Understanding Israel's History through King Hoshea and King Hezekiah

hristian Faith Fellowship We are Not a perfect Church We are Not a Perfect People We are here because we Know we need God s Help We know He has provided that help through Jesus Christ

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We are looking at some history to lay the groundwork King Hoshea reigned in Israel for 9 years In year 3 of his reign King Hezekiah began to reign in Judah In Year 6 of Hoshea s reign the King of Assyria, for 3 years laid siege against Samaria, the capitol of Israel, it fell in 722 BC, ending the reign of Hoshea and destroying the Nation of Israel 2 Kings 17 7 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. 8 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. 13Again 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. 14 But the Israelites would not listen. They were as stubborn as their ancestors who had refused to believe in the LORD their God. 15 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. 16 They rejected all the commands of the LORD their God and made two calves from metal. They set up an Asherah pole and worshiped Baal and all the forces of heaven. 17 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. 18 Because the LORD was very angry with Israel, he swept them away from his presence. Only the tribe of Judah remained in

the land. 19 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. So, they were consulting psychics, practicing witchcraft, sacrificing their children and practiced sexual perversion Asherah was worshiped as the goddess of love and war. The worship of Asherah was noted for its sensuality and involved ritual prostitution. The priests and priestesses of Asherah also practiced divination and fortune-telling. The Canaanites worshiped Baal as the sun god, he was seen as the supreme god and the storm god he is usually depicted holding a lightning bolt who defeated enemies

and produced crops. They also worshiped him as a fertility god who provided children. Baal worship was rooted in sensuality and involved ritualistic prostitution in the temples. At times, appeasing Baal required human sacrifice, usually the firstborn of the one making the sacrifice Perversion and corrupt sexuality were always a part of the worship of other gods ALL FALSE RELIGION appeals to the flesh At age 25 Hezekiah becomes King in Judah (716-686 BC) 2 Kings 18 3 He did what was pleasing in the LORD s sight, just as his ancestor David had done. 4 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. 5 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. 6 He remained faithful to the LORD in everything, and he carefully obeyed all the commands the LORD had given Moses. 7 So the LORD was with him, and Hezekiah was successful in everything he did. Hezekiah led a National revival he removed the garbage from the Nation and called the people to God at 25 yrs old

Assyria comes against Judah laying siege against Jerusalem the same way it had to Samaria in Israel The messenger of Assyria comes to the gate and shouts a message to the people in Hebrew: (More but just reading the concluding part) 2 Kings 18 Don t listen to Hezekiah when he tries to mislead you by saying, The LORD will rescue us! 33 Have the gods of any other nations ever saved their people from the king of Assyria? 34 What happened to the gods of Hamath and Arpad? And what about the gods of Sepharvaim, Hena, and Ivvah? Did any god rescue Samaria from my power? 35 What god of any nation has ever been able to save

its people from my power? So what makes you think that the LORD can rescue Jerusalem from me? (jump to ch19) 2 Kings 19 1 When King Hezekiah heard their report, he tore his clothes and put on burlap and went into the Temple of the LORD. The first thing Hezekiah did was humble himself (burlap) head to God s house, asked others to seek God with him (sent a message to the prophet Isaiah) and sought the Lord God hears Hezekiah s prayer and promises to deliver Judah and destroy this commander, and the king of Assyria God sends the king of Ethiopia to fight Assyria and the king of Assyria writes a letter to Hezekiah

2 Kings 19 10 This message is for King Hezekiah of Judah. Don t let your God, in whom you trust, deceive you with promises that Jerusalem will not be captured by the king of Assyria. 11 You know perfectly well what the kings of Assyria have done wherever they have gone. They have completely destroyed everyone who stood in their way! Why should you be any different? 12 Have the gods of other nations rescued them such nations as Gozan, Haran, Rezeph, and the people of Eden who were in Tel-assar? My predecessors destroyed them all! 13 What happened to the king of Hamath and the king of Arpad? What happened to the kings of Sepharvaim, Hena, and Ivvah?

The message is clear we have been victorious in the past and we will be again you and your God are no different As always the enemy fights with fear and intimidation to instill doubt where there is faith. Don t trust God s promises, don t listen to his leaders 14After Hezekiah received the letter from the messengers and read it, he went up to the LORD s Temple and spread it out before the LORD. 15And Hezekiah prayed this prayer before the LORD: O LORD, God of Israel, you are enthroned between the mighty cherubim! You alone are God of all the kingdoms of the earth. You alone created the heavens and the earth. 16 Bend down, O LORD, and listen! Open your eyes,

O LORD, and see! Listen to Sennacheribs words of defiance against the living God. 17 It is true, LORD, that the kings of Assyria have destroyed all these nations. 18And they have thrown the gods of these nations into the fire and burned them. But of course the Assyrians could destroy them! They were not gods at all only idols of wood and stone shaped by human hands. 19 Now, O LORD our God, rescue us from his power; then all the kingdoms of the earth will know that you alone, O LORD, are God. Remember the opening Hezekiah served the Lord trusted God all his days? The first thing he does again is goes to God in prayer

He did not go to his military leaders, his political body, he went to God in prayer where do we turn first when facing a crisis, threats, fear, messages of doubt etc.? God sends a message through Isaiah the prophet then v35 35 That night the angel of the LORD went out to the Assyrian camp and killed 185,000 Assyrian soldiers. When the surviving Assyrians woke up the next morning, they found corpses everywhere. 36 Then King Sennacherib of Assyria broke camp and returned to his own land. He went home to his capital of Nineveh and stayed there. 37 One day while he was worshiping in the temple of his god Nisroch, his sons Adrammelech and Sharezer killed him with their swords.

So why are we looking at all this in history? These are historical facts that not only prove the Bible to be authentic - but give direction to us in our lives today At this point in history the world was changing Assyria was conquering lands and intermingling the peoples to remove their identity and blend them all together An approach attempting to unify them as Assyrian and erase their individual and national identities There is strength in unity Jesus said; Matthew 12 25 Jesus knew their thoughts and replied, Any kingdom divided by civil war is doomed. A town or family splintered by feuding will fall apart. 26And if Satan is

casting out Satan, he is divided and fighting against himself. His own kingdom will not survive. 27And if I am empowered by Satan, what about your own exorcists? They cast out demons, too, so they will condemn you for what you have said. 28 But if I am casting out demons by the Spirit of God, then the Kingdom of God has arrived among you. 29 For who is powerful enough to enter the house of a strong man and plunder his goods? Only someone even stronger someone who could tie him up and then plunder his house. 30 Anyone who isn t with me opposes me, and anyone who isn t working with me is actually working against me.

We read the scriptures a few weeks back about gossip, and a person who sows discord in a family God hates it Things that destroy unity the message of the enemy is to instill division, fear, doubt, with lies his ways provide peace, a life of ease let s look back at part I didn t read 2 Kings 18 28 Then the chief of staff stood and shouted in Hebrew to the people on the wall, Listen to this message from the great king of Assyria! 29 This is what the king says: Don t let Hezekiah deceive you. He will never be able to rescue you from my power. 30 Don t let him fool you into trusting in the LORD by saying, The LORD will surely rescue us. This city will never fall into the hands of the Assyrian

king! 31 Dont listen to Hezekiah! These are the terms the king of Assyria is offering: Make peace with me open the gates and come out. Then each of you can continue eating from your own grapevine and fig tree and drinking from your own well. 32 Then I will arrange to take you to another land like this one a land of grain and new wine, bread and vineyards, olive groves and honey. Choose life instead of death! The enemy is always sowing discord - his desire is division and destruction to anything that represents God The family unit does, the church does, and our Nation did Our first response and where we need our efforts is prayer

Hezekiah did exactly what the Lord had instructed His people to do in that passage we read a few weeks ago 2 Chronicles 7 14 Then if my people who are called by my name will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sins and restore their land. 15 My eyes will be open and my ears attentive to every prayer made in this place. God s people must humble themselves, pray, seek His face, turn from sin God will hear God will deliver God will heal Action Step The time is NOW God is our only hope