Manasseh: An Evil King Turned Good

Manasseh was one of the most wicked kings that Jerusalem had ever seen. His father, Hezekiah, had done many good things during his reign, and had worshiped and served the true God. But Manasseh had not learned from his father's example.

In fact, Manasseh did so much wickedness that he caused the entire nation to turn away from the true God. Not only did Manasseh turn away from worshiping God, but he also set up idols and altars in order to worship false gods. He even built an idol and placed it in the temple that Solomon had built for the true God. Furthermore, Manasseh was so wicked that he sacrificed his own children by killing them in religious rituals to false idols and gods. The Bible explains that Manasseh caused the land of Judah to be even more wicked than the nations the Lord had destroyed when He brought the Israelites into Canaan.

Because of this wickedness, the Lord sent the Assyrian army against Manasseh and Judah. The Assyrians captured Manasseh, put him in chains and hooks, and dragged him off to Babylon. While in Babylon, Manasseh realized his sin, and the Bible says, "He implored the Lord his God, and humbled himself greatly before the God of his fathers, and prayed to Him; and He received his entreaty, heard his supplication, and brought him back to Jeru-salem into his kingdom. Then Manasseh knew that the Lord was God" (2 Chronicles 33:12-13).

But Manasseh's repentance did not stop at his merely being sorry for his sin. When he returned to Jerusalem, the Bible explains that 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. 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" (2 Chronicles 33:15-16).

Manasseh was a wicked king who saw the error of his ways and turned to God. We should be thankful that God is so merciful and kind. If, when we are doing something wrong, we will turn from our sin like Manasseh, God will be merciful to forgive us as well.

---

Copyright © 2014 Apologetics Press, Inc. All rights reserved.

*Please keep in mind that Discovery articles are written for 3rd-6th graders.

This document may be copied, on the condition that it will not be republished in print unless otherwise stated below, and will not be used for any commercial purpose, as long as the following stipulations are observed: (1) Apologetics Press must be designated as the original publisher; (2) the specific Apologetics Press Web site URL must be noted; (3) any references, footnotes, or endnotes that accompany the article must be included with any written reproduction of the article; (4) textual alterations of any kind are strictly forbidden; (5) Some illustrations (e.g., photographs, charts, graphics, etc.) are not the intellectual property of Apologetics Press and as such cannot be reproduced from our site without consent from the person or organization that maintains those intellectual rights; (6) serialization of written material (e.g., running an article in several parts) is permitted, as long as the whole of the material is made available, without editing, in a reasonable length of time; (7) articles, in whole or in part, may not be offered for sale or included in items offered for sale; and (8) articles may be reproduced in electronic form for posting on Web sites pending they are not edited or altered from their original written content and that credit is given to Apologetics Press, including the web location from which the articles were taken. Further, documents may not be copied without source statements (title, author, journal title), and the address of the publisher and owner of rights, as listed below.

For catalog, samples, or further information, contact:

Apologetics Press
230 Landmark Drive
Montgomery, Alabama 36117
U.S.A.
Phone (334) 272-8558

http://www.apologeticspress.org