2 Chronicles 33
DOYLY— took Manasseh among the thorns.] Took him in a thicket, where he had hid himself after his defeat. Bp. Patrick. Some old translations give the sense, “Took Manasseh in chains, and bound him with fetters, and carried him to Babylon.” This sense is by many supposed to be the true sense, from its being deemed improbable that such a circumstance as his being taken by his enemies “among the thorns” should be mentioned in Scripture. Dr. Wall.
Chap. XXXIV. ver. 4.—the altars—and the images, that were on high above them.] Among the Gentiles, the altars frequently served as footstools to the idols themselves, which were placed upon or above them. Jos. Mede.
c Lev. 26. 30. 634.
2 Chronicles 33:12
- — when he was in affliction, he besought the Lord] Manasseh might now say with his grandfather David, “It is good for me that I have been afflicted.” His prison was now a more happy place for him than his palace; Babylon a better school than Jerusalem. What fools are we to frown on our afflictions! These, how severe soever, are our best friends. They are not indeed for our present pleasure, but they are for our lasting profit. Bp. Hall.
2 Chronicles 33:13
- — and he was intreated of him.] We wonder not at Manasseh sinning or repenting; we wonder at the goodness of God, who thus graciously called him to repent, and so received him repenting; that, as he had before been a most loathsome and monstrous spectacle of wickedness, he now became a pleasing and useful pattern of conversion. Who can despair of the mercy of God that sees the tears of a Manasseh accepted? The wickedness of men can never equal the goodness of God. Bp. Hall.
— Then Manasseh knew that the Lord he was God.] Foolish sinners pay dear for their knowledge. Till his own smart and cure, Manasseh knew not that the Lord was God. The Almighty will be sure to be known for what He is, if not by His kindness, at least by His severity. If our prosperity and peace and sweet experience of His mercy can win us to acknowledge Him, it is more for our ease; but if we will needs be taught by stripes, it is more for His glory. Bp. Hall.
The repentance of Manasseh should be well considered, as it represents on one hand the necessity and
advantage of afflictions, and on the other affords us an extraordinary instance of God’s mercy to the greatest sinners, when they humble themselves and make a good use of their corrections. Let us likewise seriously attend to Manasseh’s behaviour after his restoration, which was directly opposite to his former conduct; for during a long reign he remedied the faults he had committed in his youth. True repentance consists in removing and remedying, as much as possible, the evil we have done, and in amending our lives. That we may the better enter into these reflections, we should add to the reading of this chapter, the prayer which Manasseh made while a captive in Babylon, which we find in the Apocryphal books. Ostervald.
2 Chronicles 33:15
- — he took away the strange gods, &c.] He had profaned the house of the Lord, but had not shut the doors, as Ahaz did; therefore he is said only to have purged it from idols, and not to have opened it. “The idol” is that which he is related at ver. 7. to have made. Bp. Patrick.
2 Chronicles 33:16
- — commanded Judah to serve the Lord] This was a proof of the sincerity of his repentance, that he endeavoured to bring his people back to the service of God, whom he himself had misled to the service of idols. But, unhappily, he was unable wholly to undo the mischief he had caused: for the people still continued their evil inclinations, and were not perfect in their obedience to the Divine law, ver. 17. Bp. Patrick.
2 Chronicles 33:19
- His prayer also.] This evidently alludes to some prayer of his composing, which was kept on record. Accordingly, we have among the Apocryphal books of the Old Testament, “the Prayer of Manasseh,” which perhaps is that to which allusion is made; it expresses in the strongest possible terms the greatness of his guilt, misery, and repentance. Universal History.
— the sayings of the seers.] Bruce informs us, that in Abyssinia “the king has near his person an officer, who is meant to be his historiographer. He is also keeper of his seal; and is obliged to make a journal of the king’s actions, good or bad, without comment of his own upon them. This, when the king dies, or at