2 Kings 21:1

2 Kings 21:1 says, Manasseh was twelve years old when he began to reign, and reigned fifty and five years in Jerusalem. And his mother's name was Hephzibah.  Manasseh, Hezekiah's son became king at twelve years of age and ruled for fifty=five years, so God's prophesy that Hezekiah's sons would be taken into captivity did not happen immediately.  He reigned the longest of any ruler of Judah, though he lead the people away from God.  God's promises may not immediately come to pass, but they will always happen in His time.  Verse two adds, And he did that which was evil in the sight of the Lord, after the abominations of the heathen, whom the Lord cast out before the children of Israel.  As stated, Manasseh did what was evil in God's sight and led the people to do so as well.  It is bad enough if we do evil in God's sight, but it is even worse if we lead others to do so, especially if we call ourselves Christians.  Verse three continues, For he built up again the high places which Hezekiah his father had destroyed; and he reared up altars for Baal, and made a grove, as did Ahab king of Israel; and worshipped all the host of heaven, and served them.  Manasseh begin to restore the worship of idols and false places of worship in Judah just as Ahab had done.  He specifically built altars to Baal, who seemed to be a god that the people of Israel and Judah often worshipped.  It doesn't matter who or what the false god we worship is, because any will come between God and us, and once they have been destroyed by our faith in Jesus Christ, we must never allow them back into our life.  Verse four states, And he built altars in the house of the Lord, of which the Lord said, In Jerusalem will I put my name.  Manasseh went even farther by building altars to false gods in the house of God.  Since our bodies as followers of Christ are temples of God, we must never build anything in our life that is more important to us than God, not even family.  Verse five adds, And he built altars for all the host of heaven in the two courts of the house of the Lord.  Manasseh built altars to many gods in God's house.  If we begin to allow one false god back into our life, it may be that soon we will allow many more in.  Once we stray away from the will of God, we may find it easier to stray even farther away.   Verse six continues, And he made his son pass through the fire, and observed times, and used enchantments, and dealt with familiar spirits and wizards: he wrought much wickedness in the sight of the Lord, to provoke him to anger.  Matthew Henry said having his son pass through the fire was done in worship of Moloch, in contempt to the seal of circumcision that God had established as a sign of His people.  We should never become devoted to any other god but need to be faithful to God and His word alone.  Verse seven says, And he set a graven image of the grove that he had made in the house, of which the Lord said to David, and to Solomon his son, In this house, and in Jerusalem, which I have chosen out of all tribes of Israel, will I put my name for ever:  Manasseh set up these idols in the temple, which God had said to David and Solomon would be a place for His name forever.  As Christians, we have become God's people forever, and He is the only One we should worship.  Verse eight adds, Neither will I make the feet of Israel move any more out of the land which I gave their fathers; only if they will observe to do according to all that I have commanded them, and according to all the law that my servant Moses commanded them.  God had promised David and Solomon that His people would never again be moved out of the Promised Land as long as they were obedient to Him.  I believe that once we accept Jesus Christ as our personal Savior and Lord that God seals us as His forever, but we can still allow false gods into our lives if we are not diligent in obeying the leadership of the Holy Spirit.  Verse nine continues, But they hearkened not: and Manasseh seduced them to do more evil than did the nations whom the Lord destroyed before the children of Israel.  These people of Judah refused to obey their covenant with God and did more evil than the people of the other nations that God had destroyed. This was a sad commentary about God's chosen people, and those who do not enter into a true covenant relationship with God through putting their faith in Jesus Christ, no matter how good they may appear to be, are just as condemned as the worst of sinners.  Faith in Jesus Christ is the only way to salvation, and once we accept His salvation, we must then always try to be obedient to our covenant relationship with Him.