King Hezekiah was obedient to God in all that he did. Not only did he worship God, he destroyed all the pagan idols in the public places. In the sixth year of Hezekiah’s rule, Samaria was defeated by King Shalmaneser, of Assyria and many of it’s inhabitants were deported to Assyria.
Eight years later, King Sennacherib, of Assyria, planned to overpower Judah in the same manner as Israel. He easily overpowered the border cities; and then his army approached Jerusalem. His spokesman taunted the guards on the walls and mocked Hezekiah’s faith in God. Hezekiah went to the temple and asked God for help. God responded by giving a message to the prophet Isaiah, to be relayed to Hezekiah. The message indicated that the Assyrians would be defeated. That night, an angel of God went through the Assyrian camp and put to death one hundred eighty-five thousand soldiers. Sennacherib withdrew and Judah was spared. [Reflection is based on the Bible Reference – 2 Kings 18:1-19:36]
