Ethan: Welcome To Immerse: The Daily Bible Reading Experience.
Day 200 and 37
Hezekiah son of Ahaz began to rule over Judah in the third year
of King Hashi's reign in Israel.
He was 25 years old when he became King, and he reigned in Jerusalem 29 years.
His mother was ab Baja, the daughter of Zechariah.
He did what was pleasing in the Lord's sight just as his ancestor David had done.
He removed the pagan shrines, smashed the sacred pillars,
and cut down the ashera poles.
He broke up the bronze serpent that Moses had made because the people of Israel
had been offering sacrifices to it.
The bronze serpent was called Nahin.
Hezekiah trusted in the Lord, the God of Israel.
There was no one like him among all the kings of Judah, either
before or after his time.
He remained faithful to the Lord in everything and he carefully obeyed all
the commands The Lord had given Moses, so the Lord was with him, and Hezekiah
was successful in everything he did.
He revolted against the king of Assyria and refused to pay him tribute.
He also conquered the Philistines as far distant as Gaza and its
territory from their smallest outpost to their largest walled city.
During the fourth year of Hezekiah's Reign, which was the seventh year of
King Hashi's reign in Israel, king Chal Menzer of Assyria attacked the city of
Samaria and began a siege against it.
Three years later, during the sixth year of King Hezekiah's reign and
the ninth year of King Hashi's reign in Israel, Samaria fell.
At that time, the King of Assyria exiled the Israelites to Assyria and placed them
in colonies in Halo, along the banks of the HaBO River in Goza and in the cities
of the Meads, for they refused to listen to the Lord their God and obey him.
Instead, they violated his covenant.
All the laws that Moses, the Lord's servant had commanded them to obey.
In the 14th year of King Hezekiah's reign, Kings Sinna of Assyria
came to attack the fortified towns of Judah and conquered them.
King Hezekiah sent this message to the King of Assyria at
Lake ish, I have done wrong.
I will pay whatever tribute money you demand.
If you will only withdraw.
The King of Assyria then demanded a settlement of more than 11 tons
of silver and one ton of gold.
To gather this amount, king Hezekiah used all the silver stored in the temple
of the Lord and in the Palace Treasury, Hezekiah even stripped the gold from
the doors of the Lord's temple and from the doorposts he had overlaid with gold
and he gave it all to the Assyrian King.
Nevertheless, the king of Assyria sent his commander in chief.
His field commander and his chief of staff from Lake ish with a huge army
to confront King Hezekiah in Jerusalem.
The Assyrians took up a position beside the aqueduct that feeds water into
the upper pool near the road leading to the field where cloth is washed.
They summoned King Hezekiah, but the king sent these officials to meet with them.
Aya Kim, son of Al Kaya, the Palace administrator.
Shena, the court secretary and Joah son of Asaf, the royal historian.
Then the Assyrian King's chief of staff told them to give
this message to Hezekiah.
This is what the great King of Assyria says.
What are you trusting in that makes you so confident?
Do you think that mere words can substitute for
military skill and strength?
Who are you counting on that you have rebelled against me on Egypt?
If you lean on Egypt, it will be like a reed that splinters beneath
your weight and pierces your hand.
Pharaoh, the king of Egypt, is completely unreliable, but perhaps
you will say to me, we are trusting in the Lord our God, but isn't he
the one who was insulted by Hezekiah?
Didn't Hezekiah tear down his shrines and altars and make everyone in
Judah and Jerusalem worship only at the altar here in Jerusalem?
I'll tell you what, strike a bargain with my master, the King of Assyria.
I will give you 2000 horses.
If you can find that many men to ride on them with your tiny army.
How can you think of challenging even the weakest contingent of my
master's troops, even with the help of Egypt's chariots and chariot tears?
What's more, do you think we have invaded your land without the Lord's direction?
The Lord himself told us, attack this land and destroy it.
Then Eliakim son of Kyah, Shena and Joah said to the Assyrian chief
of Staff, please speak to us in Aramaic for we understand it well.
Don't speak in Hebrew for the people on the wall will hear, but Sinna
Kreb's, chief of staff replied, do you think my master sent this
message only to you and your master?
He wants all the people to hear it.
For when we put this city under siege, they will suffer along with you.
They will be so hungry and thirsty that they will eat their own
dung and drink their own urine.
Then the chief of staff stood and shouted in Hebrew to the people on the wall.
Listen to this message from the great King of Assyria.
This is what the king says.
Don't let Hezekiah deceive you.
He will never be able to rescue you from my power.
Don't let him fool you into trusting in the Lord by saying
The Lord will surely rescue us.
This city will never fall into the hands of the Assyrian King.
Don't listen to Hezekiah.
These are the terms the King of Assyria is offering.
Make peace with me.
Open the gates and come out.
Then each of you can continue eating from your own grapevine and fig tree,
and drinking from your own well.
Then I will arrange to take you to another land like this one, a land
of grain and new wine, bread, and vineyards, olive groves and honey.
Choose life instead of death.
Don't listen to Hezekiah when he tries to mislead you by
saying The Lord will rescue us.
Have the gods of any other nations ever saved their people
from the king of Assyria.
What happened to the gods of Hamoth and Arpa?
And what about the gods of Sveum, henna and Eva?
Did any God rescue Samaria from my power, what God of any nation
has ever been able to save?
Its people from my power.
So what makes you think that the Lord can rescue Jerusalem from me, but the
people were silent and did not utter a word because Hezekiah had commanded them.
Do not answer him.
This concludes today's Immer Reading experience.
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