The Strength of His Hand

Title: The Strength of His Hand
Author: Lynn Austin
Series: Chronicles of the Kings, book 3
Major Themes: Assyria, Jerusalem, Ancient Times, Israel
Synopsis: Hezekiah still does not have an heir, and when he finds his wife committing an unforgivable sin, he doesn’t know what to do to save his life, his kingdom, and his nation.

I am really enjoying the Chronicles of the Kings series. Lynn Austin is a master at bringing Bible stories to life. Even though I estimate that I have read the story of Hezekiah about a hundred times in my life, and know exactly how it turns out, I found myself turning pages in book three, The Strength of His Hand, as fast as I could, to find out what happened next. I was also mentally yelling at people to make better decisions.

After several years of marriage to Hephzibah, Hezekiah still did not have an heir. Hephzibah was desperate to give him one, so she made vows to Asherah. Then, Hezekiah found her worshipping the fertility goddess. He was enraged and shocked, and in destroying the pagan shrine, he injured himself badly. Isaiah informed him that he would die, and that he must put his house in order.

If you know the Bible, you know that Hezekiah cried out to God. You also know that he was miraculously healed, but soon after, pride caused him to do a very foolish thing. As usually happens, one foolish decision led to another, and soon Hezekiah found himself threatened by the Assyrians again. Was there any hope for the nation, now that Hezekiah had let pride set him on a different path? 

Whew! What a story. The Strength of His Hand made me feel like I was right there, along with Hezekiah, Hephzibah, Eliakim, and Jerusha. As events unfolded, and the Assyrians got ever closer to Jerusalem, I knew what was coming. Even though I knew the end of the story, it was still hard to see the destruction and feel the terror in the hearts of the people. One of my favorite parts of the story was when Hezekiah finally realized that he must serve God because of Who He is, not because of what we can get from Him, and Hezekiah’s other realization that idolatry is not just bowing down to an image, but a heart attitude. My other favorite, of course, was the climax, which is one of the most dramatic stories in the Bible. I have recommended to my adult sons that they listen to this series of books because I believe they will be inspired and blessed by them, as well as enjoy the stories.

WARNING: Chapter 2: woman worshipping idol, man badly burned. Chapter 18: man brags about killing and torturing hundreds of people. Chapter 20: man tortured off screen. Chapter 21: fierce battle. Chapter 24: men tortured. Chapter 28: men tortured.

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