King Manasseh

How He Became King: After his father Hezekiah died
When He Began Reigning: 12 years old
Reign Length: 55 years
Ruled Over: Judah
Type of King: Evil, then good
Prophet: Habakkuk
Death: Uncertain
Burial: Buried in his own house

Manasseh became king when he was 12 years old, and he reigned over Judah for 55 years. At the beginning of his reign he was an extremely wicked ruler:

2 Kings 21:1: “Manasseh was twelve years old when he began to reign, and reigned fifty and five years in Jerusalem. And his mother’s name was Hephzibah.
2 And he did that which was evil in the sight of the Lord, after the abominations of the heathen, whom the Lord cast out before the children of Israel.”

He served Baal and put pagan altars in the Temple:

2 Kings 21:3: “For he built up again the high places which Hezekiah his father had destroyed; and he reared up altars for Baal, and made a grove, as did Ahab king of Israel; and worshipped all the host of heaven, and served them.
4 And he built altars in the house of the Lord, of which the Lord said, In Jerusalem will I put my name.
5 And he built altars for all the host of heaven in the two courts of the house of the Lord.”

As if that were not enough, Manasseh also offered his own sons as burnt offerings, and shed a great deal of innocent blood:

2 Kings 21:6: “And he made his son pass through the fire, and observed times, and used enchantments, and dealt with familiar spirits and wizards: he wrought much wickedness in the sight of the Lord, to provoke him to anger.
7 And he set a graven image of the grove that he had made in the house, of which the Lord said to David, and to Solomon his son, In this house, and in Jerusalem, which I have chosen out of all tribes of Israel, will I put my name for ever:
8 Neither will I make the feet of Israel move any more out of the land which I gave their fathers; only if they will observe to do according to all that I have commanded them, and according to all the law that my servant Moses commanded them.”

In fact, Manasseh was so wicked that he seduced Israel to be more evil than the Canaanites that had originally lived in the land:

2 Kings 21:9: “But they hearkened not: and Manasseh seduced them to do more evil than did the nations whom the Lord destroyed before the children of Israel.”

Because of his great sins, God sent Assyria against him. The Assyrians bound him and carried him to Babylon:

2 Chronicles 33:11: “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.”

At this point Manasseh’s life changed dramatically. While the king was in Babylon he humbled himself and prayed to God, and the Lord heard him:

2 Chronicles 33:12: “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.”

When Manasseh returned he was a changed man. He took away the false gods, repaired the altar of the Lord, and commanded Judah to serve God:

2 Chronicles 33:15: “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.”

However, despite his repentance and his change of heart, God’s wrath had not been pacified. The Lord was still determined to scatter His people among the nations:

Jeremiah 15:1: “Then said the Lord unto me, Though Moses and Samuel stood before me, yet my mind could not be toward this people: cast them out of my sight, and let them go forth.
2 And it shall come to pass, if they say unto thee, Whither shall we go forth? then thou shalt tell them, Thus saith the Lord; Such as are for death, to death; and such as are for the sword, to the sword; and such as are for the famine, to the famine; and such as are for the captivity, to the captivity.
3 And I will appoint over them four kinds, saith the Lord: the sword to slay, and the dogs to tear, and the fowls of the heaven, and the beasts of the earth, to devour and destroy.
4 And I will cause them to be removed into all kingdoms of the earth, because of Manasseh the son of Hezekiah king of Judah, for that which he did in Jerusalem.”

When the king died, he was buried in his own home:

2 Chronicles 33:20: “So Manasseh slept with his fathers, and they buried him in his own house: and Amon his son reigned in his stead.”

His son Amon then ruled in his stead.