Hello, this is Father Paul, and I'm glad we're
taking this journey together to read the Bible
in a year. Today's reading is from 2 Kings chapter
18, as well as Isaiah chapter 11 and 12. 2 Kings
chapter 18. Now it came to pass in the third
year of Hosea the son of Elah king of Israel,
that Hezekiah the son of Ahaz king of Judah began
to reign. He was 25 years old when he became
king, and he reigned 29 years in Jerusalem. His
mother's name was Abi, the daughter of Zechariah.
And he did what was right in the sight of the
Lord, according to all that his father David
had done. He removed the high places, and broke
the sacred pillars, cut down the wooden image,
and broke in pieces the bronze serpent that Moses
had made. For until those days the children of
Israel burned incense to it and called it Nehushtan.
He trusted in the Lord God of Israel. so that
after him was none like him among all the kings
of Judah, nor who were before him. For he held
fast to the Lord. He did not depart from following
him, but kept his commandments, which the Lord
had commanded Moses. The Lord was with him. He
prospered wherever he went, and he rebelled against
the king of Assyria and did not serve him. He
subdued the Philistines, as far as Gaza and its
territory, from watchtower to fortified city.
Now it came to pass in the fourth year of King
Hezekiah, which was the seventh year of Hosea
the son of Elah 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.
In the sixth year of Hezekiah, that is, the ninth
year of Hosea king of Israel, Samaria was taken.
Then the king of Assyria carried Israel away
captive to Assyria and put them in Hala, and
by the harbor the river Gozan. and in the cities
of the Medes, because they did not obey the voice
of the Lord their God, but transgressed his covenant
and all that Moses the servant of the Lord had
commanded, and they would neither hear nor do
them. And in the fourteenth year of King Hezekiah,
Sennacherib king of Assyria came up against all
the fortified cities of Judah and took them.
Then Hezekiah king of Judah sent to the king
of Assyria at Lashish, saying, I have done wrong,
turn away from me. whatever you impose on me
i will pay and the king of assyria assessed hezekiah
king of judah 300 talents of silver and 30 talents
of gold so hezekiah gave 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
stripped the gold from the doors of the temple
of the lord and from the pillars which hezekiah
king of judah had overlaid and gave it to the
king of assyria then the king of assyria sent
the tartan the Rapsaris and the Rapshaki, from
Lashish, with a great army against Jerusalem,
to King Hezekiah. And they went up and came to
Jerusalem. When they had come up, they went and
stood by the aqueduct from the upper pool, which
was on the highway to the fuller's field. And
when they had called to the king, Eliakim the
son of Elkiah, who was over the household, Shebna
the scribe, and Joah the son of Asaph the recorder,
came out to meet them. Then Arab Shaki said to
them, Say now to Hezekiah, Thus says the great
king, the king of Assyria, What confidence is
this in which you trust? You speak of having
plans and power for war, but they are mere words.
And in whom do you trust that you rebel against
me? Now look, you are trusting in the staff of
this broken reed, Egypt, on which if a man leans,
it will go into his hand and pierce it. So is
Pharaoh king of Egypt to all who trust in him.
But if you say to me, We trust in the Lord our
God, is it not He whose high places and whose
altars Hezekiah has taken away, and said to Judah
and Jerusalem, You shall worship before this
altar in Jerusalem? Now therefore I urge you,
give a pledge to my master, the king of Assyria,
and I will give you two thousand horses, if you
are able on your part to put riders on them.
How then will you repel one captain of the least
of my master's servants and put your trust in
Egypt for chariots and horsemen? Have I now come
up without the Lord against this place to destroy
it? The Lord said to me, Go up against this land
and destroy it. Then Eliakim the son of Elkiah,
Shebna and Joah said to the Rabshakeh, Please
speak to your servants in Aramaic, for we understand
it, and do not speak to us in Hebrew in the hearing
of the people who are on the wall. But the Rabshakeh
said to them, Has my master sent me to your master
and to you to speak these words, and not to the
men who sit on the wall, who will eat and drink
their own waste with you? Then the Rabshakeh
stood and called out with a loud voice in Hebrew
and spoke, saying, Hear the word of the great
king, the king of Assyria. Thus says the king,
Do not let Hezekiah deceive you, for he shall
not be able to deliver you from his hand. Nor
let Hezekiah make you trust in the Lord, saying,
The Lord will surely deliver us. this city shall
not be given into the hand of the king of assyria
do not listen to hezekiah for thus says the king
of assyria make peace with me by a present and
come out to me and every one of you eat from
his own vine and every one from his own fig tree
and every one of you drink the waters of his
own cistern until i come and take you away to
a land like your own land a land of grain and
new wine a land of bread and vineyards a land
of olive groves and honey that you may live and
not die. But do not listen to Hezekiah, lest
he persuade you, saying, The Lord will deliver
us. Has any of the gods of the nations at all
delivered its land from the hand of the king
of Assyria? Where are the gods of Hamad and Arpad?
Where are the gods of Sepharvim and Hanna and
Eva? Indeed, have they delivered Samaria from
my hand? Who among all the gods of the lands
have delivered their countries from my hand?
that the Lord should deliver Jerusalem from my
hand. But the people held their peace and answered
him not a word, for the king's commandment was,
Do not answer him. Then Eliakim the son of Hilkiah,
who was over the household, Shebna the scribe,
and Joah the son of Asaph the recorder, came
to Hezekiah with their clothes torn, and told
him the words of the Rabshakeh. Isaiah chapter
11 There shall come forth a rod from the stem
of Jesse. and a branch shall grow out of his
roots. The Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon
him, the Spirit of wisdom and understanding,
the Spirit of counsel and might, the Spirit of
knowledge and of the fear of the Lord. His delight
is in the fear of the Lord, and he shall not
judge by the sight of his eyes, nor decide by
the hearing of his ears, but with righteousness
he shall judge the poor, and decide with equity
for the meek of the earth. He shall strike the
earth with the rod of his mouth, and with the
breath of his lips he shall slay the wicked.
Righteousness shall be the belt of his loins,
and faithfulness the belt of his waist. The wolf
also shall dwell with the lamb. The leopard shall
lie down with the young goat, the calf with the
young lion, and the fatling together. And a little
child shall lead them. The cow and the bear shall
graze, their young ones shall lie down together.
And the lion shall eat straw like the ox. The
nursing child shall play by the cobra's hole,
and the weaned child shall put his hand in the
viper's den. They shall not hurt nor destroy
in all my holy mountain, for the earth shall
be full of the knowledge of the Lord, as the
waters cover the sea. And in that day there shall
be a root of Jesse, who shall stand as a banner
to the people, for the Gentiles shall seek him,
and his resting place shall be glorious. It shall
come to pass in that day. that the Lord shall
set his hand again the second time to cover the
remnant of his people who are left, from Assyria
and Egypt, from Pathros and Cush, from Elam and
Shinar, from Hamath and the islands of the sea.
He will set up a banner for the nations, and
will assemble the outcasts of Israel, and gather
together the dispersed of Judah. From the four
corners of the earth also the envy of Ephraim
shall depart, and the adversaries of Judah shall
be cut off. Ephraim shall not envy Judah, and
Judah shall not harass Ephraim. But they shall
fly down upon the shoulder of the Philistines
toward the west. Together they shall plunder
the people of the east. They shall lay their
hand on Edom and Moab, and the people of Ammon
shall obey them. The Lord will utterly destroy
the tongue of the sea of Egypt. With his mighty
wind he will shake his fist over the river, and
strike it in the seven streams, and make men
cross over dry shod. There will be a highway
for the remnant of his people who will be left
from Assyria as it was for Israel in the day
that he came up from the land of Egypt. Chapter
12 And in that day you will say, O Lord, I will
praise you. Though you were angry with me, your
anger is turned away, and you comfort me. Behold,
God is my salvation. I will trust and not be
afraid. For yeah, the Lord is my strength and
song. He also has become my salvation. Therefore
with joy you will draw water from the wells of
salvation. And in that day you will say, Praise
the Lord, call upon his name, declare his deeds
among the peoples, make mention that his name
is exalted. Sing to the Lord, for he has done
excellent things. This is known in all the earth.
Cry out and shout, O inhabitant of Zion, for
great is the Holy One of Israel in your midst.
I hope you enjoyed today's reading as much as
I did and I look forward to seeing you again
tomorrow to continue on our journey. God bless
you and have a great day.