Study Desk

After that, he had the bronze altar moved aside, so his new altar would be right in front of the Lord 's temple.

But later, Hoshea refused to pay the taxes and asked King So of Egypt to help him rebel. When Shalmaneser found out, he arrested Hoshea and put him in prison.

So the Lord made sure that every prophet warned Israel and Judah with these words: "I, the Lord , command you to stop doing sinful things and start obeying my laws and teachings! I gave them to your ancestors, and I told my servants the prophets to repeat them to you."

The Lord became so furious with the people of Israel that he allowed them to be carried away as prisoners. Only the people living in Judah were left,

So the Lord turned his back on everyone in Israel and Judah and let them be punished and defeated until no one was left.

At first these people did not worship the Lord , so he sent lions to attack them, and the lions killed some of them.

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 Lord helped Hezekiah, so he was successful in everything he did. He even rebelled against the king of Assyria, refusing to be his servant.

So Hezekiah collected all the silver from the Lord 's temple and the royal treasury.

One of the Assyrian commanders told them: I have a message for Hezekiah from the great king of Assyria. Ask Hezekiah why he feels so sure of himself.

Eliakim, Shebna, and Joah said, "Sir, we don't want the people listening from the city wall to understand what you are saying. So please speak to us in Aramaic instead of Hebrew."

The Assyrian army commander answered, "My king sent me to speak to everyone, not just to you leaders. These people will soon have to eat their own body waste and drink their own urine! And so will the three of you."

Eliakim, Shebna, and Joah had been warned by King Hezekiah not to answer the Assyrian commander. So they tore their clothes in sorrow and reported to Hezekiah everything the commander had said.

Meanwhile, the commander of the Assyrian forces heard that his king had left the town of Lachish and was now attacking Libnah. So he went there.

You have heard how we Assyrian kings have completely wiped out other nations. What makes you feel so safe?

That same night the Lord sent an angel to the camp of the Assyrians, and he killed one hundred eighty-five thousand of them. And so the next morning, the camp was full of dead bodies.

About this time, Hezekiah got sick and was almost dead. Isaiah the prophet went in and told him, "The Lord says you won't ever get well. You are going to die, so you had better start doing what needs to be done."

the Lord sent him back to Hezekiah with this message: Hezekiah, you are the ruler of my people, and I am the Lord God, who was worshiped by your ancestor David. I heard you pray, and I saw you cry. I will heal you, so that three days from now you will be able to worship in my temple.

Hezekiah asked Isaiah, "Can you prove that the Lord will heal me, so that I can worship in his temple in three days?"

Hezekiah thought, "At least our nation will be at peace for a while." So he told Isaiah, "The message you brought me from the Lord is good."