- [Narrator] The Bible speaks of God's intervention in the issues of his people. The story of Hezekiah and his numerous enemies is one of the greatest examples of such. Hezekiah was a man who was the polar opposite of his terrible father Ahaz.
During his reign, he received the uncommon honor of doing what was right in the eyes of the Lord, just as his forefather David had done. "Now, it came about in the third year of Hoshea, the son of Elah king of Israel, Hezekiah the son of Ahaz king of Judah became king. He was 25 years old when he became king, and he reigned 29 years in Jerusalem.
His mother's name was Abi, the daughter of Zechariah. Hezekiah did right in the sight of the Lord, in accordance with everything that David, his father, had done. " 2 Kings 18:1-3.
Hezekiah was one of the few kings who abolished the high places of worship. He also cut down the idolatrous Asherah poles. Furthermore, he destroyed the bronze snake that Moses created centuries before, which was known as Nehushtan, which means a bronze thing.
Numbers 21:8-9, "The Lord said to Moses, 'Make a snake and put it up on a pole, anyone who is bitten can look at it and live. ' So Moses made a bronze snake and put it up on a pole. Then when anyone was bitten by a snake and looked at the bronze snake, they lived.
" What a pity that this object that God had used to deliver his people, had become a source of worship. For these and other reasons, Hezekiah was regarded as a king who stood apart from, and above the other kings of Judah, in his adherence to God's commands. 2 Kings 18:4-5.
"He removed the high places of pagan worship, broke down the images, memorial stones, and cut down the Asherim. He also crushed to pieces the bronze serpent that Moses had made. For until those days, the Israelites had burned incense to it, and it was called Nehushtan, a bronze sculpture.
Hezekiah trusted in and relied confidently on the Lord, the God of Israel, so that after him there was no one like him among all the kings of Judah, nor among those who were before him. " After reading about the unfaithfulness and heinous actions of so many of Israel's and Judah's kings, King Hezekiah is a breath of fresh air. He prospered wherever he went because the Lord was with him.
2 Kings 18:6-16. "And the Lord was with Hezekiah, he was successful wherever he went. And he rebelled against the king of Assyria, and refused to serve him.
He defeated the Philistines as far as Gaza, the most distant city and its borders, from the isolated lookout tower to the populous fortified city. Now in the fourth year of King Hezekiah, which was the seventh of Hoshea the son of Elah king of Israel, Shalmaneser, the king of Assyria, went up against Samaria and besieged it. At the end of three years they captured it, in the sixth year of Hezekiah, which was the ninth year of Hoshea the king of Israel, Samaria was taken.
Then the king of Assyria sent Israel into exile to Assyria, and put them in Halah, and on the Habor, the river of the city of Gozan, and in the cities of the Medes, because they did not obey the voice of the Lord their God, but broke His covenant, everything that Moses the servant of the Lord had commanded, and they would not listen nor do it. In the fourteenth year of King Hezekiah, Sennacherib, king of Assyria, went up against all the fortified cities of Judah, except Jerusalem, and captured them. Then Hezekiah king of Judah sent word to the king of Assyria at Lachish, saying, 'I have done wrong, withdraw from me, whatever you impose on me, I will bear.
' So the king of Assyria imposed on Hezekiah king of Judah a tribute tax of 300 talents of silver, and 30 talents of gold. Hezekiah gave him all the silver that was found in the house temple of the Lord, and in the treasuries of the king's house palace. At that time Hezekiah cut away the gold framework from the doors of the temple of the Lord, and from the doorposts which he had overlaid, and gave it to the king of Assyria.
" Sennacherib, the successor of Shalmaneser, the conqueror of Israel, was the Assyrian king Hezekiah would face. Unfortunately for Judah, things did not go as planned. Sennacherib attacked and conquered all of Judah's fortified cities, leaving only Jerusalem.
And at that point, Hezekiah may have concluded that he had grossly miscalculated the situation. He admitted to Sennacherib, "I have done wrong," and offered a ransom to keep his people from suffering the same fate as Israel. The demand was enormous, and Hezekiah sent all the silver and gold he could find, even snatching gold from the temple.
However, things were about to get worse. God would circle the Assyrians around Jerusalem to put Hezekiah's faith to the test, and to demonstrate his own mighty power to his people. Sennacherib either didn't think Hezekiah's ransom was enough, or he was looking for a reason to attack Jerusalem, and complete his conquest of Judah anyway, because the Assyrian king sent a delegation and a massive army to Jerusalem to demand the city surrender.
"Then the king of Assyria sent the Tartan and the Rabsaris and the Rabshakeh, his highest officials, with a large army, from Lachish to King Hezekiah at Jerusalem. They went up and came to Jerusalem, and when they went up and arrived, they stood by the aqueduct of the upper pool, which is on the road of the Fuller's Field. When they called for the king, Eliakim the son of Hilkiah, who was in charge of the king's household, and Shebna the scribe, and Joah the son of Asaph, the secretary went out to meet them.
" They wanted to deliver this to the king in person, but they had to settle for speaking with Hezekiah's delegation. "Then the Rabshakeh said to them, say to Hezekiah, thus says the great king, the king of Assyria, what is the reason for this confidence that you have? You say, but they are only empty words, 'I have counsel and strength for the war.
' Now on whom do you rely, that you have rebelled against me? Now pay attention, you are relying on Egypt, on that staff of crushed reed. If a man leans on it, it will only go into his hand and pierce it.
So is Pharaoh king of Egypt to all who trust and rely on him. But if you tell me, 'We trust and rely on the Lord our God,' is it not He whose high places and altars Hezekiah has removed, and has said to Judah and Jerusalem, 'You shall worship only before this altar in Jerusalem'? Now then, make a bargain with my lord the king of Assyria, and I will give you 2000 horses, if on your part you can put riders on them.
How then can you drive back even one official of the least of my master's servants, when you rely on Egypt for chariots and horsemen? Now have I come up against this place to destroy it without the Lord's approval? The Lord said to me, 'Go up against this land and destroy it.
'" 2 Kings 18. Sennacherib's royal spokesman made what he thought was a factly case for Hezekiah and his people to open their gates and surrender. First, Egypt was a useless ally who would not deliver them.
This was true. Second, he was certain that the people of Judah had enraged their God by destroying worship sites. That is the forbidden high places and altars that Hezekiah had demolished.
Of course, Hezekiah was correct to demolish them. Even the king's supporters, however, would most likely question the king's actions in light of what was going on. Third, Sennacherib's spokesman reminded them that Judah's army was too weak to repel the Assyrian army.
Given Hezekiah's attempt to pay off Assyria, this was also most likely true. Finally, he claimed that the Lord Himself had told him to attack and destroy this land, essentially saying, "Hey, your God is on my side. " This was a lie, but to the demoralized people of Jerusalem, it may have appeared as if he was correct.
After all, their northern neighbors had fallen to Assyria, and those same cruel conquerors were now at their gates. 2 Kings 18:26-30. "Then Eliakim the son of Hilkiah, and Shebna and Joah, said to the Rabshakeh, 'Please speak to your servants in the Aramaic Syrian language, because we understand it, and do not speak with us in the Judean Hebrew language, in the hearing of the people who are on the wall.
' But the Rabshakeh said to them, 'Has my master sent me only to your master and to you to say these things? Has he not sent me to the men who sit on the wall, who are doomed by the siege to eat their own excrement, and drink their own urine along with you? ' Then the Rabshakeh stood and shouted out with a loud voice in Judean Hebrew, 'Hear the word of the great king, the king of Assyria.
' Thus says the king, 'Do not let Hezekiah deceive you, for he will not be able to rescue you from my hand, nor let Hezekiah make you trust in and rely on the Lord, saying, 'The Lord will certainly rescue us, and this city of Jerusalem will not be given into the hand of the king of Assyria. '" The three men's request that the negotiations be conducted in Aramaic rather than Hebrew, was aimed to safeguard the listeners on the wall from the threats, but the Assyrian spokesman was unconcerned. He wanted everyone to be afraid of his king's ultimatum.
He even threatened them in Hebrew, in the most repulsive way imaginable. Then he warned the people not to believe any promises Hezekiah made about the Lord appearing to save them. How long would the people of Judah continue to trust their king in light of this diatribe?
2 Kings 18:31-32. "Do not listen to Hezekiah, for thus says the king of Assyria, 'Surrender to me and come out to meet me, and every man may eat from his own vine and fig tree, and every man may drink the waters of his own well, until I come and take you away to a land like your own land, a land of grain and new wine, a land of bread and vineyards, a land of olive trees and honey, so that you may live and not die. Do not listen to Hezekiah when he misleads and incites you, saying, 'The Lord will rescue us!
'" Sennacherib's spokesman offered the people peace and prosperity rather than suffering and starvation, in exchange for their surrender. Those words might have sounded appealing to the people of Jerusalem, who were about to be besieged and cut off from the rest of the world. The Assyrians also stated unequivocally that deportation to a land similar to their own was part of the deal.
He promised them a land of grain and new wine, olive trees and honey. Similarly, Satan tempts believers with enticing offers, but sin never delivers on all of its promises. 2 Kings 18:33-37.
"Has any one of the gods of the nations ever rescued his land from the hand of the king of Assyria? Where are the gods of Hamath and Arpad in Aram? Where are the gods of Sepharvaim, Hena, and Ivvah, in the valley of the Euphrates?
Have they rescued Samaria from my hand? Who among all the gods of the lands have rescued their lands from my hand, that the Lord would rescue Jerusalem from my hand? But the people kept silent and did not answer him, for the king had commanded, 'Do not answer him.
' Then Eliakim the son of Hilkiah, who was in charge of the royal household, and Shebna the scribe, and Joah the son of Asaph the secretary, came to Hezekiah with their clothes torn in grief and despair, and told him what the Rabshakeh had said. " Six rhetorical questions concluded the speech. Their essence was this, the gods of the nations had not delivered their followers from the clutches of Assyria's king, neither would the Lord save Jerusalem.
Infuriated by this encounter, Hezekiah's men returned to the king with their clothes torn in distress. 2 Kings 19:1-4. "When the King Hezekiah heard it, he tore his clothes and he covered himself with sackcloth, and went into the house of the Lord.
Then he sent Eliakim who was in charge of his household, Shebna the scribe and the elders of the priests, covered with sackcloth, to Isaiah the prophet the son of Amoz. They said to him, thus says Hezekiah, 'This is a day of distress and anxiety, of punishment and humiliation, for children have come to the time of their birth, and there is no strength to rescue them. It may be that the Lord your God will hear all the words of the Rabshakeh, whom his master of the king of Assyria has sent to taunt and defy the living God, and will rebuke the words which the Lord your God has heard.
So offer a prayer for the remnant of His people that is left in Judah. '" When King Hezekiah heard their report, he did the same thing his men did. He tore his clothes in grief.
He had to be wondering how such a terrible turn of events had occurred. After all, he had been obedient to God, he had renewed Judah's worship, he had followed the Lord's instructions. He had previously prospered as a result of God's providence, but God was deafeningly silent at the time.
The story serves as a good reminder that faithfulness to God does not protect you from adversity. It does, however, prepare you for those trials. You will be better prepared to deal with trouble and suffering if you live your life from a divine perspective, to rely on Him in bad times as much as you have in good.
You will also have the opportunity to witness God at work. King Hezekiah went into the Lord's temple to worship despite his distress. Furthermore, he did something that many of his predecessors did not.
He sent a delegation dressed in sackcloth to seek a word from the Lord through the Prophet Isaiah. They explained to God's prophet Judah's dire situation, and they informed him that the Assyrian leader had come to mock the living God. 2 Kings 19:5-7.
"So the servants of King Hezekiah came to Isaiah. Isaiah said to them, 'Say this to your master, thus says the Lord, 'Do not be afraid because of the words that you have heard, with which the servants of the king of Assyria have reviled Me. Behold, I will put a spirit in him, so that he will hear a rumor and return to his own land.
And I will make him fall by the sword in his own land. '" Isaiah already knew all of this, because God knew all of this. As a result, he gave the servants a message for Hezekiah that began with the command, "Don't be afraid.
" This command appears frequently in the Bible. It's God's way of calming his people, instilling confidence in them, and assuring them that "I have everything under control, you can rely on me. " The Lord had not only heard the blasphemous words of the Assyrian king's lackey, but he also planned to respond to them.
Instead of defeating Jerusalem, King Sennacherib would return to his own land and die by the sword. 2 Kings 19:8-13. "So the Rabshakeh returned and found the king of Assyria fighting against Libnah, a fortified city of Judah, for he had heard that the king had left Lachish.
When the king heard them say concerning Tirhakah king of Ethiopia, 'Behold, he has come out to make war against you,' he sent messengers again to Hezekiah, saying, 'Say this to Hezekiah king of Judah, 'Do not let your God on whom you rely deceive you by saying, 'Jerusalem shall not be handed over to the king of Assyria. ' Listen, you have heard what the Assyrian kings have done to all the lands, destroying them completely. So will you be spared?
Did the gods of the nations whom my forefathers destroyed rescue them, Gozan and Haran of Mesopotamia, and the Rezeph, and the people of Eden who are in Telassar? Where is the king of Hamath, the king of Arpad of Northern Syria, the king of the city of Sepharvaim, and Hena, and Ivvah? '" Sennacherib's royal spokesman was most likely camped at Jerusalem's walls, waiting for an answer from Hezekiah, when word came that the king had pulled his army out of Lachish, and was fighting at Libnah, which was 25 miles southwest of Jerusalem.
Sennacherib had heard that the King Tirhakah of Kush was preparing to fight him, which caused the Assyrian king to divert his attention away from Jerusalem for what he thought was only a short time. Sennacherib made certain that Hezekiah knew he would return by repeating the threats made by his underling earlier. 2 Kings 19:14-19.
"Hezekiah received the letter from the hand of the messengers and read it. Then he went up to the house of the Lord, and spread it out before the Lord. Hezekiah prayed before the Lord and said, 'O Lord, the God of Israel, who is enthroned above the cherubim of the ark in the temple, You are the God, You alone, of all the kingdoms of the earth.
You have made the heavens and the earth. O Lord, bend down Your ear and hear, Lord, open Your eyes and see, hear the taunting words of Sennacherib, which he has sent to taunt and defy the living God. It is true, Lord, that the Assyrian kings have devastated the nations and their lands, and have thrown their gods into the fire, for they were not real gods, but only the work of men's hands, wood and stone.
So they could destroy them and have destroyed them. Now, O Lord our God, please save us from his hand, so that all the kingdoms of the earth may know without any doubt that You alone, O Lord, are God. " When he read Sennacherib's letter, Hezekiah did not tear his clothes in agony.
He took it to the temple, put it out in front of God, and prayed. Hezekiah began, "Lord God of Israel, enthroned between the cherubim," acknowledging his submission to the divine king. He then reminded God of a special relationship with Israel, as opposed to the ostensible relationships between conquered peoples and the false gods of the nations Assyria defeated.
He was aware that none of the gods of the nations had delivered their people, because they were created by human hands and lacked power. But the Lord is not like that. He is not a creation of man, He is man's creator.
He created both the heavens and the earth. Sennacherib's letter was seen by Hezekiah as an attack on God's character, and he pleaded with God to vindicate himself and his people. Hezekiah was reminding him that granting his request would bring God great glory.
This prayer serves as a model for believers who are in distress. 2 Kings 19:20-28. "Then Isaiah the son of Amoz sent word to Hezekiah, saying, 'Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, I have heard your prayer to Me regarding Sennacherib king of Assyria.
This is the word that the Lord has spoken against him. The virgin daughter of Zion has despised you and mocked you, the daughter of Jerusalem has shaken her head behind you! Whom have you taunted and blasphemed?
Against whom have you raised your voice, and haughtily lifted up your eyes? Against the Holy One of Israel! Through your messengers you have taunted and defied the Lord, and have said boastfully, 'With my many chariots I come up to the heights of the mountains, to the remotest parts of Lebanon, I cut down its tall cedar trees and its choicest cypress trees.
I entered its most distant lodging, its densest forest. I dug wells and drank foreign waters, and with the sole of my feet I dried up all the rivers of the Lower Nile of Egypt. Have you not heard asks the God of Israel?
Long ago I did it, from ancient times I planned it. Now I brought it to pass, that you, king of Assyria, should be My instrument to turn fortified cities into ruinous heaps. Therefore their inhabitants were powerless, they were shattered in spirit and put to shame, they were like plants of the field, the green herb, as grass on the housetops is scorched before it is grown.
But I the Lord know your sitting down, O Sennacherib, your going out, your coming in, and your raging against Me. Because you are raging against Me, and because your arrogance and complacency have come up to My ears, I will put My hook in your nose, and My bridle in your lips, and I will turn you back to Assyria by the way that you came. '" God heard Hezekiah, and reacted to him once more through Isaiah.
Sennacherib is mocked in his poetic response, which extols God's sovereign rule over the nations. The Assyrian king had not only mocked Judah and her king, he had also mocked and blasphemed the holy one of Israel. While Sennacherib arrogantly assumed his own leadership, and might had cut a swath through many nations, he had no idea that his victories were predetermined by God, as part of his long plan.
The Assyrian king was then just a pawn on God's kingdom chessboard. Sennacherib couldn't make a move or have a private thought that God wasn't aware of, including any rage directed at the Lord. Sennacherib, on the other hand, would discover how insignificant he was when God inserted his hook into his nose, and dragged him back to Assyria.
2 Kings 19:29-31. "Then this shall be the sign of the things to you Hezekiah, this year you will eat what grows of itself, in the second year what springs up voluntarily, and in the third year sow and reap, plant vineyards, and eat their fruit. The survivors who remain of the house of Judah will again take root downward and bear fruit upward.
For a remnant will go forth from Jerusalem, and a band of survivors from Mount Zion. The zeal of the Lord of hosts shall perform this. " God spoke words of comfort to a king and his people who were facing an unavoidable siege and starvation.
For fear of the Assyrians, the people of Jerusalem had been unable to go outside the walls to plant crops, but God's sign to Hezekiah was that the people of Jerusalem would eat harvests from seed that grew on its own for the next two years. They would be able to sow and reap, plant vineyards, and eat their fruit in the third year, Judah would not be destroyed. A remnant would survive, bear fruit, and leave the walls of Jerusalem, because the Lord is zealous for His glory, and His covenant people.
2 Kings 19:32-34. "Therefore thus says the Lord concerning the king of Assyria. 'He will not come to this city Jerusalem, nor shoot an arrow there, nor will he come before it with a shield nor throw up a siege ramp against it.
By the way that he came, by the same way he will return, and he will not come into this city,' declares the Lord. 'For I will protect this city to save it, for My own sake and for My servant David's sake. '" God would defend Jerusalem against Sennacherib, He would do it for my sake, and the sake of my servant David, He said.
God would not let some inexperienced Assyrian king derail His plans. He would also keep His promise to David to keep one of his descendants on the throne of Jerusalem forever. A promise that would eventually culminate in the kingship of Jesus Christ, our Lord.
"Then it came to pass that night, that the angel of the Lord went forth and struck down 185,000 men in the camp of the Assyrians, when the survivors got up early in the morning, behold, all 185,000 of them were dead. So Sennacherib king of Assyria left and returned home, and lived at Nineveh. It came about as he was worshiping in the house of Nisroch his god, that his sons Adrammelech and Sharezer killed him with a sword, and they escaped to the land of Ararat, and Esarhaddon his son became king in his place.
" It only took one strike from the Lord's angel to rid Hezekiah of his foe. 185,000 Assyrian soldiers were slayed in an instant. Sennacherib was suddenly forced to return home without his army.
Later, while worshiping in the temple of his God, Nisroch, his own sons murdered him. The Assyrian King, like the Philistine Goliath, had mocked the Lord for failing to protect Jerusalem, but in the end, Sennacherib's God was unable to protect his devoted disciple even in his own temple. In closing, our question for the day.
What's a worship song that has helped you feel closer to God?
