The One Year Bible for Men - Flipbook - Page 97
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plains. He was also a man who loved the soil.
He had many workers who cared for his farms
and vineyards, both on the hillsides and in the
fertile valleys.
11 Uzziah had an army of well-trained war
riors, ready to march into battle, unit by unit.
This army had been mustered and organized
by Jeie l, the secretary of the army, and his as
sistant, Maas eiah. They were under the direc
tion of Hananiah, one of the king’s officials.
12 These regiments of mighty warriors were
commanded by 2,600 clan leaders. 13 The army
consisted of 307,500 men, all elite troops. They
were prepared to assist the king against any
enemy.
14
Uzziah provided the entire army with
shields, spears, helmets, coats of mail, bows,
and sling stones. 15 And he built structures on
the walls of Jerusalem, designed by experts
to protect those who shot arrows and hurled
large stones* from the towers and the corners
of the wall. His fame spread far and wide, for
the Lord gave him marvelous help, and he be
came very powerful.
16 But when he had become power
ful, he
also became proud, which led to his downfall.
He sinned against the Lord his God by enter
ing the sanctuary of the Lord’s Temple and
personally burning incense on the incense
altar. 17 Azariah the high priest went in after
him with eighty other priests of the Lord, all
brave men. 18 They confronted King U
zziah
and said, “It is not for you, U
zziah, to burn
incense to the Lord. That is the work of the
priests alone, the descendants of Aaron who
are set apart for this work. Get out of the sanc
tuary, for you have sinned. The Lord God will
not honor you for this!”
19
Uzziah, who was holding an incense
burner, became furious. But as he was standing
there raging at the priests before the incense
altar in the Lord’s Temple, leprosy* suddenly
broke out on his forehead. 20 When Azariah
the high priest and all the other priests saw
the leprosy, they rushed him out. And the king
himself was eager to get out because the Lord
had struck him. 21 So King Uzziah had leprosy
until the day he died. He lived in isolation in a
separate house, for he was excluded from the
Temple of the Lord. His son Jotham was put
in charge of the royal palace, and he governed
the people of the land.
22 The rest of the events of Uzziah’s reign,
from beginning to end, are recorded by the
prophet Isaiah son of Amoz. 23 When Uzziah
died, he was buried with his ancestors; his
grave was in a nearby burial field belong
ing to the kings, for the people said, “He had
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July 30
leprosy.” And his son Jotham became the
next king.
27:1 Jo
tham
was twenty-five years old when
he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem
sixteen years. His mother was Jerusha, the
daughter of Zadok.
2 Jotham did what was pleasing in the Lord’s
sight. He did everything his father, U
zziah, had
done, except that Jotham did not sin by enter
ing the Temple of the Lord. But the people
continued in their corrupt ways.
3
Jotham rebuilt the upper gate of the
Temple of the Lord. He also did extensive
rebuilding on the wall at the hill of O
phel.
4 He built towns in the hill country of Judah
and constructed fortresses and towers in the
wooded areas. 5 Jotham went to war against
the Ammonites and conquered them. Over
the next three years he received from them
an annual tribute of 7,500 pounds* of silver,
50,000 bushels of wheat, and 50,000 bushels
of barley.*
6 King Jotham became powerful because he
was careful to live in obedience to the Lord
his God.
7 The rest of the events of Jotham’s reign,
including all his wars and other activities, are
recorded in The Book of the Kings of Israel and
Judah. 8 He was twenty-five years old when he
became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem six
teen years. 9 When Jotham died, he was buried
in the City of David. And his son Ahaz became
the next king.
28:1 Ahaz was twenty years old when he be
came king, and he reigned in Jerusalem six
teen years. He did not do what was pleasing
in the sight of the Lord, as his ancestor David
had done. 2 Instead, he followed the example
of the kings of Israel. He cast metal images for
the worship of Baal. 3 He offered sacrifices in
the valley of B
en-Hinnom, even sacrificing
his own sons in the fire.* In this way, he fol
lowed the detestable practices of the pagan
nations the Lord had driven from the land
ahead of the Israelites. 4 He offered sacrifices
and burned incense at the pagan shrines and
on the hills and under e very green tree.
5 Because of all this, the Lord his God al
lowed the king of Aram to defeat Ahaz and to
exile large numbers of his people to Damas
cus. The armies of the king of Israel also de
feated Ahaz and inflicted many casualties on
his army. 6 In a single day Pekah son of Rem
aliah, Israel’s king, killed 120,000 of Judah’s
troops, all of them experienced warriors, be
cause they had abandoned the Lord, the God
of their ancestors. 7 Then Zicri, a warrior from
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