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Hezekiah asks God for help

King Hezekiah is surrounded by the Assyrian army.
Contributed by Richard Gunther
Story also available on our translated websites: Spanish, Portuguese
1
King Hezekiah was ruler of the southern Kingdom of Judah and lived in the city of Jerusalem. He loved and obeyed God and encouraged his people to do the same. – Slide 1
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One day the very powerful and cruel king Sennacherib, ruler of the Assyrians marched on Jerusalem with his large and powerful army and lay siege to the city. – Slide 2
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The people trapped inside the city looked out in fear at the huge army that had come to destroy them. – Slide 3
4
A man called Rabshakeh spoke for the Assyrian king. He shouted insults at the people inside the city walls. He boasted how powerful the Assyrian army was and said they should not listen to King Hezekiah because he was powerless to fight back. He mocked them and said that God would not rescue them. – Slide 4
5
King Hezekiah ordered that no-one should reply to the insults but that everything Rabshakeh said should be written down. <br/>When Hezekiah read what the enemy were saying he tore his clothes and put on sackcloth. – Slide 5
6
Hezekiah went up to the temple of the Lord and spread out the paper listing all the threats the Assyrians had made. He then prayed, ‘You alone are God over all the kingdoms of the earth. You have made heaven and earth. Look at the words Sennacherib has sent to ridicule the living God.’ – Slide 6
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Hezekiah continued. ‘Lord deliver us from the Assyrians, so that all the kingdoms of the earth may know that you alone are God.’ <br/>The prophet Isaiah sent a message to King Hezekiah, ‘The king of Assyria will not enter this city or shoot an arrow here. I will defend this city and save it.’ – Slide 7
8
That night the angel of the Lord went out and put to death a hundred and eighty-five thousand in the Assyrian army. Sennacherib king of Assyria quickly broke camp and withdrew. He returned to Nineveh where he was assassinated by two of his sons. <br/>King Hezekiah had asked God for help and God had answered his prayers. – Slide 8
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