By whatever means it was accomplished, Israel regarded it as an outstanding divine deliverance: God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble.… “Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted on the earth.” The LORD Almighty is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress. (Ps. 46:1, 10–11) The half-century following Hezekiah’s death was a time of religious apostasy. His son Manasseh, an abject vassal of Assyria, adopted a policy of religious
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