HEZEKIAH AND REMOVING THE IDOLWORSHIP The Holy Book gave a wide range to talk about Hezekiah king of Judah, more than it did to any other king since the death of king Solomon; On one aspect because his life presents a living testimony about God’s dealings with the believers, particularly those who wish to attach themselves to Him. And on another aspect, because it shows that, whatever the extent of the holiness of man may reach, and his care to walk with the Spirit, he may be subject to weaknesses into which someone less holy than him, may not fall. It is as though the life of king Hezekiah is counted as a warning to every believer, not to think of himself as something, to trust in himself, and not in God.. For falling, only for few moments, as a result of negligence or trust in his own capabilities or in the purity of his life, may destroy much of what he has acquired; and may cause harm to many. The biography of king Hezekiah came in (2 kings 18-20; 2 Chronicles 29-32; Isaiah 36: 39). When Hezekiah sat on the throne, Judah was a State under the authority of Assyria. Hezekiah was considered as one of the kings who had a great role in reform; who led a campaign against all forms of idol-worship. 1- The good king Hezekiah and removing the idol-worship 1 - 6 2- Hezekiah rebels against Assyria 7 3- Hezekiah subdues the Philistines 8 4- The Assyrian captivation of Samaria 9 - 12 5- The first attack by Sennacherib against Judah 13 - 16 6- The second attack by Sennacherib against Judah 17 – 37 1- THE GOOD HEZEKIAH AND REMOVING THE IDOL WORSHIP: King Hezekiah was the first to keep the Lord’s commandments since the days of king David (6). He intended to bring back the true upright worship of the Lord on the level of the people. But when he revealed the treasures to the messengers of the king of Babylon, probably with pride, the divine command came for Judah to fall into captivity. “Now it came to pass in the third year of Hoshea the son of Elah, king of Israel, that Hezekiah the son of Ahaz, king of Judah, began to reign” (1) The third year of Hoshea is the year 729 BC…. The twenty-nine years of Hezekiah’s reign include the 13 years period, he was a partner of his father Ahaz before he reigned alone (716-699 BC). Hezekiah, the name literally means (God gives strength).. “He was twenty-five years old when he became king, and he reigned twenty-nine years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Abi the daughter of Zechariah” (2). “And he did what was right in the sight of the LORD, according to all that his father David had done” (3) Despite what characterized his father Ahaz of evil, corruption, and failure, we find that Hezekiah walked in the fear of God; yet, unfortunately, his own son disobeyed God’s commandment, to confront the temptation of captivity. … Neither the spiritual life nor the holy, or the corrupt ethical principles are inherited; and everyone has the complete freedom to obey or disobey the Lord’s commandments. About king Hezekiah it is said: “He did what was right in the sight of God, according to all that his father David has done”; as it was said about king Asa (1 kings 15: 11), and about king Josiah ( ). Other than those three kings, whose fathers were evil, that was not said concerning any other king of Judah. It so seems that the prophet Isaiah was a counselor of Hezekiah in his youth before he sat on the throne, and was influenced by him. “ He removed the high places and broke the sacred pillars, cut down the wooden imag and broke in pieces the bronze serpent that Moses had made; for until those days the children of Israel burned incense to it, and called it Nehushtan” (4) The previous kings sinned by disregarding the high places, and not removing their idols; to end up turning into centers of abominations, unbefitting of the believers. King Hezekiah, on the other hand, not only broke down the idols, but, seeing how the believers honored and burned incense to the bronze serpent they kept since the days of the prophet Moses in the wilderness, he broke it into pieces. Although some of the kings of Judah were good kings, who did what is right in the sight of God, yet they were not concerned with removing the high places. According to St. Augustine, Hezekiah was the first to remove them.. In his works to correct the thoughts of the Donatists, St. Augustine made it clear that a king or a ruler worships God with fear (Psalm 2: 1-2;. 10-11) in two ways: As a believing man, himself, who worships God with fear through his practical life of faith; And as a king, who worships God by issuing laws that command his subjects to walk in righteousness; and by punishing whoever does otherwise So did Hezekiah as a godly king, when he removed the high places and broke the idols to pieces. + So Hezekiah did by removing the temples of the idols and the high places; that were set contrary to the commandments of God (2 kings 18: 4) a testimony for giving him a great credit. So did king Josiah by practicing the same works (2 Kings 23: 4; 20);… So did the king of Nineveh, by committing the whole city to please the Lord (Jonah 3: 6-9); … So did Darius by delivering the statue to Daniel to break it down (Daniel and the dragon 42); … And so did Nebuchadnezzar by issuing an awesome law that forbade anyone of his subjects to blaspheme God (Daniel 3: 29). … By so doing, the kings can serve the Lord as kings, when they practice what they, otherwise, cannot do, if they were not kings. (St. Augustine) God commanded the prophet Moses to make a bronze statue of a fiery serpent, and to lift it up on a pillar in the wilderness, to heal whoever looks at it (Numbers 21: 4-9). That bronze serpent bore a symbol of the work of the Lord Christ, the crucified Savior of the world, according to the words of the Lord Himself, saying: “As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so, the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in Him should not perish, but has eternal life” (John 3: 14, 15). But once the people of Israel abused the concept of that bronze serpent, and worshipped it as an idol, offering it sacrifices, that serpent lost its spiritual and symbolic concept, because of the corrupt minds and hearts of the people; and king Hezekiah crushed it (2 kings 18: 4). He so did by a living conscience, seriously , and without flattery nor fear; something that was not easy to do, on account of that that serpent had so much popularity on the level of the Jewish leaderships and the people; but Hezekiah did not care for anything beside resisting any wrong thoughts, contrary to God’s statutes; by which his godliness was greatly admired... During the sanctification of the sacrament of Eucharist; if the bishop is present, a deacon holds the staff of the bishop that ends up with a golden cross surrounded by two golden serpents. (This staff is different from the one continuously held by the bishop, as a sign of his apostolic shepherding). In (2 Chronicles 29) iy came that in the first year of Hezekiah’s reign, he opened up the gates of the house of the Lord; the priests cleansed the house of the Lord, and offered sacrifices, and the Levites sang praises; made a Passover to the Lord, to which he invited Israel, Judah, Ephraim, Manasseh, and Zebulun. And when he consummated all that (2 Chronicles 31: 1), all Israel came out to the cities of Judah, and broke down the high places, the sacred pillars, and the wooden images (1 kings 14: 23) “ He trusted in the LORD God of Israel, so that after him was none like him among all the kings of Judah, nor who were before him” (5). It is amazing that king Hezekiah who surpassed all the kings before and after him (except for king David), had an evil father – Ahaz – He was even justified by his rejection of his father’s evil way for the sake of the Lord. If the Northern kingdom collapsed before Assyria , because of breaking the divine commandment, and their treason of the covenant with God, Hezekiah, king of Judah, the southern kingdom, could confront Assyria’s might by his godliness, and trust in God. He confronted the last campaign of Sennacherib in the year 701 BC, by a divine help. “For he held fast to the LORD; he did not depart from following Him, but kept His commandments, which the LORD had commanded Moses” (6). 2- HEZEKIAH’S REBELS AGAINST ASSYRIA: “ The LORD was with him; he prospered wherever he went. And he rebelled against the king of Assyria and did not serve him” (7). Hezekiah’s refusal to serve Assyria with humiliation; and defeating the Philistines; helped Judah as an independent nation to carry a new power in the region; and to suffer no more fear of any threat from the surrounding nations. Judah at that time, being located between two major worldly powers; namely Assyria and Egypt; and embracing the main ways of universal commerce in the Middle East;, each of Assyria and Egypt competed to have it under its authority. On another aspect, whenever there was war between the two powers, one of them would cross over to the other through Judah, destroying it. Judah was considered as a buffer that protects each of the two powers against the other. The nation, that could have the authority over Judah, would, therefore, gain commercial and military advantage over its competitor. When Hezekiah became king, Judah was under the authority of Assyria; yet by his faith, and by the power of God, he could rebel against that mighty nation, something that would be seen as humanly impossible to achieve. He probably rebelled against the king of Assyria at the beginning of his reign, but the later did not fight against him, for he was then preoccupied with wars against Samaria, Tyre, and Egypt; and probably because Hezekiah fought against and defeated the Philsitines. 3- HEZEKIAH SUBDUES THE PHILISTINES: “He subdued the Philistines, as far as Gaza and its territory, from watchtower to fortified city” (8). Because Sennacherib gave a part of Judah to the king of Gazza, the war made by Hezekiah against the Philistines was probably to get it back. Some Philistines were on Assyria’s side, and some were against him. Hezekiah made war against the former, and helped the later. 4- THE ASSYRIAN CAPTIVATION OF SAMARIA: “Now it came to pass in the fourth year of King Hezekiah, which was the seventh year of Hoshea the son of Elah, king of Israel, that Shalmaneser king of Assyria came up against Samaria and besieged it” (9). “And at the end of three years they took it. In the sixth year of Hezekiah, that is, the ninth year of Hoshea king of Israel, Samaria was take” (10). “Then the king of Assyria carried Israel away captive to Assyria, and put them in Halah and by the Habor, the River of Gozan, and in the cities of the Medes” (11), “because they did not obey the voice of the LORD their God, but transgressed His covenant and all that Moses the servant of the LORD had commanded; and they would neither hear nor do them” (12) Moses the servant of the Lord”, The godly men of the old covenant used to cherish being called the “servants of Jehovah” (Psalm 27: 9; 31: 16; 89: 50). Now, as all have become in Jesus Christ, enjoy His righteousness and fear, they are all qualified for being the “servants of Jesus Christ”, to boast in him and in no other. By this title, those who played a role in the history of salvation through serving Jehovah, were referred, like Moses ((12), Joshua (Judges 2: 8); and Abraham (Psalm 105: 41). And as Paul the apostle, was separated for the gospel of God, and played a role in the history of salvation, an extension of that played by the fathers and prophets of the old covenant, he often called himself “a servant of Jesus Christ” (Revelation 1: 1; see Galatians 1: 10; Philippians 1: 1; Colossians 4: 12). 5-. THE FIRST ATTACK OF SENNACHERIB AGAINST JUDAH: . “And in the fourteenth year of King Hezekiah, Sennacherib king of Assyria came up against all the fortified cities of Judah and took them” (13). Hezekiah reigned together with his father Ahaz for 13 years (729-716BC); reigned alone for 18 years (716-796 BC); and with his son Manasseh 11 years (796-686 BC); so that the whole duration of his reign was 43 years. The 29 years, recorded in (2 kings 18: 1-2) refers to the period during which Hezekiah had full authority over the kingdom. The details of the condition of rebellion that provoked Sennacherib to attack the western part of his empire, was mentioned in his records, and in them it came that Hezekiah was completely preoccupied with his own affairs. It happened in the year 701 BC, four years after Sennacherib son of Sergon the second, who took the people of Israel into captivity; sat on the throne of Assyria, that the king of Judah, in order to keep Assyria from attacking his kingdom, used to pay Sergon an annual tribute; then stopped paying it when Sennacherib became a king. When Sennacherib attacked him, Hezekiah perceived his fault and paid again the annual tribute to Assyria (14); Sennacherib, however, attacked him in retaliation (19-20). … Even though Sennacherib attacked Judah, yet he was not fond of war like his predecessor, , but preferred to concentrate most of his time and effort on building and beautifying his capital ‘Nineheh’. That tendency, gave the chance for Hzekiah to make his many reforms, and to strengthen his kingdom. What came at the end of the twentieth chapter of this book, is similar to what came in Isaiah 36 to 39; for the sak, beside its historical significance, of its important relationship with the previous prophecies concerning Assyria, What came in the second book of the kings, but not in Isaiah, was telling how Hezekiah, perceiving his fault, resumed paying the tribute to the king of Assyria (14-16). And what came in Isaiah and not in the second book of the kings , was the praise sung to God by Hezekiah after being healed from his illness (Isaiah 38: 9-20). + As it is already said, Sennacherib is a symbol of the devil, as confirmed by the words haughtily uttered by Rabshakeh against God; when he proclaimed to the people of Judah false promises, in an attempt to take away from God, His exalted power, and to offer confirmations of fertile land and an abundance of crops, to exhort the people to depart from the land given to them by God, to a new dwelling location promised by the Assyrians; In a like way, the messengers and partners of the devil seek in the first place, to deceive the simple souls; by attempting to uproot the thoughts inspired by the divine care. (St. (Mar) Ephraim the Syrian) “Then Hezekiah king of Judah sent to the king of Assyria at Lachish, saying, “I have done wrong; turn away from me; whatever you impose on me I will pay.” And the king of Assyria assessed Hezekiah king of Judah three hundred talents of silver and thirty talents of gold.” (14) The excavations of the royal palace of Nineveh testify to the defeat of ‘Lachish’ in the records pertaining to the siege into which the kingdom of Judah was put, in the days of king Hezekiah. The book in (2 kings 18: 13), says: “In the fourteenth year of king Hezekiah, king Sennacherib of Assyria came up against all the fortified cities of Judah and took them”. But before taking Israel completely over, “the angel of the Lord destroyed them, and Sennacherib retreated (2 kings 20: 35; 2 Chronicles 32).. Having refused to submit to Assyria; the records of Sennacherib came to portray the overall attack upon Judah. Feeling the great danger about to come over him, after Lechish was actually put under siege, Hezekiah consented to pay a huge tribute to Assyria; which even made Sennacherib go ahead in his greed, by putting Jerusalem under siege (18: 13-19: 30). That brought all back to some memories of things that happened a century before; and reminded them of similar words uttered by the prophet ‘Micah of Moresheth (Micah 3: 12), And because the king and the people did not despise them, but feared the Lord, and sought His face,.they enjoyed the divine mercies. God allowed for that affliction to happen in the days of Hezekiah, who did so many reforms among the people; even though many civil and religious leaders, cared for external rather than for internal reform , and for the formalities rather than for the holy life. … To justify Hezekiah, God turned the affliction to glorify him. Yet, on another aspect God intended to reveal his weakness before himself; when his trust in God was not complete, and he lost his courage. But through the temptation, he confessed his weakness and his faith and trust in God increased. . “ So Hezekiah gave him all the silver that was found in the house of the LORD and in the treasuries of the king’s house” (15). The yoke put by Sennacherib king of Assyria upon Hezekiah king of Judah (kings 18: 14), by which a huge amounts of gold, silver, and precious items were moved from the temple to Assyria; was followed by what Jehoash king of Israel did, when he attacked Jerusalem, broke down a large portion of its wall, and robbed what was in the treasuries of the temple (14: 14). “At that time Hezekiah stripped the gold from the doors of the temple of the LORD, and from the pillars which Hezekiah king of Judah had overlaid, and gave it to the king of Assyria” (16) The priority in the mind of king Hezekiah was not the gold of the temple, as much as it was keeping what is left of the kingdom of Judah (19: 4). 7- THE SECOND ATTACK OF SENNACHERIB AGAINST JUDAH: : “ Then the king of Assyria sent the Tartan, the Rabsaris, and the Rabshakeh from Lachish, with a great army against Jerusalem, to King Hezekiah. And they went up and came to Jerusalem. When they had come up, they went and stood by the aqueduct from the upper pool, which was on the highway to the Fuller’s Field”. (17) Those were three prominent officers in the great Assyrian army, which was the greatest army in the Middle East at that time. That army came to camp in Judah, on the highway to the Fuller’s field, north-west of the city corner; by which the whole region was prone to fall at the first attack. According to some, “Rabshakeh” was not a person’s name, but a title like the ‘chief cup-bearer’, who tastes the wine before the king does, lest the king would be poisoned by any attempt against his life; beside other duties in the royal palace.. Sennacherib broke the covenant, when, despite the huge tribute he put upon Hezekiah, he sent his army to attack Judah (2 Kings 18: 4, 17). + According to the Jews, ‘Rabshekeh’, who talked in Hebrew, was the son of the prophet Isaiah, who was a traitor (beside another son of Isaiah, called’Jashub’). And according to others, that ‘Rabshakeh’ being a Samaritan, knew how to talk in Hebrew, and insolently blasphemed against the Lord.. (St. Jerome) “And when they had called to the king, Eliakim the son of Hilkiah, who was over the household, Shebna the scribe, and Joah the son of Asaph, the recorder, came out to them” (18). Although Hezekiah made civil and religious reforms, had a growing relationship with God, grew in the strong life of prayer, and was counted as a hero in the book of proverbs (Proverbs 25: 1); yet, of his points of weakness was his lack of wisdom in planning for the future to keep the spiritual heritage for the following generations. That was beside his foolish act of boasting his wealth before the messengers sent by the king of Babylon. According to ‘Damien Maky’, in the light of what came in the book of ‘Judith’, ‘Eliakim’, being the chief officer or the (Major-domo) of the royal court, was over the household (18). In the Assyrian records, his name came as ‘Akhi’ instead of ‘Eliakim’, and he was the governor of Ashdod or ‘Lachish’ ; and according to some, he previously was a high priest before being appointed a governor of Lachish. It is to be mentioned that, in the days of king Solomon, a series of exhigh priests were appointed as governors of the fortified stronghold of Lachish – as well as of other locations (1 kings 4: 2). St. Cyril the Great, longed to see every believer ‘The new Eliakim’, for he saw ‘Eliakim’ in every man who enjoys the glorious resurrected life in the church of Christ. + When God says: “I will call My servant ‘Eliakim’” (Isaiah 22: 10); the name ‘Eliakim, meaning (the resurrection of God), everyone who is glorified in His Father’s house, is ‘Eliakim’. … Who are those glorified there? They are those who put their trust in Christ, even if they according to this world, are not glorified, but humble, But God, being just, will grant everyone according to his spiritual stature (maturity). By that, some are fathers, while others still toddlers, suckling, and adolescents. (St. Cyril the Great) + Eliakim the son of Hilkiah, who was over the household, came out to them, together with Shebnah the scribe, and Joah the son of Asaph, the recorder. He was the same Eliakim about whom we read in the vision seen by Isaiah in the Valley of Zion: “I will call My servant Eliakim the son of Helekiah; I will clothe him with your robe, and strength him with your belt; I will commit your responsibility in his hand; he shall be a father to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and to the house of Judah” (Isaiah 22: 20-21) (St. Jerome) Shebnah, About his position in Hezekiah’s royal court, there is controversy of opinion; here, being the officer responsible for the king’s treasury, he is called ‘the scribe’; whereas, according to others he was a counselor of the king, or a minister; anyway, he was one with great authority, seemed to be of foreign race, and an evil man, who, to eternize his memorial, he dug for himself a great tomb in the same rock where the kings of Judah were buried; for which the prophet Isaiah rebuke him, calling him ‘a disgrace to the king’s court’, and prophesied that he will be fired, and replaced by Eliakim; which was realized in about the year 701 BC. According to St. Jerome, that Shebnah, mentioned here, who was in the company of Eliakim the son of Hilikiah, the scribe, and Joah the son of Asaph, the recorder, is not the same Shebnah, mentioned in (Isaiah 22: 15), whom Isaiah rebuked, and called ‘a disgrace to the king’s court’ (Isaiah 22: 18). “Then the Rabshakeh said to them, “Say now to Hezekiah, ‘Thus says the great king, the king of Assyria: “What confidence is this in which you trust?” (19) The title “the great king”, was used in the Near East to refer to the king with the greatest authority in the region. What Rabshakeh meant to say is that before the king of Assyria, no other power could stand…. The way the prophets of God say, strongly and with authority: “So says the Lord” , here the speaker, insolently does the same thing; as though the great king of Assyria sends his messenger, the way God sends His prophets. Here, Rabshakeh counts the king of Assyria on the same level like God, counts himself on the same level as the prophets; and even counts himself capable of challenging God. The Lord confirms to king Hezekiah and to his men, that He will break the yoke, and will cut off the bonds of Sennacherib who, by his army, violently attacked many of the cities and villages of Judah. He confirms to them that Jerusalem, helpless to defend them; like a city shackled with chains, will enjoy freedom; and the Assyrian army will attack it no more, for it will became weak when 185, 000 of its men will be killed by the angel of the Lord, to become as though extinct. “What confidence is this in which you trust?” Rabshakeh addressed his question to the children of Israel. … But the fact is, when king Ahaz trusted in Egypt, and made an alliance with her, to protect him against the king of Assyria, he ended up by falling into captivity. Whereas, when Hezekiah trusted in the Lord, He lifted the siege from him. It is befitting of the believer to ask himself: Am I like Ahaz, or like Hezekiah?... “What confidence is this in which I trust?”…. Is it my education, my social status, my power, or my scientific progress, etc? … But all that are divine gifts that are sanctified, if we attach ourselves to God, and trust in Him. + After taking over many cities of Judah, Sennacherib started to direct many threats against Israel through his messenger Rabshakeh; Then what turned him away from his goal, to concentrate on the Ethiopians, was nothing but fasting. And what destroyed 185,000 of his men in one night on the hand of an angel of the Lord, was nothing but the humility of king Hezekiah. (The scholar Tertullian) “ You speak of having plans and power for war; but they are mere words. And in whom do you trust, that you rebel against me?” (20) + Whoever dares to say there is no God, is surely ignorant, and lacks the understanding. That describes Rabshekah who said: “If the gods of the nations failed to save their lands and those who worship them, How can your God protect you and your city?” … By their hearts and conscience they meant to say: [There is no God], as revealed to the prophet, by an inspiration of the Holy Spirit. We also say that those who deny the divinity of the Lord Jesus Christ, are, likewise, ignorant; for they deny His obvious great achievements that confirm it.. So are those who say: Yes, God is there, the Creator of everything, yet He no more cares for His creation; for they, in ignorance, trust in the human might. (Father Onesimus of Jerusalem) “ Now look! You are trusting in the staff of this broken reed, Egypt, on which if a man leans, it will go into his hand and pierce it. So is Pharaoh king of Egypt to all who trust in him” (21) As Assyria considered Egypt as her adversary power, Rabshakeh expected that king Hezekiah would most probably, resort to Egypt to protect him against Assyria. According to ‘Theodoret’, bishop of Cyrus, Rabshakeh, here, accuses the Egyptians of weakness and evil, likens them to a weak reed that grows on the bank of the river; if they are so helpless to defend itself, how could it protect any other; and to a broken reed, on which, if a man leans on it, it will go into his hand and pierce it. … The prophet Isaiah used the same analogy in different ways (Isaiah 30: 3-5; 31: 1-3). Through such affliction, according to ‘Theodoret’, man may perceive the vanity of seeking others; and of searching for the loved ones, with no avail. … By those loved ones, he probably means the king of Assyria, the Pharaoh of Egypt and the like; Making alliance of any of them, for fear of the other, would be a vain alliance; for they all actually work for their own benefit; misuse Israel and Judah, and will never help them in the time of need; “like leaning upon a broken reed “ (21)…. We actually find nowhere in history that Hezekiah ever sought help from the Pharaoh of Egypt. … Mentioning that, was probably a kind of guessing on the part of Rabeshakeh; that the natural refuge for whomever is attacked by Assyria is the adversary power – Egypt. “But if you say to me, ‘We trust in the LORD our God,’ is it not He whose high places and whose altars Hezekiah has taken away, and said to Judah and Jerusalem, ‘You shall worship before this altar in Jerusalem’?”’ (22) Those words said by Rabshake, that Hezekiah always lean upon his God, came as a reaction to Hezekiah’s fame as a godly man who worship and trusts in the Lord (5). It was a kind of psychological war against Hezekiah; to make it clear to him that no power on earth or up in heaven could save him from the hand of Assyria. Then Rabshakeh uttered the truth, when he said: “But if you say to me, We trust in the Lord our God’; Is it not He whose high places and whose altars, Hezekiah has taken away?” (22). For it actually happened that Hezekiah took away the high places and the altars, even those in which they used to worship the true God; on account of that, because those altars were defiled by mixing the worship of God with idol-worship; Hezekiah preferred to destroy anything that might cause offense, and might open the way to idol-worship. … But Rabshakeh deceptively portrayed all what Hezekiah did, as done against the worship of God, and not an attempt to cleanse the way of worshipping Him. According to ‘Theodoret, bishop of Cyrus, Rabshakeh here, accuses king Hezekiah, who claims to trust in God, to be, himself, the one who does wrong to the truth of God, by taking away the places where God was worshipped on the high places, even if it was together with idol-worship; and accuses him, as well, that he limited the worship to be done in Jerusalem. With that he accused Hezekiah of not following the lead of the kings who preceded him, who worshipped the Lord, but disregarded the high places, on account of that they included places assigned to worship God.. “Now therefore, I urge you, give a pledge to my master the king of Assyria, and I will give you two thousand horses—if you are able on your part to put riders on them!” (23) With scoffing and ridicule, Rabshakeh challenged Hezekiah, that he was ready to provide him with two thousand horses, if he is able on his part to put riders on them in battle; hinting to the fact that Hezekiah, in truth, did not have horsemen; and that his army are not trained on using horses in battle. “How then will you repel one captain of the least of my master’s servants, and put your trust in Egypt for chariots and horsemen?” (24) According to Theodoret, bishop of Cyrus, “one captain of the least of his master’s servants”, came in the Septuagint version to refer to the Aramites; For when Damascus intended to attack Hezekiah, he, in fear, resorted to Assyria, and paid tribute to defend him; … How could Hezekiah now resort to Egypt to protect him against the king of Assyria himself?! + When Rabshakeh challenged Hezekiah to find riders for 2000 horses, he promised to provide him; he did not say it foolishly, but through his knowledge that the Jewish people do not have the expertise of riding horse, for their perception of the Lord’s commandment to the prophet Moses, that the king of Israel, “shall not multiply horses for himself; … neither shall multiply wives for himself” (Deuteronomy 17: 16-17). …. It is as though Rabshakeh says:: If you cannot stand before me, I the least of the servants of Sennacherib, how will you stand before the great power of my king?... And anticipating the expected response from Hezekiah to be: ‘We trust in the Lord’, Rabshakeh cleverly says that he did not come on his own, but according to the command of the Lord: “The Lord said to me: Go up against this land, and destroy it” (25). He intends to say: I could not have come unless this was the will of the Lord. But having come and taken over many countries, if Jerusalem is not yet touched, it is obvious that it is His will that I come now to do it.. (St. Jerome) “Have I now come up without the LORD against this place to destroy it? The LORD said to me, ‘Go up against this land, and destroy it.’” (25) It so seem that, because the Assyrians were aware of, the prophecies concerning God’s judgments to chastise His people (Isaiah 10: 5-11); Rabshakeh counted that campaign to attack Judah was allowed by God. By that he intended to put terror in the hearts of the inhabitants of Jerusalem (2 Chronicles 32: 18) that even the Lord, their God, is against them. According to Theodoret, bishop of Cyrus, Rabshakeh could not be Assyrian; for his talk reveal that he was not a stranger from Israel; having perceived that delivering the ten tribes to the Assyrian captivation is a divine command to chastise them for opposing God. “Then Eliakim the son of Hilkiah, Shebna, and Joah said to the Rabshakeh, “Please speak to your servants in Aramaic, for we understand it; and do not speak to us in Hebrew] in the hearing of the people who are on the wall.” (26) As the Aramaic at that time was the language used in international relations; the deputies of king Hezekiah expected that Rabshakeh was going to speak in Aramaic and not in Hebrew spoken by the common people. But the Assyrians were only interested in destroying the psyche of the king together with his people.. “ But the Rabshakeh said to them, “Has my master sent me to your master and to you to speak these words, and not to the men who sit on the wall, who will eat and drink their own waste with you?”(27) By speaking in Hebrew, it was the intention of Rabshakeh to provoke the people to revolt against the king and his men; Yet, at the same time he uttered words that were unbefitting of a responsible officer of the king; words of the street, saying: “men, … who will eat and drink their own waste with you” (27). Rabshakeh, having so insolently reproached the living God, it was high time for God to proclaim His glory and might to the remnants, faithful to Him, according to the words of the psalmist: “O God, how long will the adversary reproach?” (Psalm 74: 10). Concerning those lowly words spoken by Rabshakeh, that the people under siege will have to eat and drink their own waste; … St. John Chrysostom, while talking to those in his congregation who used to go to the lowly theaters, said to them: [Hearing the songs of the prostitutes, you put waste in your ears]. + Whoever says: ‘There is no God’, distances himself from the true faith, and falls in atheism; for he corrupts what God has planted in the hearts of men of upright dogma and the sound doctrine; For faith will only be set by works; as it was with ‘Cornellius’ and others, who because of their pure behavior and good works, they were enlightened by the light of the upright faith, against which, anything contrary would be corrupt. (Father Onesimus of Jerusalem) “ Then the Rabshakeh stood and called out with a loud voice in Hebrew, and spoke, saying, “Hear the word of the great king, the king of Assyria!” (28) “Thus says the king: ‘Do not let Hezekiah deceive you, for he shall not be able to deliver you from his hand” (29) Rabshakeh intended to provoke the people of Jerusalem to forget their trust in the Lord, and in their own king, and to trust in Sennacherib the king of Assyria instead. By repeating the phrase: “Do not let Hezekiah deceive you; and the like (22, 29, 30), he intended to persuade the people to revolt against their king; with the promise that the king of Assyria has already prepared for them a better place to live than what they already have. “nor let Hezekiah make you trust in the LORD, saying, “The LORD will surely deliver us; this city shall not be given into the hand of the king of Assyria.”’ Having so insolently reproached the Lord God, He sent His angel to terrify them (2 kings 18) Whoever calls on God, not for God’s own sake, but for temporal things, loses his joy in the gladness of salvation; and instead of peace, he will have fear for no other cause, but for having denied himself God, the source of peace + By Rabshakeh’s accusation against Hezekiah, it is obvious that, even after Assyria has taken over the cities of Judah (Isaiah 36: 1), Hezekiah still trusted in the Lord, for he said to the people: “Do not fear or be dismayed by the king of Assyria and all those with him; for if he trusts in the human arm, we, on the other hand trust in the Lord our God, who fights for us”. And, because the people were encouraged by the words of Hezekiah king of Judah, Rabshakeh, intending to corrupt what Hezekiah did, said to the people: “Do not let Hezekiah deceive you … nor let Hezekiah make you trust in the Lord” (29-30) (St. Jerome) “Do not listen to Hezekiah; for thus says the king of Assyria: ‘Make peace with me, … and come out to me; and every one of you eat from his own vine and every one from his own fig tree, and every one of you drink the waters of his own cistern” (31) Commenting on Rabshakeh’s military plan, St. Jerome says that he started by threatening king Hezekiah, his leaders, and his people; then followed the threats by seductions, by giving promises to the people; by which he attempted to provoke them to revolt against their own king, and be prepared to accept the submission to the king of Assyria. + By seductions, he intended to deceive, those who were not terrified by threats; saying to them on behalf of the king of Assyria: “Make peace with me, and come out to me” (31; Isaiah 36: 16); namely: Do what is for your benefit, to have more blessing. Or in other words: ‘Bless and praise the king of Assyria, Have him as your Lord, to earn his rewards; Live in your own cities, and enjoy your own crops, until I come back from Egypt, or until I take back the robbed ‘Libnah’; I shall then “take you to a land like your own land, a land of grain and new wine, a land of bread and vineyards” (32). He did not say the name of this land; for there is no land on earth equal to the promised land. (St. Jerome) The cisterns; On account of the scarcity of rain, most of the year, the majority of houses in Jerusalem had their own cisterns (2 kings 18: 31; Proverbs 5: 15), to store the water collected from rain or from springs; those cisterns were usually pear-shaped, with a small upper opening to make it easy to cover it, as a protection against pollution. The house-owners and fieldowners, in the old, used to cherish their cisterns and the wells they dig, as very precious possessions (Jeremiah 38: 6). By the year 1200 BC, the cisterns were strengthened by cement, like that of ‘Camran’ According to St. Cyril the Great, flirting with the hearts and senses of the people of Jerusalem by referring to the vineyard, the fig tree, and the cisterns ; Rabshakeh followed the double way by which the devil provokes us to plunge in evil pleasures; whether those outside us, or pleasures naturally embedded in us. “until I come and take you away to a land like your own land, a land of grain and new wine, a land of bread and vineyards, a land of olive groves and honey, that you may live and not die. But do not listen to Hezekiah, lest he persuade you, saying, “The LORD will deliver us.” (32) By saying: “Until I come and take you away”, Rabeshakeh, according to Theodoret, bishop of Cyrus, had a list of nations and peoples, he planned to attack, and submit, before he comes back to Jerusalem. “Has any of the gods of the nations at all delivered its land from the hand of the king of Assyria?” (33) “Where are the gods of Hamath and Arpad? Where are the gods of Sepharvaim and Hena and Ivah? Indeed, have they delivered Samaria from my hand?” (34) According to Theodoret, bishop of Cyrus, by mentioning ‘Samaria’ in particular, he intended to draw their attention to that no king, nor leader could stand against his master. “Who among all the gods of the lands have delivered their countries from my hand, that the LORD should deliver Jerusalem from my hand?’” (35) + Hate haughtiness, for it is the fruit, full of death; Eating from it in the garden of Eden, gave Adam death; By it the devil has fallen in the beginning; Nothing is cheaper and hateful to God, like haughtiness and pride. (St. (Mar) Jacob El-Serougi) “But the people held their peace and answered him not a word; for the king’s commandment was, “Do not answer him” (36) While Rabeshakeh refused to keep silent, and spoke in Hebrew to provoke the people to blaspheme against God; … Jesus, the Lord of glory, held His peace during the vain trials, under which He was put, to carry the burden of His people, and to bring them forth to the knowledge of the divine Truth. The way the people here, were committed to the command of king Hezekiah, not to answer Rabeshakeh who reproached God, When ‘Sanbalat’, by the same spirit, wanted to enter into a debate with Nehemiah, with the intention to delay the work of construction, saying: “Come, let us meet together”, the later said to him: “No such thing as you say are being done, but you invent them in your own heart” (Nehemiah 6: 8)……Rabeshakeh expected that the people might proclaim their revolution against their king; but they held their peace, waiting for the instructions of the king, in trust and obedience to his command not to enter into a debate with him, lest they might fall into weakness, the way Eve did by entering into a debate with the ancient serpent. According to St. John Chrysostom: [Eve, instead of keeping silent; she foolishly gave the devil a great chance … Look how much evil would we deliver ourselves into the hands of our enemies and those who plot against us. Such is the nature of the deceivers.]. …. And according to St. Augustine, [Not being able to offer to us something practical, the deceptive devil offers promises in vain words]. [God is our Leader, and the devil is our predator. While the Leader offers his counsel; the predator suggests deception. … Shall we listen to the counsel, or to the deception”?] As an example, when someone inquires about what he considers as contradictions in the Holy Book. In case this person does it for mocking purpose, the debate with him would turn into foolish discussion. But if he is serious in seeking knowledge, the debate with him would be necessary; as according to the apostle Peter: “Sanctify the Lord God in your hearts, and always be ready to give a defense to everyone who asks you a reason for the hope that is in you, with meekness and fear” (1 Peter 3: 15). The same thing in case the debate is with an atheist who denies the existence of God. The decision to debate with him or to refrain, would depend upon our perception of his intention. By refraining to answer him, we would not slide into his foolishness; And by answering him we would intend to keep him from his foolishness.. According to Theodoret, bishop of Cyrus: [Having heard Rabechakeh’s blasphemy against God, Eliakim and his companions did not answer him by a single word, but tore up their clothes before they hasten to go to the godly king to tell him about it by their words and by their appearance. Hearing them, the king, in turn, tore up his royal clothes, put on sackcloth, and hastened to approach the Creator of the universe whom the Assyrian reproached]. . + The people kept silent, no none uttered a word; in obedience to the king’s instructions. The righteous man who acted with faithfulness and wisdom, instructed his people not to answer the Assyrian blasphemer, lest he would be stirred up to greater blasphemy; according to the words of ‘Sirach’: “Do not kindle the coals of sinners” (Sirach 8: 10); and of the psalmist:: “I will guard my ways, lest I sin with my tongue; I will restrain my mouth with a muzzle, while the wicked are before me. I was mute with silence; I held my peace even from good” (Psalm 39: 2-3 – the Septuagint version); And, “Set a guard, O Lord over my mouth; Keep watch over the doors of my lips” (Psalm 141: 3 – the Septuagint version). (St. Jerome) + It is befitting of us to learn our faith well; to be able to give the right answer to everyone who may ask us concerning our faith; in meekness and fear of the Lord. For then, the Lord would be listening to what he says. (St. Dedymus the blind) “ Then Eliakim the son of Hilkiah, who was over the household, Shebna the scribe, and Joah the son of Asaph, the recorder, came to Hezekiah with their clothes torn, and told him the words of the Rabshakeh” (37). Going back to the godly king to see how he responded to the words said by Rabshakeh: “So it was, when king Hezekiah heard it that he tore his clothes, covered himself with sackcloth, and went into the house of the Lord” (2 kings 19: 1), a sign of his sadness and humility before God. Hezekiah sent Eliakin, Shebnah and the elder priests, covered with sackcloth to the prophet Isaiah (2). The situation totally changed; …. After the civil and religious leaderships used to mock Isaiah when they saw him walk barefooted and naked; warning them that Pharaoh and his men will not be able to help them (Isaiah 21); Now, behold, they come to him covered with sackcloth in bitterness, to proclaim their need for his prayers and counsel. They perceived that, as it is “a day of trouble and rebuke and blasphemy” (3). Let it be a day of repentance and prayer. They felt that: “The children have come to birth, but there is no strength to bring them forth” (3). Who can help in such a situation, except God through prayers?! Pharaoh, with all his possibilities cannot give the pregnant woman the ability to deliver, until the time comes. Prayer is the giver of mercy that realizes childbirth. The custom of tearing the outer clothes, that expresses intense grief, like when a close relative dies, was common in many nations; and until recently in the villages of Upper Egypt. For the Jews, this custom was more practiced when they hear blasphemy against God, by which the listener proclaims his innocence from such a blasphemy, and that he does not endure to hear it; the way the high priest did during the trial of the Lord Christ; as a proclamation that Jesus was a blasphemer. According to St. John Chrysostom: [Nothing is equal to prayer. It turns the impossible possible; and the difficult easy. … Whoever prays will never fall into sin]. … And according to father Theophan the hermit: [Prayer is everything, and the summary of everything:: faith, life according to faith, salvation, etc.]. ….He also says: [Prayer is (the breath of the Spirit);… It is (the measure of the spiritual life), …. the whole church breathes by prayer]. + King Hezekiah could never rejoice on the calamity of captivity dwelling upon his children; yet he could not object against God’s will; and, being a humble servant, he received His commend with perseverance. THE PERSONALITY OF KING HEZEKIAH (2 kings 18-20), (2 Chronicles 29-33), and (Isaiah 36-39) WHO WAS HEZEKIAH? The word ‘Hezekiah’ means (The Lord gives strength) He reigned 29 years over Judah (715-686 BC). The son of Ahaz, and father of Manasseh who succeeded him. The days of his reign were considered of the best after those of king David. Several men were called by the name ‘Hezekiah’: like that who came back from the Babylonian captivity, together with Ezra (Nehemiah 1: 17; Ezra 2: 16); Hezekiah of the royal family of Judah (1 Chronicles 3: 23), the great grandfather of the prophet Zephaniah (Zephaniah 1: 11). HIS ACHIEVEMENTS: Trusting in God’s work more than any other king in Judah (2 Chronicles 32: 27), he translated his faith into several living works: he led religious, civil, political, and military movements: 1- He called for repentance among his people; removed the idol-worship, its centers, and rites; proclaimed his practical faith in God, through breaking down all the altars built by his father Ahaz (2 Chronicles 28: 22-25); renewed the covenant with the Lord (2 Chronicles 29: 10); and his faithfulness went forth to break down the bronze serpent, an important symbol for the people of Israel, for the sake of using it in the idol-worship. … He has done all that to proclaim that God alone has the right to be worshipped. 2- The people listened to him; as it is written: “They obeyed the command of the king” (2 Chronicles 30: 11, 12). They obeyed his command, not by pressure, but by their own free will. 3- During Hezekiah’s reign, there was a spiritual reform, for God gave the people “the singleness of heart to obey the command of the king and the leaders at the word of the Lord” (2 Chronicles 30: 12). That unity to obey God and to renew the covenant with Him, helped to take away the spirit of scattering and division that prevailed in the days of Rehoboam (2 Chronicles 10: 1-9). Hezekiah called upon the remnants in the Northern kingdom to join their brethren in Judah (2 Chronicles 30: 6-9), but few received the call well (2 Chronicles 30: 10-11). The reason for the obedience of the people to walk in the way of the Lord with the unity of heart, was that Hezekiah, himself, was a good role model, according to the testimony of the Holy Book, that, in all works he did to minister to the Lord, “He did it with his whole heart” . Hezekiah committed himself to minister to the Lord and to men with one heart. 4- He renewed the temple of the Lord, established the worship in it; renewed the ministry of the Levites, and sanctified them to the Lord (2 Chronicles 29: 1-36). 5- He made Passover for the Lord; led by himself its offering, encouraged the people to offer sacrifices and offerings; and called the remnants in the Northern kingdom to come and partake of the celebration (2 Chronicles 29: 30). 6- Despite the military might of Assyria, and its continuous attempts to break down the psyche of the people of Judah (2 Chronicles 22: 9-19); Hezekiah persisted on trusting in God alone, and did not resort to alliance with any of the surrounding nations (2 Chronicles 19: 14-19); contrary to what his father did. For that, God honored his faith by an exalted miracle, that drove away the king of Assyria and his army (2 Chronicles 19: 35-36). At the same time, Hezekiah, through his faith and trust in God, took practical steps to strengthen the defensive strongholds of Jerusalem; and dug springs to provide the city with water in case of siege (2 Chronicles 32: 30) 7- He was saved from the siege by Sennacherib king of Assyria on Jerusalem in the year 701 BC (2 Chronicles 32: 30). HIS WEAKNESSES: He showed all his treasures to a delegation from Babylon (2 kings20: 21; 2 kings 32: 31); which reveals an inner pride and foolishness that had their sffect on those who succeeded him on the throne. WHO WAS SENNACHERIB? His name means (god of the moon). He was the leader of the Assyrian army; then became king after the death of his father (705 – 681 BC). He was the son of Sergon the second, and the father of ‘Esarhaddon’, who succeeded him on the throne after his father was killed by his two brothers.(2 Kings 19: 37). His capital city was ‘Nineveh’, where he built a palace, he claimed to be indestructible. He did many reforms. He led his campaign against Judah in the year 701 BC; took over Lashich and 45 other cities from Judah; put Jerusalem under siege, led about 200,000 into captivity. He used to mock Hezekiah’s weakness in front of his soldiers (2 kings 18: 17-36; 2 Chronicles 32: 9-22; Isaiah 36: 1-21). -------------------------- AN INSPIRATION FROM 2 KINGS 18 THE REPROACHES OF THOSE WHO REPROACHED YOU CAME OVER ME + Hezekiah forsook his wicked father and attached himself to You; Yet he did not hate his father nor uttered a bad word against him; But he hated the evil connected to him; He challenged the corruption that dwelt upon him; And did not inherit the spirit of failure from him; He removed the high places that his father and grandfather failed to remove; He left no chance for an apostasy to idol-worship; And he broke down the bronze serpent which the people turned into an idol to worship; + The devil did not stand tied-handed; But by his long experience set a plan to destroy him; He stirred up against him Aram, of a foreign race, to destroy him; And stirred up Israel, of his same race, to get rid of him; The foreigners joined forces with the kinsmen under the leadership of the devil; In weakness, Hezekiah resorted to Assyria to protect him; Instead of resorting to You; As the war was against the devil himself; + Who will support me against the devil, my only enemy? In case the foreigners and the kinsmen stirred up animosity against me? For the real enemy is the devil with his hidden tricks; Be my support and my refuge; For who can stand against the devil, but You? + Assyria succeeded in killing Rezin king of Aram; Put Samaria under siege and took it over; Humiliated Israel, and led the people captives; Made Israel lose her identity as the people of God; Made her an example of utter destruction; Took over many nations, peoples, and cities; And even took over fortified cities of Judah. + Jerusalem no more represented power in the sight of Assyria; For it previously humiliated her with tribute; Made Samaria an example before her; Nations with their gods collapsed before it; The king of Assyria counted himself mightier than the God of Jerusalem; Who could protect Hezekiah, his leaders, and his people? + The Assyrian king Sennacherib sent Rabbeshakeh and his companions; With the assumption that it would be only a little while, for Judah, her king, and people, to surrender; Rabbeshakeh assumed that he was the ambassador of the greatest king on earth; If Hezekiah, king of Judah listened to the voice of his God through the prophets; The whole world listens to Sennacherib, greater than all gods, through him; + Rabbeshakeh was a tool, not in the hands of Sennacherib, but in the hands of the devil; With pride and arrogance, he stood before the Jews, and uttered serious blasphemes; As the terror and threats could have no effect on the delegates of Hezekiah; Rabbeshakeh resorted to deception and smooth words; He promised the people of Judah to rid them of Hezekiah’s deception; And to provide them with a secure and a happy life in a city he did not mention by name; He tried to convince them that he came according to the command of their God to chastise Hezekiah; He portrayed Hezekiah as an enemy of God, whose high places he removed, where the people worshipped God; Hezekiah’s delegates tore off their clothes; And in bitterness so did king Hezekiah + O my God, the devil will never cease to reproach me; The reproaches of those who reproached You, came over me; Who will save me from the threats of the devil? Who will lead me, so that I do not fall in his diverse nets; He sometimes uses threats, and other times use smooth words to destroy me; He does his best to provoke in me the spirit of fear, failure, and anxiety; It is a war between You and him; between Your righteousness and his evil; Nobody can save me from his tricks but You; Let Your Holy Spirit protect me, and lift me up above the temptations of the enemy; Let Him open the gates of heaven; that my soul would be filled with joyful hope; By You I will overcome; and the hosts of darkness would not prevail on me; For You are the Light, the Grantor of life, conquest, and glory.
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