2 CHRONICLES 33

< Back to 2 Chronicles Index


TALKS FOR GROWING CHRISTIANS

Manasseh and Amon - The Worst Kings of Judah

BACKGROUND NOTES



DOCTRINAL POINT(S)

  1. The heart of God is incredibly patient and gracious.

  2. The heart of man is incredibly deceitful and wicked.

PRACTICAL APPLICATION

  1. How much pressure will it take before you cry, "Uncle"?

QUESTIONS

  1. What two records did Manasseh set over the 20 kings who reigned over the kingdom of Judah?

  2. Review some of Manasseh's wicked deeds.

  3. How did the Lord speak to Manasseh?

  4. What lessons should Amon have learned from the life of his father Manasseh?

  5. Why didn't King Amon learn the lessons and heed the warnings from his father's life?

  6. Explain the claim that apart from Christ we are all totally depraved.

ANSWERS

  1. 1. He had the longest reign of any of the kings of Judah. He reigned for 55 years. 2. He is remembered as the worst king of Judah.

  2. Manasseh placed altars for the foreign gods in the Temple courts. He practiced child sacrifice. He restored the high places his father Hezekiah had torn down. He practiced witchcraft, divination, and sorcery. He set up an idol inside the Temple of the Lord.

  3. God was patiently speaking to the nation through His prophets - even though the king and the people would not listen.

  4. Seeing his father's wickedness, he should have observed that evil does not result in blessing. Then seeing the grace shown Manasseh he should have known that blessing does come as a result of humility and obedience.

  5. Because the heart of man is incredibly deceitful and wicked. See Jeremiah 17:9.

  6. This does not mean that we are all the worst sinners we could possibly be, but it does mean that our total beings are affected by sin and we are capable of any sin.

DISCUSS/CONSIDER

  1. Discuss the great example of God's incredible grace in 2 Chronicles 33:12-16. This grace is even more striking in light of Manasseh's wickedness. Can you give testimony of God's incredible grace to you?

  2. Amon had seen the wickedness and grace in his father Manasseh's life. Yet he did not learn the lessons. Can you think of a time you should have learned by observation, but you failed to? Why did you think the outcome would be different in your own life?

CHALLENGE

  1. Manasseh did not turn to the Lord until he was led away by the Assyrians with a hook through his nose! What about you? If you are not walking with the Lord, how much pressure will it take before you cry, "Uncle"?

KEY VERSES

  • "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." 2 Chronicles 33:9

  • "Now when he was in affliction, he implored the LORD his God, and humbled himself greatly before the God of his fathers." 2 Chronicles 33:12

2 Chronicles, Old Testament, TalksRon Reid2 Chronicles 33