When the hosts of Assyria were invading Judah and it seemed as if nothing could save Jerusalem, Hezekiah rallied the forces of his realm to resist their oppressors and to trust in the power of Jehovah to deliver: “Be strong and courageous, be not afraid nor dismayed for the king of Assyria, nor for all the multitude that is with him: with him is an arm of flesh; but with us is the Lord our God to help us, and to fight our battles.” 2 Chronicles 32:7, 8.
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The boastful Assyrian, while used by God for a season for the punishment of the nations, was not always to prevail. See Isaiah 10:5, 24-27. In a prophetic message given “in the year that King Ahaz died,” Isaiah had declared: “The Lord of hosts hath sworn, ... I will break the Assyrian in My land, and upon My mountains tread him underfoot ... . For the Lord of hosts hath purposed, and who shall disannul it?” Isaiah 14:28, 24-27.
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Hezekiah, in the earlier years of his reign, had continued to pay tribute to Assyria, in harmony with the agreement entered into by Ahaz. Meanwhile the king had done everything possible for the defense of his kingdom. He had made sure of a bountiful supply of water within Jerusalem. “He also made weapons and shields in abundance. And he set combat commanders over the people.” 2 Chronicles 32:5, 6, RSV. Nothing had been left undone in preparation for a siege.
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At the time of Hezekiah’s accession to the throne of Judah, the Assyrians had already carried captive a large number from the northern kingdom; and while he was strengthening the defenses of Jerusalem, the Assyrians captured Samaria and scattered the ten tribes among the Assyrian provinces. Jerusalem was less than fifty miles away; and the rich spoils in the temple would tempt the enemy to return.
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The king of Judah had determined to resist, and having accomplished all that human ingenuity and energy could do, he had exhorted his forces to be of good courage. The king with unwavering faith declared, “With us is the Lord our God to help us, and to fight our battles.” 2 Chronicles 32:8.
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Nothing more quickly inspires faith than the exercise of faith. Confident that the prophecy against the Assyrians would be fulfilled, the king stayed his soul upon God. “And the people took confidence from the words of Hezekiah king of Judah.” 2 Chronicles 32:8, RSV. What though the armies of Assyria, fresh from the conquest of the greatest nations, and triumphant over Samaria, should now turn against Judah? What though they should boast, “Shall I not do to Jerusalem and her idols as I have done to Samaria and her images?” Isaiah 10:11, RSV. Judah had nothing to fear, for their trust was in Jehovah.
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The long-expected crisis finally came. The forces of Assyria appeared in Judea. Confident of victory, the leaders divided their forces. One army was to meet the Egyptian army to the south, while the other was to besiege Jerusalem.
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Judah’s only hope now was in God. All possible help from Egypt had been cut off, and no other nations were near to lend a friendly hand.
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The Assyrian officers insolently demanded the surrender of the city. This demand was accompanied by blasphemous revilings against the God of the Hebrews. Because of the weakness and apostasy of Israel and Judah, the name of God was no longer feared among the nations, but had become a subject for continual reproach. See Isaiah 52:5.
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“Speak ye now to Hezekiah,” said Rabshakeh, one of Sennacherib’s chief officers, “Thus saith the great king, the king of Assyria, What confidence is this wherein thou trustest? Thou sayest, (but they are but vain words,) I have counsel and strength for the war. Now on whom dost thou trust, that thou rebellest against me?” 2 Kings 18:19, 20.
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The officers were outside the city, but within the hearing of the sentries on the wall. As the representatives of the Assyrian king loudly urged their proposals upon the chief men of Judah, the latter requested them to speak in the Syrian rather than the Jewish language, in order that those on the wall might not have knowledge of the proceedings of the conference. Rabshakeh, scorning this suggestion, lifted his voice still higher in the Jewish language:
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“Hear ye the words of the great king, the king of Assyria. Thus saith the king, Let not Hezekiah deceive you: for he shall not be able to deliver you. Neither let Hezekiah make you trust in the Lord, saying, The Lord will surely deliver us: this city shall not be delivered into the hand of the king of Assyria ... . Beware lest Hezekiah persuade you, saying, The Lord will deliver us. Hath any of the gods of the nations delivered his land out of the hand of the king of Assyria? ... Have they delivered Samaria out of my hand? Who are they among all the gods of these lands, that have delivered their land out of my hand, that the Lord should deliver Jerusalem out of my hand?” Isaiah 36:13-20.
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The Jewish representatives returned to Hezekiah “with their clothes rent, and told him the words of Rabshakeh.” Verse 22. The king “rent his clothes, and covered himself with sackcloth, and went into the house of the Lord.” 2 Kings 19:1.
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A messenger was dispatched to Isaiah: “This day is a day of trouble, and of rebuke, and blasphemy ... . It may be the Lord thy God will hear all the words of Rabshakeh, whom the king of Assyria his master has sent to reproach the living God; and will reprove the words which the Lord thy God hath heard: wherefore lift up thy prayer for the remnant that are left.” Verses 3, 4.
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“For this cause Hezekiah the king, and the prophet Isaiah the son of Amoz, prayed and cried to heaven.” 2 Chronicles 32:20.
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God answered His servants. To Isaiah was given the message for Hezekiah: “Thus saith the Lord, Be not afraid of the words which thou hast heard, with which the servants of the king of Assyria have blasphemed Me. Behold, I will send a blast upon him, and he shall hear a rumor, and shall return to his own land; and I will cause him to fall by the sword in his own land.” 2 Kings 19:6, 7.
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The Assyrian representatives communicated direct with their king who was with his army guarding the approach from Egypt. Sennacherib wrote “letters to rail on the Lord God of Israel, and to speak against Him, saying, As the gods of the nations of other lands have not delivered their people out of mine hand, so shall not the God of Hezekiah deliver His people out of mine hand.” 2 Chronicles 32:17.
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The boastful threat was accompanied by the message: “Let not thy God in whom thou trustest deceive thee, saying, Jerusalem shall not be delivered into the hand of the king of Assyria.” 2 Kings 19:10.
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When the king of Judah received the taunting letter, he took it into the temple and “spread it before the Lord” and prayed with strong faith for help from heaven, that the nations of earth might know that the God of the Hebrews still lived and reigned. Verse 14. The honor of Jehovah was at stake; He alone could bring deliverance.
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“O Lord God of Israel,” Hezekiah pleaded, “hear the words of Sennacherib, which hath sent [Rabshakeh] to reproach the living God. Of a truth, Lord, the kings of Assyria have destroyed the nations and their lands, and have cast their gods into the fire: for they were no gods ... . Now therefore, O Lord our God, I beseech Thee, save Thou us out of his hand, that all the kingdoms of the earth may know that Thou art the Lord God, even Thou only.” Verses 15-19.
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Give ear, O Shepherd of Israel, ... And come and save us. Turn us again, O God, And cause Thy face to shine; and we shall be saved. Psalm 80:1-3
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Hezekiah’s pleadings in behalf of Judah and of the honor of their Supreme Ruler were in harmony with the mind of God. Solomon had prayed the Lord to maintain “the cause of His people Israel, ... that all the people of the earth may know that the Lord is God, and that there is none else.” 1 Kings 8:59, 60. Especially was the Lord to show favor when, in times of war or oppression by an army, the chief men of Israel should enter the house of prayer and plead for deliverance. See Verses 33, 34.
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Isaiah sent to Hezekiah saying, “Thus saith the Lord God of Israel, That which thou hast prayed to Me against Sennacherib king of Assyria I have heard. This is the word that the Lord hath spoken concerning him: ...”
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“Whom hast thou reproached and blasphemed? And against whom hast thou exalted thy voice, and lifted up thine eyes on high? even against the Holy One of Israel. By thy messengers thou hast reproached the Lord.”“I know thy abode, and thy going out, and thy coming in, and thy rage against Me. Because thy rage against Me and thy tumult is come up into Mine ears, therefore I will put My hook in thy nose, and My bridle in thy lips, and I will turn thee back by the way by which thou camest.” 2 Kings 19:20-23, 27, 28.
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Judah had been laid waste by the army of occupation, but God had promised to provide miraculously for the people. To Hezekiah came the message: “The king of Assyria ... shall not come into this city, nor shoot an arrow there, nor come before it with a shield, nor cast a bank against it. By the way that he came, by the same shall he return, and shall not come into this city, saith the Lord. For I will defend this city, to save it, for Mine own sake, and for My servant David’s sake.” Verses 32-34.
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That very night deliverance came. “The angel of the Lord went out, and smote in the camp of the Assyrians an hundred fourscore and five thousand.” Verse 35. “All the mighty men of valor, and the leaders and captains in the camp of the king of Assyria” were slain. 2 Chronicles 32:21.
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Tidings of this terrible judgment upon the army that had been sent to take Jerusalem soon reached Sennacherib, who was still guarding the approach to Judea from Egypt. Stricken with fear, the Assyrian king hasted to depart and “returned with shame of face to his own land.” Verse 21. But he had not long to reign. In harmony with the prophecy concerning his sudden end, he was assassinated by those of his own home, “and Esarhaddon his son reigned in his stead.” Isaiah 37:38.
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The God of the Hebrews had prevailed. His honor was vindicated in the eyes of the surrounding nations. In Jerusalem the people were filled with holy joy. Their entreaties for deliverance had been mingled with confession of sin and with many tears. They had trusted wholly in the power of God to save, and He had not failed them. The temple courts resounded with songs of solemn praise.
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The stouthearted were stripped of their spoil; They sank into sleep; All the men of war Were unable to use their hands. At Thy rebuke, O God of Jacob, Both rider and horse lay stunned. But Thou, terrible art Thou! Who can stand before Thee When once Thy anger is roused? ...
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Make your vows to the Lord your God, and perform them; Let all around Him bring gifts To Him who is to be feared, Who cuts off the spirit of princes, Who is terrible to the kings of the earth. Psalm 76:5-12, RSV
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Inspiration has likened Assyria at the height of her prosperity to a noble tree in the garden of God, towering above the surrounding trees: “Under his shadow dwelt all great nations.”“All the trees of Eden ... envied him.” Ezekiel 31:6, 9.
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But the rulers of Assyria, instead of using their blessings for the benefit of mankind, became the scourge of many lands. Merciless, with no thought of God or their fellowmen, they pursued the fixed policy of causing all nations to acknowledge the supremacy of gods of Nineveh, whom they exalted above the Most High. God had sent Jonah to them with a message of warning, and for a season they humbled themselves before the Lord of hosts and sought forgiveness. But soon they turned again to idol worship and to the conquest of the world.
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The prophet Nahum, in his arraignment of the evildoers in Nineveh, exclaimed:
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Woe to the bloody city, All full of lies and booty— No end to the plunder!
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Horsemen charging, Flashing sword and glittering spear, Hosts of slain, heaps of corpses, Dead bodies without end— They stumble over the bodies!
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Behold, I am against you, says the Lord of hosts. Nahum 3:1, 3, 5, RSV
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With unerring accuracy the Infinite One still keeps account with the nations. While His mercy is tendered, with calls to repentance, this account remains open; but when the figures reach a certain amount which God has fixed, the ministry of His wrath begins. The account is closed.
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“The Lord is slow to anger, and great in power, and will not at all aquit the wicked.”“Who can stand before His indignation? and who can abide in the fierceness of His anger?” Nahum 1:3, 6.
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It was thus that Nineveh became a desolation, “where the lion brought his prey, where his cubs were, with none to disturb.” Nahum 2:11, RSV.
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Zephaniah prophesied of Nineveh: “Herds shall lie down in the midst of her, all the beasts of the field; the vulture and the hedgehog shall lodge in her capitals; the owl shall hoot in the window, the raven croak on the threshold; for her cedar work will be laid bare.” Zephaniah 2:14, RSV.
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The pride of Assyria and its fall are to serve as an object lesson to the end of time. “The Lord is good, a stronghold in the day of trouble; and He knoweth them that trust in Him. But with an overrunning flood He will make an utter end” of all who endeavor to exalt themselves above the Most High. Nahum 1:7, 8.
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This is true not only of the nations that arrayed themselves against God in ancient times, but also of nations today who fail of fulfilling the divine purpose. In the day of final awards, when the righteous Judge of all the earth shall “sift the nations” (Isaiah 30:28), heaven’s arches will ring with the triumphant songs of the redeemed. “Ye shall have a song,” the prophet declares, “as in the night when a holy solemnity is kept; and gladness of heart, as when one goeth with a pipe to come into the mountain of the Lord, to the Mighty One of Israel ... . Through the voice of the Lord shall the Assyrian be beaten down, which smote with a rod.” Verses 29-31.
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