1-4 Hoshea Reigns over Israel
- Hoshea son of Elah begins to reign in Samaria in the 12th year of King Ahaz of Judah.
- He reigns 9 years and is evil, but not as evil as the kings of Israel before him.
- He is subject to King Shalmaneser of Assyria and pays tribute to him, but betrays Shalmaneser by sending messengers to King So of Egypt, neglecting his tribute to Assyria, so Shalmaneser imprisons him.
- Shalmaneser besieges Samaria for 3 years.
- In Hoshea's 9th year, he carries the Israelites away to Assyria, in Halah (on the Habor, the river of Gozan, in cities of the Medes).
- This occurs because:
- Israel has sinned against God, who brought them out of the land of Egypt.
- They have worshiped other gods and walked in the customs of other nations.
- They secretly did things that were not right, building high places, pillars, sacred poles.
- Despite warnings by prophets and seers, they turned from God, being stubborn and refusing to listen.
- They despised God's statues, rejected his commandments.
- They cast images of 2 calves, worshiped the host of heaven, served Baal, and even made their sons and daughters pass through the fire (sacrificed their own children to false gods).
- Therefore, God removed them from his sight, and only Judah was left.
- But Judah is not much better; they are following in Israel's footsteps.
- History lesson: God tore Israel from Jerusalem, and Jeroboam led them into apostasy, so God is punishing them now, as he said he would do.
- Shalmaneser brings people from Babylon, Cuthah, Avva, Hamath, and Sepharvaim to live in Samaria in place of the Israelite people he carried away.
- Of course, they do not worship the LORD, so he sends lions among them to kill them.
- Someone tells the king this is happening because the newcomers don't know how to worship the god of the land, so he sends for an Israelite priest to come to Bethel to teach the inhabitants how to worship the LORD. This seems to make the LORD (YHWH) a localized God, and the land a sacred land. Yet when the Israelites lived there, he didn't send lions to kill them for their misbehavior. So was this to get Assyria's attention? It did force the king's hand, so at least there would be someone there who knew God's laws and could teach them.
- The people learn the ways of the true God, but they still hold on to their own gods, and "to this day" they continue to practice their former customs. We know from New Testament history (particularly from the Samaritan woman at the well in John 4) that the Samaritans, the mixed race of Jews and Gentiles, develop their own brand of Judaism.
- They do not worship the LORD, and they do not follow his statutes.
- Hezekiah, son of Ahaz, begins to reign in the 3rd year of King Hoshea of Israel.
- He is 25 when he begins his reign, and reigns for 29 years in Jerusalem.
- His mother was Abi (or Abijah, in Chronicles), daughter of Zechariah.
- He does right, following in David's footsteps: 1) he removes the high places and cuts down the sacred pole; 2) he shatters the bronze serpent (Nehushtan) that Moses had made, because the people are worshiping it; 3) he rebels against the king of Assyria; 4) he attacks the Philistines. I see a couple of lessons in the 2nd item here. If Hezekiah was sentimental about the bronze serpent, he didn't show it. Sometimes our sentimentality can get us into trouble. 1) On the surface, sentimental objects clutter up our homes and our lives, forcing us to take care of them, store them, carry them wherever we go. 2) On a spiritual level, we humans tend to worship these objects that had significance in the past. If it was good for Hezekiah to destroy the bronze serpent – which had such historical significance – why are religious people of the world intent on finding pieces of the ark, or deifying images of a burial shroud? They want to carry forward Jewish worship in the form of instrumental music, incense, dance worship or priestly robes but ignore the very clear warnings against bowing down to statues and other such images.
- It is in Hezekiah's 4th year that Shalmaneser besieges Samaria and in his 7th year that he carries the Israelites to Assyria.
3-19 The Temple Cleansed
- In the first year of his reign, Hezekiah opens the doors of the temple, repairs them, and calls all the Levites together.
- His instruction: "Sanctify yourselves, and sanctify the house of the LORD, and carry out the filth from the holy place."
- Our ancestors have been unfaithful in this matter, and now you see the results: they have been destroyed by the sword, and our daughters and wives are in captivity.
- So it is "in my heart" to make a covenant with God, and you, my sons, must not be negligent in serving him.
- So for sixteen days – after sanctifying themselves – the Levites (named here) go to work, cleaning and sanctifying the inside of the temple and carrying out everything that is unclean. Afterward they report their results to Hezekiah. We don't usually think of Levites as performing physical tasks, but I suspect it was a major part of their job to maintain the physical structure of the temple. In this case, after years of neglect, the temple was in need of a major cleaning. This puts a practical spin on the adage, "Cleanliness is next to godliness."
- Hezekiah rises early the next morning, assembles the city officials and supervises the sacrifice of seven each of bulls, rams, lambs, and male goats as a sin offering "for the kingdom and for the sanctuary and for Judah."
- While the offerings burn on the altar, the Levites play David's instruments and the singers sing the songs of David and of Asaph. Many of Asaph's songs are recorded in our Old Testament. I'd like to think Psalm 80 was one of those they sang on this occasion!
- Next Hezekiah tells the people to bring their sacrifices and thank offerings. Some also offer burnt offerings, a total of 70 bulls, 100 rams, 200 lambs, 600 bulls, and 3,000 sheep.
- Here's an interesting tidbit: Not enough priests have sanctified themselves before this ceremony to skin all the burnt offerings, so the Levites have to help them, "for the Levites were more conscientious than the priests in sanctifying themselves." I'm not sure this has any significance, but it seems that those who did the "dirty work" were more aware of the need to keep themselves holy and prepared to serve God than the "spiritual" leaders.
- After the service, Hezekiah and the people rejoice "because of what God had done for the people." People not only feel good when they've done the right thing, they also become aware of where the credit lies.
1-27 The Great Passover
- Hezekiah sends messengers throughout Judah and Israel - from Beersheba to Dan - urging the people to return to Jerusalem to keep the passover.
- He makes a special plea to those who have escaped captivity by Assyria, promising them, "As you return to the LORD, you will find compassion.... For the LORD your God is gracious and merciful...."
- But most of those in Israel laugh the couriers to scorn; only a few from Asher, Manasseh and Zebulun "humbled themselves and came to Jerusalem." Apparently they have learned nothing from the captivity of their brothers and sisters. After all, these are the ones who were spared.
- However, "the hand of God was on Judah to give them one heart to do what the king...commanded...."
- Many have not sanctified themselves properly before celebrating the Passover, so Hezekiah prays on their behalf, and God accepts their worship.
- Hezekiah gives credit to those who have helped in the 7-day celebration.
- They are enjoying it so much, they extend it another 7 days, with Hezekiah offering 1,000 bulls and 7,000 sheep and the officials giving 1,000 bulls and 10,000 sheep.
- "Since the time of Solomon...there had been nothing like this in Jerusalem."
1-10 Pagan Shrines Destroyed (See also 2 Kings 18:4)
- When the celebration is finished, the people that attended go back to their cities and destroy the symbols of idolatry: pillars, sacred poles, high places and altars.
- Hezekiah appoints priests and Levites to their proper positions and gives them what is needed for burnt offerings.
- He also commands the people to give the priests and Levites their due, so they can "devote themselves to the LORD," and they give abundant tithes of everything, starting in the 3rd month and finishing in the 7th month, after which the priests and Levites have enough and some to spare.
- Hezekiah commands that storehouses be built for the contributions and appoints certain Levites to oversee them and others to distribute the contributions to priests and Levites throughout Judah.
- He appoints all Levites from 20 years and upward according to their divisions; he enrolls priests and their families according to their ancestral houses.
- In praise of Hezekiah:
Hezekiah did this throughout all Judah; he did what was good and right and faithful before the LORD his God. And every work that he undertook in the service of the house of God, and in accordance with the law and the commandments, to seek his God, he did with all his heart; and he prospered.2 Kings 18:13-37 Sennacherib Invades Judah (2 Chronicles 32:1-19)
Note: What a heady time! It's what we all wish from our leaders. It's a picture of the ideal: When leaders have the courage and faith to do the right thing, the people gladly follow, and all are blessed for it.
- In Hezekiah's 14th year, King Sennacherib of Assyria attacks Judah's fortified cities and captures them. (Kings)
- Hezekiah with all his officers and warriors build towers and walls around the city and stop the flow of springs outside the city in order to deny Sennacherib's army access to water. (Chronicles)
- Hezekiah offers tribute, and Sennacherib demands 300 talents of silver and 30 talents of gold. (Kings)
- Hezekiah gives him all the silver in the treasury and strips the gold from the temple. (Kings)
- Sennacherib sends an army with "the Tartan, the Rabsaris, and the Rabshakeh" to Jerusalem, to "the conduit of the upper pool," and they call for the king. (Kings)
- Eliakim (son of Hilkiah, palace manager), Shebnah the secretary, and Joah (son of Asaph), the recorder, come out to meet them. (Kings)
- Rabshakeh sends a challenge to Hezekiah: Why are you so confident? You can't rely on *that broken reed" Egypt. It will pierce the hand of anyone who leans on it. (Kings)
- He continues: And surely you're not relying on your God; Hezekiah has removed his high places, so he's not going to help you. I certainly don't rely on your God, yet here I am, ready to destroy you.
- Eliakim and Shebnah urge Rabshakeh to speak to them in Aramaic so the people listening don't understand the challenge he's making, but Rabshakeh wants them to hear the threats. (Kings)
- Rabshakeh then directs his threats to all the people: Don't let Hezekiah fool you. He can't deliver you out of my hands. Instead, listen to the king of Assyria, who will take you away into a land where you will live well instead of dying. Do not listen to Hezekiah! Have you seen any other gods deliver their people from our hands?
- Sennacherib's messengers "spoke of the God of Jerusalem as if he were like the gods of the peoples of the earth, which are the work of human hands." (Chronicles)
- However, the king has instructed the people to keep silent, so they don't answer Rabshakeh. After 14 years under Hezekiah, the people obviously have great respect for their king. (Kings)
- Eliakim and Shebna go to Hezekiah, appearing in torn clothes. (Kings)
1-7 Hezekiah Consults Isaiah
- King Hezekiah tears his clothes, covers himself with sackcloth, and goes into the temple.
- He sends Eliakim and Shebna to consult Isaiah, with this message: "This day is a day of distress, of rebuke and of disgrace; children have come to the birth, and there is no strength to bring them forth." What a great figure for having no strength left to do what needs to be done!
- Isaiah replies: Do not be afraid, says the LORD, for I will make the king believe a rumor that will cause him to fall by his own sword in his own land. As is often the case, the LORD promises to work in a way humans cannot even imagine.
- When Rabshakeh returns to Assyria, he finds the king has left Lachish to fight against Libnah.
- The king hears [a rumor!] that the King of Ethiopia is about to attack Assyria. While he takes care of that threat, he sends messengers to warn Hezekiah not to rely on his God.
- Hezekiah goes to the temple and worships God, explaining how indeed Sennacherib has destroyed other nations, but of course, their gods are nothing but wood and stone.
- "So now, O LORD...save us...so that all the kingdoms of the earth may know that you...are God alone."
- Isaiah sends word to Hezekiah that God has heard his prayer.
- God's reply to Sennacherib (in the form of a song): You don't know who you're dealing with here. I'm the one who gave you the power to overcome; I determined it long ago. Now, because of your arrogance, "I will put my hook in your nose and my bit in your mouth; I will turn you back on the way by which you came."
- He also gives a sign to Hezekiah - you will reap the produce of the land that grows of itself. In other words, I will take care of my remnant nation. You don't even have to sow in order to reap.
- And regarding Sennacherib: He won't even come into this city, much less make war on it - for the sake of the city, and for "my servant David."
- That night the "angel of the LORD" strikes down 185,000 Assyrians in their camp.
- King Sennacherib goes home to Nineveh. Later, as he is worshiping in the house of his god Nisroch, his sons Adrammelech and Sharezer kill him with a sword and escape to Ararat.
- He is succeeded by his son Esar-haddon.
- In Judah, on the other hand, many are bringing gifts to the "LORD in Jerusalem," and King Hezekiah is "exalted in the sight of all nations from the time onward." (Chronicles)
1-11 Hezekiah's Illness (2 Chronicles 32:24-26)
- Hezekiah becomes so ill that Isaiah advises him to "set his house in order."
- Isaiah leaves, and Hezekiah turns his face to the wall, weeping and pleading with God.
- Before Isaiah leaves the palace, God tells him to return to Hezekiah and tell him that he will not only heal him, he'll give him 15 more years, and will deliver Jerusalem out of Assyria's hand. Then he instructs that a lump of figs be put on Hezekiah's boil to heal it. This brings up questions: Was it just a boil that was killing him? If it was only a boil that could be healed with a lump of figs, why doesn't that done in the first place? If it is God that is healing him, why the need for the lump of figs?
- Hezekiah asks for a sign, and Isaiah tells him that the sun dial will retreat ten intervals.
- In Chronicles, it states that Hezekiah becomes proud, and wrath comes upon Judah and Jerusalem, after which Hezekiah humbles himself, so the wrath did not come upon them in the days of Hezekiah. Maybe this refers to the time when Hezekiah gave all the tribute to Sennacherib, which results in Hezekiah consulting Isaiah (2 Kings 19).
- King Merodach-baladan, son of Baladon of Babylon, sends envoys with gifts and to inquire of Hezekiah's health.
- Hezekiah welcomes them and shows them all the treasures in his storehouses. The Chronicles account says of this that "God left him to himself, in order to test him and to know all that was in his heart." Even the best of men, with the best of intentions, are subject to pride.
- When Isaiah asks him about the visitors, Hezekiah tells him what he has done, and Isaiah prophesies that the days will come when Babylon will come in and carry out all those treasures, as well as his children.
- Hezekiah replies, "The word of the LORD that you have spoken is good," and thinks to himself, "Why not, if there will be peace and security in my days?" Huh? Apparently this is the mental response from a man who has been promised security, has already acted foolishly, and resigns himself (and his family) to whatever will happen. Que sera, sera.
- The rest of Hezekiah's legacy - his power, how he brought water into the city - are recorded in the Book of the Annals of the Kings of Judah.
- After his death, his son Manasseh succeeds him.
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