The One Year Bible TLB (163 page)
Read The One Year Bible TLB Online
Authors: Tyndale
A king sitting as judge weighs all the evidence carefully, distinguishing the true from false.
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Who can ever say, “I have cleansed my heart; I am sinless”?
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The Lord despises every kind of cheating.
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July 30The people of Judah now crowned sixteen-year-old Uzziah as their new king.
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After his father’s death, he rebuilt the city of Eloth and restored it to Judah.
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In all, he reigned fifty-two years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Jecoliah, from Jerusalem.
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He followed in the footsteps of his father Amaziah and was, in general, a good king in the Lord’s sight.
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While Zechariah was alive Uzziah was always eager to please God. Zechariah was a man who had special revelations from God. And as long as the king followed the paths of God, he prospered, for God blessed him.
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He declared war on the Philistines and captured the city of Gath and broke down its walls, also those of Jabneh and Ashdod. Then he built new cities in the Ashdod area and in other parts of the Philistine country.
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God helped him not only with his wars against the Philistines but also in his battles with the Arabs of Gur-baal and in his wars with the Meunites.
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The Ammonites paid annual tribute to him, and his fame spread even to Egypt, for he was very powerful.
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He built fortified towers in Jerusalem at the Corner Gate, and the Valley Gate, and at the turning of the wall.
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He also constructed forts in the Negeb and made many water reservoirs, for he had great herds of cattle out in the valleys and on the plains. He was a man who loved the soil and had many farms and vineyards, both on the hillsides and in the fertile valleys.
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He organized his army into regiments to which men were drafted under quotas set by Jeiel, the secretary of the army, and his assistant, Maaseiah. The commander-in-chief was General Hananiah.
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Twenty-six hundred brave clan leaders commanded these regiments.
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The army consisted of 307,500 men, all elite troops.
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Uzziah issued to them shields, spears, helmets, coats of mail, bows, and sling stones.
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And he produced engines of war manufactured in Jerusalem, invented by brilliant men to shoot arrows and huge stones from the towers and battlements. So he became very famous, for the Lord helped him wonderfully until he was very powerful.
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But at that point he became proud—and corrupt. He sinned against the Lord his God by entering the forbidden sanctuary of the Temple and personally burning incense upon the altar.
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Azariah the High Priest went in after him with eighty other priests, all brave men, and demanded that he get out.
“It is not for you, Uzziah, to burn incense,” they declared. “That is the work of the priests alone, the sons of Aaron who are consecrated to this work. Get out, for you have trespassed, and the Lord is not going to honor you for this!”
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Uzziah was furious and refused to set down the incense burner he was holding. But look! Suddenly—leprosy appeared on his forehead!
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When Azariah and the others saw it, they rushed him out; in fact, he himself was as anxious to get out as they were to get him out because the Lord had struck him.
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So King Uzziah was a leper until the day of his death and lived in isolation, cut off from his people and from the Temple. His son Jotham became vice-regent, in charge of the king’s affairs and of the judging of the people of the land.
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The other details of Uzziah’s reign from first to last are recorded by the prophet Isaiah (son of Amoz).
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When Uzziah died, he was buried in the royal cemetery even though he was a leper, and his son Jotham became the new king.
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Jotham was twenty-five years old at the time he became king, and he reigned sixteen years in Jerusalem. His mother was Jerushah, daughter of Zadok.
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He followed the generally good example of his father, Uzziah—who had, however, sinned by invading the Temple—but even so his people became very corrupt.
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He built the Upper Gate of the Temple and also did extensive rebuilding of the walls on the hill where the Temple was situated.
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And he built cities in the hill country of Judah and erected fortresses and towers on the wooded hills.
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His war against the Ammonites was successful so that for the next three years he received from them an annual tribute of $200,000 in silver, 10,000 sacks of wheat, and 10,000 sacks of barley.
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King Jotham became powerful because he was careful to follow the path of the Lord his God.
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The remainder of his history, including his wars and other activities, is written in
The Annals of the Kings of Israel and Judah.
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In summary, then, he was twenty-five years old when he began to reign, and he reigned sixteen years in Jerusalem.
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When he died, he was buried in Jerusalem, and his son Ahaz became the new king.
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Ahaz was twenty years old when he became king, and he reigned sixteen years in Jerusalem. But he was an evil king, unlike his ancestor King David.
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For he followed the example of the kings over in Israel and worshiped the idols of Baal.
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He even went out to the valley of Hinnom, and it was not just to burn incense to the idols, for he even sacrificed his own children in the fire, just like the heathen nations that were thrown out of the land by the Lord to make room for Israel.
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Yes, he sacrificed and burned incense at the idol shrines on the hills and under every green tree.
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That is why the Lord God allowed the king of Syria to defeat him and deport large numbers of his people to Damascus. The armies from Israel also slaughtered great numbers of his troops.
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On a single day Pekah, the son of Remaliah, killed 120,000 of his bravest soldiers because they had turned away from the Lord God of their fathers.
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Then Zichri, a great warrior from Ephraim, killed the king’s son Maaseiah, the king’s administrator Azrikam, and the king’s second-in-command Elkanah.
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The armies from Israel also captured 200,000 Judean women and children and tremendous amounts of booty, which they took to Samaria.
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But Oded, a prophet of the Lord, was there in Samaria, and he went out to meet the returning army.
“Look!” he exclaimed. “The Lord God of your fathers was angry with Judah and let you capture them, but you have butchered them without mercy, and all heaven is disturbed.
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And now are you going to make slaves of these people from Judah and Jerusalem? What about your own sins against the Lord your God?
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Listen to me and return these relatives of yours to their homes, for now the fierce anger of the Lord is upon
you.”
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Some of the top leaders of Ephraim also added their opposition. These men were Azariah the son of Johanan, Berechiah the son of Meshillemoth, Jehizkiah the son of Shallum, and Amasa the son of Hadlai.
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“You must not bring the captives here!” they declared. “If you do, the Lord will be angry, and this sin will be added to our many others. We are in enough trouble with God as it is.”
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So the army officers turned over the captives and booty to the political leaders to decide what to do.
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Then the four men already mentioned distributed captured stores of clothing to the women and children who needed it and gave them shoes, food, and wine, and put those who were sick and old on donkeys, and took them back to their families in Jericho, the City of Palm Trees. Then their escorts returned to Samaria.
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About that time King Ahaz of Judah asked the king of Assyria to be his ally in his war against the armies of Edom. For Edom was invading Judah and capturing many people as slaves.
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Meanwhile, the Philistines had invaded the lowland cities and the Negeb and had already captured Beth-shemesh, Aijalon, Gederoth, Soco, Timnah, and Gimzo with their surrounding villages, and were living there.
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For the Lord brought Judah very low on account of the evil deeds of King Ahaz of Israel,
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for he had destroyed the spiritual fiber of Judah and had been faithless to the Lord.
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But when Tilgath-pilneser, king of Assyria, arrived, he caused trouble for King Ahaz instead of helping him.
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So even though Ahaz had given him the Temple gold and the palace treasures, it did no good.
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In this time of deep trial, King Ahaz collapsed spiritually.
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He sacrificed to the gods of the people of Damascus who had defeated him, for he felt that since these gods had helped the kings of Syria, they would help him too if he sacrificed to them. But instead, they were his ruin, and that of all his people.
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The king took the gold bowls from the Temple and slashed them to pieces, and nailed the door of the Temple shut so that no one could worship there, and made altars to the heathen gods in every corner of Jerusalem.
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And he did the same in every city of Judah, thus angering the Lord God of his fathers.
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The other details of his life and activities are recorded in
The Annals of the Kings of Judah and Israel.
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When King Ahaz died, he was buried in Jerusalem but not in the royal tombs, and his son Hezekiah became the new king.
Obey the government, for God is the one who has put it there. There is no government anywhere that God has not placed in power.
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So those who refuse to obey the laws of the land are refusing to obey God, and punishment will follow.
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For the policeman does not frighten people who are doing right; but those doing evil will always fear him. So if you don’t want to be afraid, keep the laws and you will get along well.
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The policeman is sent by God to help you. But if you are doing something wrong, of course you should be afraid, for he will have you punished. He is sent by God for that very purpose.
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Obey the laws, then, for two reasons: first, to keep from being punished, and second, just because you know you should.
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Pay your taxes too, for these same two reasons. For government workers need to be paid so that they can keep on doing God’s work, serving you.
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Pay everyone whatever he ought to have: pay your taxes and import duties gladly, obey those over you, and give honor and respect to all those to whom it is due.
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Pay all your debts except the debt of love for others—never finish paying that! For if you love them, you will be obeying all of God’s laws, fulfilling all his requirements.
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If you love your neighbor as much as you love yourself you will not want to harm or cheat him, or kill him or steal from him. And you won’t sin with his wife or want what is his, or do anything else the Ten Commandments say is wrong. All ten are wrapped up in this one, to love your neighbor as you love yourself.
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Love does no wrong to anyone. That’s why it fully satisfies all of God’s requirements. It is the only law you need.
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Another reason for right living is this: you know how late it is; time is running out. Wake up, for the coming of the Lord is nearer now than when we first believed.
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The night is far gone, the day of his return
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will soon be here. So quit the evil deeds of darkness and put on the armor of right living, as we who live in the daylight should! Be decent and true in everything you do so that all can approve your behavior. Don’t spend your time in wild parties and getting drunk or in adultery and lust or fighting or jealousy.
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But ask the Lord Jesus Christ to help you live as you should, and don’t make plans to enjoy evil.
Because the Lord is my Shepherd, I have everything I need!
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He lets me rest in the meadow grass and leads me beside the quiet streams. He gives me new strength. He helps me do what honors him the most.
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Even when walking through the dark valley of death I will not be afraid, for you are close beside me, guarding, guiding all the way.
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You provide delicious food for me in the presence of my enemies. You have welcomed me as your guest;
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blessings overflow!
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Your goodness and unfailing kindness shall be with me all of my life, and afterwards I will live with you forever in your home.
The character of even a child can be known by the way he acts—whether what he does is pure and right.