The Kings Of Israel And Judah. Day 115, Josiah King Of Judah, Part Two

In Tuesday's study we began our study of King Josiah who came to the throne of Judah at the young age of eight when his father, Amon, was assassinated by some of his own officials. The Bible doesn't tell us much about Josiah's first years as king; presumably, he had a co-regent or advisors who guided him until he reached the age of majority. The next thing we are told about him takes place when he is sixteen years old, which is probably the age at which a lot of kingly responsibility was beginning to be given to him. I think he already had a heart for the Lord but that, as more and more of the weight of leadership settled upon his shoulders, he realized he could not wisely govern the nation without the Lord's help.

"In the eighth year of his reign, while he was still young, he began to seek the God of his father David." (2 Chronicles 34:3a) I think at first this seeking was done primarily in private---in prayer and meditation. These private prayers and his growing relationship with the Lord naturally led to him noticing things in public that needed to be changed. He becomes more and more aware of the idolatrous images that his father and many of the citizens set up in Jerusalem. He becomes more and more aware of the dangers posed by idolatry. At the age of twenty he takes action to rid the capitol city and the surrounding countryside of these images and these sinful practices. "In his twelfth year he began to purge Judah and Jerusalem of high places, Asherah poles and idols. Under his direction the altars of the Baals were torn down; he cut to pieces the incense altars that were above them, and smashed the Asherah poles and the idols. These he broke to pieces and scattered over the graves of those who had sacrificed to them." (2 Chronicles 34:3b-4)

Momentarily we are going to look back at the words of a prophet who lived almost three hundred years earlier who foretold the birth of Josiah and the reforms he would make---not only in the kingdom of Judah but in the kingdom of Israel as well. Josiah begins by carrying out reforms in his own kingdom but later he will take steps to rid the northern kingdom of idolatrous religious sites, and he can only do this because Assyria has conquered the northern kingdom. The Assyrians have already begun deportations of Israelites to other lands, as well as settling Israel with people from other lands, and the borders must either not be closely monitored or else the Assyrians do not care who enters the land as long as the entrants are not there to make war with them. So many different cultures with different religious practices are present in Israel at this time that the Assyrians must not have concerned themselves with the various people's disagreements over altars and images. 

Before we move forward with our study of Josiah's reforms, we must look back to the book of 1 Kings to study the words of a prophet of Judah who went to the northern kingdom of Israel to speak to King Jeroboam I of Israel as he made an offering at one of the golden calf religious sites he set up in Israel. "By the word of the Lord a man of God came from Judah to Bethel, as Jeroboam was standing by the altar to make an offering. By the word of the Lord he cried out against the altar: 'Altar, altar! This is what the Lord says: 'A son named Josiah will be born to the house of David. On you he will sacrifice the priests of the high places who make offerings here, and human bones will be burned on you.'" (1 Kings 13:1-2) 

The Lord called Josiah by name three centuries before he was born! And the Lord knew us before we were born too! I believe that, before the Lord ever spoke the universe into existence, He knew the name of every person who would ever be born. He had a plan for each of our lives long before we were ever born. He knew every word we would ever say and He knew everything we would ever do and He knew every thought we would ever think. Nobody knows us like the Lord knows us and yet, knowing every sin we would ever commit and every wrong thought we would ever think and every unkind word we would ever speak, He loved us and made a plan of salvation for us. That should comfort us today. The One who knows the very worst about us is the One who loves us more than anyone else ever has or ever will! 

We will conclude today with these verses below that prove that the prophecy about Josiah came true. We will be studying these events in more detail later on as we continue our study of his reign. As we study these verses we must keep in mind that Josiah was following the laws the Lord gave through Moses when Josiah orders the execution of the idolatrous priests. Anyone who cursed the name of the Lord, proclaimed someone or something else as Lord, or who claimed to be a priest or prophet and led others into idolatry was committing a capital offense. "He burned the bones of the priests on their altars, and so he purged Judah and Jerusalem. In the towns of Manasseh, Ephraim and Simeon, as far as Naphtali; and in the ruins around them, he tore down the altars and the Asherah poles and crushed the idols to powder and cut to pieces all the incense altars throughout Israel. Then he went back to Jerusalem." (2 Chronicles 34:5-7) 

These verses make mention of burning the bones of the sinful priests and further on in our study we will find Josiah tearing down the altar at Bethel and burning bones on it, just as the prophet said he would. The Lord hated the golden calf idols at Bethel and at Dan. The Lord hated the sinful altars at those locations. Jeroboam led the people away from the proper worship of the Lord at the place He had designated. Jeroboam's actions began the fall of the people of Israel into idolatry, leading to the eventual downfall of the nation itself. King Josiah makes it clear how he feels about idolatry and how he feels about those who entice others into idolatry. He does not intend to tolerate these things, for the judgment of the Lord has already fallen upon many idolatrous nations and he does not want the same thing happening to Judah.

The Kings Of Israel And Judah. Day 114, Josiah King Of Judah, Part One

King Amon of Judah was assassinated in yesterday's study after reigning for only two years. The text didn't provide us with an explanation for why some of his officials conspired against him but the people of Judah avenged his death by executing the conspirators. Then they placed his young son Josiah on the throne.

"Josiah was eight years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem thirty-one years." (2 Kings 22:1a, 2 Chronicles 34:1) Despite his young age at his coronation, his will not be the longest reign of all of the kings of Judah (that honor goes to his grandfather, Manasseh, who ruled the land for fifty-five years) but he will be a good king and the nation will be blessed to have him on the throne for over three decades.

"His mother's name was Jedidah daughter of Adaiah; she was from Bozkath." (2 Kings 22:1b) This is the only time in the Bible that this woman with a Hebrew name from a small town of Judah is ever mentioned. But I suspect she was a godly woman who had a great deal of good influence on Josiah. Her husband, Amon, was a very wicked man who could not have set anything but a bad example for his son, but somehow Amon ended up married to a good Jewish woman. 

How did it come about that one of the most evil kings married a nice girl? I think Jedidah was likely selected for Amon, either by a family member, a priest, a prophet, or a godly official of the royal court. It was typical for marriages to be arranged in those times and although I doubt that the exceptionally idolatrous Amon was excited about having a woman of God for his queen, it is to the advantage of his successor and to the advantage of the nation that this occurred, for I have a feeling that Jedidah planted seeds of faith in the young King Josiah's mind. Since he was only eight years old when he ascended to the throne, he would have been used to spending most of his time in the company of his mother and his teachers. His father did not expect to be struck down in his prime at only twenty-four and would not have yet put a great deal of effort into training a boy of eight to take the reigns of the nation. 

Due, at least in part, to the hard work of a godly mother, Josiah follows the Lord. "He did what was right in the eyes of the Lord and followed completely the ways of his father David, not turning aside to the right or to the left." (2 Kings 22:2, 2 Chronicles 34:4) Josiah's biological father was a sinful man with no regard for the Lord. The young king is far more like his forefather David than his own father; therefore, the Scripture writers skip over the generations that came in between these two kings and compare Josiah to David. We are aware that David was not a perfect man (he committed two particularly shocking sins on the pages of the Bible in addition to more common sins) but he never dabbled in idolatry. His heart was faithful to the Lord all his life. He made some mistakes but always repented and got back on track, never once considering forsaking the Lord. He never turned aside to the right or to the left and Josiah has that in common with him.

Many Bible scholars speculate that Jedidah, the Queen Mother, could have co-reigned with her son until he came of age. This happened in other nations of that time and it's not unreasonable to think that she sat at his right hand at court, praying for him and providing godly wisdom and aiding him in his decisions. You may recall that King Solomon, though he was a young adult when he became king, would call for a throne to be placed at his right hand for his mother to sit on when she was in his court. (1 Kings 2:19) In Solomon's case this may have been simply a gesture of honor and respect but, considering that he was only around the age of eighteen or twenty when crowned king, he may have welcomed his mother's comforting presence and support at his side when he heard cases at court. Whether or not Jedidah co-reigned with her son, I think she was a constant presence in his life and a source of godly encouragement. I am sure that the royal officials, the prophets, and the priests were sources of encouragement and advice to the young king as well, but I can't help wanting to give a great deal of credit to a woman who is named only once in the Scriptures. Perhaps that's because I had a godly mother myself who taught me about the Lord at such a young age that I can't recall a time when I didn't know about the Lord. My mother sowed seeds that bore fruit in time, causing me to want to know the Lord she served. I enjoy thinking that Josiah's mother did the same for him.

The Kings Of Israel And Judah. Day 113, Amon King Of Judah

Today we will study the short reign of Amon, son of King Manasseh of Judah.

We learned in our last two study sessions that Manasseh repented of his idolatry after the Lord allowed him to be taken prisoner to Babylon by the commanders of the king of Assyria. Manasseh humbled himself greatly and called upon the Lord in his distress. The Lord answered him, returning him to Jerusalem, and thereafter Manasseh began carrying out religious reforms by removing all the idols and pagan altars he had erected throughout the land. But his conversion was too late to help turn the heart of his son, Amon, toward the Lord.

The Bible does not tell us in which reignal year Manasseh repented of his sins but the majority of scholars appear to think this occurred somewhere within his last ten to twelve years as king. This means he was an ungodly influence on Amon for about half of Amon's life, for we find Amon ascending to the throne at the age of twenty-two.

"Amon was twenty-two years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem two years. His mother's name was Meshullemeth daughter of Haruz; she was from Jotbah." (2 Kings 21:19) Although I do believe Manasseh's conversion was genuine, I also don't think his son was impressed by it. I'm reminded of one of my childhood friends and the complicated relationship she had with her father. Her father was an angry alcoholic who controlled everything and everyone in his household until my friend and I were around twelve years old. He suddenly had a religious conversion, stopped drinking, and began studying to be a preacher. My friend was not impressed by or influenced by his newfound love for the Lord. One reason for that is her father was just as controlling as he ever was, only now with a religious fervor instead of with fumes of alcohol pouring off of him. It may be that although Manasseh's repentance was sincere, he was just as stern and controlling. Before his conversion he no doubt commanded everyone's allegiance to his many pagan gods, even going so far as to set up an idolatrous image in the temple, and he likely forced his own family to be the most zealous of all in these worship activities in order to set the example he wanted the citizens to follow. 

And let us not forget, while Manasseh still lived in sin he sacrificed some of his children in the Valley of Bin Hinnom to that detestable false deity Molek. Since Amon was born to Manasseh when his father was about forty-five years old, I doubt Amon was the firstborn son. Middle age was quite old for a man of Manasseh's era to begin fathering children and it is believed that the "son" the author of 2 Kings said he sacrificed was his firstborn. The author of 2 Chronicles stated he sacrificed "children" (plural) and this has led scholars to think he either sacrificed his firstborn son and several other sons or that he sacrificed his firstborn son and several daughters. Either way, Amon must have known about or even have witnessed the sacrificing of his siblings. Imagine being the child of a man who could do such things! Amon probably grew up both fearing him and hating him. He also may not have believed Manasseh's conversion was genuine. Even if he did believe it, he didn't necessarily respect it, and to him one god may have seemed the same as any other. When he saw his father throwing himself zealously into the worship of the God of Israel it may not have appeared to him any different than when his father threw himself zealously into worshiping the all the various gods of Canaan. If, as I suspect, Amon bore a great deal of animosity toward his father, rejecting God may have been an extension of him rejecting his father. As soon as Manasseh was buried, Amon undid all the religious reforms of Manasseh's later years.  

"He did evil in the eyes of the Lord, as his father Manasseh had done. He followed completely the ways of his father, worshiping the idols his father had worshiped, and bowing down to them. He forsook the Lord, the God of his ancestors, and did not walk in obedience to them." (2 Kings 21:20-22) Did Amon himself sacrifice any of his own children? The Bible says he worshiped and offered sacrifices to idols but it does not say that he made human sacrifices, so I tend to think he didn't go that far. There are several kings in the Bible who sacrificed their children but the Bible has been very careful to specifically point that abominable sin out to us in those cases. The fact that the authors of 2 Kings and 2 Chronicles don't accuse Amon of this specific crime against humanity makes me think he refrained from committing it. Also we will learn in our next chapter that his son and successor, Josiah, is just eight years old when he ascends to the throne, meaning Amon was only sixteen at his birth and likely only fifteen when he fathered Josiah. I think Amon's young age at which he fathered Josiah makes it unlikely that he fathered anyone before Josiah whom he could have offered to Molek. Also Amon's own father, Manasseh, would have still been alive and presumably already converted by the time Amon was old enough to father any children. The converted Manasseh would not have allowed his son Amon to perform human sacrifice. If Amon had been old enough to father any children before Manasseh's conversion, then we don't know what Amon might have done, but because Manasseh repented of his idolatry we find Amon's son Josiah alive and well at the time of his father's death, which is a blessing to everyone because Josiah will be one of the most godly kings of Judah.

Josiah's ascension to the throne comes about due to a conspiracy that formed against his father. "Amon's officials conspired against him and assassinated the king in his palace. Then the people of the land killed all who had plotted against King Amon, and they made Josiah his son king in his place." (2 Kings 21:23-24, 2 Chronicles 33:24-25) We don't know why Amon's officials conspired against him. Some Bible scholars propose that it was due to some of the people of the kingdom wanting to serve Assyria and due to some of the people wanting to ally with Egypt to rebel against Assyria. Amon's officials may have killed him due to political differences. They may have killed him due to religious differences. They may have killed him because they preferred a different candidate for king and were attempting a coup in which they would place a man of their own choosing on the throne. I lean toward that third theory because the citizens of Judah avenged the death of Amon and declared his very young son as king. This makes me think the conspirators had someone else in mind other than a son of the king to take the king's place.

Amon never repented of his sins like his father did. "But unlike his father Manasseh, he did not humble himself before the Lord; Amon increased his guilt." (2 Chronicles 33:23) Amon grew more and more wicked during his two years as king and died violently at the young age of twenty-four. This is a grim reminder to the human race that we are not assured of a long life in which to consider our wicked ways and repent. We cannot expect to be able to "sow our wild oats", as the saying goes, and give no thought to the eternal destiny of our souls until we are past middle age or are in our senior years. We aren't promised tomorrow. The day of salvation is now. "So, as the Holy Spirit says: Today, if you hear His voice, do not harden your hearts." (Hebrews 3:8a) Amon hardened his heart against the word of the Lord, to his own destruction. I do think his father's wicked ways had a great deal of bad influence on him in his childhood but I also think that since Amon was a grown man when he became king he was responsible for the sins he chose to commit as a grown man. He heard and saw many idolatrous things as a child but he heard and saw many things about the Lord as a teen and as a grown man. He had the opportunity to make the right choice and he did not make it. 

"As for the other events of Amon's reign, and what he did, are they not written in the book of the annals of the kings of Judah? He was buried in his tomb in the garden of Uzza. And Josiah his son succeeded him as king." (2 Kings 21:25-26) Amon is buried in the palace garden of Uzza just as his father was, but although their earthly remains ended up in the same place, the Scriptures indicate that their souls ended up in different locations. Manasseh lived a wicked life for many years but repented and was saved. There is no evidence in the Bible that Amon repented; it suggests the opposite. 

The Kings Of Israel And Judah. Day 112, Manasseh King Of Judah, Part Four

Today we will be concluding our study of King Manasseh of Judah.

In our last study session we learned that at some point during his reign the king of Assyria had him arrested and taken prisoner to Babylon. The king of Assyria was also the king of Babylon (his forefathers having won a war with Babylon) and he may have been in residence at his headquarters in Babylon at the time. It was common in those times for prisons to be in the basements of the homes of government officials and it may be that Manasseh was held in the dungeon of the king's palace.

Exactly why and how the king captured Manasseh is not told to us in the Bible or in any of the surviving annals of the kings of Assyria. Scholars presume Manasseh rebelled against paying tribute to this enemy nation. Several kings rebelled against Assyria during this era, including King Hoshea of Israel (whose efforts ended in defeat), and Manasseh's father Hezekiah of Judah whose victory was a miracle of the Lord and not due to military strength or political alliances. Manasseh may have hoped to remain independent of Assyria but since he was so abominably unfaithful to the Lord, the Lord was not with him as He was with his father.

But in Friday's study we learned that Manasseh called out to the Lord while he was being held captive. The author of 2 Chronicles informed us that he "humbled himself greatly before the God of his ancestors". Manasseh's repentance must have been genuine, for we were told that the Lord was "moved by his entreaty and listened to his plea". The Lord must have also moved the heart of the king of Assyria to show Manasseh mercy because the Lord "brought him back to Jerusalem and to his kingdom". I wish the Bible had provided us with a detailed account of how the Lord accomplished this but whatever means He used must have left no doubt in Manasseh's mind that his deliverance was accomplished by the Lord alone because the author of 2 Chronicles wrapped up Friday's text by saying, "Then Manasseh knew that the Lord is God."

After being restored to the throne at his palace in Jerusalem, he took steps to make the city more defensible against enemies. It could be that a weakness in the defenses is what led to his capture by the Assyrian army commanders earlier in Chapter 33. "Afterward he rebuilt the outer wall of the City of David, west of the Gihon spring in the valley, as far as the entrance of the Fish Gate and encircling the hill of Ophel; he also made it much higher. He stationed military commanders in all the fortified cities in Judah." (2 Chronicles 33:14) 

I know that the saying, "An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure," is not in the Bible but there is some merit to this platitude in that we have a duty to take reasonable precautions. The Lord has helped Manasseh and restored him to his throne but Manasseh has a duty to take reasonable precautions to protect himself and the people of Judah. The Lord has provided Manasseh with the materials and the workers and the soldiers with which to fortify the defenses and it would be lazy and irresponsible if Manasseh did not make wise use of all these resources. We might compare this to our modern use of door locks and seatbelts; the Lord has provided us with these things for our protection and we are wise to put them to use. Another example would be to properly take a medication that has been prescribed to us to treat a diagnosed health condition. The Lord has blessed us with technological advances and medical advances that have the capability to improve our quality of life and to lengthen our lives. If we ignore a diagnosed infection and refuse to take our antibiotics then we risk life-threatening consequences. In this same way, if Manasseh ignores the threat of Assyria and refuses to use the resources provided to him to protect himself and the people, he risks having his nation invaded and his army defeated. 

Manasseh is wise to protect his nation and he is wise to transfer his spiritual allegiance from idols to the living God. He displays what John the Baptist would have recognized as "fruits of repentance". In Luke's account of the gospel we find John the Baptist preaching the word of God and urging people to repent. But he didn't want anyone spouting insincere words of repentance and he made it clear that deeds must follow words in order to prove that a person's heart has really changed. So along with their words he expected to see actions and he said, "Produce fruit in keeping with repentance." (Luke 3:8a) If a person claims to have given their heart to the Lord but nothing about the way they live their life reflects that, then there are very strong reasons for believing that true repentance has not taken place. If Manasseh had prayed to the Lord while in the custody of the Assyrians but did nothing for the Lord after being restored to his kingdom, we would be forced to conclude that he only prayed to the Lord while he was in trouble and that he forsook Him afterwards. But we see below that he began religious reforms after he returned to the palace.

"He got rid of the foreign gods and removed the image from the temple of the Lord, as well as all the altars he had built on the temple hill and in Jerusalem; and he threw them out of the city. Then he restored the altar of the Lord and sacrificed fellowship offerings and thank offerings on it, and told Judah to serve the Lord, the God of Israel. The people, however, continued to sacrifice at the high places, but only to the Lord their God." (2 Chronicles 33:15-17) It would have behooved him (and the people as well) to have torn down all the altars in the land in order to obey the Lord by bringing all their sacrifices to the altar at the temple. As we've discussed many times before, when people are separated from the main body of believers and when they go about the rituals of religion in their own way, they usually stray from the laws and commandments of the Lord. They usually drift from a close relationship with Him. For the remainder of Manasseh's reign they are only allowed to worship the Lord at these altars but this is a temporary reform. A great deal of spiritual damage has been done during Manasseh's long reign and his son and successor, along with a number of the people of Judah, have been heavily effected by his former idolatry. They may be going through the outward motions of serving the Lord but the hearts of a lot of the people are still loyal to pagan gods.

"The other events of Manasseh's reign, including his prayer to his god and the words the seers spoke to him in the name of the Lord, the God of Israel, are written in the annals of the kings of Israel. His prayer and how God was moved by his entreaty, as well as all his sins and unfaithfulness, and the sites where he built high places and set up Asherah poles and idols before he humbled himself---all these are written in the records of the seers. Manasseh rested with his ancestors and was buried in his palace. And Amon his son succeeded him as king." (2 Chronicles 33:18-20) The author of 2 Kings adds that he was buried in the garden on his palace grounds. The author of 2 Kings does not, however, record any information regarding Manasseh's repentance. He seems to focus entirely on the king's sins, so I am thankful that the author of 2 Chronicles included the information that Manasseh turned to the Lord. 

I don't believe we have any reason to doubt that he was genuinely converted near the end of his life. I believe that when Manasseh passed out of this world he went into the presence of the Lord. It would have been far better (for him and for everyone else) if he had served the Lord for his entire life but at least he did not pass out of this world with his soul lost. Unfortunately, the years he lived in sin have had a terrible influence on Amon who will give himself completely to idolatry and who will never, as far as we know, repent and give his heart to the Lord. His father repented of his sins but the damage to his son had already been done; Amon had already made up his mind not to serve the Lord. This illustrates the importance of turning to the Lord as soon as we come to enough understanding of Him to do so.

Join us tomorrow as we move on to study the reign of King Amon.

The Kings Of Israel And Judah. Day 111, Manasseh King Of Judah, Part Three

King Manasseh of Judah has done away with all of his late father's religious reforms and he has even set up an idolatrous image in the temple. He even participates in the most abominable pagan ritual of all: child sacrifice. Many of the people of the nation have followed him into idolatry. We read yesterday that the Lord sent warning after warning to the king and the people through the prophets but to no avail. 

Humans do not always respond correctly to words of warning; sometimes it takes difficult circumstances to lead a person to repentance. The Lord allows difficult circumstances to come into Manasseh's life. "The Lord spoke to Manasseh and his people, but they paid no attention. So the Lord brought against them the army commanders of the king of Assyria, who took Manasseh prisoner, put a hook in his nose, bound him with bronze shackles and took him to Babylon." (2 Chronicles 33:10-11) 

This is the only Biblical account of Manasseh's arrest by the Assyrian officers. There is no record of his capture in any of the records of Assyria, although he is mentioned in the annals of two of the kings of Assyria who state that he was a vassal king who was forced to pay tribute to them. We previously learned that the Assyrians had conquered Babylon and that the kings of the era we are studying held the double title of King of Assyria and King of Babylon. Another thing we learned is that the Assyrian kings had a practice of deporting conquered people to other lands, so the assertion of the author of 2 Chronicles that the king of Assyria had Manasseh taken into custody and held in Babylon is entirely reasonable to believe in the context of the history of ancient Assyria. It may be that Manasseh, like his father Hezekiah before him, rebelled against paying tribute to Assyria and that Assyrian commanders laid in wait for him somewhere outside of Jerusalem and ambushed him, taking him prisoner and holding him until he agreed to resume being taxed by Assyria.

We can't say for certain what took place politically during his incarceration but we know what happened spiritually during that time. "In his distress he sought the favor of the Lord his God and humbled himself greatly before the God of his ancestors. And when he prayed to Him, the Lord was moved by his entreaty and listened to his plea; so He brought him back to Jerusalem and to his kingdom. Then Manasseh knew that the Lord is God." (2 Chronicles 33:12-13) The Bible tells us that the Lord resists the proud but gives grace to the humble. (1 Peter 5:5-6, James 4:6-7) 

While Manasseh was lifted up in pride and while he indulged in every pagan practice he ever heard of, the Lord allowed desperate circumstances to come into his life. But while Manasseh was incarcerated, none of his heathen gods came to his aid. He may have cried out to them. He may have fasted and spent many hours on his knees calling out to deities who do not exist. The only One who spoke to him during that time was the Lord and Manasseh wisely opened his ears and his heart to Him. His repentance must have been sincere since the Lord was "moved by his entreaty". I believe the Lord promised him that He was going to return him to his throne in Jerusalem as the proof that He---and He alone---is God. I presume that the Lord caused the king of Assyria to feel compassion for him, which is no small feat considering how brutally the Assyrians typically treated their prisoners. The Assyrians would not have thought twice about torturing Manasseh if that's what it took to get him to agree to send them the specified amount of tribute they demanded. But the Lord caused them to show Manasseh mercy and he was restored to his throne in Jerusalem, just as the Lord had promised, and by this Manasseh knew "that the Lord is God".

In our next study session we will look at the religious reforms Manasseh made after the Lord helped him. But a lot of damage has already been done to the nation, spiritually speaking, and the people will continue on a downward spiral of idolatry until the nation falls to an enemy. It won't be Assyria, which is the nation they fear now, but it will be Babylon, which at this time is under Assyrian domination.

The Kings Of Israel And Judah. Day 110, Manasseh King Of Judah, Part Two

In Wednesday's study we learned that King Manasseh of Judah is a very wicked man. He gives himself wholeheartedly to every form of idolatry, including the worst form of all: sacrificing children to a pagan deity. He has no reverence for the Lord and He desecrates His temple in order to display his complete disregard for the Lord.

"He took the carved Asherah pole he had made and put it in the temple, of which the Lord had said to David and to his son Solomon, 'In this temple and in Jerusalem, which I have chosen out of all the tribes of Israel, I will put My name forever. I will not again make the feet of the Israelites wander from the land I gave their ancestors, if only they will be careful to do everything I commanded them and will keep the whole law that My servant Moses gave them.' But the people did not listen. Manasseh led them astray, so that they did more evil than the nations the Lord destroyed before the Israelites." (2 Kings 21:7-9, 2 Chronicles 33:7-9)

The Lord promised the Israelites that they would remain in the land and that they would enjoy peace and prosperity if they would be faithful to Him. But He also warned them that if they were not faithful to Him, He would uproot them from the land just as He uprooted the nations that inhabited it before them. In Deuteronomy 28 we studied the blessings for obedience and the curses for disobedience. If the people, whom He rescued from Egypt and brought into a land flowing with milk and honey, turned away from Him, He would deal with them the same way He dealt with the heathen tribes of Canaan. He warned them: "You will be uprooted from the land you are entering to possess." (Deuteronomy 28:63b) 

Manasseh has desecrated the very structure that was the visible symbol of the Lord being in the people's midst. The building that houses the ark of the covenant---the covenant the Lord made with the people---now also houses an abominable "sacred pole" in honor of a hideous false goddess. And because Manasseh will reign over Judah for fifty-five years, he will have many years in which to influence the people to engage in sin with him. A large number of them choose to engage in sin with him, as the passages above informed us, and they refuse to listen to the warnings of the Lord's prophets. Now the Lord foretells a coming judgment upon the people who have not only fallen into idolatry but who are more enthusiastic about idolatry than the pagan tribes whose religious practices they adopted. 

"The Lord said through His servants the prophets: 'Manasseh king of Judah has committed these detestable sins. He has done more evil than the Amorites who preceded him and has led Judah into sin with his idols. Therefore this is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: I am going to bring such disaster on Jerusalem and Judah that the ears of everyone who hears of it will tingle. I will stretch out over Jerusalem the measuring line used against Samaria and the plumb line used against the house of Ahab. I will wipe out Jerusalem as one wipes a dish, wiping it and turning it upside down. I will forsake the remnant of My inheritance and give them into the hands of enemies. They will be looted and plundered by all their enemies; they have done evil in My eyes and have aroused My anger from the day their ancestors came out of Egypt until this day.'" (2 Kings 21:10-15)

He warns the people of Jerusalem that their city will fall just as Samaria, the capitol of Israel, fell. The northern kingdom fell because of idolatry and it's only because it took the southern kingdom longer to fall as deep into sin that it is still standing right now in the text we are studying. The Lord had made it clear to the people of Judah that the reason He allowed the northern kingdom to be conquered is because the people of the northern kingdom had turned from the living God to idols. Manasseh's father, King Hezekiah, understood this and worked hard to begin major religious reforms in Judah as soon as he came to the throne. But now Manasseh is working hard to undo everything his father did. He has lovingly embraced every vile heathen practice that he's ever heard of and he's encouraging all the people to join him in his debauchery and inhumanity. We would be wrong to assume that Manasseh was the only person in the nation of Judah who sacrificed a child to Molek during those days; an untold number of others did the same according to the Lord's harsh words spoken to the people through the prophet Isaiah (see Isaiah 57:9) and through Jeremiah (Jeremiah 32:35) and through many other unnamed prophets. 

Manasseh's sin and the sin into which he enticed the people sets all the events in motion which will lead to the downfall of the nation. The Lord makes this very clear when He sends the prophet Jeremiah to say on His behalf: "Even if Moses and Samuel were to stand before Me, My heart would not go out to this people. Send them away from My presence! Let them go! And if they ask you, 'Where shall we go?' tell them, 'This is what the Lord says: Those destined for death, to death; those for the sword, to the sword; those for starvation, to starvation; those for captivity, to captivity.' 'I will send four kinds of destroyers against them,' declares the Lord, 'the sword to kill and the dogs to drag away and the birds and the wild animals to devour and destroy. I will make them abhorrent to all the kingdoms of the earth because of what Manasseh son of Hezekiah king of Judah did in Jerusalem.'" (Jeremiah 15:1-4)

Manasseh and many of the people of his kingdom are far more sinful than anyone who inhabited the land before them. Their sins are so egregious that the Lord declares, "Even if Moses stood before Me to intercede on your behalf, I would not relent of sending judgment upon you! Even if the prophet Samuel begged Me to show you mercy, I would not listen to him!" Manasseh and many of the people have shed the blood of innocent children and that innocent blood cries out to Him from the ground, just as the blood of Abel cried out to Him from the ground when Cain wickedly struck his brother down. The Lord already tried to be merciful by sending the prophets to plead with the king and the people to repent, but they would not repent. In our next session He will bring hardship upon Manasseh in an attempt to get him to repent, but even though Manasseh will respond appropriately to discipline, he has already done too much damage to the spiritual condition of the nation. Events have been set in motion that cannot be stopped---because too many of the people don't want to stop.

The Kings Of Israel And Judah. Day 109, Manasseh King Of Judah, Part One

King Hezekiah has passed away and his young son Manasseh is now king. Hezekiah fathered Manasseh during the extra fifteen years granted to him by the Lord after the Lord healed him of his deadly illness. We know this because Manasseh is only twelve years old when he ascends to the throne.

"Manasseh was twelve years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem fifty-five years. His mother's name was Hephzibah." (2 Kings 21:1) We speculated earlier in our study of the kings about whether or not Hezekiah had any children prior to being healed of his illness. It may be that he'd fathered no children until his final fifteen years on earth, or perhaps he'd fathered only daughters, or it could be that he'd fathered one or more sons who did not survive infancy. Infant mortality rates were quite high in ancient times, even in wealthy families who could afford better nutrition and better medical care. 

Ancient tradition has it that Manasseh's mother, Hephzibah, was the daughter of the prophet Isaiah. There are no statements in the holy Scriptures to back up that claim, however, so we can't automatically assume this is true. There is another ancient tradition that says that King Manasseh was responsible for the death of Isaiah. If that's the case, and if his mother was Isaiah's daughter, then he ordered the execution of his own grandfather. Manasseh will be so idolatrous that I am certain Isaiah and other prophets spoke out against him, but whether or not Isaiah was his grandfather and whether or not he ordered Isaiah to be executed we do not know.

What we do know about Manasseh is that he was one of the most idolatrous kings of the Bible and that he reigned the longest over Judah than any other king. His long reign means he had a long time to be a wicked influence on the people of Judah. "He did evil in the eyes of the Lord, following the detestable practices of the nations the Lord had driven out before the Israelites. He rebuilt the high places his father Hezekiah had destroyed; he also erected altars to Baal and made an Asherah pole, as Ahab king of Israel had done. He bowed down to all the starry hosts and worshiped them." (2 Kings 21:2-3, 2 Chronicles 33:2-3) 

Why does he go astray like this? His father was one of the more godly kings of Judah. Hezekiah had put a great deal of effort into eradicating idolatry in Judah and he was instrumental in turning the hearts of many of the people back to the Lord. I doubt that all of the people were faithful to the Lord during Hezekiah's reign but he was a good spiritual influence on a large number of them. You'll recall that a great revival broke out after he ordered the temple to be purified and put back into its proper use. People were coming from all over the nation and from the northern kingdom of Israel to worship the Lord at the temple. Why, then, was Hezekiah not a good influence on his son?

In yesterday's study we talked about how the author of 2 Chronicles stated that Hezekiah was prideful, even after the Lord miraculously healed him and even after the Lord miraculously delivered Jerusalem from the Assyrians. Did Hezekiah begin giving himself the credit for his blessings? Did he become complacent and spiritually lazy during the extra fifteen years granted to him by the Lord? Why did he not bring his son up in the fear of the Lord? It may be that he did talk to Manasseh about the Lord but that, due to Manasseh's young age at the time of his father's death, the young king was very easily led into wrongdoing by officials in the kingdom who were not faithful to the Lord. It might not have been difficult at all for his advisors to push him in the wrong direction. I think what happened may have been a combination of Hezekiah not being as diligent in his son's religious instruction as he should have been and Manasseh's impressionable age when he came to the throne. But this is another subject upon which the Bible is silent and we can only speculate about what went wrong with Manasseh.

The narrative indicates that Manasseh began undoing all of his father's religious reforms as soon as he began wearing the crown of Judah. He dabbled in the pagan rituals of all the nations that had inhabited Canaan before the Israelites arrived there. There was no religious practice in which he was unwilling to indulge, including desecrating the temple of the Lord and engaging in child sacrifice. "He built altars in the temple of the Lord, of which the Lord had said, 'In Jerusalem I will put My name.' In the two courts of the temple of the Lord, he built altars to all the starry hosts. He sacrificed his own son in the fire, practiced divination, sought omens, and consulted mediums and spiritists. He did much evil in the eyes of the Lord, arousing His anger." (2 Kings 21:4-6) The author of 2 Chronicles provides us with this same information except he says that Manasseh sacrificed more than one child: "He sacrificed his children in the fire in the Valley of Ben Hinnom." (2 Chronicles 33:6a) I don't think there are any contradictions in the Scriptures and the discrepancy between these two accounts may be because Manasseh sacrificed one son and one or more daughters, hence the author of 2 Kings making mention only of a son. We noted this same type of discrepancy when we studied King Ahaz of Judah, when the author of 2 Kings said he sacrificed his son in the fire but the author of 2 Chronicles said he sacrificed his "children" (plural) in the fire. 

Who would have thought that the son of King Hezekiah would turn out so badly? Many Bible scholars and commentators have offered the opinion that it would have been best if Hezekiah had died of his illness so he could never have fathered Manasseh. However, if he had not fathered Manasseh and if he did not have any other sons, we do not know who would have become king in Hezekiah's stead. We don't know whether the throne would have passed to a close relative of Hezekiah or whether someone outside the family might have taken the throne by force. Either way, the new king might have been just as wicked as Manasseh and the nation may not have fared any better under the leadership of that person.

In tomorrow's session we will continue our look at the deeds of this king and the idolatrous influence he had on the people of Judah. Idolatry in Judah is what eventually leads to the fall of the nation.

The Kings Of Israel And Judah. Day 108, Hezekiah King Of Judah, Part Twenty-Five

Hezekiah has miraculously recovered from his illness, just as the Lord said he would, and the Lord has delivered Jerusalem from being attacked by the Assyrian army, just as He said he would. Hezekiah now makes a mistake of pride when the king of Babylon sends envoys to him with a gift.

"At that time Marduk-Baladan son of Baladan king of Babylon sent Hezekiah letters and a gift, because he had heard of Hezekiah's illness." (2 Kings 20:12) The purpose of this visit likely had far more to do with securing Hezekiah's help against the Assyrians than with one king extending well wishes to another king. I suspect the Babylonians were much more interested in hearing about Jerusalem's deliverance from Assyria than about Hezekiah's deliverance from death. The Babylonians must have wanted to know what Hezekiah had done to repel the enemy army, not understanding that it was Hezekiah's God who struck the army with a plague that killed 185,000 soldiers. 

Hezekiah is pleased with this attention from a wealthy nation; the book of Isaiah states that he received the visitors "gladly". (Isaiah 39:2) He's so flattered by this visit that he decides to show off his prosperity. "Hezekiah received the envoys and showed them all that was in his storehouses---the silver, the gold, the spices and the fine olive oil---his armory and everything found among his treasuries. There was nothing in his palace or in all his kingdom that Hezekiah did not show them." (2 Kings 20:13) 

We have previously been told by the author of 2 Chronicles that: "Hezekiah had very great wealth and honor, and he made treasuries for his silver and gold and for his precious stones, spices, shields and all kinds of valuables. He also made buildings to store the harvest of grain, new wine and olive oil; and he  made stalls for various kinds of cattle, and pens for the flocks. He built villages and acquired great numbers of flocks and herds, for God had given him very great riches." (2 Chronicles 32:27-29)

Why does Hezekiah take the Babylonian envoys on a tour of all of his treasure houses? Did he forget that God is the One who blessed him with this wealth and that he owes all his thanks to the Lord? I can't say whether or not he credited the Lord for all of his treasures when he was speaking with the men from Babylon but what I think is that he was eager to impress them. He was eager to appear like a valuable ally to the nation of Babylon in hopes that the two nations could put together an alliance large enough to overthrow the threat of Assyria. 

We previously learned in our Bible study that an earlier king of Assyria, King Tiglath-Pileser III, had conquered Babylon and made it a vassal state of Assyria and had declared himself the king of Assyria as well as the king of Babylon. Succeeding kings of Assyria have also called themselves the kings of Babylon; therefore, the king of Babylon is a puppet king who is subject to the ruler of Assyria, who at this point in time is King Sennacherib. But the Babylonian king wants to throw off the yoke of Assyria and be a sovereign king over a sovereign nation. He thinks King Hezekiah of Judah might be a valuable ally in this endeavor and, likewise, Hezekiah thinks Babylon might be a valuable ally in protecting Judah from Assyria. I feel that Hezekiah's eagerness to make this alliance is the main reason he proudly shows off all his treasures so he will seem to be the equal of any king on earth. Hezekiah has heard of the riches of the land of Babylon and he takes great care to show the envoys that he too is very wealthy in gold and in silver and in jewels and in many other resources.

The child of God does not have anything to "prove" to the world. Hezekiah is in no way inferior to any other king. He does not need to feel insecure about who he is. What the king of Babylon thinks of him is of no significance because it is the Lord who will protect Judah from enemies. With the Lord on his side, what does Hezekiah need with an ally who is a heathen idolater? The Lord already supernaturally prevented the Assyrians from laying siege to Jerusalem and He did this without any help from the Babylonians. The Lord doesn't need help from Babylon and neither does Hezekiah.

Because Hezekiah has forgotten this, Isaiah comes to him with words of rebuke. "Then Isaiah the prophet went to King Hezekiah and asked, 'What did those men say, and where did they come from?' 'From a distant land,' Hezekiah replied. 'They came from Babylon.'" (2 Kings 20:14) I doubt Isaiah is ignorant of who these men are. Their arrival (no doubt in a great and impressive caravan) could not have gone unnoticed in Jerusalem and I do not think it took long for word to reach Isaiah about the arrival of these men. Their nationality, if not publicly announced, could probably have been ascertained by observing how they were dressed. I think Isaiah knows or suspects where they are from and why they are in Jerusalem but he wants to give Hezekiah the opportunity to be honest and tell him everything that was said and done. Hezekiah appears quite pleased to announce that he's received a visit from influential men who traveled a long distance to see him. He's so pleased that the king of Babylon considers him a worthy ally that he holds nothing back when asked the next question, not realizing that the prophet does not approve of the answer.

"The prophet asked, 'What did they see in your palace?' 'They saw everything in my palace,' Hezekiah said. 'There is nothing among my treasures that I did not show them.'" (2 Kings 20:15) The nation of Babylon is not yet at the zenith of its wealth, but in time it will throw off the shackles of Assyria to become the most powerful nation on earth in its day. When that time comes, the tale of the riches the Babylonian envoys saw in Judah will come to mind and King Nebuchadnezzar will come for those riches. Jerusalem has been spared a siege of the Assyrians but it will not be spared a siege of the Babylonians. Isaiah relays this dire news and clearly and directly relates this coming tragedy to Hezekiah's actions. "Then Isaiah said to Hezekiah, 'Hear the word of the Lord: The time will surely come when everything in your palace, and all that your predecessors have stored up until this day, will be carried off to Babylon. Nothing will be left, says the Lord. And some of your descendants, your own flesh and blood who will be born to you, will be taken away, and they will become eunuchs in the palace of the king of Babylon.'" (2 Kings 20:16-18) 

Hezekiah forgot that the Lord is the helper and defender of Judah. He thought his wealth and influence would impress the king of Babylon so that the leaders of Babylon will join their wealth and influence with his to make an undefeatable army. But all he needed was the Lord, who is an undefeatable army in Himself! Hezekiah is placing his confidence in the wrong things and in the wrong people. The treasures he so proudly displayed in today's text will someday grace the palace of another man in another country.

Isaiah's prophecy won't come true until about a hundred years later. Knowing that these terrible things won't take place during his lifetime, Hezekiah adopts a stunningly casual attitude to such horrifying news. He does not drop to his knees and admit that he has sinned. He does not pray a prayer of forgiveness or ask the prophet to intercede with the Lord on his behalf so that this calamity might be turned away from the nation of Judah. Instead he accepts the prophet's words with relief that the calamity isn't going to take place during his own lifetime. "'The word of the Lord you have spoken is good,' Hezekiah replied. For he thought, 'Will not there be peace and security in my lifetime?'" (2 Kings 20:19) The book of Isaiah phrases the king's thoughts like this: "For he thought, 'There will be peace and security in my lifetime.'" (2 Kings 20:19) Hezekiah is relieved that the nation won't fall to an enemy while he is on the throne. He is content to spend the remainder of his reign in a complacent attitude, not doing what he should to ensure the continued prosperity of Judah by being a godly example to his family and to his people. Judah will fall due to the idolatry of its people but Hezekiah sowed some of the seeds that led to this coming idolatry, not because he is an idolater himself (he isn't) but because he didn't take a firm stand for the Lord. He didn't set a godly example for the son he fathers during the final fifteen years of his life. We know he didn't because his son and successor, Manasseh, will despise the things of God and will reinstate all the idolatrous practices that his father outlawed when he ascended to the throne upon the death of Ahaz. If Hezekiah had invested in the spiritual health of his son and of his nation, I do not believe that Manasseh (who becomes king at the young age of twelve) would have already been so set in his ways against the Lord.

We now conclude our study of King Hezekiah and we are concluding it on a sad note. He is not ending his reign in the admirable way in which he began it. Not much is said about the additional fifteen years the Lord granted him and I assume this is because he did not do much for the Lord during those years. "As for the other events of Hezekiah's reign, all his achievements and how he made the pool and the tunnel by which he brought water into the city, are they not written in the book of the annals of the kings of Judah? Hezekiah rested with his ancestors. And Manasseh his son succeeded him as king." (2 Kings 20:20-21) The book of 2 Chronicles mentions the water tunnel before it mentions the envoys from Babylon. By this I conclude that all of Hezekiah's great achievements were made before he showed those men everything in his palace and in his storehouses. I think that he spent his final fifteen years sitting back enjoying peace and prosperity. I think he decided he was just going to take it easy for the rest of his life. In becoming too lazy to help lay a secure spiritual foundation for his son's life, he set his son up for spiritual failure and he set the nation up for its eventual downfall.

The Kings Of Israel And Judah. Day 107, Hezekiah King Of Judah, Part Twenty-Four

In yesterday's study King Hezekiah received an amazing sign from the Lord as proof that he would recover from his illness: the sun went ten steps (or ten degrees) backwards up the steps (or sundial) that Hezekiah's father had built at the palace. 

Hezekiah's recovery is not described in medical detail to us in the Bible but it must have been swift and astonishing, for the Lord had promised that he would be able to go to the temple for worship within three days. Hezekiah had been near death when the Lord sent this word to him. Now that Hezekiah has recovered he writes down the thoughts that were on his mind while he lay ill. This passage of Scripture is not found in the books of 2 Kings or 2 Chronicles but in the book of Isaiah.

"A writing of Hezekiah king of Judah after his illness and recovery: I said, 'In the prime of my life must I go through the gates of death and be robbed of the rest of my years?'" (Isaiah 38:9-10) Death at any age is sad but it seems so unfair to the human mind when someone's life ends before old age. Hezekiah was approximately thirty-nine years old when he fell ill---an age at which we would consider anyone to be in their prime. There was still so much he wanted to do, both in his political life and in his personal life. Naturally he felt as if he would be "robbed" of the rest of his years if he passed away at only thirty-nine years of age. That's too young, even in his era when many of the kings only lived into their fifties or sixties. 

In the next segment we find Hezekiah crediting the Lord, so to speak, with causing him to fall ill. I don't want to say he "blames" the Lord but he does view his illness as coming from the Lord's hand. He is not wrong, spiritually speaking, for nothing comes upon the child of God that God has not allowed. The Lord allows hardships for various purposes in our lives, such as to help us build spiritual muscle for the future or to correct sinful behavior. I don't necessarily think Hezekiah is saying that the Lord actually pointed His finger at him and struck him with a deadly infection but I do think he is saying that the Lord allowed (did not prevent) him from coming down with a deadly infection.

"I said, 'I will not see the Lord again in the land of the living; no longer will I look on my fellow man, or be with those who now dwell in this world. Like a shepherd's tent my house has been pulled down and taken from me. Like a weaver I have rolled up my life, and He has cut me off from the loom; day and night You made an end of me. I waited patiently till dawn, but like a lion He broke all my bones; day and night You made an end of me. I cried like a swift or thrush, I moaned like a mourning dove. My eyes grew weak as I looked to the heavens. I am being threatened; Lord, come to my aid!" (Isaiah 38:11-14) Hezekiah knew the Lord could have prevented his calamity but he also knew the Lord could heal him. It was to the Lord he cried for help.

The Lord answered by healing him and Hezekiah credits the Lord for this great miracle. It was not the poultice of figs or any other medical treatment that healed him. "But what can I say? He has spoken to me, and He Himself has done this. I will walk humbly all my years because of this anguish of my soul. Lord, by such things people live; and my spirit finds life in them too. You restored me to health and let me live. Surely it was for my benefit that I suffered such anguish. In Your love You kept me from the pit of destruction; You have put all my sins behind Your back." (Isaiah 38:15-17) 

We were told earlier in our study of Hezekiah that he struggled with the sin of pride, both before and after his illness. He vows here to "walk humbly" for the rest of his life but we know that the author of 2 Chronicles stated that he was not always successful at this even after his recovery---that he did not entirely respond correctly to the kindness shown to him by the Lord. (2 Chronicles 32:24-26) But the same thing could be said of every person who has ever lived except for the Lord Jesus Christ. We have all failed at times to respond correctly to the Lord's kindness to us, for we have all sinned against Him. Hezekiah appears to view his illness as the correction of the Lord and he has (at least for now) responded by repenting of whatever was wrong in his heart and he thanks the Lord for allowing him to experience this trial because, now that it is over, he sees that it was for his own good. King David said a similar thing in Psalm 119:67 about an unspecified hardship: "Before I was afflicted I went astray, but now I obey Your word."

Because the Lord has corrected him, accepted his prayer of repentance, and healed him, Hezekiah praises Him and vows to continue to praise Him for the rest of his days in the land of the living. "For the grave cannot praise You, death cannot sing Your praise; those who go down to the pit cannot hope for Your faithfulness. The living, the living---they praise You, as I am doing today; parents tell their children about Your faithfulness. The Lord will save me, and we will sing with stringed instruments all the days of our lives in the temple of the Lord." (Isaiah 38:18-20)

Hezekiah isn't denying a belief in the eternal life of the soul when he says things like "the grave cannot praise You", "death cannot sing Your praise", and "those who go down to the pit cannot hope for Your faithfulness". What he's saying here continues the theme of being cut off in his prime: he's speaking of the inability (after death) to give testimony of the faithfulness of the Lord to others. He's speaking of being unable to do anything more for the Lord in this world. He's talking about being unable to continue declaring the mighty works of the Lord to the people of Judah and to the next generation of the Lord's people, for he talks about parents telling their children about the Lord's faithfulness. Which brings us to a final thought on today's passage: It is unclear whether Hezekiah had ever yet fathered any children. The only mention of children for Hezekiah will be made after he recovered from his illness, and having no son and successor may be another reason Hezekiah mourned so deeply what appeared to be his impending death. He fathers his son and successor three years after recovering from his illness.

So we see that Hezekiah is not saying that he didn't expect to spend eternity in the presence of the Lord after death but that he mourned being removed from the world where he was serving the Lord and serving the Lord's people. Hezekiah was one of the better kings of Judah and he did good things for his people. He made a lot of religious reforms and helped an untold number of people to scorn idolatry in favor of serving the living God. Hezekiah believed he had an eternal soul but that doesn't mean he wanted to die in his prime. You and I believe we have eternal souls but that doesn't mean we want to leave this life right this minute; Hezekiah felt the same way. He has been given a reprieve from death and he praises the name of the One who healed him and he intends to continue proclaiming the Lord's praises on the earth for as long as the Lord allows him to live.  

 

The Kings Of Israel And Judah. Day 106, Hezekiah King Of Judah, Part Twenty-Three

King Hezekiah has been told by the prophet Isaiah that he is going to recover from his life-threatening illness. In our last study session we found Hezekiah believing this enough to allow a poultice of figs to be placed upon the infected skin but, as we discussed, I think the poultice was more of a visual aid for the coming miracle rather than the poultice having enough healing power in itself to heal the king. Hezekiah had no doubt already submitted to every potential cure that existed in the arsenals of his physicians but, at the word of Isaiah, he tries this one final thing. 

Hezekiah has the faith to give this a try but he wants reassurance from the Lord. I don't think there is anything wrong with this. A number of times in the Bible we find someone asking the Lord for a sign to reassure themselves that they have correctly understood His word to them. We do not find the Lord chastising them for asking for a sign, "For He knows how we are formed, He remembers that we are dust." (Psalm 103:14) The Lord, who created us from the dust, knows all of our weaknesses. He knows we sometimes need an extra word of reassurance because it's hard being human in a fallen world where all sorts of bad things can happen. He doesn't judge us for that but instead is very sympathetic toward us, as we find Him being toward Hezekiah in the passage below.

"Hezekiah had asked Isaiah, 'What will be the sign that the Lord will heal me and that I will go up to the temple on the third day from now?' Isaiah answered, 'This is the Lord's sign to you that the Lord will do what He has promised: Shall the shadow go forward ten steps, or shall it go back ten steps?'" (2 Kings 20:9) In the book of Isaiah, this is how we find the Lord's offer described: "This is the Lord's sign to you that He will do what He has promised: I will make the shadow cast by the sun go back the ten steps it has gone down on the stairway of Ahaz." (Isaiah 38:7-8)

King Ahaz was the father of King Hezekiah and the stairway mentioned here was one that had been installed by Ahaz at the palace and it must have been within sight of Hezekiah's sickbed. I don't know whether it was an interior or exterior staircase but it had to have been positioned in such a way that the sun shined on it, for at least part of the day anyway. Some Bible scholars suggest it was an outdoor sundial that could be viewed from Hezekiah's window and that the word rendered as "steps" could also mean "degrees". If that's the case, then Isaiah is saying that the sun will move either ten degrees forward or ten degrees backward as the sign to the king. 

It's interesting to note that Hezekiah---of his own volition---asks the Lord for a sign whereas his father Ahaz was offered a sign and refused it. When Ahaz was king of Judah he learned that the king of Aram and the king of Israel had allied themselves together against him and were coming out with their armies in an attempt to overtake the kingdom of Judah. The Lord sent the prophet Isaiah out to tell Ahaz that He was not going to allow the kingdom to fall to these enemies and the Lord offered Ahaz a sign of his choosing. Ahaz refused and instead quoted the words of Moses from Deuteronomy 6:16 by saying he would not put the Lord to the test. (Isaiah 7:12) 

Ahaz's use of the reverent words of Moses was hypocritical (for Ahaz was a blatant idolater who would serve any god of any nation) and his use of the words of Moses was erroneous (for they did not apply to the situation at hand). When Moses warned the children of Israel that they were endangering themselves by putting the Lord to the test, what was happening in that scene was that the people were complaining against the Lord because they found no water at Massah. They were accusing the Lord of having driven them out into the wilderness to cause them and their livestock to die of thirst. They were threatening to stone Moses to death because he was the person the Lord used to lead them out of Egypt and into the wilderness. The people demanded a sign to prove that the Lord was with them because they were beginning to doubt that He cared about them---perhaps even beginning to doubt He existed at all. So we see how the situation at Massah was completely different from that of Ahaz and how he was quoting incorrectly from Deuteronomy 6:16. We see how he was being a hypocrite as well, for he never had any problem calling upon the name of any heathen god in an attempt to receive signs and wonders and miracles. He put on a pious act in front of the prophet Isaiah, as if he would not trouble the Lord for a sign or dare to consider himself worthy of receiving a sign from the Lord, but in his heart he did not really revere the Lord.

Hezekiah does not make the same mistake his father made. He isn't going to turn down a sign from the Lord. In fact, he doesn't even wait for the Lord to offer a sign but instead boldly asks for one in faith! I am of the opinion that if we had the faith to ask for bigger things from the Lord, we would see far more victories in this life. I am as guilty as anyone of thinking too small, so this portion of Scripture really ministers to me. Hezekiah thinks big when he thinks about God. When he asks for a sign and is presented with his choice of the sun going backward or forward ten degrees, he displays even more faith than he's already displayed by choosing the more difficult of the two options. "'It is a simple matter for the shadow to go forward ten steps,' said Hezekiah. 'Rather, have it go back ten steps.'" (2 Kings 20:10)

To have the shadow suddenly leap forward ten degrees would still be miraculous but forward is the direction in which the shadow would naturally go. Hezekiah is asking the Lord to go against the natural movement of the sun on the dial. The Lord graciously provides this wondrous sign in the sight of King Hezekiah, the prophet Isaiah, and all the king's attendants who were gathered at his bedside. "Then the prophet Isaiah called on the Lord, and the Lord made the shadow go back the ten steps it had gone down on the stairway of Ahaz." (2 Kings 20:11)

Our God is not only powerful but He's also willing to go to great lengths to demonstrate His mighty power on our behalf! In today's study we find Him bending the laws of nature to give King Hezekiah the reassurance he needs. Hezekiah loved the Lord but was not a perfect man; we've already learned earlier in our study of him that he struggles with the sin of pride. If the Lord was willing to do great things for an imperfect man like Hezekiah, He will also be willing to do great things for all those who love Him, imperfect though we may be. He knew that Hezekiah truly was devoted to Him and had never turned aside into idolatry. In response to this faithfulness on Hezekiah's part, the Lord took action on his behalf. You and I will make mistakes from time to time but the Lord looks on our hearts and knows that we love Him. He doesn't ask perfection of us, for He knows we are made of dust and cannot attain perfection in our earthly lives, but He asks instead for hearts faithful to Him. If we are faithful to Him, we can expect Him to act on our behalf.

The Kings Of Israel And Judah. Day 105. Hezekiah King Of Judah, Part Twenty-Two

Hezekiah is ill with what he's been told is a terminal illness. The prophet Isaiah gave him this bad news in yesterday's text. There is a clue in 2 Chronicles that may relate to the reason behind Hezekiah's illness. "In those days Hezekiah became ill and was at the point of death. He prayed to the Lord, who answered him and gave him a miraculous sign. But Hezekiah's heart was proud and he did not respond to the kindness shown him; therefore the Lord's wrath was on him and on Judah and Jerusalem. Then Hezekiah repented of the pride of his heart, as did the people of Jerusalem; therefore the Lord's wrath did not come upon them during the days of Hezekiah." (2 Chronicles 32:24-26)

The verses above indicate that there was pride in Hezekiah's heart both before and even after he received miraculous healing. Yesterday we talked about how we have moved back in time a bit to study Hezekiah's illness because when the authors of 2 Kings and 2 Chronicles say "in those days" they are speaking of the days when Judah was experiencing the Assyrian invasion. Hezekiah fell sick sometime after the Assyrian army began invading the land and attacking its cities but before the Lord delivered Jerusalem. In 2 Kings 20:6 we will see that the Lord's miraculous deliverance of Jerusalem has not yet happened, although we studied it in the previous chapter. The verses regarding Hezekiah's pride appear to be closely linked with the account of his illness and with the Lord's deliverance of Jerusalem; these events took place close together in time. If Hezekiah was struggling with the sin of pride, what was the reason for it? I think perhaps it is because his reign was so successful. The author of 2 Chronicles describes some of his successes below.

"Hezekiah had very great wealth and honor, and he made treasuries for his silver and gold and for his precious stones, spices, shields and all kinds of valuables. He also made buildings to store the harvest of grain, new wine and olive oil; and he made stalls for various kinds of cattle, and pens for the flocks. He built villages and acquired great numbers of flocks and herds, for God had given him very great riches." (2 Chronicles 32:27-29) Did Hezekiah lose sight of the fact that God had given him all these things? Did he allow his enormous wealth and his fame as a king to make him forget that he owes all his success to the Lord? If so, he's not the first king of the Bible to begin thinking he's a really big deal. But every time a king of the Bible begins thinking he's a really big deal, he messes up in a really big way! Hezekiah's illness and the Assyrian threat serve to remind him that without the Lord he can do nothing. He can't heal his own body and he can't defeat the mighty forces of Assyria. These two dreadful circumstances can only be turned around by the Lord.

Yesterday we found Hezekiah weeping and calling out to God for help. The Lord hears his sincere and humble and repentant prayer and sends Isaiah back to tell him that he will not die of his current illness. "Before Isaiah had left the middle court, the word of the Lord came to him: Go back and tell Hezekiah, the ruler of My people, 'This is what the Lord, the God of your father David, says: I have heard your prayer and seen your tears; I will heal you. On the third day from now you will go up to the temple of the Lord. I will add fifteen years to your life. And I will deliver you and this city from the hand of the king of Assyria. I will defend this city for My sake and for the sake of My servant David.'" (2 Kings 20:4-6) 

I've seen some commentators saying that the knowledge that he had fifteen years left was both a blessing and a curse. Fifteen years likely seemed like a long time to a man who thought he was going to die within just a few days. But as each year went by, this period of time must have seemed shorter and shorter. Knowing the approximate year of his death must have weighed on his mind. But other commentators state that this knowledge should be considered a blessing only, for knowing approximately when he would die should have encouraged Hezekiah to live wisely. This should have prompted him to work as hard as possible during those years to set an example for his family and for his nation so that after his demise they would continue to receive the gracious bounty and protection of the Lord. Some indications that Hezekiah did not always live wisely during the additional fifteen years are that he still had some pride after he was healed and that his son and successor (whom he fathered during those fifteen years) will be one of the most idolatrous kings Judah ever had. Whatever influence Hezekiah had on his son during the first twelve years of his son's life did nothing to cause him to want to serve and love the Lord. This makes us wonder whether Hezekiah lived in front of his son in a manner which was humble and reverent to the Lord or whether Hezekiah made a bigger deal of himself than he made of God. 

But for now, the news is good. Isaiah gives the good news to Hezekiah and then orders the king's servants to make a poultice for the boil that threatens the king's life. As we discussed yesterday, we don't know precisely what this boil was. It could have been some type of skin wound that became severely infected and caused sepsis. Or, as has been suggested by many scholars and historians and medical experts, he could have been suffering from the bubonic plague because some sort of plague seems to have befallen the Assyrian army around the same time, resulting in 185,000 deaths. "Then Isaiah said, 'Prepare a poultice of figs.' They did so and applied it to the boil, and he recovered." (2 Kings 20:7)

Verse 7 begs the question: If a poultice of figs was capable of healing the boil, why had they not already done that? Well, this is just my opinion and I could very well be wrong, but I don't think the poultice of figs was capable---in itself---of healing the boil. I'll explain why I believe this. Earlier in the Bible we found the prophet Elisha, for example, using ordinary things as part of his miracles. Those ordinary things did not have the power---in themselves---to bring about miraculous changes. But Elisha used those things as visual aids for the people when performing acts of faith, such as casting a bowl full of salt into a spring of bad water to turn it into drinkable water. Under normal circumstances, casting salt into unsafe drinking water would not have changed what was wrong with it. Likewise, under normal circumstances, applying a poultice of figs to a boil so infected that it must have caused systemic blood poisoning would not have been enough to bring Hezekiah back from the brink of death. But applying the poultice provides a visual aid for the act of faith that is taking place. By faith Isaiah believes the word of the Lord that Hezekiah will be healed, so he tells the servants to prepare the poultice. By faith the servants obey Isaiah's instructions to prepare and apply the poultice. By faith Hezekiah allows the poultice to be applied even though I have no doubt that the physicians of Judah had already tried every cure known to man in those days. Something as simple as applying a poultice probably seemed ridiculous, considering that more sophisticated cures have been attempted. But Hezekiah has enough faith to give it a try. 

Another example of using a simple thing as an act of faith can be found in 2 Kings 5. You may recall from earlier in our study of the Old Testament that a leprous man named Naaman, who was a top commander of the army of Aram, came to see the prophet Elisha in hopes that he could do something to heal him. Elisha instructed him to go down to the Jordan River and dip himself in it seven times. At first Naaman scoffed at the idea, not only because he felt such an act was incapable of producing any change in his condition, but also because he considered the oft-muddy waters of the Jordan to be inferior to the waters of the rivers of his own land. Naaman was about to go back to Aram in a rage until his servants reasoned with him that if Elisha had instructed him to do something very complicated, he would have done it, so why not try this simple thing? Naaman dipped himself seven times in the Jordan and was completely healed of leprosy. So we see that it was not really the waters themselves that healed Naaman but the faith it took for him to believe that the God of Israel could heal him.

Today's text reminds me of how often I've tried to solve problems by myself and have put myself through all sorts of complicated research or expensive efforts only to realize later that what I should have done was simply to go to God first. Many times, after I've gone to God, He has turned my circumstances completely around without my "help" at all. I haven't even had to lift a finger! There have been other times when I've had to participate in the turning around of my circumstances but His instructions have been quite simple to follow. In our text today we find Isaiah, the servants, and Hezekiah being wise enough to consult the Lord and follow His simple instructions. As a result, in our next study session we will find them witnessing not just one miracle but two miracles!

The Kings Of Israel And Judah. Day 104, Hezekiah King Of Judah, Part Twenty-One

The Scriptures spend a great deal of time telling us about the reign of Hezekiah because he was a good king and because good things happened while he was king. Sometimes we find a wicked king reigning for a long time but for the most part it seems like the Bible spends more time talking about the good kings than about the bad ones.

As we move on into our next portion of Scripture we find Hezekiah contracting an illness that's serious enough to take his life. For a time it looks like it is going to take his life.

"In those days Hezekiah became ill and was at the point of death. The prophet Isaiah son of Amoz went to him and said, 'This is what the Lord says: Put your house in order, because you are going to die; you will not recover." (2 Kings 20:1) When the author of 2 Kings says "in those days" he means during the era of the Assyrian invasion. We are actually backing up a bit in time in Chapter 20 from where we were in Chapter 19. At the end of Chapter 19 we found the Lord miraculously delivering Jerusalem from the army of King Sennacherib of Assyria but later in Chapter 20 we learn that Hezekiah's illness occurred before the city had been delivered.

I think it's likely that Hezekiah sent for Isaiah because he understood that his illness was life-threatening. He wanted the prophet to inquire of God for him to find out whether he will survive or not. This is not the first time in the Bible where a king has inquired of a prophet regarding his own illness or the illness of a family member. King Jeroboam I of Israel, for example, sent his wife to inquire of a prophet when their firstborn son fell ill. For another example, King Ahaziah of Israel suffered a very serious injury when he fell through a balcony railing at his palace. He sent his officials to ask a prophet if he would recover or not. In both of those cases, the answer was no---the person was not going to survive. I think if Jeroboam I or Ahaziah had repented at this bad news, the Lord would have reversed His answer. But neither of these men responded appropriately to the word of God. Hezekiah also gets bad news when he inquires of a prophet. In tomorrow's study session we will learn that Hezekiah had become prideful and that he repented of his pride and that the Lord was gracious to him. So Hezekiah, unlike Jeroboam I and Ahaziah, did respond appropriately to the word of God.

We don't know why Hezekiah became prideful or what form his pride took. We also don't know the nature of the illness but will find out that it involved a boil, perhaps a skin ulcer that had become infected to the point of turning septic. The mention of a boil has led many scholars and physicians and historians to conclude that Hezekiah had come down with the bubonic plague. The fact that 185,000 soldiers of the Assyrian army perish at around the same time is a clue that a plague may have been at work in the region. 

Upon hearing the bad news from Isaiah, Hezekiah cries out to the Lord for mercy. He knows the Lord is fully capable of doing anything He says He will do (such as saying He will allow Hezekiah to die) but he also knows the Lord often relents from allowing disaster when the person under His chastisement responds in sorrow and repentance. "Hezekiah turned his face to the wall and prayed to the Lord, 'Remember, Lord, how I have walked faithfully and with wholehearted devotion and have done what is good in Your eyes.' And Hezekiah wept bitterly." (2 Kings 20:2-3) 

King David, like King Hezekiah, understood that the Lord often relents from allowing disaster. The first child that David conceived with Bathsheba (in an act of adultery) fell ill just as the prophet Nathan told him he would. Nathan said the child would die but while the child was sick David wept and fasted and prayed. He said he did this because, "I thought, 'Who knows? The Lord may be gracious to me and let the child live.'" (2 Samuel 12:23a) David's child did not recover, and when we studied the book of 2 Samuel we talked about the likely reasons why the Lord could not relent in that situation, but in today's text I think Hezekiah is saying to himself, "Who knows? The Lord may be gracious to me and let me live."

King Hezekiah sin of pride does not require as much discipline as David's sins of adultery and murder. The Lord hears his prayer and relents of allowing this disaster to occur. Hezekiah's death would be a disaster not only to the king himself but to the nation as well, for Hezekiah has brought about many religious reforms in Judah. Hezekiah has not lived a sinless life but he speaks the truth when he says he has always been faithful to the Lord. He has never turned from the Lord to idolatry as so many kings of Israel and Judah did. In our next study session we will find the Lord accepting a prayer of repentance from Hezekiah and telling Isaiah---before Isaiah even gets all the way off the palace grounds!---to return to the king's room with good news.

The Kings Of Israel And Judah. Day 103, Hezekiah King Of Judah, Part Twenty

Hezekiah cried out to the Lord to deliver the nation of Judah from the army of Assyria. In yesterday's study we found the Lord speaking a word of judgment against King Sennacherib of Assyria. Today He reassures Hezekiah through the prophet Isaiah.

Isaiah says to Hezekiah: "This will be the sign for you, Hezekiah: 'This year you will eat what grows by itself, and the second year what springs from that. But in the third year sow and reap, plant vineyards and eat their fruit. Once more a remnant of the kingdom of Judah will take root below and bear fruit above. For out of Jerusalem will come a remnant, and out of Mount Zion a band of survivors. The zeal of the Lord Almighty will accomplish this.'" (2 Kings 19:29-31) 

The Assyrian invasion has interrupted much of the normal business of agriculture. The Assyrian army destroyed a lot of the crops that had already sprung up. Also the people in some of the areas of the land have not been able to safely go out and sow their fields with new crops. But the Lord is going to make enough "volunteer" plants come up this year to feed everyone. He will make enough come up the next year as well. After that, the people will be able to resume their regular schedule of planting and harvesting.

The thing Hezekiah fears will not come to pass. King Sennacherib has made many boasts about how he is going to destroy Jerusalem but it will not happen. This enemy king is basing his confidence on all the fact that he's already defeated other nations and has already captured some cities of Judah. But the Lord won't allow the capitol of Judah to fall. "Therefore this is what the Lord says concerning the king of Assyria: 'He will not enter this city or shoot an arrow here. He will not come before it with shield or build a siege ramp against it. By the way that he came he will return; he will not enter this city, declares the Lord. I will defend this city and save it, for My sake and for the sake of David My servant.'" (2 Kings 19:32-34)

Jerusalem will not fall to the king of Assyria. Jerusalem will fall in about a hundred years to the king of another nation: Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon. The Lord's reference to a "remnant" in verses 30 and 31 should have given Hezekiah pause. Why will there be a "remnant" at some point in the future and not an entire nation? Why does the Lord speak of "a band of survivors" out of Mount Zion? These words should be a clue to Hezekiah that although the current threat of Assyria will be averted, another threat looms large in the future. Hezekiah's own son and heir to the throne will be instrumental in bringing this future threat upon the people of Judah, for Hezekiah's successor will be one of the most wicked and idolatrous kings the nation ever had.

But for now the capitol city of Judah is safe. A godly king is on the throne of Judah and many religious reforms have been accomplished by him. A large number of the people have devoted themselves to the Lord. The Lord has heard the prayers of King Hezekiah, of Isaiah and the other prophets, and of the people of the nation. Not only has He heard their prayers, but He has kept His promise to David. The Lord made an oath to David that He would preserve his royal family line forever. This means the Lord will not allow King Hezekiah and his sons to be captured and put to death by the Assyrians. There are many historical accounts available for study that provide, in dreadful detail, the deadly and torturous methods by which the Assyrians dealt with the high officials of the cities they conquered. The Lord protects the royal line of Judah from destruction, not just because the current king honors His name, but because He will not break His promise to David.

"That night the angel of the Lord went out and put to death a hundred and eighty-five thousand in the Assyrian camp. When the people got up the next morning---there were all the dead bodies!" (2 Kings 19:35) The author of 2 Chronicles describes the miraculous event with these words: "King Hezekiah and the prophet Isaiah son of Amoz cried out in prayer to heaven about this. And the Lord sent an angel, who annihilated all the fighting men and the commanders and officers in the camp of the Assyrian king." (2 Chronicles 32:20-21a) 

We don't know what method the angel of the Lord used when striking these men dead. He may have brought a viral or bacterial plague upon them or he may simply have snuffed out the breath of each of these men in an instant. Whatever method he used, it has the desired effect. "So Sennacherib king of Assyria broke camp and withdrew. He returned to Nineveh and stayed there." (2 Kings 19:36) The Chronicler says, "So he withdrew to his own land in disgrace." (2 Chronicles 32:21b) The king who boasted he was going to decimate the army of Judah has instead had his own army decimated. He is unable to continue waging war at this time and is obliged to retreat to his palace at Nineveh to regroup. 

The final portion of our text today takes place several years later. Earlier in 2 Kings 19 the Lord told King Hezekiah through the prophet Isaiah that He would cause Sennacherib to return to his own country where "I will have him cut down with the sword". (2 Kings 19:7) Just as the Lord promised, Sennacherib is indeed cut down with the sword. Two of his sons will conspire against him and will assassinate him while he is in the temple of one of his pagan gods. "One day, while worshipping in the temple of his god Nisrok, his sons Adrammelek and Sharezer killed him with the sword, and they escaped to the land of Ararat. And Esarhaddon his son succeeded him as king." (2 Kings 19:37) 

The king who threatened to crush the nation of Judah under his feet is no more, and he doesn't even die in glory on the field of battle but is taken out of this life by members of his own household, which is a point that the Chronicler takes care to express: "And when he went into the temple of his god, some of his sons, his own flesh and blood, cut him down with the sword." (2 Chronicles 32:21c) The man who blasphemed the name of the Lord was hated by his own children. This man was so focused on cutting down the Lord's people that he failed to catch wind of a threat against his own life and was cut down himself by two people he never suspected were a threat to him. Sennacherib was put to disgrace by the supernatural defeat of his army and then he died in disgrace by being assassinated by his own children. Sennacherib lacked the power to make his threatening words come true but the Lord displayed His power by making His words come true that the Assyrian king would not so much as shoot an arrow into Jerusalem.

The people rejoice in the Lord's deliverance and show their gratitude to Hezekiah for his faithfulness and prayers to God. "So the Lord saved Hezekiah and the people of Jerusalem from the hand of Sennacherib king of Assyria and from the hand of all others. He took care of them on every side. Many brought offerings to Jerusalem for the Lord and valuable gifts for Hezekiah king of Judah. From then on he was highly regarded by all the nations." (2 Chronicles 32:22-23) 

The Kings Of Israel And Judah. Day 202, Hezekiah King Of Judah, Part Nineteen

In Monday's study we found King Hezekiah going up to the temple with the threatening letter from King Sennacherib of Assyria. Hezekiah cried out to the Lord over the letter, asking Him to defend the nation of Judah. The Lord sends His answer to Hezekiah through the prophet Isaiah.

"Then Isaiah son of Amoz sent a message to Hezekiah: 'This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: I have heard your prayer concerning Sennacherib king of Assyria. This is the word that the Lord has spoken against him: 'Virgin Daughter Zion despises you and mocks you. Daughter Jerusalem tosses her head as you flee. Who is it you have ridiculed and blasphemed? Against whom have you raised your voice and lifted your eyes in pride? Against the Holy One of Israel!'" (2 Kings 19:20-22) 

Scholars are divided in their opinions as to why the Lord refers to Judah as "Virgin Daughter Zion". Some believe that this title is used because the nation of Judah has not yet defiled itself with idolatry as did the northern kingdom of Israel. Others believe the term is used because the Lord is protecting the safety and virtue of Judah like a father protects the young unmarried daughter of his household from the unwelcome advances of an unworthy suitor. There are others who think the term is used because no nation has yet defeated and plundered Judah. Whatever the Lord meant by calling the nation of Judah "Virgin Daughter Zion", He is assuring her that He is about to protect her honor. When we study the books of the prophets and find the Lord deploring the idolatry of the northern kingdom of Israel (and the later idolatry of the kingdom of Judah), we will find Him comparing these nations to unfaithful wives. But during the reign of Hezekiah, who loved the Lord, many religious reforms were carried out and many of the people gave their hearts fully to the Lord. To the faithful the Lord shows Himself faithful. (Psalm 18:25)

The Lord's message to Hezekiah regarding Sennacherib continues: "By your messengers you have ridiculed the Lord. And you have said, 'With my many chariots I have ascended the heights of the mountains, the utmost heights of Lebanon. I have cut down its tallest cedars, the choicest of its junipers. I have reached its remotest parts, the finest of its forests. I have dug wells in foreign lands and drunk the water there. With the soles of my feet I have dried up all the streams of Egypt." (2 Kings 19:23-24) It's true that King Sennacherib has done these things to other nations. But that doesn't mean he will be able to do the same things to Judah. He can't do anything the Lord doesn't allow him to do, and in our next segment the Lord makes it clear that the only reason the king of Assyria has been able to defeat other nations is because it was the Lord's will for him to defeat them. 

"Have you not heard? Long ago I ordained it. In days of old I planned it; now I have brought it to pass, that you have turned fortified cities into piles of stone. Their people, drained of power, are dismayed and put to shame. They are like plants in the field, like tender green shoots, like grass sprouting on the roof, scorched before it grows up." (2 Kings 19:25-26) The Lord says to the prideful king, "You could not have lifted your hand against any nation if I had not allowed it. You are my instrument of judgment upon the nations that have rejected Me. But beware! Your nation is a nation that scorns my name and I have already chosen to reject both it and you. You are standing now but it is only by My permission that you stand. You too will fall." 

Sennacherib can be sure his sins will find him out. There is no place on earth where he can hide from God or from His judgment. When the day of judgment dawns, the Lord will know exactly where to find him. "But I know where you are and when you come and go and how you rage against Me. Because you rage against Me and because your insolence has reached My ears, I will put My hook in your nose and My bit in your mouth, and I will make you return by the way you came." (2 Kings 19:27-28)

The Lord is in control of all situations at all times. There is nothing anyone can plan against us---not even the devil of hell---that will come to pass unless it's the Lord's will for it to come to pass. And if it is His will for it to come to pass, He never intends any hardship to mean the destruction of the one who trusts in Him. If He allows hardship it is for a purpose, for the word of God promises us: "In all things God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose." (Romans 8:28) The circumstance itself may not be something anyone with a human might might consider good, but the Lord is able to bring something out of that circumstance that is to our benefit.

The Kings Of Israel And Judah. Day 201, Hezekiah King Of Judah, Part Eighteen

King Sennacherib of Assyria heard that the Egyptian forces were approaching, which forced him to leave off assaulting the cities of Judah for the time being. But he sent a letter to King Hezekiah of Judah to let him know that this is only a temporary reprieve; he intends to return and when he does he says he will destroy Jerusalem completely.

Hezekiah does the best thing he could possibly do with the alarming letter: he takes it to the Lord. "Hezekiah received the letter from the messengers and read it. Then he went up to the temple of the Lord and spread it out before the Lord." (2 Kings 19:14) 

Hezekiah is aware that the Lord---who knows all things---already knows what's in the letter. I don't think he takes it up to the temple because he believes the Lord can't read it anywhere else. The Lord knew what the letter would say before it was ever written! But I think Hezekiah feels closer to the Lord in the house that has been consecrated to His name. The situation is so dire that it's not comforting enough to Hezekiah to lay the letter down on the floor of the palace and to bow on his knees over it to cry out to God. The palace is Hezekiah's throne room, not the Lord's throne room. The Lord is enthroned in heaven but symbolically enthroned on earth between the cherubim atop the mercy seat of the ark of the covenant, which is housed within the Most Holy Place in the temple. Hezekiah doesn't enter the Most Holy Place, for it's not lawful for anyone but the high priest to do so, but I think he gets as close to it as he can in the outer room. I think when he bows before the Lord he does so while facing the Most Holy Place. He lays the letter down as close as he can to the throne of the only One capable of doing anything about his problems.

About twenty-three years ago I laid a particular bill down before the Lord in a similar manner because there was nothing I could do about it. I won't go into details but this unexpected and substantial expense was unpayable due to a relative having perpetrated a major theft against me. Not only had I been betrayed by someone, but I now had this bill to pay that I was unable to pay. I still to this day can't really explain how the Lord managed it, but by the time the deadline came to pay the bill, He had provided the money right down to the penny in the envelope into which I was putting every spare dollar. The task seemed impossible when I was confronted with it and I believe it actually would have been impossible if not for the Lord. Not long before this situation came into my life, a women's Bible study group I was a member of studied the life of King Hezekiah and the story of him laying Sennacherib's letter out before the Lord. Because of Hezekiah's example, I did the same, and like Hezekiah I received deliverance from my problem. I feel a special fondness for the portion of Scripture we are studying today because of the way the Lord used it in my own life.

I picture King Hezekiah kneeling in the temple of the Lord, facing the Most Holy Place, with the letter spread out on the floor in front of him. He calls out to the One who can change his circumstances. "And Hezekiah prayed to the Lord: 'Lord, the God of Israel, enthroned between the cherubim, You alone are God over all the kingdoms of the earth. You have made heaven and earth.'" (2 Kings 19:15)

Hezekiah begins his prayer by reminding himself of the power and sovereignty of God. Sennacherib's letter states that no god of any nation has ever protected a nation from the mighty army of Assyria. This is true but it's true for a reason Sennacherib does not appear to comprehend: the gods of the nations do not exist. Hezekiah's God, however, is the Creator of all things! Hezekiah's God spoke into the darkness, "Let there be light!", and the universe sprang into existence out of nothing. Hezekiah's God made the stars, the planets, every blade of grass on earth, every animal, every human, and space and time itself. The pagan people of the nations Sennacherib has already conquered called out to their gods in vain because their gods were formed by their own imaginations and could do nothing to help or hurt anyone. By contrast, Hezekiah's God created everything that exists out of His own imagination! The God who called all things into existence can easily thwart the plans of the king of Assyria if it's His will to do so.

It's always a good idea at the beginning of a prayer to remind ourselves how powerful God is. Hezekiah demonstrates that to us in our text today. The Lord Jesus Christ demonstrated that to us in the prayer known as "The Lord's Prayer" when He began the prayer by saying, "Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be Thy name." The opening sentence of His prayer reminds us that God is our Father who loves us---who loves us far more than a human parent ever could---and that He wants us to come to Him with our concerns. His prayer reminds us that God is enthroned in heaven and is in control of all things. His prayer reminds us that God is holy and that He will see to it that justice is carried out. Some things will be set right while we are all still here on this earth and some things will be set right at His judgment seat, but He will pass sentence on every wicked deed ever perpetrated on the earth. There are thousands upon thousands of unsolved cases on the books in every nation on earth. There are crimes people got away with---crimes of murder, crimes of abuse, crimes of various other natures. Nothing is hidden from the eyes of God and He will judge righteously. 

In our final segment of text today, Hezekiah will admit that there is some merit in what Sennacherib says in the letter, for it is true that the Assyrian army has conquered and subjected many peoples of many lands already. It is upon the basis of these successes that Sennacherib boasts of his ability to cause the fall of Jerusalem and Judah. This is why Sennacherib states that Hezekiah has no reason for holding onto any hope at all. But Hezekiah knows something Sennacherib does not know: Hezekiah's God is the one and only living God. It is on this basis that Hezekiah is holding onto hope. He knows that no army can stand against the living God if it is the Lord's will to defeat that army. 

"It is true, Lord, that the Assyrian kings have laid waste these nations and their lands. They have thrown their gods into the fire and destroyed them, for they were not gods but only wood and stone, fashioned by human hands. Now, Lord our God, deliver us from his hand, so that all the kingdoms of the earth may know that You alone, Lord, are God." (2 Kings 19:17-19) Hezekiah concludes his prayer by asking the Lord to act on behalf of the nation of Judah. He would not ask the Lord to give victory if he did not believe the Lord was able to give victory. His prayer is a prayer of faith. He displays the type of faith the Apostle Paul spoke about when he said: "And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to Him must believe that He exists and that He rewards those who earnestly seek Him." (Hebrews 11:6) Hezekiah believes the Lord exists. He believes the Lord rewards faith. He believes the Lord acts on behalf of those who earnestly seek Him, and it's important for us to note that Hezekiah earnestly sought the Lord long before Sennacherib threatened to lay siege to Jerusalem. Hezekiah isn't a person who only calls on the Lord when he's in trouble. He loved the Lord when times were good. He loves the Lord now that times are bad. The Lord hears Hezekiah's sincere prayer of faith and we will soon find the Lord moving in a mighty way to defend the king and the people of Judah.