YHWH Punishes Manasseh’s Sins

622 BCE � Josiah's Reformation

The Old Testament and Jewish tradition tells us that the Books of
Moses were both lost and completely forgotten for 50 years and only
rediscovered by the Temple priests in the 18th year of the reign of King
Josiah (2Ki 22:8; 2Chr 34:15). This was in 622 BCE.

If The Law was lost for over 50 years, and if The Law was
rediscovered in 622 BCE, then The Law was first lost before 672 BCE.
The King of Judah at this time was Manasseh, noted for his sins so
blasphemous that even Josiah's reforms 50 years later were unable to
save Judah from subjugation to Babylon (2 Ki 21). So, what
happened before 672 BCE?


687 BCE � Manasseh Ends the High Priesthood Upon His
Succession

The High Priest at the time of King Hezekiah's ascension to the throne
(715 BCE) was Azariah III (2 Chr 31:10). The next High Priest was Azariah
III's son Hoshaiah.

The next High Priest after Hoshaiah was Shallum, son of Zadok,
son of Ahitub, son of Amariah, son of Azariah III (1 Chr 6:11-12). This
means that Shallum was the great great grandson of Azariah III.
Thus, after Azariah III died, first his son, and then his great great
grandson succeeded him to the High Priesthood. There is a gap
between Hoshaiah and Shallum of fully three (3) generations � a
time span of roughly 50 years (at 16 years per generation).

This roughly 50 year break in the High Priesthood seems to be linked with
the 50 year loss of The Law. How so?

Shallum's son Hilkiah was the High Priest in 622 BCE when The Law
was rediscovered in the Temple of Jerusalem (2 Ki 22:4). If an
average generation spans roughly 16 years, then Shallum was High Priest
around 640 BCE. And a 50 year gap before that points to 690 BCE. What
happened at these times?

In 687 BCE, King Hezekiah died and was succeeded by his then-errant
son Manasseh.

In 640 BCE, Manasseh's errant son Amon was killed in a coup after a brief
reign of two (2) years marked by idolatry and depravity (2 Ki 21:18-26; 2
Chr 33:20-25).

Thus, it appears that Manasseh � who worshipped pagan false-gods,
sacrificed his son by fire, and "did more evil than the nations whom
the Lord had destroyed before the children of Israel� (2 Ki 21:9) � halted
the worship of YHWH-God soon after succeeding to the throne of Judah.
In other words, Manasseh represented a "pagan counter-
reformation" that opposed the God-fearing reforms of his father
Hezekiah. Manasseh ended the High Priesthood of YHWH and
rededicated the Temple of Jerusalem to pagan false-gods.

Furthermore, it appears that when Amon began to pick up where his
father had left off, the God-fearing Old Guard toppled Amon in a bloody
coup and installed the young and impressionable Josiah in Amon's stead.
In other words, Josiah represented a "God-fearing Reformation" that
opposed the pagan depravities of his father Amon. Josiah restored the
High Priesthood of YHWH and rededicated the Temple of Jerusalem back
to YHWH.


671 BCE � Manasseh Reaps the Sin He Has Sown

In 671 BCE, the Assyrian King Esarhaddon went to war against Pharaoh
Taharqa of Egypt. Esarhaddon's army marched through Canaan on its way
to Egypt, which was allied to Egypt and within her sphere of influence.
Part of his army stayed behind to quash rebellions in Tyre and Ashkelon.
The rest marched south to Rapihu in the Lands of the Philistines
(modern Rafia, Gaza Strip). From there, the Assyrians invaded Egypt and
conquered Memphis and the Nile Delta. Pharaoh Taharqa fled south into
Upper Egypt.

At this point in the reign of the Judean King Manasseh, the Old
Testament tells us:

[INDENT]�And the Lord spoke to Manasseh and his people, but they
would not listen. Therefore the Lord brought upon them the captains of
the army of the king of Assyria, who took Manasseh with hooks,
bound him with bronze fetters, and carried him off to Babylon� (2
Chronicles 33:10-11)[/INDENT]

The Assyrians often treated captured kings with great cruelty. The
Assyrians ran hooks through the noses, lips, or jaws of their captives to
pull them along and lead them before the Assyrian King. This explains
the Scriptural reference to "hooks" above.

Manasseh's harsh imprisonment taught him the lesson which his
forefather, Solomon, had written: �... the way of the unfaithful is hard�
(Proverbs 13:15):

[INDENT]�Now when he was in affliction, he implored the Lord his God,
and humbled himself greatly before the God of his fathers, and prayed to
Him; and He received his entreaty, heard his supplication, and brought
him back to Jerusalem into his kingdom. Then Manasseh knew that the
Lord was God.� (2 Chronicles 33:12-13)[/INDENT]

If Manasseh was taken prisoner by Esarhaddon in 671 BCE, he may have
spent a few years in captivity before being sent back to Jerusalem. For we
know that his son Amon succeeded to the throne in 642 BCE at the age of
22. This means Amon was born in 664 BCE, and implies that Manasseh
was back in Jerusalem with his wife by 665 BCE.

Manasseh was truly repentant because of his chastisement by YHWH:

[INDENT]"Afterward he built an outer wall for the city of David west of
Gihon, in the valley, and for the entrance into the Fish Gate, and carried it
around Ophel, and raised it to a very great height. He also put
commanders of the army in all the fortified cities in Judah. And he took
away the foreign gods and the idols from the House of YHWH, and all the
altars that he had built on the mountain of the House of YHWH and in
Jerusalem, and he threw them outside of the city. He also restored the
altar of YHWH and offered on it sacrifices of peace offerings and of
thanksgiving, and he commanded Judah to serve YHWH, the God of
Israel." (2 Chr 33:14-16)[/INDENT]

Never-the-less, Manasseh was never able to completely atone for his
sins. The Prophet Jeremiah wrote:

[INDENT]�Then the Lord said to me, �Though Moses and Samuel stood
before Me, yet My mind could not be favorable toward this people. Cast
them out of my sight, and let them go forth ... I will hand them over to
trouble to all kingdoms of the earth, because of Manasseh the son
of Hezekiah, king of Judah, for what he did in Jerusalem.��
(Jeremiah 15:1,4)[/INDENT]


Conclusion � Manasseh's Unforgiveable Sin was Ending the High
Priesthood of YHWH in favor of pagan false-gods

Manasseh's grievous and unforgiveable sin, the sin that ultimately
doomed the Kingdom of Judah to subjugation by Babylon
(Nebuchadrezzar, 587 BCE), was ending the High Priesthood of YHWH and
rededicating the Temple of Jerusalem � the House of YHWH �
to pagan false-gods.