the Lord. You ask, Where did you get this idea? Most probably from his grandfather. Ahaz his grandfather did exactly the same. He went to Damascus and saw a beautiful altar there and before he even came back to Jerusalem, he sent the designs of that altar so that by the time he comes to Jerusalem, that altar is installed right in the temple. This is his grandson doing worse than that.

Vs6, “He caused his children to pass through the fire in the valley of the son of Hinnom.” That's again what his grandfather did. Vs6, he engaged with demonic evil spirits. In vs7, he set a carved image, the idol which he had made. Now to add one more allegation not given in the Chronicles but in Kings, he filled the streets of Jerusalem from one end to the other end with innocent blood. Here's an idolatry. Here's the one who deals with demonic spirits, the one who has all the idols of all the heathen nation, the one who is a mass murderer, and yet the son of Hezekiah. If we have to add some extra-biblical sources, it's believed that Manasseh even killed Isaiah, and Isaiah was seemingly his own maternal uncle.

Well, you ask how can something go so wrong? Well, that's what this young man wasted. He wasted a godly heritage. He wasted what he received so freely, without a privilege without an asking just by being born in the family of Hezekiah. Here's a son of a father who means "God is strength" and a son of a mother who means "God's delight is in her" and here is a son who goes to very extreme.


What is Godly Heritage?
What is the godly heritage? You see, it's a heritage that God gives you as a privilege. It's a heritage that parents take care of that they can give to their children. A heritage that's more precious than money, cash, or property. A heritage that is God Himself. So precious like David would tell Solomon to know the God of his father, and like Moses would say the God of my father is in front of the destroyed army of Egyptians. To realize God as the God of your father. And that becomes the responsibility of parents to give it to their children as soon as possible, not at death like earthly heritage, but divine godly heritage is given to children as soon as possible.

Because all what Moses could get off his parents was just for three years when he was as a child with them. And when he was barely a tod, he realized the God of his father's and that's what he realizes when he was 80 years old. At the scene of defeated Egyptian armies he says, the God of my father's. He has recognized it from his childhood. And that's exactly what Daniel understood. Daniel and all his friends so young, they were taken out of their parents but they were given so godly, goodly, precious heritage, that in Babylon they purposed in their hearts to not defile of the things set in the Kings table.

You see, the Psalmist says that God is in the generation of the righteous. God doesn't just take care of your own self, of your own soul, but he considers what about your children? Like Timothy of whom it is written from a young age, "you have known the scriptures and that has made you wise unto salvation." You see, to give God to give his personality to give His rewards unto your posterity is the greatest of all heritage, because the people could not understand how Jesus Christ being the son of Joseph, son of a carpenter, could say all these things and do all these things. And finally, they had to say you cannot do these things unless God be with you.

That's the godly heritage that God wants us to pass on, not that your children be called the son of this father and son of this mother, but the Son and the child of God. How precious is this godly heritage? And this is what Manasseh just threw out of the window when he became a king.


Manasseh’s Repentance
Let's look at his repentance. Vs11, "the Lord brought upon them the captains of the host of the king of Assyria, which took Manasseh with nose hooks and bound him with bronze chains and carried him to Babylon. And when he was in affliction, he besought the Lord his God and humbled himself greatly before the God of his father's." Vs13M says, "he prayed and he was entreated." If you have the Apocryphal Bible, there is a book that goes by the name Prayer of Manasseh, which is not authentic at all, it's a work of fiction, but that is the kind of emotions that you will get when you read a story like this. What is the kind of prayer that Manasseh would have prayed that the Lord had to entreat so much?

Here is such a man praying, and God heard him so what that prayer should actually look like. In fact, the Book of Kings tells us that the prayer of Manasseh is recorded in such and such book, which we don't have today and that's like the question, what could have been in that prayer? Jonah's prayer is recorded, Prodigal Son's prayer is recorded, Samson's prayer is recorded but Manasseh prayer is recorded, but we don't have it. Well, the point is, it's not about the prayer. That's why it's not available today. Because repentance is not your ability to articulate the best words and how you can move God's heart with your words and your feelings, it's not about. Its written God entreated him, but it's not about how much you can beg God to entreat you.

You see, repentance is a whole lot more than a prayer, whole lot of other words, it's a change of yourself as it was written, He humbled himself greatly. In this kind of humility is repentance because it is real undoing of not just your works and your sins that you've committed but undoing of your own self. It's a breakdown of your own personality, that you would humble yourself. It's not the sorries you say, not the tears you say, not the amount of begging you do for God's forgiveness. It's actually an undoing of your own self. That's the Beatitudes. It starts with Blessed are the poor. Blessed are those that mourn. And then Blessed are those that are meek. It takes that progress.

For a man in prison in fetters with nose hooks around him and in affliction, to realize how poor he is, to mourn over all his works and then to become so humble. You know, he's not self-abasing himself like Judas. Here he's saying he's humbled himself greatly before the God of his father or he has a high view, a high version, or a high appreciation of who that God is, before whom he has humbled Himself. When you say he's humbling before the God of his father's, he's relinquishing his authority of his life and giving it over to that God. That is how you bow down like a slave like a servant before your master.

And so the prayer and the words that followed were just by-product of this kind of humility. The worst king, the adulterous king, the idolatrous king, the mass murderer, the one who dealt with demons and devils has found grace before God. Just like King David would say, God will not despise the broken and a contrite heart.

It's easy to say that none of us are like Manasseh. We are all sinners, but not as much as Manasseh. So, it's easy to say if God forgives Manasseh Yes, He'll forgive us. That if God could restore Manasseh, He will restore me. But at least can we be like Manasseh in his humility which was the basis of God's restoration in his life? We are not sinners like Manasseh, but can we be humble like Manasseh?


Manasseh’s Reforms
Let's look at his reforms. Vs14, "Now after that, he built a wall outside the city of David, in the west side of Gihon, in the valley, even to the entering in at the Fish gate, and compassed about Ophel.” You read names like Gihon, Ophel, and Fish gate. He's building a wall. That is his first work. And that's amazing because this significance is going back to his father. He is most probably just completing the work that his father could not. We read of Hezekiah bringing a water spring of Gihon underground to the city of Jerusalem and here is Manasseh his son now building a wall around it.

You see that's transformation because Manasseh's story starts by saying he built up the altars and pagan places of worship, that his father destroyed. That he went all against what his father stood for. That he became exactly opposite of who his father was. But in the prison in that repentance he bowed down before the God of his father is that when he comes back, the first thing he does is to continue the work that his father was doing. And that's a beautiful lesson for us. To engage ourselves in the business of our father, just like the Lord did. We read of Ophel here. Ophel is the household of Temple servants and he's building a wall around that household.

In vs15, He took away the strange gods. And the last part, He cast them out of the city. First started to redo what his father did, and then he started to undo what he did. And then in vs16, he repaired the altar of the Lord. Sacrificed there on peace offering, thanks offerings, and commanded Judah to serve the Lord God of Israel. He continued to do what his father did. He undid what he did, and he started to do what he should have done at the first place. To lead the people of Israel into a spiritual well being and prosperity.

This is the reforms of Manasseh and we realized this was too little, too insufficient, too late. For one we read that he just cast it away. He just took it away. He didn't destroy it and later on, we would find his son worshipping the idols that his father made. We read that he took out those altars from the courts and cast it away but when we read his grandson's story, it was Josiah who ultimately destroyed those altars in the very same courts. So evidently, they did find your way back into the court of God. That's why these reforms were too little, too late.

And this teaches us as to how we are supposed to deal with our altars, our idols, our sins, our fears, because if we have to just take it away or just cast it away, just be away from it for a season, one or the other way it will find its way back to us or we find a way to it. Either way, it will always come back. God demands the crucifixion of our old man, with its deeds. That we become like the prayer of a songwriter that "I don't want to go back into my old life." Like Paul this is how some were, in the past tense and it ought to remain in that past tense. You see what a waste of godly heritage.


What if you don't have a Godly heritage?
But not everybody can boast of that kind of heritage. So what about if you don't have that kind of heritage? What if God's choice of you being born in a family is not of a godly lineage?

Once I was talking with somebody, he is a son of an evangelist and he was saying that when he was a kid, his father used to return back home with wonderful stories of how God dealt in villages, like casting out demons and all those wondrous things. That's the upbringing of this person, that this is the God of my father. The God who would help my father let go of demons and cast away demons and do wondrous works. And then he was saying, Now what can I tell my children? He's in a corporate job, and he's wondering now what can I tell my children that my child can grow up and say, "This is the God of my father." That he would in his work life in his secular life in all what he did, he would find God's wondrous works, at least for that to convey to his children and say, This is the God of my father who has done it.

But what when you don't have fathers like that? When you don't have a heritage like this? Well, that's the lesson that we learned again from Hezekiah. Hezekiah gave a godly heritage to Manasseh that he did not get from his father, and of Hezekiah's father we read, He let children go through the fires. Hezekiah evidently survived out of that madness, to become a wonderful, great king of God. And when we read a story of Josiah the son of a horrible father, the son of Manasseh, a horrible grandfather, and yet so wonderfully choosing God, that is how God how these people met God, your heritage.

It's like they had all reasons to blame their parents, but they found fatherhood in God. They found God in the generation of righteous. Irrespective of having very evil wicked fathers and grandfathers. When they had no godly upbringing for themselves. It's like the psalmist who says, "Your testimony's I have taken us a heritage for myself." That all of God's word and all of God is, is available for you as a heritage. Prophet Isaiah would say, "No weapon that is formed against you shall prosper. And every tongue that shall rise against you in judgment you shall condemn. Because this is the heritage of the servants of the Lord, and their righteousness is of me, says the Lord."

May God's name be Glorified.