Study Desk

He sought God throughout the lifetime of Zechariah, the teacher of the fear of God. During the time that he sought the Lord, God gave him success.

God helped him against the Philistines, the Arabs that live in Gur-baal, and the Meunites.

The Ammonites paid tribute to Uzziah, and his fame spread as far as the entrance of Egypt, for God made him very powerful.

But when he became strong, he grew arrogant, and it led to his own destruction. He acted unfaithfully against the Lord his God by going into the Lord’s sanctuary to burn incense on the incense altar.

They took their stand against King Uzziah and said, “Uzziah, you have no right to offer incense to the Lord—only the consecrated priests, the descendants of Aaron, have the right to offer incense. Leave the sanctuary, for you have acted unfaithfully! You will not receive honor from the Lord God.”

So Jotham strengthened his position because he did not waver in obeying the Lord his God.

So the Lord his God handed Ahaz over to the king of Aram. He attacked him and took many captives to Damascus.

Pekah son of Remaliah killed one hundred twenty thousand in Judah in one day—all brave men—because they had abandoned the Lord God of their ancestors.

A prophet of the Lord named Oded was there. He went out to meet the army that came to Samaria and said to them, “Look, the Lord God of your ancestors handed them over to you because of his wrath against Judah, but you slaughtered them in a rage that has reached heaven.

Now you plan to reduce the people of Judah and Jerusalem, male and female, to slavery. Are you not also guilty before the Lord your God?

He made high places in every city of Judah to offer incense to other gods, and he angered the Lord, the God of his ancestors.

He said to them, “Hear me, Levites. Consecrate yourselves now and consecrate the temple of the Lord, the God of your ancestors. Remove everything impure from the holy place.

For our fathers were unfaithful and did what is evil in the sight of the Lord our God. They abandoned him, turned their faces away from the Lord’s dwelling place, and turned their backs on him.

They also closed the doors of the portico, extinguished the lamps, did not burn incense, and did not offer burnt offerings in the holy place of the God of Israel.

It is in my heart now to make a covenant with the Lord, the God of Israel so that his burning anger may turn away from us.

Then Hezekiah and all the people rejoiced over how God had prepared the people, for it had come about suddenly.

Then Hezekiah sent word throughout all Israel and Judah, and he also wrote letters to Ephraim and Manasseh to come to the Lord’s temple in Jerusalem to observe the Passover of the Lord, the God of Israel.

so they affirmed the proposal and spread the message throughout all Israel, from Beer-sheba to Dan, to come to observe the Passover of the Lord, the God of Israel in Jerusalem, for they hadn’t observed it often, as prescribed.

So the couriers went throughout Israel and Judah with letters from the hand of the king and his officials, and according to the king’s command, saying, “Israelites, return to the Lord, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel so that he may return to those of you who remain, who have escaped the grasp of the kings of Assyria.

Don’t be like your fathers and your brothers who were unfaithful to the Lord, the God of their ancestors so that he made them an object of horror as you yourselves see.