Compare Manasseh's actions to Exodus 20:3-5. How are these commandments violated? Focus Verse “You shall have no other gods before Me. You shall not make for yourself an idol, or any likeness of what is in heaven above or on the earth below or in the waters beneath. You shall not bow down to them or serve them…” Manasseh’s Record (2 Kings 21:2-7; 2 Chronicles 33:2-7) • “He did evil in the sight of the LORD …” (2 Kings 21:2) • “He rebuilt the high places …” (v. 3) • “He erected altars to Baal and made an Asherah pole…” (v. 3) • “He worshiped all the host of heaven and served them.” (v. 3) • “He built altars in the house of the LORD…” (v. 4) • “He made his son pass through the fire…” (v. 6) • “He practiced witchcraft and divination…” (v. 6) • “He set an idol of Asherah that he had made in the temple…” (v. 7) How the First Commandment Is Violated (“You shall have no other gods before Me”) • Elevating Baal, Asherah, and the “host of heaven” to divine status placed rival deities before the LORD. • Building altars inside the very temple dedicated to Yahweh replaced exclusive devotion with spiritual adultery (cf. Deuteronomy 6:13-15). • Consulting occult practices expressed reliance upon powers other than God (Leviticus 19:31). How the Second Commandment Is Violated (“You shall not make an idol…”) • Crafting the Asherah pole and other images constituted literal idol-making. • Installing these idols in the temple transgressed the prohibition against fashioning “any likeness” for worship. • Bowing down to celestial bodies (“host of heaven”) fulfilled the warning against serving or worshiping created things (Deuteronomy 4:19). • Child sacrifice to Molech required ritual veneration of an image connected to that false god (Leviticus 18:21). Takeaway Truths • God’s commandments are clear, comprehensive, and enduring. • Mixing pagan practices with the worship of the LORD is not “enhancement” but open rebellion. • Even a king is fully accountable to God’s immutable Word; authority never licenses disobedience. • Manasseh’s story warns that ignoring the first two commandments unravels every other aspect of covenant faithfulness (James 2:10). |
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