Study Desk

He said, "I pray that God will punish me terribly, if Elisha's head is still on his shoulders by this time tomorrow."

he said to Hazael, "Go meet with Elisha the man of God and have him ask the Lord if I will get well. And take along a gift for him."

So Jehu got up and went inside. The prophet poured olive oil on Jehu's head and told him: The Lord God of Israel has this message for you: "I am the Lord , and I have chosen you to be king of my people Israel.

But Jehu did not completely obey the commands of the Lord God of Israel. Instead, he kept doing the sinful things that Jeroboam had caused the Israelites to do.

He told Uriah the priest: From now on, the morning and evening sacrifices as well as all gifts of grain and wine are to be offered on this altar. The sacrifices for the people and for the king must also be offered here. Sprinkle the blood from all the sacrifices on it, but leave the bronze altar for me to use for prayer and finding out what God wants me to do.

All of this happened because the people of Israel had sinned against the Lord their God, who had rescued them from Egypt, where they had been slaves. They worshiped foreign gods,

Even worse, the Israelites tried to hide their sins from the Lord their God. They built their own local shrines everywhere in Israel—from small towns to large, walled cities.

But the Israelites would not listen; they were as stubborn as their ancestors who had refused to worship the Lord their God.

The people of Israel disobeyed all the commands of the Lord their God. They made two gold statues of calves and set up a sacred pole for Asherah; they also worshiped the stars and the god Baal.

A messenger told the king of Assyria, "The people you moved to Israel don't know how to worship the god of that country. So he sent lions that have attacked and killed some of them."

The king replied, "Get one of the Israelite priests we brought here and send him back to Israel. He can live there and teach them about the god of that country."

The people from Babylonia made the god Succoth-Benoth; those from Cuthah made the god Nergal; those from Hamath made Ashima;

Never worship any other god, always obey my laws and teachings,

and remember the solemn agreement between us. I will say it again: Do not worship any god

except me. I am the Lord your God, and I will rescue you from all your enemies.

Hezekiah trusted the Lord God of Israel. No other king of Judah was like Hezekiah, either before or after him.

All of that happened because the people of Israel had not obeyed the Lord their God. They rejected the solemn agreement he had made with them, and they ignored everything that the Lord 's servant Moses had told them.

Is Hezekiah now depending on the Lord your God? Didn't Hezekiah tear down all except one of the Lord 's altars and places of worship? Didn't he tell the people of Jerusalem and Judah to worship at that one place?

None of these gods kept their people safe from the king of Assyria. Do you think the Lord your God can do any better?

Please pray for those of us who are left alive. The king of Assyria sent his army commander to insult the living God. Perhaps the Lord heard what he said and will do something, if you will pray.