2 Kings 21:1-5 ~ 1-Manasseh was twelve years old when he began to reign, and reigned fifty and five years in Jerusalem. And his mother's name was Hephzibah. 2-And he did that which was evil in the sight of the LORD, after the abominations of the heathen, whom the LORD cast out before the children of Israel. 3-For he built up again the high places which Hezekiah his father had destroyed; and he reared up altars for Baal, and made a grove, as did Ahab king of Israel; and worshipped all the host of heaven, and served them. 4-And he built altars in the house of the LORD, of which the LORD said, In Jerusalem will I put my name. 5-And he built altars for all the host of heaven in the two courts of the house of the LORD.
Worship In The Grove
One of the ways that Israel violated the law of the Lord was in the worship other gods and idols. The first commandment of the Lord was not to worship or have any other gods before (in the presence of) the Lord himself.(Ex. 20:3, Deut. 5:7) Since one of the attributes of God is omnipresence, the command was not to have any gods or idols period. What seemed to be a simple command in light of all the power that God had shown and displayed by delivering his people would soon be violated over and over until the idol of an Asherah (Deut. 16:21, 2 Kings 13:6) was placed outside of the temple to signify the cohort (female counterpart, partner or wife) of the God of Israel. In other words no matter how God has blessed the nation to rise from obscurity to a possession, they would trample back over the name of the Lord and even add to their sins through idolatry.
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