Today started out with all the people of Israel who were there going out and destroying the high places and the altars all throughout the land. Then Hezekiah appointed the divisions of the priests and of the Levites.
He commanded the people to give the portions due to the priests so they could give themselves to the Law of the Lord. As soon as word got around, the people of Israel gave an abundance for the tithe of everything. All the things contributed were piled together in a heap.
In the third month, they began to pile up the heaps, and finished them in the seventh month. When Hezekiah and the princes saw the piles, they blessed the Lord and the people of Israel. Hezekiah commanded them to prepare chambers in the house of the Lord to store the contributions, the tithes, and the dedicated things.
Hezekiah did throughout all Judah, what was good and right and faithful before the Lord his God.
After these things and acts of faithfulness, Sennacherib king of Assyria came and invaded Judah. They encamped against the fortified cities, thinking to win them for themselves.
When Hezekiah saw that Sennacherib had come and intended to fight against Jerusalem, he planned with his officers and mighty men to block off the water of the springs that were outside the city. Many people were gathered, and they stopped all the springs and water that flowed through the land so the Assyrians wouldn’t have any.
They set to work to rebuild the walls that were broken down and raised towers upon them, and strengthened the city of David. He also made weapons and shields in abundance. He spoke to his army and said,
Then Sennacherib sent word to Hezekiah questioning the Lord, and if he really thought God would deliver them from their enemies. He said that Hezekiah was deceiving and misleading the people since they had defeated so many others; even though they had their gods on their side, none of them were delivered out of Sennacherib’s hand and defeat.
Sennacherib said, “Like the gods of the nations of the lands who have not delivered their people from my hands, so the God of Hezekiah will not deliver his people from my hand.”
Then Hezekiah the king and Isaiah the prophet prayed because of this and cried to heaven. The Lord sent an angel who cut off the mighty warriors, commanders, and officers in the camp of the king of Assyria. He returned in shame to his own land.
When he returned to the house of his own god, some of his own sons struck him down there with the sword. So the Lord saved Hezekiah and Jerusalem from the hand of Sennacherib and all their enemies, and provided for them on every side.
The rest of today’s reading was previously studied and summarized on
Day 122, 2 Kings 19-21. It discussed when Hezekiah became sick and prayed to the Lord. It also discussed more of his pride and achievements.
Continuing on with the summary, it went over Manasseh’s reign and death in Judah, and ended with Amon’s reign and death.
[…] *A plea for God to have mercy and to save from a host of enemies: the prayer of a godly king when under vicious attack by a widespread conspiracy at a time when God had “wounded” him for some sin in his life. If, as tradition claims, David authored the original psalm, the occasion is unknown. In its present form the prayer suggests a later son of David who ruled over the southern kingdom of Judah. That king may have been Hezekiah (see 2 Kings 18, 19, 20 or 2 Chronicles 29–32). […]
[…] of today’s reading can be found on Day 142, 2 Chronicles 31-33 and Day 122, 2 Kings […]