The Bible Study podcast episode 582.

Today, the Bible study podcast continues the study of the kings of Judah with

2nd Kings 18.

Welcome to the Bible study podcast.

I'm your host, Chris Christensen.

Yes, just the study of the kings of Judah.

Again, with last week's episode, we finished up the story of Israel and the kings of Israel.

But we continue on because we've left Judah and we left them in kind of bad shape.

They didn't have a particularly good king the last we heard, someone who is not faithful to God, and we've got Assyria who is

just taken away Israel. They are definitely become one of the first superpowers here in the region,

and Judah is under pressure. Chapter 18. Hezekiah King of Judah.

In the third year of Hoshaya, son of Ila, king of Israel,

Hezekiah son of Ahaz, king of Judah, began to reign.

He was 25 years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem 29 years.

His mother's name was Abijah, daughter of

Zachariah. He did what was right in the eyes of the Lord, just as his father David had done.

He removed the high places, smashed the sacred stones, and cut down the Asherah poles. He broke

into pieces the bronze snake that Moses had made, for up to that time the Israelites had been burning incense to it.

It was called Nohushtan.

Hasakaya trusted in the Lord, the God of Israel.

There was no one like him among all the kings of Judah either before him or after him.

He held fast to the Lord and did not stop following him.

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