Read 2 Kings 21 here (text coming …) or at Bible Gateway.
The Hebrew paragraphs:
21:1-11 {s} Manasseh’s evil reign/ filled Jerusalem and Judah with more idolatry than the Amorites before them
21:12-18 {p} YHVH decrees calamity upon Jerusalem and Judah: He will deliver them into the hand of their enemies
21:19-26 {p} Amon’s evil reign, but he was killed by conspirators/ his son Josiah reigned in his place
The Strong theme:
21:1-18 {s+p} The evil reign of Manasseh called forth judgment for Judah and Jerusalem
2 Kin 21:1-18 Chiastic structure:
My biggest question when reading the history of Manasseh is this: How does a godly king such as Hezekiah produce a son on the opposite end of the pendulum, worse than all the kings before or after him, worse than the house of Ahab, and even worse than the Amorites who were expelled before Israel?
We have to realize that every person is responsible for their own choices, regardless of their upbringing. Ezekiel 18:20 emphasizes that “the son shall not suffer for the iniquity of the father, nor the father suffer for the iniquity of the son.” Manasseh, though raised by a godly father, exercised his own agency. His choices to embrace idolatry and lead Judah into sin were his own, and not a direct reflection of Hezekiah’s parenting. The Bible often shows that righteousness or wickedness is not automatically inherited (e.g., Samuel’s ungodly sons in 1 Sam 8:3).
That said, God gives fathers a vital instruction:
“And these words which I command you today shall be in your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you rise up. You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.” Deu 6:6-9
It is “these words” that are the seed that produces faith.
So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God. Rom 10:17
And if you take a sneak peek at 2 Chronicles 33, you will see that Manasseh did eventually come to faith; so, whatever prompted him to forsake YHVH at first, those seeds (perhaps planted by his father Hezekiah) grew up and bore fruit.
If there are questions, this is a good resource:
Safeguard your investment in your children – Christine Miller
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