This post marks the middle of my continuing Thursday series of chapter blogs from:

THE STORY, The Bible As One Continuing Story Of God And His People

 Foreword by Max Lucado & Randy Frazee

I was pleased and excited to receive Randy Frazee’s personal and positive tweet regarding my blog on New Year’s Eve! Blessings! So let us continue with God’s wonderous story.

THE STORY chapter #16

For years, kings of Judah, Israel, Assyria, and Egypt were on constant guard of each other. They were either planning and plotting to deceive each other, or actually at war taking prisoners. Their kings did evil in the eyes of the LORD, and there was little rest among them. At one point, Assyria deported more than 27,000 people from the northern kingdom of Israel, scattering them among many cities to make sure their nation was broken.

When Hezekiah, son of Ahaz of Judah became king in the south, he made some changes. “He did what was right in the eyes of the LORD, just as his father David had done.” Hezekiah was successful because the LORD was with him. He removed high places to worship false gods and those things also associated with false gods.

And when the king of Assyria, who planned to attack Hezekiah’s kingdom, sent an intimidating letter to Hezekiah proclaiming his great armies’ victories, Hezekiah placed the letter before the LORD at His temple. He prayed a prayer of faith, acknowledging “…you alone are God over all the kingdoms of the earth… Now LORD, our God, deliver us from his hand, so that all the kingdoms of the earth may know that you alone, LORD, are God.”

After hearing Hezekiah’s prayer, the LORD responded. The LORD spoke to the prophet Isaiah.  The LORD said, “I will defend this city and save it, for my sake and for the sake of David my servant.” In the Assyrian camp that night, 185,000 men died. The Assyrian king then returned home, only to be stabbed to death by his own sons.

Our mighty God is here to help all who believe and call on His name. Lift Him Up! King Hezekiah and the prophet Isaiah had faith in God to help them. They both trusted God alone for deliverance against the enemy. While so many around them relied on false gods or personal ability, Hezekiah and Isaiah remembered Who is in charge of the world. Isaiah 49:8-13