2 Kings 21:1-18 | 2 Chronicles 33:1-20 | Isaiah 40

Manasseh proves the expanse of his wickedness, and he leads Judah in more idolatry and evil than even the nations around them, and he fills Jerusalem with the blood of God’s people. He sets up false idols for people to worship, and even sets up an alter in the Lord’s temple.

Yet, interestingly, near the end of his life the Lord allows the Assyrians to take him captive, and he humbles himself before God and repents, so that he is restored to his place in Jerusalem, and he directs the people to serve Yahweh. Manasseh led a wicked and sinful life, and caused much grief in Judah, yet in a sense he finished far better than he started.

Isaiah 40 recounts the greatness of the Lord, and how even the most powerful of nations are as nothing to Him. He describes the foolishness of people who make false gods by their own hand, and who bow down to idols that cannot hear or answer. Yet all that the Lord has made endures without fail, and His righteousness lasts forever!