Difficulties Historians Have When Separating Sargon II From Sennacherib

Andrews University Seminary Studies, Autumn 1994, Vol. 32, No. 3, 247-251


Copyright Q 1994 by Andrews University Press.



SARGON'S AZEKAH INSCRIPTION: THE EARLIESTEXTRABIBLICAL REFERENCE TO THE SABBATH?

WILLIAM H. SHEA

Biblical Research InstituteSilver Spring, MD 20904

The Azekah Text

The "Azekah Text," so called because of the Judahite site attackedin its record, is an Assyrian text of considerable historical significancebecause of its mention of a military campaign to Philistia and Judah.'In this article I review the question of the date of the tablet andexamine a line which may be the earliest extrabiblical reference to theSabbath.In this tablet the king reports his campaign to his god. Anunusual feature of this text is the name of the god upon whom theAssyrian king calls: Anshar, the old Babylonian god who wassyncretized with the Assyrian god Assur. This name was rarely used byAssyrian kings, and then only at special times and in specific types oftexts, by Sargon and Sennacherib.The text is badly broken. In fact, until 1974 its two fragmentswere attributed to two different kings, Tiglath-pileser III and Sargon.In that year, Navad Na'aman joined the two pieces, showing that theyonce belonged to. the same tablet.'When Na'aman made the join between the two fragments, heattributed the combined text to Sennacherib, largely on the basis oflinguistic comparison^.^ Because the vocabulary of the text was similarto the language used in Sennacherib's inscriptions, Na'aman argued thatSennacherib was the author. However, since Sennacherib immediatelyfollowed Sargon on the throne, it would be natural to expect that the'A detailed study of the text is given by Navad Na'aman, "Sennacherib's 'Letter toGod' on His Campaign to Judah," BASOR (1974): 25-38,ZIbid., 2628.31bid., 30-3 1.

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248WILLIAM H. SHEAmode of expression would be similar. In all likelihood some of Sargon'sscribes continued to work under Sennacherib, using the same language.Since Na'aman attributed the text to Sennacharib, and knew ofonly one western campaign of that king, he identified the text as adescription of the western campaign of 701 B.C. While that identi-fication was feasible, the reference to two cities taken in that campaignwas hardly specific enough to firmly establish the connection.Given that indistinct connection ...

 

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Full document available at: https://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&q=cache:_96AnfQDj1gJ:www.auss.info/auss_publication_file.php?pub_id%3D890%26journal%3D1%26type%3Dpdf+&hl=en&gl=au&pid=bl&srcid=ADGEESjrwbIrISxphHMZikQP-rDHS_yw9DaLMkKDal_8udTDbZ9lufNHEIvqzY2Ze-THbT6SdjvG4ohJluoaq7qHjM2PIt_LC45gmdEAW7RPmjSyzh35eaMFKcniqWNRNPuAbAQx0YwJ&sig=AHIEtbTl0SNlCzVLxjhKiQdfAmLnRLGDAw&pli=1

The Fall of Samaria: Amos



Amos 6



GOD’S WORD Translation (GW)


The Fall of Samaria


6 How horrible it will be for those who are at ease in Zion,

for those who feel secure on the mountain of Samaria,

and for the heads of the leading nations,

to whom the nation of Israel comes.


2 Go to Calneh and look.

Go from there to the great city of Hamath.

Then go to Gath, the city of the Philistines.





















Are you better than these kingdoms?





















Is their territory larger than yours?





















3 How horrible it will be for those who think that a day of disaster is far away.





















They bring the reign of violence closer.





















4 How horrible it will be for those who sleep on ivory beds.





















They sprawl out on their couches





















and eat lambs from their flocks and calves from their stalls.





















5 How horrible it will be for those who make up songs as they strum a harp.





















Like David, they write all kinds of songs for themselves.





















6 How horrible it will be for those who drink wine by the jugful.





















They rub the finest oils all over themselves





















and are not sorry for the ruin of the descendants of Joseph.





















7 That is why they will now be the first to go into exile.





















The celebrating of those sprawled around the banquet table will stop.





















8 The Almighty Lord has sworn an oath on himself.





















The Lord God of Armies declares:





















I am disgusted with Jacob’s pride,





















and I hate his palaces.





















So I will hand over the city and everything in it.





















9 If ten people are left in one house, they will die.





















10 If a relative or a mortician





















comes to take the dead bodies out of the house





















and asks someone who is inside the house,





















“Is there anyone else with you?”





















that person will answer, “No.”





















“Hush,” he will add.





















“We shouldn’t mention the name of the Lord!”





















11 The Lord is going to give the command





















to level big houses and flatten little houses.





















12 Do horses run on rocks?





















Does a farmer plow the sea with oxen?





















Yet, you have turned justice into something deadly





















and what is righteous into poison.





















13 How horrible it will be for those who rejoice over Lo Debar





















and who say, “We were strong enough to capture Karnaim by ourselves.”





















14 I am going to lead a nation to attack you, nation of Israel,





















declares the Lord God of the Armies of the Nations.





















They will oppress you from the border of Hamath to the valley of Arabah.

No known relief depiction of Shalmaneser V?



Such is the case according to the article, "Shalmaneser V and Sargon II",

at: http://emp.byui.edu/SATTERFIELDB/Rel302/Shalmaneser%20V%20and%20Sargon%20II.htm

.... The revolt of Israel against Assyria during the days of King Hoshea, last king of Israel, brought on a siege by the Assyrians (1 Kings 17). The siege was led by Shalmaneser V, King of Assyria (there is no known relief depiction of Shalmaneser V). During the siege, he died. Sargon II replaced Shalmanezer V as King of Assyria, who finished the siege and sacked Samaria.

....

But according to our [AMAIC] reconstruction of things, Shalmaneser V, the contemporary of the biblical pharaoh So, was the same king as Tiglath-pileser III of Assyria. And there are plenty of known depictions of him (see e.g. above).

Message of Prophet Micah of Era of King Sennacherib



He has shown you, O man, what is good;

And what does the Lord require of you

But to do justly,

To love mercy,

And to walk humbly with your God?

Micah 6:8

Taken from: http://www.spurgeon.org/sermons/2328.htm



"Walk humbly with thy God."—Micah 6:8.

HIS is the essence of the law, the spiritual side of it; its ten commandments are an enlargement of this verse. The law is spiritual, and touches the thoughts, the intents, the emotions, the words, the actions; but specially God demands the heart. Now it is our great joy that what the law requires the gospel gives. "Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to every one that believeth." In him we meet the requirements of the law, first, by what he has done for us; and next, by what he works in us. He conforms us to the law of God. He makes us, by his Spirit, not for our righteousness, but for his glory, to render to the law the obedience which we could not present of ourselves. We are weak through the flesh, but when Christ strengthens us, the righteousness of the law is fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.

Only through faith in Christ does a man learn to do righteously, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with God; and only by the power of the Holy Spirit sanctifying us to that end do we fulfil these three divine requirements. These we fulfil perfectly in our desire; we would be holy as God is holy, if we could live as our heart aspires to live, we would always do righteously, we would always love mercy; and we would always walk humbly with God. This the Holy Spirit daily aids us to do by working in us to will and to do of God's good pleasure; and the day will come, and we are pining for it, when, being entirely free from this hampering body, we shall serve him day and night in his temple, and shall render to him an absolutely perfect obedience, for "they are without fault before the throne of God."

To-night I shall have a task quite sufficient if I dwell only upon the third requirement, "Walk humbly with thy God," asking first, What is the nature of this humility? and secondly, Wherein does this humilty show itself?

I. First, WHAT IS THE NATURE OF THIS HUMILITY? The text is very full of teaching in that respect.

And, first, this humility belongs to the highest form of character. Observe what precedes our text, "to do justly, and to love mercy." Suppose a man has done that, suppose that in both these things he has come up to the divine standard, what then? Why, then he must walk humbly with God. If we walk in the light, as God is in the light, and have fellowship with him, still we shall need to walk before God very humbly, ever looking to the blood, for even then the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth and continues to cleanse us from all sin. If we have done both these things, we shall still have to say that we are unprofitable servants, and we must walk humbly with God. We have not reached that consummation yet, always doing justly, and loving mercy, though we are approximating to it by Christ's gracious help; but if we did attain to the ideal that is set before us, and every act was right towards man, and more, every act was delightfully saturated with a love to our neighbour as strong as our love to ourselves, even then there would come in this precept, "Walk humbly with thy God."

Dear friends, if ever you should think that you have reached the highest point of Christian grace,—I almost hope that you never will think so,—but suppose that you should ever think so, do not, I pray you, say anything that verges upon boasting, or exhibit any kind of spirit that looks like glorying in your own attainments; but walk humbly with your God. I do believe that the more grace a man has the more he feels his deficiency of grace. All the people that I have ever thought might have been called perfect before God, have been notable for a denial of anything of the sort; they have always disclaimed anything like perfection, they have always lain low before God, and if one has been constrained to admire them, they have blushed at his admiration. If they have thought that they were at all the objects of reverence among their fellow-Christians, I have noticed how zealously they have put that aside with self-depreciatory remarks, telling us that we did not know all, or we should not think so of them; and therein I do admire them yet more. The praise that they put from them returns to them with interest. Oh, let us be of that mind! The best of men are but men at the best, and the brightest saints are still sinners, for whom there is still a fountain open, but not opened, mark you, in Sodom and Gomorrah, but the fountain is opened for the house of David, and for the inhabitants of Jerusalem, that even they may still continue, with all their lofty privileges, to wash therein, and to be clean. This is the kind of humility, then, which is consistent with the highest moral and spiritual character, nay, it is the very clothing of such a character, as Peter puts it, "Be clothed with humility," as if, after we had put on the whole armour of God, we put this over all to cover it all up. We do not want the helmet to glitter in the sun, nor the greaves of brass upon the knees to shine before men; but clothing ourselves like officers in mufti, we conceal the beauties which will eventually the more reveal themselves.

The second remark is this, the humility here prescribed involves constant communion with God. Observe that we are told to walk humbly with THY God. It is of no use walking humbly away from God. I have seen some people very proudly humble, very boastful of their humility. They have been so humble that they were proud enough to doubt God. They could not accept the mercy of Christ, they said; they were so humble. In truth, theirs was a devilish humility, not the humility that comes from the Spirit of God. Oh, no! This humility makes us walk with God; and, beloved, can you conceive a higher and truer humility than that which must come of walking with God? Remember what Job said, "I have heard of thee by the hearing of the ear: but now mine eye seeth thee. Wherefore I abhor myself, and repent in dust and ashes." Remember how Abraham, when he communed with God, and pleaded with him for Sodom, said, "I have taken upon me to speak unto the Lord, which am but dust and ashes;" "dust"—that set forth the frailty of his nature, "ashes"—as if he was like the refuse of the altar, which could not be burnt up, which God would not have. He felt himself to be, by sin, like the sweeping of a furnace, the ashes, refuse of no value whatsoever; and that was not because he was away from God, but because he was near to God. You can get to be as big as you like if you get away from God; but coming near to the Lord you rightly sing,—

"The more thy glories strike mine eyes,

The humbler I shall lie."

Depend upon it that it is so. It might be a kind of weather-gauge as to your communion, whether you are proud or humble. If you are going up, God is going down in your esteem. "He must increase," said John the Baptist of the Lord Jesus; "but I must decrease." The two things go together; if this scale rises, that scale must go down. "Walk humbly with thy God." Dare to keep with God, dare to have him as your daily Friend, be bold enough to come to him who is within the veil, talk with him, walk with him, as a man walks; with his familiar friend; but walk humbly with him. You will do so if you walk truly; I cannot conceive such a thing,—it is impossible,—as a man walking proudly with God. He takes his fellow by the arm, and feels that he is as good as his neighbour, perhaps superior to him; but he cannot walk with God in such a frame of mind as that. The finite with the Infinite! That alone suggests humility; but the sinful with the Thrice-holy! This throws us down into the dust.

But, next, this humility implies constant activity. "Walk humbly with thy God." Walking is an active exercise. These people had proposed to bow before God, as you notice in the sixth verse, "Wherewith shall I come before the Lord, and bow myself before the high God?" But the answer is not, "Bow humbly before God," but "Walk humbly with God." Now, beloved, when we are very actively engaged, pressed with business, one thing after another coming in, if the great Master employs us in some large concern,—large, of course, only to us,—if we have work after work, we are too apt to forget that we are only servants, we are doing all the business for our Master, we are only commission agents for him. We are apt to think that we are the head of the firm; we should not think so if we did think steadily for a moment, for we should know our right position; but in the midst of activity we get cumbered with much serving, and we are too apt to get off our proper level. We have, perhaps, to rule others; and we forget that we also are men under authority. It is easy to play the little king over the little folk; but it must not be so. You must learn, not only to be humble in the closet of communion, and to be humble with your Bible before you, but to be humble in preaching, to be humble in teaching, to be humble in ruling, to be humble in everything that you do, when you have as much as ever you can do. When from morning to night you are still pressed with this and that service, still keep your proper place. That is where Martha went wrong, you know; not in having much serving, but by getting to be mistress. She was Mrs. Martha, and the housewife is a queen; but Mary sat in the servant's place at Jesus' feet. If Martha's heart could have been where Mary's body was, then had she served aright. The Lord make us Martha-Maries, or Mary-Marthas, when ever we are busy, that we may walk humbly with God!

Next, I do not think that it is far-fetched if I say that this humility denotes progress. The man is to walk, and that is progress, advancing. "Walk humbly:" I am not to be so humble that I feel that I cannot do any more, or enjoy any more, or be any better; they call that humility. It begins with an S in English, and the full word is SLOTH. "I cannot be as believing, as bold, as useful as such a man is." Thou art not told to be humble and sit still, but to be humble and walk with God. Go forward, advance, not with a proud desire to excel your fellow-Christians, not even with the latent expectation of being more respected because you have more grace; but still walk, go on, advance, grow. Be enriched with all the precious things of God; be filled with all the fulness of God; walk on, walk ever. Lie not down in despair; roll not in the dust with desperation because thou thinkest high things impossible to thee; walk, but walk humbly. Thou wilt soon find out, if thou dost make any progress, that thou hast need to be humble. I believe that when a man goes back he gets proud, and I am persuaded that when a man advances he gets humbler, and that it is a part of the advance to walk more and more and more humbly. For this the Lord tries many of us, for this he visits us in the night, and chastens us, that we may be qualified to have more grace, and get to higher attainments, by being more humble, "for God resisteth the proud, and giveth grace to the humble." If thou wilt climb the mountain-side, thou shalt be thirsty among the barren crags; but if thou wilt descend into the valleys, where the red deer wander, and the brooks flow among the meadows, thou shalt drink to thy full. Doth not the hart pant for the water-brooks? Do thou pant for them; they flow in the valley of humiliation. The Lord bring us all there!

Next, the humility here prescribed implies constancy: "Walk humbly with thy God." Not sometimes be humble; but ever walk humbly with thy God. If we were always what we are sometimes, what Christians we should be! I have heard you say, I think, and I have said the same myself, "I felt very broken down, and lay ‘very low at my Master's feet." Were you so the next day? And the day after did you continue so? Is it not very possible for us to be one day, because of our great debt to our Master, begging that he would not be hard with us, and is it not possible tomorrow to be taking our brother by the throat? I do not say that God's people would do that; but I do feel that the spirit that is in them may lead them to think of doing it, one day acknowledging your Father's authority, and doing his will, and another day standing outside the door, and refusing to go in because the prodigal son has come home. "Thou never gavest me a kid, that I might make merry with my friends; I have been a consistent believer, yet I never have any high joys; but as soon as this thy son was come, which hath devoured thy living with harlots, thou hast killed for him the fatted calf. Here is a wretched sinner only just saved, and he is in an ecstacy of delight. How can this be right?" O elder son, O elder brother, walk humbly with thy Father! Always be so under any circumstances. It is all very fine to have a lot of humility packed away in a box with which to perfume your prayers, and then to come out, and to be "My lord," and some very great one in the midst of the church and in the world. This will never do. It is not said, "Bow humbly before God now and then; "but as a regular, constant thing, "Walk humbly with thy God." It is not, "Bow thy head like the bulrush under some conscious fault which thou canst not deny," but, in the brightness of thy purity, and the clearness of thy holiness, still keep thy heart in lowly reverence bowing before the throne.

Once more only, and then we will quit this part of the subject, the humility that is here prescribed includes delightful confidence. Do let me read the text to you, "Walk humbly with God." No, no, we must not maul the passage that way, "Walk humbly with thy God." Do not think that it is humility to doubt your interest in Christ; that is unbelief. Do not think that it is humility to think that he is another man's God, and not yours; "Walk humbly with thy God." Know that he is your God, be sure of it, come up from the wilderness leaning upon your Beloved. Have no doubt, nor even the shadow of a doubt, that you are your Beloved's, and that he is yours. Rest not for a moment if there is any question upon this blessed subject. He gives himself to you; take him to be yours by a covenant of salt that never shall be broken; and give yourself to him, saying, "I am my Beloved's, and my Beloved is mine." "Walk humbly with thy God." Let not anything draw you away from that confidence; but then, in comes the humility. This is all of grace; this is all the result of divine election; therefore, be humble. You have not chosen Christ, but he has chosen you. This is all the effect of redeeming love; therefore, be humble. You are not your own, you are bought with a price; so you can have no room to glory. This is all the work of the Spirit.

"Then give all the glory to his holy name,

To him all the glory belongs."

"Walk humbly with thy God." I lie at his feet as one unworthy, and cry, "Whence is this to me? I am not worthy of the least of the mercies that thou hast made to pass before me." I think this is the humility prescribed in the text. May the Spirit of God work it in us!

II. And now, secondly, with great brevity upon many points, I have to answer the question, WHEREIN DOES THIS HUMILITY SHOW ITSELF? I have what might be a long task; a Puritan would want an hour and a half more for the second part of the subject. Our Puritan forefathers preached, you know, by a glass, an hour-glass which stood by them, and sometimes, when they had let one glass run out at the end of the hour, they would say to the people, "Let us have another glass," and they turned it over again, and went on for another hour. But I am not going to do that, I do not wish to weary you, and I would rather send you away longing than loathing. Wherein, then, does this humility show itself? It ought to show itself in every act of life. I would not advise any of you to try to be humble, but to be humble. As to acting humbly, when a man forces himself to it, that is poor stuff. When a man talks a great deal about his humility, when he is very humble to everybody, he is generally a canting hypocrite. Humility must be in the heart, and then it will come out spontaneously as the outflow of life in every act that a man performs.

But now, specially, walk humbly with God when your graces are strong and vigorous, when there has been a very clear display of them, when you have been very patient, when you have been very bold, when you have been very prayerful, when the Scriptures have opened themselves up to you, when you have enjoyed a grand season of searching the Word, and especially when the Lord gives you success in his service, when there are more souls than usual brought to Christ, when God has made you a leader among his people, and has laid his hand upon you, and said, "Go in this thy might." Then, "Walk humbly with thy God." The devil will tell you when you have preached a good sermon; perhaps you will not have preached a good one when he tells you that you have, for he is a great liar; but you may go home wonderfully pleased with a sermon with which God is not pleased, and you may go home wonderfully humble about a sermon that God means to bless. But when there really does seem to be something that the evil one tempts you to glory in, then hear this word, "Walk humbly with thy God."

Next, when you have a great deal of work to do, and the Lord is calling you to it, then, before you go to it, walk humbly with God. Do you ask, How? By feeling that you are quite unfit for it, for you are unfit in yourself; and by feeling that you have no strength, for you have not any. When you are weak, by owning your weakness you will grow strong. Lean hard upon your God, cry to him in prayer. Do not open your own mouth, but from your heart pray, "Open thou my lips, and my mouth shall speak forth thy praise." Be intensely subservient to the Spirit of God, yield yourself up to be worked upon by him, that you may work upon others. Oh, there is such a difference between a sermon preached by our own power and a sermon preached in the power of the Holy Spirit! If you do not feel the difference, my brother, your people will soon find it out.

"Oh, to be nothing, nothing!

Only to lie at his feet!"

Then it is, when walking humbly with God in service, that he will fill us, and make us strong.

Next, walk humbly with God in all your aims. When you are seeking after anything, mind what your motive is. Even if it be the best thing, seek it only for God. If any man, or any woman either, tries to work in the Sunday-school, or if anyone preaches in the open air, or in the house of God, with a view of being somebody, with the idea of being thought to be a very admirable, zealous brother or sister, then let this word come into your ear, "Walk humbly with thy God." There is a word which Jeremiah spoke to Baruch which we need to have said to ourselves sometimes: "Seekest thou great things for thyself? seek them not." You young men of the College, do not be always hunting up big places; be willing to go to small places to preach the gospel to poor people. Never mind if the Lord sends you right down to the lowest slum; but go, and let your aim always be this, "I do not desire for myself anything great except the greatest thing of all, that I may glorify God." "Walk humbly with thy God." You are the kind of man who will be promoted in due time if you are willing to go down. In the true Church of Christ, the way to the top is downstairs; sink yourself into the highest place. I say not this that even in sinking you may think of the rising; think only of your Lord's glory. "Walk humbly with thy God."

Walk humbly with God, also, in studying his Word, and in believing his truth. We have a number of men, nowadays, who are critics of the Bible; the Bible stands bound at their bar, nay, worse than that, it lies on their table to be dissected, and they have no feeling of decency towards it; they will cut out its very heart, they will rend asunder its tenderest parts, even the precious Song of Solomon, or the beloved apostle's Gospel, or the Book of the Apocalypse, is not sacred in their eyes. They shrink from nothing, their scalpel, their knife, cuts through everything. They are the judges of what the Bible ought to be, and it is deposed from its throne. God save us from that evil spirit! I desire ever to sit at the feet of God in the Scriptures. I do not believe that, from one cover to the other, there is any mistake in it of any sort whatever, either upon natural or physical science, or upon history or anything whatever. I am prepared to believe what ever it says, and to take it believing it to be the Word of God; for if it is not all true, it is not worth one solitary penny to me. It may be to the man who is so wise that he can pick out the true from the false; but I am such a fool that I could not do that. If I do not have a guide here that is infallible, I would as soon guide myself, for I shall have to do so after all; I shall have to be correcting the blunders of my guide perpetually, but I am not qualified to do that, and so I am worse off than if I had not any guide at all. Sit thou down, Reason, and let Faith rise up. If the Lord hath said it, let God be true, and every man a liar. If science contradicts Scripture, so much the worse for science; the Scripture is true, whatever the theories of men may be. "Ah ! "you say, "you are an old-fashioned fogy." Yes, I am; I will not disclaim any compliment which you choose to pass upon me; and I will stand or fall by this blessed Book. This was the mighty weapon of the Reformation; it smote the Papacy, and I shall not throw it down, whoever does. Stand thou still, my brother, and listen to the voice of the Lord, and "walk humbly with thy God" as to his truth.

Walk humbly with God, next, as to mercies received. You were ill a little while ago; and now you are getting well. Do not let pride come in because you feel that you can lift so many pounds. You are getting on in business; you wear a much better coat than you used to come here in; but do not begin to think yourself a mighty fine gentleman. Now you get into very good society, you say; but do not be ashamed to come to the prayer-meeting along with the Lord's poor, and to sit next to one who has not had a new coat for many a day. "Walk humbly with thy God," or else it may be that he will take thee down a notch or two, and bring thee back to thy old poverty; and then what wilt thou say to thyself for thy folly?

Next, walk humbly with God under great trials. When you are brought very low, do not kick against the pricks. When wave after wave comes, do not begin to complain. That is pride; murmur not, but bow low. Say, "Lord, if thou smite me, I deserve more than thou dost lay upon me. Thou hast not dealt with me according to my sin. I accept the chastisement." Let not the rebellious spirit rise when a child is taken away, or when the wife is taken from your bosom, or the husband from the head of the house. Oh, no; say, "It is the Lord; let him do what seemeth him good."

And next, walk humbly with God in thy devotions, as between thyself and God in thy chamber. Dost thou read? Read humbly. Dost thou pray? Pray humbly. Dost thou sing? Sing joyfully, but sing humbly. Do take care, when thy God and thyself are together, and none besides, that there thou showest to him thy humble heart, with deep humility that it is no more humble than it is.

And then, next, walk humbly as between thyself and thy brethren. Ask not to be head choir-master; desire not to be the principal man in the church. Be lowly. The best man in the church is the man who is willing to be a doormat for all to wipe their boots on, the brother who does not mind what happens to him at all so long as God is glorified. I have heard brethren say, "Well, but you must stand up for your dignity." I lost mine a long time ago, and I never thought it was worth while to look for it. As to the dignity of the pastor, the dignity of the minister, if we have no dignity of character, the other is a piece of rag. We must try to earn our position in the Church of God by being willing to take the lowest room; and if we will do so, our brethren will take care that before long they will say to us, "Go up higher." In thy dealings with weak Christians, with feeble Christians, do not always scold. Remember that, if thou art strong now, thou mayest very soon be as weak as thy brethren are.

And in dealing with sinners, "walk humbly with thy God." Do not stand a long way off, as if you loved them so much that distance lent enchantment to the view. Do you not think that, sometimes, we deal with sinners as if we would like to pluck them from the burning if there was a pair of tongs handy; but we do not care to do it if our own dainty fingers would be smutted by the brands? Ah, beloved, we must come down from all lofty places, and feel a deep and tender pity towards the lost, and so walk humbly with God!

Now, I have not time to go through all this subject as to your circumstances. If you are poor, if you are obscure, do not be pining after a higher place; walk humbly with your God, take what he gives you. In looking back, rejoice in all his mercy; and walk humbly at the recollection of all your stumbles. In looking forward, anticipate the future with delight, but do not be proudly imagining how great you will yet be made. "Walk humbly with thy God." In all thy thoughts of holy things, be humble; thoughts of God should lay thee low, thoughts of Christ should bring thee to his feet, thoughts of the Holy Ghost should make thee grieve for having vexed him. Thoughts of every covenant blessing should make thee wonder that such privileges ever came to thee. Thoughts of heaven should make thee marvel that thou shouldst ever be found among the seraphim. Thoughts of hell should make thee humble,—

"For were it not for grace divine,

That fate so dreadful had been thine."

Oh, brethren, the Lord help us to walk humbly with God! This will keep us right. True humility is thinking rightly of thyself, not meanly. When you have found out what you really are, you will be humble, for you are nothing to boast of. To be humble will make you safe. To be humble will make you happy. To be humble will make music in your heart when you go to bed. To be humble here will make you wake up in the likeness of your Master by-and-by. The Lord bless this word, for Jesus' sake! Amen.

God Restores Hezekiah



Taken from: http://www.picturesofsilver.com/Teachings/19hezekiah4.htm





Hezekiah and the people of Judah have been committed to the one true God and God has prospered them much.



II Chronicles 32



:22 Thus the LORD saved Hezekiah















and the inhabitants of Jerusalem















from the hand of Sennacherib the king of Assyria,















and from the hand of all other,















and guided them on every side.















:23 And many brought gifts unto the LORD to Jerusalem,















and presents to Hezekiah king of Judah:















so that he was magnified in the sight of all nations from thenceforth.















The next event recorded in God's Word is Hezekiah's sickness. He would have died had God not saved him and given him 15 more years to live. This is covered in II Kings 20:1-11, II Chronicles 32:24-26 and Isaiah 38. Each record tells part of the event. We will see the whole picture by examining all three records. II Kings gives us the record as it happened, II Chronicles gives us a glimpse of why he got in this predicament and Isaiah tells us what Hezekiah wrote during his sickness.















One more thing we need to know before we exam this is, Hezekiah had not had an heir to the throne yet. One reason why he was so distraught about dieing was that his seed would not be passed on. II Kings 20 tells us that his son Manasseh, his son, reigned after him and he was only 12 years old when he began. Even after Hezekiah was recovered it took at least two years for his wife Hephzibah to become pregnant. Also, he is not very old, He was only 39* when he fell so gravely ill (possibly from the plague).















II Kings 20















:1 In those days was Hezekiah sick unto death.















And the prophet Isaiah the son of Amoz came to him, and said unto him,















Thus saith the LORD,















Set thine house in order;















for thou shalt die, and not live.















:2 Then he turned his face to the wall,















and prayed unto the LORD, saying,















:3 I beseech thee, O LORD,















remember now how I have walked before thee in truth















and with a perfect heart,















and have done that which is good in thy sight.















And Hezekiah wept sore.















:4 And it came to pass,















afore Isaiah was gone out into the middle court,















that the word of the LORD came to him, saying,















:5 Turn again,















and tell Hezekiah the captain of my people,















Thus saith the LORD,















the God of David thy father,















I have heard thy prayer,















I have seen thy tears:















behold, I will heal thee:















on the third day thou shalt go up unto the house of the LORD.















:6 And I will add unto thy days fifteen years;















and I will deliver thee















and this city















out of the hand of the king of Assyria;















and I will defend this city for mine own sake,















and for my servant David's sake.















:7 And Isaiah said,















Take a lump of figs.















And they took and laid it on the boil,















and he recovered.















:8 And Hezekiah said unto Isaiah,















What shall be the sign that the LORD will heal me,















and that I shall go up into the house of the LORD the third day?















:9 And Isaiah said,















This sign shalt thou have of the LORD,















that the LORD will do the thing that he hath spoken:















shall the shadow go forward ten degrees,















or go back ten degrees?















:10 And Hezekiah answered,















It is a light thing for the shadow to go down ten degrees:















nay, but let the shadow return backward ten degrees.















:11 And Isaiah the prophet cried unto the LORD:















and he brought the shadow ten degrees backward,















by which it had gone down in the dial of Ahaz.















God has heard Hezekiah and spared him but my question is: why was he in this position? II Chronicles gives us a clue.















II Chronicles 32















:24 In those days Hezekiah was sick to the death,















and prayed unto the LORD:















and he spake unto him,















and he gave him a sign.















:25 But Hezekiah rendered not again [did not return unto God i.e. praise or tithe]















according to the benefit done unto him;















for his heart was lifted up:















therefore there was wrath upon him,















and upon Judah















and Jerusalem.















:26 Notwithstanding Hezekiah humbled himself for the pride of his heart,















both he and the inhabitants of Jerusalem,















so that the wrath of the LORD came not upon them in the days of Hezekiah.















After Hezekiah had become so wealthy he had trouble staying thankful to God for all he had. He became prideful in what he had. God stayed the hand of the adversary from his life and Judah because they humbled themselves before God. They realized their error and repented. His transgression is also mentioned in Isaiah in Hezekiah's writings.















Isaiah 38:















:9 The writing of Hezekiah king of Judah, when he had been sick,















and was recovered of his sickness:















:10 I said in the cutting off of my days,















I shall go to the gates of the grave:















I am deprived of the residue of my years.















:11 I said, I shall not see the LORD,















even the LORD,















in the land of the living:















I shall behold man no more with the inhabitants of the world.















:12 Mine age is departed, and is removed from me as a shepherd's tent:















I have cut off like a weaver my life:















he will cut me off with pining sickness:















from day even to night wilt thou make an end of me.















:13 I reckoned till morning,















that, as a lion, so will he break all my bones:















from day even to night wilt thou make an end of me.















:14 Like a crane or a swallow,















so did I chatter:















I did mourn as a dove:















mine eyes fail with looking upward:















O LORD, I am oppressed; undertake for me. [take on a pledge for me, act as surety]















:15 What shall I say?















he hath both spoken unto me,















and himself hath done it:















I shall go softly all my years in the bitterness of my soul.















:16 O Lord, by these things men live,















and in all these things is the life of my spirit:















so wilt thou recover me,















and make me to live.















:17 Behold, for peace I had great bitterness: [mar marar - was bitterly bitter]















but thou hast















in love to my soul















delivered it from the pit of corruption:















for thou hast cast all my sins behind thy back.















:18 For the grave cannot praise thee,















death can not celebrate thee:















they that go down into the pit cannot hope for thy truth.















:19 The living,















the living,















he shall praise thee,















as I do this day:















the father to the children shall make known thy truth.















Hezekiah laments his pending death at such a young age, his years stolen from him. He recognizes that because he had become bitter in his time of health and prosperity he lay dieing. Yet, in what contrast, God delivers him from death and covers Hezekiah's sins. Then, what a wonderful statement, the grave cannot praise God, death cannot celebrate God. When we are in the grave we cannot praise God, when we are dead how can we celebrate His greatness? Those that have died can no longer learn of the truths of God's Word. It is the living, the living shall praise God and it is the fathers that shall make known the truth to his children.















God teaches us of Hezekiah's pride and bitterness of heart so that we may learn from it. We must always remain thankful and humble before God. When we are prosperous and/or exalted we must recognize the source always. Don't let the treasures we have on earth outweigh the treasures laid up in heaven. Remaining thankful to God and doing His will allows us to walk in alignment and harmony with our heavenly father.















Hezekiah's pride in the riches God had prospered him with was eventually his downfall. The king of Babylon sent letters and presents to Hezekiah after he heard that he was recovered (II Kings 20:12-21 and Isaiah 39:1-8). Hezekiah listened to him and showed him all of the treasures in his storehouses: the silver, the gold, the spices and precious ointments, the armour; he showed the king of Babylon everything. Isaiah confronts him and tells him the word of the Lord; that all his house will be carried away unto Babylon and his sons will be eunuchs in the palace of Babylon. Hezekiah recognizes his error and agrees. He knows his fault. Hezekiah dies at the age of 54.















A Psalm of Degrees written by Hezekiah.















Psalm 128















:1 Blessed is every one that feareth the LORD;















that walketh in his ways.















:2 For thou shalt eat the labour of thine hands:















happy shalt thou be,















and it shall be well with thee.















:3 Thy wife shall be as a fruitful vine by the sides of thine house:















thy children like olive plants round about thy table.**















:4 Behold, that thus shall the man be blessed that feareth the LORD.















:5 The LORD shall bless thee out of Zion:















and thou shalt see the good of Jerusalem all the days of thy life.















:6 Yea, thou shalt see thy children's children,















and peace upon Israel.















My exhortation:















Colossians 3:















16 Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom;















teaching















and admonishing one another in psalms















and hymns















and spiritual songs,















singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord.















:17 And whatsoever ye do in word















or deed,















do all in the name of the Lord Jesus,















giving thanks to God and the Father by him.

Profiles of Faith: Hezekiah - A Faithful King



King Hezekiah's Personal Seals

article by Jerold Aust

God's mercy is always available to people in a repentant attitude, who acknowledge their inadequacies and strive to honor and serve Him. Hezekiah's life proves this is true.

Speaking in Hebrew, the arrogant representatives of the Assyrian king threatened Jerusalem's defenders: "Do not listen to your king, Hezekiah, for he deceives you. He will tell you there is only one God who can and will save you from the great king of Assyria. That's foolishness. Tell us who were the gods who saved other nations from the mighty kings of Assyria? You know the nations by name. You know of their demise. You know not one of them was saved by their gods.

"So don't allow Hezekiah to fool you into thinking your one God can save you. The record is clear and telling. Lay down your weapons, open up the gates, and surrender. Why should you resist and suffer certain death?" (2 Kings 18:28-35 [28] Then Rabshakeh stood and cried with a loud voice in the Jews' language, and spake, saying, Hear the word of the great king, the king of Assyria:

[29] Thus saith the king, Let not Hezekiah deceive you: for he shall not be able to deliver you out of his hand:

[30] Neither let Hezekiah make you trust in the LORD, saying, The LORD will surely deliver us, and this city shall not be delivered into the hand of the king of Assyria.

[31] Hearken not to Hezekiah: for thus saith the king of Assyria, Make an agreement with me by a present, and come out to me, and then eat ye every man of his own vine, and every one of his fig tree, and drink ye every one the waters of his cistern:

[32] Until I come and take you away to a land like your own land, a land of corn and wine, a land of bread and vineyards, a land of oil olive and of honey, that ye may live, and not die: and hearken not unto Hezekiah, when he persuadeth you, saying, The LORD will deliver us.

[33] Hath any of the gods of the nations delivered at all his land out of the hand of the king of Assyria?

[34] Where are the gods of Hamath, and of Arpad? where are the gods of Sepharvaim, Hena, and Ivah? have they delivered Samaria out of mine hand?

[35] Who are they among all the gods of the countries, that have delivered their country out of mine hand, that the LORD should deliver Jerusalem out of mine hand?

See All..., paraphrased).

Spoken by Rabshakeh, a commander in the great Assyrian army, these words were cleverly crafted psychological warfare against a fearful and embattled citizenry. Rabshakeh's sayings struck dread in the hearts of the city's defenders. Theirs was a time of terror. Death or exile seemed their only choices. They could choose to fight and face certain annihilation, or they could lay down their arms and be deported hundreds of miles to other lands.

The God of Judah, declared Rabshakeh, was powerless to resist the Assyrians' might. The Assyrians would destroy the kingdom of Judah just as the they had crushed so many other nations before them.

Judah's soldiers, manning Jerusalem's walls, did not reply. Rather, they did just as their king had instructed them. They well knew that the mighty Assyrian Empire had conquered and exiled their cousins to the north, the 10 tribes of Israel, a few years earlier (721-718 B.C.).

Could King Hezekiah withstand the Assyrians? Would God intervene and come to his aid? Hezekiah had given himself to God, cleared the land of idols and even conquered the Philistines, then a vassal state of Assyria. Would the army of Sennacherib, king of Assyria, overrun Jerusalem and raze it?

The answer to these questions can teach us important spiritual lessons.

A King Reforms his Kingdom

Hezekiah lived at a time during which the very existence of Judah was threatened. But Jerusalem was blessed with a righteous king and an outstanding Hebrew prophet, Isaiah, at this critical point in its history.

Hezekiah was one of the best of Judah's kings, a man who passionately pursued pleasing God. Ironically, righteous Hezekiah was born the son of a wicked man. As a youth, Hezekiah turned to God when almost everyone else busied himself satisfying selfish cravings and pursuing evil desires.

Hezekiah ascended the throne when he was only 25. The young monarch smashed the pagan altars and images that dotted Judah's rolling hills. "And he did what was right in the sight of the Lord, according to all that his father David had done. He removed the high places and broke the sacred pillars, cut down the wooden images and broke in pieces the bronze serpent that Moses had made; for until those days the children of Israel burned incense to it ..." (2 Kings 18:3-4 [3] And he did that which was right in the sight of the LORD, according to all that David his father did.

[4] He removed the high places, and brake the images, and cut down the groves, and brake in pieces the brasen serpent that Moses had made: for unto those days the children of Israel did burn incense to it: and he called it Nehushtan.

See All...).

"He trusted in the Lord God of Israel, so that after him was none like him among all the kings of Judah, nor any who were before him. For he held fast to the Lord; he did not depart from following Him, but kept His commandments, which the Lord had commanded Moses. The Lord was with him; he prospered wherever he went" (verses 5-7).

A Kingdom Returned to God

Hezekiah's reign was one of national religious reform and spiritual rejuvenation. He restored temple worship (2 Chronicles 29). One of his first acts was to initiate repairs on the magnificent "house of the Lord" built earlier by Solomon (verse 3). He commanded the priests and Levites to sanctify themselves and the temple, to "carry out the rubbish from the holy place" (verses 4-5).

The king warned that God was angry with His chosen nation; they had turned their backs on their Creator (verse 6). "... Because of this our fathers have fallen by the sword; and our sons, our daughters, and our wives are in captivity. Now it is within my heart to make a covenant with the Lord God of Israel, that His fierce wrath may turn away from us" (verses 9-10). So they gathered together, sanctified themselves and cleansed the house of God.

Some three centuries had elapsed since the reign of King David, a man after God's own heart (Acts 13:22And when he had removed him, he raised up unto them David to be their king; to whom also he gave testimony, and said, I have found David the son of Jesse, a man after mine own heart, which shall fulfil all my will.

See All...). No king since David had set his mind to follow God like Hezekiah, who "did what was right in the sight of the Lord, according to all that his father David had done" (2 Kings 18:3And he did that which was right in the sight of the LORD, according to all that David his father did.

See All...).

Hezekiah's Memorable Passover

Hezekiah's godly attitude and concern for his people is shown in his approach to the first Passover observance of his reign. By the time the priests and Levites had sanctified themselves and the temple, it was past the 14th of Nisan, the first month of the Hebrew year, the time God instructed that His people celebrate the Passover. Hezekiah established an alternate time—a second Passover—in the second month according to God's instructions (Numbers 9:9-14 [9] And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,

[10] Speak unto the children of Israel, saying, If any man of you or of your posterity shall be unclean by reason of a dead body, or be in a journey afar off, yet he shall keep the passover unto the LORD.

[11] The fourteenth day of the second month at even they shall keep it, and eat it with unleavened bread and bitter herbs.

[12] They shall leave none of it unto the morning, nor break any bone of it: according to all the ordinances of the passover they shall keep it.

[13] But the man that is clean, and is not in a journey, and forbeareth to keep the passover, even the same soul shall be cut off from among his people: because he brought not the offering of the LORD in his appointed season, that man shall bear his sin.

[14] And if a stranger shall sojourn among you, and will keep the passover unto the LORD; according to the ordinance of the passover, and according to the manner thereof, so shall he do: ye shall have one ordinance, both for the stranger, and for him that was born in the land.

See All...).

"And Hezekiah sent to all Israel and Judah, and also wrote letters to Ephraim and Manasseh, that they should come to the house of the Lord at Jerusalem, to keep the Passover to the Lord God of Israel. For the king and his leaders and all the assembly in Jerusalem had agreed to keep the Passover in the second month. For they could not keep it at the regular time, because a sufficient number of priests had not consecrated themselves, nor had the people gathered together at Jerusalem. And the matter pleased the king and all the assembly" (2 Chronicles 30:1-4 [1] And Hezekiah sent to all Israel and Judah, and wrote letters also to Ephraim and Manasseh, that they should come to the house of the LORD at Jerusalem, to keep the passover unto the LORD God of Israel.

[2] For the king had taken counsel, and his princes, and all the congregation in Jerusalem, to keep the passover in the second month.

[3] For they could not keep it at that time, because the priests had not sanctified themselves sufficiently, neither had the people gathered themselves together to Jerusalem.

[4] And the thing pleased the king and all the congregation.

See All...).

The king invited the remnant of the 10 tribes in the former northern kingdom of Israel to join Judah, the southern kingdom, in commemorating the Passover and Feast of Unleavened Bread. "So the runners passed from city to city through the country of Ephraim and Manasseh, as far as Zebulun; but they laughed them to scorn and mocked them. Nevertheless some from Asher, Manasseh, and Zebulun humbled themselves and came up to Jerusalem ... Now many people, a very great congregation, gathered at Jerusalem to keep the Feast of Unleavened Bread in the second month" (2 Chronicles 30:10-11 [10] So the posts passed from city to city through the country of Ephraim and Manasseh even unto Zebulun: but they laughed them to scorn, and mocked them.

[11] Nevertheless divers of Asher and Manasseh and of Zebulun humbled themselves, and came to Jerusalem.

See All..., 13).

The time was an exciting one for Judah and the remnant of Israel. Some who came from the remnants of the tribes of Ephraim, Manasseh, Issachar and Zebulun had not as yet prepared themselves, "yet they ate the Passover contrary to what was written. But Hezekiah prayed for them, saying, 'May the good Lord provide atonement for everyone who prepares his heart to seek God, the Lord God of his fathers, though he is not cleansed according to the purification of the sanctuary.' And the Lord listened to Hezekiah and healed the people. So the children of Israel who were present at Jerusalem kept the Feast of Unleavened Bread seven days with great gladness" (2 Chronicles 30:18-21 [18] For a multitude of the people, even many of Ephraim, and Manasseh, Issachar, and Zebulun, had not cleansed themselves, yet did they eat the passover otherwise than it was written. But Hezekiah prayed for them, saying, The good LORD pardon every one

[19] That prepareth his heart to seek God, the LORD God of his fathers, though he be not cleansed according to the purification of the sanctuary.

[20] And the LORD hearkened to Hezekiah, and healed the people.

[21] And the children of Israel that were present at Jerusalem kept the feast of unleavened bread seven days with great gladness: and the Levites and the priests praised the LORD day by day, singing with loud instruments unto the LORD.

See All...).

Those who kept this feast of God were so moved by the experience that "the whole assembly agreed to keep the feast another seven days, and they kept it another seven days with gladness" (verse 23).

God was making His name known to Judah and the surrounding gentile nations, symbolic of what Christ will do at His return (Malachi 1:11For from the rising of the sun even unto the going down of the same my name shall be great among the Gentiles; and in every place incense shall be offered unto my name, and a pure offering: for my name shall be great among the heathen, saith the LORD of hosts.

See All...). Thanks to King Hezekiah's reforms, Judah once again worshiped God.

In turn God blessed Hezekiah. "The Lord was with him; he prospered wherever he went." Hezekiah was also emboldened to resist the Assyrians. "And he rebelled against the king of Assyria and did not serve him. He subdued the Philistines, as far as Gaza and its territory, from watchtower to fortified city" (2 Kings 18:7-8 [7] And the LORD was with him; and he prospered whithersoever he went forth: and he rebelled against the king of Assyria, and served him not.

[8] He smote the Philistines, even unto Gaza, and the borders thereof, from the tower of the watchmen to the fenced city.

See All...). This angered the already busy Sennacherib, king of Assyria.

Jerusalem Showdown

Less than a decade earlier, the Assyrian kings Shalmaneser and Sargon had defeated and taken captive the northern kingdom, the 10 tribes of Israel. The northerners had repeatedly disobeyed God and rejected Him; their defeat and captivity were a consequence of their disobedience (2 Kings 18:11-12 [11] And the king of Assyria did carry away Israel unto Assyria, and put them in Halah and in Habor by the river of Gozan, and in the cities of the Medes:

[12] Because they obeyed not the voice of the LORD their God, but transgressed his covenant, and all that Moses the servant of the LORD commanded, and would not hear them, nor do them.

See All...).

The Assyrians were the dominant regional power in that day. When Hezekiah refused to submit, Assyria's King Sennacherib invaded Judah and stormed its fortified cities, setting the stage for a showdown at Jerusalem.

With the Assyrian monarch's forces on his doorstep, Hezekiah tried to buy his way out of danger. Hezekiah's message to the mighty Assyrian was brief: "I have done wrong; turn away from me; whatever you impose on me I will pay" (verse 14).

Sennacherib demanded nearly $40 million by today's rate of exchange. Hezekiah gave him more than he demanded. He presented him with all the silver from the temple and national treasuries. He even stripped the gold from the doors and pillars of the temple (verses 15-16).

Thinking that additional treasure was just waiting to be plundered behind the walls of Jerusalem, Sennacherib broke his agreement with King Hezekiah and surrounded Judah's capital city. Sennacherib's envoys threatened the Jews in their own language, trying to persuade them to lay down their arms and accept exile to a foreign land over certain death. After all, the Assyrians boasted, history showed that resistance would be futile.

Trust in God

King Hezekiah turned to God: "... When King Hezekiah heard it ... [the enemy's arrogant boasts], he tore his clothes, covered himself with sackcloth, and went into the house of the Lord" (2 Kings 19:1And 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.

See All...).

He sent this message to the prophet Isaiah: "This day is a day of trouble, and rebuke, and blasphemy; for the children have come to birth, but there is no strength to bring them forth. It may be that the Lord your God will hear all the words of Rabshakeh, whom his master the king of Assyria has sent to reproach the living God, and will rebuke the words which the Lord your God has heard. Therefore lift up your prayer for the remnant that is left" (2 Kings 19:3-4 [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.

[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.

See All...).

Isaiah responded to Hezekiah: "Thus says the Lord: 'Do not be afraid of the words which you have heard, with which the servants of the king of Assyria have blasphemed Me. Surely I will send a spirit upon him, and he shall hear a rumor and return to his own land; and I will cause him to fall by the sword in his own land' " (verses 6-7).

Hezekiah turned to God in faith. He would need no force of arms to bring about Sennacherib's demise.

God heard Hezekiah's humble prayer and reassured him: "Therefore thus says 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 build a siege mound against it. By the way that he came, by the same way shall he return; And he shall not come into this city,' says the Lord. 'For I will defend this city, to save it for My own sake and for My servant David's sake' " (2 Kings 19:32-34 [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.

[33] By the way that he came, by the same shall he return, and shall not come into this city, saith the LORD.

[34] For I will defend this city, to save it, for mine own sake, and for my servant David's sake.

See All...).

Even though Jerusalem's situation seemed hopeless—the city surrounded by hundreds of thousands of battle-hardened Assyrians—God was true to His word. He dramatically intervened to spare Hezekiah and the trapped Jews.

"And it came to pass on a certain night that the angel of the Lord went out, and killed in the camp of the Assyrians one hundred and eighty-five thousand; and when people arose early in the morning, there were the corpses—all dead" (verse 35).

The stunned Assyrians retreated before this demonstration of God's power. The mighty Sennacherib stole away in humiliation and defeat. "So Sennacherib king of Assyria departed and went away, returned home, and remained at Nineveh. Now it came to pass, as he was worshiping in the temple of Nisroch his god, that his sons Adrammelech and Sharezer struck him down with the sword ... Then Esarhaddon his son reigned in his place" (verses 36-37).

Sennacherib came to a sad end, assassinated by two of his sons while worshiping a false god. God had spared His people and the kingdom of Judah in the face of apparently overwhelming odds.

Hezekiah's Death Averted

God again dramatically intervened in Hezekiah's life. Not long after Sennacherib's demise, the king of Judah grew deathly ill. The prophet Isaiah came to him and advised, "Set your house in order, for you shall die, and not live" (2 Kings 20:1In those days was Hezekiah sick unto death. And the prophet Isaiah the son of Amoz came to him, and said unto him, Thus saith the LORD, Set thine house in order; for thou shalt die, and not live.

See All...). Hezekiah turned his face to the wall and wept bitterly. He pleaded with God to save him: "Remember now, O Lord, I pray, how I have walked before You in truth and with a loyal heart, and have done what was good in Your sight" (verse 3).

But, before Isaiah had even left the palace, God answered the king's prayer. He instructed Isaiah to tell him: "I have heard your prayer, I have seen your tears; surely I will heal you ... And I will add to your days fifteen years" (verses 5-6).

Although taking heart, Hezekiah asked Isaiah for a sign. The prophet offered him a choice of miracles: "Shall the shadow go forward ten degrees or go backward ten degrees?" Hezekiah, noting that it would be natural for shadows to go forward 10 degrees as the sun passed through the sky, asked that the shadow go backward. On a nearby sundial, the sun's shadow moved backward 10 degrees (verses 8-11).

God had performed another mighty miracle. He healed Hezekiah, extended his life and caused the sun's shadow to reverse its course.

Hezekiah Shows his Weakness

Word soon spread of the dramatic events in Judah. The king of Babylon, beginning to rise in the East, sent envoys bearing a gift (2 Kings 20:12At that time Berodachbaladan, the son of Baladan, king of Babylon, sent letters and a present unto Hezekiah: for he had heard that Hezekiah had been sick.

See All...).

But a problem arose. Hezekiah's "heart was lifted up" (2 Chronicles 32:25But Hezekiah rendered not again according to the benefit done unto him; for his heart was lifted up: therefore there was wrath upon him, and upon Judah and Jerusalem.

See All...). He began to drift from God. So God withdrew from Hezekiah "in order to test him, that He might know all that was in his heart" (verse 31).

Hezekiah had assumed too much. He momentarily forgot God and showed the Babylonian envoys objects of his wealth.

Hezekiah's pride brought more problems on his kingdom. God warned him that the same Babylonian nation that had sent its friendly emissaries would ultimately threaten and destroy Judah (2 Kings 20:14-18 [14] Then came Isaiah the prophet unto king Hezekiah, and said unto him, What said these men? and from whence came they unto thee? And Hezekiah said, They are come from a far country, even from Babylon.

[15] And he said, What have they seen in thine house? And Hezekiah answered, All the things that are in mine house have they seen: there is nothing among my treasures that I have not shewed them.

[16] And Isaiah said unto Hezekiah, Hear the word of the LORD.

[17] Behold, the days come, that all that is in thine house, and that which thy fathers have laid up in store unto this day, shall be carried into Babylon: nothing shall be left, saith the LORD.

[18] And of thy sons that shall issue from thee, which thou shalt beget, shall they take away; and they shall be eunuchs in the palace of the king of Babylon.

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However, "Hezekiah humbled himself for the pride of his heart, he and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, so that the wrath of the Lord did not come upon them in the days of Hezekiah" (2 Chronicles 32:25-26 [25] But Hezekiah rendered not again according to the benefit done unto him; for his heart was lifted up: therefore there was wrath upon him, and upon Judah and Jerusalem.

[26] Notwithstanding Hezekiah humbled himself for the pride of his heart, both he and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, so that the wrath of the LORD came not upon them in the days of Hezekiah.

See All...). God spared Hezekiah's kingdom for the balance of his lifetime and for another century. In later years, in the reign of kings who rejected Hezekiah's righteous acts and example, destruction overcame Judah.

Passing of a Faithful King

Hezekiah's distinction was that he "trusted in the Lord God of Israel, so that after him was none like him among all the kings of Judah ... He held fast to the Lord; he did not depart from following Him, but kept His commandments, which the Lord had commanded Moses" (2 Kings 18:5-6 [5] He trusted in the LORD God of Israel; so that after him was none like him among all the kings of Judah, nor any that were before him.

[6] For he clave to the LORD, and departed not from following him, but kept his commandments, which the LORD commanded Moses.

See All...). When he died his countrymen "buried him in the upper tombs of the sons of David; and all Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem honored him at his death" (2 Chronicles 32:33And Hezekiah slept with his fathers, and they buried him in the chiefest of the sepulchres of the sons of David: and all Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem did him honour at his death. And Manasseh his son reigned in his stead.

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God's mercy is always available to people in a repentant attitude, who acknowledge their inadequacies and strive to honor and serve Him. Hezekiah's life proves this is true. The key to an honorable life now, and ultimately eternal life, is to humble ourselves before God and obey Him and His laws.

After all, those laws are given for our benefit so we may acquire a godly relationship with God and man. GN

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Taken from: http://www.ucg.org/christian-living/profiles-faith-hezekiah-faithful-king