Year in the Bible Week 27

The Ancestors of Christ: Hezekiah by Michelango, in the Sistine Chapel c. 1509

This week we saw northern Israel’s defeat by the brutal Assyrians catrasted against the cleansing of the temple in Jerusalem by Judah’s king, Hezekiah, who gets hope and strength from the Lord. Just last week we were reading about Hezekiah’s own father, Ahaz, dismantling the temple and appeasing foreign people and their gods, and now his son is rededicating the temple to the Lord. Hezekiah did what was pleasing in God’s sight, and there would be success under his leadership, even as things deteriorate in the north. The bible makes it clear that the success came because God was with this king.

Of course, after this comes 55 years of Manasseh, and then this part of the story gets hard to read.

Through it all, Isaiah speaks God’s truth as one of the bible’s greatest prophets. He was set apart by God early in his life, and he unapologetically delivered God’s truth to Ahaz, Hezekiah, and Manasseh, who were all very different kings. Before we go much further in the story of Hezekiah, let’s look closer at the book of Isaiah. Check out the video below.

Look for part two of the Isaiah video next week. After this wonderful week of Psalms collected under Hezekiah, we will spend the rest of July reading about Judah’s tragic sin and decline, with Isaiah delivering eternal truth from God through it all.