Day 170: 2 Kings 18:1-8, 2 Chronicles 29-31, Psalm 48

The Northern Kingdom had fallen to the Assyrians but Judah remained. It seems to me that the reason Judah still had not been conquered was largely because of king Hezekiah. He instituted reforms in Judah that re-established the temple worship which had been neglected and eliminated the pagan and idol worship that had been so detestable to God.

He tried to get everyone, even those who remained of the Northern Kingdom, to return to the true God:

At the king’s command, couriers went throughout Israel and Judah with letters from the king and from his officials, which read:
   “People of Israel, return to the LORD, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Israel, that he may return to you who are left, who have escaped from the hand of the kings of Assyria. Do not be like your parents and your fellow Israelites, who were unfaithful to the LORD, the God of their ancestors, so that he made them an object of horror, as you see. Do not be stiff-necked, as your ancestors were; submit to the LORD. Come to his sanctuary, which he has consecrated forever. Serve the LORD your God, so that his fierce anger will turn away from you. If you return to the LORD, then your fellow Israelites and your children will be shown compassion by their captors and will return to this land, for the LORD your God is gracious and compassionate. He will not turn his face from you if you return to him.” (2 Chronicles 30:6-9)

He seemed to understand that the reason they were being overrun by the Assyrians had little if anything to do with the strength of their armies but was because of their unfaithfulness to God. But there response was underwhelming:

The couriers went from town to town in Ephraim and Manasseh, as far as Zebulun, but people scorned and ridiculed them. Nevertheless, some from Asher, Manasseh and Zebulun humbled themselves and went to Jerusalem. (2 Chronicles 30:10-11)

Hezekiah faced the same problem we do. He had to get people to see life from God's perspective. We have to do the same. The problem is compounded when the very idea of God is ridiculed...or at the very least dismissed as fantasy. But look at the results. Because of Hezekiah's efforts the Southern Kingdom remained strong against the Assyrians. It wasn't because they had a better military. It was because...

Hezekiah 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; he kept the commands the LORD had given Moses. And the LORD was with him; he was successful in whatever he undertook. He rebelled against the king of Assyria and did not serve him. (2 Kings 18:5-7)

The God of Hezekiah is our God...

For this God is our God for ever and ever;
   he will be our guide even to the end. (Psalm 48:14)