2 Kings 18:1-8 (NIV) In the third year of Hoshea son of Elah
king of Israel, Hezekiah son of Ahaz king of Judah began to reign. 2 He was
twenty-five years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem
twenty-nine years. His mother's name was Abijah daughter of Zechariah. 3 He did
what was right in the eyes of the Lord, just as his father David had done. 4 He
removed the high places, smashed the sacred stones and cut down the Asherah
poles. He broke into pieces the bronze snake Moses had made, for up to that
time the Israelites had been burning incense to it. (It was called Nehushtan.)
5 Hezekiah trusted in the Lord, the God of Israel. There was no
one like him among all the kings of Judah, either before him or after him. 6 He
held fast to the Lord and did not cease to follow him; he kept the commands the
Lord had given Moses. 7 And the Lord was with him; he was successful in
whatever he undertook. He rebelled against the king of Assyria and did not
serve him. 8 From watchtower to fortified city, he defeated the Philistines, as
far as Gaza and its territory.
- This story is very interesting for at least two points. One, how are Hezekiah's actions different from other kings, let's focus on the kings of Israel (not Judah) to start?
- Willingness to destroy an icon (Nehushtan) because it had become an idol shows tremendous courage, strength of conviction, trust in God (to maintain rule), and humility (didn't need to be king if that is what it took -- like Daniel's friends who would someday stand before Nebuchadnezzar)
- In contrast to the Kings of Israel, who could not destroy the two golden calves for exactly the same faults
- When the scriptures says "no one was like him," does that include David?
- No, because it is just the kings of Judah, and David was king over all Israel
2 Kings 18:13-15 (NIV) In the fourteenth year of King Hezekiah's
reign, Sennacherib king of Assyria attacked all the fortified cities of Judah
and captured them. 14 So Hezekiah king of Judah sent this message to the king
of Assyria at Lachish: "I have done wrong. Withdraw from me, and I will
pay whatever you demand of me." The king of Assyria exacted from Hezekiah
king of Judah three hundred talents of silver and thirty talents of gold. 15 So
Hezekiah gave him all the silver that was found in the temple of the Lord and
in the treasuries of the royal palace.
- The Assyrian records say that 46 towns and 200,000 people were carried off
- The Old Covenant is based upon a contract which describes blessing for obedience and curses for disobedience. The New Covenant focuses on eternal rewards so there is no such promise of material blessing for obedience. It would be more akin to the situation Job was in prior to the law, one cannot know for sure the reasons for things, except of course that evil is the result of man's rebellion. For believers we do have one promise, that God will work things for good (although the time table is not specified)
- So, what happened? What are the possibilities?
- Hezekiah did right, but the people continued in their sins
- Hezekiah made a treaty with other nations (Egypt) instead of trusting in God
- A prophecy of Isaiah, probably in the time frame says
- Isa 31:1-3 (NIV)Woe to those who go down to Egypt for help, // who rely on horses, // who trust in the multitude of their chariots // and in the great strength of their horsemen, // but do not look to the Holy One of Israel, // or seek help from the Lord. // 2 Yet he too is wise and can bring disaster; // he does not take back his words. // He will rise up against the house of the wicked, // against those who help evildoers. // 3 But the Egyptians are men and not God; // their horses are flesh and not spirit. // When the Lord stretches out his hand, // he who helps will stumble, // he who is helped will fall; // both will perish together.
- Isaiah suggests that the problem may have been one of trust or worldly thinking
- Apparently, Hezekiah in a moment of weakness makes an agreement with Egypt
- Prov 3:5-6 (NIV) Trust in the Lord with all your heart // and lean not on your own understanding; // 6 in all your ways acknowledge him, // and he will make your paths straight.
- APPLICATION: What are we trusting in -- our plans or God's plans?
Apparently,
the King of Assyria is not satisfied, because a few years later he comes back
for more ...
2 Kings 18:19-30 (NIV) The field commander said to them,
"Tell Hezekiah: 'This is what the great king, the king of Assyria, says:
On what are you basing this confidence of yours? 20 You say you have strategy
and military strength — but you speak only empty words. On whom are you
depending, that you rebel against me? 21 Look now, you are depending on Egypt,
that splintered reed of a staff, which pierces a man's hand and wounds him if
he leans on it! Such is Pharaoh king of Egypt to all who depend on him. 22 And
if you say to me, "We are depending on the Lord our God"-isn't he the
one whose high places and altars Hezekiah removed, saying to Judah and
Jerusalem, "You must worship before this altar in Jerusalem"?
23 "'Come now, make a bargain with my master, the king of
Assyria: I will give you two thousand horses — if you can put riders on them!
24 How can you repulse one officer of the least of my master's officials, even
though you are depending on Egypt for chariots and horsemen? 25 Furthermore, have I come to attack and
destroy this place without word from the Lord? The Lord himself told me to
march against this country and destroy it.'"
26 Then Eliakim son of Hilkiah, and Shebna and Joah said to the
field commander, "Please speak to your servants in Aramaic, since we
understand it. Don't speak to us in Hebrew in the hearing of the people on the
wall."
27 But the commander replied, "Was it only to your master
and you that my master sent me to say these things, and not to the men sitting
on the wall — who, like you, will have to eat their own filth and drink their
own urine?"
28 Then the commander stood and called out in Hebrew: "Hear
the word of the great king, the king of Assyria! 29 This is what the king says:
Do not let Hezekiah deceive you. He cannot deliver you from my hand. 30 Do not
let Hezekiah persuade you to trust in the Lord when he says, 'The Lord will
surely deliver us; this city will not be given into the hand of the king of
Assyria.'
- Interestingly that Hezekiah's officials were concerned about popular opinion which is contrast to Hezekiah's previous actions
- Maybe there was discontent in Judah over Hezekiah's actions (treaty w/Egypt and/or destruction of icon)
- Maybe the people misinterpreted the events as a sign of God's displeasure over Hezekiah's previous actions
- I think the thing to notice here is difference between the attitude of the commander and the attitude of Hezekiah (seen in the next group of verses)
- The commander is very proud and arrogant (Hezekiah tears his clothes and puts on sackcloth)
- Almost surely, the commander is lying about God speaking to him, if only because he is not successful. That would be the definition of a false prophet (Hezekiah lays his feelings before God completely and honestly. Later, Hezekiah makes a point about being completely honest with God about Assyria's claims)
- Also, the commander tells the people not to trust in the Lord, so he would be a false teacher (Hezekiah's prayer shows his trusts)
- The commander appeals to the people (Hezekiah appeals to God)
2 Kings 19:1-8 (NIV) When King Hezekiah heard this, he tore his
clothes and put on sackcloth and went into the temple of the Lord. 2 He sent
Eliakim the palace administrator, Shebna the secretary and the leading priests,
all wearing sackcloth, to the prophet Isaiah son of Amoz. 3 They told him,
"This is what Hezekiah says: This day is a day of distress and rebuke and
disgrace, as when children come to the point of birth and there is no strength
to deliver them. 4 It may be that the Lord your God will hear all the words of
the field commander, whom his master, the king of Assyria, has sent to ridicule
the living God, and that he will rebuke him for the words the Lord your God has
heard. Therefore pray for the remnant that still survives."
5 When King Hezekiah's officials came to Isaiah, 6 Isaiah said
to them, "Tell your master, 'This is what the Lord says: Do not be afraid
of what you have heard — those words with which the underlings of the king of
Assyria have blasphemed me. 7 Listen! I am going to put such a spirit in him
that when he hears a certain report, he will return to his own country, and
there I will have him cut down with the sword.'"
8 When the field commander heard that the king of Assyria had
left Lachish, he withdrew and found the king fighting against Libnah.
- Two actions occur here, first is a temporary withdrawal
- Second is follow-up letter
2 Kings 19:9-19 (NIV) Now Sennacherib received a report that
Tirhakah, the Cushite king [of Egypt], was marching out to fight against him.
So he again sent messengers to Hezekiah with this word: 10 "Say to
Hezekiah king of Judah: Do not let the god you depend on deceive you when he
says, 'Jerusalem will not be handed over to the king of Assyria.' 11 Surely you
have heard what the kings of Assyria have done to all the countries, destroying
them completely. And will you be delivered? 12 Did the gods of the nations that
were destroyed by my forefathers deliver them: the gods of Gozan, Haran, Rezeph
and the people of Eden who were in Tel Assar? 13 Where is the king of Hamath,
the king of Arpad, the king of the city of Sepharvaim, or of Hena or Ivvah?"
14 Hezekiah received the letter from the messengers and read it.
Then he went up to the temple of the Lord and spread it out before the Lord. 15
And Hezekiah prayed to the Lord: "O Lord, God of Israel, enthroned between
the cherubim, you alone are God over all the kingdoms of the earth. You have
made heaven and earth. 16 Give ear, O Lord, and hear; open your eyes, O Lord,
and see; listen to the words Sennacherib has sent to insult the living God.
17 "It is true, O Lord, that the Assyrian kings have laid
waste these nations and their lands. 18 They have thrown their gods into the
fire and destroyed them, for they were not gods but only wood and stone,
fashioned by men's hands. 19 Now, O Lord our God, deliver us from his hand, so
that all kingdoms on earth may know that you alone, O Lord, are God."
- We can really learn a lot from how Hezekiah responds to crisis
- Hezekiah takes the letter to the lord and spreads it out from him
- Hezekiah is completely honest with God in his prayer
- Hezekiah reiterates the qualities an characteristics of God. Common theme in prayer. It is not necessarily for God's benefit as it is for our benefit
- Also, Hezekiah has learned from his mistake when he made the treaty with Egypt. He is now totally trusting in God for his deliverance as Isaiah has told him from the word to do
- Hezekiah's destruction of the icon and his previous failures (lost of 46 towns) have not made him popular. But he sticks to his decision to do the right thing even though he may not have had a lot of popular support (as evidenced by Sennacherib's speech)
- For the sake of time we will skip the prophecy of Isaiah and look at the results of God's answer
2 Kings 19:35-37 (NIV) That night the angel of the Lord went out
and put to death a hundred and eighty-five thousand men in the Assyrian camp.
When the people got up the next morning — there were all the dead bodies! 36 So
Sennacherib king of Assyria broke camp and withdrew. He returned to Nineveh and
stayed there.
37 One day, while he was worshiping in the temple of his god
Nisroch, his sons Adrammelech and Sharezer cut him down with the sword, and
they escaped to the land of Ararat. And Esarhaddon his son succeeded him as
king.
- This is a historical event, although it is interpreted differently by both the Egyptians and the Assyrians
- 2 Ki 19:35 (Barne's Notes) The Egyptian version of this event recorded in Herodotus is that, during the night, silently and secretly, an innumerable multitude of field-mice spread themselves through the Assyrian host, and gnawed their quivers, bows, and shield-straps, so as to render them useless. When morning broke, the Assyrians fled hastily, and the Egyptians pursuing put a vast number to the sword.
- 2 Ki 19:35. (IVP Bible Background Commentary: OT, 2000) deity wiping out enemy. In one of Ashurbanipal's inscriptions he claims that Erra (the deity representing plague) struck down Uaite (Arab king of Shumuilu) and his army for failing to keep the terms of their treaty agreement.
- The ultimate result is that while Assyria is not completely destroy, its effectiveness and range is severely limited. Isaiah had prophesied growing your own crops in the third year, and some relative peace ensues
- APPLICATION: This is a story of prayer and of courage to do what is right even when it is not the popular thing
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