In what feels like the nick of time, there is s regime change in Judah. The vultures were gathering and God seemed prepared to let both Judah and Israel be defeated.
The sinful city
Isaiah 1:21-31
Jerusalem plundered
2 Kings 16:10-18, 2 Chronicles 28:20,22-25
Pekah killed
2 Kings 15:30-31
Hoshea
2 Kings 17:1-2
Death of Ahaz
2 Kings 16:19-20, 2 Chronicles 28:26-7
Hezekiah
2 Kings 18:1-3,5-6, 2 Chronicles 29:1-2
Temple restored
2 Chronicles 29:3-36
Isaiah speaks about purifying Judah like refining metal - a painful but necessary experience. We hear in Kings and Chronicles about Ahaz copying the worship he saw in Damascus, with the collusion of Uriah the priest. Ahaz has lost the plot completely - he’s dazzled by the wonders of Assyria. He thinks their gods are bigger than Israel’s God.
As soon as he dies, Hezekiah loses no time in restoring worship. He brings a different understanding - it is because of unfaithfulness that they have fallen on hard times. The solution is not political, but spiritual.
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