Day 238: Hezekiah's Appeal and God's Deliverance from the Assyrians

In today's episode of Immerse: The Daily Bible Reading Experience, we continue our journey through the Bible, focusing on Day 238. This reading highlights a pivotal moment when King Hezekiah of Judah faces the threat of the Assyrian invasion. Key figures such as Aya Kim, Shena, and Joa report the Assyrian chief of staff's blasphemous message to King Hezekiah, who responds by seeking God's intervention. The prophet Isaiah delivers God's message of assurance that the Assyrians will not prevail. The episode concludes with the dramatic downfall of the Assyrian army as God's angel eliminates 185,000 soldiers, leading to the eventual assassination of the Assyrian king. The reading underscores themes of faith, divine intervention, and the ultimate supremacy of God over earthly powers.

00:00 Introduction and Context
00:24 Hezekiah's Despair and Isaiah's Prophecy
02:05 Assyrian Threat and Hezekiah's Prayer
03:55 God's Response and Assyrian Defeat
07:51 Conclusion and Reflection

Buy Immerse: Kingdoms Now!

Volume 3 — Joshua, Judges, Ruth, Samuel–Kings

Kingdoms

Immerse: Kingdoms is the third of six volumes in Immerse: The Bible Reading Experience. Kingdoms presents a new and unique journey through the story of Israel from the time of its conquest of Canaan (Joshua) through its struggle to settle the land (Judges, Ruth) and the establishment of Israel’s kingdom, which ends in a forced exile (Samuel–Kings). The nation of Israel, commissioned to be God’s light to the nations, falls to division and then foreign conquest for rejecting God’s rule.

4 Questions to get your conversations started:
1. What stood out to you this week?
2. Was there anything confusing or troubling?
3. Did anything make you think differently about God?
4. How might this change the way we live?

QUICK START GUIDE
3 ways to get the most out of your experience

1. Use Immerse: Beginnings instead of your regular chapter and verse Bible. This special reader’s edition restores the Bible to its natural simplicity and beauty by removing chapter and verse numbers and other historical additions. Letters look like letters, songs look like songs, and the original literary structures are visible in each book.
2. Commit to making this a community experience. Immerse is designed for groups to encounter large portions of the Bible together
   for 8 weeks–more like a book club, less like a Bible study. By meeting every week in small groups and discussing what you read in open,
   honest conversations, you and your community can come together to be transformed through an authentic experience with the Scriptures.
3. Aim to understand the big story. Read through “The Stories and the Story” (p. 483) to see how the books of the Bible work together to tell God’s story of his creation’s restoration. As you read through Immerse: Beginnings, rather than ask, “How do I fit God into my busy life?” begin asking, “How can I join in God’s great plan by living out my part in his story?”