SCRIPTURE: 2 KINGS 18
HEZEKIAH KING OF JUDAH (vs. 1-10)
Hezekiah became king of Judah at the age of 25. He reigned in Jerusalem for 29 years. He did what was right in the eyes of the Lord. He removed the high places, smashed the sacred stones, cut down the Asherah poles and broke into pieces the bronze snake Moses had made. Hezekiah trusted the Lord and hold fast to Him and follow Him. He kept the commands of the Lord and was successful in whatever he took because the Lord was with him. He rebelled against the king of Assyria and defeated the Philistines as far as Gaza and its territory.
During Hezekiah’s fourth year reign, Shalmaneser, king of Assyria attacked Israel and captured it in 2 years. The king of Assyria deported Israel to Assyria and settled them in Halah, Gozan or the Habor River and in towns of the Medes.
In the 14th year of king Hezekiah’s reign, Sennacherib, king of Assyria attacked Judah and captured them. King Hezekiah sent messenger to the king of Assyria to pay whatever he demanded. The king of Assyria exacted from the king of Judah 300 talents of silver and 30 talents of gold. Hezekiah gave him all he demanded. He stripped of the gold which he had covered the doors and doorposts of the temple of the Lord and gave it to the king of Assyria.
SENNACHERIB THREATENS JERUSALEM (vs. 17-37)
Sennacherib, the king of Assyria sent his supreme commander, his chief officer and his field commander with a large army from Lachish to king Hezekiah at Jerusalem They called for the king and Eliakim, the palace administrator, Shebna, the secretary and Joah the recorder went out to meet them. This was what the field commander told them to tell Hezekiah: “You say you have strategy and military strength – but you speak only empty words. On whom are you depending, that you rebel against me? 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. 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? 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! 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” ” (vs. 19-25).
Eliakim, Shebna and Joah told the field commander to speak in Aramaic instead of Hebrew because they did not want the people to hear it. But the commander intentionally spoke in Hebrew to the people saying: “Do not let Hezekiah deceive you. He cannot deliver you from the hand of Assyria. Do not let Hezekiah persuade you to trust in the Lord because this city will be given to us. Do not listen to Hezekiah but make peace with us. Then everyone of you will eat from his own wine and fig tree and drink water from his own cistern, until I come and take you to a land like your own, a land of grain and new wine, a land of bread and vineyards, a land of olive trees and honey. choose life and not death! Do not listen to Hezekiah, for he is misleading you when he says. ‘The Lord will deliver us” There is no gods from any countries that can save his land from me. How then can the Lord deliver Jerusalem from my hand?” (vs. 28-35)
The people remained silent. Then Eliakim Shebna and Joah went to Hezekiah with their clothes torn and told him what the filed commander had said.
THOUGHTS:
Assyria had conquered Israel. Now they wanted to capture Judah. The nation is divided. Some wanted to give up. Others wanted to ask help from Egypt while a minority wanted to trust the Lord for deliverance. If you are faced with a problem, which one would you choose? Surrender, seek help form people or trust the Lord?
Hezekiah was a godly king. He got rid of idolatry, repaired the temple and cleared out rubbish and re-establish the services. It was a great time of revival. Hezekiah obeyed His law, and the Lord blessed him for his services.
The bronze serpent had been made to cure the Israelites of the bite of poisonous snakes. It demonstrated God’s presence and power and reminded the people of his mercy and forgiveness. But it had become an object of worship instead of a reminder of whom to worship. So Hezekiah destroyed it. We must be careful not to let the aids to our worship become the object of worship.
The southern kingdom paid tribute to Assyria annually to keep Assyria from attacking them. But when Sennacherib became king, Hezekiah stopped paying. When Sennacherib and his army retaliated, Hezekiah realized his mistake and paid the tribute money but Sennacherib still attacked them.