Study Desk

After that time, at the end of two years, his insides came out because of his sickness. And he died in much pain. His people made no fire for him like the fires made for his fathers.

So he returned to Jezreel to be healed of the cuts he had received at Ramah, when he fought against King Hazael of Syria. And Ahaziah the son of Jehoram, king of Judah, went down to see Jehoram the son of Ahab in Jezreel, because he was sick.

They buried him in the city of David among the kings, because he had done well in Israel, and to God and His house.

They left the house of the Lord the God of their fathers, and worshiped the false gods of Asherah and the objects made to look like them. So anger came upon Judah and Jerusalem because of their sin.

Then the Spirit of God came upon Zechariah the son of Jehoiada the religious leader. He stood where he could be seen by the people and said to them, "God says, ‘Why do you sin against the Laws of the Lord, and bring trouble on yourselves? Because you have left the Lord, He has left you.'"

The army of the Syrians came with a small number of men. But the Lord let them win against a very large army. Because the people of Judah and Jerusalem had turned away from the Lord, the God of their fathers. So the Syrians were used to punish Joash.

When they had left Joash, leaving him very sick, his own servants made plans against him because of the blood of the son of Jehoiada the religious leader. And they killed him on his bed. So he died, and they buried him in the city of David. But they did not bury him in the graves of the kings.

But as he was speaking the king said to him, "Have we chosen you to give words of wisdom to the king? Stop! Or I will have you put to death." So the man who spoke for God stopped, but said, "I know that God has planned to destroy you because you have done this. And you have not listened to what I have said."

But Amaziah would not listen. God had planned that He would give Judah into the hand of Joash because Judah had worshiped the gods of Edom.

Azariah the head religious leader and all the religious leaders looked at him and saw that he had a bad skin disease on his forehead. So they were quick to get him out of there, and he himself left in a hurry because the Lord had punished him.

So Jotham became powerful, because he let the Lord his God lead him in all his ways.

For Pekah the son of Remaliah killed 120,000 powerful soldiers of Judah in one day, because they had turned away from the Lord God of their fathers.

But a man who spoke for the Lord was there, whose name was Oded. He went out to meet the army that came to Samaria and said to them, "See, because the Lord, the God of your fathers, was angry with Judah, He has given them into your hand. But you have killed them in an anger which has even gone up to heaven.

For the Lord brought trouble to Judah because of King Ahaz of Israel. Ahaz caused the people of Judah to sin and was not faithful to the Lord.

For he gave gifts on the altar to the gods of Damascus who had beaten him in battle. He said, "Because the gods of the kings of Syria helped them, I will give gifts to them so they may help me." But they were what destroyed him and all Israel.

See, our fathers have fallen by the sword. And our sons, our daughters and our wives have been taken away to a strange land because of this.

Then Hezekiah and all the people were filled with joy because of what God had done for the people, for it was done all at once.

For they could not keep it at the set time, because there had not been enough religious leaders who had made themselves holy. And the people had not been gathered to Jerusalem.

So there was great joy in Jerusalem, because there was nothing like this in Jerusalem since the days of Solomon the son of David, king of Israel.

"Be strong and have strength of heart. Do not be afraid or troubled because of the king of Assyria and all those who are with him. For the One with us is greater than the one with him.