Front matter (continued, part 60)
Uzziah's arrogance (15:5; 26:16–21). Unfortunately, Uzziah imitated his father and allowed his accomplishments to swell his head. Amaziah wanted to be known as a great general, but Uzziah wanted to serve as both king and priest. In the Old Testament economy, the Lord separated the kings and priests, and while a priest could become a prophet (Ezekiel, Zechariah, John the Baptist), no prophet or king could become a priest. Only in Jesus Christ do we find the offices of prophet, priest, and king combined, and His priesthood is "after the order of Melchizedek" (Ps. 110:4; Gen. 14:18–20; Heb. 5—7). For Uzziah to covet the priesthood was ignorance, for he knew the law of Moses, and for him to try to seize it by force was arrogance, for he knew what happened to others who had attempted to claim what wasn't rightfully theirs. (See Lev. 10; Num. 12, 16.)
Five notorious kings (15:8–31) From Jeroboam I, the first king of Israel, to Hoshea, the last king of Israel, not one king is called "good." However, the kingdom of Judah didn't fare much better, for out of twenty kings who ruled after the kingdom divided, only eight of them could be called "good."8 In this section of 2 Kings, we meet with five kings of Israel who were notorious for their godless character and evil deeds. Four of them were assassinated! Shallum reigned only one month, Zechariah six months, and Pekahiah for two years. Menahem, the cruelest of them all, reigned for ten years, and Pekah for twenty years. As the northern kingdom stumbled toward destruction, their rulers hastened the coming of the judgment of God. God often gives a nation just exactly the leaders it deserves.
"But when he became strong, his heart was so proud that he acted corruptly" (26:16 nasb). There's no question that Uzziah was an illustrious king whose name was known far and wide (26:15), but what the Lord did for him should have produced humility and not pride. Uzziah should have said with David, "Who am I, O Lord God? And what is my house that You have brought me thus far?" (2 Sam. 7:18 nkjv). Instead, he convinced himself that he deserved to be a priest as well as a king. He knew that the high priest burned the holy incense on the golden altar each morning and evening (Ex. 30:7–8), so he procured a censer and went into the temple precincts where only the priests were allowed to go (Num. 16:40; 18:7).
Azariah the high priest, along with eighty other priests, stood in his way and refused to allow him passage. It took a great deal of courage for them to oppose such a popular king, but their first allegiance was to the Lord. They could have compromised and perhaps won favors from the king, but they had but one desire, and that was to obey and glorify the Lord. The king became angry, refused to retreat, and raged at the priests for
Zechariah (vv. 8–12). Twenty-nine men in Scripture are named Zechariah; this one was the son of Jeroboam II, the last great king of the northern kingdom of Israel. Zechariah didn't have the political skills of his father and he chose to imitate the sins of his namesake, Jeroboam I. Zechariah was the great-greatgrandson of Jehu and therefore the last of that dynasty. God promised Jehu that his descendants would occupy
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Gilead and Galilee. The Assyrians also took Philistia as far south as Gaza, and even captured Damascus in Syria. Many Jews and Philistines were deported to Assyria. Pekah was slain by Hoshea, son of Elah, who was pro-Assyrian in his political views. We will hear more about Hoshea in 2 Kings 17. He reigned for nine years and was probably deported to Assyria where he died (17:1; 18:10–11).10
the throne of Israel for four generations (2 Kings 10:30), and that promise was fulfilled. Zechariah was a king, not because of his sanctity, ability, or popularity, but because he was providentially born into the royal family. Only two major facts are recorded about him: he did evil in the sight of the Lord, and he was assassinated publicly by Shallum, who then took the throne. Zechariah reigned only six months, and his death ended Jehu's dynasty.
Jotham, a virtuous king (15:32–38; 2 Chron. 27) Jotham, son of Uzziah, began to reign when he was twenty-five years old and ruled for sixteen years (27:1). He was coregent with his father after Uzziah was smitten with leprosy for invading the temple precincts. Jotham would be considered a good king, although his son Ahaz was a bad king. In fact, from Jotham, the eleventh king of Judah, to Zedekiah, the twentieth and last king of Judah, only Jotham, Hezekiah, and Josiah could be called good kings. That's three kings out of ten. The Lord kept David's lamp burning in Jerusalem all those years, but there came a time when He had to bring in the nation of Babylon and punish His people for their sins.
Shallum (vv. 13–15). We know very little about this man. He organized a conspiracy and murdered Zechariah; he reigned as king of Israel for one short month; and he was the victim of a conspiracy that led to his own death. "Whoever digs a pit will fall into it, and he who rolls a stone will have it roll back on him" (Prov. 26:27 nkjv). Shallum was killed by Menahem, one of his own officers who was military commander at Tirzah, the early capital of Samaria (1 Kings 14:17; 15:21, 33). If Shallum had any descendants, they probably didn't admit it. What was there about Shallum to be proud of?
Menahem (vv. 6–22). Since he was a man feared by the people and had the army under his control, Menahem was able to rule for ten years and die a natural death. Because the people of Tiphsah (a city we can't identify) wouldn't accept his kingship, he broke his way into the city and killed his enemies. He was a brutal man who followed the Syrian custom of ripping up pregnant women (v. 16; see 8:12), something that Hosea the prophet warned would happen (Hos. 13:16). When the Assyrians invaded the land, Menahem taxed all the wealthy citizens over a pound of silver and gave Pul (Tiglath-Pileser) thirty-seven tons of silver as tribute. The Assyrians left, but they came back twenty years later and took over the entire land. King David would have trusted God, fought the Assyrians, and defeated them, but Menahem's policy was to compromise and conciliate.
Like his father, Uzziah, Jotham was both a builder and a warrior. He repaired the walls of Jerusalem and the Upper Gate of the temple. He also built cities in the Judean mountains and fortresses and towers in the wooded areas. His army confronted the armies of Israel and Syria, and he won a great victory over the Ammonites and put them under a very heavy annual tribute—nearly four tons of silver and 62,000 bushels each of wheat and barley (27:5). "So Jotham became mighty, because he prepared his ways before the Lord his God" (27:6 nkjv). We wonder how much more good he would have accomplished had he lived longer.
In Hebrew history we frequently find a godly father begetting an ungodly son and an ungodly father raising a godly son. Good king Jehoshaphat begat bad king Jehoram, but godly King Joash gave the nation a godly son (Amaziah), grandson (Uzziah), and great-grandson (Jotham). However, Jotham's son Ahaz was not a good king or a godly man, yet he begat good King Hezekiah, who in turn was the father of Manasseh, perhaps the most wicked king of the lot—and he had a reign of fifty-five years! Ezekiel the prophet in Babylon dealt with this interesting phenomenon in chapter 18 of his prophecy.
Pekahiah (vv. 23–26). Menahem's son inherited the throne but ruled for only two years. His father had been a military commander and had assassinated King Shallum, and Pekahiah was killed in his own palace by Pekah, a military commander, who then became king. The fact that Pekah was assisted by fifty men from Gilead suggests that he was in charge of the military forces east of the Jordan River.9 It's likely that Pekahiah and Pekah disagreed about the right policy Israel should follow regarding Assyria. Pekahiah, like his father Menahem, sought to appease the Assyrians and give them what they wanted, while Pekah, a military man, took a hard line against Assyria and favored Syria.
God is sovereign in His gifts to individuals and nations. The Lord was longsuffering toward His people during those difficult and evil days, and He was faithful to keep His promises to David. But time was running out. After Ahaz died, only Hezekiah and Josiah would honor the Word of God and seek to obey His will. Yet, in spite of the sins and failings of the people, the Lord maintained a godly remnant in the nation, and from that godly remnant the Messiah would eventually be born.
Pekah (vv. 27–31). Thanks to the protection of his army, Pekah was able to reign twenty years. When a military man takes over, it's very difficult to get rid of him. In spite of Menahem's appeasement of the Assyrians, they invaded Israel again and in the course of four campaigns (738, 734, 733, and 732) not only took a number of key cities but also captured much territory from Hamath and Naphtali in the north to
"Known to God from eternity are all His works" (Acts 15:18 nkjv).
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Notes 1 The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, ch. 3. A decade before, Voltaire had written, "Indeed, history is nothing more than a tableau of crimes and misfortunes." 2 In numbering the rulers of Judah, I'm including wicked Queen Athaliah, who reigned for six years after the death of Ahaziah, and was Judah's seventh ruler. When young King Joash took the throne, Athaliah was slain. 3 Of the nine kings whose reigns are described in these chapters, five were assassinated: Amaziah (14:19–22), Zechariah (15:10), Shallum (15:14), Pekahiah (15:25), and Pekah (15:30). 4 The phrase "as soon as the kingdom was confirmed" (14:5) suggests that, after his accession, Amaziah faced opposition and had to overcome it gradually. We commend him for waiting patiently to receive the authority he needed to bring judgment against the men who murdered his father. 5 The text suggests that the mercenaries first reported to their king in Samaria and then from there returned to the border country and attacked the cities. The king must have approved their plan or they wouldn't have returned to Judah to fight. Later, Amaziah tried to get revenge but failed miserably (25:17ff.). 6 Note that the prophet Jonah ministered in Israel at that time (14:25), and this fact helps us better understand his refusal to preach to the city of Nineveh. During Jeroboam's reign, the kingdom of Israel was proud, complacent, and very nationalistic. They were God's chosen people and they didn't want any other nation to interfere. Jonah would rather see the Assyrians destroyed by the Lord and refused at first to take God's message to them. 7 In those days, the soldiers often had to provide their own weapons and armor. 8 They are Asa, Jehoshaphat, Joash, Amaziah, Uzziah, Jotham, Hezekiah, and Josiah. Of course, at the top of the list is King David. 9 The phrase in v. 25 "with Argob and Arieh" has challenged students. The niv and nlt translations suggests that these were two of Pekahiah's officers who were killed along with the king, while the KJV and NASB see them as two men who helped Pekah murder the king. The first interpretation seems to be the better of the two. Pekahiah was guarded by only two aides while Pekah had eighty men with him. 10 Pekah united with Rezin, king of Syria, in trying to force Ahaz, king of Judah, to join forces with them in opposing Assyria. It was out of this context that the famous messianic promise of Isaiah 7:14 was born.
both nations would have said, "We are God's chosen people, descendants of our father Abraham." As for the third question, both kings would have had to admit, "We do what our wicked predecessors did." King Ahaz of Judah didn't follow the godly example of his ancestor David, and Hoshea, king of Israel, imitated the wicked kings that ruled before him. They were free to make these decisions, but they were not free to change the consequences of their decisions, which brings us to the fourth question, "Where are you going?" For both rulers, God's answer was clear: "You and your people are plunging rapidly toward judgment and ruin." Solomon's words were about to be proved in both kingdoms: "Righteousness exalts a nation, but sin is a reproach to any people" (Prov. 14:34 nkjv).
Judah, a compromising nation (16:1–20; 2 Chron. 28:1–27) Ahaz was the son of Jotham, a good king, and the father of Hezekiah, a very good king, but he himself was not a godly man or even a good man. Instead of discovering and doing the will of God, Ahaz imitated the wicked kings of Israel and even the pagan practices of Assyria.1 He even adopted the horrible worship practices of the pagans and sacrificed his son (2 Chron. 28:3 says "children," plural) to a pagan god, Baal or Molech, a practice that was clearly prohibited in the law of Moses (Lev. 18:21; Deut. 18:10). Each Jewish son was to be redeemed by a sacrifice and therefore belonged to the Lord (Ex. 13; Num. 18:14–16). How could a son who belonged to God be sacrificed to an idol? But Ahaz was a compromiser both in his religious practices and his political leadership.
Political compromise (vv. 5–9; 2 Chron. 28:5–21). Pekah, the king of Israel, and Rezin, king of Syria, wanted Ahaz to join with them in opposing Assyria, but Ahaz refused because he was pro-Assyrian. In fact, he trusted Assyria instead of trusting the Lord. In retaliation, Syria and Israel planned to remove Ahaz from the throne and put their own puppet king in his place, but the Lord protected David's throne, even though Ahaz didn't deserve it. (For the complete story, read Isa. 7—9.)
According to 2 Chronicles 28:5–8, it was the Lord who brought these two kings against Judah, to punish Ahaz for his sins. Pehak and Rezin did a great deal of damage to Judah but they weren't able to take Jerusalem. One of the sons of Ahaz was killed, along with two key officers of state. The invading armies killed thousands of soldiers and took thousands of prisoners of war to Samaria. It looked like Israel was going to swallow up Judah!
CHAPTER NINE 2 Kings 16—17 (2 Chronicles 28) A TALE OF TWO KINGDOMS A
The Lord raised up a prophet in Israel2 who warned the Samaritan army that by taking these people of Judah as prisoners, Israel was breaking God's law and inviting God's judgment. After all, the people of Judah and the people of Samaria were part of one family, the family of Abraham. The prophet Obed (not the same man as in 15:8) pointed out three sins the army of
n English proverb says, "Consider well who you are, where you came from, what you do and where you are going." The first two considerations were easily answered in both Israel and Judah, for
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Religious compromise (16:10–18; 2 Chron. 28:22–25). Not only did Israel and Syria attack Judah but God also brought the Edomites and the Philistines against Jerusalem. Ahaz sent word to the king of Assyria to come and help him. His message was that of a flattering flunky, what we today would call a "bootlicker." He called himself Tiglath-pileser's "servant" and "son," a strange posture for a descendant of David to take before a pagan ruler. To encourage the Assyrian king even more, Ahaz took wealth from the temple, the palace, and the princes and sent him a gift. Actually, Ahaz made Judah a vassal nation under the control and protection of Assyria. Ahaz had no living faith in the Lord and put his trust in the army of Assyria instead, and this cost him dearly. Indeed, Assyria did defeat Syria, but then Tiglath-pileser summoned his "son" and "servant" to Damascus to give an account of himself and to receive orders. Gone were the days when the kings of Judah and their armies were feared by the nations!
Israel committed. First, they were in a rage against the people of Judah and captured and killed them indiscriminately. Second, they planned to make slaves out of their own brothers and sisters, and this was contrary to God's law (Lev. 25:39ff.). In doing these things, they showed no fear of the Lord and therefore were asking for Him to judge them (2 Chron. 28:9–11). Yes, God was angry with Judah (28:9, 25), but there was danger He would become angry at Israel for the way they treated Judah (28:11–13). After Obed's message, some of the leaders in Israel stood and affirmed what he had said and urged the army not to sin against the Lord and their brothers and sisters.
A remarkable thing happened: the people accepted God's message, repented, and changed their treatment of the prisoners. The Israelites not only fed and clothed them, and gave special help to the injured and feeble, but the soldiers even returned the loot they had taken from Judah. This was an instance of being "good Samaritans" on a national level (Luke 10:25–37), and it reminds us of Elisha's kindness to the Syrian soldiers who came to capture him (2 Kings 6:15–23). When the prisoners (with the spoils of battle) arrived back in Judah, they were living witnesses of the grace and goodness of the Lord, but there's no record that Ahaz led the nation in a great praise service.
King Uzziah had tried to meddle with the ministry in the temple and the Lord gave him leprosy, but Urijah the high priest did anything the king commanded, even if it meant disobeying the law of Moses. We aren't sure whether copying the pagan altar was wholly the idea of Ahaz or whether the king of Assyria commanded it. Perhaps Tiglath-pileser wanted this altar in the Jewish temple to remind the king and people of Judah that they were now under the authority of Assyria. Ahaz was not devoted to the faithful worship of Jehovah, so it's likely that this altar was copied simply to satisfy his pride. He would have a royal altar like the one in Damascus! Consequently, the God-designed altar of the Lord was shoved to one side.
This remarkable event carried another message to Judah: the time would come when the Babylonians would invade the land and take thousands of captives away to Babylon. This experience with the kingdom of Israel was somewhat of a "dress rehearsal" for the people of Judah, but Babylon wouldn't treat them as the Israelites did. Most of the Jewish captives would die in Babylon, and after seventy years, only a feeble remnant would return to rebuild the temple and try to establish the nation again.
All of this is a picture of what often happens in Christian ministries today: somebody sees something out in the world that would "fit" into the Lord's work, and the church starts to imitate the world. Moses was commanded to make the tabernacle according to what God showed him on the mount (Ex. 25:40; 26:30; Heb. 8:5), and likewise the temple was constructed according to the plans God gave to David (1 Chron. 28:11, 12, 19). The Jews didn't appoint a building committee and vote on the design. But today, the church is becoming so like the world that it's getting difficult to tell them apart. A. W. Tozer wrote,
Does the Lord still chasten nations today as He did in ancient days? The Jewish people, of course, belonged to a covenant nation, even though it was now divided into two kingdoms, and they were responsible to obey the covenant of the Lord. But what about the Gentile nations that have no covenant relationship with God? The prophet Amos makes it clear that God knows the sins of the Gentile nations and holds them accountable (Amos 1—2). God never gave His law to the Gentiles (Ps. 147:19–20), but the demands of that law are written in the hearts of all people (Rom. 2:12–16), so the disobedient Gentiles are guilty before the Lord. As you read the Old Testament, you find God judging Sodom and Gomorrah (Gen. 18—19), Egypt (Ex. 1—14), the Gentile nations in and around Canaan (Num. 31–32; Joshua 1—12), and even Babylon (Jer. 50—51). However, because the Jews knew the true and living God and had the witness of His law, they were even more accountable. How tragic that apostate Israel and not enlightened Judah showed concern about obeying the message of God. Judah had the temple, the law, and the priesthood, but they didn't have the Lord. "Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord" (Ps. 33:12).
Aside from a few of the grosser sins, the sins of the unregenerated world are now approved by a shocking number of professedly "born-again" Christians, and copied eagerly. Young Christians take as their models the rankest kind of worldlings and try to be as much like them as possible. Religious leaders have adopted the techniques of the advertisers: boasting, baiting, and shameless exaggeration are now carried on as a normal procedure in church work. The moral climate is not that of the
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Israel, for in his day (722 BC), the Assyrians invaded the land, deported many of the citizens, and repopulated Israel with Gentile peoples from lands Assyria had conquered. The kingdom of Israel became Samaria, named after the capital city, and it was a nation whose citizens were not pure Jews but a comingling of many ethnic strains.
New Testament but that of Hollywood and Broadway.3
Ahaz thought that the Lord would be pleased with sacrifices offered on this magnificent new altar, but he was wrong. The Lord doesn't want sacrifice; He wants obedience (1 Sam. 15:22–23); and Ahaz worshipped the gods of the heathen nations (2 Chron. 28:23). No fire from heaven ignited the sacrifices placed on that pagan altar (Lev. 9:24), because the Lord had rejected it. The religious novelties in churches today may excite and entertain the people, but they don't edify the church or exalt the Lord. The sanctuary becomes a theater, worship becomes entertainment, ministry becomes performance, and a congregation becomes an audience. The measure of all this is not the glory of God but the applause of the people.
God had given His people so many blessings, and now those blessings would fall into the hands of Assyria and Babylon. The Jews had a living Lord, but they replaced Him with dead idols. Their wealthy land was confiscated by enemy nations, the people were taken captive, and eventually Jerusalem and the temple were destroyed (586 BC). God in His mercy preserved a faithful remnant so a light would remain shining and He could fulfill the promises He had made to His people.
But replacing God's altar with a pagan altar was just the beginning. King Ahaz also "remodeled" the laver and the ten movable stands that held the ten basins for preparing sacrifices (1 Chron. 28:17; 1 Kings 7:23–40). Apparently he needed the precious metal for his own purposes, so he took it from the Lord. But to please the king of Assyria, Ahaz had to remove his own royal entryway to the temple as well as the royal canopy (or dais for his throne) that he had placed in the temple. Tiglath-pileser was now in charge, not King Ahaz,
Israel lost its leader (17:1–5). Hoshea had assassinated Pekah and seized the throne of Israel (15:29–31). Tiglath-pileser had died and Shalmaneser V was now king of Assyria, and Hoshea gave homage to him and brought him tribute. However, Hoshea secretly made a treaty with Egypt to enlist them to fight for Israel and help them break the Assyrian yoke.4 Ever since Abraham fled to Egypt to escape a famine and only got himself and his wife into trouble (Gen. 12:10ff.), various Jewish leaders have vainly looked to Egypt for help. (See Gen. 26:2; Num. 14:1–4; Deut. 17:16; Isa. 30:1–2; 31:1.) So it is with believers today who turn to the world for help instead of waiting on the Lord and trusting Him. When Shalmaneser discovered the plot, he took Hoshea prisoner and left the throne of Israel empty.5
However, the king could never have made all these changes without the cooperation of Urijah, the high priest (16:10, 11, 15, 16). When King Uzziah tried to rebel against the Word of the Lord and enter the temple, the high priest Azariah with eighty other priests successfully withstood him (2 Chron. 26:16ff.); but Urijah and his priests compromised, disobeyed the law of Moses and gave in to their king. Once compromise begins, it continues to grow; and all that it takes for evil to triumph is for weak people like Urijah to let leaders have their way. Ahaz not only replaced the altar and removed metal from the furnishings, but he finally took all the vessels for himself, closed the doors of the temple, and set up altars in the streets of Jerusalem (2 Chron. 28:24–25). "Do you not know that a little leaven leavens the whole lump of dough?" (1 Cor. 5:6 nasb; see Gal. 5:9). Once we allow worldliness to get into the church fellowship, it will quietly grow, pollute the fellowship, and eventually take over. It was not until the reign of his son Hezekiah that the temple Ahaz defiled was reopened and sanctified for ministry (2 Chron. 29:1–29).
In 725, Shalmaneser began to besiege Samaria, but then he died (or was killed) and his leading general, Sargon II, took over. The siege lasted three years, and in 722, the city capitulated. Assyria had already taken the tribes east of the Jordan (1 Chron. 5:24–26), so now they possessed everything but Judah, and that would fall to Babylon.
Israel lost its land (v. 6; 18:9–12). As we have seen, Assyria's policy was to relocate conquered peoples and replace them with prisoners from other nations.6 It was clearly stated in God's covenant with His people that their disobedience would bring defeat in war (Deut. 28:25, 49–50, 52), oppression, and slavery (Deut. 28:29, 33, 48, 68), and captivity (Deut. 28:36, 43, 63–68), and all of this happened to both Israel and Judah. The land belonged to the Lord (Lev. 25:2, 23, 38), and the people were His "tenants." Not only was the land His, but so were the people (Lev. 25:55). They would possess the land and enjoy its blessings as long as they kept the terms of the covenant, but repeated disobedience would bring discipline within the land and ultimately discipline outside the land. That's exactly what happened. Because of the people's sins during the period of the judges, seven different nations invaded the land, took the crops, and enslaved the people right in their own land. After the division of the
When Ahaz died, he was buried in Jerusalem but not in the royal tombs (16:19–20; 28:26–27). In this, he joined Jehoram (2 Chron. 21:20), Joash (24:25), and Uzziah (26:23), and Manasseh would join them (33:20). The unbelief and unfaithfulness of Ahaz did great damage to the kingdom of Judah, some of which his son Hezekiah would be able to repair.
Israel, a captive nation (17:1–41; 18:9–12) Hoshea was the last ruler of the northern kingdom of
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therefore the new residents didn't know how to worship the Lord of Israel. They could never learn from the Israelites left behind because they had been worshipping the golden calves since the days of King Jeroboam. The king of Assyria ordered one of the Jewish priests to be sent to Israel to teach the people how to worship "the god of the land." But this priest went to Bethel, the site of one of the shrines dedicated to the golden calf! How much he knew about the true Jewish faith and what he taught aren't revealed to us, but the situation doesn't appear to be encouraging.
nation, Israel was taken captive by Assyria and Judah by Babylon. God kept the terms of His covenant.
Israel disobeyed its law (vv. 7–17). These verses read like a legal court case against the northern kingdom of Israel. The law was a gift from God, an agreement that guaranteed His provision and protection if the people did His will. But they forgot how God had delivered them from Egypt and set them free. They ignored the law of Moses that commanded them not to worship false gods but to destroy the heathen idols, temples, and shrines (Deut. 7, 13). Israel began with secret worship of idols (v. 9), but this eventually became public, and Jehovah was acknowledged as one god among many. The Lord sent prophets who admonished and warned the people, but the people paid little attention.
Many people today would applaud this "world congress of religions," but the Lord abhors it. In a democracy, we learn to accept pluralism, but this doesn't mean we approve of it or believe that all religions are equal. In the United States, all religions are equal before the law and may be freely practiced, but Christians still believe that "there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved" (Acts 4:12 nkjv). Jesus rejected the Samaritan religion because "salvation is of the Jews" (John 4:19–24). The Jewish people who were left in the land appointed their own priests and ignored the standards established by God through Moses (v. 32). The people set up their own religious ceremonies and integrated with this new system some of the beliefs of their new neighbors. There was something for everybody, and it didn't matter what you believed or how you worshipped, just as long as you were religious (vv. 29–33). Does this sound familiar?
As their ancestors had done so many times, the Jewish people stiffened their necks and hardened their hearts and refused to obey the Lord (Deut. 9:6, 13; 10:12–22; Neh. 9:16, 17, 29; Ps. 106). Since we become like the god we worship (Ps. 115:8), the people became "vanity" (emptiness, nothingness) because they worshipped vain idols (v. 15). In fact, they turned to idols and made a golden calf while Moses was communing with God on Mount Sinai (Ex. 32). After the division of the kingdom, King Jeroboam made two golden calves for the people to worship (1 Kings 12:25ff.). As is often the case, it is the children who suffer for the sins of the parents, for the Jewish fathers began to offer their sons and daughters on the fiery altars of the heathen gods.
Israel did not learn her lesson (vv. 34–41). It's often been said that the one thing we learn from history is that we don't learn from history. In spite of the way the Lord had warned them and chastened them, the people continued to worship the Lord along with the other gods, and they did it their own way. They ignored their history as the people of God delivered from Egyptian bondage. They forgot God's laws and covenants, especially God's commandments concerning idolatry (Ex. 20:1–6). Like many professed Christians today, the people of Israel worshipped the Lord where and how they pleased, but they also paid respect to the false gods of the other nations.
Israel angered its Lord (vv. 18–33). The anger of the Lord is His holy wrath; it must not be compared to a child's temper tantrum. The Lord was longsuffering toward His people and made ample provision to bring them back to Himself, but they refused. God's wrath is anger motivated by love, which is anguish. It's the anguish of a father who wants the best for his children, but they prefer to go their own way. These verses inform us that the division of the kingdom into Judah and Israel was an act of God as He sought to protect David's dynasty from the idolatry in Israel. However, King Jereboam's false, manmade religion infected Judah, and it was only by the grace of God that a faithful remnant remained.
What finally happened to these ten disobedient tribes? We hear about "the ten lost tribes of Israel," but the Bible never uses that phrase. Many people in the ten tribes assimilated with the peoples brought into the land by the Assyrians, and this produced the Samaritan people. But there's no evidence in Scripture that the ten tribes of Israel are "lost." Long before the Assyrians captured the northern kingdom, dedicated people from the ten tribes moved to Judah and remained faithful to the Lord (1 Kings 12:16–20; 2 Chron. 11:5–16; 19:4–10). Godly King Hezekiah invited true believers to come to Judah and worship God according to the Scriptures, and many of them came (2 Chron. 30:1–14, 25–27). Josiah's reforms had a tremendous effect on the Jewish people (2 Chron. 34:1–7, 33; 35:17–19).
The phrase "to fear the Lord" means "to worship the Lord according to the law of Moses" (vv. 25, 28, 32, 34). The mixture of religions among the various peoples resulted in what we today would call "pluralism." At first, the Jews didn't worship God at all, and He disciplined them for their unfaithfulness (v. 25). The Jewish people worshipped Jehovah plus the gods of the other nations. God will not share worship with false gods, so it's no wonder He became angry. All the people in the land should have repented, turned from their false gods, and turned to the Lord; but instead, the Lord's people accepted the false gods of other nations.
The king of Assyria believed that each god was associated with the land from which the people came, and
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to accomplish all that he did. Like Asa (1 Kings 15:11), Jehoshaphat (22:43), and Josiah (2 Kings 22:2), his model was King David, which means that, while Hezekiah wasn't perfect, he did seek to obey the Lord and please Him. He was one of the few kings who actually removed the high places and put an end to idol worship in the hills. He restored temple worship and encouraged the people from both Judah and Israel to come to the temple in Jerusalem and worship the Lord. The Lord had commanded that there be one central place of worship, and that was at Jerusalem (Deut. 12).
Though Jesus spoke about "the lost sheep of the house of Israel" (Matt. 10:5–6), the New Testament knows nothing about any "lost tribes of Israel." (See Matt. 4:12–16 and Luke 2:36–38.) Paul spoke about "our twelve tribes" (Acts 26:7), and James wrote his epistle "to the twelve tribes scattered abroad" (James 1:1). If we take Revelation 7:1–8 literally, then in the last days the Lord will find people from the tribes of Israel.
The main message from this tragic chapter is that false worship leads to corrupt practices, and corrupt practices result in divine condemnation and judgment. Disobedient and compromising leaders—both kings and priests—failed to teach the people the Word of God, and as each new generation came along, the nation drifted further from the Lord. There came a day when God's anger was displayed against His people, and that was the end of the political entity known as Israel, the northern kingdom.
The sequence of events in Hezekiah's life as recorded in Scripture is not strictly chronological. Most students agree that the events recorded in Isaiah 38 and 39—his illness and his welcome of the Babylonian ambassadors—actually antedated the Assyrian invasion (Isa. 36—37). We will take this approach as we study Hezekiah's life and ministry and seek to integrate the material in Kings, Chronicles, and Isaiah.
Notes 1 The dates for the reign of Ahaz are usually given as 732 to 716, sixteen years, but some scholars feel that these were the sixteen years of his sole reign as king. He was probably a vice-regent for nine years and a coregent with Jotham another four years. 2 This happens frequently in 2 Chronicles. See 11:2, 5; 15:1–8; 18:1ff.; 25:7–9, 15–16; and 36:12. Prophetic ministry involves wisdom from God to understand the times and being able to apply the Word to the situation. 3 Keys to the Deeper Life (Christian Publications), 22. 4 No "Pharaoh So" is found in Egyptian history, but it's possible that "So" refers to the Egyptian capital city of Sais, which is "So" in Hebrew. Hoshea sent to So (Sais) to enlist the help of Pharaoh. 5 Perhaps Hoshea had to present himself in person to Shalmaneser, as Ahaz had done to Tiglath-pileser (16:10), and the king of Assyria wouldn't allow him to return to Samaria. The government of Israel was very weak and the officers knew that the end was near. 6 In Colossians 1:13, Paul used this military image: "translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son" (kjv). The word "translated" comes from a Greek word that means "to move a defeated population to another land." Jesus on the cross defeated sin, Satan, and death and the Father has transferred all who believe in His Son out of the kingdom of darkness and into the kingdom of life and light.
Hezekiah the reformer (18:4; 2 Chron. 29:3—31:21) It's interesting that 2 Kings has but one verse describing Hezekiah's reforms (18:4), while 2 Chronicles devotes three chapters to this important part of his life. However, 2 Kings mentions how King Hezekiah destroyed the bronze serpent made by Moses (Num. 21:5–9), but this isn't mentioned in Chronicles. The serpent was a religious relic that had reached the status of an idol. "Nehushstan" probably means "a piece of bronze, a brass thing." How easy it is for human nature to want to honor religious relics that have no power! Hezekiah was a man of faith who trusted the living God and followed His law, and he didn't want the people worshipping a dead, useless image.
He cleansed the temple (29:3–19). Hezekiah didn't waste any time getting Judah back to the worship of the true and living God. His father, Ahaz, had defiled the temple and finally closed the doors and stopped the Levitical ministry (28:24). Hezekiah commanded the priests to sanctify themselves so they would be able to cleanse the temple and restore the worship that the Lord had commanded through Moses. The abandoning of the temple worship by the people of the northern kingdom had led to their captivity, and the defiling and neglecting of the temple by Ahaz had brought discipline to Judah, including invasions by Syria, Edom, and Philistia. The temple worship was at the heart of the Jewish nation, and if that was wrong, everything else would be wrong.
CHAPTER TEN 2 Kings 18:1—20:11 (2 Chronicles 29:1—31:21; 32:24–26; Isaiah 38) THE MAKING OF A KING—PART I T
But Hezekiah wasn't interested in a mere housecleaning project, because he had it in his heart not only to rededicate the temple and the people but also to enter into a covenant with the Lord (v. 10). Fourteen leaders are named in verses 12–14, men who set the example and led the way for a new beginning for temple ministry. If the spiritual leaders aren't right with God, how can He bless His people? All three Levitical families were represented—Mahath and Joel from the Kohathites, Kish and Azariah from Marari, and Joah
III. The captivity of Judah (18—25)
he name Hezekiah means "the Lord strengthens," and during his reign of twenty-nine years (715–687), King Hezekiah needed God's strength
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and eaten with his family as a fellowship meal. Hezekiah was following the example of Solomon when he dedicated the temple more than two hundred years before (1 Kings 8:62ff.). It was a time of great rejoicing for the king and his people. Keep in mind that many devout people from the apostate northern kingdom of Israel (now Samaria) had fled to Judah so they could worship the Lord according to the law of Moses, so this dedication service involved all the tribes.
and Eden from the Gershonites (see Num. 3—4). The clan of Elizaphan belonged to the Kohathites (Num. 3:30) and had achieved an honorable reputation because of their faithful service. They were represented by Shimri and Juel. The other men listed were among the temple singers related to Asaph (from Gershon), Heman (from Kohath) or Jeduthun (from Merari), well-known musicians, singers, and worship leaders. King Hezekiah knew that there had to be music and praise or the temple worship would displease the Lord. These leaders and their helpers sanctified themselves before the Lord so that He could use them to sanctify His temple.
He celebrated Passover (30:1–27). Three times each year, the Jewish men were required to go to Jerusalem to celebrate the feasts of Passover, Pentecost, and Tabernacles (Ex. 23:14–17; 34:22–24). To the Christian believer today, Passover speaks of the death of Christ, the Lamb of God who died for us (1 Cor. 5:7; John 1:29). On Pentecost, the Holy Spirit came upon the early church (Acts 2), and Tabernacles speaks of the future kingdom when Jesus shall reign and we shall reign with Him (Zech. 14). Passover commemorated the release of the Jewish people from Egyptian bondage, so it was a national celebration. For this reason, Hezekiah invited Jews from both Judah and Israel (Samaria) to come to Jerusalem for the feast. The law of Moses made provision for celebrating the Passover in the second month (Num. 9:6–13), and Hezekiah took advantage of this provision. Neither the temple nor the priests and Levites had been ready the first month (vv. 1–3). The emphasis in the invitation was on "all Israel" (vv. 5–6) and not just the people of Judah. Since the days of Solomon, there had not been a Passover involving the entire nation, and Hezekiah wanted to unite the people spiritually even though they were divided politically. The northern kingdom (Samaria) was under the rule of Assyria and the Jewish remnant living there worshipped the gods of the Gentile nations. They needed to return to the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob (v. 6). The Jewish people had a common ancestry and a common worship, and it was time to put the Lord first, forget past differences and celebrate. The repeated words "turn again" and "return" reveal the desire of Hezekiah's heart (vv. 6, 9). If the people all turned in repentance to God, God would return to bless His people. Hezekiah built his appeal around the words of Solomon in 2 Chronicles 7:14.
On the first day of the first month, they began to cleanse the temple, beginning in the Holy of Holies and the Holy Place. They carried out the accumulated trash and remnants of idolatrous worship, took it down to the Kidron Valley, and burned it. After sanctifying the building they cleansed the porch. This included removing the pagan altar that Ahaz had built, and placing the Lord's altar where it belonged (2 Kings 16:10ff.). The Levites also cleansed the vessels and instruments used in the temple services and put them in their proper places. It took sixteen days to complete the work, which meant they missed Passover, which was on the fourteenth day of the first month. However, Hezekiah held a great Passover during the second month (ch. 30).
If we are to have revival in the Lord's work, we must begin with cleansing. Over the years, individuals and churches can gradually accumulate a great deal of "religious rubbish" while ignoring the essentials of spiritual worship. It's not by doing some unique new thing that we experience new blessing from the Lord, but by returning to the "old things" and doing them well. If we confess our sins (2 Chron. 7:14), light the lamps, burn the incense (a picture of prayer, Ps. 141:1–2), and offer ourselves as living sacrifices (v. 7; Rom. 12:1–2), the Lord will see and hear and will send His blessing.
He consecrated the temple (vv. 20–36). The king and the rulers of the city met together at the temple and offered sacrifices to the Lord. They brought sacrifices for the kingdom (Judah and Israel), the temple, and the kingdom of Judah in particular. The sin offerings were offered to atone for the sins of the people, and the priests included both Israel and Judah (v. 24— "all Israel"). The burnt offerings symbolized total dedication to the Lord. As the sacrifices were being offered to the Lord, the musicians and singers offered their praise to the Lord, following David's instructions, using David's songs, and playing David's instruments (vv. 25–27, 30; 1 Chron. 23:5–6).
Alas, the remnant in bondage to Assyria was just as stiff-necked as their ancestors were when God dealt with them in the wilderness. Here was an opportunity to make a new beginning and glorify the Lord by seeking His compassion, grace and mercy (v. 9), but most of the people outside Judah rejected the invitation. They mocked Hezekiah's words and laughed at his messengers, but so doing, they rejected the blessing the Lord had for them. However, there were some people who had the courage to disagree with their families and friends and go to Jerusalem for the feast, among them men from the northern tribes of Asher, Manasseh, and Zebulun. They came a long distance with humble hearts, seeking the blessing of the Lord. God gave the
But this wasn't a dedication service planned only for the king and his leaders, for the people in the congregation sanctified themselves and brought their offerings as well (vv. 28–36). They brought a large number of sacrifices, including three thousand sheep, which were probably given as fellowship offerings. Part of the fellowship offering was kept by the worshipper
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home afterward and live like people who have met the Lord.
worshippers who gathered oneness of mind and heart so that it was the Lord who was the center of the event and not some political agenda.
King Hezekiah knew that the blessings of the Passover feast wouldn't continue unless the people could participate in the regular ministry at the temple. It's wonderful to have a great feast at Christmas or on some special anniversary, but you can't live all year on one or two special meals. For that reason, Hezekiah followed David's instructions (1 Chron. 23—26) and organized the priests and Levites for ministry at the temple. He set a good example by providing from his own flocks and herds the sacrifices needed day by day and month by month. King Hezekiah sought the Lord and did everything for Him from his heart (v. 21).
The celebration is described in 30:13–27. The people removed the altars that King Ahaz had put up in Jerusalem (v. 14), for there could be no united worship unless they met at the one appointed altar in the temple court. What a paradox that the people were eager to worship the Lord, but the priests and Levites were ceremonially unclean and therefore unable to minister at the altar! But they remedied the situation and brought the burnt offerings that were to be offered daily (Ex. 29:38–43; Num. 28:1–8). During the reign of King Ahaz, the appointed temple services had been stopped, and the priests allowed themselves to become disqualified to serve at the altar, but between Hezekiah's accession to the throne and the celebration of the Passover, there had been time for them to prepare themselves.
After staffing and organizing the temple ministry, Hezekiah also admonished the people to bring their tithes and offerings to the temple for the support of the priests and Levites (v. 4; Num. 18:8–32; Deut. 12:1–19; 14:22–29). He allocated special chambers in the temple for storing the gifts and he appointed faithful men to oversee the distribution of the food. The priests and Levites depended on these gifts for their own support and that of their families (see Neh. 13:1–14). The king seemed especially concerned about the little children who had been weaned (vv. 16, 18). He wanted none of God's servants or their families to go hungry.
But many common people in the large congregation were also unclean (Ex. 12:14–16; 13:6–10), perhaps because they had left their homes quickly or because they had been defiled during the journey to Jerusalem (Num. 9:9–10). But Hezekiah knew that God was concerned about the hearts of the worshippers and not the details of meeting ceremonial requirements, and he prayed that God would cleanse and accept them (1 Sam. 15:22–23; Isa. 1:10–17; Hos. 6:6; Mic. 6:6–8; Mark 12:32–33). God answered his prayer, because it's the heart that God wants and not mere religious ritual. If there were any legalists in the congregation, they must have been very upset, but their attitude would only rob them of God's blessing. (See Luke 18:9–14 and Ps. 51:10–11 and 15–16.) If God's people today would prepare their hearts for worship with as much care as they prepare their "Sunday best," the Lord would send His blessings on His church.
In the third month (May/June), the time of grain harvest, the people brought the grain and the priests and Levites heaped it up. During the seventh month (Sept./Oct.), when the orchard and vineyard harvests came in, these gifts of fruits and wine were added to the store. Like the gifts brought for the building of the tabernacle (Ex. 36:5–7) and the construction of the temple (1 Chron. 29:1–20), the tithes and offerings brought to the newly consecrated temple were far more than the king expected. A worshipping people will always be a generous people, especially when their leaders set the example, and Judah was no exception.
There was so much joy and blessings that Hezekiah and the people decided to continue the celebration for another week, and the king generously provided the sacrifices needed for the offerings, and this provided food for the people. The king's example motivated the leaders of Judah to bring extra sacrifices as well, so there was plenty of food for everybody. Spontaneous giving comes from spontaneous worship of the Lord and heartfelt gratitude to Him. When Solomon dedicated the temple, he also kept the people there another week (7:8–9).
Hezekiah the negotiator (18:7–16) Judah had been a vassal state under Assyria since the reign of King Ahaz, Hezekiah's father (16:7–18). When Sargon, ruler of Assyria, died in battle, and Sennacherib took the throne, it seemed to Hezekiah an opportune time to break that yoke. Sennacherib was involved in other empire concerns, so Hezekiah didn't send him the annual tribute. Judah had been victorious over the Philistines, so the kingdom was feeling strong. In 722 BC, Assyria attacked Israel and captured the city of Samaria, and this meant that the Assyrian army was now right next door to Judah.
He commenced and organized the temple ministry (31:1–21). When the second week of the feast ended, before the people left for home, the priests pronounced the benediction God commanded them to give in Numbers 6:22–27, and the worshippers left Jerusalem with the blessing of the Lord upon them. But as they carried the blessing home, they also obeyed the Lord and destroyed the idols in Judah, Benjamin, Ephraim, and Manasseh. It's one thing to have an exciting time praising God in a two-week special meeting, but it's quite something else to return
In 715 BC, Sennacherib invaded Judah and headed toward Jerusalem.1 Hezekiah's faith was very weak, so he humbled himself before the king and paid the tribute money that he owed—eleven tons of silver and one ton of gold. Some of the wealth came from the king's own treasure, but it's disappointing to see that Hezekiah took the rest of it from the temple of the
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explain His miracles, and it's unwise for us to do it for Him.
Lord. He followed the bad example of his father (16:8). King David didn't negotiate with his enemies or try to buy them off; he attacked and defeated them. Of course, Sennacherib withdrew from Judah, but he had every intention of returning.
God disciplines us because He loves us and wants to prevent us from disobeying Him and losing His blessing (Heb. 12:1–11). Chastening isn't the work of a stern judge as he punishes a criminal. It's the ministry of a loving father as he seeks to bring out the very best in his children, for the Father wants us to be "conformed to the image of His Son" (Rom. 8:29 nkjv)
Hezekiah the sufferer (20:1–11; 2 Chron. 32:24–26; Isa. 38:1–8) According to the chronologers, this is the next important event in the life of Hezekiah. It took place fifteen years before his death in 687, so his sickness and healing, as well as the visit of the Babylonian ambassadors, occurred in the year 702 BC. The next year, the Assyrians returned and attacked Jerusalem.
Hezekiah the singer (Isa. 38:9–22) The prophet Isaiah recorded the psalm Hezekiah wrote after he had been healed and given fifteen more years of life (Isa. 38:9–20). It's likely that Hezekiah wrote other psalms as well (see v. 20 kjv and nasb) because we read about "the men of Hezekiah" in Proverbs 25:1. This title suggests that the king had a special "guild" of scholars who worked with the Scriptures and copied the manuscripts.3 The psalm that Hezekiah wrote in commemoration of his sickness and deliverance certainly is filled with vivid imagery that teaches us a great deal about life and death. This is especially true in the NIV translation.
Did the Lord send this sickness to discipline Hezekiah because he compromised with the Assyrians? The record in 2 Chronicles 32:24 tells us that the king had become proud and this was one way that the Lord humbled him. The fact that the prophet Isaiah visited him with such a solemn message indicates how serious this experience really was, for the king was going to die. "Set your house in order" involved most of all appointing an heir to the throne. Hezekiah had become king at the age of twenty-five (2 Kings 18:1) and died in 687. His son Manasseh became king in 687 at the age of twenty-two, which means he was born in 709, so he would have been seven years old when Isaiah told his father he was going to die. Joash had ascended the throne at the age of seven (11:4ff.), but he had Jehoiada the godly priest to advise him. Obviously, the throne of David was in jeopardy.
Hezekiah saw life as a journey that ended at the gates of death, or "Sheol," the Hebrew word for the realm of the dead (v. 10). He was in the prime of his life and yet was being robbed of the rest of his years. (He was probably thirty-seven or thirty-eight years old.) Perhaps he was thinking of Psalm 139:16 where David declares that God has written in His book the number of each person's days. Hezekiah lamented that he was leaving the land of the living and would see his friends no more.4 Keep in mind that the full light had not yet been given concerning immortality, the intermediate world, and the resurrection (2 Tim. 1:10).
Hezekiah's response was to turn away from all around him and pray to the Lord.2 If his statement in 20:3 and Isaiah 38:2 sounds like boasting, keep in mind that Hezekiah was only claiming the promise of 2 Chronicles 6:16–17. This promise was part of the Lord's gracious covenant with David and his descendants (2 Sam. 7:1–17), and Hezekiah was simply reminding the Lord that he had been faithful to obey His law. In other words, as a faithful son of David, he was "qualified" to live. God's message to the king through Isaiah emphasized the importance of King David and the continuation of his descendants on the throne in Jerusalem.
But death is not only the end of a journey; it's also like taking down a tent (v. 12). Paul used the tent image in a similar way (2 Cor. 5:1–4) and so did Peter (2 Peter 1:13–14). But Hezekiah also pictures his impending death as a weaving being taken off the loom (v. 12). God "wove us" in our mother's womb (Ps. 139:13–16) before birth, and during our lives, He wanted to weave us into something beautiful and useful for His glory. Hezekiah was being cut off before the pattern was completed. Day and night, the king was in anxiety and suffering, like a helpless bird being attacked by a hungry lion (vv. 13–14). All he could do was mourn like a dove or cry out like a thrush or a swift.
God answered Hezekiah's prayer by telling Isaiah how to bring about healing and also by giving Isaiah two great promises to share with Hezekiah. First, the king would recover and worship at the temple within three days; and second, if the Assyrians returned, the Lord would defend and deliver the city of Jerusalem. Remember, Hezekiah's illness occurred before the second invasion of Sennacherib's army. To assure the king of the truth of these promises, God gave him a miraculous sign: the shadow on the steps of Ahaz (a large sundial) went backward ten degrees. As the sun went down, the shadow would naturally get longer, but suddenly, the shadow became shorter. Did God reverse the movement of planet Earth or simply cause the shadow itself to go back on the steps? God doesn't
In verse 15, the atmosphere changes and he gives thanks to God for His mercy in rescuing him from the pit (vv. 17–18). God not only saved his life, but He cleansed his record and put his sins behind His back (v. 17; see Isa. 43:25; Mic. 7:19). The Lord had disciplined the king because of his pride (2 Chron. 32:24), but now the king promised to "walk humbly" for the rest of his life (v. 15). Hezekiah dedicated himself to praising the Lord and telling the next generation what the Lord had done for him. Perhaps that's when he
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ambassadors came to Jerusalem to learn how wealthy and strong Judah was, and then the Assyrian army came to ravage the land, capture Jerusalem, and deport the Jewish people to Assyria. The ambassadors deceived Hezekiah because he didn't seek God's wisdom from Isaiah the prophet, but the king did seek the Lord when the Assyrians invaded the land, and the Lord gave him victory.
organized "the men of Hezekiah" so that the biblical manuscripts would be carefully copied and protected.
However, Hezekiah's pride reared its ugly head again and the king once more had to be rebuked.
Notes 1 Most students believe that Judah was invaded twice by the Assyrian army, in 715 and in 701. The second invasion is given far more space in the biblical record because of the great miracle the Lord performed. It's difficult to see 2 Kings 18:7–16 as a part of the 701 invasion, but it was a prelude to it. 2 King Ahab turned to the wall and pouted because he didn't get his own way (1 Kings 21:4), but that wasn't the attitude of Hezekiah. Perhaps in looking toward the wall of his room he also looked toward the temple, which is what the Jews were supposed to do when they prayed (2 Chron. 6:21, 26, 29, 32, 34, 38). 3 J. W. Thirtle in his book Old Testament Problems (London: Morgan and Scott, 1916) proposed the theory that the fifteen "Songs of the Degrees (Ascents)" in the book of Psalms (120–134) were compiled by Hezekiah to commemorate the fifteen extra years God gave him. Ten of these psalms are anonymous, while the other five are assigned to David (four psalms) and Solomon (one psalm). Thirtle believed that Hezekiah wrote the ten anonymous psalms to commemorate the shadow going back ten degrees on the stairway of Ahaz. After all, these are the "songs of the degrees." Since David was his hero, King Hezekiah must have tried his hand at writing psalms, and it's possible the Spirit of God gave him those ten psalms for that special collection. 4 Actually, when believers die, they leave the land of the dead (this world) and go to the land of the living (heaven)!
Hezekiah's pride (20:12–13; 32:27–30; 39:1–2). We have already learned that Hezekiah had a problem with pride (2 Chron. 32:25–26). His near-fatal sickness did humble him, but the visit of the Babylonian envoys made it clear that the old sin was still very much alive. The envoys came to Judah with two purposes in mind: (1) to find out how strong the kingdom was, and (2) to try to influence Hezekiah to unite with Babylon in opposing Assyria. Because he didn't fully grasp their true purpose, Hezekiah assumed that it was a great honor to be visited by officials from the king of Babylon. At that time in history, Assyria was the strongest empire and Babylon was an empire on the rise. Why should Hezekiah worry about Babylon? Because one day Assyria would move off the scene and Babylon would be the key nation in the Near East. From 606 to 586, Babylon would invade Judah, destroy Jerusalem and the temple, and take the nation into captivity. Babylon first came as the serpent, then she returned as the lion.
The envoys brought expensive gifts from the king of Babylon as well as personal letters expressing his pleasure that Hezekiah had recovered from his dangerous illness. Hezekiah should have realized that Merodach-Beladan had no personal interest in the health of the king of Judah but only wanted to obligate Hezekiah to become an ally of Babylon. It's likely that the envoys helped to inflate Hezekiah's ego by complimenting him on his military resources and personal wealth. (See 2 Chron. 32:27–30.) Foolishly, Hezekiah gave them the grand tour and showed them his treasures and weapons. It appears that Hezekiah was better at managing his scribes and writing his psalms than he was at overseeing the politics of the kingdom. All that Hezekiah possessed came from the hand of God and belonged to God, so why should Hezekiah boast about it? He may have made a good impression on the envoys but he grieved the Lord and endangered the kingdom and the city.
CHAPTER ELEVEN 2 Kings 18:17—19:37; 20:12–21 (2 Chronicles 32:27–33; Isaiah 36—37; 39) THE MAKING OF A KING—PART II W
e have seen King Hezekiah as an effective reformer who cleansed and consecrated the temple and restored the priestly ministry. But Hezekiah the negotiator capitulated to Assyria and paid tribute in order to avoid war. Then God sent a severe illness to Hezekiah to humble him and he cried out to God for mercy. Following that victory, Hezekiah stumbled again by welcoming the Babylonian envoys and showing them what they had no right to see. This was not a praiseworthy hour in Hezekiah's life.
Pride is one of Satan's chief weapons in his battle against the Lord and His people. Satan himself committed the sin of pride when he rebelled against God and sought the worship and obedience that God alone deserves (Isa. 14:12–15). Pride makes us rob God of the glory that belongs to Him alone. Pride gives us a feeling of false security and this leads us into sin and defeat. Charles Spurgeon said to his London congregation, "Be not proud of race, face, place, or grace." Good advice! William Barclay wrote, "Pride is the ground in which all the other sins grow, and the parent from which all the other sins come."
Hezekiah the boaster (20:12–19; 2 Chron. 32:27–31; Isa. 39) Scripture pictures our adversary the Devil as a serpent and a lion (Gen. 3:1ff.; 2 Cor. 11:1–4; 1 Peter 5:8–9). Satan usually comes first as a serpent to deceive us, but if that doesn't work, he returns as a lion to devour us. This was Hezekiah's experience. First the Babylonian
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Isaiah's prophecy (20:14–18; 29:3–8). Hezekiah should have conferred with Isaiah as soon as the diplomatic pouch arrived with news that the Babylonian envoys were coming to Jerusalem. When the prophet heard that a foreign entourage had come and gone, he went to the king and asked two important questions: "What did they say and where did they come from?" The king never did answer the first question, but he did admit that the men had come from Babylon. That envoys should come to Judah from "a far country" obviously pleased the king, and no doubt he was pleased to find an ally in the battle against Assyria.
We have little trouble understanding why the Assyrians destroyed the northern kingdom of Israel; after all, the nation was worshipping idols and rebelling against the law of God. But Judah had returned to the Lord under Hezekiah's leadership, and though the king had made some mistakes, his heart was sincere before God. But God had His divine purposes to fulfill in Hezekiah's life and in the life of the nation. It was an easy thing for God to send an angel to destroy 185,000 Assyrian soldiers, but it was much more difficult to work with King Hezekiah and transform him into a man of faith. When we allow God to have His way, the trials of life work for us and not against us, and they bring great glory to the Lord. The king needed to learn that he was second in command (see Josh. 5:13–15) and that the Lord alone was sovereign.
As you read the book of Isaiah, you soon discover that the prophet already knew something about the future of Babylon (see 13—14 and 20:1–10). At that time in history, most people would have pointed to Assyria as the threatening world power, for Babylon was just starting to get recognition on the world scene. Assyria had defeated the kingdom of Israel, but it would be Babylon that would conquer the kingdom of Judah, and Isaiah 39:5–7 is Isaiah's first clear prophecy of that event. A century after Hezekiah's death, Babylon would destroy Jerusalem and the temple, and some of Hezekiah's descendants would go into captivity and his wealth would be carried to Babylon.
The preparation (2 Chron. 32:1–8). Hezekiah knew that the Assyrians were coming, so he met with his leaders and took steps to strengthen Jerusalem. By working with his leaders he united them in sympathy and strategy, an important factor for leadership in war. The Assyrian records state that their army took fortysix fortified cities in Judah before settling in Lachish and planning the siege of Jerusalem. By blocking up the water supply outside the city, Hezekiah prevented the invaders from having ample supplies of fresh water. Hezekiah had already dug the tunnel between the Gihon spring and the city of Jerusalem (2 Kings 20:20) so that the people in the city would not die of thirst. Even today, this tunnel is a popular place for visitors to the Holy Land.
The Lord's patience (20:19). Hezekiah's response wasn't a sigh of relief that his generation had escaped judgment, but rather was an expression of his acceptance of the will of God. Hezekiah's pride had been broken once again (2 Chron. 32:26), but for the sake of the nation and the throne of David, he was grateful there would be peace. The Lord had been longsuffering toward Hezekiah and the king didn't realize that another great trial was about to begin—Assyria's assault against Jerusalem. However, the king had learned some valuable lessons from his sickness and his mishandling of the affair of the Babylonian envoys. How gracious it is of the Lord to prepare us for what He has prepared for us!
Hezekiah also had the wall of Jerusalem repaired and strengthened, and he put extra towers on it. He even constructed a second outside wall and then strengthened the "Millo," the terraces that butted up against the walls (see 11:8; 1 Kings 11:27). He organized the army, appointed officers, gave them weapons, and then encouraged them by making a speech. His address reflected the words of Moses to Israel and to Joshua (Deut. 31:1–8) and God's words to Joshua (Josh. 1:1–9; see also 2 Kings 6:16). Hezekiah was wise to use God's Word to encourage his soldiers and remind them of the past victories of God's people because they had trusted the Lord.
Hezekiah the commander (18:17–37; 2 Chron. 32:1–19; Isa. 36) "After these deeds of faithfulness, Sennacherib king of Assyria came and entered Judah" (2 Chron. 32:1 nkjv). The "deeds of faithfulness" were Hezekiah's labors to cleanse and consecrate the temple, the priests, and the Levites, and to restore true worship in Judah. One would think that God would reward his service by giving him peace, but instead, the Lord allowed the Assyrians to return to Judah and threaten Jerusalem. Hezekiah was faithful to the Lord, but it seems as though the Lord wasn't faithful to Hezekiah. After all, the king had done "that which was good and right and truth before the Lord his God" (2 Chron. 31:20) and had done it "with all his heart" (v. 21). Why, then, didn't the Lord protect Judah from another invasion?
The confrontation (18:17–18; 36:1–3). Hezekiah's near-fatal illness occurred in 702 BC and so did the visit of the Babylonian envoys. This means that it was the very next year—701 BC—that the Assyrians invaded the land. Hezekiah had fourteen more years to live and he certainly didn't want to do it in captivity. However, the prophet Isaiah had already told him that God would deliver Judah and defend Jerusalem for the sake of King David (20:6), so Hezekiah had a great promise to believe. God's people don't live on explanations; they live on promises.
The Assyrian army chose Lachish for their central camp, thirty miles southwest of Jerusalem, and brought "a great host" against Jerusalem. Three of the Assyrian officers told Hezekiah to send out three of his officers
"It is the standing puzzle of the Old Testament," said Alexander Maclaren, "how good men come to be troubled, and how bad men come to be prosperous."1
2 Kings & 2 Chronicles
the leaders not to go to Egypt for help (Isa. 30:1–7; 31:1–3). But Egypt was nothing but a "splintered reed" that would pierce your hand if you leaned on it.2
to arrange for the terms of surrender. These are titles and not personal names: Tartan = supreme commander, Rabsaris = chief officer, and Rabshakeh = field commander. Representing Hezekiah were Eliakim, the palace administrator, Shebna, the secretary, and Joah, the recorder (see Isa. 22:15–25; 36:3).
In 18:22 and 30 (32:12; Isa. 36:7, 10), the commander tried to convince them that they couldn't trust the Lord their God to deliver them. How could they trust Jehovah when Hezekiah had removed the altars of the Lord from the city? Was the Lord pleased with what the king did? The commander knew that there were people in Jerusalem who were unhappy because they could no longer worship at different altars and in the high places but had to go to the temple. But the commander was so bold as to affirm that he and the Assyrian army had come to Jerusalem in obedience to the commandment of the Lord (18:25; 36:10; see 2 Chron. 35:21). After all, the Lord had used Assyria to chasten and destroy the kingdom of Israel, so why wouldn't He use Assyria to conquer Judah?