Compare Manasseh's actions with Exodus 20:3-5. What commandments did he violate?

Manasseh’s Actions in Scripture

2 Kings 21:3-7; 2 Chronicles 33:3-7 lay out a stunning catalog of rebellion:

- Rebuilt the high places his father Hezekiah had torn down

- Erected altars for Baal and made an Asherah pole

- “Worshiped and served all the host of heaven” (2 Kings 21:3)

- Sacrificed his sons in the fire in the Valley of Hinnom (2 Chronicles 33:6)

- Practiced divination, sorcery, and consulted mediums

- Set a carved image of Asherah inside the very temple of the LORD

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Exodus 20:3-5 Revisited

“You shall have no other gods before Me.

You shall not make for yourself an idol…

you shall not bow down to them or serve them.”

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Commandments Broken

1. No other gods before Yahweh

• Manasseh bowed to Baal and the starry host, blatantly placing other deities before the LORD.

2. No idols or images

• He manufactured pagan images—altars, an Asherah pole, and even set an idol in God’s temple—then bowed and served them.

Additional violations flowing from these two:

- Child sacrifice defied God’s prohibition of murder (Exodus 20:13) and echoed Canaanite abominations (Leviticus 18:21).

- Sorcery and divination disregarded God’s explicit ban (Deuteronomy 18:10-12).

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Practical Reflections for Today

- Anything we elevate above God—success, relationships, possessions—echoes Manasseh’s idolatry.

- Visible idols may be rarer, but heart-level idols compete for the same allegiance the first two commandments demand.

- Repentance remains possible; later, Manasseh humbled himself and God restored him (2 Chronicles 33:12-13), proving the Lord still answers genuine repentance when we return to Him alone.