2 Ch. 33: Manasseh Gets Wreck

2 Chronicles 33:13 "And when he prayed to him, the LORD was moved by his entreaty and listened to his plea; so he brought him back to Jerusalem and to his kingdom. Then Manasseh knew that the LORD is God."

The second time through the reign of Manasseh, I wanted to consider what would cause his apple to fall so far away from the tree. Hezekiah may have been a neglectful father, or may have been overstrict, I'm not sure. But a king is a busy guy. Perhaps Manasseh was rebellious, having taken the throne as a youth. He was going to do his own thing, and was going to do it opposite from his dad. 

Manasseh gets a rather interesting description. He essentially replaced God with gods. He went around being as evil as could possibly be. In God's eyes, Manasseh was more evil than those pagan nations Israel was sent to conquer and uproot. And God made efforts to bring Manasseh back, but was ignored. Finally, the Assyrians came and took over, deposing and humiliating Manasseh. On his knees in a dirty dungeon, he humbled himself and repented. And a second 180 is turned. God restored Manasseh to his kingdom, and Manasseh tried to get Israel back with him, but his reputation, and the things he had done made it too late. 

Everything had to be taken away from him in order to get his attention. But in spite of his being more evil than any dude on earth, God managed to get a hold of him and change his life.

Amon was next.

For more on Manasseh, see 2 Kings 21, 9/28/08 Entry.

1 Ch. 5: Trans-Jordan Genealogy

1 Chronicles 5:18 "The Reubenites, the Gadites and the half-tribe of Manasseh had 44,760 men ready for military service—able-bodied men who could handle shield and sword, who could use a bow, and who were trained for battle."

After Judah and Simeon comes Reuben, Gad, and Manasseh. These were part of Israel who were taken into captivity by Pul, the king of Assyria. Anytime these clans are mentioned, or there is detail mentioned, I find myself wanting to consider the blessings Jacob bestowed on them in Genesis 49. I'm always curious as to how they have come true, and what is meant by the words Jacob said.

Viewed as a sign of strength, Reuben, of course is infamous for bedding one of Jacob's wives, this offense led to the promise that he would no longer excel. Because of Israel's general disobedience to God, Reuben's tribe was exiled anyway.

Gad, was he attacked by a band of raiders? In 2 Kings, it appears most tribes were, but Gad was specifically singled out as attacking back. They must have had a busy, well-trained army. Verses 19-22 describe a great victory they had over the Hagrites. Must have been a long time ago. I don't know. Towards the end of the time before the exile, it doesn't sound as though Israel was given much military victory.

Manasseh didn't have a great recount here. They had great numbers and were famous, but gave in to prostituting themselves to gods of nations that God went ahead and overthrew. God went ahead and destroyed these nations, but their gods were still worshipped. Kind of sadly ironic.

2 Ki. 21: Manasseh's 180

2 Kings 21:17 "I will stretch out over Jerusalem the measuring line used against Samaria and the plumb line used against the house of Ahab. I will wipe out Jerusalem as one wipes a dish, wiping it and turning it upside down."

Well, the spiritual prosperity was realtively short-lived. Manasseh, Hezekiah's son, didn't pay attention to how his dad ran the place. But he must have at least seen how his grandfather Ahaz did things. Chapter 21 reads a lot like chapter 16. Manasseh was a reformer as his father was, except for evil. Anything his dad tore down, Manasseh restored. Polytheism, child sacrifice, polytheism, desecrating the temple, shedding innocent blood, Manasseh did it all.

And God, of course, was not pleased. This was Judah. Israel had already failed miserably, and now God threatened to deal with Judah the same way, which is what I think that whole business about the measuring line and the plumb line means. As Samaria was devastated, plundered, and resettled, so will Jerusalem. As Ahab was dealt with, so then will be the leaders of Judah. And wiping out the dish...he wants to remove the contents from it...he will keep the dish. Again, God's commitment to a promised land is emphasized, as is his rebuke of his people who refuse to keep his covenant. Whoever comes in and plunders Judah will be used by God, but will still be an enemy of God.

Manasseh kicks off at 67, and is replaced by his 22-year-old son Amon. Amon is Manasseh part II. He basically walks in the same way as his father. Which is not good. Long-lasting reign? Hardly. Two years after his coronation, he is assassinated by his officials. And this is weird, because the people didn't want him assassinated, apparently, because they in turn murdered Amon's killers. So there was some sense of "an eye for an eye" that remained. Or does that speak to a murderous nature embedded in Judah's culture at the time?

Josiah is installed after Amon.

Jos. 17: Joshua Tells Manasseh to Grow Some

Joshua 17:17-18 "But Joshua said to the house of Joseph—to Ephraim and Manasseh- 'You are numerous and very powerful. You will have not only one allotment 18 but the forested hill country as well. Clear it, and its farthest limits will be yours; though the Canaanites have iron chariots and though they are strong, you can drive them out.'"

This goes on to describe the rest of the land inherited by Joseph's offspring, more specifically the Manassites. Even more specifically the Fightin' Makirites.

Part of this chapter is a fulfillment of Numbers 27, where Zelophehad's daughters wanted to inherit some land, because they had no brothers. Tradition apparently was to only hook up the male with land. But Moses promised it, and Joshua delivered here in verse 4.

When the Manassites were "unable" to dislodge the Canaanites (I love the word dislodge, as though the Canaanites were a loogie or some sort of windpipe obstruction), I wonder if it means they were unwilling to dislodge them. Its nice to have slaves. Apparently. Again, does the Bible condone slavery? Nah...just reports it.

Then in verse 14, it would appear Joseph gets cranky, or discontent with their allotment. Rightly so? I'm no geographer, I'd defer to people who know maps. Anyway, they feel that their land just isn't enough, since they are an huge tribe. Joshua's like, "Eh, you're tough guys, if your land is too small, go on up and clear the forest...the land of the Perizzites and Rephaites." That's apparently still not enough. So Joshua, and I get the sense he's trying to instill a sense of, "You want it, go get it," in the Manassites. He gives them a little pep talk, and says "Go take on the Canaanites." Did Joseph's people here have a little bit of a sense of entitlement that they took from Jacob's favoritism all those years ago? I'm not sure. But maybe they expected all this to be handed to them.

God gave instructions to drive out people. And so far there have been pockets of settlements where Israel refused to or couldn't drive out the HACPHAJ.

Jos. 16: Eph 'n Manny

Joshua 16:4 "So Manasseh and Ephraim, the descendants of Joseph, received their inheritance."

This land belongs to the descendants of Joseph. Through his sons. Because Joseph received a double portion of the inheritance. Because Jacob, Joseph's father, reckoned Joseph's sons, Ephraim and Manasseh, as his own. So there you have it...confusion allayed. For now. Now the Bible makes complete sense, yes? Perfect. Now what about their land?

This chapter reads much the same as its surrounding chapters. So-and-so gets this land, it extends from whatever unknown ancient city through some boundary, and along the edge of some river by some mountain mentioned only in passing. What's the meaning? What's the bigger picture?

This is prophecy fulfilled. This is God establishing the nation of Israel in a home place. This is other nations only existing in the context of Israel, or Israel in the context of other nations...other wicked nations, who God needed wiped out, and has Israel do it. Israel is displacing...removing these other nations...assuming a rightful, provisional place. Other nations have been a substitute for Israel in Israel's homeland long enough.

The Ephraimites and Manassites could not boot the Canaanites though. Rather they enslaved them. Israel took captive what they could not remove. And, assuming God keeps His word, the blame for this falls on Eph and Manny failing to keep some portion of the covenant.

Ge. 48: Israel Blesses Eph and Manny

Well, by this time, old man Israel is ailing, and Joseph takes his sons Manasseh and Ephraim to go see him. When Israel hears tell that his boy Joseph is there, and he brought the grandkids, he sits up in bed. He tells Joseph about the stairway dream he had, where the LORD told him that He would make Israel fruitful, increase in number, and give him this land as an everlasting possession to the descendants after him. Everlasting, as in everlasting everlasting? Like...forever? As in, would never end? Like eternity? Not sure if Joseph heard him tell this story before. It was years before he was born.

Israel then tells Joseph that the two sons born to Joseph in Egypt will be reckoned as Israel's, just like Reuben or Simeon. Joseph adopts the two boys as his own. He confers upon them all rights and blessings as if they were his own sons. This I find amazing. I wonder if in this time, they and Joseph sort of felt that they were in some kind of ancestral limbo. They were after all, half Hebrew and half Egyptian. You know, which table do they eat at on Thanksgiving and Christmas....the Hebrew table or the Egyptian table? Now they have a home. They have their ancestry and their nationality clearly defined.

Any children born after these two will belong to Joseph, and will inherit territory in the land of Manny and Eph. Then Israel tells Joseph how Rachel died and when, and where they buried her. Joseph was probably too young to really comprehend it at the time. I don't know.

Israel finally meets Joseph's sons, and kisses them and embraces them as they sat on his knees. The gift of grandchildren. Israel says in verse 11, "I never expected to see your face again, and now God has allowed me to see your children too." What joy Israel had in this simple, yet amazing gift from God! This son, once feared dead and gone, is alive! And brings amazing blessings!

Interesting here is how Jacob arranged Manasseh and Ephraim in front of Israel for their blessings. He places his oldest, Manasseh at Israel's right hand, and the younger Ephraim at Israel's left hand, in order to receive what Israel had to give. The blessing was given with the right hand, the symbolically stronger hand. But as we have seen, the younger Isaac received the blessing, and the younger Jacob received the blessing.

Israel follows suit. He crosses his arms, and puts his right hand on the head of Ephraim. He blesses Joseph first, and then confers on them his ancestry along with Abraham and Isaac, and that they would increase greatly.

Joseph sees that his arms are crossed. He actually reaches out and takes Israel's hand from the head of Ephraim's and moves it to Manasseh's. It may have been because Manny was the first born, and it may be because, like his fathers, Joseph had a favorite between them. Is this that drastic of a change or a deviation? Why the second or younger? What is God's reason for doing this, or allowing this?

"No, my father, this one is the first born. Put your right hand on his head." That may be how they do things in Egypt...

"I know, my son. I know. He too will become a great people. But his younger brother will be greater than he. And his descendants will be a group of nations."

He pronounces them Ephraim and Manasseh. Not Manasseh and Ephraim.

Then to Joseph, he says, "I am about to die, but God will be with you and will bring you back to the land of your fathers. Have some choice land I took from the Amorites."

Well, didn't Joseph have everything he needed in Egypt? Couldn't they take over Egypt anyway? What about Joseph's other brothers. Do they not get an audience with their dying father? We'll find out tomorry, I'm sure.