Study Desk

Kore son of Imnah the Levite was in charge of the special gifts the people wanted to give to God. He was responsible for giving out the contributions made to the Lord and the holy gifts. Kore was the guard at the East Gate.

This is what King Hezekiah did in Judah. He did what was good and right and obedient before the Lord his God.

Hezekiah tried to obey God in his service of the Temple of God, and he tried to obey God's teachings and commands. He gave himself fully to his work for God. So he had success.

He only has men, but we have the Lord our God to help us and to fight our battles." The people were encouraged by the words of Hezekiah king of Judah.

Hezekiah says to you, ‘The Lord our God will save us from the king of Assyria,' but he is fooling you. If you stay in Jerusalem, you will die from hunger and thirst.

My ancestors destroyed those nations; none of their gods could save them from me. So your god cannot save you from my power.

Do not let Hezekiah fool you or trick you, and do not believe him. No god of any nation or kingdom has been able to save his people from me or my ancestors. Your god is even less able to save you from me."

Sennacherib's officers said worse things against the Lord God and his servant Hezekiah.

King Sennacherib also wrote letters insulting the Lord , the God of Israel. They spoke against him, saying, "The gods of the other nations could not save their people from me. In the same way Hezekiah's god won't be able to save his people from me."

They spoke about the God of Jerusalem as though he were like the gods the people of the world worshiped, which are made by human hands.

Then the Lord sent an angel who killed all the soldiers, leaders, and officers in the camp of the king of Assyria. So the king went back to his own country in disgrace. When he went into the temple of his god, some of his own sons killed him with a sword.

But Hezekiah did not thank God for his kindness, because he was so proud. So the Lord was angry with him and the people of Judah and Jerusalem.

He also built many towns. He had many flocks and herds, because God had given Hezekiah much wealth.

But one time the leaders of Babylon sent messengers to Hezekiah, asking him about a strange sign that had happened in the land. When they came, God left Hezekiah alone to test him so he could know everything that was in Hezekiah's heart.

Hezekiah's love for God and the other things he did as king are written in the vision of the prophet Isaiah son of Amoz. This is in the book of the kings of Judah and Israel.

Manasseh carved an idol and put it in the Temple of God. God had said to David and his son Solomon about the Temple, "I will be worshiped forever in this Temple and in Jerusalem, which I have chosen from all the tribes of Israel.

As Manasseh suffered, he begged the Lord his God for help and humbled himself before the God of his ancestors.

When Manasseh prayed, the Lord heard him and had pity on him. So the Lord let him return to Jerusalem and to his kingdom. Then Manasseh knew that the Lord is the true God.

Then he set up the Lord 's altar and sacrificed on it fellowship offerings and offerings to show thanks to God. Manasseh commanded all the people of Judah to serve the Lord , the God of Israel.

The people continued to offer sacrifices at the places of worship, but their sacrifices were only to the Lord their God.