Whilst the Northern Kingdom of Israel was taken into captivity, 2 Kings 17:5, Hezekiah now becomes king of the Southern Kingdom of Judah at the age of twenty-five, 2 Chronicles 29:1. He reigned for twenty-nine years, from 716 B.C. to 687 B.C. 2 Kings 18:1-2 / 2 Chronicles 29:1 . His mother was Abijah, the daughter of Zechariah, 2 Kings 18:2 / 2 Chronicles 29:1, who is probably the person mentioned by Isaiah, as a ‘faithful witness’, Isaiah 8:2.
When we read Isaiah 36-37, we soon discover that we have a parallel account of what we have recorded here in 2 Kings 18, and 2 Kings 19, it’s almost word for word. Hezekiah did what was right in the eyes of God, 2 Kings 18:3 / 2 Chronicles 29:2, he trusted God and restored Judah back to God.
Clarke, in his commentary, says the following.
‘In 2 Chronicles 29:1-36, of the second book of Chronicles, we have an account of what this pious king did to restore the worship of God. He caused the priests and Levites to cleanse the holy house, which had been shut up by his father Ahaz, and had been polluted with filth of various kinds; and this cleansing required no less than sixteen days to accomplish it. As the Passover, according to the law, must be celebrated the fourteenth of the first month, and the Levites could not get the temple cleansed before the sixteenth day, he published the Passover for the fourteenth of the second month, and sent through all Judah and Israel to collect all the men that feared God, that the Passover might be celebrated in a proper manner. The concourse was great, and the feast was celebrated with great magnificence. When the people returned to their respective cities and villages, they began to throw down the idol altars, statues, images, and groves, and even to abolish the high places; the consequence was that a spirit of piety began to revive in the land, and a general reformation took place.’
Hezekiah also made reforms in the cities, but also in the rural areas as he removed the high places of the false gods by destroying them, 2 Kings 18:4 / 2 Chronicles 31:20-21 / Deuteronomy 12:2-4 / Deuteronomy 12:11-14 / Leviticus 26:30.
The bronze snake Moses made, was now called ‘Nehushtan’, 2 Kings 18:4, which means ‘the bronze thing.’ This tells us that what the snake actually signified from Israel’s past had long been forgotten, Numbers 21:8-9, and was being worshipped.
Coffman, in his commentary, says the following, concerning the altar.
‘But does not 2 Kings 16:14-16, state that Ahaz himself made offerings on that special altar? Yes, indeed, but there is no contradiction here. The Chronicler is merely telling us, and those Levites, that those sacrifices that Ahaz offered on an Assyrian altar, were, in no sense, offered unto the God of Israel, but were actually sacrifices to Assyrian gods.’
In doing all these things, he did what the kings before him failed to achieve, Isaiah 52:11. No wonder the Lord was with Hezekiah, he was committed to serving God and restoring the people of Judah back to God and God was committed to being with him.
Whitcomb, in his commentary, gives us a detailed account of exactly what Hezekiah did.
1. He opened the temple doors which Ahaz had closed, 2 Chronicles 28:24 / 2 Chronicles 29:3.
2. He ordered the cleansing of the temple, 2 Chronicles 29:4-19.
3. He offered appropriate sacrifices, 2 Chronicles 29:20-36.
4. He invited Israelites of every tribe to come to Jerusalem, 2 Chronicles 30:5-12.
5. He also celebrated a Passover that had to be delayed a month to allow the worshippers to become clean, 2 Chronicles 30:1-12.
In doing all these things, he did what the kings before him failed to achieve, 2 Kings 18:5. No wonder the Lord was with Hezekiah. He was committed to serving God and restoring the people of Judah back to God, 2 Kings 18:6, and God was committed to being with him, 2 Kings 18:7 / 2 Chronicles 32:23 / 2 Chronicles 32:27-29.
Hezekiah rebelled against the king Assyria and refused to serve him, 2 Kings 18:7-8. At first, he was probably against Sennacherib, but after the death of Sennacherib, his revolt was against Sargon.
In these verses, we read again about the downfall of the Northern Kingdom of Israel. Shalmaneser marched against Samaria and laid siege to it, and at end of three years the Assyrians took it, 2 Kings 18:9. Samaria was captured in Hezekiah’s sixth year, which was the ninth year of Hoshea, 2 Kings 18:10.
The king of Assyria deported Israel to Assyria and settled them in Halah, in Gozan on the Habor River and in towns of the Medes, 2 Kings 18:11. Some commentators suggest that ‘since Shalmaneser had died before the battle against Samaria was completed, the ‘king of Assyria’ that is mentioned in 2 Kings 18:11, would be Sargon II. By the time of Assyria’s attack on the Southern Kingdom of Judah in 2 Kings 18:13, Sargon had died and Sennacherib was king of Assyria.’
All this happened because God’s people refused to be faithful to God, they disobeyed His commandments, and created their own laws, they committed idolatry and worshipped idols instead of worshipping the God of Israel, 2 Kings 18:12 / 2 Kings 17:3-7
Sennacherib in 701 B.C., attacked all the fortified cities of Judah and captured them, 2 Kings 18:13. History tells us when Sargon was killed in battle in the land of Tabal, a rebellion started throughout many Mediterranean regions where Assyria had formerly conquered several small nations. Hezekiah was one who joined in with this rebellion against the Assyrians, 2 Kings 18:7-8.
At the same time, the Bible tells us that Marduk-Baladan was leading the rise of the Babylonian Empire and encouraged other nations to join in with the rebellion, 2 Kings 20:12-19 / Isaiah 39:1-8. It was during this time of rebellion that Sennacherib attacked all the cities of Judah. When Sennacherib initially defeated Tyre, then the capital cities, except Ashkelon, Ekron and Jerusalem, Hezekiah submitted to pay tribute to Assyria. However, Sennacherib eventually defeated Ashkelon and wanted to do the same to Ekron.
The Philistines made an alliance with Shabaka of Egypt, who in turn called for reinforcements from Ethiopia. But Sennacherib defeated this coalition of nations at Eltekah, north of Ekron. After his conquest of Eltekah, Timnah and Ekron, Sennacherib headed for Jerusalem. Before arriving in Jerusalem, he engaged Lachish, 2 Kings 18:14, a well-fortified city that was at the time larger than Jerusalem.
Hezekiah wants to know what he has done wrong, and tells Sennacherib to back off and he will pay him whatever he wants, 2 Kings 18:14. Notice that Hezekiah paid a large tribute to Sennacherib, 2 Kings 18:14. This is because he knew he couldn’t stop him, he was way too powerful for Judah. Hezekiah took all the treasures out of the temple and even strips the gold overlay from the doorposts, 2 Kings 18:15 / 2 Kings 16:8. This was the first invasion of Sennacherib to the land of Judah, but another is soon to follow.
When Hezekiah found out that Sennacherib had come to wage war against Jerusalem, he consulted with his officials and military staff about blocking off the water from the springs outside the city, 2 Chronicles 32:2-3.
Because Jerusalem’s water supply was open to any attack, and since it was dependent on two springs, Hezekiah’s plan was twofold, to hide the springs outside the city in order to distress the Assyrians, and to convey their water underground into the city, in order to increase his own supply during the siege, 2 Chronicles 32:4.
Hezekiah rebuilds the broken parts of the wall, 2 Chronicles 32:5, which had obviously been neglected over time, 2 Chronicles 28:1-10, and he pulls down houses to use the material to help towards repairing the wall, Isaiah 22:10.
Hezekiah encourages everyone to be strong and courageous and not to be afraid or dismayed, 2 Chronicles 32:6-7 / Isaiah 22:5-13 / Isaiah 29:3. Notice he says, what Elisha the prophet said, ‘there is a greater power with us than with him’, 2 Chronicles 32:7 / 2 Kings 6:16.
Clarke, in his commentary, says the following.
‘This was soon proved to be true by the slaughter made by the angel of the Lord in the Assyrian camp, 2 Kings 19:35.’
Hezekiah’s faith is seen when he says concerning Sennacherib, ‘with him is only the arm of flesh, but with us is the LORD our God to help us and to fight our battles’, 2 Chronicles 32:8 / 2 Kings 18:14-16. And the people gained confidence from what Hezekiah said, 2 Chronicles 32:8.
It’s important for us to think about the chronology of these verses, otherwise, we may get a little confused.
Barnes, in his commentary, says the following, concerning 2 Kings 18:17 / 2 Chronicles 32:9.
‘An interval of time must be placed between this verse and the last. Sennacherib, content with his successes, had returned to Nineveh with his spoil and his numerous captives. Hezekiah, left to himself, repented of his submission, and commenced negotiations with Egypt, 2 Kings 18:21 / 2 Kings 18:24 / Isaiah 30:2-6 / Isaiah 31:1, which implied treason against his Assyrian suzerain. It was under these circumstances that Sennacherib appears to have made his second expedition into Palestine very soon after the first.’
Gill, in his commentary, says the following.
‘This was after Hezekiah had given him a large quantity of silver and gold to depart, and he did depart from him, 2 Kings 18:14, but he himself laid siege against Lachish, and all his power with him, one of the cities of Judah, Isaiah 36:2, from hence he dispatched them unto Hezekiah king of Judah, and unto all Judah that were at Jerusalem, who had retired thither for safety, upon the invasion of their country by the king of Assyria.’
Sennacherib now sends his supreme commander, chief officer and field commander to Hezekiah, 2 Kings 18:17 / 2 Chronicles 32:9. The K.J.V. uses the word, ‘Tartan’ for ‘supreme commander’, meaning general, commander of the Assyrian army, Isaiah 20:1. The K.J.V. uses the word, ‘Rabsaris’, for ‘chief officer’ meaning chief eunuch, or bodyguard, Jeremiah 39:3 / Jeremiah 39:13. The K.J.V. uses the word, ‘Rabshakeh’, for ‘field commander’ meaning the chief cup-bearer, a court official often in charge of administrative duties.
They go to Jerusalem and stop at the aqueduct of the Upper Pool, on the road to the Washerman’s Field, 2 Kings 18:17. They called for Hezekiah but Eliakim the palace administrator, Isaiah 22:20-22, Shebna the secretary, and Joah the recorder went out to them, 2 Kings 18:18.
Apparently Rabshakeh was the spokesman in charge of negotiations and so, he asks on behalf of Sennacherib what is the basis for their confidence? 2 Kings 18:19 / 2 Chronicles 32:9-10. He tells them that Hezekiah is misleading them, allow them to die of thirst and hunger, 2 Chronicles 32:11. He mocks them by saying that they have the council and might for war, but they are only empty words, 2 Kings 18:20.
They want to know who they are dependent upon to rebel against Sennacherib, 2 Kings 18:20. It appears that Sennacherib knew all the reforms Hezekiah was doing, which included the removal of the high places, 2 Chronicles 32:12 / 2 Kings 18:3-4.
Clarke, in his commentary, says the following.
‘That they may be duly apprised, if they hold on Hezekiah’s side, Jerusalem shall be most straitly besieged, and they be reduced to such a state of famine as to be obliged to eat their own excrements.’
If they say to Sennacherib, they are depending on God, isn’t he the one whose high places and altars Hezekiah removed, saying to Judah and Jerusalem, they must worship before this altar in Jerusalem, 2 Kings 18:22 / 2 Kings 18:4.
Rabshakeh now offers Hezekiah’s representatives to bargain with Sennacherib and they will give Hezekiah two thousand horses, if you can put riders on them, 2 Kings 18:23. They ask how can you reject one of Sennacherib’s officers offer, even though Hezekiah is depending on Egypt for chariots and horsemen, 2 Kings 18:24. It appears that Sennacherib had forgotten his earlier promise to spare the city for that vast tribute, 2 Kings 18:14.
Notice that Rabshakeh tried to discourage Hezekiah from making this alliance by telling him that he was on a mission from God, 2 Kings 18:25. In a sense he was, but not in the sense he thought, Isaiah 10:5-11. However, it wasn’t God’s mission for the Assyrians to take Jerusalem, that mission belonged to the Babylonians. Although Rabshakeh was arrogant, Hezekiah, with the help and guidance of Isaiah, Judah stood firm in her revolt against the Assyrian Empire.
Here we learn that the main two languages during these days were Aramaic and Hebrew. Here we read of a mixture of truths and some huge lies, in Rabshakeh’s rant, and the representatives of Hezekiah tried to arrange for the mission from Sennacherib to speak in a language the defenders on the walls of the city wouldn’t understand, 2 Kings 18:26. However, this plan was rejected by Rabshakeh, who then finished his insulting speech, addressing it directly to the men on the wall, 2 Kings 18:27 / 2 Chronicles 32:11.
Clarke, in his commentary, says the following.
‘That they may be duly apprised, if they hold on Hezekiah’s side, Jerusalem shall be most straitly besieged, and they be reduced to such a state of famine as to be obliged to eat their own excrements.’
Now Rabshakeh threatens them on the wall in their Hebrew tongue, 2 Kings 18:28. Notice how arrogant Sennacherib’s officers were, they basically boast about everything they have done in other lands, 2 Chronicles 32:13. They say that their god is greater than any other god, 2 Chronicles 32:14. He tells them not to listen to Hezekiah just because he says God will help you, that’s not true, 2 Kings 18:29-30 / 2 Chronicles 32:14.
He tells them to choose life or death and if they surrender, they will live in peace in a land of luxury, 2 Kings 18:31-32. He questions their faith and says if they believe God can deliver them from Sennacherib, how come no other god has been able to stop them, 2 Kings 18:32-35.
Rabshakeh appears to be giving the people a choice, they can choose to live in Assyria in captivity or they can pay the consequences for rebelling against Sennacherib. Because Sennacherib had conquered many cities including Samaria, this would certainly discourage the Israelites from rebelling.
However, they continue to speak against God and Hezekiah, 2 Chronicles 32:15-16 / 2 Kings 18:1 / Isaiah 36:1. Notice also that arrogant Sennacherib also wrote a letter, ridiculing God, saying that the god of Hezekiah won’t be able to save Israel, 2 Chronicles 32:17 / 2 Kings 19:9.
The phycological ridicule continues as the officers cry out to those on the wall, speaking in Hebrew, 2 Chronicles 32:18 / Isaiah 36:11. They did this to frighten Israel and cause confusion among the Israelites in an effort to take the city. The ridicule continued as they spoke against God, 2 Chronicles 32:19, in other words, they couldn’t see any difference between Israel’s God and any other god, Isaiah 36:19.
Coffman, in his commentary, says the following concerning Sennacherib’s arguments.
1. It is foolish to rely on Egypt for help.
The prophets of God had frequently warned God’s people of such a foolish course, and so this must be understood simply as a fact.
2. This argument was a theological one.
Hezekiah had indeed taken away the high places and the altars mentioned, and Rabshakeh’s false argument was that such must have displeased Jehovah. This, of course, was an outright lie. God was pleased with Hezekiah’s actions.
3. The third argument, 2 Kings 18:23-24, called attention to the overwhelmingly large army of the Assyrians.
This was true, but the joker in that argument was that it would take an army of a million just as long to besiege a city as it would take an army of one-tenth that size, and the last thing on earth that Sennacherib wanted at that stage of his operations was a long siege.
4. The most astounding argument of all is the fourth.
Rabshakeh claimed that Jehovah had ordered him to come up and destroy Judah and Jerusalem. This was exactly the manoeuvre of Adolph Hitler who employed the Big Lie as one of his weapons.
5. The fifth argument was such a monumental falsehood that one may well wonder at the stupidity of the man who told it.
‘If you will just surrender, we will provide you free transportation to a beautiful land far away, just like the Garden of Eden!’ How stupid was Rabshakeh that he supposed the Jews could have forgotten ‘that free transportation’ provided the Northern tribes, who were driven on foot, linked together with long cables fastened in the lips, ears, cheeks or noses of their victims into northern Mesopotamia, or how all of them were put to work in fields, factories, or brickyards, where they were only slaves, starved, worked, or beaten to death.’
‘Those gracious, kind, and gentle Assyrians, which Rabshakeh pretended they were, had earned the title of ‘The Breakers’ all over the world of that era, and their cruelties and brutalities were the worst mankind ever saw. They flayed their victims alive. They impaled them. They starved and beat them unmercifully.’
6. Number six was another religious argument.
None of the gods of all the cities and countries that had fallen into the hand of Sennacherib had ever been able to deliver them. Therefore, Jehovah the God of Judah would not be able to deliver them. Rabshakeh himself was due to learning something with regard to this argument, as shall be dramatically revealed in 2 Kings 19.
Hezekiah’s representatives didn’t answer them because Hezekiah had commanded them not to, 2 Kings 18:36. Hezekiah didn’t give in to Sennacherib, he trusted what God had told Isaiah, that Sennacherib wouldn’t enter the city, 2 Chronicles 32:9-19.
Notice also that Eliakim, Shebna, and Joah went to Hezekiah, with their clothes torn to tell him what Rabshakeh said, 2 Kings 18:37. Although they were deeply discouraged by what Rabshakeh had said, Hezekiah continued to trust in God to deliver Judah from the threat of the Assyrians.
Clarke, in his commentary, says the following.
‘It was the custom of the Hebrews, when they heard any blasphemy, to rend their clothes, because this was the greatest of crimes, as it immediately affected the majesty of God, and it was right that a religious people should have in the utmost abhorrence every insult offered to the object of their religious worship. These three ambassadors lay the matter before the king as God’s representative, he lays it before the prophet, as God’s minister and the prophet lays it before God, as the people’s mediator.’