The Pulpit Commentary — 2 Kings — Section 384

very place of which Jehovah had en.id, "Jn Jerusalem will I put my Na.me there;" "In this house, and in Jerusalem, which I have chosen out of all tribes of Israel, will I put my Na.ma for ever; "-even there, in the very dwelling-place of the holy God among men, this impure symbol was erected. The Asherah-image in the temple was, ns it were, the summing-up in symbol of the whole apostasy of the people, the formal token of their breach of the covenant, on fidelity to which depended their possession of the lnnd, and a.s such, the desecration is frequently alluded to (Jer. vii. 30; xix. 3-5). 4. Hia shedding of innocent blood. '!'his is the final and culminating charge agninst Manasseh, "He shed innocent blood very much, till he had filled Jerusalem from one end to another." The words speak to a delibera.te and organized persecution of Jehovah's servants-perhaps a massacre such as that of St. Bartholomew in France, a determined attempt to crush out in blood all dissent from and opposition to the king's mea_q11res. This is the persecution in which it ie said that Isaiah perished. It is the shedding of innocent blood which, we are told furl her, "the Lord would not pardon" ( eh. xx,v. 4). "Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of his saints" (Ps. cxvi. 15). We see from this example what the spirit of false toleration, of spurious culture, of t.he breadth of view which confounds truth and error, leads to; what real intolerance and hatred of God underlie it. Right& of conscience will meet with scant recognition under any system which denies th~ true God. III. His LATE REPENTANCE. It is a valuable appendix to this history which we find in the Book of Chronicles. There we are told what we should not have suspected from the narrative before us, that Manasseh late in life repented of his sin, and obtnined mercy from God (2 Chron. xxxiii. 11-17). We have had instances of kings reigning well through the greater parts of their lives and failing at the close; this is the first e.nd only case of a.Jewish king reigning ill and fioally repenting. We are taught by the story of Manasseh's repentance: 1. 1'he seeds of early instruction may blossom after many days. Who can doubt but that it was the impressions received in early days which at last revived, and brought Manasseh back to Jehovah. 2. There is hope for the worst sinners. After Manasseh, surely any·one. Nor did his conversion take plflce till his course was nearly run. We should despair of none. Miracles of grace as great as this have perhaps rarely been witnessed, but they have been witnessed. 3. God subdues men to himself by affiiction. It was while a prisoner in Babylon-taken there by the captains of the King of Assyria-that Manasseh found the Lord. 4. Repentance does not always secure the reversal of the temporal effects of sin. The wickedness of Manasseh through a;long reign wrought out its effects independently of him. His con- version came too late to undo them. The blood he had shed "the Lord would not pardon." The nation was inculpated as well as he, and thou~h he repented, it did not. It is an awful thought that no after-repentance can obliterate the effects of words spoken and deeds done while sin still had dominion over us. Nor can the effects of sin on our own health, characters, usefulness, etc., ever be completely recalled.--J. 0. Vers. 10-18.-Proplietic denunciations. In all that he had done, Manasseh had not only sinned himself, but had "seduced" others to sin (ver. 9). Persons in high positions have this great influence. They are the natural social leaders, and their example tells powerfully for good or evil. The prophets, however, though as it proved at the risk of their lives, did not fail to warn him. It was no doubt their faithful denunciations, and the terrible evils they predicted, which brought down upon them the king's wrath, and led to the great persecution. I. MANASSEH MORE WIOKED THAN THE CANAANITES. He had "done wickedly above all that the Amorites did." His deeds may have been the same, but his guilt was greater than theirs, inasmuch as: 1. His light wa.~ greater than theirs. The Canaauites had the light of nature, and that, indeed, sufficed to render them inexcusable (Rom. i. 18-32; ii. 14, 15). But Manasseh had the light of revelation. He was king of a nation to which God ·iad made f11lly known the truth of his Being, character, and attributes; which had laws and statutes given to i~ such as no other nation possessed (Deut, iv. 6-8); and which enjoyed the living ministry of holy prophets. He had also ha.d the advantage of a pious father's example and training. For such a one to JO be.ck to the sins of the Amorites wa.s e. heinous olfe11co. It made his wickednesa greater tha.n theirs, We shall be judged by the light we possess (Luke xii. 47, 48), ~gma 2v  THE SECOND BOOK OF 'l'HE KINGS. [OH, XXI, 1-28,