Jehoiachin put aside his prison clothes and for the rest of his life ate regularly at the king’s table

 2 Kings 25:22-30

Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon appointed Gedaliah son of Ahikam, the son of Shaphan, to be over the people he had left behind in Judah. When all the army officers and their men heard that the king of Babylon had appointed Gedaliah as governor, they came to Gedaliah at Mizpah.

Gedaliah took an oath to reassure them and their men. “Do not be afraid of the Babylonian officials,” he said. “Settle down in the land and serve the king of Babylon, and it will go well with you.”

In the seventh month, however, Ishmael son of Nethaniah, the son of Elishama, who was of royal blood, came with ten men and assassinated Gedaliah and also the men of Judah and the Babylonians who were with him at Mizpah. At this, all the people from the least to the greatest, together with the army officers, fled to Egypt for fear of the Babylonians.

In the thirty-seventh year of the exile of Jehoiachin king of Judah, in the year Awel-Marduk became king of Babylon, he released Jehoiachin king of Judah from prison. He did this on the twenty-seventh day of the twelfth month. He spoke kindly to him and gave him a seat of honor higher than those of the other kings who were with him in Babylon. So Jehoiachin put aside his prison clothes and for the rest of his life ate regularly at the king’s table. Day by day the king gave Jehoiachin a regular allowance as long as he lived.

All but the poorest people, left under governor Gedaliah, are taken into exile. But Gedaliah is murdered and the people escape to Egypt to avoid the inevitable wrath of Babylon, taking the prophet Jeremiah with them. Under a new king in Babylon 35 years later, Jehoiachin, the deposed king of Judah is released from prison and kindly treated.

Why?

Gedaliah was a governor in Judah appointed by Babylon, and many people came back to Mizpah. but Elishama, who was of royal blood, assassinated Gedaliah for the royal to the old king of Judah, and they force everyone in Judah to escape to Egypt. Then the land of Judah became nothing left. 

Jehoiachin king of Judah listened to the word of the Lord, so his life is changed from prison to being a guest for the rest of his life eating regularly at the king's table. He was 56 years old. Following the word of the Lord is good to us. 

Israelites did not listen to the word of the Lord and the warning of the prophets, so they were exiled to other places. This is the consequence of their behavior. 

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人總是想到用自己的方法。想逃到埃及去。他們不願在異國統治，不願意聽神的話，反而引來更多不安，眼前的不安是因為失去原來的地位。接受神的管教，神是賜平安的意念，不是降災的意念。

當我們做錯事，回到神面前，接受神的管教，最後把恩典、憐憫臨到他們。因為神有豐盛的憐憫！

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How?

Let the history of Israel to be a mirror of our life, reminding us that obeying the word of the Lord is our blessing.

The fall of Jerusalem; worship the Father in spirit and in truth

2 Kings 25:1-21

So in the ninth year of Zedekiah’s reign, on the tenth day of the tenth month, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon marched against Jerusalem with his whole army. He encamped outside the city and built siege works all around it. The city was kept under siege until the eleventh year of King Zedekiah. By the ninth day of the fourth month the famine in the city had become so severe that there was no food for the people to eat.

They fled toward the Arabah, but the Babylonian army pursued the king and overtook him in the plains of Jericho. All his soldiers were separated from him and scattered, and he was captured.

They killed the sons of Zedekiah before his eyes. Then they put out his eyes, bound him with bronze shackles and took him to Babylon.

On the seventh day of the fifth month, in the nineteenth year of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon. an official of the king of Babylon, came to Jerusalem. He set fire to the temple of the Lord, the royal palace and all the houses of Jerusalem. Every important building he burned down. The whole Babylonian army under the commander of the imperial guard broke down the walls around Jerusalem. 

So Judah went into captivity, away from her land.

The new puppet king also rebels. Jerusalem suffers a terrible 18-month siege. Zedekiah attempts to escape south but is caught and taken to Babylon. The city falls to the Babylonian army, is looted and utterly destroyed. All but the poorest people, left under governor Gedaliah, are taken into exile.

Why?

The last king of Judah Zedekiah still rebels against the king Nebuchadnezzar, so the destination of Jerusalem is ruined. Everything in the Temple and palace and people were captivity by Babylonia.

All of these come true as the word of the Lord said to Jeremiah.

The Lord has given many opportunities to Judah, but they refused to obey the word of the Lord and relied on Egypt and themselves.

God allowed Babylonians to destroy the whole Temple and articles and carried away from Jerusalem. 

It means the Lord forsook Jerusalem and the symbol place, The Temple. And the ark is disappeared.

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西底家以為可以保住王位，耶利米一直勸王，不要倚靠埃及， 要西底家投降，但是王一直不聽。一些投降的百姓就是保住性命。用銅鍊鎖著，表示不當人看待，城裏60人普通百姓，不願意投降，一樣被殺。可8:35 因為，凡要救自己生命（或作：靈魂；下同）的，必喪掉生命；凡為我和福音喪掉生命的，必救了生命。

神的旨意不是要他們留在猶大，而是投降以後再回來。

所有房屋、城牆、聖殿都被拆毀，聖殿所有銅、金銀製品全部帶走。所羅門花許多心力建的聖殿已經不再是聖殿。當神不願意聽神的話，最後連聖殿這樣的敬拜的外表也保不住了。

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How?

To be a Christian is not rely on the visible Temple or church, but the heart and mind trust in the Lord. For God is a spirit, so we should worship the Father in spirit and in truth.

Because of the Lord’s anger that all this happened to Jerusalem and Judah

 2 Kings 24:10-20

At that time the officers of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon advanced on Jerusalem and laid siege to it, and Nebuchadnezzar himself came up to the city while his officers were besieging it. Jehoiachin king of Judah, his mother, his attendants, his nobles and his officials all surrendered to him.

In the eighth year of the reign of the king of Babylon, he took Jehoiachin prisoner. As the Lord had declared, Nebuchadnezzar removed the treasures from the temple of the Lord and from the royal palace, and cut up the gold articles that Solomon king of Israel had made for the temple of the Lord. 

He made Mattaniah, Jehoiachin’s uncle, king in his place and changed his name to Zedekiah.

Zedekiah was twenty-one years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem eleven years. 

It was because of the Lord’s anger that all this happened to Jerusalem and Judah, and in the end he thrust them from his presence.

Jehoiakim's son, Jehoiachin, is removed from the throne after three months by Nebuchadnezzar. He is taken to Babylon in 597 with the treasures of Jerusalem and all the leading men of Judah. The prophet Jeremiah pronounced God's judgment on Jehoiachin.

Why?

The prophet Jeremiah warned them in Jerusalem, but most people didn't listen. So when it has happened there is no way to change it.

Jehoiachin surrenders to Babylon, to be a prisoner, but he and his family and people may survive in exile.

All of these are because the Lord's anger happened to Jerusalem and Judah, and in the end, he trusts them with his presence.

People's destination is caused by their behavior, trust in the Lord is the source of blessing.

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猶大的以色列人第二次被擄。

被擄的有聖殿的寶物，皇宮的寶物。這些應驗了神藉以賽亞所說的預言。

這次被擄的都是猶大國的精英份子，留下低層的人。

神讓西底加做王11年，但是西底加仍然像約亞敬一樣，行惡，且不願意投降。西底加王因為1)不聽先知的勸告，2)在神面前發誓要效忠巴比倫，違反誓言，3)引偶像進神的聖殿。瑪探雅：耶和華的恩典，神賜恩典讓他可以做王，可惜不知感恩。巴比倫把西底加改名為耶和華是我的公義，神的審判，公義即將來臨，他不以為意。也可以說巴比倫執行神的公義審判在猶大。

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How?

The ways and the mind of men usually different from the Lord. For the eyes of the Lord beyond us.

Because of the sins of Manasseh and all he had done, including the shedding of innocent blood

 2 Kings 24:1-9

During Jehoiakim’s reign, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon invaded the land, and Jehoiakim became his vassal for three years. But then he turned against Nebuchadnezzar and rebelled. The Lord sent Babylonian, Aramean, Moabite and Ammonite raiders against him to destroy Judah, in accordance with the word of the Lord proclaimed by his servants the prophets. Surely these things happened to Judah according to the Lord’s command, in order to remove them from his presence because of the sins of Manasseh and all he had done, including the shedding of innocent blood. For he had filled Jerusalem with innocent blood, and the Lord was not willing to forgive.

The king of Egypt did not march out from his own country again, because the king of Babylon had taken all his territory, from the Wadi of Egypt to the Euphrates River.

Jehoiachin was eighteen years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem three months.

Josiah's son Eliakim, who remained Jehoiakim as a sign of his subjection, is put on the throne by Pharaoh Necho, He rules for 11 years. At first subject o Egypt. Jehoiakim becomes Babylon's subject after Egypt is defeated at Carchemish in 605. Judah remains a vassal of Nebuchadnezzar for three years, then defects to Egypt again. This beings moe attacks from the Babylonians, and repeated warnings from the prophet Jeremiah.

Why?

For the sins of Judah, because of the sins of Manasseh and all he had done, including the shedding of innocent blood. This caused Judah to be destroyed completely.

Judah became a vassal of Babylon, but they still rely on Egypt, so it brought total destruction to his territory.

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約亞敬與約亞斤的事。約亞敬年間巴比倫擄走一批猶大人，但以理就在當中。

猶大想要依靠埃及，埃及卻也不可靠。耶和華使這些軍隊來毀滅猶大。土地，國家，主權都是神所賞賜的。猶大無視先知的警告。人離開神想要做自己，不是被這國綑綁，就是那國綑綁。當時先知是耶利米，早已提出警告，甚至想要殺先知！

約亞斤名字： 耶和華印證的含義。神的話必定成就。

猶大此時巴比侖可以滅掉猶大，但是神仍然給猶大悔改的機會，神當時告訴猶大王只要投降巴比倫就可以活命。只有約亞斤投降巴比倫。年老時仍然得以在王宮吃飯。

世界各國的勢力都不可靠的，只有耶和華是可靠的。

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How?

God loved Judah, but these last a few kings still are neck hard people, so their destination couldn't change as their father Josiah.

God's judgments are delayed but not reversed the nation's heart

2 Kings 23:28-37

While Josiah was king, Pharaoh Necho king of Egypt went up to the Euphrates River to help the king of Assyria. King Josiah marched out to meet him in battle, but Necho faced him and killed him at Megiddo. Josiah’s servants brought his body in a chariot from Megiddo to Jerusalem and buried him in his own tomb. 

Jehoahaz was twenty-three years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem three months. His mother’s name was Hamutal daughter of Jeremiah; she was from Libnah. He did evil in the eyes of the Lord, just as his predecessors had done. Pharaoh Necho put him in chains at Riblah in the land of Hamath so that he might not reign in Jerusalem, and he imposed on Judah a levy of a hundred talents of silver and a talent of gold. 

Jehoiakim was twenty-five years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem eleven years.  And he did evil in the eyes of the Lord, just as his predecessors had done.

God's judgments are delayed but not reversed the nation's heart is not changed by the king's reforms. Josiah dies in futile conflict with Pharaoh Necho, who was marching to join forces with Assyria after the fall of Nineveh, the Assyrian capital, to the Babylonians.

Why?

Josiah died because he tried to fight with Pharoh's army, but they just passed by to join Assyria. So it is his destination.

The next two kings of Juda are not good kings, their destinations were like other kings in Juda and more worse than before.

We worship the Lord and follow God's word, God's blessing with us, but when we made a big decision should ask the Lord, not by our courage or wisdom. My strength is relying on the Lord.

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約西亞站在巴比侖這邊。所以不讓埃及去幫助亞述。

人想要爭脫神的綑綁，卻要受其他的國家所綑綁，被黑暗勢力，私心所綑綁。其實神是要我們先讓神管理，走一條真正自由的路。

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How?

Keep my heart focused on the Lord in all of my life.

With all his heart and with all his soul and with all his strength, in accordance with all the Law of Moses

2 Kings 23:15-27

Even the altar at Bethel, the high place made by Jeroboam son of Nebat, who had caused Israel to sin—even that altar and high place he demolished. He burned the high place and ground it to powder, and burned the Asherah pole also. Then Josiah looked around, and when he saw the tombs that were there on the hillside, he had the bones removed from them and burned on the altar to defile it, in accordance with the word of the Lord proclaimed by the man of God who foretold these things.(1 King 13:11)

The people of the city said, “It marks the tomb of the man of God who came from Judah and pronounced against the altar of Bethel the very things you have done to it.”

“Leave it alone,” he said. “Don’t let anyone disturb his bones.” So they spared his bones and those of the prophet who had come from Samaria.

Josiah slaughtered all the priests of those high places on the altars and burned human bones on them. Then he went back to Jerusalem.

The king gave this order to all the people: “Celebrate the Passover to the Lord your God, as it is written in this Book of the Covenant.” Neither in the days of the judges who led Israel nor in the days of the kings of Israel and the kings of Judah had any such Passover been observed. But in the eighteenth year of King Josiah, this Passover was celebrated to the Lord in Jerusalem.

Neither before nor after Josiah was there a king like him who turned to the Lord as he did—with all his heart and with all his soul and with all his strength, in accordance with all the Law of Moses.

The clean-up extends beyond Judah to former Israelite territory. The neglected Feast of Passover is celebrated once more and private malpractices are dealt with.

Why?

For about 300 years God has known the bones of the man of God and Israel prophet their bone will be preserved, didn't disturb by King Josiah. 

Hezekiah has faith in the Lord, and Josiah has good behavior and obeys the word of the Lord, so they and their country were blessings.

How?

No matter what the situation in any generation, when the King obeys the word of the Lord, this kingdom is blessed from ancient until now, it is the truth.

Desecrated the high places, from Geba to Beersheba, where the priests had burned incense

2 Kings 23:1-14

He read in their hearing all the words of the Book of the Covenant, which had been found in the temple of the Lord. The king stood by the pillar and renewed the covenant in the presence of the Lord—to follow the Lord and keep his commands, statutes and decrees with all his heart and all his soul, thus confirming the words of the covenant written in this book. Then all the people pledged themselves to the covenant.

He did away with the idolatrous priests appointed by the kings of Judah to burn incense on the high places of the towns of Judah and on those around Jerusalem—those who burned incense to Baal, to the sun and moon, to the constellations and to all the starry hosts.

Josiah brought all the priests from the towns of Judah and desecrated the high places, from Geba to Beersheba, where the priests had burned incense. He broke down the gateway at the entrance of the Gate of Joshua, the city governor, which was on the left of the city gate. Although the priests of the high places did not serve at the altar of the Lord in Jerusalem, they ate unleavened bread with their fellow priests.

The king also desecrated the high places that were east of Jerusalem on the south of the Hill of Corruption—the ones Solomon king of Israel had built for Ashtoreth the vile goddess of the Sidonians, for Chemosh the vile god of Moab, and for Molek the detestable god of the people of Ammon. Josiah smashed the sacred stones and cut down the Asherah poles and covered the sites with human bones.

Josiah loses no time in acting on God's message through the prophet Huldah. Public reading of God's law is followed by renewal of the covenant pact with God. Then comes a purge of public places, ridding the land of objects associated with pagan worship.

Why?

Renew the covenant between the people of Judah and the Lord by reading the word of the Lord to the public.

Josiah is the only king who desecrated the high places. Josiah removed all idols, Asherah poles... Josiah has enthusiasm for the Lord.

We also need enthusiasm for the Lord. For God is good. Even many things we don't understand, trust in the Lord!

How?

Remove all idols from my heart, and honor the Holy Name of the Lord.

Because you tore your robes and wept in my presence

2 Kings 22:1-20

Josiah was eight years old when he became king, He did what was right in the eyes of the Lord and followed completely the ways of his father David, not turning aside to the right or to the left.

Hilkiah the high priest said to Shaphan the secretary, “I have found the Book of the Law in the temple of the Lord.” He gave it to Shaphan, who read it. Then Shaphan the secretary went to the king and reported to him: “Your officials have paid out the money that was in the temple of the Lord and have entrusted it to the workers and supervisors at the temple.” Then Shaphan the secretary informed the king, “Hilkiah the priest has given me a book.” And Shaphan read from it in the presence of the king.

When the king heard the words of the Book of the Law, he tore his robes. “Go and inquire of the Lord for me and for the people and for all Judah about what is written in this book that has been found. Great is the Lord’s anger that burns against us because those who have gone before us have not obeyed the words of this book; they have not acted in accordance with all that is written there concerning us.”

She said to them, “This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: Tell the man who sent you to me, ‘This is what the Lord says: I am going to bring disaster on this place and its people, according to everything written in the book the king of Judah has read. Because they have forsaken me and burned incense to other gods and aroused my anger by all the idols their hands have made, my anger will burn against this place and will not be quenched.’

Because your heart was responsive and you humbled yourself before the Lord when you heard what I have spoken against this place and its people—that they would become a curse and be laid waste—and because you tore your robes and wept in my presence, I also have heard you, declares the Lord. Therefore I will gather you to your ancestors, and you will be buried in peace. Your eyes will not see all the disaster I am going to bring on this place.’

Josiah reigns 31 years. The writer portrays him as the best of Judah's kings. loyal to God and his laws, and carrying out thorough-going religious reform. A book of the law is found in the course of repairing the Temple. Reading it reveals that the nation has broken the covenant with God, incurring the statutory penalties for such disloyalty. But the faithfulness of the king is taken into account

Why?

The destination of Juda has decided by the Lord, when king Josiah humbled himself and tore his robe, the Lord turned to Juda and blessed Josiah won't see the disaster in his life.

The Lord is full of love, anyone regrets from their sins and turns to the Lord. God always give us the opportunity and blesses us.

How?

God is good, how great is the love of the Lord! Give thanks to the Lord!

In Jerusalem will I put my name

2 Kings 21:1-26

Manasseh was twelve years old when he became king, He did evil in the eyes of the Lord, following the detestable practices of the nations the Lord had driven out before the Israelites.

In Jerusalem will I put my name。

In this house, and in Jerusalem, which I have chosen out of all tribes of Israel, will I put my name forever:

But the people did not listen. Manasseh led them astray, so that they did more evil than the nations the Lord had destroyed before the Israelites.

Therefore this is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: I am going to bring such disaster on Jerusalem and Judah that the ears of everyone who hears of it will tingle. I will stretch out over Jerusalem the measuring line used against Samaria and the plumb line used against the house of Ahab. I will wipe out Jerusalem as one wipes a dish, wiping it and turning it upside down. I will forsake the remnant of my inheritance and give them into the hands of enemies. They will be looted and plundered by all their enemies; they have done evil in my eyes and have aroused my anger from the day their ancestors came out of Egypt until this day.”

Moreover, Manasseh also shed so much innocent blood that he filled Jerusalem from end to end—besides the sin that he had caused Judah to commit, so that they did evil in the eyes of the Lord.

Amon was twenty-two years old when he became king, He did evil in the eyes of the Lord, as his father Manasseh had done. Amon’s officials conspired against him and assassinated the king in his palace. 

Manasseh is to Judah what King Ahab was to Israel. He reigns 55 years, part of the time as co-regent, and brings Judah to the point of no return; a degradation worse than that of the Canaanite nations the Israelites had destroyed. The prophets declare God's inevitable judgment. Jerusalem will share the fate of Samaria.

Amon is another 'bad king'. After ruling for two years he is assassinated by his own house servants.

Why?

Before the end of Hezekiah, Hezekiah's last 15 years became relied on Babylon instead of trusting in the Lord. So it affected his son Manasseh turned away from the Lord.

God's anger aroused "I will wipe out Jerusalem as one wipes a dish, wiping it and turning it upside down". This is a very serious consequence for Judah and Jerusalem. So the downfall of Judah is from the leader and affects the whole nation.

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瑪拿西幾乎是猶大在信仰上最惡的王。

在耶和華殿宇中築壇。耶和華曾指著這殿說：我必立我的名在耶路撒冷。

又在殿內立雕刻的亞舍拉像。耶和華曾對大衛和他兒子所羅門說：我在以色列眾支派中所選擇的耶路撒冷和這殿，必立我的名，直到永遠。

聖殿與耶路撒冷是高舉神的名的地方。是立神名的地方。所以人再沒有資格進入聖殿。神在耶路撒冷設立聖殿就是要彰顯神的名，也託付給以色列人彰顯神名的地方。

神的使命要我們在地上，彰顯神的名！不是白佔地土，白享恩典！

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How?

Be aware of our hearts and mind, God is my Lord only, and anything I can do is the grace of the Lord.  

I have heard your prayer and seen your tears; I will heal you

2 Kings 20:1-21

In those days Hezekiah became ill and was at the point of death. The prophet Isaiah son of Amoz went to him and said, “This is what the Lord says: Put your house in order, because you are going to die; you will not recover.”

Hezekiah turned his face to the wall and prayed to the Lord, “Remember, Lord, how I have walked before you faithfully and with wholehearted devotion and have done what is good in your eyes.” And Hezekiah wept bitterly.

This is what the Lord, the God of your father David, says: I have heard your prayer and seen your tears; I will heal you. On the third day from now you will go up to the temple of the Lord. I will add fifteen years to your life. And I will deliver you and this city from the hand of the king of Assyria. I will defend this city for my sake and for the sake of my servant David.

Then Isaiah said, “Prepare a poultice of figs.” They did so and applied it to the boil, and he recovered.

Then the prophet Isaiah called on the Lord, and the Lord made the shadow go back the ten steps it had gone down on the stairway of Ahaz.

At that time Marduk-Baladan son of Baladan king of Babylon sent Hezekiah letters and a gift, because he had heard of Hezekiah’s illness. 

“They saw everything in my palace,” Hezekiah said. “There is nothing among my treasures that I did not show them.”

Then Isaiah said to Hezekiah, “Hear the word of the Lord: The time will surely come when everything in your palace, and all that your predecessors have stored up until this day, will be carried off to Babylon. Nothing will be left, says the Lord. And some of your descendants, your own flesh and blood who will be born to you, will be taken away, and they will become eunuchs in the palace of the king of Babylon.”

 “The word of the Lord you have spoken is good,” Hezekiah replied. For he thought, “Will there not be peace and security in my lifetime?”

To the people of the Old Testament, the hope of life after death was bague. The prospect of death reduces Hezekiah to tears. And God responds to the ing's destress. This is one of a number of Old Testament stories about a more lenient course of action in response to people's pleas.

Babylon at this time was a small state south of Assyria, looking for allies, Isaiah predicts its future power and the fate of Judah.

Why?

Everyone will die, but when king Hezekiah prayed to the Lord with humility and tears, the Lord listen to his prayer, healed his disease, and extended his life by 15 years.

When Hezekiah is healed and everything going well, the proud is come out, he shows his prosperity to the messenger of Babylon, so the Lord told him what will happen to his country. What he is proud of treasure will be taken by Babylon.

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巴比倫使者來，正好猶大想和巴比倫結盟，抵抗亞述。使者來一定是想要知道猶大有什麼?財力如何等?給巴比倫使者看寶物及兵器等。西希家聽從巴比倫使者的話！已經開始從倚靠耶和華變成依靠巴比倫。人經過神蹟後自己開始覺得自己很厲害，使者一定給他灌迷湯，讓西希家驕傲，他是曾經打敗亞述的君王，因此忘了他是誰，神就是收回恩典。

以賽亞的話，西希家的回答似乎不在乎了!我死以後我不管，我只在乎活著的時候有好名聲就好了！只顧他自己！經歷偉大的神蹟，反而把恩典當作自己的功勞！神主要目的要救城裏的名脫離亞述的我的民，我的百姓，因為大衛的緣故。西希家竊取了神的榮耀！

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How?

Be humble before the Lord, when we pray with humility and tears, God will take care of our request with great love. Pride brings the downfall. 

That night the angel of the Lord went out and put to death a hundred and eighty-five thousand in the Assyrian camp

2 Kings 19:20-37

But I know where you are and when you come and go and how you rage against me. Because you rage against me and because your insolence has reached my ears, I will put my hook in your nose and my bit in your mouth, and I will make you return by the way you came.

This will be the sign for you, Hezekiah: “This year you will eat what grows by itself, and the second year what springs from that. But in the third year sow and reap, plant vineyards and eat their fruit. Once more a remnant of the kingdom of Judah will take root below and bear fruit above. For out of Jerusalem will come a remnant, and out of Mount Zion a band of survivors. The zeal of the Lord Almighty will accomplish this.

That night the angel of the Lord went out and put to death a hundred and eighty-five thousand in the Assyrian camp. When the people got up the next morning—there were all the dead bodies! So Sennacherib king of Assyria broke camp and withdrew. He returned to Nineveh and stayed there.

One day, while he was worshiping in the temple of his god Nisrok, his sons Adrammelek and Sharezer killed him with the sword, and they escaped to the land of Ararat. And Esarhaddon his son succeeded him as king.

My hook: God will lead them meekly captive as a person leads a bull or a horse. The Assyrians drove rings through the noses of captive kings.

The angle of the Lord went: It is not clear what happened, possibly an outbreak of bubonic plague.

Why?

God is the Lord, who can against the Lord Almighty! 

Because Sennacherib said the blasphemy words to the Lord so the Lord put the plague in the camp of Assyria one night there were huge people who died.

The word of the Lord comes truth, out of everyone's mind and imagination. It shows the power of the Lord.

How?

Praise to the Lord Almighty! Only the Lord can deliver us from the dead and save us from shame. What I have to do is humble myself and honor the Holy Name of the Lord!

You alone are God over all the kingdoms of the earth

 2 Kings 19:1-19

When King Hezekiah heard this, he tore his clothes and put on sackcloth and went into the temple of the Lord. He sent Eliakim the palace administrator, Shebna the secretary and the leading priests, all wearing sackcloth, to the prophet Isaiah son of Amoz.

When King Hezekiah’s officials came to Isaiah, Isaiah said to them, “Tell your master, ‘This is what the Lord says: Do not be afraid of what you have heard—those words with which the underlings of the king of Assyria have blasphemed me. Listen! When he hears a certain report, I will make him want to return to his own country, and there I will have him cut down with the sword.’

Hezekiah received the letter from the messengers and read it. Then he went up to the temple of the Lord and spread it out before the Lord. And Hezekiah prayed to the Lord: “Lord, the God of Israel, enthroned between the cherubim, you alone are God over all the kingdoms of the earth. You have made heaven and earth. Give ear, Lord, and hear; open your eyes, Lord, and see; listen to the words Sennacherib has sent to ridicule the living God.

Now, Lord our God, deliver us from his hand, so that all the kingdoms of the earth may know that you alone, Lord, are God.”

Crisis brings out the best in Hezekiah. God answers his prayer and vindicates his trust. Isaiah's prophecy is fulfilled. Jerusalem is saved.

Why?

Field commander threatened King Hezekiah, and he went to the temple of the Lord, prayed to the Lord, and send officials to Isaiah to ask what to do. 

Hezekiah knew he is weak and can't fight his enemy, but his enemy shamed the Lord, so the Lord answered Hezekiah through the prophet Isaiah. The unbelievable result will be.

King Hezekiah heard the bad news he tore his clothes and went into the temple of the Lord... which shows Hezekiah is focused on the Lord, he believed only the Lord is his savior.

How?

Do I have the faith like Hezekiah, even in the worse situation still rely on the Lord?

A broken and contrite heart you, God, will not despise

2 Kings 18:19-37

Then the commander stood and called out in Hebrew, “Hear the word of the great king, the king of Assyria! This is what the king says: Do not let Hezekiah deceive you. He cannot deliver you from my hand. Do not let Hezekiah persuade you to trust in the Lord when he says, ‘The Lord will surely deliver us; this city will not be given into the hand of the king of Assyria.’

“Do not listen to Hezekiah, for he is misleading you when he says, ‘The Lord will deliver us.’ Has the god of any nation ever delivered his land from the hand of the king of Assyria? Where are the gods of Hamath and Arpad? Where are the gods of Sepharvaim, Hena and Ivvah? Have they rescued Samaria from my hand? Who of all the gods of these countries has been able to save his land from me? How then can the Lord deliver Jerusalem from my hand?”

Then Eliakim son of Hilkiah the palace administrator, Shebna the secretary, and Joah son of Asaph the recorder went to Hezekiah, with their clothes torn, and told him what the field commander had said.

Lachish, in the lowlands 50km southwest of Jerusalem, is besieged, and messengers are sent to Hezekiah. The three Assyrians are masters of psychological warfare. They refuse private talks with Hezekiah's cabinet and insist on a public harangue. And they play on the people's fears by speaking Hebrew - not the diplomatic language, Aramaic - so that everyone understands. But their boast that God cannot save Judah from Assyria seals their fate.

Why?

The situation in Jerusalem was dangerous and enemies boasted of their forces, and don't believe any gods can save them from their attack.

The officers of Judah went to Hezekiah with their clothes torn and told him what the field commander has said. It is express their sad and humble hearts.

Under a desperate situation, God is my only way and my help. Trust in the Lord with a broken heart!

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喊話過程好像撒旦控告人的話，你到底依靠什麼?埃及就是這個世界，依靠耶和華嗎？西希家自己真的依靠耶和華呢，只是希望人往耶路撒冷跑，不是真的敬畏耶和華。因為他把丘壇廢了。我們也常常被撒旦挑戰，你真的信靠耶和華嗎？我們常以為自己不敬虔，不夠愛主，因此祂怎麼會保護你?

神愛我們不是因為我們愛祂！

不是依靠埃及，不是依靠耶和華，靠你們自己，那有打仗的能力。這也是撒旦對人的攻擊。總是覺得自己不行，自我厭棄，一點也不願服事。

拉伯沙基假傳、曲解神的心意，現在我上來攻擊毀滅這地，豈沒有耶和華的意思嗎？耶和華吩咐我說：你上去攻擊毀滅這地吧！

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How?

My sacrifice, O God, is a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart you, God, will not despise. (Psalm 51:17)

Hezekiah trusted in the Lord, the God of Israel. There was no one like him among all the kings of Judah

2 Kings 18:1-18

Hezekiah son of Ahaz king of Judah began to reign. He was twenty-five years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem twenty-nine years.

He did what was right in the eyes of the Lord, just as his father David had done. He removed the high places, smashed the sacred stones and cut down the Asherah poles. He broke into pieces the bronze snake Moses had made, for up to that time the Israelites had been burning incense to it.

Hezekiah trusted in the Lord, the God of Israel. There was no one like him among all the kings of Judah, either before him or after him. 

So Samaria was captured in Hezekiah’s sixth year, which was the ninth year of Hoshea king of Israel.

In the fourteenth year of King Hezekiah’s reign, Sennacherib king of Assyria attacked all the fortified cities of Judah and captured them. So Hezekiah king of Judah sent this message to the king of Assyria at Lachish: “I have done wrong. Withdraw from me, and I will pay whatever you demand of me.” The king of Assyria exacted from Hezekiah king of Judah three hundred talents of silver and thirty talents of gold. So Hezekiah gave him all the silver that was found in the temple of the Lord and in the treasuries of the royal palace.

At this time Hezekiah king of Judah stripped off the gold with which he had covered the doors and doorposts of the temple of the Lord, and gave it to the king of Assyria.

Isaiah 36 recounts the Assyrian invasion and Micah 1:10-16 probably also refers to it. Hezekiah is one of Judah's finest kings. He rules for 29 years plus a cor-regency. Having dealt with Israel, in Hezekiah's reign the Assyrians turn their attention to rebel Judah.

Why?

There was no one like him among all the kings of Judah, is the writer gave Hezekiah good commend.

Even those Hezekiah's faced the attack of Assyria has to pay much money to exchange the peace.

To be a good follower of the Lord, God gives us challenges and suffering is good to our faith and spiritual life.

How?

No matter what happens around us, trust in the Lord and obey the word of the Lord, God will bring us to peace and He makes me lie down in green pastures.

Even while these people were worshiping the Lord, they were serving their idols

 2 Kings 17:24-41

The king of Assyria brought people from Babylon, Kuthah, Avva, Hamath and Sepharvaim and settled them in the towns of Samaria to replace the Israelites. They took over Samaria and lived in its towns. When they first lived there, they did not worship the Lord; so he sent lions among them and they killed some of the people.

Then the king of Assyria gave this order: “Have one of the priests you took captive from Samaria go back to live there and teach the people what the god of the land requires.” So one of the priests who had been exiled from Samaria came to live in Bethel and taught them how to worship the Lord.

Nevertheless, each national group made its own gods in the several towns where they settled, and set them up in the shrines the people of Samaria had made at the high places.

They worshiped the Lord, but they also appointed all sorts of their own people to officiate for them as priests in the shrines at the high places. They worshiped the Lord, but they also served their own gods in accordance with the customs of the nations from which they had been brought.

To this day they persist in their former practices. They neither worship the Lord nor adhere to the decrees and regulations, the laws and commands that the Lord gave the descendants of Jacob, whom he named Israel. 

They would not listen, however, but persisted in their former practices. Even while these people were worshiping the Lord, they were serving their idols. To this day their children and grandchildren continue to do as their ancestors did.

Over the course of some years, Assyria repopulated the land with other conquered peoples, each with its own religion. But troubles are attributed to their failure to placate the local god, and an Israelite priest is sent back as a missionary. From this strange hotchpotch of religions a purer form of worship emerged amongst their descendants, the Samaritans who nonetheless, right through to New Testament times.

Why?

Even a priest was sent to Israel as a missionary, but people who were living in Samaria worshiped the Lord and other gods. This is a general popular regulation model, people choose anyone they like to worship. They forgot what the Lord has told them.

Israelites were exiled to other countries and other people immigrated to Samaria. Until the New Testament people were living there still doing what they like to do.

How?

Our God is different from others, full of love and righteousness, My Lord is the fountain of blessing.

The Israelites secretly did things against the Lord their God that were not right

2 Kings 17:1-23

In the ninth year of Hoshea, the king of Assyria captured Samaria and deported the Israelites to Assyria. He settled them in Halah, in Gozan on the Habor River and in the towns of the Medes.

All this took place because the Israelites had sinned against the Lord their God, who had brought them up out of Egypt from under the power of Pharaoh king of Egypt. They worshiped other gods and followed the practices of the nations the Lord had driven out before them, as well as the practices that the kings of Israel had introduced. The Israelites secretly did things against the Lord their God that were not right. From watchtower to fortified city they built themselves high places in all their towns. They set up sacred stones and Asherah poles on every high hill and under every spreading tree. At every high place they burned incense, as the nations whom the Lord had driven out before them had done. They did wicked things that aroused the Lord’s anger. They worshiped idols, though the Lord had said, “You shall not do this.”

But they would not listen and were as stiff-necked as their ancestors, who did not trust in the Lord their God.

When he tore Israel away from the house of David, they made Jeroboam son of Nebat their king. Jeroboam enticed Israel away from following the Lord and caused them to commit a great sin. The Israelites persisted in all the sins of Jeroboam and did not turn away from them until the Lord removed them from his presence, as he had warned through all his servants the prophets. So the people of Israel were taken from their homeland into exile in Assyria, and they are still there.

Hoshea reigns for nine years as Assyria's vassal. An attempt to win Egyptian support proves fatal. Samaria falls after a terrible three-year siege, and the whole remaining population is deported. Israel's fate is seen as the direct consequence of long-standing idolatry, pursuing heathen practices, disobeying God's law, and ignoring the prophets.

Why?

Hoshea did not ask the help from the Lord, but from Egypt, so the Lord let Assyria take them and exiled them to Halah, in Gozan on the Havor river.

The writer described the reason as that Israelites were as stiff-necked as their ancestors, who did not trust in the Lord their God.

How?

To be a Christain, what my help is from the Lord。I lift up my eyes to the mountains—where does my help come from? My help comes from the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth. (Psalm 121:1-2)