Study Desk

But Hezekiah himself took away the high places and altars that belonged to that god. He told you people of Judah and Jerusalem that you must worship and burn incense on only one altar.

But Hezekiah's heart was proud, so he did not give God thanks for his kindness. This is why God was angry with Hezekiah and with the people of Judah and Jerusalem.

But Hezekiah and the people living in Jerusalem changed their hearts and lives. They became humble and stopped being proud. So the Lord 's anger didn't come on them while Hezekiah was alive.

I will not continue to keep the Israelites off the land that I chose to give to their ancestors. But they must obey everything I commanded them. The Israelites must obey all the laws, rules, and commands that I gave Moses to give to them."

The Lord spoke to Manasseh and to his people, but they refused to listen.

The people continued to offer sacrifices at the high places, but their sacrifices were only to the Lord their God.

Amon did not humble himself in front of the Lord like Manasseh his father humbled himself. But Amon sinned more and more.

But the people of Judah killed all the servants who planned against King Amon. Then the people chose Amon's son Josiah to be the new king.

The Israelites had idols from many different countries, but Josiah destroyed all the terrible idols. He made all the people in Israel serve the Lord their God. And as long as Josiah was alive, the people continued to serve the Lord , the God of their ancestors.

But Neco sent messengers to Josiah. They said, "King Josiah, this war is not your problem. I didn't come to fight against you. I came to fight my enemies. God told me to hurry. He is on my side, so don't bother me. If you fight against me, God will destroy you!"

But Josiah did not go away. He put on different clothes to hide who he was and went to fight the battle. Josiah refused to listen to the warning Neco had received from God and went to fight on the plain of Megiddo.

Neco chose Jehoahaz's brother Eliakim to be the new king of Judah and Jerusalem. Neco gave Eliakim a new name. He named him Jehoiakim. But Neco took Jehoahaz to Egypt.

Zedekiah did what the Lord his God considered evil. Jeremiah the prophet told him messages from the Lord . But Zedekiah did not humble himself and obey what Jeremiah said.

Zedekiah turned against King Nebuchadnezzar. In the past Nebuchadnezzar forced Zedekiah to make a promise to be faithful to him. Zedekiah used God's name and promised to be faithful to Nebuchadnezzar. But Zedekiah was stubborn and would not change his life. He refused to obey the Lord , the God of Israel.

But they made fun of God's prophets and refused to listen to them. They hated God's messages. Finally, the Lord could not hold his anger any longer. He became angry with his people and there was nothing that could be done to stop it.

Some people came to Jerusalem from the towns of Tel Melah, Tel Harsha, Kerub, Addon, and Immer. But these people could not prove that their families were from the family of Israel:

These people searched for their family histories, but they could not find them. Their names were not included in the list of priests. They could not prove that their ancestors were priests, so they could not serve as priests.

They were afraid of the other people living near them, but that didn't stop them. They built the altar on its old foundation and offered burnt offerings on it to the Lord . They offered sacrifices in the morning and in the evening.

But many of the older priests, Levites, and family leaders, who could remember seeing the first Temple, began to cry aloud. They cried while the others there shouted for joy.

But Zerubbabel, Jeshua, and the other family leaders of Israel answered, "No, you people cannot help us build a temple for our God. Only we can build the Temple for the Lord . He is the God of Israel. This is what King Cyrus of Persia commanded us to do."