2 Chronicles 33:24
Then the servants of Amon conspired against him and killed him in his palace.
Sermons
Manasseh and Amen - Father and Son: a Parallel and a ContrastT. Whitelaw 2 Chronicles 33:21-25
The Forfeited HeritageW. Clarkson 2 Chronicles 33:21-25














It is but very little we know or think of Amon: his name is unfamiliar, for his life was uneventful. And yet why should not he have had as happy, as glorious, as useful a career as David, or as Hezekiah, or as Josiah? He had a very fair opportunity before him, but he lost it by his own folly. Let us look at -

I. THE GOLDEN CHANCE THAT WAS BEFORE HIM. He was heir to the throne of Judah. Measured by some monarchies, ancient and modern, that was small enough. But it was no despicable fortune. As our own country's history shows, we must not reckon the worth of a kingdom by its geographical dimensions. Under David and Solomon the kingdom of Israel was a real power, if not a "great power" in that age. And then it was open to Amon to conciliate the tribes of Israel as his noble grandfather had done, and perhaps to win them back. At any rate, the kingdom of Judah was itself no mean heritage; its men and women were far above the average of humanity in intelligence, in civilization, in an appreciation of freedom, in courage, in all the elements of human power. To govern Judah might well satisfy the ambition of a strong and aspiring mind. And there was one thing about Judah that could not be claimed either for Assyria or Egypt. It was the chosen dwelling-place of God; if he were but worshipped and honoured there, his presence and his power would be a more sure guarantee of national independence and prosperity than countless hosts of armed men or of chariots of war. Judah was the home of God, and therefore of truth and of heavenly wisdom. To reign there was a choice heritage for a true man.

II. THE RECKLESSNESS WITH WHICH HE THREW IT AWAY.

1. He deliberately chose the evil course. At two and twenty he had not his father's excuse for being led astray. The stern discipline through which Manasseh,,, had passed, and the mercy he had found in a forgiving God, surely should have affected and controlled his son. But he disregarded and defied the lessons which were written in such large characters before his face, and chose the evil way (ver. 22).

2. He declined to be corrected and restored; he persisted in the path of wrong (ver. 23).

3. He excited the hatred of those whom he governed, and brought about an early and ignominious death, enjoying but two brief years of kingly rule (ver. 24). Thus, after a dishonourable and reactionary reign, he came to a miserable and inglorious end, and thus he forfeited his heritage.

1. There is a very goodly heritage before us as the children of men. It will probably include something fair and bright of this world's estate, some pure enjoyment of which we may partake gladly and gratefully. It will certainly include the knowledge of God; the opportunity of worshipping and of serving him everywhere and in every relation we sustain; the means of cultivating a holy and a noble character; openings for usefulness in many ways, and particularly in the way of helping others on in the path of life; the opportunity of preparing for a far broader sphere and a far fuller life in the kingdom of heaven.

2. We may find ourselves tempted to forfeit this good estate. It is alienable by a sinful preference of the lower good, by a guilty disregard of Divine voices, by a perilous postponement of sacred obligation to some future time.

3. It is our true wisdom and our bounden duty to take at once that decisive step (of self-surrender to our Lord) which places us within the kingdom of God, and secures for us the lasting friendship of a Divine Redeemer. - C.

But Amon transgressed more and more.
It is wonderful what evil can be done with a profession of religion. Amen was sacrificing unto all the carved images; he was so religious as to be irreligious; he reached the point of exaggeration, and that point is blasphemy. When there is mere ignorance, God in His lovingkindness and tender mercy often closes His eyes as if He could not see what is being done: but when it is not ignorance but violence, determination, real obstinacy in the way of evil, and utter recklessness as to what it may cost — what if God should be compelled to open His eyes, and look the evil man full in the face, and condemn him by silent observation? It is wonderful, too, how much evil can be done in a little time. Nothing is so easy as evil. A man could almost fell a forest before he could grow one tree. Every blow tells: every bad word becomes a great blot: there is an infinite contagion in evil; it affects every one, it poisons quickly, it makes a harvest in the night-time. To do good how much time is required! How few people will believe that we are doing good! We have to encounter suspicion, criticism, distrust; men say, "We must wait to see the end; we cannot believe in the possibility of all this earnestness and sacrifice"; they ask questions about its possible permanence; even good men are apt to hinder other good men in endeavouring to do good. But evil has no such disadvantages to contend with. There is a consolidation in the forces of evil that is not known among the forces of good. It would seem as if the poet's description were right — "Devil with devil damned, firm concord holds." It may be that in that energetic expression Milton has stated the reality of the case.

(J. Parker, D. D.)

People
Amon, Ben, David, Hezekiah, Israelites, Josiah, Manasseh, Solomon
Places
Assyria, Babylon, Fish Gate, Gihon, Jerusalem, Ophel, Valley of Hinnom
Topics
Assassinated, Conspire, Conspired, Death, Design, Finally, Killed, Officials, Palace, Secret, Servants, Slew
Outline
1. Manasseh's wicked reign
3. He sets up idolatry, and will not be admonished
11. He is carried into Babylon
12. Upon his prayer to God he is released and puts down idolatry
18. His acts
20. He dying, Amon succeeds him
21. who is slain by his servants
25. The murderers being slain, Josiah succeeds him

Dictionary of Bible Themes
2 Chronicles 33:1-25

     5366   king

2 Chronicles 33:24-25

     5817   conspiracies

Library
Manasseh's Sin and Repentance
'So Manasseh made Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem to err, and to do worse than the heathen, whom the Lord had destroyed before the children of Israel. 10. And the Lord spake to Manasseh, and to his people: but they would not hearken. 11. Wherefore the Lord brought upon them the captains of the host of the king of Assyria, which took Manasseh among the thorns, and bound him with fetters, and carried him to Babylon. 12. And when he was in affliction, he besought the Lord his God, and humbled
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture

Manasseh
BY REV. J. G. GREENHOUGH, M.A. "Manasseh was twelve years old when he began to reign, and he reigned fifty and five years in Jerusalem."--2 CHRON. xxxiii. l. Fifty and five years--he wore the crown a longer time than any other of the house of David. Of all the kings that reigned in Jerusalem, this man's reign filled the largest space; yet he is the one king of Judah about whom we are told least. In the modern city of Venice there is a hall which is adorned with the portraits of all the doges
George Milligan—Men of the Bible; Some Lesser-Known

How Shall one Make Use of Christ as the Life, when Wrestling with an Angry God Because of Sin?
That we may give some satisfaction to this question, we shall, 1. Shew what are the ingredients in this case, or what useth to concur in this distemper. 2. Shew some reasons why the Lord is pleased to dispense thus with his people. 3. Shew how Christ is life to the soul in this case. 4. Shew the believer's duty for a recovery; and, 5. Add a word or two of caution. As to the first, There may be those parts of, or ingredients in this distemper: 1. God presenting their sins unto their view, so as
John Brown (of Wamphray)—Christ The Way, The Truth, and The Life

Josiah, a Pattern for the Ignorant.
"Because thine heart was tender, and thou hast humbled thyself before the Lord, when thou heardest what I spake against this place, and against the inhabitants thereof, that they should become a desolation and a curse, and hast rent thy clothes, and wept before Me; I also have heard thee, saith the Lord. Behold therefore, I will gather thee unto thy fathers, and thou shalt be gathered into thy grave in peace; and thine eyes shall not see all the evil which I will bring upon this place."--2 Kings
John Henry Newman—Parochial and Plain Sermons, Vol. VIII

Covenanting According to the Purposes of God.
Since every revealed purpose of God, implying that obedience to his law will be given, is a demand of that obedience, the announcement of his Covenant, as in his sovereignty decreed, claims, not less effectively than an explicit law, the fulfilment of its duties. A representation of a system of things pre-determined in order that the obligations of the Covenant might be discharged; various exhibitions of the Covenant as ordained; and a description of the children of the Covenant as predestinated
John Cunningham—The Ordinance of Covenanting

The Worst Things Work for Good to the Godly
DO not mistake me, I do not say that of their own nature the worst things are good, for they are a fruit of the curse; but though they are naturally evil, yet the wise overruling hand of God disposing and sanctifying them, they are morally good. As the elements, though of contrary qualities, yet God has so tempered them, that they all work in a harmonious manner for the good of the universe. Or as in a watch, the wheels seem to move contrary one to another, but all carry on the motions of the watch:
Thomas Watson—A Divine Cordial

The Girdle of the City. Nehemiah 3
The beginning of the circumference was from 'the sheep-gate.' That, we suppose, was seated on the south part, yet but little removed from that corner, which looks south-east. Within was the pool of Bethesda, famous for healings. Going forward, on the south part, was the tower Meah: and beyond that, "the tower of Hananeel": in the Chaldee paraphrast it is, 'The tower Piccus,' Zechariah 14:10; Piccus, Jeremiah 31:38.--I should suspect that to be, the Hippic tower, were not that placed on the north
John Lightfoot—From the Talmud and Hebraica

The Power of Assyria at Its Zenith; Esarhaddon and Assur-Bani-Pal
The Medes and Cimmerians: Lydia--The conquest of Egypt, of Arabia, and of Elam. As we have already seen, Sennacherib reigned for eight years after his triumph; eight years of tranquillity at home, and of peace with all his neighbours abroad. If we examine the contemporary monuments or the documents of a later period, and attempt to glean from them some details concerning the close of his career, we find that there is a complete absence of any record of national movement on the part of either Elam,
G. Maspero—History Of Egypt, Chaldaea, Syria, Babylonia, and Assyria, V 8

Beginning at Jerusalem
The whole verse runs thus: "And that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem." The words were spoken by Christ, after he rose from the dead, and they are here rehearsed after an historical manner, but do contain in them a formal commission, with a special clause therein. The commission is, as you see, for the preaching of the gospel, and is very distinctly inserted in the holy record by Matthew and Mark. "Go teach all nations,"
John Bunyan—Jerusalem Sinner Saved

The Jerusalem Sinner Saved;
OR, GOOD NEWS FOR THE VILEST OF MEN; BEING A HELP FOR DESPAIRING SOULS, SHOWING THAT JESUS CHRIST WOULD HAVE MERCY IN THE FIRST PLACE OFFERED TO THE BIGGEST SINNERS. THE THIRD EDITION, IN WHICH IS ADDED, AN ANSWER TO THOSE GRAND OBJECTIONS THAT LIE IN THE WAY OF THE THEM THAT WOULD BELIEVE: FOR THE COMFORT OF THEM THAT FEAR THEY HAVE SINNED AGAINST THE HOLY GHOST. BY JOHN BUNYAN, OF BEDFORD. London: Printed for Elizabeth Smith, at the Hand and Bible, on London Bridge, 1691. ADVERTISEMENT BY THE EDITOR.
John Bunyan—The Works of John Bunyan Volumes 1-3

Chronicles
The comparative indifference with which Chronicles is regarded in modern times by all but professional scholars seems to have been shared by the ancient Jewish church. Though written by the same hand as wrote Ezra-Nehemiah, and forming, together with these books, a continuous history of Judah, it is placed after them in the Hebrew Bible, of which it forms the concluding book; and this no doubt points to the fact that it attained canonical distinction later than they. Nor is this unnatural. The book
John Edgar McFadyen—Introduction to the Old Testament

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