:11 Look! You have heard what the kings of Assyria have done to all lands by utterly destroying them; and shall you be delivered?
:12 Have the gods of the nations delivered those whom my fathers have destroyed, Gozan and Haran and Rezeph, and the people of Eden who were in Telassar?
:13 Where is the king of Hamath, the king of Arpad, and the king of the city of Sepharvaim, Hema, and Ivah?"
:14 And Hezekiah received the letter from the hand of the messengers, and read it, and Hezekiah went up to the house of the Lord, and spread it before the Lord.
:15 Then Hezekiah prayed before the Lord, and said: "O Lord God of Israel, the One who dwells between the cherubim, You are God, You alone, of all the kingdoms of the earth. You have made heaven and earth.
:16 Incline Your ear, O Lord, and hear; open Your eyes, O Lord, and see; and hear the words of Sennacherib, which he has sent to reproach the living God.
:17 Truly Lord, the kings of Assyria have laid waste the nations and their lands.
:18 And have cast their gods into the fire; for they were not gods, but the work of men's hands - wood and stone. Therefore they destroyed them.
:19 Now therefore, O Lord our God, I pray, save us from his hand, that all the kingdoms of the earth may know that You are the Lord God, You alone."
If you're in a situation where you need God's help, reach up your hand to Him in prayer.
1 Kings 2:1 Now the days of David drew near that he should die; and he charged Solomon his son, saying:
:2 "I go the way of all earth; be strong, therefore, and prove yourself a man.
:3 And keep the charge of the Lord your God; to walk in His ways, to keep His statutes, His commandments, His judgments, and His testimonies, as it is written in the Law of Moses, that you may prosper in all that you do and wherever you turn;
:4 that the Lord may fulfill His word which He spoke concerning me, saying, 'If your sons take heed to their way to walk before me in truth with all their heart and with all their soul,' He said, 'you shall not lack a man on the throne of Israel.'
:5 Moreover you know also what Joab the son of Zeruiah did to me, and what he did to the two commanders of the armies of Israel, to Abner the son of Ner and Amasa the son of Jether, whom he killed. And he shed the blood of war in peacetime, and put the blood of war on his belt that was around his waist, and on his sandals that were on his feet.
:6 Therefore do according to your wisdom, and do not let his gray hair go down to the grave in peace.
:7 But show kindness to the sons of Barzillai the Gileadite, and let them be among those who eat at your table, for so they came to me when I fled from Absalom your brother.
:8 And see, you have with you Shimei the son of Gera, a Benjamite from Bahurim, who cursed me with a malicious curse in the day when I went to Mahanaim. But he came to meet me at the Jordan, and I swore to him by the Lord, saying, 'I will not put you to death with the sword.'
:9 Now therefore do not hold him guiltless, for you are a wise man and know what you ought to do to him; but bring his gray hair to the grave with blood.
:10 So David rested with his fathers, and was buried in the City of David.
When we are young most of us don't see the importance of our parent's advice. As we get older we see that a lot of it makes sense.
Let's look at the advice David gave his son when he knew he was dying.
1. Be strong and prove yourself a man. (vs 2)
As a woman, I don't want to be "manly" but I do want to be the best godly woman I can be.
2. Keep the charge of the Lord (vs 3,4)
In these verses David encourages him to strive to do everything he can to keep his life centered on the Lord.
David had ups and downs in his walk with the Lord, so he knew how important a close walk with God was.
3. Show wisdom. (vs 5, 6)
Wisdom is something we should pray for ourselves and our families daily.
4, Show kindness (vs 7)
Kindness is one of the things lacking in a lot of people these days.
5. Discern well (vs 8,9)
Even in our daily lives knowing how to discern in wisdom is so important. Also knowing that sometimes punishment has to be carried out is important as well.
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