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Isaiah 10:5-6
The Lord says,“ How terrible it will be for the people of Assyria! They are the war club that carries out my anger.I will send them against the ungodly nation of Judah. I will order them to fight against my own people. My people make me angry. I will order Assyria to take their goods and carry them away. I will order Assyria to walk on my people as if they were walking on mud.
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Isaiah 8:7-8
So I am about to bring against these people the king of Assyria and his whole army. The Assyrians will be like the mighty Euphrates River when it is flooding. They will run over everything in their path.They will sweep on into Judah like a flood. They will pass through Judah and reach all the way to Jerusalem. Immanuel, they will attack your land like an eagle. Their wings will spread out and cover it.”
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Nehemiah 9:32
“ Our God, you are the great God. You are mighty and wonderful. You keep the covenant you made with us. You show us your love. So don’t let all our suffering seem like a small thing to you. We’ve suffered greatly. So have our kings and leaders. So have our priests and prophets. Our people who lived long ago also suffered. And all your people are suffering right now. In fact, we’ve been suffering from the time of the kings of Assyria until today.
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2 Chronicles 10 16-2 Chronicles 10 19
All the Israelites saw that the king refused to listen to them. So they answered the king. They said,“ We don’t have any share in David’s royal family. We don’t have any share in Jesse’s son. People of Israel, let’s go back to our homes. David’s royal family, take care of your own kingdom!” So all the Israelites went home.But Rehoboam still ruled over the Israelites who were living in the towns of Judah.Adoniram was in charge of those who were forced to work hard for King Rehoboam. The king sent him out among the Israelites. But they killed Adoniram by throwing stones at him. Rehoboam was able to get away in his chariot. He escaped to Jerusalem.Israel has refused to follow the royal family of David to this day.
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2 Chronicles 28 19-2 Chronicles 28 21
The Lord had made Judah less powerful because of Ahaz, their king. Ahaz had stirred up the people of Judah to do evil things. He hadn’t been faithful to the Lord at all.Tiglath- Pileser came to Ahaz. But he gave Ahaz trouble instead of help. Tiglath- Pileser was king of Assyria.Ahaz took some things from the Lord’ s temple. He also took some from the royal palace and from the officials. He gave all of them to the king of Assyria. But that didn’t help Ahaz.
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Isaiah 36:1-22
Sennacherib attacked and captured all the cities of Judah that had high walls around them. It was in the 14th year of the rule of Hezekiah. Sennacherib was king of Assyria.He sent his field commander from Lachish to King Hezekiah at Jerusalem. He sent him along with a large army. The commander stopped at the channel that brings water from the Upper Pool. It was on the road to the Washerman’s Field.Eliakim, Shebna and Joah went out to him. Eliakim, the son of Hilkiah, was in charge of the palace. Shebna was the secretary. Joah, the son of Asaph, kept the records.The field commander said to them,“ Give Hezekiah this message. Tell him,“‘ Sennacherib is the great king of Assyria. He says,“ Why are you putting your faith in what your king says?You say you have a military plan. You say you have a strong army. But your words don’t mean anything. Who are you depending on? Why don’t you want to stay under my control?Look, I know you are depending on Egypt. Why are you doing that? Egypt is nothing but a broken papyrus stem. Try leaning on it. It will only cut your hand. Pharaoh, the king of Egypt, is just like that to everyone who depends on him.But suppose you say to me,‘ We are depending on the Lord our God.’ Didn’t Hezekiah remove your god’s high places and altars? Didn’t Hezekiah say to the people of Judah and Jerusalem,‘ You must worship at the altar in Jerusalem’?“‘ “Come on. Make a deal with my master, the king of Assyria. I’ll give you 2,000 horses. But only if you can put riders on them!You are depending on Egypt for chariots and horsemen. You can’t drive away even the least important officer among my master’s officials.Besides, do you think I’ve come without being sent by the Lord? Have I come to attack and destroy this land without receiving a message from him? The Lord himself told me to march out against your country. He told me to destroy it.” ’ ”Then Eliakim, Shebna and Joah spoke to the field commander. They said,“ Please speak to us in the Aramaic language. We understand it. Don’t speak to us in Hebrew. If you do, the people on the wall will be able to understand you.”But the commander replied,“ My master sent me to say these things. Are these words only for your master and you to hear? Aren’t they also for the people sitting on the wall? They are going to suffer just like you. They’ll have to eat their own waste. They’ll have to drink their own urine.”Then the commander stood up and spoke in the Hebrew language. He called out,“ Pay attention to what the great king of Assyria is telling you.He says,‘ Don’t let Hezekiah trick you. He can’t save you!Don’t let Hezekiah talk you into trusting in the Lord. Don’t believe him when he says,“ You can be sure that the Lord will save us. This city will not be handed over to the king of Assyria.” ’“ Don’t listen to Hezekiah. The king of Assyria says,‘ Make a peace treaty with me. Come over to my side. Then each one of you will eat fruit from your own vine and fig tree. Each one of you will drink water from your own well.You will do that until I come back. Then I’ll take you to a land just like yours. It’s a land that has a lot of grain and fresh wine. It has plenty of bread and vineyards.“‘ Don’t let Hezekiah fool you. He’s telling you a lie when he says,“ The Lord will save us.” Have the gods of any nations ever saved their lands from the power of the king of Assyria?Where are the gods of Hamath and Arpad? Where are the gods of Sepharvaim? Have they saved Samaria from my power?Which one of all the gods of those countries has been able to save their lands from me? So how can the Lord save Jerusalem from my power?’ ”But the people remained silent. They didn’t say anything. That’s because King Hezekiah had commanded,“ Don’t answer him.”Then Eliakim, the son of Hilkiah, went to Hezekiah. Eliakim was in charge of the palace. Shebna the secretary went with him. So did Joah, the son of Asaph. Joah kept the records. All of them went to Hezekiah with their clothes torn. They told him what the field commander had said.
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2 Chronicles 36 6-2 Chronicles 36 20
Nebuchadnezzar attacked him. Nebuchadnezzar was king of Babylon. He put Jehoiakim in bronze chains. And he took him to Babylon.Nebuchadnezzar also took to Babylon objects from the Lord’ s temple. He put them in his own temple there.The other events of Jehoiakim’s rule are written in the records of the kings of Israel and Judah. He did things the Lord hated. Those things and everything that happened to him are also written in those records. Jehoiakim’s son Jehoiachin became the next king after him.Jehoiachin was 18 years old when he became king. He ruled in Jerusalem for three months and ten days. He did what was evil in the eyes of the Lord.In the spring, King Nebuchadnezzar sent for him. He brought him to Babylon. He also brought things of value from the Lord’ s temple. He made Zedekiah king over Judah and Jerusalem. Zedekiah was Jehoiachin’s uncle.Zedekiah was 21 years old when he became king. He ruled in Jerusalem for 11 years.He did what was evil in the eyes of the Lord his God. He didn’t pay any attention to the message the Lord spoke through Jeremiah the prophet.Zedekiah also refused to remain under the control of King Nebuchadnezzar. The king had forced Zedekiah to make a promise in God’s name. But Zedekiah’s heart became very stubborn. He wouldn’t turn to the Lord, the God of Israel.And that’s not all. The people and all the leaders of the priests became more and more unfaithful. They followed all the practices of the nations. The Lord hated those practices. The people and leaders made the Lord’ s temple“ unclean.” The Lord had set the temple in Jerusalem apart in a special way for himself.The Lord, the God of Israel, sent word to his people through his messengers. He sent it to them again and again. He took pity on his people. He also took pity on the temple where he lived.But God’s people made fun of his messengers. They hated his words. They laughed at his prophets. Finally the Lord’ s great anger was stirred up against his people. Nothing could save them.The Lord brought the king of the Babylonians against them. The Babylonian army killed their young people with their swords at the temple. They didn’t spare young men or young women. They didn’t spare the old people or weak people either. God handed all of them over to Nebuchadnezzar.Nebuchadnezzar carried off to Babylon all the objects from God’s temple. Some of those things were large. Others were small. He carried off the treasures of the temple. He also carried off the treasures that belonged to the king and his officials.The Babylonians set God’s temple on fire. They broke down the wall of Jerusalem. They burned all the palaces. They destroyed everything of value there.Nebuchadnezzar took the rest of the people to Babylon as prisoners. They had escaped from being killed by swords. They served him and those who ruled after him. That lasted until the kingdom of Persia came to power.
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2 Chronicles 32 1-2 Chronicles 32 33
Hezekiah had been completely faithful to the Lord. However, Sennacherib king of Assyria came and marched into Judah. Sennacherib surrounded the cities that had high walls around them. He got ready to attack them. He thought he could win the battle over them. He thought he could take them for himself.Hezekiah saw that Sennacherib had come to Jerusalem to fight against it.So he asked his officials and military leaders for advice. He asked them about blocking off the water from the springs outside the city. They gave him the advice he asked for.They gathered together a large group of people. They blocked all the springs. They also blocked the stream that flowed through the land.“ Why should the kings of Assyria come and find plenty of water?” they asked.Then Hezekiah worked hard repairing all the broken parts of the wall. He built towers on it. He built another wall outside that one. He built up the areas that had been filled in around the City of David. He also made large numbers of weapons and shields.He appointed military officers over the people. He gathered the officers together in front of him in the open area at the city gate. He gave them words of hope. He said,“ Be strong. Be brave. Don’t be afraid. Don’t lose hope. The king of Assyria has a huge army with him. But there’s a greater power with us than there is with him.The only thing he has is human strength. But the Lord our God is with us. He will help us. He’ll fight our battles.” The people had great faith in what Hezekiah, the king of Judah, said.Later Sennacherib, the king of Assyria, and all his forces surrounded Lachish. They prepared to attack it. At that time, Sennacherib sent his officers to Jerusalem. They went there with a message for Hezekiah, the king of Judah. The message was also for all the people of Judah who were there. The message said,“ Sennacherib, the king of Assyria, says,‘ Why are you putting your faith in what your king says? Why do you remain in Jerusalem when you are surrounded?Hezekiah says,“ The Lord our God will save us from the power of the king of Assyria.” But he isn’t telling you the truth. If you listen to him, you will die of hunger and thirst.Didn’t Hezekiah himself remove your god’s high places and altars? Didn’t Hezekiah say to the people of Judah and Jerusalem,“ You must worship at one altar. You must burn sacrifices on it”?“‘ Don’t you know what I and the kings who ruled before me have done? Don’t you know what we’ve done to all the peoples of the other lands? Were the gods of those nations ever able to save their lands from my power?The kings who ruled before me destroyed many nations. Which one of the gods of those nations has been able to save his people from me? So how can your god save you from my power?Don’t let Hezekiah trick you. He’s telling you lies. Don’t believe him. No god of any nation or kingdom has been able to save his people from my power. No god has been able to save his people from the power of the kings who ruled before me. So your god won’t save you from my power either!’ ”Sennacherib’s officers spoke even more things against the Lord God and his servant Hezekiah.The king also wrote letters against the Lord. His letters made fun of the God of Israel. They said,“ The peoples of other lands have their gods. But those gods didn’t save their people from my power. So the god of Hezekiah won’t save his people from my power either.”Then the officers called out in the Hebrew language to the people of Jerusalem who were on the wall. They were trying to scare them and make them afraid. That’s because they wanted to capture the city.They were comparing the God of Jerusalem to the gods of the other nations of the world. But those gods were only statues. They had been made by human hands.King Hezekiah cried out in prayer to God in heaven. He prayed about the problem Jerusalem was facing. So did Isaiah the prophet. He was the son of Amoz.The Lord sent an angel. The angel wiped out all the enemy’s fighting men, commanders and officers. He put an end to them right there in the camp of the Assyrian king. So Sennacherib went back to his own land in shame. He went into the temple of his god. There some of his own sons, the people closest to him, killed him with their swords.So the Lord saved Hezekiah and the people of Jerusalem. He saved them from the power of Sennacherib, the king of Assyria. He also saved them from all their other enemies. He took care of them on every side.Many people brought offerings to Jerusalem for the Lord. They brought expensive gifts for Hezekiah, the king of Judah. From then on, all the nations thought well of him.In those days Hezekiah became sick. He knew he was about to die. So he prayed to the Lord. And the Lord answered him. He gave him a miraculous sign.But Hezekiah’s heart was proud. He didn’t give thanks for the many kind things the Lord had done for him. So the Lord became angry with him. He also became angry with Judah and Jerusalem.Then Hezekiah had a change of heart. He was sorry he had been proud. The people of Jerusalem were also sorry they had sinned. So the Lord wasn’t angry with them as long as Hezekiah was king.Hezekiah was very rich. He received great honor. He made storerooms for his silver and gold. He also made them for his jewels, spices, shields and all kinds of expensive things.He made buildings to store the harvest of grain, fresh wine and olive oil. He made barns for all kinds of cattle. He made sheep pens for his flocks.He built villages. He gained large numbers of flocks and herds. God had made him very rich.Hezekiah blocked up the upper opening of the Gihon spring. He directed the water to flow down to the west side of the City of David. He had success in everything he did.The rulers of Babylon sent messengers to him. They asked him about the miraculous sign that had taken place in the land. Then God left Hezekiah to test him. God wanted to know everything in Hezekiah’s heart.Hezekiah did many things that showed he was faithful to the Lord. Those things and the other events of his rule are written down. They are written in the record of the vision of the prophet Isaiah, the son of Amoz. That record is part of the records of the kings of Judah and Israel.Hezekiah joined the members of his family who had already died. He was buried on the hill where the tombs of David’s family are. The whole nation of Judah honored him when he died. So did the people of Jerusalem. Hezekiah’s son Manasseh became the next king after him.
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2 Kings 18 1-2 Kings 18 19
Hezekiah began to rule as king over Judah. It was in the third year that Hoshea was king of Israel. He was the son of Elah. Hezekiah was the son of Ahaz.Hezekiah was 25 years old when he became king. He ruled in Jerusalem for 29 years. His mother’s name was Abijah. She was the daughter of Zechariah.Hezekiah did what was right in the eyes of the Lord, just as King David had done.Hezekiah removed the high places. He smashed the sacred stones. He cut down the poles used to worship the female god named Asherah. He broke into pieces the bronze snake Moses had made. Up to that time the Israelites had been burning incense to it. They called it Nehushtan.Hezekiah trusted in the Lord, the God of Israel. There was no one like Hezekiah among all the kings of Judah. There was no king like him either before him or after him.Hezekiah remained faithful to the Lord. He didn’t stop serving him. He obeyed the commands the Lord had given Moses.The Lord was with Hezekiah. Because of that, Hezekiah was successful in everything he did. He refused to remain under the control of the king of Assyria. He didn’t serve him.He won the war against the Philistines. He won battles at their lookout towers. He won battles at their cities that had high walls around them. He won battles against the Philistines all the way to Gaza and its territory.Shalmaneser marched to Samaria and surrounded it. It was in the fourth year of King Hezekiah. That was the seventh year of Hoshea, the king of Israel. Hoshea was the son of Elah. Shalmaneser was king of Assyria.At the end of three years the army of Assyria captured Samaria. That happened in the sixth year of Hezekiah’s rule. It was the ninth year of the rule of Hoshea, the king of Israel.The king of Assyria took the people of Israel away from their own land. He sent them off to Assyria. He made some of them live in Halah. He made others live in Gozan on the Habor River. And he made others live in the towns of the Medes.These things happened because the Israelites hadn’t obeyed the Lord their God. They had broken the covenant he had made with them. They had refused to do everything Moses, the servant of the Lord, had commanded. They hadn’t paid any attention to those commands. They hadn’t obeyed them.Sennacherib attacked and captured all the cities of Judah that had high walls around them. It was in the 14th year of the rule of Hezekiah. Sennacherib was king of Assyria.Hezekiah, the king of Judah, sent a message to the king of Assyria at Lachish. Hezekiah said,“ I have done what is wrong. Pull your troops back from me. Then I’ll pay you anything you ask me to.” The king of Assyria forced Hezekiah, the king of Judah, to give him 11 tons of silver. Hezekiah also had to give him one ton of gold.So Hezekiah gave him all the silver in the Lord’ s temple. He also gave him all the silver among the treasures in the royal palace.Hezekiah, the king of Judah, had covered the doors and doorposts of the Lord’ s temple with gold. But now he had to strip it off. He had to give it to the king of Assyria.The king of Assyria sent his highest commander from Lachish to King Hezekiah at Jerusalem. He also sent his chief officer and his field commander along with a large army. All of them came up to Jerusalem. They stopped at the channel that brings water from the Upper Pool. The channel was on the road to the Washerman’s Field.The Assyrians called for King Hezekiah. Eliakim, Shebna and Joah went out to them. Eliakim, the son of Hilkiah, was in charge of the palace. Shebna was the secretary. Joah, the son of Asaph, kept the records.The field commander said to them,“ Give Hezekiah this message. Tell him,“‘ Sennacherib is the great king of Assyria. He says,“ Why are you putting your faith in what your king says?
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1 Kings 12 16-1 Kings 12 19
All the Israelites saw that the king refused to listen to them. So they answered the king. They said,“ We don’t have any share in David’s royal family. We don’t have any share in Jesse’s son. People of Israel, let’s go back to our homes. David’s royal family, take care of your own kingdom!” So the Israelites went home.But Rehoboam still ruled over the Israelites living in the towns of Judah.Adoniram was in charge of those who were forced to work hard for King Rehoboam. The king sent him out among all the Israelites. But they killed Adoniram by throwing stones at him. King Rehoboam was able to get away in his chariot. He escaped to Jerusalem.Israel has refused to follow the royal family of David to this day.
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2 Chronicles 33 11
So the Lord brought the army commanders of the king of Assyria against them. They took Manasseh as a prisoner. They put a hook in his nose. They put him in bronze chains. And they took him to Babylon.
