Fear No Fear

(All scripture from Lexham English Bible, Copyright 2012 Logos Bible Software)

“Then King Hezekiah and Isaiah the son of Amoz, the prophet, prayed concerning this. And they cried to the heavens. Then Yahweh sent an angel, and he destroyed every mighty warrior of strength, commander, and officer in the camp of the king of Assyria. And he returned with shamed face to his land and went into the house of his god. And some of the offspring of his loins fell upon him there with the sword. So Yahweh saved Hezekiah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem from the hand of Sennacherib, king of Assyria, and from the all their enemies, and gave them rest all around” (2 Chronicles 32:20-22)

Chapter thirty-two finds Sennacherib of Assyria trying to conquer Judah. He besieged Jerusalem, mocked God, and threatened their lives. But Hezekiah sought a prophet (Isaiah) so that they together could seek God about it. They totally relied on God for the answer. And God gave it. God defeated their foes, removed them from the country, and they came to a bad end. Hezekiah’s pride rose up with all these successes and he failed to prove himself when the envoys of Babylon came, but there was peace in his time. He died and was buried with the kings. His son Manasseh took the throne.

Chapter thirty-three shows Manasseh is an evil king with an evil heart. He is one of the worst offenders of all the kings of Israel and Judah. But Manasseh humbled himself and repented of his evil. He was given a second chance. he returned to true worship of God. He died and was buried in his palace. His son Amon took the throne, but was also an evil man. He did not humble himself or repent. He reigned for two years and was killed by his servants. His son Josiah was made king by the people.

Chapter thirty-four records the beginning of Josiah’s reign. He was eight when he started reigning and ruled for thirty-one years. When he was sixteen years old he started to seek God. He destroyed idolatrous places. He restored the Temple. When the book of the Law was found and read to him, he repented and led the people in a return to proper worship. He sought the Lord about all he had read and the Lord told him that while judgment was coming because of the people’s hearts, it would not come in his lifetime because of his honest and true repentance, humbling of himself, and his seeking of God.

Summary

Key Players: God, Hezekiah, Manasseh, Amon, Josiah, the Jews.

Key Verse(s): 2 Chronicles 32:20-23; 33:10-13, 24-25; 34:1-7, 29-33