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2 Kings Chapter
Nineteen
2 Kings 19
Chapter Contents
Hezekiah receives an answer of peace. (1-7) Sennacherib's
letter. (8-19) His fall is prophesied. (20-34) The Assyrian army destroyed
Sennacherib slain. (35-37)
Commentary on 2 Kings 19:1-7
(Read 2 Kings 19:1-7)
Hezekiah discovered deep concern at the dishonour done to
God by Rabshakeh's blasphemy. Those who speak from God to us
we should in a
particular manner desire to speak to God for us. The great Prophet is the great
Intercessor. Those are likely to prevail with God
who lift up their hearts in
prayer. Man's extremity is God's opportunity. While his servants can speak
nothing but terror to the profane
the proud
and the hypocritical
they have
comfortable words for the discouraged believer.
Commentary on 2 Kings 19:8-19
(Read 2 Kings 19:8-19)
Prayer is the never-failing resource of the tempted
Christian
whether struggling with outward difficulties or inward foes. At the
mercy-seat of his almighty Friend he opens his heart
spreads his case
like
Hezekiah
and makes his appeal. When he can discern that the glory of God is
engaged on his side
faith gains the victory
and he rejoices that he shall
never be moved. The best pleas in prayer are taken from God's honour.
Commentary on 2 Kings 19:20-34
(Read 2 Kings 19:20-34)
All Sennacherib's motions were under the Divine
cognizance. God himself undertakes to defend the city; and that person
that
place
cannot but be safe
which he undertakes to protect. The invasion of the
Assyrians probably had prevented the land from being sown that year. The next
is supposed to have been the sabbatical year
but the Lord engaged that the
produce of the land should be sufficient for their support during those two
years. As the performance of this promise was to be after the destruction of
Sennacherib's army
it was a sign to Hezekiah's faith
assuring him of that
present deliverance
as an earnest of the Lord's future care of the kingdom of
Judah. This the Lord would perform
not for their righteousness
but his own
glory. May our hearts be as good ground
that his word may strike root therein
and bring forth fruit in our lives.
Commentary on 2 Kings 19:35-37
(Read 2 Kings 19:35-37)
That night which followed the sending of this message to
Hezekiah
the main body of their army was slain. See how weak the mightiest men
are before Almighty God. Who ever hardened himself against Him and prospered?
The king of Assyria's own sons became his murderers. Those whose children are
undutiful
ought to consider whether they have not been so to their Father in
heaven? This history exhibits a strong proof of the good of firm trust and
confidence in God. He will afflict
but not forsake his people. It is well when
our troubles drive us to our knees. But does it not reprove our unbelief? How
unwilling are we to rest on the declaration of Jehovah! How desirous to know in
what way he will save us! How impatient when relief is delayed! But we must
wait for the fulfilling of his word. Lord
help our unbelief.
── Matthew Henry《Concise Commentary on 2 Kings》
2 Kings 19
Verse 1
[1] And
it came to pass
when king Hezekiah heard it
that he rent his clothes
and
covered himself with sackcloth
and went into the house of the LORD.
Rent his cloaths
… —
Great men must not think it any disparagement to them
to sympathize with the
injured honour of the great God.
Verse 3
[3] And they said unto him
Thus saith Hezekiah
This day is a day of trouble
and of rebuke
and blasphemy: for the children are come to the birth
and there
is not strength to bring forth.
The children — We
are like a poor travailing woman in great extremity
having no strength left to
help herself
and to bring forth her infant into the world. We have attempted
to deliver ourselves from the Assyrian yoke; and had carried on that work to
some maturity
and as we thought
brought it to the birth; but now we have no
might to finish. We have begun an happy reformation
and are hindered by this
insolent Assyrian
from bringing it to perfection.
Verse 4
[4] It
may be the LORD thy God will hear all the words of Rabshakeh
whom the king of
Assyria his master hath 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.
For the remnant —
For Judah
which is but a remnant
now the ten tribes are gone: for Jerusalem
which is but a remnant
now the defenced cities of Judah are taken.
Verse 8
[8] So
Rabshakeh returned
and found the king of Assyria warring against Libnah: for
he had heard that he was departed from Lachish.
Returned — To
the king
to give him an account of the treaty; leaving behind him the army
under the other commanders.
Verse 15
[15] And Hezekiah prayed before the LORD
and said
O LORD God of Israel
which
dwellest between the cherubims
thou art the God
even thou alone
of all the
kingdoms of the earth; thou hast made heaven and earth.
O Lord God of Israel
… — He calls him the God of Israel
because Israel was his peculiar people;
but yet the God of the whole earth
not as Sennacherib fancied
the God of
Israel only. Let them say what they will
thou art sovereign Lord
the God of
gods
even thou alone: Universal Lord of all the kingdoms of the earth; and
rightful Lord; for thou hast made heaven and earth. Being creator of all
by an
incontestable title thou art owner and ruler of all.
Verse 16
[16]
LORD
bow down thine ear
and hear: open
LORD
thine eyes
and see: and hear
the words of Sennacherib
which hath sent him to reproach the living God.
Him —
Rabshakeh: he would not do him the honour to name him.
Verse 21
[21] This
is the word that the LORD hath spoken concerning him; The virgin the daughter
of Zion hath despised thee
and laughed thee to scorn; the daughter of
Jerusalem hath shaken her head at thee.
Virgin — So
he calls Zion
or Jerusalem; because she was pure in good measure from that
gross idolatry wherewith other people were defiled
which is called spiritual
whoredom: and to signify
that God would defend her from the rape which Sennacherib
intended to commit upon her with no less care than parents do their virgin
daughters from those who seek to force and deflower them.
Verse 23
[23] By
thy messengers thou hast reproached the Lord
and hast said
With the multitude
of my chariots I am come up to the height of the mountains
to the sides of
Lebanon
and will cut down the tall cedar trees thereof
and the choice fir
trees thereof: and I will enter into the lodgings of his borders
and into the
forest of his Carmel.
Mountains — I
have brought up my very chariots to those mountains which were thought
inaccessible by my army.
Lebanon — An
high hill
famous for cedars and fir-trees.
Cut down — I
will cut down the trees that hinder my march
and plane the way for my numerous
army and chariots.
Lodgings —
Those cities (which he calls lodgings in way of contempt) which are in his
utmost borders. I am come into the land of Canaan at one border
Lebanon
and I
resolve to march on to the other border
and so destroy the whole country
from
one border to the other.
Carmel —
The forest of mount Carmel
which may seem to be another inaccessible place
like Lebanon.
Verse 24
[24] I
have digged and drunk strange waters
and with the sole of my feet have I dried
up all the rivers of besieged places.
Strange waters —
Such as were never discovered by others.
Dried up —
And as I can furnish my army with water digged out of the earth; so I can
deprive my enemies of their water
and can dry up their rivers
and that with
the sole of my feet; with the march of my vast and numerous army
who will
easily do this
either by marching through them
and each carrying away part
with them: or by making new channels
and driving the waters of the river into
them.
Verse 25
[25] Hast
thou not heard long ago how I have done it
and of ancient times that I have
formed it? now have I brought it to pass
that thou shouldest be to lay waste
fenced cities into ruinous heaps.
Hast thou not
… —
Hast thou not long since learned
that which some of thy philosophers could
teach thee; that there is a supreme and powerful God
by whose decree and
providence all these wars and calamities were sent
and ordered; whose mere
instrument thou art
so that thou hast no cause for these vain boastings? This
work is mine
not thine.
I have
… — I
have so disposed of things by my providence
that thou shouldest be a great and
victorious prince
and that thou shouldest be so successful as thou hast
hitherto been
first against the kingdom of Israel
and now against Judah.
Verse 26
[26]
Therefore their inhabitants were of small power
they were dismayed and
confounded; they were as the grass of the field
and as the green herb
as the
grass on the housetops
and as corn blasted before it be grown up.
Therefore —
Because I had armed thee with my commission and strength
and taken away their
spirit and courage.
Verse 27
[27] But
I know thy abode
and thy going out
and thy coming in
and thy rage against
me.
I know —
Though thou dost not know me
yet I throughly know thee
and all thy designs
and actions
all thy secret contrivances in the place of thy abode
in thy own
kingdom and court; and the execution of thy designs abroad
what thou intendest
in thy going out
and with what farther thoughts thou comest in
or returnest
to thy own land.
Verse 28
[28]
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.
My hook
… —
What a comfort is it
that God has a hook in the nose and a bridle in the jaws
of all his and our enemies?
Verse 29
[29] And
this shall be a sign unto thee
Ye shall eat this year such things as grow of
themselves
and in the second year that which springeth of the same; and in the
third year sow ye
and reap
and plant vineyards
and eat the fruits thereof.
A sign — Of
the certain accomplishment of the promises here made: that God will not only
preserve the city from his present fury
but also
bless his people with a
durable prosperity
verse 30
31.
The third year —
This was an excellent sign; especially
considering the waste and havock which
the Assyrians had made in the land; and that the Jews had been forced to retire
into their strong hold
and consequently to neglect their tilling
and sowing
and reaping; and yet this year they should have sufficient provision from those
fruits of the earth which the Assyrians left; and the second year
which was
the year of release
in which they might neither sow
nor reap
from such
fruits as the earth brought forth of its own accord; and so in the third year.
And eat —
You shall not sow
and another reap
as lately you did; but you shall enjoy the
fruit of your own labours.
Verse 30
[30] And
the remnant that is escaped of the house of Judah shall yet again take root
downward
and bear fruit upward.
The remnant
… —
They shall be well fixt and provided for themselves
and then do good to
others.
Verse 31
[31] For
out of Jerusalem shall go forth a remnant
and they that escape out of mount
Zion: the zeal of the LORD of hosts shall do this.
Go forth —
That handful of Jews who were now gathered together
and shut up in Jerusalem
shall go out of their several habitations
and by my singular blessing increase
exceedingly.
The zeal —
Although when you reflect upon yourselves
and consider either your present
fewness
and weakness
or your great unworthiness
this may seem too great a
blessing for you to expect; yet God will do it from the zeal which he hath
both for his own name
and for the good of his undeserving people.
Verse 32
[32]
Therefore thus saith the LORD concerning the king of Assyria
He shall not come
into this city
nor shoot an arrow there
nor come before it with shield
nor
cast a bank against it.
He shall not —
The army sent with Rabshaketh did not form a close siege against it
but only
disposed themselves so as to block it up at some distance; possibly waiting
'till the king of Assyria had taken Libnah and Lachish
(which they presumed he
would speedily do.)
Verse 35
[35] And
it came to pass that night
that the angel of the LORD went out
and smote in
the camp of the Assyrians an hundred fourscore and five thousand: and when they
arose early in the morning
behold
they were all dead corpses.
Angel —
Such an angel as destroyed the first-born of Egypt.
Arose —
The few that were left alive: all their companions were dead.
Verse 36
[36] So
Sennacherib king of Assyria departed
and went and returned
and dwelt at
Nineveh.
So Sennacherib
… —
The manner of the expression intimates the great disorder and distraction of
mind he was in.
Verse 37
[37] And
it came to pass
as he was worshipping in the house of Nisroch his god
that
Adrammelech and Sharezer his sons smote him with the sword: and they escaped
into the land of Armenia. And Esarhaddon his son reigned in his stead.
Was worshipping
… —
The God of Israel had done enough to convince him
that he was the only true
God. Yet he persists in his idolatry. Justly then is his blood mingled with his
sacrifices
who will not be convinced by so dear-bought a demonstration
of his
folly in worshipping idols.
── John Wesley《Explanatory Notes on 2 Kings》
19 Chapter 19
Verses 1-37
And it came to pass when King Hezekiah heard it
he rent his
clothes.
A nation’s calamities
counsellor
and God
I. The exposure of
a nation to an overwhelming calamity.
1. The nature of the threatened calamity. It was the invasion of the
king of Assyria. This was announced in startling terms and in a haughty and
ruthless spirit by Rab-shakeh.
2. The influence of the threatened calamity.
II. The blessing to
a nation of a ruler who looks to heaven for help. What
in the wretched
condition of his country
does King Hezekiah do? He invokes the merciful
interposition of heaven. In this wonderful prayer
III. The advantage
to a nation of a truly wise counsellor. Whether Isaiah was a Divinely inspired
man
and had a right in any especial
sense to say
“Thus saith the Lord
” or not
he may be fairly taken in this
ease as the representative of a wise counsellor
and that for two reasons:--
1. He looked to heaven rather than to earth for his wisdom.
2. What he received from heaven he communicated to men. In the
communication
IV. The strength of
a nation that has God on its side. Who delivered the imperilled nation? Who
overwhelmed the despot? “The zeal of the Lord of hosts.”
1. How swiftly was the deliverance effected. “That night.”
2. How terrible the ruin which that deliverance effected--“An hundred
fourscore and five thousand men” destroyed. (David Thomas
D.
D.)
Verses 1-37
And it came to pass when King Hezekiah heard it
he rent his
clothes.
A nation’s calamities
counsellor
and God
I. The exposure of
a nation to an overwhelming calamity.
1. The nature of the threatened calamity. It was the invasion of the
king of Assyria. This was announced in startling terms and in a haughty and
ruthless spirit by Rab-shakeh.
2. The influence of the threatened calamity.
II. The blessing to
a nation of a ruler who looks to heaven for help. What
in the wretched
condition of his country
does King Hezekiah do? He invokes the merciful
interposition of heaven. In this wonderful prayer
III. The advantage
to a nation of a truly wise counsellor. Whether Isaiah was a Divinely inspired
man
and had a right in any especial
sense to say
“Thus saith the Lord
” or not
he may be fairly taken in this
ease as the representative of a wise counsellor
and that for two reasons:--
1. He looked to heaven rather than to earth for his wisdom.
2. What he received from heaven he communicated to men. In the
communication
IV. The strength of
a nation that has God on its side. Who delivered the imperilled nation? Who
overwhelmed the despot? “The zeal of the Lord of hosts.”
1. How swiftly was the deliverance effected. “That night.”
2. How terrible the ruin which that deliverance effected--“An hundred
fourscore and five thousand men” destroyed. (David Thomas
D.
D.)
Verse 14
And Hezekiah received the letter of the hand of the messengers.
The history of a letter
How easy to say
“the letter”; and yet
how much the words may
mean! The postman
as he goes his rounds
would become the most melancholy of
men if he thought much upon the budget he carries. To some houses joy
to
others misery
--nay
to the same house joy treads on the heels of sorrow. We
don’t know what to-morrow may bring us; the postman’s knock may be the knell of
doom or the signal for peals of joyous laughter. What a letter was that which
Hezekiah received! In form it would be very different to our ideas of a letter.
The Assyrians did not use paper
or even skins
but did their writing on clay.
You may see
in the British Museum
a conveyance of land
written
not on
parchment
but on clay
and then baked hard. So it is very likely that the
letter was a tablet of terra cotta. It has been thought by some that Rabshakeh
was the writer of these railing letters. This was trouble
but it was trouble
that might have been prevented. Hezekiah ought never to have paid tribute to
Sennacherib. When first the demand was made
he should have called on the name
of the Lord. Let us learn to never submit to the claims of sin. We can never
satisfy it. Much will have more. Sin
like Sennacherib
will take all you will
give
and then come for more
and when it has got all it will come for you. The
devil has no right to a penny of our money
or a moment of our time.
I. What did Hezekiah
do with the letter? He did not send a hasty answer. Many a quarrel might have
been prevented if men would spread disagreeable letters before the Lord. Many a
family feud would never have been brought about but for the want of this. If
you get letters that give you pain
before you pen a reply send a message to
God
and He will teach you to indite what may turn away wrath. He did not send
to Egypt; he was cured of that now. If some one who reads this is in trouble
let me counsel you to remember what is a command as well as a promise
“Call
upon Me in the day of trouble.” Far too many of us treat God as though He had
no existence. We try everybody else before going to the Lord. “He went up into
the house of the Lord.” Where was he so likely to find God as in His house?
There is much force in the promise
“If any of you lack wisdom
let him ask of
God
that giveth to all men liberally and upbraideth not.” It is a model
prayer; not like many
which must try the patience of God
going all round the
world
instead of fastening upon the thing needed
and asking for that. If our
prayers were more like telegrams we should have speedier answers. The prayer of
the pious king appealed to God for the sake of His honour--“that all the
kingdoms of the earth may know that Thou art the Lord God.” How the Almighty is
touched by an appeal of this sort. If we thought more of God’s honour in our
prayers
we should be more often answered.
II. Was the letter
ever answered? Yes
for Jehovah answered it Himself. He did not trouble Hezekiah to do it; and
the answer is worthy of the Lord. There is a postscript to God’s answer (see 2 Kings 19:35). “It came to pass
that night--they were all dead corpses.” Fancy if you saw in the newspaper
to-morrow “Sudden death of 185
000 soldiers!” What a stir it would make! What a
sight the camp must have been next morning. There has been much discussion as
to how it happened. There is no mention of it in the Assyrian record. They were
ready enough to boast
but when Sennacherib crept back to his palace
he did
not instruct the historian to chronicle his disgrace. Herodotus tells us that
the Egyptians
against whom Sennacherib was then at war
ascribed the
destruction of their foes to the power of their gods. There has been
considerable discussion amongst the learned as to the cause of the destruction
of so large an army
and it is generally understood now to have been the
simeon. Cambyses
king of the Medea
lost 50
000 men by one of these dreadful
winds. But whether the wind was the messenger
or whether an angel had the wind
in his power
it matters not; we read of “stormy wind fulfilling His word.” God
willed it
and nature hasted to do His bidding. (T. Champness.)
Verses 15-19
And Hezekiah prayed unto the Lord.
What to do when trouble comes
Hezekiah the King of Judah was in very great trouble. For some
time the forces of the Assyrian had overcome the land and had taken the fenced
cities: Jerusalem had been spared only on payment of a ransom that had greatly
impoverished it. But that sufficed for a time only: and now the hosts of the
enemy had gathered again and demanded its surrender. The city of Samaria had
fallen and all the land was possessed by Assyria. It was an insult to the proud
conqueror that Jerusalem alone should defy him. Round about the walls gathered
their forces
and Rab-shakeh the commander had come near to the city and Cried
aloud in the ears of all the people his threats against them and his summons to
surrender. To his blasphemies Hezekiah had given no answer. Leaving forces
enough behind him to sustain the siege Rab-shakeh had marched off then to join
his royal master elsewhere. But now Egypt was marching up to fight the
Assyrian. Of that Jerusalem could know nothing; but Rab-shakeh was anxious to
withdraw the army from Jerusalem in order to strengthen his own forces; and he
wrote a letter
impudent and blasphemous
thinking to frighten Hezekiah into
surrender
1. The first thing for us to look at is this
--A king in trouble.
Troubled soul
do not think within yourself that your case is peculiar
--all
men have their troubles. Do not go envying any man
for no position will bring
escape from trouble. But further
here is a good man in trouble. Turn to the
beginning of the previous chapter and read the record of this man. The worst
thing that could befall us in this world would be for us to have in anything
our own way.
3. Again
here was a very great trouble. Net for himself was it that
Hezekiah thought only or even mostly
though this was quite enough to think
about. A crown and throne and all the proud position of king is quite enough to
lose at one blow. But that was swallowed up in his concern about his people and
the perils that beset them.
4. And it was a trouble for which there seemed to be no help. Samaria
had fallen
and they looked in vain towards the north. (M. G. Pearse.)
Prayer in emergencies
The Christian believes in a revelation from God. Revelation
unfolds many things which we could not discover for ourselves
explains or
accounts for many actions or events which are puzzling without it. It takes us
beyond second causes to the fountain head of all plans and transactions; it
deals with what we see not as merely hard dry facts
but facts with a meaning
and purpose; it tells of a higher
nobler
state of being belonging to us; and
of spiritual powers which have influence over us; it speaks to us of Him “in Whom
we live
and move
and have our being.” What is prayer? It is the means of
holding communication with the unseen world--all worship may be called prayer
for it is the approach of man to God--the setting on foot a line of connection
with our great Invisible Ruler. If we at all understand our real complex
nature
the union of an invisible spirit with our outward bodies
we must see
that our intercourse with the invisible world is all important
and that an
acknowledgment of our dependence upon the Supreme Invisible Ruler is
indispensable to our true and complete character. Prayer is a sign of weakness
but an instrument of strength; it is a confession of our own inability
bur’s
laying our grasp upon the strong and mighty One
able to do all things. We pray
because we feel weak
but by prayer we feel strong. It is not for God’s
information
but for our security--not to persuade Him
but to prove our trust
in Him--that we pray. It is of use because it thus brings us consciously within
the circle of His willing influence. It is of obligation
because it is
commanded by Him. Some men object to prayer as if it were useless. They say
“God has laid down certain rules for the government of the world--certain clear
laws--and it is not to be expected that He should alter these laws for us
when
we choose to ask Him to do so.” But this surely is to make Almighty God a slave
of His own creatures. The Lawgiver has always power and the right to suspend
His laws if He will
and in this case the Lawgiver is such that it were an insult to Him to
suppose Him unable to suspend the action of His laws in a particular instance
without disarranging the whole machinery of the world
and putting it out of
gear. Besides
His laws are framed not blindly but with that infinite foresight
which would enable Him to foresee all prayers
all claims or entreaties for
exemption from the working of His laws. In the case of men we might reasonably
think that laws would be inoperative if exemptions were made at every turn
but
in the case of Almighty God this conclusion would not hold. He may maintain the
principles on which His laws are based
even while He suspends their action in
special cases. Infinite Wisdom must needs be allowed elasticity in the
observance of His own laws
and He may surely with all justice and consistency
make His laws contingent upon man’s actions; and after all
the Supreme Lord
keeps in His own Hands the continuance of any laws He makes
He gives force to
His laws
His will is the motive power; therefore
if He will
the law must
become inoperative
if He will to listen to man’s prayer
the answer must come.
Now
prayer is generally to be regarded as a habit. But there is another kind
of prayer--prayer in emergencies. Though our life is on the whole monotonous
i.e.
the same things happen day after day
the same needs come
and therefore the
same prayers are needed
yet occasional occurrences intervene
requiring
special attention and immediate thought and help. Then we must seek instant
succour. To delay may be fatal; to wait for our morning or evening prayer must
be to wait till the special danger has gone by
or has fallen upon us. It
becomes us
the moment the peril is recognised
to fall on our knees and call
in the intervention of God Almighty. We have in the case of Hezekiah an
admirable instance of the power and efficacy of prayer. But supposing the
Assyrians had not been destroyed
but had carried on the siege and triumphed
would Hezekiah’s prayer have received no answer? God graciously sent a complete
answer for the encouragement of His people
and for the discomfiture of the
vaunting Assyrians; but even if so direct an answer had not been given
the
prayer of faith would not have been in vain. All that God promises is to
answer--not to answer exactly as
we wish. Suppose a danger imminent: sickness nigh unto death; a
shipwreck; a fire; an invasion of our country; you would fain extricate
yourself from the peril. There may be plenty to volunteer advice: first one and
then another specific is suggested; various lines of policy
all conflicting
all perhaps hopeless to all appearance. Yet there is another resource: take
your anxieties and spread them before the Lord
take them especially into the
house of the Lord. Another form of perplexity arises from mental or spiritual
difficulties: you fail to see the truth of some Christian doctrine; or you
cannot discover what truth is; opposite opinions present themselves
and there
is a temptation to cast off all belief because you cannot come to a decision in
your own mind as to which is the true doctrine; some minds
for instance
have
a difficulty in accepting the doctrine of the Holy Trinity
because it seems to
be inconsistent with common sense that three should in any view be
one--remember it is only above
not contrary to
reason. Take the matter
quietly before your God
kneel before Him in secrecy
and in faith ask His
guidance
and then spread out the conflicting passages before the light of His
mercy-seat
and be assured that somehow you will find light to direct you
for
“the meek shall He guide in judgment.” (G. F. Prescott
M. A.)
Hezekiah
or prayer in trouble
I. That prayer is
the believer’s privilege. Viewing the children of God as participating in the
troubles of life in common with others
it is indeed a most important
privilege. Prayer has been called “the outlet of trouble
and the inlet of
comfort;” it serves as the open window to a heated room
to remove what is
oppressive
and admit what is refreshing. Prayer is a duty--not a mere duty
however
but a
precious privilege; indeed
all duties are privileges and blessings if rightly
understood; God never assigns or commands anything which is not for the good of
those on whom it is enjoined. Prayer is the choicest privilege of earth; it is
the intercourse with heaven--the speaking to God as to a Father and a Friend;
it is not only conformity to Christ’s Spirit
but the joining in very act with
Son and Spirit
at the very time and for the very object in which they are
engaged. Christ not only prayed on earth
but is gone to pray in heaven
and
has sent His Spirit to take His place below. Oh! let us look at Son and Spirit
pleading; would they ever have assumed the office
but that they saw the
helpless state of man
and volunteered to plead in and for him? They pray for
man; it is their pleasure; and if man be permitted to conjoin with them in
prayer
is it not a blessed privilege that he may so do?
II. Let us consider
Hezekiah’s conduct and prayer as a test of the real state of the heart. We are
told
in verse 1
what was his great resource. Prayer was his habit; not the
mere exclamation
nor sudden feeling when danger threatened
which men have by
instinct
no! we are told “Hezekiah trusted in the Lord
” “he clave to the
Lord”; such expressions imply the habit of prayer; when trouble came he had not
to commence an acquaintance with God.
III. Let us consider
Hezekiah’s prayer as an example of the manner of prayer. But let us take
Hezekiah as a model for our imitation. How did he particularise? “he spreads
the letter before the Lord”; he takes each part
and reasons on it; and if we compare the
particulars of the letter with what is specified in the prayer
we shall see
the meaning of his spreading the letter before the Lord. His was not a general
prayer for deliverance
but a specifying of particulars; thus had he abundant
matter for his petitions
thus by opening all his case
he disburdened his own
heart
thus he put God in remembrance
and involved His glory with His people’s
safety. Such should be the manner of prayer
then there will not be wandering
or coldness. (B.
Jacob
A. M.)
Hezekiah in trouble
I. First
a
specimen of threatening communication is alluded to in my text
and recorded in
the verses immediately preceding it. In introducing it to your notice
I
admonish you
first
that the historical parts of the Scriptures are the
records of Cod’s dealings with His Church mainly
conveying only so much
generally of the history of the world
as is needful to illustrate these
dealings with the Church; and consequently that every event is to be viewed in
accordance with this plan; otherwise we become bewildered and lost in reading
the narrative of Holy Scripture
and we lose the object for which that
narrative is perpetuated and recorded. If you look into the threatening letter
of the haughty Assyrian
you will find it remarkable
as containing three of
the topics
which are commonly dwelt upon by persecutors
when they desire to
trouble the Church and people of God. The first of these three topics is the
mockery of Hezekiah’s faith
as mere fancy. A second particular in the letter
is this: here is an attempt to work upon Hezekiah’s fears. For the world
like
faithful servants of the wicked one
will try
and do try
experiment after
experiment
for the injury of the Lord’s people; if ridicule will not prevail
terror will be used. Here is
further and thirdly
an attempt to confound the
true religion with the superstitions of men
and the Lord Jehovah with the
idols of the heathen: that So the visitations of judgment
with which the
enemies of Cod are often permitted to vex and destroy each other
might be held
forth as an additional discouragement from the exercise of faith in those who
are “joined to the Lord.”
II. In the second
place
my text affords us a specimen of wise demeanour in the people of God
when they are assailed by persecutions or threatenings from the world. No
business whatever will detain us from the house and ordinances of God
if we
have the fear and love of God in our hearts; because we need His blessing in
all our transactions. And if at all other times
then especially we need it in
seasons of affliction.
III. In the third
place
a specimen of simple faith is also here presented; to which the
spiritually-minded among you will do well to take heed
as to that plan whereby
we may most effectually remove our anxious cares off our own shoulders
and
honour that word of grace and truth
given to every adopted child of God: “Cast
thy burden upon the Lord
and He shall sustain thee” (Psalms 55:22). That phraseology is very
remarkable
in the superabundance of the promise above the matter involved in
the exhortation--“Cast thy burden upon the Lord”; the answer to that would
be--“And He shall sustain it
He will bear it for thee”; but the answer is
more--“He shall sustain thee
” thee and thy burden too.
1. Simplicity of faith is shown in the act under contemplation. It is
left on record for the instruction of those who in after ages would glorify God
in a troublesome world.
2. Faith suggests the efficacy of prayer. The Lord’s people are
thereby enabled to judge Him faithful
“who hath promised.”
3. Finally
this faith may be exercised
and prayer presented
and
that with good success
in the most apparently perilous circumstances. (W.
Borrows
M. A.)
A king in prayer
Prayers have their histories. Their ancestry is trouble
struggle
with circumstances
and helplessness. They mark epochs in our lives
They are
born in those hours which leave an indelible impression upon us. The sublimest
strains which men have uttered have been towards God in moments of agony
I. Hezekiah prayed
to Jehovah as the god of his nation. “O Lord God of Israel.”
1. The nation bore the name of one of its progenitors that “as a
prince had prevailed with God.” Names and events around which cluster Divine
deliverances may encourage us in prayer. Past manifestations of God’s power may
enlarge our faith. What God has been to our forefathers
our churches
our
nations in times of trouble
He will be to us amid the perils of our day.
History is a handmaid in the service of Faith.
2. His nation was Jehovah’s peculiar dwelling-place--“which dwellest
between the cherubims.” The Skekinah
the holy light
as a symbol of the Divine
presence
ever shone forth from between those weird and colossal figures which
Solomon had carved and placed on either side of the mercy-seat. God will
protect where He dwells. While He remains
there is perfect safety. When He
departs
there is ruin.
II. Hezekiah
recognises
in his prayer
the sole supremacy of Jehovah. “Thou art the God
”
etc.; “and have cast their gods into the fire
” etc. Each nation had its gods.
Polytheistic ideas and customs prevailed in the nations surrounding Jordan. The
gods were often destroyed when the nations fell which they were supposed to
protect. The Jews alone asserted the existence of one supreme God.
1. Hezekiah asserted that Jehovah was the only true God. Polytheism
was a foolish delusion. It probably arose from men’s innate propensity to
materialise spiritual things
from the worship of natural objects as the
manifestation of the Divine power
from the sinful and insatiate imagination of
men’s hearts
from the deification of departed heroes
or from the attempt to
give visible shape to applauded virtues. But there can be but one infinite and
eternal God.
2. That He exercised supreme control over all the kingdoms of the
earth. He was not only the God of Israel
but of all nations.
III. He appealed to
Jehovah as the maker of “heaven and earth.” Heaven and earth to the Jewish mind
included all things. In this sublime idea of God is involved--
1. That He is eternal. He existed before all things; delighting in
the glory of His own nature before the worlds were made; no material form nor
spiritual existence sharing that eternity with Him.
2. That He is separate from His works. The universe is not He
as the
ancient pantheists taught
and as some teach now. He is immanent in all His
creations
but independent of them. The maker is not His work. God transcends
all beings and worlds.
3. That He is omnipotent. He who made the universe must be Almighty.
Its greatness is inconceivable
and the power that produced it must be
infinite.
4. That He has an absolute right to control an things. The maker has
indefeasible rights in His productions.
5. That He has all things under His direct control. As He has created
all forces
an laws
an agencies
all worlds
all angels
all men
He has them
under His immediate direction
and can turn them “whithersoever He will.” This
conception of God afforded solid ground for Hezekiah’s faith.
IV. Hezekiah prayed
with great earnestness. Earnestness is needed
not to lead God to observe our
condition
or to create a disposition in Him to help us
but--
1. That the strength of our desires may be revealed.
2. That we may be raised from the low condition of formal devotion.
3. That we may have all the spiritual culture which the outcries of
real need may impart.
4. That we may be prepared to receive Divine deliverances thankfully.
Hezekiah was stirred with the most powerful emotions as he prayed. His trouble
heated his soul as a fire.
V. Hezekiah
recognised the greatness of the deliverance which he sought. “Of a truth
Lord
” etc. To recognise the greatness of the deliverance we need will--
1. Deepen our sense of helplessness in ourselves
2. Stimulate the exercise of great faith.
3. Prepare us for the manifestation of God’s great delivering hand.
VI. Hezekiah
associated the glory of Jehovah with the deliverance which he sought. The
reproaches which had been cast upon him had been cast upon God. But it was
God’s delivering arm put forth in answer to Hezekiah’s faith and prayer--
Spiritual-mindedness a protection
Much constant communion will surround us with an atmosphere
through which none of the many influences which threaten our Christian life and
our Christian work can penetrate. As the diver in his bell sits dry at the
bottom of the sea
and draws a pure air from the free heavens far above him
and is parted from that murderous waste of green death that clings so closely
round the translucent crystal walls which keep him safe; so we
enclosed in
God
shall repel from ourselves all that would overflow to destroy us and our
work
and may by His grace lay deeper than the waters some courses in the great building
that shall one day rise
stately and many-mansioned
from out of the conquered
waves. (A. Maclaren
D. D.)
Laying down the burden
Dr. H. Clay Trumbull
the well-known religious leader of America
who passed away the other day
related a story about one of his little
daughters. “She brought to me a while ago
” he says
“a geography book
having
on its cover a picture of fabled Atlas
bearing the globe on his shoulders.
Pointing to the overburdened man
with his bowed head
upstrained shoulders
and distended muscles
staggering under the weight that seemed just ready to
crush him
she said: ‘Papa! Why don’t that man lay that thing down?’ ‘Well
my
dear
’ I answered
‘it would be a great deal better if he did. But that man has
the idea that he must carry the world on his shoulders. There are a good many
men of that sort
as you will find when you are older.’ That child’s question
is a pertinent one to any of you who are struggling under oppressive burden of
personal anxiety of any nature whatosever. ‘Why don’t you lay that thing down?’
‘Cast thy burden upon the Lord
and He shall sustain thee.’”
Verse 35
And it came to pass that night
that the angel of the Lord went
out.
The destruction of Sennacherib’s army
I. That this
deliverance was miraculous
because--
1. It was foretold with absolute certainty (2 Kings 19:22-23). Certainty is not
an element in human plans. “Ye know not what shall be on the morrow” (James 4:14).
2. It is described as having been wrought by direct superhuman agency.
II. That the
deliverance was wrought because of the characters of three men.
1. The character of Hezekiah.
2. The character of David (2 Kings 19:34). So that David’s
character had an influence in saving Jerusalem at this time.
3. The character of Sennacherib: From his words here recorded
his
pride
his daring opposition to Jehovah are revealed.
Therefore the narrative most impressively bears witness--
1. To the fact that God is influenced by human character in His
government of the world. A God who would deal with His creatures without regard
to their moral
character would not command our reverence and love. What would be thought of a
human ruler or father who acted thus?
2. That the administration of just punishment is compatible with
is
indeed a necessary phase of
the purest benevolence. The angels of God are the
most benevolent
because the most perfect
of God’s creatures. But they can
smite the transgressor as well as succour the afflicted. The removal of the
instruments of tyranny from the earth is an act of pure benevolence.
3. That those who live morally above their age
will live beyond
their age. David
although an imperfect man
lived upon a higher level of
goodness than most of his contemporaries
therefore he has a part in the
salvation of his much-loved city long after he ceased to reign in it.
4. He alone can turn the afflictions of life into blessings who has
learned to pray. Hezekiah’s prayer had much to do with averting the catastrophe
which threatened his people. The message to him from God was
“that which thou
hast prayed to me against Sennacherib
king of Assyria
I have heard.” (Outlines
from Sermons by a London Minister.)
The destroying angel
The ministry of angels
for good or evil
has always been a
subject of mystery and of interest to the human mind. Throughout all the creeds
of the Eastern world a belief in the active and frequent interference of the
angelic host is generally held. The subject of angels occupies no
inconsiderable portion of the Koran. Angels good or ill form the Suras of the
Persians and the Rakshusas of the Hindoos. In the Old Testament of the Jews
in
the New Testament of the Christians
angels are not uncommonly introduced. That
God does make His angels ministering spirits
we have the authority of
Scripture for asserting; but in what way they act
what appearances they
present
what divisions they consist of amidst the varied orders of “thrones
dominions
princedoms
powers
” we know not. Lessons to be learnt:
I. That anger is
at times commendable. We find the Deity moved to hot anger against the Assyrian
host
taking vengeance upon the multitude that formed the Assyrian army. It is
true
that to say
God is angry
or jealous
is but to speak after the manner
of men
is but to attribute human motives to the Godhead. Yet
if we could
imagine anger to possess the Deity
even in the sense in which we use the word
anger
it would be no diminution of His Divine perfections. Strife against sin
against wrong-doing
against injustice
against the oppression of the weak
against falsehood
against hypocrisy
this was implanted in us for the noblest
purposes
this
in fact
is a virtue
and not a vice.
II. That we should
see God’s hand in all the revolutions of history.
III. That a haughty
spirit oftentimes precedes a fall. Pride
in its egotistical wilfulness
vanity
in its ridiculous pretensions
must be rooted out of the character
before any good Christian seed can be developed. Every one that exalteth
himself
whether in a spirit of godless self-sufficiency like Sennacherib
or
of religious self-complacency like the Pharisees of old
shall be abased; and
every one that humbleth himself shall be exalted. Pride goeth before
destruction
and a haughty spirit before a fall. Before honour is humility.
IV. That the
dispensations of providence are sometimes very sudden in their action. On the
very night that Sennacherib encamped
filled doubtless with an idea of his own
grandeur
and with a belief that he was about to add to his glory and power by
a decisive victory on the morrow
in “that night” the angel of the Lord smote
his mighty strength to the ground. “The only thing to be looked for in the
conduct of the French on any occasion
” says a cynical observer
“is the
unexpected” Might not the same statement
in a greater or less degree
be made
about all nationalities and about all individuals?
V. That we should
lay all our troubles and weaknesses
before God in prayer. (R. Young
M. A.)
The destruction of Sennacherib
I. The events of
this night develop the force of wickedness. How rampant was wickedness this
night. Wickedness has ever had great power in this world. Wealth
dominion
and
numbers
have ever been at its command. Ever since the Fall
it has been
and
still is
the power whose reign is the most extensive. Like the Assyrian hosts
it invades the most sacred scenes
and carries alarm into the most sainted
spirits. The fact that wickedness is allowed such power on this earth shows:
1. The regard which God has for the free agency of the human mind. At
first He was pleased to endow man with a power of free action and the
attributes of responsibility
and although he has sinned and abused this power
the Almighty does not check its operations. He sets before man the good and the
evil
and leaves him to make his choice. If he chooses the evil
and is determined to give
himself up to it
He allows him often times to run such lengths
that he
becomes a Pharaoh
a Sennacherib
a Nebuchadnezzar
a Herod
or a Napoleon. The
fact that wickedness is allowed such power on this earth shows:
2. The wonderful forbearance of God. How wonderful it is that He
who
could with a word annihilate every rebel in His universe
should allow His
intelligent creatures to live in hostility to Him and His universe. How great
His forbearance! How great His forbearance with the Pharaohs who continued to
oppress His chosen people for so many generations; with the antediluvian world;
with the Jewish nation
etc.
etc. Why does He not crush the sinner at once
with the first sin? Why does He allow him to go on for years transgressing His
laws? The answer is
“He waiteth to be gracious.” “The Lord is not slack
concerning His promise
as some men count
” etc. The fact that wickedness is allowed
such power on this earth
shows:
3. The certainty of a future retribution--It will not always be thus.
II. The events of
this night develop the force of justice. “The angel of the Lord went out and
smote in the camp of the Assyrians.”
1. Justice will not always sleep. Indeed
it never sleeps; it only
seems to.
2. Justice
when roused
does its work with ease. One angel or agent
now destroyed these one hundred and eighty-five thousand armed men.
3. The work of justice involves ruin to the wicked
but salvation to
the good. The waters that destroyed the old world bore in safety in its bosom
righteous Noah and his family. The sea that engulfed Pharaoh and his host made
a highway for the ransomed to pass through; and now the blow that crushed one
hundred and eighty-five thousand men
delivered Jerusalem from destruction.
III. The events of
this night develop the force of prayer. We learn from the preceding verses of
this chapter
that when pious Hezekiah the king received haughty and
blasphemous threats of his country’s destruction from Rabshakeh
the minister
of Sennacherib
that he took the letter which contained it
read it
and went
up into the house of the Lord
and spread it before God (2 Kings 19:14.)
1. Observe Hezekiah’s prayer (2 Kings 19:15-19).
2. Observe the answer (2 Kings 19:32-34). “Therefore
thus
saith the Lord
concerning the King of Asyna
” etc.
From this subject we learn two things:
1. That wickedness
however triumphant
must end in ruin.
2. That goodness
however threatened
shall end in a glorious
deliverance. “What are these which are arrayed in white robes
and whence came
they? These are they which came out of great tribulation.” (Homilist.)
God’s method with hostile evil
As two carbon points when the electric stream is poured upon them
are gnawed to nothingness by the fierce heat
and you can see them wasting
before your eyes
so the concentrated ardour of the breath of God falls upon
the hostile evil
and lo! it is not. (A. Maclaren
D. D.)
Verse 37
His sons smote him with the sword.
The death of Sennacherib
Why are we told of this fact? Holy Scripture
as a general rule
passes over the lives and deaths and exploits of the mere great men of the
world in a most cursory way. Only one incident
for example
is mentioned in
the life of Herod the Great. Nothing is told us of the Roman Emperor
Augustus
except his office and name; and not so much even as that of his successor
Tiberius. Why then have we related to us so particularly the death of this
king
taking place
as it did
so far to one side of the usual path of God’s
word? The answer will be found by a reference to the past. If we consider
I. The character
of his life. Two things had distinguished it towards man--excessive violence
and much pride. You have seen pictures from those Assyrian palaces brought to
light again of late years. A favourite subject in most is the victorious king
commanding his captives to be slain
or himself blinding them perhaps with his
spear. These pictures
we may be quite certain
are only too correct. What the
artist portrayed with such vigour had frequently been in his sight. That almost
brutal bodily strength
those stiff and barbarous adornments
those merciless
and unrelenting features
were observable
in that ferocious dynasty
to the
life. And this Sennacherib
perhaps
of all these sovereigns
was the most
successful
and so
the worst.
II. The character
of Sennacherib’s death.
1. We have seen the nature of his challenge. We have now to notice
the reply. God replied
first
to his pride. Who can stand
the king had said
before me? God answered him
not in battle
not by spoken rebuke
but
as it
was prophesied
by a “blast.”
2. God replied
next
to his violence and bloodshed. “With what
measure ye mete
” etc. (Matthew 7:2; see also 1:7; 1 Samuel 15:13; Matthew 26:52). The same kind of rule
seems to have been observed in this case. After the king had returned to his
own kingdom and city
the weapon he had so often employed was employed on
himself.
3. Jehovah answered the man’s blasphemy and profaneness. The
challenge had been delivered
if not within hearing
certainly within sight
of
God’s house
in the ears and language of the people who sat on the wall. No
answer came at the time. God
who sometimes waits to be gracious
often delays
to destroy. (Homilist.)