315. HEZEKIAH: THE CHALLENGE FROM ASSYRIA
"God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in time of trouble''
At the time when the northern kingdom came to its end, the truth was being revived in Judah. Hezekiah, who came to the throne in the third year of Hoshea (2 Kgs. 18:1), had commenced a spiritual reform. The record says "that Hezekiah did that which was right in the sight of the Lord, according to all that David his father did" (v.3). Thus a refuge was provided for true Israelites. As the ten tribes in the north, steeped in apostasy, went into captivity, there commenced in Judah one of the greatest attempts at spiritual reformation that the nation had seen.
Our aim in this lesson is to see that when a crisis overtakes us the only solution lies in turning to God in trust and in prayer.
2 Kings 18 & 19
HEZEKIAH'S REFORMATION
Hezekiah began his reign at the age of twenty five. His mother's name was Abijah which means "My Father is Yah" (2 Chron. 29:1). His earthly father was the weak, evil Ahaz, but Hezekiah did not follow his ways; rather, he espoused the principles of "David his father" (v.2). In the very first month of his first year upon the throne, Hezekiah commenced his reforms. He repaired and cleansed the temple, sanctified the priests and instructed them to revive the ordinances of the Law, pointing out that many had already gone into captivity because of the discontinuance of the Law of God. Even the daily offerings had been neglected for some years (2 Chron. 29:1-9; 2 Kgs. 18:1-6).
Hezekiah also revived the feast of Passover which had been neglected during Ahaz's rule. He cleansed the land from idolatry, and established the priests and the Levites in their courses, as they had originally been under King David (2 Chron. 31:1-4). He also reinstated tithing as it was under the Law of Moses and appointed officers to administer the receipt and distribution of the tithes. Yahweh was well pleased with his efforts € he "wrought that which was good and right and truth before the Lord his God ... he did it with all his heart and prospered" (2 Chron. 31:20-21).
The Assyrian power was mounting to the north and had ravaged Israel from time to time. Hezekiah, however, placed his confidence in Yahweh and threw off the yoke of Assyria (2 Kgs. 18:7). For a while nothing happened. Then in the sixth year of Hezekiah, the ninth year of Hoshea, king of Israel, the northern kingdom was taken into captivity by the king of Assyria. Israel had gone into captivity € would Judah be next? What was the reaction of the men of Judah?
JUDAH'S RESPONSE TO THE ASSYRIAN THREAT (Isaiah 22).
The prophet Isaiah was contemporary with Hezekiah and he tells us what the inhabitants of Judah were thinking at this time of impending invasion by the Assyrians.
Some wanted to flee to Egypt, but Isaiah warned them of the folly of such a course (Isa. 20:3-6). Others trusted in their own strength to prevail. Why, if they fortified the walls of Jerusalem, could they not withstand Assyria? But they had forgotten Yahweh "the maker thereof, neither had respect unto him that fashioned it long ago" (Isa. 22:8-11). Yet another group took a defeatist attitude and said, "let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die" (vv. 12-14). A further group, headed by Shebna, were self-righteous, thinking that the rest of the city would certainly be taken captive, but they were too righteous to have that happen to them (Isa. 22:15-19). Finally, there were those who supported Hezekiah in his faithfulness, like Eliakim, who were promised by Yahweh a deliverance, not only from Assyria, but an eventual abiding place among the "offspring and the issue" of the house of David (Isa. 22:20-25). So we have a graphic picture of the reaction of the men of Judah and Jerusalem to this crisis.
RABSHAKEH'S BLASPHEMOUS SPEECH (2 Kings 18:17-37).
Sennacherib sent Tartan, Rabsaris and Rabshakeh to Jerusalem with the Assyrian army (v.17). Notice the place they came to € "the conduit of the upper pool". This was precisely the place where Ahaz, Hezekiah's father, had refused the sign of Yahweh, but had nevertheless been given the wonderful prophecy of Isa. 7:3-16. How this must have encouraged Hezekiah to know that from this same location Isaiah had previously ut tered the irrevocable prophecy concerning Immanuel, "God with us". Nonetheless, Rabshakeh's blasphemous words rang out, striking fear into the hearts of the men of Jerusalem. He boasted of Assyria's exploits over other nations. Had their gods been able to deliver them? (vv. 19-21, 33-35). He tried to undermine their allegiance to Hezekiah by saying that he had taken away their altars of Yahweh and established his own in Jerusalem (v.22). He mocked them by saying that the weakest Assyrian captain could destroy the best force Hezekiah could assemble on horses provided by Assyria! He even claimed that his exploits against Judah were at the behest of Yahweh (v.25). Perhaps he had been informed of Isaiah's prophecy about the coming invasion of Israel and Judah by Assyria (Isa. 8 and 10). But these same prophecies forecast his destruction about the walls of Jerusalem (Isa. 10:24-34).
Hezekiah wisely commanded his people not to utter a word of reply to Rabshakeh (v.36). There was no point in answering a fool according to his folly, and it would have further discouraged the people. How wise was Hezekiah even at this time of crisis.
HEZEKIAH'S APPROACH TO YAHWEH (2 Kings 19:1-7).
Eliakim, Shebna and Joah brought Hezekiah the report of Rabshakeh € s words. Hezekiah went into the temple, placed the matter in Yahweh's hands and sent his servants to Isaiah (vv.1-2). Hezekiah realised that the matter was beyond his power. He instructed his servants to tell Isaiah of Rabshakeh's blasphemy. He requested Israel to plead with Yahweh to vindicate Himself, reprove the Assyrians, and save the remnant that was left, for "there is not strength to bring forth". Hezekiah did not attempt to solve the situation by himself. How often do we try and find our own solution to problems that clearly are the province of our Father in heaven? Do we put our trust in Him or in the arm of flesh? Hezekiah's plea was not in vain, for Yahweh, through Isaiah, told his servants that the Assyrian host would be destroyed and that Sennacherib would return humilated to his own land and perish.
SENNACHERIB'S MESSAGE TO HEZEKIAH (2 Kings 19:8-14).
Rabshakeh had failed to intimidate the people or to allure them away from Hezekiah with promises of peace and prosperity (2 Kings 18:30-31). He therefore withdrew from Jerusalem. But he was not content to let matters rest there. A letter from Sennacherib was sent to Hezekiah reiterating the blasphemous words of Rabshakeh and defying the God of Israel. Again the claim is made that the gods of other nations could not deliver them, "Let not thy God deceive thee, saying, Jerusalem shall not be delivered into the hand of the king of Assyria" (v. 10). Again Hezekiah turned to Yahweh for comfort and guidance.
HEZEKIAH'S PRAYER AND ITS ANSWER (2 Kings 19:15-37).
Hezekiah's prayer in verses 15-19 provides a beautiful pattern, not unlike the Lord's prayer in structure. He firstly declares the majesty and power of his God over all nations and kingdoms, for all have come from Him. He then appeals to Yahweh to hear the reproach of Sennacherib and lays before God his trust in Him and his own rejection of Sennacherib's claims € "they were no gods, but the work of men's hands". He concludes by appealing to God's purpose to preserve Israel € that "all the kingdoms of the earth may know that Thou art the Lord God".
Isaiah the prophet then comes to Hezekiah with the reassuring answer of Yahweh. He was not unmindful of Sennacherib's words, and in vv. 20-34 we have the detailed answer to Hezekiah's prayer. In beautiful words, it told Hezekiah that Yahweh would redeem His people, that Sennacherib would not take the city and in fact, he would not even "shoot an arrow there, nor come before it with shield, nor cast a bank against it" (v.32). In the final verses of the chapter, we see this prophecy vindicated, for the angel of Yahweh smote the Assyrians by night and Sennacherib himself was murdered by his sons in his own country whilst worshipping in the temple of Nisroch his god (vv.35-37).
Psalms 46-48 were probably written at this time. They express thankfulness and relief at the deliverance of Yahweh, and contemplate the events of the Assyrian threat, the blasphemy of Rabshakeh and the deliverance of Jerusalem and Judah € "we have thought of thy lovingkindness, O God, in the midst of thy temple . . ." (Ps. 48:9). There are many allusions in these Psalms to these events.
When a crisis such as Hezekiah experienced comes upon us, do we react as did Hezekiah? When the crisis is past, do we express our thankfulness to Yahweh, as he did in these Psalms? We can certainly learn much from this faithful king's life.
Although not part of this lesson, we mention in passing, that Hezekiah was sick unto death at the time of the events of 2 Kings 19 (the two events are related in 2 Kgs. 20:5-6). Again Yahweh delivered him and granted a further fifteen years to his life. It has been suggested that the Songs of Degrees, i.e. Psalms 120-134, were compiled by him in remembrance of God's goodness. This theme would make a very profitable study in conjunction with this lesson.
LESSONS FOR US:
€ Hezekiah set about enthusiastically reforming the people and encouraging them in God's ways. We need to be always diligent about our Heavenly Father's business, enthusiastically upholding the principles of truth, like Hezekiah (1 Tim. 4:12-16; Tit. 2:6-8; 3:8-9).
€ Our faith should be matched with action. Hezekiah placed his confidence in Yahweh, and went about fortifying the city. Our faith
should not be passive, but "mighty, through God, to the pulling down of strongholds" (2 Cor. 10:4-5).
€ In any time of crisis and trial, we should, like Hezekiah, turn first to our God. His strength and wisdom alone will guide and deliver us. (Ps. 127:1; 1 Cor. 10:12-13; Rom. 8:31-39).
€ The scorning of a fool like Rabshakeh is best answered with silence. Mockers pull down and destroy. They desire to weaken our confidence. Whilst we ought to give witness to truth, we ought not to "answer a fool according to his folly" (Prov. 26:4; 1 Pet. 2:21-23).
€ When we experience God's deliverance and guidance we ought to remember this in thankfulness, just as Hezekiah praised Yahweh for His lovingkindness (1 Thess. 5:18; Col. 3:15; Phil. 4:11).
REFERENCE LIBRARY:
"The Story of the Bible" (H.P. Mansfield) € Vol. 5, No. 12, Pg. 188-194; Vol. 6, No. 1, Pg. 3-36.
"The Ministry of the Prophets" (R. Roberts and C.C. Walker) € Pages 517-524.
"The Ways of Providence" (R. Roberts) € Pages 179-181.88
PARAGRAPH QUESTIONS:
1. What reforms did Hezekiah institute in Judah and Jerusalem?
2. How was Hezekiah's faith seen in action during the Assyrian invasion?