Ethan: Welcome To Immerse: The Daily Bible Reading Experience.
Day 200 and 36
Ahaz son of Jotham began to rule over Judah in the 17th year of
King Pica's reign in Israel.
Ahaz was 20 years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem 16 years.
He did not do what was pleasing in the sight of the Lord his God as his ancestor.
David had done.
Instead, he followed the example of the kings of Israel, even
sacrificing his own son in the fire.
In this way, he followed the detestable practices of the pagan nations.
The Lord had driven from the land ahead of the Israelites.
He offered sacrifices and burned incense at the pagan shrines and on
the hills and under every green tree.
Then King reason of Aram and King pka of Israel came up to attack Jerusalem.
They besieged Ahaz, but could not conquer him.
At that time, the King of Edam recovered the town of Eola for Edam.
He drove out the people of Judah and sent mites to live there.
As they do to this day, king Ahaz sent messengers to King Tig Laf,
pizzer of Assyria with this message.
I am your servant and your vaal.
Come up and rescue me from the attacking armies of Aram and Israel.
Then Ahaz took the silver and gold from the temple of the Lord and
the Palace Treasury and sent it as a payment to the Assyrian King.
So the King of Assyria attacked the Aian capital of Damascus and led its population
away as captives, resettling them in care.
He also killed King Reason.
King A has then went to Damascus to meet with King Tig Lath, pizzer of Assyria.
While he was there, he took special note of the altar.
Then he sent a model of the altar to Uriah, the priest, along
with its design in full detail.
Uriah followed the king's instructions and built an altar just
like it, and it was ready before the king returned from Damascus.
When the king returned, he inspected the altar and made offerings on it.
He presented a burnt offering and a grain offering.
He poured out a liquid offering and he sprinkled the blood of
peace offerings on the altar.
Then King A has removed the old bronze altar from its place in front of the
Lord's temple between the entrance and the new altar, and placed it
on the north side of the new altar.
He told Uriah the priest, Use the new altar for the morning.
Sacrifices of burnt offering, the evening grain offering, the king's
burnt offering and grain offering, and the burnt offerings of all
the people, as well as their grain offerings and liquid offerings.
Sprinkle the blood from all the burnt offerings and sacrifices on the new altar.
The bronze altar will be for my personal use only Uriah, the priest
did just as King Ahaz commanded him.
Then the king removed the side panels and basins from the portable water carts.
He also removed the great bronze basin, called the sea from the
backs of the bronze oxen, and placed it on the stone pavement.
In deference to the king of Assyria, he also removed the canopy that had been
constructed inside the palace for use on the Sabbath day, as well as the king's
outer entrance to the temple of the Lord.
The rest of the events in ah a's Reign and everything he did are recorded in the
book of the history of the Kings of Judah.
When Ahaz died, he was buried with his ancestors in the city of David.
Then his son Hezekiah, became the next king
ho Shia son of ELA began to rule over Israel in the 12th year
of King A a's reign in Judah.
He reigned in Samaria nine years.
He did what was evil in the Lord's sight, but not to the same extent as the
kings of Israel who ruled before him.
King Chal Menzer of Assyria attacked King Hoia, so Hoshi was forced
to pay heavy tribute to Assyria.
But Hoia stopped paying the annual tribute and conspired against the King
of Assyria by asking King so of Egypt to help him shake free of ass Syria's power.
When the King of Assyria discovered this treachery, he seized
Hoshi and put him in prison.
Then the King of Assyria invaded the entire land, and for three years
he besieged the city of Samaria.
Finally, in the ninth year of King Hashi's reign, Samaria fell and the
people of Israel were exiled to Assyria.
They were settled in colonies in Hala, along the banks
of the Habor River in Goza.
In the city of the means, this disaster came upon the people of Israel
because they worshiped other gods.
They sinned against the Lord their God, who had brought them safely out
of Egypt and had rescued them from the power of Pharaoh, the king of Egypt.
They had followed the practices of the pagan nations.
The Lord had driven from the land ahead of them, as well as the practices
the kings of Israel had introduced.
The people of Israel had also secretly done many things that were
not pleasing to the Lord their God.
They built pagan shrines for themselves in all their towns from the smallest
outpost to the largest walled city.
They set up sacred pillars and a Shira poles at the top of every hill and
under every green tree, they offered sacrifices on all the hilltops,
just like the nations the Lord had driven from the land ahead of them.
So the people of Israel had done many evil things, arousing the Lord's anger.
Yes, they worshiped idols despite the Lord's specific and repeated
warnings again and again.
The Lord had sent his prophets and seers to warn both Israel and Judah.
Turn from all your evil ways.
Obey my commands and decrees.
The entire law that I commanded your ancestors to obey and that I gave
you through my servants the prophets, but the Israelites would not listen.
They were as stubborn as their ancestors who had refused to
believe in the Lord their God.
They rejected his decrees and the covenant he had made with their ancestors,
and they despised all his warnings.
They worshiped worthless idols, so they became worthless themselves.
They followed the example of the nations around them, disobeying the
Lord's command not to imitate them.
They rejected all the commands of the Lord their God, and made two calves from metal.
They set up an Ashra poll and worshiped Baal in all the forces of heaven.
They even sacrificed their own sons and daughters in the fire.
They consulted fortune tellers and practiced sorcery and sold themselves to
evil, arousing the Lord's anger because the Lord was very angry with Israel.
He swept them away from his presence.
Only the tribe of Judah remained in the land, but even the people of Judah
refused to obey the commands of the Lord their God, for they followed the evil
practices that Israel had introduced.
The Lord rejected all the descendants of Israel.
He punished them by handing them over to their attackers until he had
banished Israel from his presence.
For when the Lord tore Israel away from the Kingdom of David, they chose
Jar BOM's, son of Nebat as their king.
But Jar Boem drew Israel away from following the Lord and
made them commit a great sin.
And the people of Israel persisted in all the evil ways of Jar Beam.
They did not turn from these sins until the Lord finally swept
them away from his presence, just as all his prophets had warned.
So Israel was exiled from their land to Assyria where they remained.
To this day.
The King of Assyria transported groups of people from Babylon, Kuta, Ava.
Hamoth and Sveum and resettled them in the towns of Samaria,
replacing the people of Israel.
They took possession of Samaria and lived in its towns.
But since these foreign settlers did not worship the Lord when they first
arrived, the Lord sent lions among them, which killed some of them.
So a message was sent to the king of Assia, the people you have sent
to live in the towns of Samaria.
Do not know the religious customs of the God of the land.
He has sent lions among them to destroy them because they have
not worshiped him correctly.
The king of Assyria then commanded, send one of the exiled priests back
to Samaria, let him live there and teach the new residents the religious
customs of the God of the land.
So one of the priests who had been exiled from Samaria returned to Bethel and taught
the new residents how to worship the Lord.
But these various groups of foreigners also continued to worship their own gods
in town after town where they lived.
They placed their idols at the pagan shrines that the people of
Samaria had built Those from Babylon worshiped idols of their God.
Zeth Bina.
Those from Tah worshiped their God al, and those from Hamoth worshiped Asima.
The avs worshiped their gods nib has and tar.
And the people from Sveum even burned their own children as sacrifices
to their gods drek and enamel.
These new residents worshiped the Lord, but they also appointed from
among themselves all sorts of people as priests to offer sacrifices
at their places of worship.
And though they worshiped the Lord, they continued to follow their own
gods according to the religious customs of the nations from which they came.
And this is still going on today.
They continue to follow their former practices.
Instead of truly worshiping the Lord and obeying the decrees, regulations,
instructions, and commands, he gave the descendants of Jacob whose
name he changed to his Israel.
For the Lord had made a covenant with the descendants of Jacob and commanded them.
Do not worship any other gods or bow before them or serve them.
Or offer sacrifices to them.
But worship only the Lord who brought you out of Egypt with great strength
and a powerful arm bow down to him alone and offer sacrifices only to him.
Be careful at all times to obey the decrees, regulations, instructions,
and commands that he wrote for you.
You must not worship other gods.
Do not forget the covenant I made with you and do not worship other gods.
You must worship only the Lord your God.
He is the one who will rescue you from all your enemies.
But the people would not listen and continue to follow their former practices.
So while these new residents worshiped the Lord, they also
worshiped their idols, and to this day, their descendants do the same.
This concludes today's immerse reading experience.
Thank you for joining us.