Rehabilitating Manasseh

2 Chronicles 33

            To hear Kings tell it, Manasseh had no redeeming qualities: he was an idolater through and through. The Chronicler, though, finds something in him: towards the end of his life, he returned to the Lord God. Of course, he was pretty thoroughly chastised, having been hauled as a captive by the Assyrians to Babylon, but that humiliation had its desired end, and Manasseh repented his wicked ways. (It was too late to convince the people, and they continued in their idolatrous ways.)

            The history of the Assyrians was tumultuous. They had been a major power around the first millennium BC, being an innovator in the use of iron for weapons. Then, they had risen again in what’s called the Neo-Assyrian Empire in the period we read about them in the Bible. By the time of Manasseh, they were having a hard time holding their far-flung holdings together, and the Babylonians to their southeast were resurgent. Manasseh’s banishment to Babylon suggests that he may have made common cause with the Babylonians and been defeated. His restoration suggests that the flailing Assyrians were trying to shore up their southwest border against Egypt.

            Whatever the case, the Lord used the moment to call Manasseh to repentance and humility before Him. Unfortunately, it was too late to convince the people, and they continued in their idolatrous ways. It was too late also for Amon, Manasseh’s son, who never repented his wickedness and increased his guilt. Amon was assassinated only two years into his reign, reminding us to “seek the Lord while He may be found,” as the prophet Isaiah warned (55:6).