When he was in affliction, he besought the Lord, &c.— The Jews have a tradition, that while Manasseh was at Babylon, by the direction of his conqueror, he was put in a large brazen vessel, full of holes, and set near a great fire; that, in his extremity, he had recourse to all those false deities to whom he had offered so many sacrifices, but received no relief from them; that, remembering what he had heard his good father Hezekiah say, namely, "When thou art in tribulation, if thou turn to the Lord thy God, he will not forsake thee, neither destroy thee." Deuteronomy 4:30-31 he was thereupon immediately delivered, and in a moment translated to his kingdom. This is no less a fiction than that miraculous flame, which the author of the imperfect comment upon St. Matthew speaks of, that encompassed Manasseh on a sudden as he was praying to God, and, having melted his chains asunder, set him at liberty. In all probability, it was Saos-duchin, the successor of Esar-haddon, who, some years after his captivity, released Manasseh out of prison. Bishop Hall remarks, from this verse, the truth of that saying of the prophet, Affliction giveth understanding. If the cross bear us not to heaven, says he, nothing can. What use were there of the grain, but for the edge of the sickle wherewith it is cut down, the stroke of the flail wherewith it is threshed, the weight and attrition of the mill wherewith it is crushed, the fire of the oven wherewith it is baked? Say now, Manasseh, with that grandfather of thine, It is good for me that I have been afflicted: thine iron was more precious to thee than thy gold; thy jail was a more happy lodging to thee than thy palace; Babylon was a better school to thee than Jerusalem. How foolish are we, to frown upon our afflictions! These, how severe soever, are our best friends: they are not, indeed, for our pleasure, but for our profit; their issue makes them worthy of a welcome. What should we care how bitter that potion is that brings us health?
Related Commentaries of 2 Chronicles 33:12
2 Chronicles 33:12
12 And when he was in affliction, he besought the LORD his God, and humbled himself greatly before the God of his fathers,