Bible Chronology (34): From the Temple to Artaxerxes (9)

In 745 BC, God promised king Ahaz of Judah that both of his enemies (Syria and Israel) will soon fall, and that he should trust in God, but instead he trusted in Assyria, which opened the door for Judah to come under increasing Assyrian oppression, along with Israel (Isaiah 7:1 - 8:10). But God also promised the House of David that it would not be destroyed by Assyria (as Israel would be), 'because of Immanuel' (Isaiah 7:14, 8:8,10), for the Messiah, son of David, who is 'God with us', had to come forth from the House of David. When Ahaz called upon Assyria's help, they invaded Syria and Israel. At this point, Hoshea rose up and killed Pekah, and Israel submitted to Assyria. At first, Hoshea ruled Israel as an overseer, with Ahaz appointed king of Israel by the Assyrians. Eventually Tiglath-Pilesar appointed Hoshea as king. When he died, he was replaced by Shalmaneser, who invaded Israel and beseiged her capital city, Samaria, for 3 years, when Hoshea stopped paying tribute. Shalmaneser died during the siege, and was replaced by Sargon. Samaria finally fell in 721 BC, which marked the end of the Northern Kingdom of Israel, so that Hoshea was the last of her kings. This took place when Hezekiah was king of Judah.