Lecture 8 01/27/11

In this lecture, professor Cargill focuses on Hezekiah and Josiah. He points out the fact that Hezekiah is seen in the old testament as a savior to the people. Additionally, people saw Hezekiah as a savior because when the Assyrian's attacked, they did not conquer Jerusalem—under Hezekiah's protection. This is when Jerusalem began to be known as a protected city because God had spared them from the Assyrians. Although the Assyrians saw it as no big deal because they were busy with other wars and such, Jerusalem saw it as a sign from God that their city was protected. Hezekiah also destroyed other shrines in Jerusalem, aside from the temple, to centralize the worship of God in the temple.
We also learned about Josiah, who became king of Jerusalem at the age of 8. Jerusalem was growing and expanding because people were going there from all over the Middle East, so Josiah's power was growing. He also knocked down lots of shrines--just as his father had. He felt like any shrine or God outside of the temple was made for a different God and should therefore be knocked down and destroyed.