Hezekiah - Part 5

"CHARGE!" yelled Sennacherib, the King of Assyria.

In the heart of the city, Lachish, Judeans quivered in fear at the attack taking place. Enemy archers shot arrows over the strong walls as battering rams caused the stones to rumble and shake. It seemed the very walls that surrounded and protected them would fall at any second.

In Jerusalem, King Hezekiah wailed in despair as he sent a message to the King of Assyria.

"Dear Senna...Sennacherub, 

I have done wrong; withdraw from me. Whatever you impose on me I will bear. 

Sincerely, 

Hezekiah." 

Then, Sennacherib sent King Hezekiah a reply:

"Dear Hezekiah,

I want 300 talents of silver and 30 talents of gold. ASAP.

Your conqueror,

Senna...Senna...Senna-kah-reeb?"

"Seriously, Mara? How many times do I have to tell you his name is Sennacherub?" Hannah asked in frustration.

"Well how am I supposed to know? You always make me say words I don't know," Tamara complained.

"Girls, that kind of disrespect towards each other is not allowed in this house. What have I told you? Hannah, if you want Tamara to play with you, you are to teach her how to say the words in a kind manner; not reprimand her," their mother chimed in.

"Yes, mom," Hannah said. "Okay, now Mara, you get Sennacherib to keep attacking Lachish while I make Hezekiah tear apart the temple to get together all the silver and gold."

"Okay...ahem..." in a deep voice Tamara commanded, "Soldiers, keep up the good work. And, uh, Tartan, Rab-sah-rees?, and Rabsha-keeh? go pay Hezekiah a little visit. Mua-ha-ha-ha!"

Just outside the city walls of Jerusalem, the three men stood waiting for some of Hezekiah's important officials to show up. The head of the household, the secretary, and the recorder came out to negotiate.

"What could you men possibly have to say to us?" The secretary said. "We have provided your demands of gold and silver."

"Maybe you should go back to your typing, secretary, and let the real men talk out here," Tartan said mockingly.

"Ma-ra," Hannah exclaimed. "I mean, Mara, that's a different type of secretary. The secretaries in the Bible aren't like the ones in offices."

"Oh. Sorry," Tamara said. "Well, secretary! Sennacherub has a special message for you. He says, 'Who do you have left to put your trust in? Egypt is pointless and so is your God. Want to know why? Because your God told me to destroy you!'"

"Hey! Not so loud! The people in the city can hear you," the Judeans said.

"Don't you think we know that? They're SUPPOSED TO HEAR US!"

"Gi-irls," their mom warned.

Hannah and Mara giggled from the living room.

Mara began to whisper, "There's no way your God can deliver you. Sennacherub is much greater than He'll ever be. You might as well give up now."

Silence loomed.

"Well, if that's how you're going to be, we're leaving," Sennacherib's men said.

After they left, the head of the household, the secretary, and the recorder ran to Hezekiah and tore their clothes.

"Hezekiah!! We're going to DI-I-I-I-E-E-E!!!"

"Okay, girls. Mara, you need to take the trash to the curb. Hannah, you go and help her," their mom said.

"YES MA'AM!" They laughed and ran outside.

To be continued...

Hezekiah - Part 4

Taken Captive

Hannah plopped on her bed and flipped to 2 Kings 18 and began to read verses 9-12.

In the fourth year of King Hezekiah, which was the seventh year of Hoshea son of Elah, king of Israel, Shalmaneser king of Assyria came up against Samaria and besieged it, and at the end of three years he took it. 


Hannah sat back and tried to think about the setting. She didn't know where Samaria was or Assyria. The kings were confusing her too. She went downstairs and asked her mom about it.


Her mom showed Hannah a map of the vastness of the Assyrian empire and of Israel.

Hannah couldn't believe how much land that the King of Assyria had. Her mom pointed Hannah back to 2 Kings 17 where it spoke more of the same attack. She showed Hannah how chapters 17 and 18 correlated with one another.

In the sixth year of Hezekiah, which was the ninth year of Hoshea king of Israel, Samaria was taken. The king of Assyria carried the Israelites away to Assyria and put them in Halah, and on the Habor, the river of Gozan, and in the cities of the Medes...


"King Shalmaneser came in and fought against Israel for three years before he could fully take it over. When he finally did conquer Israel, he sent the Israelites out of their land and all the way up to the river of Gozan and Habor," her mom explained. "The Assyrians treated the Israelites as an enslaved nation."

"So, mom, if Hezekiah was a king unlike any other kings... why would God have Jerusalem conquered? Why would he send everyone away as slaves to another king?" Hannah asked.

"First off, it wasn't Hezekiah that Shalmaneser was fighting against. He was fighting against King Hoshea of Israel. Hezekiah was king of Judah. And, also, Shalmaneser conquered Samaria, not Jerusalem."

"O-oh."

"Yes, and I'll show you why Shalmaneser came against Hoshea." Hannah's mom turned to 2 Kings 18:12, "...because they did not obey the voice of the LORD their God but transgressed his covenant, even all that Moses the servant of the LORD commanded. They neither listened nor obeyed."

"Okay... so King Hoshea wasn't obeying the Lord, so God caused Israel to be captured?"

"Yep, you got it," Hannah's mom reaffirmed.

"Well, what does this mean for me now? The story."

"I think this shows you that obedience to God may be harder, but it's more rewarding. He knows what is best for us. When we disobey God, consequences follow. The reason they do is because God is kind enough to care. He wants us to learn from our mistakes and go down the path that brings most growth and relationship with Him."

"If I make sure and stick by God all the time, I won't have to go through hard times?"

"Well, that's not true, just wait until you read the next part of 2 Kings 18 to find that out. However, it does mean if you stick close to God, you know He will protect you and guide you through the hard times. He will fight for you."

Hannah went back to her room and thought everything over. She couldn't wait to read the second part of 2 Kings 18.