The Northern Kingdom of Israel had been conquered, and the land promised to God’s chosen people had been given over into heathen hands. Only the tiny kingdom of Judah remained. Just a small oval shaped area running from a few miles north of Jerusalem southward to Kadesh-barnea and from the Dead Sea (Salt Sea) to just west of Lachish. Judah was still paying tribute to the king of Assyria when king Ahaz’s son Hezekiah became king.