Immerse: Kingdoms Full Volume - Flipbook - Page 267
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SAMUEL–KINGS
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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 continued 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.
Hezekiah son of Ahaz began to rule over Judah in the third year of King
Hoshea’s reign in Israel. He was t wenty-five years old when he became
king, and he reigned in Jer usalem t wenty-nine years. His mother was
Abijah, the daughter of Zechariah. He did what was pleasing in the
Lord’s sight, just as his ancestor Dav id had done. He removed the pagan
shrines, smashed the sacred pillars, and cut down the Asherah 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
Nehushtan.
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 Philis
tines 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 Hoshea’s reign in Israel, King Shalmaneser 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 Hoshea’s
reign in Israel, Samaria fell. At that time the king of Assyria exiled the Isra
elites to Assyria and placed them in colonies in Halah, along the banks of
the Habor River in Gozan, and in the cities of the Medes. For they refused
to listen to the Lord their God and obey him. Instead, they violated his
covenant—all the laws that M
oses the Lord’s servant had commanded
them to obey.
In the fourteenth year of King Hezekiah’s reign, King Sennacherib of