Tuesday, July 24

2 Kings 18: 5-12, "
⁵ Hezekiah trusted in the Lord, the God of Israel. There was no one like him among all the kings of Judah, either before him or after him. ⁶ He held fast to the Lord and did not stop following him; he kept the commands the Lord had given Moses. ⁷ And the Lord was with him; he was successful in whatever he undertook. He rebelled against the king of Assyria and did not serve him. ⁸ From watchtower to fortified city, he defeated the Philistines, as far as Gaza and its territory.
⁹ In King Hezekiah’s fourth year, which was the seventh year of Hoshea son of Elah king of Israel, Shalmaneser king of Assyria marched against Samaria and laid siege to it. ¹⁰ At the end of three years the Assyrians took it. So Samaria was captured in Hezekiah’s sixth year, which was the ninth year of Hoshea king of Israel. ¹¹ The king of Assyria deported Israel to Assyria and settled them in Halah, in Gozan on the Habor River and in towns of the Medes. ¹² This happened because they had not obeyed the Lord their God, but had violated his covenant —all that Moses the servant of the Lord commanded. They neither listened to the commands nor carried them out."

Given the context of the Old Testament, there is a message that should resonate in our mind and hearts. 12 'This happened because they had not obeyed the Lord their God, but had violated his covenant —all that Moses the servant of the Lord commanded.'  God and Jesus have laid commands for us to choose or not to obey them.  If you do not obey, then you will suffer bad consequences just like Hoshea and the Isrealites.