Third in the “Chronicles of the Kings” series, the queen has not conceived, and there is no heir to the throne. It has long been prophesied that the blood of David would always rule, but ten long years have gone by and it would appear that the queen is barren. She begs King Hezekiah to restore his harem in the hopes that one of the other ladies will bring him a son, but he refuses. It goes against the law of the Torah. If she does not produce an heir, there will be no heir. Desperate, she returns to the ways of her youth and makes a sacrifice to Asherah, the goddess of fertility, and promises the idol that she will sacrifice her first daughter in gratitude for giving her a son.
Hezekiah comes to her rooms unexpectedly and finds her kneeling before the altar. He has worked ceaselessly to bring idolatry to an end, and then to find his own wife practicing it? Furious, he breaks the idol and demands that she leave the palace. A divorce decree is signed and she is banished.
In the meantime, Assyria lies in wait. The king, Sennacherib, is not content with his conquests. He wants to rule the entire land, not just bits and pieces of it. He carefully devises a plan to bring all the other nations to their knees.
This is a fascinating novel as we see the Bible story come to life. If you recall the incident where the king’s life is in danger, and the Lord promises to extend his life fifteen years and gives to him the sign of moving the sun backward in the sky, it takes place in this book. No less miraculous is the way the Lord causes an entire encampment of 185,000 men to come down with fatal tumors to keep them from attacking Jerusalem. This book truly brings to light the amazing power of God and how He will do whatever it takes to protect His people.
I look forward to the fourth volume in the series, which will tell the story of the King’s long-awaited son. In the meantime, I’m heading back to the library to find anything and everything else Lynn Austin has written.
(This book was published by Baker Publishing Group in 2005)
