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<TITLE>Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary on the Whole Bible [Second Kings, Chapter XIX].</TITLE>
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<center><h1>Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary
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on the Whole Bible</h1>
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[<A HREF="MHC00000.HTM">Table of Contents</A>]<BR>
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Matthew Henry<BR><I>Commentary on the Whole Bible</I> (1708)
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<!-- (Begin Body) -->
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<CENTER>
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<BR><FONT SIZE=+3><B>S E C O N D K I N G S</B></FONT>
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<BR>
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<BR><FONT SIZE=+2>CHAP. XIX.</FONT>
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<HR SIZE=1 WIDTH=50>
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<FONT SIZE=-1>
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<P>
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Jerusalem's great distress we read of in the foregoing chapter, and
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left it besieged, insulted, threatened, terrified, and just ready to be
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swallowed up by the Assyrian army. But in this chapter we have an
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account of its glorious deliverance, not by sword or bow, but by prayer
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and prophecy, and by the hand of an angel.
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I. Hezekiah, in great concern, sent to the prophet Isaiah, to desire
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his prayers
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Ki+19:1-5">ver. 1-5</A>)
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and received from him an answer of peace,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Ki+19:6,7">ver. 6, 7</A>.
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II. Sennacherib sent a letter to Hezekiah to fright him into a
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surrender,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Ki+19:8-13">ver. 8-13</A>.
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III. Hezekiah thereupon, by a very solemn prayer, recommended his case
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to God, the righteous Judge, and begged help from him,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Ki+19:14-19">ver. 14-19</A>.
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IV. God, by Isaiah, sent him a very comfortable message, assuring him
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of deliverance,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Ki+19:20-34">ver. 20-34</A>.
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V. The army of the Assyrians was all cut off by an angel and
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Sennacherib himself slain by his own sons,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Ki+19:35-37">ver. 35-37</A>.
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And so God glorified himself and saved his people.</P>
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</FONT>
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<A NAME="2Ki19_1"> </A>
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<A NAME="2Ki19_2"> </A>
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<A NAME="2Ki19_3"> </A>
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<A NAME="2Ki19_4"> </A>
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<A NAME="2Ki19_5"> </A>
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<A NAME="2Ki19_6"> </A>
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<A NAME="2Ki19_7"> </A>
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<A NAME="Sec1"> </A>
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<TABLE WIDTH="100%" BORDER=0>
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<TR><TD><FONT SIZE=+1><I>Hezekiah's Sends to Isaiah.</I></FONT></TD>
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<TD ALIGN=RIGHT><FONT SIZE=-1>B. C.</FONT> 710.</TD></TR>
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<TR><TD COLSPAN=2><HR SIZE=1></TD></TR>
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<P>
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<FONT SIZE=+1>1 And it came to pass, when king Hezekiah heard <I>it,</I> that he
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rent his clothes, and covered himself with sackcloth, and went
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into the house of the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT>.
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2 And he sent Eliakim, which <I>was</I> over the household, and
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Shebna the scribe, and the elders of the priests, covered with
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sackcloth, to Isaiah the prophet the son of Amoz.
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3 And they said unto him, Thus saith Hezekiah, This day <I>is</I> a
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day of trouble, and of rebuke, and blasphemy: for the children
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are come to the birth, and <I>there is</I> not strength to bring
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forth.
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4 It may be the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT> thy God will hear all the words of
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Rab-shakeh, whom the king of Assyria his master hath sent to
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reproach the living God; and will reprove the words which the
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L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT> thy God hath heard: wherefore lift up <I>thy</I> prayer for the
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remnant that are left.
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5 So the servants of king Hezekiah came to Isaiah.
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6 And Isaiah said unto them, Thus shall ye say to your master,
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Thus saith the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT>, Be not afraid of the words which thou hast
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heard, with which the servants of the king of Assyria have
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blasphemed me.
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7 Behold, I will send a blast upon him, and he shall hear a
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rumour, and shall return to his own land; and I will cause him to
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fall by the sword in his own land.
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</FONT></P>
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<P>
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The contents of Rabshakeh's speech being brought to Hezekiah, one would
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have expected (and it is likely Rabshakeh did expect) that he would
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call a council of war and it would be debated whether it was best to
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capitulate or no. Before the siege, he had <I>taken counsel with his
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princes and his mighty men,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Ch+32:3">2 Chron. xxxii. 3</A>.
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But that would not do now; his greatest relief is that he has a God to
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go to, and what passed between him and his God on this occasion we have
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here an account of.</P>
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<P>
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I. Hezekiah discovered a deep concern at the dishonour done to God by
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Rabshakeh's blasphemy. When he heard it, though at second hand, he
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<I>rent his clothes and covered himself with sackcloth,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Ki+19:1"><I>v.</I> 1</A>.
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Good men were wont to do so when they heard of any reproach cast on
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God's name; and great men must not think it any disparagement to them
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to sympathize with the injured honour of the great God. Royal robes are
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not too good to be rent, nor royal flesh too good to be clothed with
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sackcloth, in humiliation for indignities done to God and for the
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perils and terrors of his Jerusalem. To this God now called, and was
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displeased with those who were not thus affected.
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+22:12-14">Isa. xxii. 12-14</A>,
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<I>Behold joy and gladness, slaying oxen and killing sheep,</I> though
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it was a <I>day of trouble and perplexity in the valley of vision</I>
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Ki+19:5"><I>v.</I> 5</A>),
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which refers to this very event. The king was in sackcloth, but many of
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his subjects were in soft clothing.</P>
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<P>
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II. He <I>went up to the house of the Lord,</I> according to the
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example of the psalmist, who, when he was grieved at the pride and
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prosperity of the wicked, <I>went into the sanctuary of God</I> and
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there <I>understood their end,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+73:17">Ps. lxxiii. 17</A>.
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He went to the house of God, to meditate and pray, and get his spirit
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into a sedate composed frame, after this agitation. He was not
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considering what answer to return to Rabshakeh, but refers the matter
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to God. "<I>Thou shalt answer, Lord, for me.</I>"--Herbert. In the
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house of the Lord he found a place both of rest and refuge, a treasury,
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a magazine, a council-chamber, and all he needed, all in God. Note,
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When the church's enemies are very daring and threatening it is the
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wisdom and duty of the church's friends to apply to God, appeal to him,
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and leave their cause with him.</P>
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<P>
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III. He sent to the prophet Isaiah, by honourable messengers, in token
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of the great respect he had for him, to desire his prayers,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Ki+19:2-4"><I>v.</I> 2-4</A>.
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Eliakim and Shebna were two of those that had heard the words of
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Rabshakeh and were the better able both to acquaint and to affect
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Isaiah with the case. The elders of the priests were themselves to pray
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for the people in time of trouble
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Joe+2:17">Joel ii. 17</A>);
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but they must go to engage Isaiah's prayers, because he could pray
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better and had a better interest in heaven. The messengers were to go
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in sackcloth, because they were to represent the king, who was so
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clothed.</P>
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<P>
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1. Their errand to Isaiah was, "<I>Lift up thy prayer for the remnant
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that is left,</I> that is, for Judah, which is but a remnant now that
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the ten tribes are gone--for Jerusalem, which is but a remnant now that
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the defenced cities of Judah are taken." Note,
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(1.) It is very desirable, and what we should be desirous of when we
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are in trouble, to have the prayers of our friends for us. In begging
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to have them we honour God, we honour prayer, and we honour our
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brethren.
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(2.) When we desire the prayers of others for us we must not think we
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are excused from praying for ourselves. When Hezekiah sent to Isaiah to
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pray for him he himself <I>went into the house of the Lord</I> to offer
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up his own prayers.
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(3.) Those who speak from God to us we should in a particular manner
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desire to speak to God for us. <I>He is a prophet, and he shall pray
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for thee,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+20:7">Gen. xx. 7</A>.
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The great prophet is the great intercessor.
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(4.) Those are likely to prevail with God that <I>lift up</I> their
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prayers, that is, that lift up their hearts in prayer.
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(5.) When the interests of God's church are brought very low, so that
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there is but a remnant left, few friends, and those weak and at a loss,
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then it is time to <I>lift up our prayer for that remnant.</I></P>
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<P>
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2. Two things are urged to Isaiah, to engage his prayers for them:--
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(1.) Their fears of the enemy
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Ki+19:3"><I>v.</I> 3</A>):
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"He is insolent and haughty; it is <I>a day of rebuke and
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blasphemy.</I> We are despised. God is dishonoured. Upon this account
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it is a day of trouble. Never were such a king and kingdom so trampled
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on and abused as we are: <I>our soul is exceedingly filled with the
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contempt of the proud,</I> and it is <I>a sword in our bones</I> to
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hear them reproach our confidence in God, and say, Where is now your
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God? and, which is worst of all, we see not which way we can help
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ourselves and get clear of the reproach. Our cause is good, our people
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are faithful; but we are quite overpowered with numbers. The children
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are brought to the birth; now is the time, the critical moment, when,
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if ever, we must be relieved. One successful blow given to the enemy
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would accomplish our wishes. But, alas! we are not able to give it:
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<I>There is not strength to bring forth.</I> Our case is as deplorable,
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and calls for as speedy help, as that of a woman in travail, that is
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quite spent with her throes, so that she has not strength to bear the
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child. Compare with this
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ho+13:13">Hos. xiii. 13</A>.
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We are ready to perish; <I>if thou canst do any thing, have compassion
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upon us and help us.</I>"
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(2.) Their hopes in God. To him they look, on him they depend, to
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appear for them. One word from him will turn the scale, and save the
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sinking remnant. If he but reprove the words of Rabshakeh (that is,
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disprove them,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Ki+19:4"><I>v.</I> 4</A>)--
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if he undertake to convince and confound the blasphemer--all will be
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well. And this they trust he will do, not for their merit's sake, but
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for his own honour's sake, because he has <I>reproached the living
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God,</I> by levelling him with deaf and dumb idols. They have reason to
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think the issue will be good, for they can interest God in the quarrel.
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+74:22">Ps. lxxiv. 22</A>,
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<I>Arise O God! plead thy own cause.</I> "He is the Lord thy God," say
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they to Isaiah--"<I>thine,</I> whose glory thou art concerned for, and
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whose favour thou art interested in. He has heard and known the
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blasphemous words of Rabshakeh, and therefore, it may be, he will hear
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and rebuke them. We hope he will. Help us with thy prayers to bring the
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cause before him, and then we are content to leave it with him."</P>
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<P>
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IV. God, by Isaiah, sent to Hezekiah, to assure him that he would
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glorify himself in the ruin of the Assyrians. Hezekiah sent to Isaiah,
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not to enquire concerning the event, as many did that sent to the
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prophets (<I>Shall I recover?</I> or the like), but to desire his
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assistance in his duty. It was this that he was solicitous about; and
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therefore God let him know what the event should be, in recompence of
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his care to do his duty,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Ki+19:6,7"><I>v.</I> 6, 7</A>.
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1. God interested himself in the cause: <I>They have blasphemed me.</I>
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2. He encouraged Hezekiah, who was much dismayed: <I>Be not afraid of
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the words which thou hast heard;</I> they are but words (though
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swelling and fiery words), and words are but wind.
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3. He promised to frighten the king of Assyria worse than Rabshakeh had
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frightened him: "<I>I will send a blast upon him</I> (that pestilential
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breath which killed his army), upon which terrors shall seize him and
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drive him into his own country, where death shall meet him." This short
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threatening from the mouth of God would do execution, when all the
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impotent menaces that came from Rabshakeh's mouth would vanish into
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air.</P>
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<A NAME="2Ki19_8"> </A>
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<A NAME="2Ki19_9"> </A>
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<A NAME="2Ki19_10"> </A>
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<A NAME="2Ki19_11"> </A>
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<A NAME="2Ki19_12"> </A>
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<A NAME="2Ki19_13"> </A>
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<A NAME="2Ki19_14"> </A>
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<A NAME="2Ki19_15"> </A>
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<A NAME="2Ki19_16"> </A>
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<A NAME="2Ki19_17"> </A>
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<A NAME="2Ki19_18"> </A>
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<A NAME="2Ki19_19"> </A>
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<A NAME="Sec2"> </A>
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<TABLE WIDTH="100%" BORDER=0>
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<TR><TD><FONT SIZE=+1><I>Sennacherib Sends to Hezekiah.</I></FONT></TD>
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<TD ALIGN=RIGHT><FONT SIZE=-1>B. C.</FONT> 710.</TD></TR>
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<TR><TD COLSPAN=2><HR SIZE=1></TD></TR>
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</TABLE>
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<P>
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<FONT SIZE=+1>8 So Rab-shakeh returned, and found the king of Assyria warring
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against Libnah: for he had heard that he was departed from
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Lachish.
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9 And when he heard say of Tirhakah king of Ethiopia, Behold,
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he is come out to fight against thee: he sent messengers again
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unto Hezekiah, saying,
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10 Thus shall ye speak to Hezekiah king of Judah, saying, Let
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not thy God in whom thou trustest deceive thee, saying, Jerusalem
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shall not be delivered into the hand of the king of Assyria.
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11 Behold, thou hast heard what the kings of Assyria have done
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to all lands, by destroying them utterly: and shalt thou be
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delivered?
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12 Have the gods of the nations delivered them which my fathers
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have destroyed; <I>as</I> Gozan, and Haran, and Rezeph, and the
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children of Eden which <I>were</I> in Thelasar?
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13 Where <I>is</I> the king of Hamath, and the king of Arpad, and
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the king of the city of Sepharvaim, of Hena, and Ivah?
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14 And Hezekiah received the letter of the hand of the
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messengers, and read it: and Hezekiah went up into the house of
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the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT>, and spread it before the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT>.
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15 And Hezekiah prayed before the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT>, and said, O L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT> God of
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Israel, which dwellest <I>between</I> the cherubims, thou art the God,
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<I>even</I> thou alone, of all the kingdoms of the earth; thou hast
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made heaven and earth.
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16 L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT>, bow down thine ear, and hear: open, L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT>, thine eyes,
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and see: and hear the words of Sennacherib, which hath sent him
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to reproach the living God.
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17 Of a truth, L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT>, the kings of Assyria have destroyed the
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nations and their lands,
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18 And have cast their gods into the fire: for they <I>were</I> no
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gods, but the work of men's hands, wood and stone: therefore they
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have destroyed them.
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19 Now therefore, O L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT> our God, I beseech thee, save thou us
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out of his hand, that all the kingdoms of the earth may know that
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thou <I>art</I> the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT> God, <I>even</I> thou only.
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</FONT></P>
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<P>
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Rabshakeh, having delivered his message and received no answer (whether
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he took this silence for a consent or a slight does not appear), left
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his army before Jerusalem, under the command of the other generals, and
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went himself to attend the king his master for further orders. He found
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him besieging Libnah, a city that had revolted from Judah,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Ki+8:22"><I>ch.</I> viii. 22</A>.
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Whether he had taken Lachish or no is not certain; some think he
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departed from it because he found the taking of it impracticable,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Ki+19:8"><I>v.</I> 8</A>.
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However, he was now alarmed with the rumour that the king of the
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Cushites, who bordered upon the Arabians, was coming out against him
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with a great army,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Ki+19:9"><I>v.</I> 9</A>.
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This made him very desirous to gain Jerusalem with all speed. To take
|
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it by force would cost him more time and men than he could well spare,
|
|
and therefore he renewed his attack upon Hezekiah to persuade him
|
|
tamely to surrender it. Having found him an easy man once
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Ki+18:14"><I>ch.</I> xviii. 14</A>),
|
|
|
|
when he said, <I>That which thou puttest on me I will bear,</I> he
|
|
hoped again to frighten him into a submission, but in vain. Here,</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
I. Sennacherib sent a letter to Hezekiah, a railing letter, a
|
|
blaspheming letter, to persuade him to surrender Jerusalem, because it
|
|
would be to no purpose for him to think of standing it out. His letter
|
|
is to the same purport with Rabshakeh's speech; there is nothing new
|
|
offered in it. Rabshakeh had said to the people, <I>Let not Hezekiah
|
|
deceive you,</I>
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Ki+18:29"><I>ch.</I> xviii. 29</A>.
|
|
|
|
Sennacherib writes to Hezekiah, <I>Let not thy God deceive thee,</I>
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Ki+19:10"><I>v.</I> 10</A>.
|
|
|
|
Those that have the God of <I>Jacob for their help, and whose hope is
|
|
in the Lord their God,</I> need not fear being deceived by him, as the
|
|
heathen were by their gods. To terrify Hezekiah, and drive him from his
|
|
anchor, he magnifies himself and his own achievements. See how proudly
|
|
he boasts,
|
|
|
|
1. Of the lands he had conquered
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Ki+19:11"><I>v.</I> 11</A>):
|
|
|
|
<I>All lands,</I> and destroyed utterly! How are the mole-hills of his
|
|
victories swelled to mountains! So far was he from destroying all lands
|
|
that at this time the land of Cush, and Tirhakah its king, were a
|
|
terror to him. What vast hyperboles may one expect in proud men's
|
|
praises of themselves!
|
|
|
|
2. Of the gods he had conquered,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Ki+19:12"><I>v.</I> 12</A>.
|
|
|
|
"Each vanquished nation and its gods, which were so far from being able
|
|
to deliver them that they fell with them: and shall thy God deliver
|
|
thee?"
|
|
|
|
3. Of the kings he had conquered
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Ki+19:13"><I>v.</I> 13</A>),
|
|
|
|
the <I>king of Hamath and the king of Arpad.</I> Whether he means the
|
|
prince or the idol, he means to make himself appear greater than
|
|
either, and therefore very formidable, and the <I>terror of the mighty
|
|
in the land of the living.</I></P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
II. Hezekiah encloses this in another letter, a praying letter, a
|
|
believing letter, and sends it to the King of kings, who judges among
|
|
the gods. Hezekiah was not so haughty as not to receive the letter,
|
|
though we may suppose the superscription did not give him his due
|
|
titles; when he had received it he was not so careless as not to read
|
|
it; when he had read it he was not in such a passion as to write an
|
|
answer to it in the same provoking language; but he immediately went up
|
|
to the temple, presented himself, and then <I>spread the letter before
|
|
the Lord</I>
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Ki+19:14"><I>v.</I> 14</A>),
|
|
|
|
not as if God needed to have the letter shown to him (he knew what was
|
|
in it before Hezekiah did), but hereby he signified that he
|
|
acknowledged God in all his ways,--that he desired not to aggravate the
|
|
injuries his enemies did him nor to make them appear worse than they
|
|
were, but desired they might be set in a true light,--and that he
|
|
referred himself to God, and his righteous judgment, upon the whole
|
|
matter. Hereby likewise he would affect himself in the prayer he came
|
|
to the temple to make; and we have need of all possible helps to
|
|
quicken us in that duty. In the prayer which Hezekiah prayed over this
|
|
letter,
|
|
|
|
1. He adores the God whom Sennacherib had blasphemed
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Ki+19:15"><I>v.</I> 15</A>),
|
|
|
|
calls him <I>the God of Israel,</I> because Israel was his peculiar
|
|
people, and <I>the God that dwelt between the cherubim,</I> because
|
|
there was the peculiar residence of his glory upon earth; but he gives
|
|
glory to him as <I>the God of the whole earth,</I> and not, as
|
|
Sennacherib fancied him to be, <I>the God of Israel only,</I> and
|
|
confined to the temple. "Let them say what they will, thou art
|
|
sovereign Lord, for thou art the God, the God of gods, sole Lord, even
|
|
thou alone, universal Lord <I>of all the kingdoms of the earth,</I> and
|
|
rightful Lord, <I>for thou hast made heaven and earth.</I> Being
|
|
Creator of all, by an incontestable title thou art owner and ruler of
|
|
all."
|
|
|
|
2. He appeals to God concerning the insolence and profaneness of
|
|
Sennacherib
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Ki+19:16"><I>v.</I> 16</A>):
|
|
|
|
"<I>Lord, hear; Lord, see.</I> Here it is under his own hand; here it
|
|
is in black and white." Had Hezekiah only been abused, he would have
|
|
passed it by; but it is God, the living God, that is reproached, the
|
|
jealous God. <I>Lord, what wilt thou do for thy great name?</I>
|
|
|
|
3. He owns Sennacherib's triumphs over the gods of the heathen, but
|
|
distinguishes between them and the God of Israel
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Ki+19:17,18"><I>v.</I> 17, 18</A>):
|
|
|
|
He has indeed <I>cast their gods into the fire;</I> for <I>they were no
|
|
gods,</I> unable to help either themselves or their worshipers, and
|
|
therefore no wonder that he has destroyed them; and, in destroying
|
|
them, though he knew it not, he really served the justice and jealousy
|
|
of the God of Israel, who has determined to extirpate all the gods of
|
|
the heathen. But those are deceived who think they can therefore be too
|
|
hard for him. He is none of the gods whom men's hands have made, but he
|
|
has himself made all things,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+115:3,4">Ps. cxv. 3, 4</A>.
|
|
|
|
4. He prays that God will now glorify himself in the defeat of
|
|
Sennacherib and the deliverance of Jerusalem out of his hands
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Ki+19:19"><I>v.</I> 19</A>):
|
|
|
|
"<I>Now therefore save us;</I> for if we be conquered, as other lands
|
|
are, they will say that thou art conquered, as the gods of those lands
|
|
were: but, Lord, distinguish thyself, by distinguishing us, and let all
|
|
the world know, and be made to confess, that <I>thou art the Lord
|
|
God,</I> the self-existent sovereign God, <I>even thou only,</I> and
|
|
that all pretenders are vanity and a lie." Note, The best pleas in
|
|
prayer are those which are taken from God's honour; and therefore the
|
|
Lord's prayer begins with <I>Hallowed be thy name,</I> and concludes
|
|
with <I>Thine is the glory.</I></P>
|
|
|
|
<A NAME="2Ki19_20"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="2Ki19_21"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="2Ki19_22"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="2Ki19_23"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="2Ki19_24"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="2Ki19_25"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="2Ki19_26"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="2Ki19_27"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="2Ki19_28"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="2Ki19_29"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="2Ki19_30"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="2Ki19_31"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="2Ki19_32"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="2Ki19_33"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="2Ki19_34"> </A>
|
|
|
|
<A NAME="Sec3"> </A>
|
|
<TABLE WIDTH="100%" BORDER=0>
|
|
<TR><TD><FONT SIZE=+1><I>Sennacherib's Fall Predicted.</I></FONT></TD>
|
|
<TD ALIGN=RIGHT><FONT SIZE=-1>B. C.</FONT> 710.</TD></TR>
|
|
<TR><TD COLSPAN=2><HR SIZE=1></TD></TR>
|
|
</TABLE>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
<FONT SIZE=+1>20 Then Isaiah the son of Amoz sent to Hezekiah, saying, Thus
|
|
saith the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT> God of Israel, <I>That</I> which thou hast prayed to me
|
|
against Sennacherib king of Assyria I have heard.
|
|
21 This <I>is</I> the word that the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT> hath spoken concerning him;
|
|
The virgin the daughter of Zion hath despised thee, <I>and</I> laughed
|
|
thee to scorn; the daughter of Jerusalem hath shaken her head at
|
|
thee.
|
|
22 Whom hast thou reproached and blasphemed? and against whom
|
|
hast thou exalted <I>thy</I> voice, and lifted up thine eyes on high?
|
|
<I>even</I> against the Holy <I>One</I> of Israel.
|
|
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, <I>and</I> the choice fir trees
|
|
thereof: and I will enter into the lodgings of his borders, <I>and
|
|
into</I> the forest of his Carmel.
|
|
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.
|
|
25 Hast thou not heard long ago <I>how</I> I have done it, <I>and</I> of
|
|
ancient times that I have formed it? now have I brought it to
|
|
pass, that thou shouldest be to lay waste fenced cities <I>into</I>
|
|
ruinous heaps.
|
|
26 Therefore their inhabitants were of small power, they were
|
|
dismayed and confounded; they were <I>as</I> the grass of the field,
|
|
and <I>as</I> the green herb, <I>as</I> the grass on the housetops, and <I>as
|
|
corn</I> blasted before it be grown up.
|
|
27 But I know thy abode, and thy going out, and thy coming in,
|
|
and thy rage against me.
|
|
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.
|
|
29 And this <I>shall be</I> 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.
|
|
30 And the remnant that is escaped of the house of Judah shall
|
|
yet again take root downward, and bear fruit upward.
|
|
31 For out of Jerusalem shall go forth a remnant, and they that
|
|
escape out of mount Zion: the zeal of the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT> <I>of hosts</I> shall
|
|
do this.
|
|
32 Therefore thus saith the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT> 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 L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT>.
|
|
34 For I will defend this city, to save it, for mine own sake,
|
|
and for my servant David's sake.
|
|
</FONT></P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
We have here the gracious copious answer which God gave to Hezekiah's
|
|
prayer. The message which he sent him by the same hand
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Ki+19:6,7"><I>v.</I> 6, 7</A>),
|
|
|
|
one would think, was an answer sufficient to his prayer; but, that he
|
|
might have strong consolation, he was encouraged by two immutable
|
|
things, <I>in which it was impossible for God to lie,</I>
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Heb+6:18">Heb. vi. 18</A>.
|
|
|
|
In general, God assured him that his prayer was heard, his prayer
|
|
against Sennacherib,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Ki+19:20"><I>v.</I> 20</A>.
|
|
|
|
Note, The case of those that have the prayers of God's people against
|
|
them is miserable. For, if the oppressed cry to God against the
|
|
oppressor, <I>he will hear,</I>
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ex+22:23">Exod. xxii. 23</A>.
|
|
|
|
God hears and answers, hears <I>with the saving strength of his right
|
|
hand,</I>
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+20:6">Ps. xx. 6</A>.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
This message bespeaks two things:--</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
I. Confusion and shame to Sennacherib and his forces. It is here
|
|
foretold that he should be humbled and broken. The prophet elegantly
|
|
directs his speech to him, as he does,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+10:5">Isa. x. 5</A>.
|
|
|
|
<I>O Assyrian! the rod of my anger.</I> Not that this message was sent
|
|
to him, but what is here said to him he was made to know by the event.
|
|
Providence spoke it to him with a witness; and perhaps his own heart
|
|
was made to whisper this to him: for God has more ways than one of
|
|
speaking to sinners in his wrath, so as to <I>vex them in his sore
|
|
displeasure,</I>
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+2:5">Ps. ii. 5</A>.
|
|
|
|
Sennacherib is here represented,</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
1. As the scorn of Jerusalem,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Ki+19:21"><I>v.</I> 21</A>.
|
|
|
|
He thought himself the terror of the daughter of Zion, that chaste and
|
|
beautiful virgin, and that by his threats he could force her to submit
|
|
to him: "But, being a virgin in her Father's house and under his
|
|
protection, she defies thee, despises thee, laughs thee to scorn. Thy
|
|
impotent malice is ridiculous; he that sits in heaven laughs at thee,
|
|
and therefore so do those that abide under his shadow." By this word
|
|
God intended to silence the fears of Hezekiah and his people. Though to
|
|
an eye of sense the enemy looked formidable, to an eye of faith he
|
|
looked despicable.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
2. As an enemy to God; and that was enough to make him miserable.
|
|
Hezekiah pleaded this: "Lord, he has reproached thee,"
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Ki+19:16"><I>v.</I> 16</A>.
|
|
|
|
"He has," saith God, "and I take it as against myself
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Ki+19:22"><I>v.</I> 22</A>):
|
|
|
|
<I>Whom hast thou reproached?</I> Is it not the Holy One of Israel,
|
|
whose honour is dear to him, and who has power to vindicate it, which
|
|
the gods of the heathen have not?" <I>Nemo me impune lacesset--No one
|
|
shall provoke me with impunity.</I></P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
3. As a proud vainglorious fool, that spoke <I>great swelling words of
|
|
vanity,</I> and <I>boasted of a false gift,</I> by his boasts, as well
|
|
as by his threats, reproaching the Lord. For,
|
|
|
|
(1.) He magnified his own achievements out of measure and quite above
|
|
what really they were
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Ki+19:23,24"><I>v.</I> 23, 24</A>):
|
|
|
|
<I>Thou hast said</I> so and so. This was not in the letter he wrote,
|
|
but God let Hezekiah know that he not only saw what was written there,
|
|
but heard what he said elsewhere, probably in the speeches he made to
|
|
his councils or armies. Note, God takes notice of the boasts of proud
|
|
men, and will call them to an account, that he <I>may look upon them
|
|
and abuse them,</I>
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Job+40:11">Job xl. 11</A>.
|
|
|
|
What a mighty figure does Sennacherib think he makes! Driving his
|
|
chariots to the tops of the highest mountains, forcing his way through
|
|
woods and rivers, breaking through all difficulties, making himself
|
|
master of all he had a mind to. Nothing could stand before him or be
|
|
withheld from him; no hills too high for him to climb, no trees too
|
|
strong for him to fell, no waters too deep for him to dry up; as if he
|
|
had the power of a God, to speak and it is done.
|
|
|
|
(2.) He took to himself the glory of doing these great things, whereas
|
|
they were all <I>the Lord's doing,</I>
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Ki+19:25,26"><I>v.</I> 25, 26</A>.
|
|
|
|
Sennacherib, in his letter, had appealed to what Hezekiah had heard
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Ki+19:11"><I>v.</I> 11</A>):
|
|
|
|
<I>Thou hast heard what the kings of Assyria have done;</I> but, in
|
|
answer to that, he is reminded of what God has done for Israel of old,
|
|
drying up the Red Sea, leading them through the wilderness, planting
|
|
them in Canaan. "What are all thy doings to these? And as for the
|
|
desolations thou hast made in the earth, and particularly in Judah,
|
|
thou art but the instrument in God's hand, a mere tool: it is <I>I that
|
|
have brought it to pass.</I> I gave thee thy power, gave thee thy
|
|
success, and made thee what thou art, raised thee up to lay waste
|
|
fenced cities and so to punish them for their wickedness, and
|
|
<I>therefore their inhabitants were of small power.</I>" What a foolish
|
|
insolent thing was it for him to exalt himself above God, and against
|
|
God, upon that which he had done by him and under him. Sennacherib's
|
|
boasts here are expounded in
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+10:13,14">Isa. x. 13, 14</A>,
|
|
|
|
<I>By the strength of my hand I have done it, and by my wisdom,</I>
|
|
&c.; and they are answered
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Ki+19:15"><I>v.</I> 15</A>),
|
|
|
|
<I>Shall the axe boast itself against him that heweth therewith?</I> It
|
|
is surely absurd for the fly upon the wheel to say, What a dust do I
|
|
make! or for the sword in the hand to say, What execution I do! If God
|
|
be the principal agent in all that is done, boasting is for ever
|
|
excluded.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
4. As under the check and rebuke of that God whom he blasphemed. All
|
|
his motions were,
|
|
|
|
(1.) Under the divine cognizance
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Ki+19:27"><I>v.</I> 27</A>):
|
|
|
|
"<I>I have thy abode,</I> and what thou dost secretly devise and
|
|
design, <I>thy going out and coming in,</I> marches and
|
|
counter-marches, and <I>thy rage against me</I> and my people, the
|
|
tumult of thy passions, the tumult of thy preparations, the noise and
|
|
bluster thou makest: I know it all." That was more than Hezekiah did,
|
|
who wished for intelligence of the enemy's motions; but what need was
|
|
there for this when the eye of God was a constant spy upon him?
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Ch+16:9">2 Chron. xvi. 9</A>.
|
|
|
|
(2.) Under the divine control
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Ki+19:28"><I>v.</I> 28</A>):
|
|
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"<I>I will put my hook in thy nose,</I> thou great Leviathan
|
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|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Job+41:1,2">Job xli. 1, 2</A>),
|
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|
<I>my bridle in thy jaws,</I> thou great Behemoth. I will restrain
|
|
thee, manage thee, turn thee where I please, send thee home like a fool
|
|
as thou camest, <I>re infecta</I>--<I>disappointed of thy aim.</I>"
|
|
Note, It is a great comfort to all the church's friends that God has a
|
|
hook in the nose and a bridle in the jaws of all her enemies, can make
|
|
even their wrath to serve and praise him and then restrain the
|
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remainder of it. <I>Here shall its proud waves be stayed.</I></P>
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<P>
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II. Salvation and joy to Hezekiah and his people. This shall be a sign
|
|
to them of God's favour, and that he is reconciled to them, and <I>his
|
|
anger is turned away</I>
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+12:1">Isa. xii. 1</A>),
|
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|
a wonder in their eyes (for so a sign sometimes signifies), a token for
|
|
good, and an earnest of the further mercy God has in store for them,
|
|
that a good issue shall be put to their present distress in every
|
|
respect.</P>
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|
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<P>
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1. Provisions were scarce and dear; and what should they do for food?
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|
The fruits of the earth were devoured by the Assyrian army,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+32:9,10">Isa. xxxii. 9, 10</A>,
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|
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&c. Why, they shall not only dwell in the land, but <I>verily they
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|
shall be fed.</I> If God save them, he will not starve them, nor let
|
|
them die by famine, when they have escaped the sword: "<I>Eat you this
|
|
year that which groweth of itself,</I> and you shall find enough of
|
|
that. Did the Assyrians reap what you sowed? You shall reap what you
|
|
did not sow." But the next year was the sabbatical year, when the land
|
|
was to rest, and they must neither sow nor reap. What must they do that
|
|
year? Why, <I>Jehovah-jireh--The Lord will provide.</I> God's blessing
|
|
shall save them seed and labour, and, that year too, the voluntary
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|
productions of the earth shall serve to maintain them, to remind them
|
|
that the earth brought forth before there was a man to till it,
|
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|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+1:11">Gen. i. 11</A>.
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And then, the third year, their husbandry should return into its former
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|
channel, and they should sow and reap as they used to do.
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2. The country was laid waste, families were broken up and scattered,
|
|
and all was in confusion; how should it be otherwise when it was
|
|
over-run by such an army? As to this, it is promised that <I>the
|
|
remnant that has escaped of the house of Judah</I> (that is, of the
|
|
country people) shall yet again be planted in their own habitations,
|
|
upon their own estates, shall take root there, shall increase and grow
|
|
rich,
|
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|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Ki+19:30"><I>v.</I> 30</A>.
|
|
|
|
See how their prosperity is described: it is <I>taking root
|
|
downwards,</I> and <I>bearing fruit upwards,</I> being well fixed and
|
|
well provided for themselves, and then doing good to others. Such is
|
|
the prosperity of the soul: it is taking root downwards by faith in
|
|
Christ, and then being fruitful in fruits of righteousness.
|
|
|
|
3. The city was shut up, none went out or came in; but now the remnant
|
|
in Jerusalem and Zion shall go forth freely, and there shall be none to
|
|
hinder them, or make them afraid,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Ki+19:31"><I>v.</I> 31</A>.
|
|
|
|
Great destruction had been made both in city and country, bit in both
|
|
there was a remnant that escaped, which typified the saved remnant of
|
|
Israelites indeed (as appears by comparing
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+10:22,23">Isa. x. 22, 23</A>,
|
|
|
|
which speaks of this very event, with
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ro+9:27,28">Rom. ix. 27, 28</A>),
|
|
|
|
and they shall go forth into the glorious liberty of the children of
|
|
God.
|
|
|
|
4. The Assyrians were advancing towards Jerusalem, and would in a
|
|
little time besiege it in form, and it was in great danger of falling
|
|
into their hands. But it is here promised that the siege they feared
|
|
should be prevented,--that, though the enemy had now (as it should
|
|
seem) encamped before the city, yet they should never <I>come into the
|
|
city,</I> no, nor so much as <I>shoot an arrow</I> into it
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Ki+19:32,33"><I>v.</I> 32, 33</A>),--
|
|
|
|
that he should be forced to retire with shame, and a thousand times to
|
|
repent his undertaking. God himself undertakes to defend the city
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Ki+19:34"><I>v.</I> 34</A>),
|
|
|
|
and that person, that place, cannot but be safe, the protection of
|
|
which he undertakes.
|
|
|
|
5. The honour and truth of God are engaged for the doing of all this.
|
|
These are great things, but how will they be effected? Why, <I>the zeal
|
|
of the Lord of hosts shall do this,</I>
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Ki+19:31"><I>v.</I> 31</A>.
|
|
|
|
He is Lord of hosts, has all creatures at his beck, therefore he is
|
|
able to do it; he is <I>jealous for Jerusalem with great jealousy</I>
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Zec+1:14">Zech. i. 14</A>);
|
|
|
|
having espoused her a chaste virgin to himself, he will not suffer he
|
|
to be abused,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Ki+19:21"><I>v.</I> 21</A>.
|
|
|
|
"You have reason to think yourselves unworthy that such great things
|
|
should be done for you; but God's own zeal will do it." His zeal,
|
|
|
|
(1.) For his own honour
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Ki+19:34"><I>v.</I> 34</A>):
|
|
|
|
"I will do it for my own sake, to make myself an everlasting name."
|
|
God's reasons of mercy are fetched from within himself.
|
|
|
|
(2.) For his own truth: "I will do it for my servant David's sake; not
|
|
for the sake of his merit, but the promise made to him and the covenant
|
|
made with him, those sure mercies of David." Thus all the deliverances
|
|
of the church are wrought for the sake of Christ, the Son of David.</P>
|
|
|
|
<A NAME="2Ki19_35"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="2Ki19_36"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="2Ki19_37"> </A>
|
|
|
|
<A NAME="Sec4"> </A>
|
|
<TABLE WIDTH="100%" BORDER=0>
|
|
<TR><TD><FONT SIZE=+1><I>The Assyrian Army Destroyed.</I></FONT></TD>
|
|
<TD ALIGN=RIGHT><FONT SIZE=-1>B. C.</FONT> 710.</TD></TR>
|
|
<TR><TD COLSPAN=2><HR SIZE=1></TD></TR>
|
|
</TABLE>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
<FONT SIZE=+1>35 And it came to pass that night, that the angel of the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT>
|
|
went out, and smote in the camp of the Assyrians a hundred
|
|
fourscore and five thousand: and when they arose early in the
|
|
morning, behold, they <I>were</I> all dead corpses.
|
|
36 So Sennacherib king of Assyria departed, and went and
|
|
returned, and dwelt at Nineveh.
|
|
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.
|
|
</FONT></P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
Sometimes it was long ere prophecies were accomplished and promises
|
|
performed; but here the word was no sooner spoken than the work was
|
|
done.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
I. The army of Assyria was entirely routed. That night which
|
|
immediately followed the sending of this message to Hezekiah, when the
|
|
enemy had just set down before the city and were preparing (as we now
|
|
say) to open the trenches, that night was the main body of their army
|
|
slain upon the spot by an angel,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Ki+19:35"><I>v.</I> 35</A>.
|
|
|
|
Hezekiah had not force sufficient to sally out upon them and attack
|
|
their camp, nor would God do it by sword or bow; but he sent his angel,
|
|
a destroying angel, in the dead of the night, to make an assault upon
|
|
them, which their sentinels, though ever so wakeful, could neither
|
|
discover nor resist. It was <I>not by the sword of a mighty man or of
|
|
a mean man,</I> that is, not of any man at all, but of an angel, that
|
|
the Assyrians army was to fall
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+31:8">Isa. xxxi. 8</A>),
|
|
|
|
such an angel as slew the first-born of Egypt. Josephus says it was
|
|
done by a pestilential disease, which was instant death to them. The
|
|
number slain was very great, 185,000 men, and Rabshakeh, it is likely,
|
|
among the rest. When the besieged <I>arose, early in the morning,
|
|
behold they were all dead corpses,</I> scarcely a living man among
|
|
them. Some think the
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+76:1-12">76th Psalm</A>
|
|
|
|
was penned on this occasion, where we read that the <I>stout-hearted
|
|
were spoiled and slept their sleep,</I> their last, their long sleep,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+76:5"><I>v.</I> 5</A>.
|
|
|
|
See how great, in power and might, the holy angels are, when one angel,
|
|
in one night, could make so great a slaughter. See how weak the
|
|
mightiest of men are before almighty God: who ever hardened himself
|
|
against him and prospered? The pride and blasphemy of the king are
|
|
punished by the destruction of his army. All these lives are sacrificed
|
|
to God's glory and Zion's safety. The prophet shows that
|
|
<I>therefore</I> God suffered this vast rendezvous to be made, <I>that
|
|
they might be gathered as sheaves into the floor,</I>
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Mic+4:12,13">Mic. iv. 12, 13</A>.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
II. The king of Assyria was hereby put into the utmost confusion.
|
|
Ashamed to see himself, after all his proud boasts, thus defeated and
|
|
disabled to pursue his conquests and secure what he had (for this, we
|
|
may suppose, was the flower of his army), and continually afraid of
|
|
falling under the like stroke himself, <I>He departed, and went, and
|
|
returned;</I> the manner of the expression intimates the great disorder
|
|
and distraction of mind he was in,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Ki+19:36"><I>v.</I> 36</A>.
|
|
|
|
And it was not long before God cut him off too, by the hands of <I>two
|
|
of his own sons,</I>
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Ki+19:37"><I>v.</I> 37</A>.
|
|
|
|
1. Those that did it were very wicked, to kill their own father (whom
|
|
they were bound to protect) and in the act of his devotion; monstrous
|
|
villany! But,
|
|
|
|
2. God was righteous in it. Justly are the sons suffered to rebel
|
|
against their father that begat them, when he was in rebellion against
|
|
the God that made him. Those whose children are undutiful to them ought
|
|
to consider whether they have not been so to their Father in heaven.
|
|
The God of Israel had done enough to convince him that he was the only
|
|
true God, whom therefore he ought to worship; yet he persists in his
|
|
idolatry, and seeks to his false god for protection against a God of
|
|
irresistible power. Justly is his blood mingled with his sacrifices,
|
|
since he will not be convinced by such a plain and dear-bought
|
|
demonstration of his folly in worshipping idols. His sons that murdered
|
|
him were suffered to escape, and no pursuit was made after them, his
|
|
subjects perhaps being weary of the government of so proud a man and
|
|
thinking themselves well rid of him. And his sons would be looked upon
|
|
as the more excusable in what they had done if it be true (as bishop
|
|
Patrick suggested) that he was now vowing to sacrifice them to his god,
|
|
so that it was for their own preservation that they sacrificed him. His
|
|
successor was another son, <I>Esarhaddon,</I> who (as it should seem)
|
|
did not aim, like his father, to enlarge his conquests, but rather to
|
|
improve them; for he it was that first sent colonies of Assyrians to
|
|
inhabit the country of Samaria, though it is mentioned before
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Ki+17:24"><I>ch.</I> xvii. 24</A>),
|
|
|
|
as appears,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ezr+4:2">Ezra iv. 2</A>,
|
|
|
|
where the Samaritans say it was <I>Esarhaddon that brought them
|
|
thither.</I></P>
|
|
|
|
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