2Kings 17:1 ¶ In the twelfth year of Ahaz king of Judah began Hoshea the son of Elah to reign in Samaria over Israel nine years.
2Kings 17:2 And he did that which was evil in the sight of the LORD, but not as the kings of Israel that were before him.
Hoshea, son of Elah, began his nine-year reign as king of Israel in Samaria during the 12th year of the reign of Ahaz as king of Judah. He was another evil king, but not quite as bad as the kings that preceded him.
2Kings 17:3 Against him came up Shalmaneser king of Assyria; and Hoshea became his servant, and gave him presents.
2Kings 17:4 And the king of Assyria found conspiracy in Hoshea: for he had sent messengers to So king of Egypt, and brought no present to the king of Assyria, as he had done year by year: therefore the king of Assyria shut him up, and bound him in prison.
Shalmaneser, king of Assyria, attacked Israel and made Hoshea a servant that had to pay him tribute. According to Clarke, Shalmaneser was the son of Tiglath-pileser. JFB adds this note about him: “or Shalman (Hosea 10:14), the same as the Sargon of Isaiah [Isaiah 20:1]. Very recently the name of this Assyrian king has been traced on the Ninevite monuments, as concerned in an expedition against a king of Samaria, whose name, though mutilated, COLONEL RAWLINSON reads as Hoshea.”
Eventually, Hoshea refused to pay his tribute money to Shalmaneser and decided to seek help from So, king of Egypt. This act resulted in the king of Assyria putting him in prison.
2Kings 17:5 Then the king of Assyria came up throughout all the land, and went up to Samaria, and besieged it three years.
2Kings 17:6 In the ninth year of Hoshea the king of Assyria took Samaria, and carried Israel away into Assyria, and placed them in Halah and in Habor by the river of Gozan, and in the cities of the Medes.
The king of Assyria then invaded Israel and set siege to Samaria for three years. In the 9th year of the reign of Hoshea, Samaria fell to Assyria and the people were carried away into Syria and made to live in Halah, in Habor by the river Gozan and in the cities of the Medes. History shows that Assyria’s conquest of Israel occurred in 722 BC.
Clarke quotes historian Sir Wm. Jones with an interesting observation: “Now the Afghans are said by the best Persian historians to be descended from the Jews; they have traditions among themselves of such a descent, and it is even asserted that their families are distinguished by the names of Jewish tribes; although, since their conversion to the Islam, they studiously conceal their origin.”
Guzik offers this historical note: “It seems that Sargon II, the brother and successor of Shalmaneser, finished this siege or at least took credit for it: The men of Samaria with their king were hostile to me and consorted together not to carry out their vassal obligations and bring tribute to me, so they fought me . . . I clashed with them and took as booty 27,280 people with their chariots and their gods in whom they trusted. I incorporated 200 chariots into my army. The rest of the people I made to dwell within Assyria. I restored the city of Samaria and made it greater than before. (Inscribed Prisms of Sargon II from Nimrud, cited in Wiseman)”
Guzik also notes: “200 years and 19 kings after the time of Solomon (the last king over a united Israel), the northern kingdom of Israel fell.”
2Kings 17:7 ¶ For so it was, that the children of Israel had sinned against the LORD their God, which had brought them up out of the land of Egypt, from under the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt, and had feared other gods,
2Kings 17:8 And walked in the statutes of the heathen, whom the LORD cast out from before the children of Israel, and of the kings of Israel, which they had made.
All of this happened because the people of Israel had rebelled against the LORD their God that had delivered them from the cruel tyranny of the Pharaoh in Egypt. Instead of remaining obedient to the LORD God, they chose to worship the gods of the heathen nations that the LORD had cast out of Canaan and the golden calves that the kings of Israel had worshipped.
2Kings 17:9 And the children of Israel did secretly those things that were not right against the LORD their God, and they built them high places in all their cities, from the tower of the watchmen to the fenced city.
2Kings 17:10 And they set them up images and groves in every high hill, and under every green tree:
2Kings 17:11 And there they burnt incense in all the high places, as did the heathen whom the LORD carried away before them; and wrought wicked things to provoke the LORD to anger:
2Kings 17:12 For they served idols, whereof the LORD had said unto them, Ye shall not do this thing.
The historian notes that the people of Israel secretly did things that dishonored the LORD their God by building high places in all their cities—from the smallest to the largest. They set up idols and groves in the high hills and under every green tree. They burned incense in these high places just as the heathen nations that had been in Canaan before them. All of these things provoked the anger of the LORD against them. They served the very idols that the LORD had forbidden them to do.
The interesting thing to me is that the historian says the people did this secretly. It indicates to me that they thought the false worship of the LORD through the golden calves was acceptable, but they had to hide their worship of the false gods of the heathen nations. Like so many in the professing church today, they thought they could hide their actions from the LORD. You can’t!
Psalms 139:1& 7-11 “O LORD, thou hast searched me, and known me…. Whither shall I go from thy spirit? or whither shall I flee from thy presence? If I ascend up into heaven, thou art there: if I make my bed in hell, behold, thou art there. If I take the wings of the morning, and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea; Even there shall thy hand lead me, and thy right hand shall hold me. If I say, Surely the darkness shall cover me; even the night shall be light about me.”
Jeremiah 23:24 “Can any hide himself in secret places that I shall not see him? saith the LORD. Do not I fill heaven and earth? saith the LORD.”
Like so many in the professing church today, they thought they could worship the LORD without regard to His declared will. To truly worship the LORD is to recognize Him as THE authority in one’s life. To truly call Him your LORD is to submit to His will as revealed in His word.
Deuteronomy 10:12 “And now, Israel, what doth the LORD thy God require of thee, but to fear the LORD thy God, to walk in all his ways, and to love him, and to serve the LORD thy God with all thy heart and with all thy soul….”
Luke 6:46 “And why call ye me, Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say?”
1 John 2:3–4 “And hereby we do know that we know him, if we keep his commandments. He that saith, I know him, and keepeth not his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him.”
2Kings 17:13 Yet the LORD testified against Israel, and against Judah, by all the prophets, and by all the seers, saying, Turn ye from your evil ways, and keep my commandments and my statutes, according to all the law which I commanded your fathers, and which I sent to you by my servants the prophets.
2Kings 17:14 Notwithstanding they would not hear, but hardened their necks, like to the neck of their fathers, that did not believe in the LORD their God.
2Kings 17:15 And they rejected his statutes, and his covenant that he made with their fathers, and his testimonies which he testified against them; and they followed vanity, and became vain, and went after the heathen that were round about them, concerning whom the LORD had charged them, that they should not do like them.
2Kings 17:16 And they left all the commandments of the LORD their God, and made them molten images, even two calves, and made a grove, and worshipped all the host of heaven, and served Baal.
2Kings 17:17 And they caused their sons and their daughters to pass through the fire, and used divination and enchantments, and sold themselves to do evil in the sight of the LORD, to provoke him to anger.
The people of Israel and Judah had no excuse for their disobedience; they couldn’t plead ignorance to knowing what God expected of them. He had warned them over and over again through His prophets who all faithfully called for them to turn from their evil ways and obey His commandments.
The people refused to heed the message of God’s prophets, just as their fathers before them. They refused to obey His commandments and rejected His covenant. They chose instead to follow after the ways of the heathen nations in direct disobedience to the LORD’s command. They were so blinded by self and pride that they didn’t recognize how foolish this choice was.
They rebelled against the LORD who had proven Himself mighty on their behalf over and over again to follow powerless false gods and their idols. They even sacrificed their children to the false god Molech and practiced divination and magic—all in direct disobedience to the LORD. They basically sold themselves to the devil and made the LORD very angry.
Exodus 20:2–5 “I am the LORD thy God, which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. Thou shalt have no other gods before me. Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth: Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them….”
Deuteronomy 18:10–11 “There shall not be found among you any one that maketh his son or his daughter to pass through the fire, or that useth divination, or an observer of times, or an enchanter, or a witch, Or a charmer, or a consulter with familiar spirits, or a wizard, or a necromancer.”
2Kings 17:18 Therefore the LORD was very angry with Israel, and removed them out of his sight: there was none left but the tribe of Judah only.
2Kings 17:19 Also Judah kept not the commandments of the LORD their God, but walked in the statutes of Israel which they made.
The LORD became so angry that he was determined to remove Israel out of His sight; in other words, He gave them over to their sin and allowed the heathen nations to conquer them and take them out of the land. He preserved only the tribe of Judah in conjunction with His promise to David. Sadly, Judah followed the sinful example of their brothers in Israel.
2Kings 17:20 And the LORD rejected all the seed of Israel, and afflicted them, and delivered them into the hand of spoilers, until he had cast them out of his sight.
2Kings 17:21 For he rent Israel from the house of David; and they made Jeroboam the son of Nebat king: and Jeroboam drave Israel from following the LORD, and made them sin a great sin.
2Kings 17:22 For the children of Israel walked in all the sins of Jeroboam which he did; they departed not from them;
2Kings 17:23 Until the LORD removed Israel out of his sight, as he had said by all his servants the prophets. So was Israel carried away out of their own land to Assyria unto this day.
The LORD rejected the people living in the northern kingdom of Israel and delivered them captive to the Assyrians. When he took the ten tribes away from the house of David and gave them to Jeroboam, son of Nebat, Jeroboam caused them to turn away from the LORD in disobedience. Eventually, God’s long-suffering ran out and He exacted judgment—just as His prophets had warned. The people of Israel were still living in Assyria at the time the historian was making this record.
2Kings 17:24 ¶ And the king of Assyria brought men from Babylon, and from Cuthah, and from Ava, and from Hamath, and from Sepharvaim, and placed them in the cities of Samaria instead of the children of Israel: and they possessed Samaria, and dwelt in the cities thereof.
2Kings 17:25 And so it was at the beginning of their dwelling there, that they feared not the LORD: therefore the LORD sent lions among them, which slew some of them.
After deporting the Jews, the Assyrian king brought people from different places to live in Samaria—people from Babylon, Cuthah, Ava, Hamath and Sepharvaim. These people did not fear the LORD, and he sent lions to attack and kill some of them.
Most commentators note that there was a remnant of the lower class people left in Israel that eventually intermarried with these foreign transplants. Their descendants became known as the Samaritans.
2Kings 17:26 Wherefore they spake to the king of Assyria, saying, The nations which thou hast removed, and placed in the cities of Samaria, know not the manner of the God of the land: therefore he hath sent lions among them, and, behold, they slay them, because they know not the manner of the God of the land.
2Kings 17:27 Then the king of Assyria commanded, saying, Carry thither one of the priests whom ye brought from thence; and let them go and dwell there, and let him teach them the manner of the God of the land.
2Kings 17:28 Then one of the priests whom they had carried away from Samaria came and dwelt in Bethel, and taught them how they should fear the LORD.
The people quickly decided that they had angered “the God of the land,” and informed the king of Assyria that lions were attacking and killing them because they did not know the laws and customs that pleased Him. The king ordered that one of the priests that had been taken captive be taken back to live among the people and teach them the laws and customs that honored “the God of the land.” A priest was sent to teach them how to fear the LORD; he lived in Bethel.
I surmise that the priest that was sent was one of the priests that followed the false system of worship originally instituted by Jeroboam.
2Kings 17:29 Howbeit every nation made gods of their own, and put them in the houses of the high places which the Samaritans had made, every nation in their cities wherein they dwelt.
2Kings 17:30 And the men of Babylon made Succothbenoth, and the men of Cuth made Nergal, and the men of Hamath made Ashima,
2Kings 17:31 And the Avites made Nibhaz and Tartak, and the Sepharvites burnt their children in fire to Adrammelech and Anammelech, the gods of Sepharvaim.
Though the priest may have taught the people how to fear the LORD, it did not prevent them from worshipping their own gods. The people of this transplanted population made their own gods and put them in the houses of the high places of their making in the cities in which they lived. The men of Babylon made Succothbenoth; the men of Cuth made Nergal; the men of Hamath made Ashima, the Avites made Nibhaz and Tartak; the Sepharvites sacrificed their children by fire to their gods, Adrammelech and Anammelech. Commentators make varying identifications of these gods—the main point being that they were all false gods of the heathen nations.
2Kings 17:32 So they feared the LORD, and made unto themselves of the lowest of them priests of the high places, which sacrificed for them in the houses of the high places.
2Kings 17:33 They feared the LORD, and served their own gods, after the manner of the nations whom they carried away from thence.
These are interesting verses. The historian records that the people feared the LORD but continued to serve their own gods. It seems that they appointed priests among themselves to offer sacrifices to the LORD in the high places while continuing to serve their own gods according to their established customs.
The key truth here is that one can “fear” the LORD without having faith in the LORD. One can “fear” the LORD while continuing to practice sin. One can “fear” the LORD and appear to be worshipping Him when, in truth, their allegiance is to a false god.
These people “feared” the LORD because of the attack of the lions. They believed He was powerful, but they didn’t differentiate between Him and their own gods. The first verse that came to my mind as I thought about this was this one in James: James 2:19 “Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble.”
I think the prophet Isaiah sums it up pretty well with these words from the LORD.
Isaiah 29:13 “Wherefore the Lord said, Forasmuch as this people draw near me with their mouth, and with their lips do honour me, but have removed their heart far from me, and their fear toward me is taught by the precept of men:”
2Kings 17:34 Unto this day they do after the former manners: they fear not the LORD, neither do they after their statutes, or after their ordinances, or after the law and commandment which the LORD commanded the children of Jacob, whom he named Israel;
2Kings 17:35 With whom the LORD had made a covenant, and charged them, saying, Ye shall not fear other gods, nor bow yourselves to them, nor serve them, nor sacrifice to them:
2Kings 17:36 But the LORD, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt with great power and a stretched out arm, him shall ye fear, and him shall ye worship, and to him shall ye do sacrifice.
2Kings 17:37 And the statutes, and the ordinances, and the law, and the commandment, which he wrote for you, ye shall observe to do for evermore; and ye shall not fear other gods.
2Kings 17:38 And the covenant that I have made with you ye shall not forget; neither shall ye fear other gods.
2Kings 17:39 But the LORD your God ye shall fear; and he shall deliver you out of the hand of all your enemies.
2Kings 17:40 Howbeit they did not hearken, but they did after their former manner.
The historian notes that even to the time of his writing, the people of Samaria followed the worship of the false gods of their people and did not even try to live according to the commands that the LORD had given Israel.
It was the LORD that changed Jacob’s name to Israel and affirmed His covenant with him, commanding his people not to show honor in any way to “other gods”—not to bow down to them, serve them or sacrifice to them. The LORD commanded His people to fear only Him—to worship Him, sacrifice to Him and obey His commandments. He commanded them to honor the covenant that had been established between Him and their fathers—Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. He emphasized again that the people of Israel were only to fear the LORD. If they were faithful to obey Him, He would protect them from their enemies. Sad to say, they chose to disobey the LORD rather than live under His protection and blessing.
2Kings 17:41 So these nations feared the LORD, and served their graven images, both their children, and their children’s children: as did their fathers, so do they unto this day.
The people sent to live in Samaria continued to fear the LORD, but they also continued in the worship of their false gods and continued to do so until the making of this historical record. The wording indicates that enough time had passed for the original transported population to have children and grandchildren.
2Kings 18:1 ¶ Now it came to pass in the third year of Hoshea son of Elah king of Israel, that Hezekiah the son of Ahaz king of Judah began to reign.
2Kings 18:2 Twenty and five years old was he when he began to reign; and he reigned twenty and nine years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name also was Abi, the daughter of Zachariah.
In the 3rd year of the reign of Hoshea, king of Israel, Hezekiah, son of Ahaz, became king of Judah. He was 25 years old when he became king, and he reigned for 29 years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Abi (Abijah in Chronicles), the daughter of Zachariah.
2Kings 18:3 And he did that which was right in the sight of the LORD, according to all that David his father did.
2Kings 18:4 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.
The Chronicler (chapter 29) adds that the first thing Hezekiah did was to repair the doors to the temple. Then he gathered the priests together and instructed them to clean and sanctify the temple. When they had done so, the king led a great celebration, offering sacrifices and singing praise to the LORD. He goes on to record (chapter 30) that Hezekiah then reinstituted the keeping of Passover and invited all the people of Judah and even those remaining in Ephraim, to come and participate. The people of Judah and many in Ephraim came and celebrated Passover in a way that had not been experienced since the days of Solomon.
Hezekiah did what was right before the LORD, following the footsteps of his forefather King David. It was after Passover that he led the people in removing all the high places, breaking all the idols and cutting down the groves. He even broke into pieces the brazen serpent that Moses had lifted up in the wilderness since it had become an object of worship, and the people burned incense to it. It was called Nehushtan, copper serpent of the Desert.
All of this will be covered more completely when we get to Chronicles.
2Kings 18:5 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.
2Kings 18:6 For he clave to the LORD, and departed not from following him, but kept his commandments, which the LORD commanded Moses.
Hezekiah trusted in the LORD God of Israel. His commitment to the LORD was well known, and the historian notes that there was no king of Judah like him either before or after him. I think this is a specific reference to the southern kingdom of Judah; David and Solomon ruled over a united Israel and would, therefore, not be part of the comparison.
Hezekiah was committed to serving the LORD and continually following him in obedience, according to the commandments of the LORD as detailed in the writings of Moses.
I liked the way the Chronicler phrases it: 2 Chronicles 31:20–21 “And thus did Hezekiah throughout all Judah, and wrought that which was good and right and truth before the LORD his God. And in every work that he began in the service of the house of God, and in the law, and in the commandments, to seek his God, he did it with all his heart, and prospered.”
2Kings 18:7 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.
2Kings 18:8 He smote the Philistines, even unto Gaza, and the borders thereof, from the tower of the watchmen to the fenced city.
The LORD “was with” Hezekiah and caused him to prosper in all that he did. He refused to pay tribute to the king of Assyria as his servant. He drove the Philistines back to Gaza, destroying the towns they had established both small and large.
2Kings 18:9 ¶ And it came to pass in the fourth year of king Hezekiah, which was the seventh year of Hoshea son of Elah king of Israel, that Shalmaneser king of Assyria came up against Samaria, and besieged it.
2Kings 18:10 And at the end of three years they took it: even in the sixth year of Hezekiah, that is the ninth year of Hoshea king of Israel, Samaria was taken.
2Kings 18:11 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:
2Kings 18:12 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.
It was in the 4th year of the rule of Hezekiah and the 7th year of Hoshea, king of Israel, that Shalmaneser, king of Assyria, set siege to the city of Samaria. After three years, Samaria fell to the Assyrians, and a vast number of the people of Israel were carried captive to the Assyrian cities of Halah, Habor by the river of Gozan and the cities of the Medes. The LORD brought this about in judgment against His people because they had continually disobeyed His commands and broken covenant with Him. They totally ignored the commands of the LORD as recorded by Moses.
2Kings 18:13 Now in the fourteenth year of king Hezekiah did Sennacherib king of Assyria come up against all the fenced cities of Judah, and took them.
2Kings 18:14 And Hezekiah king of Judah sent to the king of Assyria to Lachish, saying, I have offended; return from me: that which thou puttest on me will I bear. And the king of Assyria appointed unto Hezekiah king of Judah three hundred talents of silver and thirty talents of gold.
2Kings 18:15 And Hezekiah gave him all the silver that was found in the house of the LORD, and in the treasures of the king’s house.
2Kings 18:16 At that time did Hezekiah cut off the gold from the doors of the temple of the LORD, and from the pillars which Hezekiah king of Judah had overlaid, and gave it to the king of Assyria.
In the 14th year of King Hezekiah (ten years later), Sennacherib, king of Assyria, (son of Shalmaneser) attacked and conquered the fenced cities of Judah. This time Hezekiah quickly capitulated to the Assyrian king and agreed to pay him tribute. Sennacherib demanded a payment of 300 talents of silver and 30 talents of gold. Hezekiah paid him by giving him all the silver in the house of the LORD and in his personal treasures. He even cut off the gold from the doors of the temple and from the pillars that he had overlaid with gold to meet this payment.
2Kings 18:17 ¶ And the king of Assyria sent Tartan and Rabsaris and Rabshakeh from Lachish to king Hezekiah with a great host against Jerusalem. And they went up and came to Jerusalem. And when they were come up, they came and stood by the conduit of the upper pool, which is in the highway of the fuller’s field.
2Kings 18:18 And when they had called to the king, there came out to them Eliakim the son of Hilkiah, which was over the household, and Shebna the scribe, and Joah the son of Asaph the recorder.
As can usually be expected, this bribe did not appease the king of Assyria; it only made him want more. He sent Tartan, Rabsaris and Rabshakeh from Lachish, leading a great host against Jerusalem.
The IVP Commentary provides this historical note: “Tartan, Rabsaris and Rabshakeh appear in some translations, while the NIV refers to them as ‘supreme commander,’ ‘chief officer,’ and ‘field commander.’ The NIV is correct that these are titles rather than names. They are well-known from Assyrian texts. The first, Tartan (Akkadian, turtan), the ‘field marshal,’ was the chief military officer. He represented the king and was sometimes the crown prince. The second, Rabsaris (Akkadian, rab sha reshi), the ‘chief eunuch,’ was probably the representative of the separate military division, the king’s bodyguard. The third, Rabshakeh (Akkadian, rab shaqe), the ‘chief cupbearer,’ is thought to be the provincial governor.”
When the Assyrian delegation arrived, they took up a position by the conduit of the upper pool, a water source located in the highway of the fuller’s field. When they called out to speak to the king, Eliakim, son of Hilkiah, supervisor of the king’s household, Shebna, the scribe or secretary, and Joah, son of Asaph, the recorder or historian, presented themselves as representatives of King Hezekiah.
2Kings 18:19 And Rabshakeh said unto them, Speak ye now to Hezekiah, Thus saith the great king, the king of Assyria, What confidence is this wherein thou trustest?
2Kings 18:20 Thou sayest, (but they are but vain words,) I have counsel and strength for the war. Now on whom dost thou trust, that thou rebellest against me?
2Kings 18:21 Now, behold, thou trustest upon the staff of this bruised reed, even upon Egypt, on which if a man lean, it will go into his hand, and pierce it: so is Pharaoh king of Egypt unto all that trust on him.
2Kings 18:22 But if ye say unto me, We trust in the LORD our God: is not that he, whose high places and whose altars Hezekiah hath taken away, and hath said to Judah and Jerusalem, Ye shall worship before this altar in Jerusalem?
Rabshakeh was the spokesman for Sennacherib. He declared the following message to be delivered to Hezekiah from “the great king,” the king of Assyria.
The phrase “the great king” is a phrase declaring Sennacherib to be the most powerful of kings among the nations.
My paraphrase: What makes you think you can withstand me? Whose counsel are you trusting and upon whose strength are you depending to think that you can rebel against me? Are you counting on the support of Egypt, a staff so broken that you will be injured if you lean on it? Pharaoh cannot be depended upon. Are you trusting in the LORD your God? Do you think He is going to help you in spite of the fact that you took down all the high places and altars that were used to worship Him and told the people they could only worship at the altar in Jerusalem?
Sennacherib was certainly misinformed. He didn’t even realize that it was in obedience to the LORD’s will that Hezekiah had torn down the high places and altars because they were used to worship false gods. He didn’t understand that the LORD had sanctified the altar in Jerusalem for worship before Him.
2Kings 18:23 Now therefore, I pray thee, give pledges to my lord the king of Assyria, and I will deliver thee two thousand horses, if thou be able on thy part to set riders upon them.
2Kings 18:24 How then wilt thou turn away the face of one captain of the least of my master’s servants, and put thy trust on Egypt for chariots and for horsemen?
2Kings 18:25 Am I now come up without the LORD against this place to destroy it? The LORD said to me, Go up against this land, and destroy it.
Rabshakeh continued (my paraphrase): Let’s make a deal. I will give you 2000 horses if you have enough riders to put on them and see how well you do against even one company of Assyrian troops led by one of my weakest captains. Do you think I have come to destroy you without the LORD’s approval? The LORD actually told me to come and destroy this land.
2Kings 18:26 Then said Eliakim the son of Hilkiah, and Shebna, and Joah, unto Rabshakeh, Speak, I pray thee, to thy servants in the Syrian language; for we understand it: and talk not with us in the Jews’ language in the ears of the people that are on the wall.
2Kings 18:27 But Rabshakeh said unto them, Hath my master sent me to thy master, and to thee, to speak these words? hath he not sent me to the men which sit on the wall, that they may eat their own dung, and drink their own piss with you?
Hezekiah’s three representatives asked Rabshakeh to speak in the Syrian language (Aramaic) because they understood it. They didn’t want him to use the language of the Jews in the hearing of the people of the city.
Rabshakeh answered that he was speaking purposely to the people and to warn them that if they rebelled against Assyria, they would suffer hunger to the point that they would eat the waste products from their own bodies.
2Kings 18:28 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:
2Kings 18:29 Thus saith the king, Let not Hezekiah deceive you: for he shall not be able to deliver you out of his hand:
2Kings 18:30 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.
2Kings 18:31 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:
2Kings 18:32 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.
Rabshakeh then called out even louder so that the people could hear him better. He told them that the king of Assyria warned them not to let Hezekiah deceive them. He would not be able to deliver them from Assyria nor would the LORD deliver them—no matter what Hezekiah said. He urged them to make an agreement with him and pay the required tribute. If they did, they would get to live in peace and enjoy the fruits of their own possessions. He told them that although they would be deported to other lands, it would be to lands similar to their own—lands of corn and wine, bread and vineyards, and of olive oil and honey. They would live and not die. Then he warned them once again not to listen to Hezekiah when he told them that The LORD would come to their rescue.
2Kings 18:33 Hath any of the gods of the nations delivered at all his land out of the hand of the king of Assyria?
2Kings 18:34 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?
2Kings 18:35 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?
2Kings 18:36 But the people held their peace, and answered him not a word: for the king’s commandment was, saying, Answer him not.
Rabshakeh then asked some questions for them to think about. Had the gods of any of the other nations been able to deliver their people from the Assyrian army? What about the gods of Hamath and Arpad? What about the gods of Sepharvaim, Hena and Ivah? Had any of them been rescued? Were any of the gods of other countries able to rescue them from the might of Assyria? Do you think the LORD can deliver Jerusalem?
What Rabshakeh didn’t understand was that the false gods of the other nations were impotent and powerless. The LORD God of Israel, however, was The Almighty God of power and miracles.
Wisely and courageously, the people held their peace and said not a word in response because the king had commanded that they not give the man an answer.
Rabshakeh did his best to get Hezekiah and the people of Jerusalem to surrender. Guzik made a great application to the way Satan attacks the Christian.
“The enemy of our soul uses the exact same approach. Many of us picture Satan as itching for a fight with us. Really, Satan doesn’t want to do battle with you. First of all, there is the strong chance you will win. Second of all, win or lose, the battle can draw you closer to the Lord. Thirdly, what the Lord does in your life through the battle can be a great blessing for other people. No, Satan would much rather not fight you at all! He would much rather try to talk you into giving up!”
2Kings 18:37 Then came Eliakim the son of Hilkiah, which was over the household, and Shebna the scribe, and Joah the son of Asaph the recorder, to Hezekiah with their clothes rent, and told him the words of Rabshakeh.
The three servants of Hezekiah, Eliakim, Shebna and Joah, tore their clothes in distress and went to report the words of Rabshakeh to the king.