3 Questions That Helped Characterize Manasseh

In last month’s blog, 3 Sources Helped Me Put Manasseh On the Spectrum, I promised to share today 3 questions that helped me decide WHERE on the spectrum to place him. Researching laser sharp concepts helped me characterize thoughts, speech, and actions while writing Isaiah’s Legacy.

1. Why would the son of two devout Yahweh worshipers turn so vehemently against Yahweh?
2. Why did Manasseh worship starry hosts—different gods than those worshipped by Ahaz and other pagan Judean kings?
3. Why was Manasseh so violent?

First, A Little History…

If you’ve read Isaiah’s Daughter, the first book in this series or remember from Scripture the story of King Hezekiah, you may know that “Hezi” was stricken with a life-threatening illness during the time the Assyrians besieged Jerusalem. But the Lord miraculously healed him and gave him fifteen more years to live.

“Before Isaiah had left the middle court, the word of the Lord came to him: ‘Go back and tell Hezekiah, “…I will heal you…I will add fifteen years to your life.” 2 Kings 20:4-6 (emphasis added)

A chapter later we read:

“Manasseh was twelve years old when he became king.” 2 Kings 21:1

Since Hezi was given fifteen years’ reprieve from his deadly illness, and Manasseh was twelve when his father died, Manasseh must have been born three years into the fifteen-year reprieve, right?

#1 – Devout Son So Vehemently Anti-Yahweh?

A Look at His Early Years

With parents like Hezi and Zibah, who whole-heartedly trusted Yahweh, they would have believed Isaiah’s prophecy and began preparing Manasseh to become king at an early age. Research proved this true and showed Manasseh was likely made co-regent at age five.

He would have been tutored in every subject immediately after he was weaned—especially if he had the kind of intellect to interpret Leviticus fifty-five different ways (as research also confirmed – Sanh. 103b).

He may have been trained with other children—but likely older kids who were learning the same things. How would you characterize the children you know between 5-12 years old. Are they impressionable? How do they act around older kids? Do they want to fit in and impress?

A Look at Adolescence

What if an older girl, who understood Manasseh’s “peculiar” behavior, was added to the class ? How do adolescent boys act around pretty girls? How might the ancient culture—and the responsibilities of a king—change the natural shyness of a boy like Manasseh?

Now, let’s try to characterize Manasseh with high-functioning autism (HFA), surrounded by adult advisors who demand his attention and high performance. In the book, I wrote most of his advisors as Yahwists (Yahweh followers) like his parents, but one advisor (Shebna) was a secret pagan.

I characterized Shebna as the most interesting and fun of all his teachers. He was also most deceitful. Since HFA individuals find it difficult to discern facial expressions, hidden motives, and non-verbal signs, Manasseh would have been a poor judge of deceptive character.

Manasseh, the Teen King…

Add the typical adolescent challenges to a twelve-year-old boy who is even more impressionable, grieving, and angry…

What do you get?

Some very good reasons for a good kid to turn vehemently against the God his parents and stodgy advisors forced on him. A clever and manipulative enemy could twist the Yahwists’ well-intentioned, righteous pressure into a weapon against his faith. I believe the same thing happens with many adolescents and their God-honoring parents today.

#2 – Why Worship Starry Hosts?

My research on the starry hosts was incredibly revealing. Babylonian melothesia uses pagan worship to magically heal. Why would healing through pagan worship especially draw Manasseh?

Hello! To heal his dad, right?! Or maybe to protect himself, or his mom, or others he loved. It was easy to characterize Manasseh as a kid that searched for answers ANYWHERE he might find them to be a hero!

And think about this: It was his grandfather Isaiah–a prophet of Yahweh–who said Hezekiah would die in fifteen years. Did Manasseh see it as Yahweh’s “death sentence” or a “15-year gift of life?” Yahwists would have considered it the latter, but a manipulative enemy would have whispered the first descriptor in the boy’s ear.

Why Babylon?

Manasseh’s name is listed by both Esarhaddon and Ashurbanipal, kings of Assyria, as a faithful vassal during a time when Esarhaddon restored Babylon’s glory. It wasn’t a huge leap to imagine that Esarhaddon had more than a little influence on a young king who then adopted those Babylonian gods as his own.

In Babylonian melothesia, priests and priestesses used the power of the moon’s rotation and the position of the stars as a part of the spells and incantations. Today, the exact same gods form the foundation for what we call, astrology. Same gods, different names. Those horoscopes in the newspaper are Babylonian hold-overs from Manasseh’s starry hosts.

#3 – Why So Violent & Whose Blood Was Spilt?

Let me emphasize I found NOTHING connecting violent behavior to autism. I purposely wrote a second character with HFA who was caring, kind, and faithful to Yahweh because he made the choice to be so. In all my research, I found people who were responsible for their choices and aware of their emotions.

However, there are people–with and without HFA–who choose to be violent. Rabbinic tradition agrees that Manasseh likely killed his grandfather, Isaiah the prophet, and perhaps many more of Yahweh’s faithful.

“He sacrificed his children in the fire in the Valley of Ben Hinnom, practiced divination and witchcraft, sought omens, and consulted mediums and spiritists. He did much evil in the eyes of the Lord, arousing his anger.” 2 Chronicles 33:6

Why Choose Violence?

Scripture characterizes Manasseh as violent, so I had no choice–but Manasseh did. I believe his violent choices were a result of his alliance with Assyrian kings who were the most ruthless rulers to date.

Though Manasseh’s lack of discernment and tendency toward compulsive behavior may have initially drawn him into Assyria’s evil web, I characterized him as having descended much deeper than he ever wanted or imagined. Because really–isn’t that how sin traps us all?

What Does Manasseh Teach Us?

Granted, I write fiction. Many of my suppositions about Manasseh, his life, and relationships come from my imagination. But also from carefully researched and Spirit-directed plotting. So I hope we can learn from both Scripture and from Manasseh’s “possible” life.

Next month, we’ll finish the third and last post on Manasseh’s HFA. I’ll also introduce you to a dear friend who homeschools her five children–four of them with HFA. After spending some time on a Skype call, observing their God-honoring environment, I needed to write Manasseh’s redemptive story!

Tweet-Able:

• Researching laser sharp concepts helped me characterize thoughts, speech, and actions while writing #IsaiahsLegacy.
• Manassehs violence was a CHOICE, not because I placed him on the spectrum. Read part 2 of this blog series to discover why and how I wrote his character.
• Much of my suppositions about Manasseh in #IsaiahsLegacy come from my imagination but also from carefully researched and Spirit-directed plotting.