Hello friends! The following is evidence of king Manasseh, son of King Hezekiah. king Manasseh was an evil king, he practiced abominations similar to the ones practiced by king Ahaz. 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, king Manasseh realized his sin, and he implored the Lord his God, and humbled himself greatly before God and prayed to Him; God heard his supplication, and brought Manasseh back to Jerusalem into his kingdom. Then Manasseh knew that the Lord was God.
I will post two articles, one with the archaeological discovery and another one with more in depth information (Credit given at the bottom of each article :D)
2 Chronicles 33
33 Manasseh was twelve years old when he began to reign, and he reigned fifty and five years in Jerusalem:
2 But did that which was evil in the sight of the Lord, like unto the abominations of the heathen, whom the Lord had cast out before the children of Israel.
3 For he built again the high places which Hezekiah his father had broken down, and he reared up altars for Baalim, and made groves, and worshipped all the host of heaven, and served them.
4 Also he built altars in the house of the Lord, whereof the Lord had said, In Jerusalem shall my name be for ever.
5 And he built altars for all the host of heaven in the two courts of the house of the Lord.
6 And he caused his children to pass through the fire in the valley of the son of Hinnom: also he observed times, and used enchantments, and used witchcraft, and dealt with a familiar spirit, and with wizards: he wrought much evil in the sight of the Lord, to provoke him to anger.
7 And he set a carved image, the idol which he had made, in the house of God, of which God had said to David and to Solomon his son, In this house, and in Jerusalem, which I have chosen before all the tribes of Israel, will I put my name for ever:
8 Neither will I any more remove the foot of Israel from out of the land which I have appointed for your fathers; so that they will take heed to do all that I have commanded them, according to the whole law and the statutes and the ordinances by the hand of Moses.
9 So Manasseh made Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem to err, and to do worse than the heathen, whom the Lord had destroyed before the children of Israel.
10 And the Lord spake to Manasseh, and to his people: but they would not hearken.
11 Wherefore the Lord brought upon them the captains of the host of the king of Assyria, which took Manasseh among the thorns, and bound him with fetters, and carried him to Babylon.
12 And when he was in affliction, he besought the Lord his God, and humbled himself greatly before the God of his fathers,
13 And prayed unto him: and he was intreated of him, and heard his supplication, and brought him again to Jerusalem into his kingdom. Then Manasseh knew that the Lord he was God.
14 Now after this he built a wall without the city of David, on the west side of Gihon, in the valley, even to the entering in at the fish gate, and compassed about Ophel, and raised it up a very great height, and put captains of war in all the fenced cities of Judah.
15 And he took away the strange gods, and the idol out of 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 cast them out of the city.
6 And he caused his children to pass through the fire in the valley of the son of Hinnom: also he observed times, and used enchantments, and used witchcraft, and dealt with a familiar spirit, and with wizards: he wrought much evil in the sight of the Lord, to provoke him to anger.
7 And he set a carved image, the idol which he had made, in the house of God, of which God had said to David and to Solomon his son, In this house, and in Jerusalem, which I have chosen before all the tribes of Israel, will I put my name for ever:
8 Neither will I any more remove the foot of Israel from out of the land which I have appointed for your fathers; so that they will take heed to do all that I have commanded them, according to the whole law and the statutes and the ordinances by the hand of Moses.
9 So Manasseh made Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem to err, and to do worse than the heathen, whom the Lord had destroyed before the children of Israel.
10 And the Lord spake to Manasseh, and to his people: but they would not hearken.
11 Wherefore the Lord brought upon them the captains of the host of the king of Assyria, which took Manasseh among the thorns, and bound him with fetters, and carried him to Babylon.
12 And when he was in affliction, he besought the Lord his God, and humbled himself greatly before the God of his fathers,
13 And prayed unto him: and he was intreated of him, and heard his supplication, and brought him again to Jerusalem into his kingdom. Then Manasseh knew that the Lord he was God.
14 Now after this he built a wall without the city of David, on the west side of Gihon, in the valley, even to the entering in at the fish gate, and compassed about Ophel, and raised it up a very great height, and put captains of war in all the fenced cities of Judah.
15 And he took away the strange gods, and the idol out of 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 cast them out of the city.
16 And he repaired the altar of the Lord, and sacrificed thereon peace offerings and thank offerings, and commanded Judah to serve the Lord God of Israel.
17 Nevertheless the people did sacrifice still in the high places, yet unto the Lord their God only.
18 Now the rest of the acts of Manasseh, and his prayer unto his God, and the words of the seers that spake to him in the name of the Lord God of Israel, behold, they are written in the book of the kings of Israel.
19 His prayer also, and how God was intreated of him, and all his sins, and his trespass, and the places wherein he built high places, and set up groves and graven images, before he was humbled: behold, they are written among the sayings of the seers.
20 So Manasseh slept with his fathers, and they buried him in his own house: and Amon his son reigned in his stead.
21 Amon was two and twenty years old when he began to reign, and reigned two years in Jerusalem.
22 But he did that which was evil in the sight of the Lord, as did Manasseh his father: for Amon sacrificed unto all the carved images which Manasseh his father had made, and served them;
23 And humbled not himself before the Lord, as Manasseh his father had humbled himself; but Amon trespassed more and more.
24 And his servants conspired against him, and slew him in his own house.
25 But the people of the land slew all them that had conspired against king Amon; and the people of the land made Josiah his son king in his stead.
Praise The Lord JESUS CHRIST!!!
Praise The Lord JESUS CHRIST!!!
Essarhaddon Prism
In the first quarter of the seventh century BCE, king Esarhaddon (r.680-669) tightened the Assyrian grip on Phoenicia. Sidon was sacked in 677/676, its people deported, and in 676/675, the cities of Syria and Cyprus were ordered to contribute building materials for a monument in Nineveh. The inscription has attracted much attention because it mentions Manasseh, king of Judah from 687 to 642. It is interesting to notice that in this list, Sidon is absent.
The translation is by Leo Oppenheim and can be found in ANET3 291.
The translation is by Leo Oppenheim and can be found in ANET3 291.
Esarhaddon's Prism B
I called up the kings of the country Hatti and (of the region) on the other side of the river Euphrates:
Ba'al, king of Tyre,
I called up the kings of the country Hatti and (of the region) on the other side of the river Euphrates:
Ba'al, king of Tyre,
Manasseh, king of Judah,
Qawsgabar, king of Edom,
Musuri, king of Moab,
Sil-Bel, king of Gaza,
Metinti, king of Ashkelon,
Ikausu, king of Ekron,
Milkiashapa, king of Byblos,
Matanba’al, king of Arvad,
Abiba'al, king of Samisimuruna,
Puduil, king of Beth-Ammon,
Ahimilki, king of Ashdod- twelve kings from the seacoast.
Ekishtura, king of Idalion,
Pythagoras, king of Chytros,
Kisu, king of Soli,
Ituander, king of Paphos,
Erisu, king of Silli,
Damasu, king of Curium,
Atmesu, king of Tamesi,
Damusi, King of Carthage,
Unasagusu, king of Lidir Ledra,
Bususu, king of Nuria,- ten kings from Cyprus amidst the sea.
Together twenty-two kings of Hatti, the seashore, and the islands. All these I sent out and made them transport under terrible difficulties, to Nineveh, the town of my rulership, as building material for my palace: big logs, long beams and thin boards from cedar and pine trees, products of the Sirara andLebanon mountains, which had grown for a long time into tall and strong timber, also from their quarries in the mountains, statues of Lamassu and Shedu protective dietiesmade of ašnan stone, statues of abzaztu, thresholds, slabs of limestone, of ašnan stone, of large and small grained breccia, of alallu-stone and of gi.rin.hi.li.ba-stone.
Manasseh, King of Juda
An artifact has been found in the annals of archaeology that bears witness to Manasseh, who was the son of king Hezekiah.
Manasseh, who also became king of Judah, is mentioned by the Assyrian king Esarhaddon who reigned 680 years before Christ. The inscription lists kings who were under his submission as contributing materials to furnish his royal palace. It reads as follow:
“I commanded the kings from the region of Hatti as well as the areas on the other side of the Euphrates, including Ba‘lu, king of Tyre,Manasseh, king of Judah . . . ; a total of 22 kings from Hatti, the seashore and islands, all of them were given the difficult task of transporting building materials to my palace in Nineveh, the city over which I am king.”
Esarhaddon Prism located in the British Museum mentions “Manasseh of Judah”
ANET 291
The story of King Manasseh is a story of a man who went from being one of the most vile and wicked sinners ever, to a saint. From an enemy of God to a servant of God. A man under God’s judgement to a man under God’s Grace and Mercy. His story can be found in 2 Chronicles 33 (NKJV):
‘Manasseh was twelve years old when he became king, and he reigned fifty-five years in Jerusalem. But he did evil in the sight of the LORD, according to the abominations of the nations whom the LORD had cast out before the children of Israel. For he rebuilt the high places which Hezekiah his father had broken down; he raised up altars for the Baals, and made wooden images; and he worshiped all the host of heaven and served them. He also built altars in the house of the LORD, of which the LORD had said, "In Jerusalem shall My name be forever." And he built altars for all the host of heaven in the two courts of the house of the LORD. Also he caused his sons to pass through the fire in the Valley of the Son of Hinnom; he practiced soothsaying, used witchcraft and sorcery, and consulted mediums and spiritists. He did much evil in the sight of the LORD, to provoke Him to anger.
He even set a carved image, the idol which he had made, in the house of God, of which God had said to David and to Solomon his son, "In this house and in Jerusalem, which I have chosen out of all the tribes of Israel, I will put My name forever; "and I will not again remove the foot of Israel from the land which I have appointed for your fathers; only if they are careful to do all that I have commanded them, according to the whole law and the statutes and the ordinances by the hand of Moses." So Manasseh seduced Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem to do more evil than the nations whom the LORD had destroyed before the children of Israel.
And the LORD spoke to Manasseh and his people, but they would not listen. Therefore the LORD brought upon them the captains of the army of the king of Assyria, who took Manasseh with hooks, bound him with bronze fetters, and carried him off to Babylon.
(Note: The reference to Manasseh’s captivity to Babylon
was once commonly held by liberals as a mistake on the part of the Bible, because Nineveh was the capital of Esarhaddon’s Assyrian empire. However, inscriptions from Esarhaddon prove that he did indeed rebuild Babylon. One such inscription reads: “Esarhaddon .... king of Assyria, governor of Babylon.”)
“Now when he was in affliction, 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 Jerusalem into his kingdom. Then Manasseh knew that the LORD was God.
After this he built a wall outside the City of David on the west side of Gihon, in the valley, as far as the entrance of the Fish Gate; and it enclosed Ophel, and he raised it to a very great height. Then he put military captains in all the fortified cities of Judah.
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. Nevertheless the people still sacrificed on the high places, but only to the LORD their God
LIKE MANANSSEH YOU MUST
HUMBLE YOURSELF BEFORE GOD:
"God resists the proud, But gives grace to the humble." Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded. Lament and mourn and weep! Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to gloom. Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and He will lift you up. James 4:6-9 (NKJV)
LIKE MANANSSEH YOU MUST REPENT:
Repentance means to change your heart and mind towards God. To turn to him and to turn away from your sins.
Ezekiel 18:30-32 (NKJV): "Therefore I will judge you, O house of Israel, every one according to his ways," says the Lord GOD. "Repent, and turn from all your transgressions, so that iniquity will not be your ruin. "Cast away from you all the transgressions which you have committed, and get yourselves a new heart and a new spirit. For why should you die, O house of Israel?
"For I have no pleasure in the death of one who dies," says the Lord GOD. "Therefore turn and live!"
FAITH WITHOUT REPENTANCE
IS NOT FAITH
AND REPENTANCE WITHOUT FAITH
IN CHRIST WILL NOT SAVE:
Acts 20:21 (NKJV) “repentance toward God and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ.
Mark 1:15 (NKJV) "The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand. Repent, and believe in the gospel.
A Repentance Bible Study:
Luke 13:3, Acts 2:38, Acts 3:19, Acts 17:30, Luke 24:47
Acts 5:31, Acts 26:20 2, Corinthians 7:9-11, Romans 2:4
Grandma has a family lesson on Manasseh at:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.mygrandmatime.com/3019-2/visit-with-grandma/bible-fun-with-grandma/family-bible-activities/
Blessings!
Grandma