Margaret Hunter – Page 24 – Amazing Bible Timeline with World History

Posted on September 25, 2012May 5, 2021 by Margaret Hunter — 7 Comments

Jehoiakim King of Judah

King Jehoiakim became the ruler of Judah when his father was marched away to an Egyptian jail that is where he appears on the Bible Timeline. King Necho of Egypt disposed of King Jehoazah because he was a potential threat to his military operations in the Middle East. After he had imprisoned King Jehoahaz, Necho made his son Eliakim the next ruler of Judah. He changed his name to Jehoiakim and then forced this king to pay him tribute. The young king taxed all of his subjects to pay the required levy.

In the meantime, Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon invaded Judah. King Jehoiakim realized that he would not be able to defeat Babylon and paid tribute to this empire as well. King Jehoiakim had to pay tribute to two foreign powers, and he eventually rebelled against Babylon. When Judah rebelled, Nebuchadnezzar sent his forces to sack the kingdom. God had given them the power to accomplish this because he already prophesized that they would. God was finally paying back Judah for their sins of idolatry and for murdering innocent people during the reign of Manasseh.

One thing about God is that he is patient because he wants to give people a chance to repent and turn from their sins. He delays judgments so many times for this reason alone. The kings of Judah, who had not been living right, were given opportunities to repent, but they refused to turn back from their idolatry. During the rule of the righteous king Hezekiah, God warned the people that destruction was going to come on them if they did not repent.

King Hezekiah was a leader that took God seriously about the matter, but many other kings such as Jehoahaz didn’t. God knew that he was going to have to fulfill his judgments sooner or later. So he decided to use the pagan nation of Babylon to carry out this purpose. Hopefully, this would cause the people to repent of their sins.

One day during Hezekiah’s reign he had showed representatives from Babylon all of his treasures and wealth. God told Hezekiah that everything that he showed to Babylon was going to be taken over by this nation. God spared Hezekiah from experiencing this event while he was alive. God waited until Jehoiakim’s reign to allow this judgment to take place. King Jehoiakim wasn’t any different from the other kings before him who indulged in idolatry. So when God allowed the Babylonian captivity to begin during his reign, it was a just act from God.

The Babylonians began to take captives out of Judah back to their territory, but they left Jehoiakim in power. Jehoiakim remained in power for eleven years before he died, and his name means “raised by God”. After the Babylonian’s had taken over control of Judah, King Necho of Egypt didn’t go near the country ever again. He realized that God was with the Babylonians, and he didn’t want to challenge them at all. He left Judah completely alone. After Jehoiakim had died his son Jehoiachin became the next ruler.

Biblical References:

2 Chronicles 36: 5 Ruled for 11 years and 25 when he ruled. He was evil in God’s sight.
2 Chronicles 36: 6 – 8 Captured by the King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon and taken into captivity in chains. Nebuchadnezzar carries away treasures from the temple during his reign.
2 Kings 23: 35 King Jehoiakim forces the people to pay a tax to pay Nero‘s tribute.
2 Kings 24: 1, 2 Babylon invades Judah and Jehoiakim are forced to pay tribute for 3 years, but then he rebelled. God sends Babylonians to destroy Judah to fulfill his prophecies.
2 Kings 24: 3, 4 God decided to eliminate Judah for Manasseh’s evil. He killed a lot of innocent blood, and God did not forgive his acts.
2 Kings 24: 5 -20 King Necho came back to Judah after Babylon because the Babylonians became the dominant power in the region. Jehoiachin takes over after his father passes away.

References:
http://www.biblegateway.com/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jehoiakim
http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/judaica/ejud_0002_0011_0_10049.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Jehoiakim-Eliakim.jpg

Posted on September 24, 2012April 21, 2016 by Margaret Hunter — 1 Comment

Jehoahaz Unrighteous King of Judah

After the Kingdom of Judah had divided in half during the reign of Rehoboam, some of the monarchs of Israel and Judah ruled for a short amount of time. Many kings were in power for only a few short years before they were disposed of by God. All of the kings that had short reigns lost their right to rule because they were evil leaders and many of them only ruled the land for only two years.

Jehoahaz,Unrighteious_King_of_Judah — Michelangelo’s Josiah-Jechoniah-Sheatiel. Jechoniah is generally seen as the child on the right with Josiah being the man holding him. The boy being held by the woman is intended as one of Jechoniah’s brothers

Michelangelo’s Josiah-Jechoniah-Sheatiel. Jechoniah is generally seen as the child on the right with Josiah being the man holding him. The boy being held by the woman is intended as one of Jechoniah’s brothers

King Jehoahaz was a king of Judah who had ruled the land for a short time period because he was an idolatrous governor. He appears on the Biblical Timeline with World History immediately after his father King Josiah during the seventh century BC. King Neco of Egypt had killed King Jehoahaz’s father Josiah in battle. After he defeated King Josiah he forced the land of Judah to pay him tribute.

Once King Jehoahaz took over the throne from his father he continued the same pagan practices. God had decided to allow King Neco to capture King Jehoahaz and take him back to Egypt as a prisoner. He didn’t want him to rule from Jerusalem because he had some kingdoms in that part of the world that he controlled. Judah could have aligned with these kingdoms and become a threat to his power in the region.

King Neco came to Judah and took Jehoazah back to an Egyptian jail. He then placed his son Eliakim onto the throne of Judah. King Jehoahaz should have never restarted the pagan practices that his father King Josiah had stopped when he ruled. King Jehoahaz allowed the pagan shrines and altars to become a part of Judah’s landscape once again. It seemed as if he didn’t have any regard for his father’s devotion to the Lord.

During his lifetime, King Josiah made sure the kingdom of Judah was being directed toward the true and proper worship of the Lord. King Jehoahaz was a young lad who experienced the great blessings of his father under God. There was even a huge Passover feast that was given during the reign of Josiah that became one of the best in all the history of Judah. Apparently, none of these events had a positive influence on King Jehoahaz because as soon as he was in power he restarted pagan worship. In his divine wisdom God didn’t want Jehoahaz’s evil to continue to keep spreading all throughout the land. The Lord wanted the people of Judah to experience some more blessings before he sent them into captivity. So the imprisonment of King Jehoahaz brought more time to the people of Judah so that people could turn from their sins and be saved from the judgment that was about to come on Judah.

The people of Judah had been worshipping false gods for too long and the Lord was ready to purify the people from these practices. He wanted the Kingdoms of Israel and Judah to be his chosen people but God already knew that the outside world was going to influence many of his people. God isn’t caught off guard or necessarily discouraged by this predicament but he is grieved by his people’s refusal turn back from their sins. Another important thing that should be remembered is that King Josiah found the Book of the Law during his reign.

King Jehoahaz knew how important this book was to the people of Judah because it contained the knowledge that they needed to serve God in the right way. The King wasn’t moved by this book and instead of using it to continue to get the people right with God he chose to go another way. Eventually Jehoahaz died in his Egyptian prison while his son Jehoiakim ruled the land under Neco’s direction. Jehoahaz name means “Yahweh has held” and he ruled for about three months in 609 B.C.

Biblical References:

2 Kings 34: 31, 32 Provides background information on Jehoahaz the son of Josiah. He only ruled for 3 months. He was an evil ruler like Manasseh.
2 Kings 34: 33, 34 King Neco imprisons King Jehoahaz in Egypt and places his son Eliakim on the throne in his place. Neco changes Eliakim name to Jehoiakim and Jehoahaz remains in Egyptian captivity until he dies. Neco also forces Judah to pay Egypt tribute.
2 Chronicles 36: 1 – 4 Tells an alternate story

References:
http://www.biblegateway.com/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jehoahaz_of_Judah
http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/judaica/ejud_0002_0011_0_10045.html

Posted on September 23, 2012June 21, 2021 by Margaret Hunter — 2 Comments

Josiah Righteous King of Judah

King Josiah name means “healed by Jehovah” and during his reign he helped the people to remain faithful to the Lord. Josiah became king at the age of eight. He ruled from the seventh century B.C., which is where he appears on the Bible Timeline with World History. His father, King Amon was assassinated because he led the people of Judah astray.

When Josiah turned twelve years old, he began reform the land of Judah. He started this reform by removing all of the pagan shrines and temples from the land. He tore down the altars that were dedicated to the pagan deities, and he removed carved idols. This was the beginning of his campaign to remake Judah into a better place for the people to serve God. He didn’t just reform the city of Jerusalem he also reformed other cities and towns such as Ephraim and Simeon.

Josiah also reinstituted the worship services at Solomon’s Temple, which had been abandoned for many years. He appointed Levite leaders and officials to govern the temple and hired workers to restore the parts of the building. He made sure that all of the pagan idols and altars were removed from the temple’s area. During the restoration project, a high priest named Hilkiah found the Book of the Law which was created by Moses.

The high priest then read the book back to King Josiah, who then tore his clothes in despair. The reason he ripped his garments is because he realized that the people were not living in the right way. He then sent Hilkiah and some other officials to find a person who could read the Book of the Law in detail. Josiah’s representatives found a female prophetess named Huldah. Huldah revealed to them that Judah was going to be brought into captivity for their sins. Especially for the sins of Manasseh, who murdered innocent people during his reign. God would not forgive him for committing these acts.

Huldah told Josiah’s officials about the judgments that God was going to bring on the land. She also told Josiah that he wasn’t going to have to experience that ordeal. King Josiah then preserves the discovered Book of the Law. He then throws a spectacular Passover feast that is considered one the best in all of the history of Judah. About this time an Egyptian king named Neco was crossing into a region near Judah’s territory.

For some reason, King Josiah wanted to go to war with him. Neco wasn’t in the area to fight against Judah, and he told King Josiah that he was sent by God to fight against another army. King Neco also informed King Josiah that he should not interfere with his battle plans because the Lord was on his side. Once again, King Josiah didn’t listen to him.

So the two forces went to battle and during the conflict King Josiah was killed by Neco’s archers. The prophet Jeremiah made songs about his Josiah after he had passed. These songs are known as the Lamentations, and they can be found in the Old Testament of the Bible. His son, Jehoahaz becomes the next ruler of Judah. He ruled Judah for 31 years.

Biblical References:

2 Chronicles 34: 1 -2 Background information on Josiah.
2 Chronicles 34: 3 – 5 Josiah makes reforms at the age of 12, follows in the ways of King David. Destroyed pagan shrines and idols in Judah.
2 Chronicles 34: 6, 7 King Josiah reforms various town surrounding Jerusalem as well.
2 Chronicles 34: 8 – 13 King Josiah assigns various positions within the kingdom and made renovations to the temple.
2 Chronicles 34: 14 Hilkiah, the high priest, finds one of the books of the Law that was written by Moses.
2 Chronicles 34: 18 Hilkiah reads the Book of the Law to Josiah, who then rips his clothes in despair.
2 Chronicles 34: 19 -21 King Josiah realized that they had not been obeying God and that the Lord was angry with them for this reason. As a result, he had his priests this book to the people.
2 Chronicles 34: 22 – 28 King Josiah’s officials pay a visit to a female prophetess named Huldah. She tells the king that God is going to punish Judah for their sins, but it isn’t going to happen in King Josiah’s lifetime.
2 Chronicles 34: 29 -33 Josiah makes necessary reforms.
2 Chronicles 34: 1 – 19 King Josiah throws a super spectacular Passover Celebration.
2 Chronicles 34: 20 – 26 King Josiah fights against King Neco of Egypt even though he should not have. God was on Neco’s side, and King Josiah lost his life because he should not have interfered with Neco’s business. The Prophet Jeremiah recorded Lamentation songs about Josiah, and they are found in the Book of Lamentations.
2 Kings 22 – 24: 29 An alternate account of King Josiah’s rule with more detail on certain events that occurred in his life.

References:
http://www.biblegateway.com/ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Josiah http://www.vtaide.com/gleanings/Kings-of-Israel/biography_Josiah.html http://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/464028/jewish/King-Josiah.htm http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Josiah

Posted on September 22, 2012March 28, 2016 by Margaret Hunter — 3 Comments

Amon King of Judah

King Amon was the son of Manasseh who was considered one of the wickedest kings in the history of Judah. He ruled in the 7th century BC which is where he appears on the Old Testament Timeline. Since the time, God established Israel he always wanted his people to worship and obey him. Even though each person in the Kingdom of Judah was responsible for their own belief in God; the kings who ruled them had considerable influence on how they would carry out their faith.

Manasseh reinstituted pagan worship back in the land of Judah. Manasseh’s father was the popular King Hezekiah who made sweeping reforms in the kingdom in favor of the Lord. Even though Manasseh knew how well his father governed the land of Judah for the Lord it didn’t influence him to do the right thing towards God. Throughout his reign, he conducted pagan practices that would influence his son Amon for the rest of his life.

King Amon came to the throne in 643 B.C. and he ruled the land for only two years. The Talmud states that the reason why he continued to honor pagan gods is because of his father. Amon believed that he could continue the pagan practices in his youth and when he became an old man he could then worship the Lord. Keep in mind that Manasseh repented toward the end of his life after he was taken into captivity by the Assyrians. God heard his cry for help when he was being marched back to Babylon. He released Manasseh from his captors and allowed him to make godly reforms in Judah. Amon thought he could do the same thing.

The problem with Amon is that God didn’t see Amon in the same way that he saw his father. The Lord viewed him as an evil king. Since no one knows when their life will come to an end, King Amon just assumed that he was going to live a long life. This wasn’t the case. King Amon was expected to repent and keep himself from evil like Manasseh did in the last part of his life, but the young king just didn’t learn that lesson.

The problem with his idolatrous policies was that they were undermining the people’s confidence in God. The Lord wanted the people of Judah to be set apart and used for his purposes. This meant that they could not become like the other kingdoms and empires of the world and believe in pagan deities. So when idols were allowed to be set up in the kingdom this persuaded the people to not honor God. The people of Judah carried on this behavior for many years and God eventually became tired of them. He then decided to send them into captivity. King Amon’s evil rule helped to set the stage for the Babylonian captivity that was going to come on Judah.

Some of Amon’s officials had enough sense to realize that the young king was leading the nation of Judah into some serious trouble. They decided to assassinate the king to end his reign. King Amon was twenty-two years old when he took over Judah and he died before reaching the age of twenty-five. The officials that assassinated King Amon were killed by the people of Judah and his son Josiah became the next king. King Amon was named after the Egyptian deity Amon-Ra.

References:

2 Kings 22: 19 Background information about Amon.
2 Kings 22: 20 – 22 King Amon followed the ways of his father and he did not worship God.
2 Kings 22: King Amon is assassinated by some of his officials and the people then killed Amon’s assassinators. His son Josiah is then made the king.
2 Kings 22: 25, 26 King Amon dies and is then buried in the Garden of Uzza.
2 Chronicles 33: 21 – 23 King Amon was evil like his father, but he never chose to repent like Manasseh.

References:
http://www.biblegateway.com/
http://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/articles/1420-amon-king-of-judah
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amon_of_Judah

Posted on September 21, 2012February 12, 2019 by Margaret Hunter — 10 Comments

Manasseh of Judah, King

King Manasseh was only 12 years old when he became the king of Judah. He took over the throne after his father Hezekiah had died. King Hezekiah was considered one of Judah’s greatest monarchs. This godly king made it a point to please the Lord, and he led the people in the true worship of God. Young Manasseh was able to experience his father’s success as a godly king during his childhood, but he didn’t follow in his footsteps. He appears on the Biblical Timeline Poster between 697 and 642 BC.

Once Manasseh became king, he decided to restart pagan practices and worship once again. His grandfather King Ahaz was a wicked man who corrupted the people of Judah with ungodly religious practices. He practiced divination, sorcery and consulted mediums and psychics. Manasseh handled creating pagan altars in the temple of God, and he set up altars in the courtyard of the temple as well. Manasseh worshiped the sun and the stars and built altars for these celestial bodies.

King Manasseh was caught up with pagan worship and practices that he sacrificed his son in the fires of Molech. The king then set up an Asherah pole in the temple of God in the place where the Lord had told King’s David and Solomon that his name would forever be honored Jerusalem. God revealed that Manasseh’s actions were worse than those of the Amorites.

The Amorites were a wicked people who occupied the land of Canaan before God drove them out of the area. He did this because the people in the land were incredibly evil, and they engaged in all sorts of ungodly religious worship, unnatural sexual practices and murder. The people of Israel followed Manasseh in his sins, and God had to judge them. The Lord used prophets to tell King Manasseh that he was going to send Judah into exile as well as Israel because of their sins. God also said that he was going to deal harshly with the people of Judah that remained in the land. He was going to send them into captivity as well.

King Manasseh was guilty of murdering innocent people all throughout Jerusalem until the city was filled with innocent blood. Apparently the king was sacrificing some of these people for religious reasons and killing them because of his sinful murderous impulses. The people of Judah followed after his example and murdered many people as well. Though 2 Kings 21 doesn’t go into detail about what happened to King Manasseh as a result of his sins it must be mentioned because he went through a great ordeal before he changed his wicked ways.

The Lord sent the Assyrians one more time to capture King Manasseh, and after they had seized the king, they put a ring on his nose and led him back to Babylon as a slave. On his way to Babylon, the king cried out in distress to the Lord, who heard him. God decided to allow Manasseh to escape and go back to Judah. God was moved by his request for help.

King Manasseh finally realized that God was the true Lord of all. Once he returned to Israel, he removed the shrines and altars, and he restored worship back to the temple. He encouraged the people to follow after God once again. King Manasseh died a few years later after he repented of his sins and his son Amon took his place on the throne. King Manasseh’s name means “causing to forget.”

Biblical References:

2 Kings 21: 1 – 2 Background information about Manasseh.
2 Kings 21: 3 – 6 King Manasseh institutes pagan religious practices and leads the people away from worshipping God.
2 Kings 21: 7 – 8 Manasseh set up pagan poles in the temple of the Lord and God is mad about it.
2 Kings 21: 9 The people didn’t listen to God’s warnings to turn from their sins and became more wicked than the pagan nations that surrounded them.
2 Kings 21: 10 -15 God uses his prophets to explain his judgments toward Manasseh’s sins.
2 Kings 21: 16 Manasseh murders innocent people.
2 Kings 21: 17, 18 Manasseh dies and his son Amon becomes king.

References:
http://www.biblegateway.com/ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manasseh http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manasseh_of_Judah

Posted on September 20, 2012October 4, 2017 by Margaret Hunter — 2 Comments

Hezekiah of Judah, King

King Sennacherib of Assyria enjoyed his yearly tribute from the kingdom of Judah. Assyrian rulers were paid an annual tribute from Judah since of the reign of King Ahaz around 740 B.C. King Ahaz was a wicked ruler who brought a lot of problems onto Israel from God. One of the punishments that God brought upon the Jewish people was constant harassment from their enemies. God allowed the king of Assyria to force the kingdom of Judah to pay them tribute. After King Ahaz had died, his son King Hezekiah took his place on the throne.. He appears on the Bible Timeline Poster between 726 and 697 BC.

After ruling Judah for 14 years, King Hezekiah missed a tribute payment to Assyria. King Sennacherib became angry and mobilized his army against Judah to make sure that they will pay him the tribute. King Hezekiah was a god fearing righteous man unlike his father, Ahaz. The king knew that the Assyrians were powerful warriors and that their armies were strong. He also realized that if God didn’t intervene to rescue them they would surely be defeated at the hand of the Assyrians.

King Hezekiah tried to pay off the debt that he owed to keep the Assyrians from attacking. The Assyrians didn’t take the money they wanted to destroy Judah. They sent messengers to taunt the people of Judah, and they spoke blasphemous things against them and against God. King Hezekiah then prayed to God and then he held a meeting with Isaiah the prophet. Isaiah told him that the Lord heard his prayer and decided to deliver Judah from Assyria. God sent an angel who killed 185,000 Assyrian troops. King Senncherib and the rest of his troops fled back to Assyria and within a few days of his return the Assyrian king was killed by his sons. God punished the Assyrians for their blasphemies. This event is an important one from the life of King Hezekiah because it allowed the people of Judah to live in peace instead of being carried off into captivity. This fate had already happened to their relatives in Israel, and if it weren’t for Hezekiah, it would have happened to the Judeans as well.

King Hezekiah’s name means “to strengthen” or “to fortify” and during his life he played a critical role in keeping Judah in God’s will. What made Hezekiah such a good king in good standing with the Lord is the fact that he truly honored God. Hezekiah wasn’t perfect, but he did his best to honor God and to get the people of Judah to follow his example. He conducted religious reforms by encouraging the priests to reopen the temple that was closed by his father, Ahaz. He also had them to remove all of the pagan idols and altars that his Ahaz had spread all throughout the land during his reign. He instructed the priests to make sacrifices to God once again and to lead the people in proper worship. After the Temple of Solomon was rededicated to the Lord, the people of Judah brought so many tithes to the temple that there were huge piles of possessions, food and wealth stacked up within the area.

They also enjoyed a great Passover feast each year. The king’s religious reforms were so great and influential on the people that Hezekiah’s fame began to spread all through the land. God had caused all of these good things to come upon Hezekiah because he was truly trying to do his best for the Lord. Toward the end of King Hezekiah’s reign, God removed his presence from the ruler to test his heart. One day the King became ill and was about to die, and the prophet Isaiah told the king that he would live. Instead of being grateful to God, King Hezekiah became prideful. Eventually, God used Isaiah to tell the king that Babylon was going to carry off everything into his kingdom including the people. Isaiah then told him that this would take place after Hezekiah died. King Hezekiah lived out the rest of his days in peace, and he was grateful that the Lord spared him this trouble during the last 15 years of his life.

Biblical References:

2 Chronicles 29: 1 – 2 Background information on King Hezekiah.
2 Chronicles 29: 3 – 17 King Hezekiah reopens the Solomon’s Temple.
2 Chronicles 29: 18 – 36 The Temple is rededicated to the Lord and God turns the heart of his people and causes them to worship in a way that pleases him.
2 Chronicles 30 Passover Celebration.
2 Chronicles 31: Hezekiah reforms the religion of Israel, and he removes the pagan altars and places of worship.
2 Chronicles 32: 1 – 23 Assyria attacks Judah and God defend them.
2 Chronicles 32: 24 – 31 King Hezekiah becomes ill, and God heals him.
2 Chronicles 32: 32, 33 King Hezekiah dies and his son Manasseh is the next king to rule the land
2 Kings 18 – 22 Tells an alternate story about King Hezekiah’s life with some detailed information about the major events in his life.

References:
http://www.biblegateway.com/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hezekiah
http://www.varchive.org/tac/hezekiah.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:%C3%85hus_kyrka-10.jpg

Posted on September 19, 2012June 12, 2019 by Margaret Hunter — 6 Comments

Ahaz of Judah, King

King Jotham was a godly man that carefully followed the Lord and obeyed his commands. King Jotham tried to lead his people in this manner but they didn’t follow. So when his son Ahaz came to the throne he was more influenced by the people than he was his father. King Ahaz did acknowledge God but he did not follow his ways. Instead, he began to lead the people astray with false pagan practices. He ruled from 741 to 725BC which is where he appears on the Biblical Timeline Chart.

He molded statues of foreign gods and he allowed human sacrifice to occur in the land. King Ahaz even sacrificed his own children to his pagan deities. The Bible also goes on to say that he even imitated the pagan nations that God removed from the land of Canaan. The Bible does say that he burned incense on the pagan shrines and on the hills which often refers to idolatrous sexual activity.

God became fed up with King Ahaz and allowed the kingdom of Aram to defeat him in battle. The Lord even allowed the king of Aram to carry off Israeli captives to Damascus. King Pekah of Israel defeated 120,000 of his troops in battle. King Ahaz’s wickedness was great and God was only just beginning to punish him for his sins. God even took his vengeance out against Ahaz by allowing his son to be murdered by a warrior from Ephraim named Zicri. One of his top military commanders was killed as well. When Israel defeated King Ahaz he took 200,000 captives but God was still upset with him.

God sent the prophet Obed to inform the leaders of Israel that they were going overboard in their punishment of Judah. Obed warned them that if they didn’t allow the prisoner to return back to Israel that God was going to turn his anger against them. This means that they would have been punished a great deal more for the sins that they had committed. Israel released the captives, provided them with clothing and healed their wounds before sending them back home.

King Ahaz still didn’t learn his lesson. Instead of repenting and turning away from his sins he continued to indulge in his transgressions. He sought out the help of the Assyrian king for help. When the king of Assyria arrived in Judah he began to oppress the people. King Ahaz paid him tribute from Solomon’s Temple to get him to stop. This didn’t work and the Assyrian king, Tiglith-pileser continued to harass Judah.

So the king of Judah went and offered sacrifices to the gods of Aram. He reasoned that if their gods helped them to win over Judah they would also help him against his enemies. The king ruined his life and the lives of his people with this act. He made pagan shrines all throughout Judah and had God’s anger burn strongly against him and the people of Judah.

King Ahaz’s name means “Yahweh has held” and he was twenty years old when he became king. Because of his wickedness he led the people of Judah into captivity by the Assyrians and did not heed the warning of the prophets of the time such as Isaiah. His was not obedient to God’s commands and many of his subjects turned from God while he was in power. King Ahaz eventually died and his reign was widely considered a disaster. He was succeeded by his son Hezekiah.

References:

2 Chronicles 28: 1 – 4 Background information on King Ahaz’s life and how he worshipped false gods. He also offered human sacrifices killing his own son. His acts helped to lead the people astray.
2 Chronicles 28: 5 -8 God uses other kingdoms such as Aram to punish Ahaz. One of his sons and top military officials are murdered by his enemies. 200,000 people were captured and being marched back to Israel.
2 Chronicles 28: 9 – 11 God sends the prophet Obed to warn Israel to release the captives or they would receive punishment from God.
2 Chronicles 28: 12 -15 Israel returns the prisoners after clothing and dressing them.
2 Chronicles 28: 16 – 21 God sends more enemies against Israel to punish the nation for its sin. King Ahaz turns to Assyria for help, but the Assyrians cause them problems as well.
2 Chronicles 28: 22 – 25 King Ahaz turns to other false gods to get help from the tyranny of Assyria. He then sets up pagan shrines all over the land of Israel. In the end, his acts ruin the nation.
2 Chronicles 28: 26, 27 King Ahaz dies and is succeeded by his son Hezekiah.
2 kings 16 Provides an alternate account of King Ahaz’s reign.

References:
http://www.biblegateway.com/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ahaz
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Ahaz.png

Posted on September 18, 2012October 4, 2017 by Margaret Hunter — 13 Comments

Jotham of Judah, King

King Jotham ruled Judah around 742 B.C., which is where he appears on the Bible Timeline Chart and was the son of King Uzziah. Jotham’s name means “God is perfect” or “God is complete”.

He was 25 years old when he took the throne and ruled Judah for 16 years. His mother was named Jerusha and she was queen to Uzziah. The Lord considered Jotham a good king because he did what was right according to his expectations.

King Jotham influenced his son in the ways of God. Throughout the course of Uzziah’s life he continuously sought the Lord. God had blessed him tremendously for faithfulness to him. Jotham recognized the importance of serving God from observing his father. Uzziah almost had a perfect life with the Lord but toward the end of his reign he became proud. He entered the temple and burned incense on the altar. The priest told him that he should not be doing such a thing but the king didn’t listen to them and became outraged. God then struck him with leprosy and he had to live outside of his kingdom until the day he died. This event was very significant to King Jotham because he never entered into Solomon’s Temple during his time in power.

While Uzziah was still alive and living outside of kingdom with leprosy he still ruled the land but he did so with the aide Jotham. They were co-regents that ruled together. Jotham rebuilt the upper gates of Solomon’s Temple and he was careful to live in obedience to the Lord. Even though he personally served God he could not influence his subjects to follow in his ways. King Jotham didn’t destroy the pagan shrines. The people still offered sacrifices and burned incense to foreign gods. This is probably one reason why God sent the Arameans, Rezin and King Pekah of Israel against Judah as punishment for their sins.

King Jotham lived during the time of the prophets Isaiah, Hosea, Amos and Micah. Since he was a god fearing man he apparently listened intently to these messages from the Lord. He not only listened but he obeyed them as well. The fact still remains is that the people did not obey the messages from these prophets nor were they influenced by this king no matter how much he tried to do what was right according to God. God faulted the people and not the king for this situation.

The king waged war against the Ammonites and defeated them. He received a three year tribute of silver, wheat and barely from the Ammonites. Throughout the years of his rule, King Jotham was careful to obey all the commands of God. The Lord blessed King Jotham with power since he was personally obedient to his commands. Though the Bible doesn’t go into specific details about how God expanded the power of King Jotham, it’s safe to assume that the Lord built up his military forces and treasury in the same way that he did for his father Uzziah. King Jotham eventually died and was buried in the City of David. His son Ahaz took over the throne after he passed away.

Biblical References:

2 Chronicles 27: 1, 2 Background information about King Jotham.
2 Chronicles 27: 3 – 5 Outlines King Jotham’s building projects and some of his battles.
2 Chronicles 27: 6 King Jotham becomes powerful because he obeys the Lord.
2 Chronciles 27: 8, 9 Gives information about the death of King Jotham.
2 Kings 15: 34, 35 King Jotham pleased the Lord but he did not completely destroy the pagan places of worship in Judah.

References:
http://www.biblegateway.com/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jotham_of_Judah
http://www.stempublishing.com/magazines/cf/1895/The-History-of-King-Jotham.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Joatham_rex.jpg

Posted on September 17, 2012April 15, 2016 by Margaret Hunter — Leave a comment

Huldah, Prophetess

During the reign of King Josiah, a high priest by the name of Hilkiah found a book of the law. He then gave the book to the king’s secretary named Shaphan, who then read the book to King Josiah. When King Josiah heard the words that were written in the book he tore his clothes because he realized that the kingdom was sinning and in judgment from God. So King Josiah sent Hilkiah, Shaphan, and some other important men to find the prophetess Huldah so that they could follow the words in detail. For this reason, Huldah appears on the Biblical Timeline during the reign of King Josiah.

Prophetess_to_King_Josiah — Huldah’s tomb

Huldah was the wife of Shallum, the keeper of the wardrobe. Her name means weasels. She is only mentioned in the Bible in 1 Kings 22 and 2 Chronicles 34. When the men found her, she told them that God was going to bring disaster on Israel because of their idolatrous behavior. The prophetess told them to tell King Josiah that the Lord was going to spare him from this fate and that he was going to carry it out at a later date.

The officials then brought back Huldah’s words to the king and told him what was about to happen. The King then gathered all of the people in Israel both the great and the small and had the word of the law read to them. The king then made a covenant to walk in the ways of the Lord. King Josiah’s efforts caused the people to follow after and worship the Lord all of the days that he was alive. However, King Josiah died in battle at the hands of the Egyptians because he didn’t obey God’s command not to go to war with this empire.

Historical sources also claim that Huldah was used to speaking God’s word to kings and officials. She was also a woman who spoke prophesies to other women of the time and she was the only female prophetess recorded in the Bible during this era in Israel’s history. God had used female prophets in the past such as Deborah in the book of Judges and Miriam in the book of the Exodus. Huldah like any other prophet of her time had to pass the tests associated with being a prophet.

Huldah had great knowledge of the Torah. The Talmud also states that the women prophetesses were regarded as more compassionate than the males, and that is why the officials sought her out as opposed to Jeremiah. Huldah was considered to be the cousin of Jeremiah. Some historians and scholars also claim that her memory was kept alive through a gate in Israel called the “Gate of Huldah.”

Biblical References:

1 Kings 22 and 2 Chronicles 24 are the only two places where Huldah is mentioned in the Bible.

References:
http://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/112503/jewish/Huldah-The-Prophetess.htm
http://www.netplaces.com/women-of-the-bible/women-who-prophesied/huldah.htm
http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/Huldah
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Hulda_tomb.jpg

Posted on September 16, 2012July 31, 2020 by Margaret Hunter — 2 Comments

Esdras Prophet and Book of the Apocrypha

Esdras was an important scribe and priest for the Jewish people during the time that they returned from exile. Esdras is the Greco-Latin version of the Hebrew name Ezra, and it is also a book of the Apocrypha which is found in some versions of Catholic and Orthodox Bibles. The scribe Ezra has a book in the Bible named after him. He appears in the Old Testament during the time Nehemiah was allowed to return to his homeland to restore the Temple of Solomon and to repair the city that is where he appears on the Bible Timeline. Esdras was in captivity before he returned to Jerusalem. King Cyrus of Persia gave different Jewish leaders the right to return to Jerusalem to start the rebuilding process.

Esdras was important to this process because he was used to reminding the people of Israel about their relationship and destiny with God. The people were reminded by Esdras on a daily basis about how important it is for them to worship God and to live a life full of holiness since they were allowed to return from captivity. He gave the Israelites important information about the important expectations that God had for them once they returned home. Many Jews had forgotten about Moses’s laws or they didn’t regard them as important anymore. Esdras helped to change this condition because he was a scholar of the Laws of Moses. Even though he was in captivity, he was still able to learn about the important laws that Moses had left for the people.

There are two books titled Esdras within the Apocrypha and the Septuagint. Once again these books can be found in some Catholic or Orthodox versions of the Bible. Some Catholic versions of the Bible contain Esdras 3 and 4. There are two books of Esdras. 1 Esdras tells of Jewish exiles after leaving Persia under Cyrus and how they restored the temple, feasted in honor of their return. How they confronted their enemies who wanted to stop them from rebuilding and how they put away foreign wives and idolatry.

2 Esdras goes into detail about how the different steps that the Jews had to take in order purify the Jews from their marriage of non-Jews. An archangel named Urial is sent to the Jews to answer important questions about the fate of men and tells a story about a man who breaths fire on a crowd of evil men. 2 Esdras also explains how the Lord was against Israel, the end of the age, seven visions of judgments and retributions, prophecies of wars and calamities and rule of Messiah for 400 years.

Even though Esdras 1 and Esdras 2 have been accepted as sacred texts, many biblical scholars do not think that these two books are inspired. The information contained in these books contradicts sound biblical doctrine. The writings also appear to have been authored from a later period after these events happened. Esdras 1 and 2 were not regarded as standard Hebrew texts. These books were obtained after the rabbinical council in Jamina pieced together the Old Testament in 90 A.D. Since Esdras 1 and 2 were found at a date after the Old Testament was formed they were not considered inspired texts by Jews and the Protestant Branch of Christianity. However, there were some Protestant church leaders, such as Martin Luther, who placed Esdras 1 and 2 in their versions of the Bible.

References:
http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/05535a.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Esdras
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2_Esdras
http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/05535a.htm
http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Esdras_preaches_the_law._Julius_Schnorr.jpg
http://pixabay.com/en/martin-luther-king-civil-rights-25271/