Strange Story: II Kings 21 Why was Hezekiah’s son so wicked?

King Hezekiah was a God-fearing king, but his son, Manasseh was the exact opposite. What happened?

Manasseh was 12 years old when he took the throne, so we know he was born three years after Hezekiah was healed of his life-threatening illness. The name Manasseh means “He has caused me to forget.” It is logical to assume that one of the main reasons Hezekiah was so distressed when he was terminally ill was that he did not have a son to sit on the throne after him. Many scholars think that Manasseh was his only son, born after Hezekiah was healed and considered a “miracle baby.”

His mother’s name was Hephzibah, which means “my delight is in her” and was a special name given by God to Mt Zion. So it appears that she had a godly upbringing and was likely a godly woman since good King Hezekiah had chosen her as a wife.

So why did Manasseh run in the exact opposite direction of his father? How did such a good king that carried out so many reforms in Judah, have a son that undid all that the father had done?

Although we are not told clearly, there are several points which can shed some light on this issue.

The character of Hezekiah

It appears that King Hezekiah had ruled with a strong will and did not let anyone stand in the way of his goals. He was a God-fearing king who did much to rid Judah of its idols, and he did so with unwavering determination and displays of strength which said, “Lead, follow or get out of the way! I’m already leading and that will not change, so your only options are to follow or get out of my way.”

The character of the people

It also appears that most of the people had experienced no change of heart, for they went back to idol worship immediately when given the opportunity. It can be surmised that after Hezekiah’s death, the lack of strong leadership to prevent them from worshipping idols was taken by the people as an open door for idolatry and they ran through that door. This does not need to imply that Manasseh’s mother was a bad person, or even that his counselors were bad people; since they had served with Hezekiah, they were probably good people. However, they lacked the tenacity and the charging-bull attitude of Hezekiah. They hoped that the reforms of Hezekiah would continue to have some momentum until Manasseh grew up. But, alas, those reforms appear to have had no momentum at all.

A Second reform was seen as impossible

By the time Manasseh was old enough to rule on his own, the situation was obvious; the people had spoken clearly by their quick return to idolatry. Any reform at this point would require even more strength of character than the reform of his father, and it would be political suicide to attempt such a reform. The people would probably revolt or assassinate any king who tried to take them that direction again so soon after they had found freedom from such “oppressive” religious regulations.

Political pressures

Then there was the geopolitical situation, filled with international pressures on a huge scale. The kingdom of Assyria had just captured all 10 northern tribes and taken them away. They would scatter them among several other people groups and bring others to occupy Israel. The Assyrians used a strong understanding of psychology on their captives. They scattered them in small groups among other people who were also in small groups. In that way there was less chance of a revolt and more of a chance of intermarriage and the loss of national identity. At one point in Manasseh’s reign Assyria captured him and took him to Babylon as a prisoner. So, he had reason to fear them.

Manasseh probably felt like he could not afford to trust in God for military victory because he feared that the people would not support it this time around. Again, it felt like political suicide.

He won the people over through idolatry

When Manasseh was old enough to fully function as the king, he had to do something to win the hearts of the people. By this time he saw the futility of trying to pull them away from their idol worship, yet he knew, or was advised, that doing nothing would leave a question in the peoples’ minds. He needed to do something that would win their allegiance and trust.

So he did the politically expedient thing – he ran ahead of the people in their quest to follow idols. He showed the people that he was on their side. He used his power and money to repair the high places that his father had destroyed, reestablish the worship of Baal, build other shrines, altars, and Asherah poles, and even build altars for worshipping nature inside the temple courts. The worship of the sun, moon and stars had been introduced to Judah by wicked King Ahaz, but it is mentioned several times in the short narrative about King Manasseh, so it appears that he took it beyond what King Ahaz had done.

Violence

Manasseh may have started out thinking he could win the hearts of the people and would not have to resort to violence to keep them in line. But things did not turn out that way. Either because he felt forced to do so, or because his heart grew increasingly ugly, he resorted to violence and shed large quantities of innocent blood.

SUMMARY

A good king who followed God in faith and obedience had a son who sprinted toward idol worship primarily because it was the politically expedient thing to do. If something is politically correct, it is incorrect in every other way. Beware of the corrupting power of political correctness!