Study Desk

Jehu called the people of Samaria together and said, "King Ahab served the god Baal a little, but I will serve him much more.

But Jehu did not obey with all his heart the Law of the Lord , the God of Israel; instead, he followed the example of Jeroboam, who led Israel into sin.

He reconquered all the territory that had belonged to Israel, from Hamath Pass in the north to the Dead Sea in the south. This was what the Lord , the God of Israel, had promised through his servant the prophet Jonah son of Amittai from Gath Hepher.

at the age of twenty, and he ruled in Jerusalem for sixteen years. He did not follow the good example of his ancestor King David; instead, he did what was not pleasing to the Lord his God

Samaria fell because the Israelites sinned against the Lord their God, who had rescued them from the king of Egypt and had led them out of Egypt. They worshiped other gods,

The Israelites did things that the Lord their God disapproved of. They built pagan places of worship in all their towns, from the smallest village to the largest city.

But they would not obey; they were stubborn like their ancestors, who had not trusted in the Lord their God.

They broke all the laws of the Lord their God and made two metal bull-calves to worship; they also made an image of the goddess Asherah, worshiped the stars, and served the god Baal.

But even the people of Judah did not obey the laws of the Lord their God; they imitated the customs adopted by the people of Israel.

The emperor of Assyria was told that the people he had settled in the cities of Samaria did not know the law of the god of that land, and so the god had sent lions, which were killing them.

So the emperor commanded: "Send back one of the priests we brought as prisoners; have him go back and live there, in order to teach the people the law of the god of that land."

the people of Babylon made idols of the god Succoth Benoth; the people of Cuth, idols of Nergal; the people of Hamath, idols of Ashima;

You shall obey me, the Lord your God, and I will rescue you from your enemies."

Hezekiah trusted in the Lord , the God of Israel; Judah never had another king like him, either before or after his time.

Samaria fell because the Israelites did not obey the Lord their God, but broke the covenant he had made with them and disobeyed all the laws given by Moses, the servant of the Lord . They would not listen and they would not obey.

The Assyrian official went on, "Or will you tell me that you are relying on the Lord your God? It was the Lord 's shrines and altars that Hezekiah destroyed, when he told the people of Judah and Jerusalem to worship only at the altar in Jerusalem.

The Assyrian emperor has sent his chief official to insult the living God. May the Lord your God hear these insults and punish those who spoke them. So pray to God for those of our people who survive."

to tell him, "The god you are trusting in has told you that you will not fall into my hands, but don't let that deceive you.

and prayed, "O Lord , the God of Israel, seated on your throne above the winged creatures, you alone are God, ruling all the kingdoms of the world. You created the earth and the sky.

Now, Lord , look at what is happening to us. Listen to all the things that Sennacherib is saying to insult you, the living God.