Manasseh was twelve years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem fifty-five years. His mother’s name was Hephzibah. – 2 Kings 21:1

Today’s Scripture Reading (March 19, 2020): 2 Kings 21

We can do everything right, and yet have it go wrong. I know that is not a message that we really want to hear. But it is the truth that is lived out in our lives every day. People do what is right, and it turns out to be wrong. Not only that, but coming from “good stock” does not necessarily mean that you will be a person of good character. Life just doesn’t work that way, and, in the end, our duty is to do what is right, even if no one is watching, and the outcome turns out to be not that which we had hoped. For a person of character, doing right is a reward all of its own. And, when everything seems to be going wrong, sometimes doing what is right can be really hard.

The story of Manasseh is a perplexing one. Manasseh came from good stock. His father was King Hezekiah, a king that the Bible maintains was one of, if not the, best King that ever ruled over Judah. Hezekiah persisted in doing what was right. Yes, he made mistakes. Often his pride seemed to lead him down roads that he should have never taken, but that meant that he was human, not bad. Manasseh’s mother was Hephzibah, and if the rabbinic literature is correct, she was the daughter of the prophet Isaiah, who was a trusted adviser to Hezekiah. In the 7^th century B.C.E., it is hard to imagine better parents.

And yet, somehow, everything went wrong. Maybe we can blame it on the presence of the Assyrian Empire, who Manasseh felt that he had to please to keep his throne. Maybe his parents were too busy with the affairs of the state to give him the attention that he needed; we really don’t know. But this the Bible says is true; that Hezekiah was one of the best Kings of Judah, and Manasseh was one of the worst.

Manasseh reversed the decisions that his father had made concerning the worship of Israel. Again, maybe it was to keep the Assyrians happy, but he reinstated the worship at the high places that Hezekiah had abolished. He encouraged the worship of Ba’al and Asherah and may have even participated in the worship of Moloch, which involved the sacrifice of small children to this evil god.

He also persecuted the advisors of his father, who had encouraged Hezekiah to abolish the worship of gods other than Yahweh. And maybe at the height of Manasseh’s rebellion, he murdered his grandfather, Isaiah.

It is hard for us to reconcile the good king Hezekiah with the train wreck that was Manasseh. But it is often the way that life works. Hezekiah could not decide for Manasseh to do what is right. That is a decision left for his young son and one that we all have to make. And doing what is right is always hard, and maybe too hard for a young king named Manasseh.  

Tomorrow’s Scripture Reading: 2 Chronicles 33