2 CHRONICLES 32:1-33:13
ROMANS 15:23-16:9
PSALM 25:16-22
PROVERBS 20:16-18
2 CHRONICLES 32:1-33:13
After Hezekiah had faithfully carried out this work, King Sennacherib of Assyria invaded Judah. He laid siege to the fortified cities, giving orders for his army to break through their walls. 2 When Hezekiah realized that Sennacherib also intended to attack Jerusalem, 3 he consulted with his officials and military advisers, and they decided to stop the flow of the springs outside the city. 4 They organized a huge work crew to stop the flow of the springs, cutting off the brook that ran through the fields. For they said, " Why should the kings of Assyria come here and find plenty of water?" 5 Then Hezekiah further strengthened his defenses by repairing the wall wherever it was broken down and by adding to the fortifications and constructing a second wall outside the first. He also reinforced the Millo in the City of David and manufactured large numbers of weapons and shields. 6 He appointed military officers over the people and asked them to assemble before him in the square at the city gate. Then Hezekiah encouraged them with this address: 7 " Be strong and courageous! Don't be afraid of the king of Assyria or his mighty army, for there is a power far greater on our side! 8 He may have a great army, but they are just men. We have the LORD our God to help us and to fight our battles for us!" These words greatly encouraged the people. 9 Then King Sennacherib of Assyria, while still besieging the town of Lachish, sent officials to Jerusalem with this message for Hezekiah and all the people in the city: 10 " This is what King Sennacherib of Assyria says: What are you trusting in that makes you think you can survive my siege of Jerusalem? 11 Hezekiah has said, ` The LORD our God will rescue us from the king of Assyria.' Surely Hezekiah is misleading you, sentencing you to death by famine and thirst! 12 Surely you must realize that Hezekiah is the very person who destroyed all the LORD's shrines and altars. He commanded Judah and Jerusalem to worship at only the one altar at the Temple and to make sacrifices on it alone. 13 " Surely you must realize what I and the other kings of Assyria before me have done to all the people of the earth! Were any of the gods of those nations able to rescue their people from my power? 14 Name just one time when any god, anywhere, was able to rescue his people from me! What makes you think your God can do any better? 15 Don't let Hezekiah fool you! Don't let him deceive you like this! I say it again--no god of any nation has ever yet been able to rescue his people from me or my ancestors. How much less will your God rescue you from my power!"16 And Sennacherib's officials further mocked the LORD God and his servant Hezekiah, heaping insult upon insult. 17 The king also sent letters scorning the LORD, the God of Israel. He wrote, " Just as the gods of all the other nations failed to rescue their people from my power, so the God of Hezekiah will also fail." 18 The Assyrian officials who brought the letters shouted this in the Hebrew language to the people gathered on the walls of the city, trying to terrify them so it would be easier to capture the city. 19 These officials talked about the God of Jerusalem as though he were one of the pagan gods, made by human hands. 20 Then King Hezekiah and the prophet Isaiah son of Amoz cried out in prayer to God in heaven. 21 And the LORD sent an angel who destroyed the Assyrian army with all its commanders and officers. So Sennacherib returned home in disgrace to his own land. And when he entered the temple of his god, some of his own sons killed him there with a sword. 22 That is how the LORD rescued Hezekiah and the people of Jerusalem from King Sennacherib of Assyria and from all the others who threatened them. So there was peace at last throughout the land. 23 From then on King Hezekiah became highly respected among the surrounding nations, and many gifts for the LORD arrived at Jerusalem, with valuable presents for King Hezekiah, too. 24 About that time, Hezekiah became deathly ill. He prayed to the LORD, who healed him and gave him a miraculous sign. 25 But Hezekiah did not respond appropriately to the kindness shown him, and he became proud. So the LORD's anger came against him and against Judah and Jerusalem. 26 Then Hezekiah repented of his pride, and the people of Jerusalem humbled themselves. So the LORD's anger did not come against them during Hezekiah's lifetime. 27 Hezekiah was very wealthy and held in high esteem. He had to build special treasury buildings for his silver, gold, precious stones, and spices, and for his shields and other valuable items. 28 He also constructed many storehouses for his grain, new wine, and olive oil; and he made many stalls for his cattle and folds for his flocks of sheep and goats. 29 He built many towns and acquired vast flocks and herds, for God had given him great wealth. 30 He blocked up the upper spring of Gihon and brought the water down through a tunnel to the west side of the City of David. And so he succeeded in everything he did. 31 However, when ambassadors arrived from Babylon to ask about the remarkable events that had taken place in the land, God withdrew from Hezekiah in order to test him and to see what was really in his heart. 32 The rest of the events of Hezekiah's reign and his acts of devotion are recorded in The Vision of the Prophet Isaiah Son of Amoz, which is included in The Book of the Kings of Judah and Israel. 33 When Hezekiah died, he was buried in the upper area of the royal cemetery, and all Judah and Jerusalem honored him at his death. Then his son Manasseh became the next king.33:1 MANASSEH was twelve years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem fifty-five years. 2 He did what was evil in the LORD's sight, imitating the detestable practices of the pagan nations whom the LORD had driven from the land ahead of the Israelites. 3 He rebuilt the pagan shrines his father Hezekiah had destroyed. He constructed altars for the images of Baal and set up Asherah poles. He also bowed before all the stars of heaven and worshiped them. 4 He even built pagan altars in the Temple of the LORD, the place where the LORD had said his name should be honored forever. 5 He put these altars for the stars of heaven in both courtyards of the LORD's Temple. 6 Manasseh even sacrificed his own sons in the fire in the valley of the son of Hinnom. He practiced sorcery, divination, and witchcraft, and he consulted with mediums and psychics. He did much that was evil in the LORD's sight, arousing his anger. 7 Manasseh even took a carved idol he had made and set it up in God's Temple, the very place where God had told David and his son Solomon: " My name will be honored here forever in this Temple and in Jerusalem--the city I have chosen from among all the other tribes of Israel. 8 If the Israelites will obey my commands--all the instructions, laws, and regulations given through Moses--I will not send them into exile from this land that I gave their ancestors." 9 But Manasseh led the people of Judah and Jerusalem to do even more evil than the pagan nations whom the LORD had destroyed when the Israelites entered the land. 10 The LORD spoke to Manasseh and his people, but they ignored all his warnings. 11 So the LORD sent the Assyrian armies, and they took Manasseh prisoner. They put a ring through his nose, bound him in bronze chains, and led him away to Babylon. 12 But while in deep distress, Manasseh sought the LORD his God and cried out humbly to the God of his ancestors. 13 And when he prayed, the LORD listened to him and was moved by his request for help. So the LORD let Manasseh return to Jerusalem and to his kingdom. Manasseh had finally realized that the LORD alone is God!
ROMANS 15:23-16:9
But now I [Paul] have finished my work in these regions, and after all these long years of waiting, I am eager to visit you. 24 I am planning to go to Spain, and when I do, I will stop off in Rome. And after I have enjoyed your fellowship for a little while, you can send me on my way again. 25 But before I come, I must go down to Jerusalem to take a gift to the Christians there. 26 For you see, the believers in Greece have eagerly taken up an offering for the Christians in Jerusalem, who are going through such hard times. 27 They were very glad to do this because they feel they owe a real debt to them. Since the Gentiles received the wonderful spiritual blessings of the Good News from the Jewish Christians, they feel the least they can do in return is help them financially. 28 As soon as I have delivered this money and completed this good deed of theirs, I will come to see you on my way to Spain. 29 And I am sure that when I come, Christ will give me a great blessing for you.30 Dear brothers and sisters, I urge you in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ to join me in my struggle by praying to God for me. Do this because of your love for me, given to you by the Holy Spirit. 31 Pray that I will be rescued from those in Judea who refuse to obey God. Pray also that the Christians there will be willing to accept the donation I am bringing them. 32 Then, by the will of God, I will be able to come to you with a happy heart, and we will be an encouragement to each other. 33 And now may God, who gives us his peace, be with you all. Amen.16:1 OUR sister Phoebe, a deacon in the church in Cenchrea, will be coming to see you soon. 2 Receive her in the Lord, as one who is worthy of high honor. Help her in every way you can, for she has helped many in their needs, including me. 3 Greet Priscilla and Aquila. They have been co-workers in my ministry for Christ Jesus. 4 In fact, they risked their lives for me. I am not the only one who is thankful to them; so are all the Gentile churches. 5 Please give my greetings to the church that meets in their home.Greet my dear friend Epenetus. He was the very first person to become a Christian in the province of Asia. 6 Give my greetings to Mary, who has worked so hard for your benefit. 7 Then there are Andronicus and Junia, my relatives, who were in prison with me. They are respected among the apostles and became Christians before I did. Please give them my greetings. 8 Say hello to Ampliatus, whom I love as one of the Lord's own children, 9 and Urbanus, our co-worker in Christ, and beloved Stachys.
PSALM 25:16-22
Turn to me and have mercy on me,
for I am alone and in deep distress.
17 My problems go from bad to worse.
Oh, save me from them all!
18 Feel my pain and see my trouble.
Forgive all my sins.
19 See how many enemies I have,
and how viciously they hate me!
20 Protect me! Rescue my life from them!
Do not let me be disgraced, for I trust in you.
21 May integrity and honesty protect me,
for I put my hope in you.
22 O God, ransom Israel
from all its troubles.
PROVERBS 20:16-18
Be sure to get collateral from anyone who guarantees the debt of a stranger. Get a deposit if someone guarantees the debt of a foreigner. Stolen bread tastes sweet, but it turns to gravel in the mouth. Plans succeed through good counsel; don't go to war without the advice of others.
