The History of the Old Testament Methodized, Chapter 5 · Section 19 · Concurrent kings · Judah · Manasseh – Amon
The 14th. that reigned in Judah, MANASSEH.MANASSEH was twelve years old when he began to reign (about twenty four years after the ruin of the Ten Tribes) and he reigned fifty five years; and ſo longer than any of the Kings of Judah. He did worſe than all the Kings that went before him; being carried away (as 'tis probable) by ſuch Nobles about him as did not in their hearts approve the reformation of his good Father. He again ſet up the high places which his Father had pulled down, he reared up Altars for Baal, and made a grove (as Ahab had done, 1 King. 16.33.) to the honour of Idols; he built altars to all the hoſt of heaven, to the Sun, Moon, and the reſt of the Planets, in the two Courts of the Lords houſe, where God had ſaid that he would put his name, that he alone might be there worſhipped. He made one of his Sons paſs through the fire in the valley of the ſon of Hinnom, ſacrificing him to Molech; ſo that it ſeems he continued long in his Idolatry, for he could not have a Son in the beginning of his reign being but twelve years of age. He obſerved times, eſteeming ſome days as lucky, others as unlucky; he uſed enchantments, and dealt with ſuch as had familiar ſpirits, and with wizards; he ſet up a graven image in the Temple, containing a repreſentation of the Idolatrous grove he had made*See 2 King. 23.6. where 'tis ſaid, Joſiah brought out the grove from the houſe of the Lord, unto the brook Kidron, and burnt it., though God had ſaid to David and Solomon that he had choſen that houſe to put his name there, and would have his name alone there worſhipped as long as that diſpenſation ſhould laſt; and promiſed upon their obedience that he would not ſuffer them to be carried away captive to other lands. But they obeyed not; and Manaſſeh ſeduced them, and made Judah and Jeruſalem go aſtray, and do worſe than all the Nations that God had caſt out before the children of Iſrael. And moreover Manaſſeh ſhed much innocent blood, viz. of the Prophets that condemned his wicked courſes, and of others that oppoſed his evil ways, inſomuch that he filled Jeruſalem with ſuch kind of ſlaughters. And among others whom he put to death, he cauſed the Prophet Iſaiah to be ſawn aſunder with a wooden ſaw, as the Babyloniſh Talmud, Juſtin Martyr, Jerome and others report; who ſuppoſe ſo much may be gathered from Heb. 11.37. They were ſtoned, they were ſawn aſunder, were tempted, were ſlain with the ſword. Manaſſeh being guilty of ſuch high and great abominations, God ſent his Prophets *Thus merciful was God to ſend his Prophets both to Judah and Iſrael even in the worſt of times to draw them from their impieties.to him to declare that becauſe he had done theſe abominable things which the Lord abhorred, and had exceeded the very Amorites, and worſt of the heathens in their impieties, whom God caſt out of the land of Canaan for their ſins, and had made Judah to ſin with his Idols, therefore he would bring ſuch evil upon Judah and Jeruſalem that whoſoever heard of it both his ears ſhould tingle with the affrighting news thereof: He would ſtretch over Jeruſalem the line †That is the line of confuſion, as 'tis Iſa. 34.11. whereby he would meet out what was to be pulled down. And the plummet of the houſe of Ahab, that is a line with a plummet at the end of it. The Prophets in their ſimilitudes have more reſpect to the things ſignified by their ſimilitudes than to the things from which they take them; and ſo it is here.of Samaria, and the plummet of the houſe of Ahab; that is, would deal with Jeruſalem as he dealt with Samaria, and with the houſe of Manaſſeh as he had dealt with the houſe of Ahab. And he would wipe Jeruſalem as a man wipeth a diſh, wiping it and turning it upſide down; that is, would utterly overthrow the ſtate of Jeruſalem, turning it upſide down, and would clear that City of all her wealth, and of all her inhabitants, and would forſake the remnant of his inheritance; that is, the two Tribes of Judah and Benjamin which only remained of the children of Iſrael, in whom he did formerly delight as a man doth in his inheritance, and would deliver them into the hands of their enemies, and they ſhould become a prey and ſpoil to them, and all this becauſe they had done that which was evil in his ſight, and had one generation after another provoked him to anger even ever ſince he firſt brought them out of Egypt.
2 King. 21. from 1, to 17.
2 Chron. 33. from 1, to 11.
2 King. 24.3, 4.
The King of Aſſyria now ſending freſh Colonies into the land of Iſrael, and with them poſſibly ſome forces to ſettle them there, it ſeems ſome of his chief Commanders with a party of Souldiers made a ſudden inrode into the land of Judea with an intent to ſurprize Manaſſeh, and they came ſo ſuddenly upon him that he was forced to fly and hide himſelf in ſome wood or thicket to ſave himſelf, but thither they purſued him, and took him and bound him with fetters, and carried him priſoner to Babylon (a)So that it ſeems the King of Babylon was now King of Aſſyria.. When he was in this affliction he beſought the Lord his God and humbled himſelf greatly (b)What the word of the Prophets could not do the rod of God did.before him, and prayed (c)There is a prayer of his ſet down in the Apocrypha, but 'tis doubtful whither it be his or no.earneſtly unto him, and the Lord was intreated of him, and heard his ſupplication, and brought him again to Jeruſalem into his Kingdom, whereby he was convinced that the Lord was the only true God. For the Lord by his all-powerful providence ſo moved the heart of the King of Babylon that he was content to ſet him free upon condition that he would oppoſe the King of Egypt, which may be the reaſon why Joſiah ſome years after would needs fight againſt Pharoah Necho, 2 Chron. 35.20. 'Tis probable that Manaſſeh's captivity laſted not long becauſe 'tis ſaid, 2 King. 21.1. That he reigned fifty five years in Jeruſalem, and there is no mention there made of this his captivity. After his return, he took away the ſtrange gods and the Idol out of the houſe of the Lord which himſelf had before ſet up, and all the altars he had built in mount Moriah and in Jeruſalem, and caſt them out of the City. This is a good evidence of the truth of any mans repentance when he puts away thoſe evils that formerly he had done with deteſtation. Furthermore Manaſſeh repaired the Altar of the Lord, and ſacrificed thereon peace-offerings and thank-offerings, and commanded Judah to ſerve the Lord. As by his example and command he had before cauſed them to ſin, ſo now by both he labours to reform them. Yet the people did ſtill ſacrifice in the high places, but to the Lord only. They were brought to embrace the true Religion, though they had ſtill a mixture of will-worſhip with it. Manaſſeh alſo fortified Jeruſalem and other places, and put Captains of war into all the fenced Cities of Judah. So that he who was before a monſter for all manner of evil and wickedneſs, proved now a very commendable Prince, ſo great and happy a change does true converſion make in men.
2 Chron. 33. from 11, to 20.
The Prophet Habakkuk The Propheſie of HABAKKUK.ſeems about this time to have Propheſied, for he ſpeaks of the coming of the Chaldeans againſt Judah, yet not ſo plainly of the captivity of the Jews in Babylon, as Jeremy did. Therefore 'tis ſuppoſed he might be ſomewhat before him. His Propheſie is called the burden *There are four Propheſies in the Volume of the leſſer Prophets whoſe Propheſies are in whole or part called burdens, viz. Nahum, Habakkuk, Malachi and Zachary.which Habakkuk the Prophet did ſee, that is, his Propheſie was a burdenſome Propheſie firſt to the Jews, and then to the Chaldeans. His Propheſie is ſet forth Dialogue-wiſe between the Prophet and God himſelf, wherein the Prophet firſt (as jealous of Gods honour) complains of the extream wickedneſs of the Jews, Ch. 1. from 1, to 5. 2ly, We have Gods anſwer to this complaint, wherein he declares that he will puniſh them by the Chaldeans whom he deſcribes by their bitterneſs, haſtineſs, tyrannicalneſs and power to bear down all before them as the Eaſt-wind, and by their pride and haughtineſs upon their ſucceſs, robbing God of the glory due to him, and aſcribing it to their Idols, from v. 5, to 12. 3ly, We have the Prophets replication to Gods anſwer, wherein he expreſſes his hope that the Jews ſhould not periſh by thoſe threatned calamities, grounding his hope on Gods Covenant, power and providence; and he hoped the Lord ordained the Chaldeans for the correction only and not deſtruction of his people, v. 12. Then after an humble expoſtulation with the Lord that he ſhould uſe ſuch wicked inſtruments as executioners of his judgments upon his own people that were more righteous than they; He expreſſes his reſolution to wait with patience for the Lords anſwer, from v. 13. to the end, and Ch. 2. v. 1. 4ly, We have Gods anſwer to the Prophets replication, which he commands him to publiſh, expound, and make plain to his Auditors, telling him that the accompliſhment of the viſion ſhould not be preſently, but in Gods due time, and therefore it would be a ſign of a proud and impatient heart in them not to wait for it, whereas 'tis the duty of the godly to live by faith in the worſt of times. Then the Lord ſhews that he will puniſh the Chaldeans for their intemperance, pride, and inſatiableneſs, for their covetouſneſs, haughtineſs and bloody cruelty, for their drunkenneſs and notorious groſs Idolatry. The Prophet acquieſces in this anſwer from the Lord, and teſtifies his ſubmiſſion in an holy prayer which he thereupon makes, wherein having ſhew'd how much he was affected at the hearing of Gods decree to puniſh the Jews by the Chaldeans, he prays notwithſtanding that the Lord would pleaſe to revive his Church in their troubles, and make known his love and favour to them in the midſt of their puniſhment, and in wrath remember mercy. He urges his petition with arguments taken from Gods bringing Iſrael out of Egypt, from the glorious manifeſtation of himſelf at Sinai at the giving of the Law, from his active power and ſtrength metaphorically ſet forth by his having horns coming out of his hands, from the effects of his power, having variety of plagues at his command, and from his ruling over all Nations, and ſetting them their bounds, and giving Canaan to Iſrael, making a path for them thorough the Red-ſea, and the river Jordan, giving his people water out of the rock, and deſtroying the Canaanites to give them poſſeſſion of their land, giving mighty victories to his people when their enemies were ſtrong and confident. Hereupon he expreſſes that Gods judgments now threatned againſt his people being ſo different from his former dealings with them were matter of great aſtoniſhment to him, yet he muſt reſt ſatisfied that the day of their trouble would come, and could not be prevented. In the concluſion of his prayer for a pattern to the faithful, he elegantly ſets forth the triumph of his own faith, in and over all thoſe ſad calamities, Though the fig-tree ſhould not bloſſom, neither ſhould fruit be in the vine, though the labour of the olive ſhould fail, and the fields ſhould yield no meat, though the flock ſhould be cut off from the fold, and there ſhould be no herd in the ſtall, yet he would rejoice in the Lord, in the God of his ſalvation, Ch. 3.
Manaſſeh dying, was buried in the Garden of his own houſe, called the Garden of Ʋzzah; 'tis like this was done by his own appointment after his repentance, as judging himſelf unworthy to be buried in the ſepulchres of the Kings of Judah, becauſe of the abominations of his younger years.
2 King. 21.17, 18.
2 Chron. 33.20.
The 15th. King that reigned in Judah was AMON.AMON was one and twenty years old when he began to reign, and reigned two years. He did evil in the ſight of the Lord, and walked in all the evil ways his Father had walked in, and ſerved the Idols his Father had ſerved, and worſhipped them, and forſook the Lord God of his Fathers, and walked not in his ways: He renewed ſuch Idolatrous carved images as his Father had made, and ſacrificed to them. He did evil as his Father had done, but he repented not nor humbled himſelf before the Lord as his Father had done, but treſpaſſed more and more.
2 King. 21, from 19, to 23.
2 Chron. 33. from 21, to 24.
This impious King was at laſt ſlain by his own ſervants in his own houſe, and his death was revenged on thoſe ſervants by the people of the land, who made his Son Joſiah King in his ſtead. He was buried in the ſame Garden his Father Manaſſeh was buried in.
2 King. 21. from v. 19. to the end.
2 Chron. 33 from v. 24, to the end.