Notice the chief lessons which lie in the life of these three kings.
I. Manasseh. There is no limit to the mercy of God. Sinners the chief are welcome to complete forgiveness. If only great saints got into heaven, we who are great sinners would lose hope. But when we see Manasseh and men like him going in and getting welcome, there is hope for us. If we follow their steps in repentance, we shall be permitted to join their company in rest.
II. Amon. Beware of turning the riches of God's grace into a snare. As Manasseh's case is recorded in the Bible that an aged sinner desiring to turn may not be cast into despair, Amon's case is recorded beside it that the young may not delay an hour, lest they perish for ever.
III. None of us will be saved or lost in consequence of anything in our parents. Amon saw his father born again when he was old, but the son did not inherit his father's goodness. Josiah was the child of an ungodly parent, and yet he became a godly child. These two lessons are plainly written in the history, the one to make the presumptuous humble, the other to give the despairing hope: (1) a converted father cannot secure the safety of an unconverted son, and (2) an unconverted father cannot drag down a child in his fall if that child follows the Lord.
W. Arnot, Family Treasury,1861, p. 353.
Reference: 2 Chronicles 34:1. Sermons for Boys and Girls,p. 188.