BRAGADAYJAH 1124

BRAGADAYJAH 1124

Hezekiah’s Last Words

Upon hearing Isaiah’s prophesy concerning the deportation of his sons, Hezekiah said calmly, “Good is the word of the Lord which thou has spoken. Is God not good that peace and truth shall be in my days?” So Hezekiah died and was buried and his son Manasseh reigned in his stead. He was twelve years old when he began to reign, and he continued to reign for fifty five years, and his mother’s name was Hephzibah. And Manasseh turn out to be a wicked monarch; doing much abomination like unto the heathens whom the Lord had cast out before the children of Israel. For he built up again the high places which Hezekiah his father had destroyed, and he raised up alters for Baal, and made a grove as did Ahab king of Israel; and he worshiped all the hosts of  heaven and served them.  He built alters in the house of the Lord, the house in which the Lord said. “In Jerusalem will I put my Name.”  And he built alters in the two courts of the house of the Lord. And he made his son to pass through the fire, and observed times and used enchantments, and dealt with familiar spirits and wizards; and did much wickedness in the sight of the Lord to provoke Him to anger 

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BRAGADAYJAH 1123

BRAGADAYJAH 1123

Babylonian Captivity Foretold.

Then it came about that Berodach-Baladan, king of Babylon, sent letters and a present to Hezekiah because he had heard that Hezekiah had been ill. And Hezekiah hearkened unto them and showed them and showed them all the house of his precious things; the silver, the gold, the spices, the precious ointments, the house of his armour and everything else in his house, excluding nothing. Then came Isaiah the prophet unto King Hezekiah, and he asked him what the men who had visited said and where they came from. And Hezekiah told him they had come from a far country, namely Babylon. And Isaiah asked Hezekiah what the men saw in his house. And Hezekiah told him that he had shown them everything excluding nothing. And Isaiah said to him here the words of the Lord. “Behold the days come that all that is in thine house and all that your fathers have laid unto in store unto this day, shall be carried away into Babylon, and nothing shall be left says the Lord. And you sons shall be taken away and they shall be eunuchs in the palace of the king of Babylon.  

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BRAGADAYJAH 1122

BRAGADAYJAH 1122

The Miracle of the shadow on the stairs.

So Isaiah spoke to Hezekiah and told him that the Lord had added fifteen more years unto his life; and Isaiah the prophet became Isaiah the doctor for he ordered that a lump of fig be placed over the boil that Hezekiah had, and Hezekiah recovered. But Hezekiah asked Isaiah for a sign that the Lord had healed him, and that he should go up to the house of the Lord on the third day. And Isaiah said this is the sign from the Lord, The Lord will do the thing that he has spoken. Shall the shadow go forward ten degrees or shall it go backward ten degrees? And Hezekiah said it is an easy thing for the shadow to go down ten degrees; but let the shadow go back upwards ten degrees. And Isaiah the prophet cried unto the Lord and He brought the shadow ten degrees backwards from which it had gone down in the dial of Ahaz. To understand the phrase and the magnitude of the miracle, we need to understand the terms used here. The dial actually refereed to a spiraled stairway and degrees refer to steps. Imagine then the sun’s shadow cast on these steps, the stairs as it goes down. Naturally as the sun went down it would descend step by step down one through ten, and continue downwards.  It would have been impossible for the shadow to reverse itself and go up rather than down.  Hence Hezekiah’s choice of that scenario to verify that he was in fact experiencing God’s intervention, a miracle.

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Chaber Books: BRAGADAYJAH 1121

Chaber Books: BRAGADAYJAH 1121: BRAGADAYJAH 1121 Comment on Sennacherib Looking back over the last few days, in particular the loud mouth boastful and defiant comments...

BRAGADAYJAH 1121

BRAGADAYJAH 1121

Comment on Sennacherib

Looking back over the last few days, in particular the loud mouth boastful and defiant comments of Sennacherib, one may ask was he mad?  Had he not heard of the mighty power of the God of the children of Israel whom he was defying? Surely God’s awesome power in general, and the way he dealt with the enemies of His people Israel, would have been no secret to all the nations and rulers of the world.  Sennacherib would not, could not, have been ignorant with regard to whom he was up against.  What then made him defy and mouth God as he did? The answer may be twofold. Firstly, God was not exactly pleased with his people Israel. With regard to the Northern Kingdom, successive kings had provoked Him to anger by continuously failing to obey His commandments not to worship other gods; and the southern Kingdom Judah, while not as bad, was equally delinquent.  Accordingly God had allowed the Northern kingdom to be carried away into captivity.  So now Sennacherib felt emboldened to go up against Judah and to defy God the way he did. Secondly, God does not always jump all over his adversaries quickly; He is slow to anger and he allows us to run amok for a while.  And this often emboldens us to go overboard. But as He did to Sennacherib, He put a hook in his nose and a bridle on his tongue, and turned him around and in Sennacherib’s case, he was assassinated by the hands of his very sons.  The moral is, provoke not the Lord God to anger.  For sooner or later God will put a hook in your nose and a bridle on your tongue and deal with you like a fish out of water.

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BRAGADAYJAH 1120

BRAGADAYJAH 1120

Sennacherib Assassinated

Hezekiah gets 15 year extension

And so it came to pass that on that night, the angel of the Lord went out and smote in the camp of the Assyrians, a hundred and eighty five thousand; and when they rose next morning they were all dead corpses. So Sennacherib king of Assyria departed and went and dwelt at Nineveh. And it came to pass as he was worshipping in the house of Nisrock his god, that Adrammelech and Sharezer his sons smote him with the sword, and escaped into the land of Armenia. And Esar-Haddon his son reigned in his stead. And in those days was Hezekiah taken ill unto death. And the prophet Isaiah, the son of Amoz, came to see him, and said unto him. “Thus saith the Lord, set thy house in order for thou shall die and not live.” Then Hezekiah turned his face to the wall and prayed to God and asked the Lord to remember that he had walked before him in truth with a perfect heart, and had done what was right in his sight; and he wept before the Lord. And the word of the Lord came o Isaiah saying, “Turn again and tell Hezekiah the captain of my people, I have heard thy prayers; I have seen thy tears, I will heal thee. On the third day go up to the house of the Lord and I will add unto thy days fifteen years; and I will defend and deliver this city out of the hand of the king of Assyria for my servant David’s sake.”  

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BRAGADAYJAH 1119

BRAGADAYJAH 1119

The Lord’s Pronouncement against Sennacherib

The inhabitants you destroyed were to you people of no power; they were dismayed and confounded; they were as the grass of the field; and as the green herb; as the grass on the housetop and as corn blasted before it be grown up. But I know your abode, and your going out, and your coming in; and your rage against me. You rage against me and yourself, have come up into my ears. Therefore I will put my hook into your nose, and my bridle on your mouth; and I will turn you back by the same you came.” And addressing Hezekiah, God told him. “This is how you will know that it is I, You shall eat this year such things as grow of themselves, and in the second year that which spring up from them; and in the third year sow and plant vineyards and eat hereof.  And the remnant that escape out of the house of Judah shall yet again take root downwards and bear fruit upwards. For out of Jerusalem shall go forth a remnant and they that escape out of mount Zion shall be this. Therefore thus saith the Lord concerning the king of Assyria, he shall not come into this city, nor shoot his arrow, not with shield nor any weapon against it; for by the same way he came, by that same way he shall return; for I will defend this city and save it for my servant’s David’s sake.

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BRAGADAYJAH 1118

BRAGADJAH 1118

The Lord Assures Hezekiah

And at that time Isaiah the son of Amoz sent to Hezekiah and told him that the Lord God of Israel has said that the prayers which he prayed against Sennacherib the king of Assyria have been heard; and the word that the Lord has spoken concerning Sennacherib is that, “The virgin, the daughter of Zion has despised thee, and laughed thee to scorn; the daughter of Jerusalem has shaken her head at thee; whom has thou approached and blasphemed. And against whom has thou exalted thy voice, and lifted up thy eyes on high, even against the Holy One of Israel. By thy messengers thou has reproached the Lord, and has said, with my multitude of chariots I have come up to the height of the mountains, to the sides of Lebanon and will cut down the tall cedar trees thereof, and the choice fir trees thereof, and I will enter into the lodgings of its borders, and into the forests of his Carmel. I have dug and drank strange waters, and with the sole of my feet have I dried up all the rivers of besieged places. Have thou not heard long ago, how I have done it, and of ancient times I have formed it? Now have I brought it to pass that you should come to lay waste fenced cities into ruinous heaps?”

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BRAGADAYJAH 1117

BRAGADAYJAH 1117

Hezekiah petitions the Lord.

When Hezekiah received the letter written to him by king Sennacherib of Assyria, he read the letter and then went up to the house of the Lord and spread it before the Lord.  And Hezekiah prayed to the Lord an d said, “O Lord God of Israel which dwelleth between the Cherubims, thou art the God, even thou art alone of all the kingdoms of the earth; thou hast made heaven and earth. Lord, bow down thine ear and hear; open thou Lord thine eyes and see, and hear the words of Sennacherib which has sent him to reproach the living God. Of a truth Lord, the kings of the earth have destroyed the nations and their lands, and have cast their gods into the fire, for they were no gods, but the works of men’s hands, of wood and stone; therefore they have destroyed them. Now, therefore, O Lord our God I beseech thee, save thou us out of his hand; that all the kingdoms of the earth may know that Thou art the Lord God, even Thou only.

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BRAGADAYJAH 1116

BRAGADAJAH 1116

Sennacherib Defies God

So it came to pass that when Rabshakeh returned to his lord and master the king of Assyria, he found him at war with Libnah; for he had heard that he was no longer at Lachish. And when Sennacherib heard that Tirhakah king of Ethiopia had come out to fight against him, he sent another messenger to Hezekiah telling him, “Let not thy God in whom you trust deceive you by telling you that Jerusalem will not fall into my hands, for you have heard what the king of Assyria has done to all lands destroying them utterly. How, therefore, you hope to be delivered? Have the gods of the nations delivered them which my fathers destroyed? Lands such as Gozan, Haren, Rezeph and the children of Eden which were in Thelasar? Where is the king of Hamath, and the king of Arpad, and the king of the city of Sepharvaim, of Hena and Ivah?”  So Sennacherib by his own mouth and also by that of his servants defied God. But as he was about to learn, it is one thing defying the gods of the nations, gods made of wood, and stone, and clay, and of gold and silver, but to be boldfaced and challenge All Mighty God, is quite another.  

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BRAGADAYJAH 1115

BRAGADAHJAY 1115

Isaiah assured Hezekiah of God’s help

And it came to pass that when Hezekiah heard the words of Rabshakeh from the lips of his servants, that he was very sorrowful, and tore his clothes, and covered himself with sackcloth, and went into the house of the Lord. And he sent Eliakim who was over the household, and Shebna the scribe and the elders of the priests covered with sackcloth to Isaiah the prophet, the son of Amoz. And they say to him the words of Hezekiah which were, “that the time was a time of trouble and rebuke, and blasphemy; for the children are come to the birth but there is no strength to deliver. Maybe the Lord our God will hear the words of Rabshakeh the servant of the king of Assyria whom he sent to reproach the living God, and will reprove the words which the Lord has heard. Therefore lift up a prayer for the remnant that are left.” And so the servants of King Hezekiah delivered the message to Isaiah and Isaiah told them thus shall you say to your master. “Thus sayeth the Lord, be not afraid, of the words with which the servant of the king of Assyria has blasphemed me. For I shall send a blast upon him, and he shall hear a rumor and shall return to his own land; and I will cause him to fall be the sword in his own land.  

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BRAGADAYJAH 1114

BRAGADAYJAH 1114

Rabshakeh Continues harangue

Then Rabshakeh continued to harangue the servants and people of Hezekiah saying,  ”The time will come eventually when you shall be taken away to a land like your own land; a land of corn and wine; a land of bread and vineyards; a land of olive oil and of honey, that you may live and not die. Do not listen to Hezekiah when he tells you that the Lord will deliver you. Has any of the gods of the nations delivered them out of the hand of my lord the king of Assyria? Where are the gods of Hamath and of Arpad? Where are the gods of Sepharvaim, Hena, and Ivah? Have they delivered Samaria out of my hand? Who are they among all of the gods of the countries that have delivered their countries out of my hand?”  But the people answered him not a word; for king Hezekiah had commanded them to answer him not a word. And so after that king Hezekiah’s three servants, their torn clothes showing their distress at the words of Rabshakeh, went and reported to King Hezekiah, all the words of Rabshekeh.  

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BRAGADAYJAH 1114

BRAGADAYJAH 1114

Rabshakeh Continues harangue

Then Rabshakeh continued to harangue the servants and people of Hezekiah saying,  ”The time will come eventually when you shall be taken away to a land like your own land; a land of corn and wine; a land of bread and vineyards; a land of olive oil and of honey, that you may live and not die. Do not listen to Hezekiah when he tells you that the Lord will deliver you. Has any of the gods of the nations delivered them out of the hand of my lord the king of Assyria? Where are the gods of Hamath and of Arpad? Where are the gods of Sepharvaim, Hena, and Ivah? Have they delivered Samaria out of my hand? Who are they among all of the gods of the countries that have delivered their countries out of my hand?”  But the people answered him not a word; for king Hezekiah had commanded them to answer him not a word. And so after that king Hezekiah’s three servants, their torn clothes showing their distress at the words of Rabshakeh, went and reported to King Hezekiah, all the words of Rabshekeh.   

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BRAGADAYJAH 1114

BRAGADAYJAH 1114

Rabshakeh Continues harangue

Then Rabshakeh continued to harangue the servants and people of Hezekiah saying,  ”The time will come eventually when you shall be taken away to a land like your own land; a land of corn and wine; a land of bread and vineyards; a land of olive oil and of honey, that you may live and not die. Do not listen to Hezekiah when he tells you that the Lord will deliver you. Has any of the gods of the nations delivered them out of the hand of my lord the king of Assyria? Where are the gods of Hamath and of Arpad? Where are the gods of Sepharvaim, Hena, and Ivah? Have they delivered Samaria out of my hand? Who are they among all of the gods of the countries that have delivered their countries out of my hand?”  But the people answered him not a word; for king Hezekiah had commanded them to answer him not a word. And so after that king Hezekiah’s three servants, their torn clothes showing their distress at the words of Rabshakeh, went and reported to King Hezekiah, all the words of Rabshekeh.  

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BRAGADAYJAH 1113

BRAGADAYJAH 1113

The King pf Assyria’s servants challenge King Hezekiah

Now hearing the words of Rabshakeh the servant of the king of Assyria, Eliakim the son of Hilkiah the servant of king Hezekiah, replied and told him to speak to them not in the Jewish language in the presence of the people, but rather in the Assyrian language; for they understood it. But Rabshakeh asked him if he though his master the king of Assyria sent him to the king and his servants, and not to the very people gathered around, that they may eat their own dung and drink their own piss together? Then Rabshakeh stood and in a loud voice, in the Jewish language said, “Hear the words of the great king, the king of Assyria, Let not Hezekiah deceive you; for he will not be able to deliver you out of his hands. Neither let him deceive you by saying to you trust in the Lord; and tell you that the Lord shall surely deliver you; and that this city shall surely not be delivered into the hands of the king of Assyria. Listen not to Hezekiah; for thus saith the king of Assyria. Make an agreement with me and come out with me, and then eat every man of his own fig tree, and drink every man of his own wine, and drink of his own cistern.

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BRAGADAYJAH 1112

BRAGADAYJAH 1112

Shalmaneser sends troops against Hezekiah

Notwithstanding that King Hezekiah stripped Jerusalem of all gold and silver and sent it to Shalmaneser king of Assyria, he sent a large host consisting of Tartan and Rabsaris and Rabshakeh from Lachish to King Hezekiah and they came up and surrounded Jerusalem. And they called to king Hezekiah and he sent out to them Eliakim the son of Hilkiah who was over the household, together with Jonah the scribe and Joah the son of Asaph the recorder And Rabshakeh said to them, “Speak ye to Hezekiah and say to him that the king says, what is the confidence in which you trust? You say you have counsel and strength for this war; so then tell me on whom do you trust that you rebel against me? It is clear that you trust on the staff of a bruised reed, even Egypt upon whom if a man leans it would pierce his hand. Is the king of Egypt able to uphold you against me?  If you say you trust in the Lord your God, is he not the one whose high places and altars Hezekiah has taken away and has said to Judah and Jerusalem you shall worship before this altar in Jerusalem? Now therefore give pledges to my Lord the king of Assyria and I will deliver thee two thousand horses, if you are even able to set riders upon them. How will you in any event be able to face even one captain of the host of my Masters servants even if you put your trust in Egypt.?” 

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BRAGADAYJAH 1112

BRAGADAYJAH 1112

Thence it came to pass that in the fourth year of the reign of king Hezekiah which was the seventeenth year of king Hoshea king of Israel, that Shalmaneser king of Assyria came up against Samaria and besieged it; and at the end of three years they took it and the king of Assyria carried away Israel into Assyria and put them in Halah and Habor by the river Gozan and in the cities of the Medes because they obeyed not the voice of the Lord their God, but transgressed His commandments and would not hear them or do them. And Hezekiah king of Juda sent to the king of Assyria and said, that he had offended him, and asking him to take away from him the burdens which he had placed on him as they were more than he could bear. And the king of Assyria levied against the king Hezekiah three hundred talents of silver and thirty talents of gold. And Hezekiah gave unto him all the silver that was found in the house of the Lord, and in the treasuries of the king’s house. At that time Hezekiah even cut off the gold that was on the doors of the house of the Lord, and on the pillars of the temple and gave it to Shalmaneser the king of Assyria.

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BRAGADAYJAH 1110

BRAGADAYJAH 1110

Hezekiah prospered before the Lord.

Now it came to pass that in the third year of Hosea, son of Elah king of Israel, that Hezekiah son of Ahaz king of Judah began to reign. He was twenty five year old when he began to reign, and he reigned twenty nine years in Jerusalem. And his mother’s name was Abi, the daughter of Zachariah. And he did that which was right in the sight of the Lord according as did David before him. He removed the high places and broke down the groves and the brazen serpent that Moses had made he broke to pieces; for up to that time the people still burnt incense to it and worshipped it. Hezekiah trusted in the Lord God of Israel, so that after him there was none like him. Among all the kings of Judah.  For he clave to the Lord and departed not from following after Him, but kept his commandments which He commanded.  And the Lord was with Hezekiah and he prospered wherever he went. And he rebelled against the king of Assyria, and served him not. And he smote the Philistines even unto Gaza and its borders from the watchtower to the fenced city.  

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BRAGADAYJAH 1109

BRAGADAYJAH 1109

The People of the Nations came to fear the Lord.

After the children of Israel were taken away from Samaria by the King of Assyria, he replaced them with people from Babylon, and Cuthah, from Ava, Hamath and from Sepharvaim and placed them in the cities of Samaria in their stead. Of course these were people who served other gods and feared not the Lord; so the Lord sent lions among them and slew many of them. So after a while the people complained to the king that they were unfamiliar with ways of the God of the land wherein they found themselves; and as a result of which they were being killed. So the king commanded that one of the priests who were taken away from Samaria be taken back to the land so he could teach the people about the God of Israel.  So one of the priests was taken back to Bethel where he began to teach the people how they should fear the Lord. However, the several nations made gods and put them in places of worship where they continued to worship them. 

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BRAGADAYJAH 1108

BRAGADAYJAH 1108

Israel Cast Away Forever.

So Shalmaneser took Israel captive and deposited in the land of the Medes, because the Lord delivered Israel into his hands because of their continual and repeated disobedience especially with regard to their breach of God’s commandment, to worship no other God but Him. For time and again, the children of Israel sinned against the Lord their God who brought them up out of the land of Egypt, where they had been enslaved four hundred years. And now after God had delivered them and led them to a good land and protected them, and fed them, and cared for them, they continued to walk in the way of the heathens, the very people whom the Lord had cast out before them, and caused them to possess their lands. And even after God testified against Israel and against Judah by the mouth of his prophets and seers, telling them to turn away from serving idols and other gods, they listened not, and stiffened their necks, and served other gods. Thus the Lord’s anger was stirred against Israel and He removed Israel out of His sight. Also Judah kept not the commandments of the Lord their God, and followed after the folly of Israel. And the Lord rejected all the seed of Israel and afflicted them, and delivered them into the hand of spoilers, until he had cast them out of His sight. And so Israel was cast out and ended up in the land of Assyria, never to return.

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BRAGADAYJAH 1107

BRAGADAYJAH 1107

The death of Ahaz

And in many other ways did Ahaz defile the house and vessels of the Lord; and he died and was buried in the city of David; and Hezekiah his son reigned in his stead. Now in the seventeenth year of Ahaz king of Judah, Hoshea son of Elah began to reign; and he reigned over Israel nine years. And he did that which was evil in the sight of the Lord, although not to the extent of the kings before him. And Shalmaneser of Assyria came up against him and Hoshea submitted unto him and gave him presents. And after a while the king of Assyria found out that Hoshea conspired against him for he had secretly sent messengers to the king of Egypt and had sent no presents to the king of Assyria as was the custom. So Shalmaneser shut him up and locked him in prison. Then the king swept through all the land of Israel and went up to Samaria and besieged it for three years. And in the ninth year of Hoshea, Shalmaneser took Israel and carried the people away into Assyria and placed them in Halah and in Habor by the river of Gozan and in the cities of the Medes  

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BRAGADAYJAH 1106

Assyria.

BRAGADAYJAY 1106

The Assyrians Take Damascus

And the king of Assyria listened to Ahaz and he went up against and took Damascus and carried the people away to Kir and slew Rezin the king. And King Ahaz went to Damascus to meet with Tiglath-pilser. And while there he saw an altar in Damascus and Ahaz took and sent to the priest Urijah a drawing of the altar, with a pattern of it as well as the workmanship surrounding it, and ordered Urijah to build an exact facsimile of it and he did so. And when king Ahaz saw the altar which Urijah had built he approached it and offered sacrifices thereon. And he burnt his burnt offering and his meat offering on it and poured the drink offering and the blood of his peace offerings on it. And he brought also the brazen altar which was before the Lord, from the forefront of the house from between the altar and the house of the Lord, and put it on the north side of the altar. And king Ahaz commanded Urijah the priest to burn the morning burnt offering and the evening meal offering upon the great altar, together with the burnt offering and the meal offering, and the drink offering of all the people of the land, and also the blood of the burnt offering and all the blood of the sacrifice sprinkled upon the great altar. And so Urijah the priest all that the King commanded him to do. 

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BRAGADAYJAH 1105

BRAGADAYJAH 1105
Ahaz’s pact with Assyria.

In the seventeenth year of Pekah the son of Remaliah, Ahaz the son of Jotham king of Judah began to reign. Ahaz was twenty years old when he began to reign and he reigned sixteen years in Jerusalem and did that which was right in the sight of the Lord his God, like David his father did.  But he walked in the way of the kings of Israel, and made his son to pass through the fire according to the abominations of the heathens whom the Lord had cast out in Favor of the children of Israel. For he sacrificed burnt offerings in the high places and upon hills and upon green trees. So at that time Rezin king of Syria and Pekah son of Remaliah king of Israel came up against him at Jerusalem to make war against him; and they besieged Ahaz; but could not overcome him. But during the war, Rezin king of Syria regained Elah for Syria and drove out the Jews from Elath; and the Syrians occupied Elath continually thereafter. So Ahaz sent messengers to Tiglath-pilser king of Assyria telling him that he was his servant and his son and asking him to go up and save him out of the hands of the king of Syria and the king of Israel. And so Ahaz took the gold and the silver that were in the house of the Lord and in the treasuries of the King’s house, and sent them to the king of Assyria.

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BRAGADAYJAH 1104

BRAGADAYJAH 1104

Reign and death of Jotham

In the second year of Pekah the son of Remaliah king of Israel, began Jotham to reign, and he was then twenty five years old when he began to reign. And he reigned sixteen years in Jerusalem; and his mother’s name was Jerusha the daughter of Zadok. And he did that which was right in the sight of the Lord in accordance with all that his father had done.  Nevertheless the high places were not removed and the people sacrificed and burnt incense still in the high places, although he built a high gate to the house of the Lord. But in his day the Lord began to send against Judah, Rezin the king of Syria, and Pekah the son of Remaliah. And Jotham died and slept with his fathers, and was buried with his fathers in the city of David.

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BRAGADAYJAH 1103

BRAGADAYJAH 1103

Pekah Assassinates Pekahiah

Next Pekah the son of Remaliah together with Argob, Arieh and fifty other men conspired against Pekahiah and slew him in the king’s house, and reigned in his stead. So Pekahiah died and was buried. And in the fifty second year of the reign of King Azariah of Judah, Pekah began to reign over Israel and he reigned twenty years during which time he continued to do that which was evil in the sight of the Lord, having departed not from the sin of Jeroboam who made Israel to sin. And during his reign Tiglath- pilser king of Assyria invaded and took Ijon, Abel-beth-maachah, Janoah, Kedesh, Hazor, Gilead and Galilee together with all the land of Naphtali and carried the people away captives to Assyria. And after that Hoshea the son of Elah made a conspiracy against Pekah and smote him and killed him and reigned in his stead in the twentieth year of Jotham the son of Uzziah.     

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BRAGADAYJAH 1102

BRAGADAYJAH 1102

A Succession of Evil Kings in Israel.

In the thirty and eight year of the reign of King Azariah of Judah did Zachariah the son of Jeroboam king of Israel reign over Samaria 6 months. And he did that which was evil in the sight of the Lord as his father had done, and departed not from the sins of Jeroboam his father. And Shallum the son of Jabesh conspired against him and slew him and, reigned in his stead. And so Shallum the son of Jabesh began to reign in the thirtieth year of Uzziah, otherwise called Azariah, king of Judah and he reigned a full month; and he was slain by Menahem the son of Gadi came up from Tirzah to Samaria and smote him there and reigned in his stead. And Menahem smote the coast of Tiphsah and all the people therein, and he killed all the women that were with child. And Tiphsah reigned over Israel ten years. And during his reign, throughout his reign, he continued to do that which was evil in the sight of the Lord. And Pul the king of Assyria went up against the land; and Menahem gave Pul a thousand talents of silver that his hand maybe strengthened. And the king of Assyria turned back and invaded no more the land. And after that Menahem slept with his fathers; and Pekahiah his son reigned in his stead.  

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BRAGADAYJAH 1101

BRAGADAYJAH 1101
Deaths of Jehoash – Amaziah – Jeroboam.
Eventually the king of Israel Jehoash died and Amaziah king of Judah continued to reign in Judah. But the people of Jerusalem made a conspiracy against him and he fled to Lachish; but they chased him there and slew him; and they bought him on horses to Jerusalem and buried him with his fathers in the city of David. And the multitude of the people took Azariah his sixteen year old son and made him king. While being king he built Elath and restored it to Judah; and after that he died. In the meantime, in the fifteenth year of the reign of Amaziah Jeroboam the son of Joash king of Israel began to reign in Samaria. And he reigned forty one years. And Jeroboam did that which was evil in the sight of the Lord. But he restored the coasts of Israel from the entering of Hamath unto the sea of the plain according to the word of the Lord God of Israel which he spoke by the mouth of His servant Jonah, the son of Amattai the prophet which was of Gah-Hepher. For the Lord saw the affliction of Israel that it was very bitter; for there not any shut up, nor any left, nor any helper for Israel. For the Lord had not said that He would blot out Israel from under heaven; so He saved them by the hand of Jeroboam the son of Joash. And Jeroboam died and was buried and he was succeeded by his son Zachariah.   

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BRAGADAYJAH 1100

BRAGADAYJAH 1100

War Between Israel and Judah

Then Amaziah sent messengers to Jehoash the son of Jehoahaz son of Jehu, king of Israel saying, “Come let us look one another in the face.” And Jehoash the king of Israel sent to Amaziah king of Judah saying, “The thistle that was in Lebanon sent to the cedar that was in Lebanon saying Give thy daughter to my son for wife. And there came by a wild beast and trod down the thistle. Thou has indeed smitten Edom and glory in it; and tarry at home, that you should meddle at my hurt. But are you prepared to fall and Judah with you?”  But Amaziah ignored the warning and he went up to face Jehoash at Beth-shemesh which belong to Judah. And Judah was put to the sword and they fled every man to his tent. And Jehoash King of Israel captured Amaziah and proceeded on to the gates of Jerusalem from the gate of Ephraim.  And he took all the gold and silver and all the vessels that were found in the house of the Lord, and in the treasures of the king’s house and hostages and returned to Samaria.   

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BRAGADAYJAH 1099

BRAGADAYJAH 1099

Amaziah’s retribution

Now in the second year of Joash son of Jehoahaz king of Israel reigned Amaziah son of Joash King of Judah.  He was twenty and five years old when he began to reign and he reigned twenty nine years in Jerusalem; and his mother’s name was Jehoaddan of Jerusalem. And Amaziah did that which was right in the sight of the Lord although not to the extent of his father David, but followed in the way of his father Joash. He did not take away the high places and so the people used them to sacrifice to other gods. And as soon the kingdom was established in his hand, he slew the servants who had slain the king his father. But the children of the murderers he slew not as written in the laws of Moses wherein the Lord commanded that the father shall not be put to death for the sins of the children, nor the children be put to death for the sins of the father; but every man shall be put to death for his own sin. So he slew in Edom, in the valley of salt ten thousand and took Selah by war and called the name of it Joktheel.

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BRAGADAYJAH 1098

BRAGADAYJAH 1098

Miracle at Elisha’s Tomb

And it came to pass that as they were burying a man they saw a band of men coming and they threw the body of the man in the sepulcher of Elisha; and when the man was let down and touched the bones of Eisha, he revived and stood upon his feet. In the meantime Hazael, king of Syria continued to oppress Israel all through the reign of Jehoahaz. And the Lord was gracious unto Israel and had regard for them because of His covenant with Abraham, and with Isaac and with Jacob, and would not destroy them nor cast them away from His presence as yet. So at last Hazael king of Syria died; and Benhadad his son reigned in his stead. And Jehoash the son of Jehoahaz took again out of the hand of Benhadad the son of Hazael, the cities which he had taken out of the hand of Jehoahaz his father by war after warring with him three times, defeating him each of the three times. We note that this miracle is often ascribed to Elisha as performing the last of his many miracles even after his death.  But we also see this as indicating that all miracles performed through the agency of man, are in fact the works of the Almighty God. We also note that many of God’s miracles, example that of Jonah and the whale, often stir up much debate and disbelief by the very nature of the high degree of what appears to the human psyche as impossible. But it is submitted that the very fact that the act called miracle transcends human understanding and comprehension is what makes the supernatural act of God a miracle.   

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BRAGADAYJAH 1097

Death of Elisha.

Now in the course of time, Elisha fell ill and was on his death bed. And Joash the king of Israel went down to him and wept over his face and said, “O my father, my father, the chariots of Israel and the horsemen thereof. And Elisha said unto him. “Take bows and arrows.”  And he took bows and arrows. And Elisha told him to put his hand upon the bow and Joash did so; and Elisha put his hand upon the king’s hand and told him to open the window eastward, and he opened it. And Elisha said shoot. And he shot. And Elisha told him. “The arrow of the Lord’s deliverance; for you shall smite the Syrians at Aphek until you have consumed them. And Elisha told Joash to take the arrows and he took them. And Elisha told him to smite upon the ground. And the king of Israel smote upon the ground threw times and stopped. And Elisha was angry with him and told him that he should have smitten the ground five or six times as indicating he would have smitten Syria utterly; but since he only smote the ground three times that meant that he would not smite Syria until they were completely destroyed.  So Elisha died and was buried. And after that bands of Moabites began to invade the land of Israel at the beginning of the next year.

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BRAGADAYJAH 1096

BRAGADAYJAH 1096

The Lord Allowed Syria to overrun Israel.

Now in the twenty-third year of Joash the son of Ahaziah king of Judah, Jehoahaz the son of Jehu, king of Samaria began to reign, and he reigned for seventeen years; and during that time he did evil in the sight of the Lord, and followed in the footsteps of Jeroboam his father who had made Israel to sin. And the anger of the Lord was kindled against Israel, and He delivered them into the hands of Hazael king of Syria, and of Benhadad the son of Hazael all their days. And Jehoahaz sought the Lord and the Lord hearkened unto him because He saw the oppression of the king of Syria. And the Lord gave Israel a Saviour so that they came out from under the power of the Syrians; and the children of Israel dwelt in their tents as before times. Nevertheless they departed not from the sins of Jeroboam and made Israel to sin and maintained the high places built to other gods. And Jehoahaz died and was buried in Samaria; and Joash his son reigned in his stead.

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BRAGADAYJAH 1095

BRAGADAYJAH 1095

Jehoash killed by his servants

At that time Hazael king of Syria went up and declared war on Gath, and took it. And he set his face to invade Jerusalem. And so Jehoash took all the holy and sacred things that his father Jehoshaphat, and Jehoram, and Ahaziah his fathers had dedicated to the temple, together with his own hallowed things, and all the gold found in the treasuries of the house of the Lord; as well as the king’s house, and sent them to Hazael, king of Syria; and he went away and did not attack Jerusalem. And after that Jozachar the son of Shimeath, and Jehozabad, the son of Shomer, his servants, conspired against him, and smote him, and he died; and they buried him with his father in the city of David and Amaziah his son reigned in his stead.  

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BRAGADAYJAH 1094

BRAGADAYJAH 1094

Jehoash Ordered repairs to God’s House

Now at that time during the reign of Jehoash, the temple of the Lord was badly in need of repairs, and Jehoash the king ordered the priests that the money they collected of the people was to be used in the repairs of the house of the Lord; but after twenty three years no work had been done on the house of the Lord. So King Jehoash called Jehoiada and the other priests and ordered them to cease from collecting money of the people. And so they abandoned the project for repairing the house of the Lord. But Jehoiada took a chest and made a hole in the top of it, and placed it beside the altar. And the priest that kept the door put into it, all the money that was brought into the house of the Lord. And after a while there was much money in the chest. And so they took it out and put it in bags, and gave it to those who would do the work of repairs, that is to say the carpenters, and builders and masons, and hewers of stone, and all who would work on the repairs to the house of the Lord. All the money was used solely in the work of repair to the house, and each man worked honestly; so there was no need for accounting; but no money was set aside for the ornaments for the house such as bowls of silver, snuffers, basins, trumpets, and other vessels of gold and of silver.

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