was smitten with a very delirium of idolatry, and wallowed in any and
every sort of false worship. No matter what strange god was presented,
there were hospitality, an altar, and an offering for him. Baal,
Moloch, 'the host of heaven,' wizards, enchanters, anybody who
pretended to have any sort of black art, all were welcome, and the
more the better. No doubt, this eager acceptance of a miscellaneous
multitude of deities was partly reaction from the monotheism of the
former reign, but also it was the natural result of being surrounded
by the worshippers of these various gods; and it was an unconscious
confession of the insufficiency of each and all of them to fill the
void in the heart, and satisfy the needs of the spirit. There are
'gods many, and lords many,' because they are insufficient; 'the Lord
our God is one Lord,' because He, in His single Self, is more than all
these, and is enough for any and every man.

We may note, too, that at the beginning of the chapter Manasseh is
said to have done '_like_ unto the abominations of the heathen,'
while in verse 9 he is said to have done 'evil _more_ than did
the nations.' When a worshipper of Jehovah does _like_ the
heathen, he does _worse_ than they. An apostate Christian is more
guilty than one who has never 'tasted the good word of God,' and is
likely to push his sins to a more flagrant wickedness. 'The corruption
of the best is the worst.' We cannot do what the world does without
being more deeply guilty than they.

The narrative lays stress on the fact that the king's inclination to
idolatry was agreeable to the people. The kings, who fought against
it, had to resist the popular current, but at the least encouragement
from those in high places the nation was ready to slide back. Rulers
who wish to lower the standard of morality or religion have an easy