2 Chronicles 33-35: Kings Manasseh and Josiah

Thoughts

Chronicles 33

Manasseh becomes king at age 12 and reigns 55 years in Jerusalem (the longest reign of any king of Judah!). This also means that he was born during the 15 years Hezekiah asked God to extend his life for.

Sadly he does evil in the sight of the Lord and reverses everything his father did including:

• Rebuilds high places and altars to Baal.
• Makes Asherah poles.
• Worships the starry host (astral gods).
• Builds altars for false gods in the very courts of the temple.
• Even sacrifices his sons in the fire.
• Practices sorcery, divination, witchcraft, and consults mediums and spirits.

The Lord speaks to Manasseh and his people, but they ignore His warnings. As judgment, the Lord allows the Assyrian army commanders to capture Manasseh. He is taken with hooks, bound in chains, and carried to Babylon (under Assyrian control at the time).

 Manasseh finally humbles himself  before God. The Lord brings him back to Jerusalem and restores his kingdom.

After returning, Manasseh rebuilds the city wall, strengthens defenses, and removes foreign gods and idols from the temple. He restores the altar of the Lord and commands Judah to serve the Lord God of Israel.

The rest of Manasseh’s acts, including his prayer and how God heard him, are recorded in “the book of the kings of Israel.”

He dies and his son Amon becomes king at age 22 and reigns only two years. He commits the same sins his father once did but does not humble himself like Manasseh.

His officials eventually conspire against him and assassinate him. Then people then kill the conspirators and make Josiah, his son, king.

Chronicles 34

Josiah becomes king at eight years old and reigns 31 years in Jerusalem. Unlike his father Amon, he does what is right in the sight of the Lord.

In the eighth year (age sixteen), he begins to seek God. In the twelfth year, he starts to purge Judah and Jerusalem of idols and altars.He orders the destruction of Baal altars, Asherah poles, carved and molten images.

• The altars of false gods are torn down, crushed, and burned.
• He purges not only Judah and Jerusalem but also reaches into Ephraim, Manasseh, Simeon, and Naphtali

In the eighteenth year of his reign (age twenty-six), Josiah commands repairs to the temple of the Lord.He sends Shaphan, Maaseiah, and Joah to oversee the work.

The people give offerings willingly; funds are used to restore the temple’s structure.Levites supervise the labor and musicians assist in organization.

During the temple repair, Hilkiah the high priest finds the Book of the Law of the Lord given through Moses (likely Deuteronomy or the Torah scroll). Hilkiah gives it to Shaphan the scribe, who reads it and brings it to King Josiah.

When Josiah hears the words, he tears his clothes in grief and repentance. He sends men (Hilkiah, Ahikam, Abdon, Shaphan, Asaiah) to inquire of the Lord, realizing that God’s wrath must be upon them for their disobedience.

The men visits Huldah the prophetess, who lives in Jerusalem.

• She delivers God’s message:
  • Judgment will come upon Judah because they have forsaken God and worshiped idols.
  • But because Josiah humbled himself, tore his clothes, and wept before God, he will not see the disaster; he will die in peace before it comes.

Josiah gathers all the elders, priests, Levites, and people of Judah and Jerusalem.

The Book of the Covenant is read aloud to everyone in the temple.They make a covenant to follow the Lord and keep His commands with all his heart and soul.

Chronicles 35

Josiah celebrates the Passover in Jerusalem in accordance with the Law.

He provides an enormous number of animals from his own possessions:

• 30,000 lambs and goats, and
• 3,000 cattle for the people’s offerings.

• Everything is prepared according to the law of Moses:
  • The priests stand in their places.
  • The Levites distribute the Passover lambs and roast them as prescribed.
  • They also prepare portions for the priests so the priests can stay focused on offering sacrifices.

The entire nation celebrates the Passover and the Feast of Unleavened Bread for seven days. It is said that no Passover like this had been celebrated since the days of the prophet Samuel.

Josiah then faces King Neco of Egypt, who is marching northward to fight at Carchemish on the Euphrates. Neco sends messengers telling Josiah not to interfere.

Josiah refuses to listen to Neco’s warning, disguises himself, and goes into battle at Megiddo.He is fatally wounded by archers, taken back to Jerusalem, and dies there.

Jeremiah the prophet writes a lament for Josiah, and all the singers commemorate him in songs of mourning. 

Questions

What did God say when He spoke to Manasseh?

How did Manasseh stray so far? Was it because he was only 12?

What does it mean to put hooks in someone??

Was Jeremiah close to Josiah?

Application

In Chapter 34 Hilkiah found “the Book of the Law of the Lord given through Moses” (v. 14). God’s Word had been lost from His people. King Josiah started by seeking God’s Word first and then leading the nation into revival. In this age we have unlimited access to the Bible. We can carry it in our pocket and look up any question at any time. However it seems that our culture has drifted from reading God’s Word consistently. We’ve become a people that give God 90 minutes on Sunday and then cram in our weekly schedules. It can be hard but so rewarding to schedule Bible time into our daily lives.