#1 Reigns of
      King Uzziah
         (791-740 BC)
      King Jotham
         (750-732 BC)

#2 Reign of
   King Ahaz
        (736-716 BC)

#3 Reign of
      King Hezekiah
(725-687 BC)
      to the 15th year of his reign.

1) Had victories over surrounding areas (nations): Edom (built Elath), Philistines, Arabians, etc.

2) Buildings: Built towers and fortifications; towers in desert; vines in mountains; Elath a seaport.

3) Troops: well organized - 307,500 men, well cared for, slinging machine.

Once Assyria's Tiglath-pileser came to the throne around 745 BC, the freedom of this area gradually became threatened by Assyria.

After this Uzziah sinned and was presumptuous in the temple. He got leprosy and not buried where king’s were buried.

Jotham took over as co-regent at first. Jotham grew stronger and stronger because he strove to walk before Jehovah his God. He defeated the Ammonites; instituted better defenses but the number of high places and idol worship actually increased.

Towards the commencement of Jotham’s reign, hostilities with Syria and Israel began.

Ahaz was an evil king and offered his son as a burnt offering for Molech (Canaanite).

He set up high places and offered sacrifices (2 Kings 16). Ahaz’ idol worship was abominable.

Ahaz saw a foreign idol and requested Urijah the priest to build a replica of it. He placed this defiled thing right in a prominent place in the temple. The Syrians went through a part of Judah and took many captives north to Syria.

This was also the time of the Syro-Ephraimic (northern kingdom) war with Judah.

Rezin the king of Syria (Aram) and Pekah the king of Israel went up against Jerusalem but could not conquer her (cf. Is 7:11) though they did a lot of damage. Syria took over Elath which Uzziah had conquered.

Syria and Israel would have captured Jerusalem except for the fact Ahaz, the wicked king of Judah, asked the Assyrians (Asshur) king Tiglath-pileser to help.

In the first year he had the temple purified and cleansed. All idols were broken apart. He reintroduced liturgical music. He even invited the defeated northern kingdom to join with them to celebrate Passover.

When the people returned from the Passover celebration, they broke idols. He rebelled against Assyria and did not serve him (2 Kings 18:1ff). He defeated the Philistines as far as Gaza. Although Hezekiah got self-confident, he in the end humbled his heart.

In the fourth year of King Hezekiah, Assyria came up and Shalmaneser the king of Assyria seized Samaria. At the end of 3 years, they captured Samaria (9th year of Hoshea king of Israel), and took it into exile.

In the 14th year of Hezekiah, Assyria seized Judah’s cities but not Jerusalem. Hezekiah humbled himself and had a miraculous comeback. 185,000 of the Assyrians were killed by sickness (Is 37:36). They unfortunately trusted Egypt.