This week, we shall continue to
study the book of 2 Kings in the Old Testament.
(1) Given the dire situation, what did Hezekiah do that was different than before, i.e. when Jerusalem was first attacked in 18:13-16? (19:1)
(2) Why didn’t he go to Isaiah himself?
(3) What did he ask Isaiah to do?
(4) How did he address God in v. 4? Why?
(5) Why did he call themselves “the remnant”? (v. 4) Were they (in the biblical sense of the word)? (see Note below)
(6) What was the reply from the Lord? (vv. 6-7)
(7) What was the basis of God’s action?
(8) What was the outcome of this particular incident? (v. 8)
(9) Sometime later, the Assyrians made another attempt to besiege Jerusalem:
a. The message of intimidation resembled that of the last time (18:27-35): What was the focus of this intimidation?
b. If you were Hezekiah, would you have reacted differently this time? Why or why not?
(10) What is the main message to you today and how may you apply it to your life?
Note:
The word, “remnant”, is a rendering of different Hebrew words. “At first the word denoted a part of a family or clan left from slaughter, and later came to be applied to the spiritual kernel of the nation who would survive God’s judgment and become the germ of the new people of God. Thus Micah saw the returning glory of Israel (2:12; 5:7). Zephaniah saw the triumph of this remnant (2:4-7), and so did Zechariah (8:1-8). Isaiah named a son She’ar Jashub which is ‘A remnant returns’ (7:3).” (Pictorial Bible Dictionary, 711)
“When King Hezekiah heard this, he tore his clothes and put on sackcloth and went into the temple of the Lord.” (2 Ki. 19:1)
We sometimes come across people who eagerly and willingly accepted the gospel only to fall away when their faith is tested, often in the form of a crisis. The truth of the matter is, faith, genuine faith in God needs to be tested. It was the case with Hezekiah.
Unlike his father and his grandfather, he not only did what was right in the eyes of the Lord, his zeal for God took him to a spiritual high in that “He removed the high places, smashed the sacred stones and cut down the Asherah poles. He broke into pieces the bronze snake Moses had made, for up to that time the Israelites had been burning incense to it” (2 Ki. 18:4). However, as with many kings in Israel and Judah, the real test of his faith came when he had to face formidable enemies in battle.
In Hezekiah’s 14th year of reign, “Sennacherib king of Assyria attacked all the fortified cities of Judah and captured them” (18:13). One would assume that with his faith, he would enquire of the Lord and would seek the help of Isaiah, the prophet. The Bible mentions none of these. Instead, we saw Hezekiah kow-towed to the king of Assyria, even confessing that he had done wrong and was willing to pay a huge amount of tribute to appease him, just like any other kings of the nations. Worse, he “stripped off the gold with which he had covered the doors and doorposts of the temple of the Lord, and gave it to the king of Assyria” (18:16).
No wonder Sennacherib treated him and his God like any of the other nations and their gods that he had conquered and he was determined to overtake Judah’s capital, just as he did to Samaria.
It is a lesson that we all need to learn: Trust the Lord with all our heart, even when we face the most unsurmountable crisis. Do not rely on our own understanding or method, or we will not only fail, but bring shame to the name of our Lord. Fortunately, Hezekiah learned this lesson quickly, and when he felt like being of a “remnant” with only Jerusalem left to him and which was now under siege, he turned to the Lord in contrition — going directly to the temple to seek God’s face and, in the meantime, soliciting the intercession of Isaiah (19:2).
(1) How did Hezekiah react differently to this latest threat this time?
(2) In his prayer to the Lord (vv. 15-19):
a. How did he adore God? How important was it that he began with these words of adoration? (v. 15)
b. In imploring God to listen and see, to what did he draw God’s attention? (v. 16)
c. In his prayer, to what reality did he admit? (vv. 17-18)
d. However, what was the basis of his confidence? (v. 19)
(3) In God’s reply to Hezekiah (vv. 21-34):
a. What did God point out as the mistake committed by the king Sennacherib? (vv. 21-23a)
b. What had caused him to be so confident and proud even against God? (vv. 23b-24)
c. What had he forgotten or not been aware of? (vv. 25-26. Also see Note below.)
d. What would be the judgment on him and why? (vv. 27-28; 32-33)
e. What blessing was promised by God to Hezekiah and Judah? (vv. 29-31)
(4) How and when was this prophecy fulfilled? (v. 35)
(5) What is the main message to you today and how may you apply it to your life?
Note:
“The historical reality, in this instance of the Assyrian judgment upon the nations, had had from all eternity an ideal reality in God…the prophecy becomes a proof that the event is the work of God and was long ago the predetermined counsel of God. The whole of the Scripture presupposes this pre-existence of the divine idea before the historical realization, and Isaiah in Israel…was the assiduous interpreter of this supposition.”
(K&D, Kings, 320; Isaiah, 258)
“That night the angel of the LORD went out and put to death a hundred and eighty-five thousand in the Assyrian camp. When the people got up the next morning — there were all the dead bodies!” (2 Ki. 19:35)
I find it rather disturbing that whenever the biblical account appears to be different from secular history, commentators try to find ways to defend the biblical account which, at the end, tend to discredit the accuracy of the Bible. Most resort to blaming scribal errors and seek to change the spelling of certain words to fit the secular historical account. Others opine that the entire section might have been put in the wrong place by a later redactor of the book, and still others think that they are spurious additions of a later time. 2 Kings 19:35 (and for that matter, Isa. 37:36) is a case in point. Secular history obviously does not attribute the retreat of the Assyrian army to the word of the angel of the Lord, and many doubt if the death of 185,000 was even possible.
Allow me to share with you the insight of Oswalt in this respect:
“This verse is the crux of the entire account, so it is not surprising that it has come under severe scrutiny by biblical scholars. Isaiah insists that the Assyrian monarch did not go home because he was satisfied with Hezekiah’s surrender, or because his objectives in the West had been reached, or because of some crisis elsewhere in the empire. He went home, says the prophet, because of the upshot of two issues: Sennacherib had asserted that human glory was superior to God’s, and Hezekiah had dared to trust God. Because of these God intervened in natural events and decimated a significant number of the Assyrian army. Cut out this event as a historical fact, as all too many commentators wish to do, and the whole theological content of the passage falls to the ground...As to the terrific losses involved…Smith notes that the Third Crusade mounted over a million and a half men and that the losses of the First Crusade have been estimated at more than 300,000. Perhaps more to the point, H. W. Saggs, on the basis of Assyrian reports, concludes that the Assyrian 'Grand Army' must have numbered in the hundreds of thousands…it does demonstrate that the account is not merely fantasy but is within the realm of possibility.”
(NICOT, Isaiah 1-39, 669-670)
(1) Hezekiah came to the throne at age 25 and with the extra 15 years that God would add to his life because of this incident, he ruled a total of 29 years (18:1-2). How old then was he when he was terminally ill?
(2) Announcing to him that he will die, what did Isaiah ask him to do? (v. 1)
(3) How would you have reacted to this news, if you were Hezekiah?
(4) How did Hezekiah react to this news? Was it a surprise to you?
(5) What did his reaction reveal about him as a person who knew and belonged to God?
(6) What reasons did God give in changing His mind?
(7) How does this speak to the character of our God?
(8) Why did Hezekiah even seek for a sign from the Lord if he was going to be completely healed in just two days?
(9) What miracle was performed at his request?
(10) As we know, Manasseh, probably the most wicked king of Judah, was born during the extra 15 years added to Hezekiah’s life. If Hezekiah knew it ahead of time, would he have asked for an extension to his life? Why or why not?
(11) What is the main message to you today and how may you apply it to your life?
“This is what the Lord, the God of your father David, says: I have heard your prayer and seen your tears; I will heal you. On the third day from now you will go up to the temple of the Lord. I will add fifteen years to your life.” (2 Ki. 20:5-6)
I have to confess that I do have mixed feelings toward Hezekiah’s prayer for healing. On the one hand his desperate desire not to die is understandable:
- As he said, he was still in the prime of his life; he was likely about 39 years old — too young to die;
- He had unfinished business: While we cannot say for sure that chapter 20 was arranged chronologically after the retreat of Sennacherib in the previous chapter, it was clear from God’s reply in v. 6 that they were still under the threat of Assyria. His repentance from depending on Egypt had steered the nation back toward the right path in trusting in God alone. He might feel that it was his unfinished business and it was affirmed by the Lord in His reply in v. 6;
- His prayer after healing indicated that he had learned a lesson from his illness. He pledged to walk in humility and committed to teach his children of God’s faithfulness (Isa. 38:17, 15 and 19).
On the other hand, what happened after his healing had proved that the last 15 years of his life had turned out to be a curse, not a blessing to him and the nation:
- 2 Chronicles has this to say about his life after healing: “But Hezekiah’s heart was proud and he did not respond to the kindness shown him…” (2 Chr. 32:25);
- His pride was further revealed in the second half of chapter 20 in that he showed off his treasures to the envoys of the king of Babylon which, undoubtedly, contributed to the fall of Jerusalem directly or indirectly into the hands of the Babylonians; and
- He failed to teach his son Manasseh the faithfulness of the Lord. This son succeeded him at his young age of 12 (21:1) which means that he was born during the added 15 years of Hezekiah’s life. As we know, Manasseh turned out to be one of the worst kings of Judah who did extreme evil in the eyes of the Lord.
Perhaps, Hezekiah should have submitted to the will of God, since it is never how long we live, but how we live that really matters!
(1) What do you think was the real intention of the king of Babylon in sending a gift and envoys to visit Hezekiah?
(2) Do you think Hezekiah should know their real intention?
(3) In showing his glory and richness, why did Hezekiah show them everything to the point that the Bible says, “There was nothing in his palace or in all his kingdom that Hezekiah did not show them” (20:13)?
(4) Why did Isaiah choose to ask the king what he already knew?
(5) From the reply of Hezekiah, do you think he knew he had done something wrong? Why or why not?
(6) What was the judgment pronounced by God as a result of his action?
(7) What sin did he commit that warranted such a severe judgment?
(8) How did Hezekiah respond to these words of judgment?
(9) Judging from his reply, what kind of a king was Hezekiah?
(10) If you were to write his epitaph, what would you write about Hezekiah?
(11) What is the main message to you today and how may you apply it to your life?
“‘The word of the Lord you have spoken is good,’ Hezekiah replied. For he thought, ‘Will there not be peace and security in my lifetime?’.” (2 Ki. 20:19)
When Jesus was cautioning the Jews not to maintain an outward piety whether in almsgiving, prayer or fasting, He sarcastically refers to those who gave, prayed or fasted for others to see as having “received their reward in full” (Matt. 6:2, 5, and 16). This reminds me of Hezekiah.
Not that Hezekiah’s piety in God were necessarily purely external — in fact, based on the biblical comments, his faith in God had to be genuine (2 Ki. 18:3ff), but that his focus was on the rewards in the temporal.
The fact that he wept and begged to live longer was not only a sign that he did not want to die so soon, but that he wished to prolong the enjoyment of all his wealth and glory. That was reaffirmed by the flaunting of his treasures to the envoys of Babylon to the point that “nothing in his palace or in all his kingdom that Hezekiah did not show them” (2 Ki. 20:13).
The prophet Isaiah quickly confronted his pride and pronounced the most severe judgment by God that spelled the end of the kingdom of Judah in the coming generations (2 Ki. 20:16-18). As a pious king, he should have torn his clothes in repentance, instead we read that he did not really care and thought in his heart it was alright with him as long as “There will be peace and security in my lifetime” (Isa. 39:8).
If I were to write his epitaph, I would certainly put these words on his tombstone: “He received his reward in full already”. Will he have any reward left in heaven? I guess, we will have to wait and see.
(1) Since Manasseh was only 12 years old when he became king, how old was Hezekiah when he was born?
(2) Why didn’t Hezekiah have any spiritual influence on Manasseh?
(3) Consider Manasseh’s drastic change of course from Hezekiah’s (vv. 2-6):
a. What might be the most unexpected thing he did as far as you are concerned?
b. What might be the most abominable? Why?
(4) What sacrilege did he commit inside the temple of the Lord? (vv. 4, 5 and7)
(5) What impact did his sin have on the people? (v. 9)
(6) How many prophets did God send to warn and rebuke him? (v. 10)
(7) Why didn’t Manasseh listen?
(8) What incentive did he have to listen?
(9) Suppose that you were one of the prophets or godly Jews in his time:
a. What and how would you pray?
b. What questions might you have in your heart?
c. What would be your only hope?
(10) Apart from blatant idol worship, what other sin(s) did Manasseh commit? (v. 16)
(11) In your opinion, why did God allow such a wicked king to reign for 55 years? (you might want to read 2 Chr. 33:10ff about Manasseh’s subsequent repentance)
(12) What is the main message to you today and how may you apply it to your life?
“Manasseh led them astray, so that they did more evil than the nations the LORD had destroyed before the Israelites.” (2 Ki. 21:9)
As we read the account of Manasseh in 2 Kings, we can’t help but raise many questions, including:
- Didn’t Hezekiah have any other son to put on the throne? Why did he make Manasseh his successor at the young age of 12?
- Why didn’t Hezekiah, being such a godly king, have any spiritual influence on his son?
- Did it have anything to do with him doting too much on a son who was born when he was around 42 years old?
- Where and how did Manasseh learn all these detestable practices of the nations which Hezekiah had eradicated for some 29 years?
- Why would God allow such a wicked king to reign for such a long time — 55 years?
Since the Scripture is totally silent on these issues, it is not helpful for us to speculate, except on the last question.
2 Chronicles 33 chooses to supplement the latter part of Manasseh’s life in that God did more than use prophets to warn and rebuke him; God used the Assyrians to take Manasseh prisoner and humiliate him (33:11). In his distress, Manasseh repented and “knew that the Lord is God” (33:13). The sincerity of his repentance was reflected in his undoing of all the detestable practices and tearing down of all altars for idols, including those he built inside the courts of the temple of the Lord, and in telling “Judah to serve the Lord” (33:16).
I guess the important lesson we can learn from the life of Manasseh is that God is indeed long-suffering, and He always gives the wayward chance after chance to repent and come to know Him. Not that all wayward would repent like Manasseh, but when it happens, we can be sure that “there is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents” (Lk. 15:10).
(1) Given the repentance of Manasseh in his latter years, why did Amon choose the former ways of his father? (see 2 Chr. 33:23)
(2) The death of Amon meant a fresh start for the nation of Judah: How and where might Josiah learn to worship and follow the Lord, instead of the practices of his father?
(3) What did Josiah do in the 18th year of his reign? (22:3-7)
(4) What do you think the temple was like before then?
(5) What is meant by “finding the Book of the Law in the temple”?
a. Where was it all the time?
b. How did they worship without the Book of the Law up till then?
(6) What immediate impact did the hearing of the words of God in the Law have on the king? Why?
(7) Many Christians do not put much effort in the reading and the hearing of the Bible:
a. How would they know how to follow the Lord and live their Christian lives?
b. What danger do they put themselves into?
(8) What is the main message to you today and how may you apply it to your life?
“When the king heard the words of the Book of the Law, he tore his robes.” (2 Ki. 22:11)
It is interesting to note that while carrying out the king’s command to repair the temple, Hilkiah the high priest “found the Book of the Law in the temple of the Lord” (22:8). Some commentators opine that the High Priest must have had other copies of the Law lying around the temple, and this was likely the original copy of the Law.
I do not think so for these reasons:
- The Bible does not say so; and
- It was obvious that both Shaphan the secretary and the king read the Book of the Law for the first time, meaning the Law had not been read at all at the temple prior to the discovery of this copy, whether it was the original copy written by Moses or not.
The impact of the reading of the Book of the Law was significant in that the king tore his robes immediately. It is likely that the king came across the passages in Deuteronomy 28 and also Leviticus 26 which contain the curses for disobedience to the commands of the Lord. In other words, prior to the reading of the Law itself, the king had a general sense of the requirements of the Lord, but it was based more on oral traditions and perhaps some other written documents like the often-mentioned “book of the annals of the kings of Judah” (20:20) which honestly gave an account of the good and wicked deeds of each of the kings and the rewards and punishments by the Lord. But they are, strictly speaking, not the Word of God without which the king could never truly know the commands of the Lord and, in times of crisis and temptation, he would have nothing to turn to for strength and direction, let alone coming to a genuine personal knowledge of the Lord.
There was a period of time that for some reason I was reading mostly devotional materials and prayers of great Christian writers and preachers. I found much comfort and peace through my reading, and yet there was a gnawing feeling within me that I should go back to the Word of God, the Bible. When I did, I found the reading of the Bible was so powerful. It gave me certainty of what God actually was saying, and I experienced the piercing power of the Word, as well as the overwhelming comfort and peace. It reminds me that while God does use the writings and prayers of His saints to nurture and comfort me, they cannot substitute my own reading and understanding of His Word.
(1) The king asked the priests to “inquire of the Lord” (22:13):
a. Who were the well-known prophets serving at the time of Josiah? (see Jeremiah 1:2; Zephaniah 1:1)
b. Why didn’t they go to them to inquire of the Lord?
(2) Who was the prophet Huldah? (22:14)
a. Why didn’t they speak to Shallum instead of his wife?
b. What might this show us about the role of women in spiritual matters?
(3) Based on the words of the prophetess (22:16-20):
a. What caused the king to tear his robes and weep in God’s presence?
b. Would God carry out the “curse” declared by the Book of the Law? Why or why not?
(4) How did the king react to the words of the prophetess? (23:1-2)
(5) How important was it that all the people, not just himself, would hear “all the words of the Book of the Covenant”? (23:2)
(6) What lesson can we learn from this?
(7) What did the king ask the people to do in response to the hearing of the words of God? (23:3)
(8) How does it speak to the proper attitude toward reading and hearing the Word of God today?
(9) What is the main message to you today and how may you apply it to your life?
“Hilkiah the priest, Ahikam, Akbor, Shaphan and Asaiah went to speak to the prophetess Huldah, who was the wife of Shallum son of Tikvah, the son of Harhas, keeper of the wardrobe. She lived in Jerusalem, in the New Quarter.” (2 Ki. 22:14)
During the reign of Josiah which was only decades away from the beginning of the captivity by Babylon (in BC 606), the Lord had raised up Jeremiah and Zephaniah and others to serve as prophets to the king and the people of Judah. This might explain to a certain extent why as young as eight years old, Josiah was able to totally reject his father’s wickedness and lead the nation to return to the worship of the Lord.
His reformation was greatly aided by the discovery of the Book of Law in the temple, the reading of which had further reinforced the determination of the king to lead the people to repent and serve only the Lord. However, the curses that he read, likely in Deuteronomy 28 and Leviticus 26, had greatly troubled him, and he sought to know if such could be avoided. As a result, he urged the high priest and his official to inquire of the Lord. It is quite surprising to me that they did not go to Jeremiah or Zephaniah, two known prophets of the time, instead they went to Huldah, the wife of Shallum who was the keeper of the wardrobe (of the priests).
Apart from the fact that she was not known beyond this incident, I was surprised that she was a woman — not that I have any discrimination against women in ministry, but that it was simply uncommon at the time to have female leadership, especially in spiritual matters. However, this very fact serves to prove once again that men and women are absolutely equal before the Lord. If the Spirit of the Lord empowers someone to serve Him or to speak on His behalf, it is the presence and the empowering of the Spirit that validates their ministry and not their gender nor standing within the community.