Uzziah and Manasseh: Pride and Apostasy
Two kings. Two lives. Two legacies: one marked by pride, the other by apostasy. Both kings stand in the Messiah’s lineage; and both of their lives teach us valuable lessons about holiness, brokenness, and forgiveness.
Uzziah
But for his fall into pride and judgment late in life, King Uzziah’s reputation would have been one of unalloyed triumph. Also known as Azariah, Uzziah acceded to the throne of Judah as a young man (16 years old). He reigned for 52 years, and most of that time he strove to follow the Lord with his whole heart.
As a reward for his faithfulness, God caused Uzziah’s reign to prosper. Uzziah’s military exploits were a smashing success. He secured peace for Judah and expanded its borders significantly. His army became well staffed and well supplied. Uzziah also executed a series of important building and infrastructure projects, bringing to his people a measure of stability and prosperity alongside their newly won security.
His successes were so pronounced and far-reaching that he became internationally famous (2 Chr. 26:8, 15). In fact, he was the 8th-century BC poster child for good governance, and all because he “did what was right in the sight of the LORD” (2 Ki. 15:3).
Then everything went off the rails. Uzziah’s success went to his head, and he allowed himself to become prideful. Marching into the Temple, he flagrantly disobeyed the Law of Moses by offering incense on the altar—a function the Law reserved exclusively for Israel’s priests, never for its kings. (Doubtless this prohibition was to safeguard the unique ministry of Uzziah’s descendant, Jesus Christ, who alone will serve as a Priest-King.)
When 80 priests confronted Uzziah and ordered him to vacate the premises, he became furious, not repentant. So, because of his pride, fury, and flagrant disobedience, God struck him instantly with leprosy. From that day until his death, Uzziah was sequestered from the rest of Jerusalem’s population. He was permanently excluded from Temple worship, and his son Jotham assumed the lion’s share of his royal responsibilities (2 Chr. 26:17–21).
After Uzziah died, the prophet Isaiah wrote, “In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, high and lifted up” (Isa. 6:1). The contrast is striking: The God of Israel is enthroned as an exalted Monarch forever; but King Uzziah, although previously exalted, was thrust into abject humiliation and degradation and died in isolation and ignominy.
Truly, “pride goes before destruction” (Prov. 16:18).
Manasseh
Fast-forward about 40 years. As the 7th century BC dawned, a new king was crowned in Judah. Manasseh had some things in common with Uzziah: He, too, ascended to the throne at a young age (12 years old) and enjoyed an uncommonly lengthy reign (55 years). But whereas Uzziah sought to serve and worship the Lord, Manasseh was an incorrigible idolater.
He built altars to Baal, Asherah, and the starry host and even installed an idol of Asherah in the Temple (2 Ki. 21:3, 5, 7). His reign was a celebration of all things wicked and ungodly. He liberally used occult practices (such as fortune telling and necromancy) and burned his own son as a human sacrifice to a pagan god (v. 6).
A murderous, bloodthirsty monarch (v. 16), Manasseh was responsible (according to Jewish tradition) for murdering Isaiah and other prophets of God. During his reign, Judahite apostasy became so vile and detestable that God eventually destroyed Jerusalem as a direct consequence of Manasseh’s actions and malign influence (Jer. 15:4). As for Manasseh himself, he was captured by the Assyrians and hauled away to Babylon as a prisoner, presumably to finish out his years in an even worse state of humiliation and degradation than Uzziah (2 Chr. 33:11).
But then, remarkably, Manasseh’s heart softened and broke. This hardened, wicked, murderous man suddenly became convicted of the depths of his sinfulness and cried out to God in repentance. Ever merciful to the brokenhearted, God forgave Manasseh. He even restored him to his kingdom, and Manasseh finished out his days tearing down the idols he had previously erected and urging the people of Judah to serve only the Lord God of Israel (vv. 15–17).
Two kings. Two lives. Two reversals. It may seem strange to us that God would judge Uzziah so harshly for one misstep and yet forgive the reprobate Manasseh so freely and graciously. But the difference is this: Manasseh truly repented, whereas Uzziah did not. And as King David wrote several centuries earlier, “A broken and a contrite heart—these, O God, You will not despise” (Ps. 51:17).
