2 Kings 18 Study Notes: Hezekiah Trusts the LORD Against Assyria
Hezekiah becomes king of Judah, removes the hilltop shrines, destroys the bronze snake people burned incense to, and trusts the LORD like no other king of Judah. Sennacherib invades and Hezekiah pays tribute, yet an Assyrian envoy mocks his trust in God; the people keep silent, and his officials report back in grief.
General
What did the Rabshakeh promise the people of Jerusalem if they surrendered (2 Kings 18:31-32)?
Answer: Peace at home for a time, then removal to a new land
The Rabshakeh told the people to make peace with the Assyrian king and come out. Then, he said, each would enjoy the fruit of his own vines and fig trees and use his own cistern for a time, until the king came to carry them off to another land as rich as Judah, with grain, wine, olives, and honey (18:31-32). It sounded generous, but it was an offer of exile, the same fate that had just fallen on Samaria (18:11). His words echo a picture of peace that Scripture uses for God’s blessing: each family under its own vine and fig tree, as in Solomon’s days (1 Kings 4:25). The prophets promised that kind of security as the LORD’s gift (Micah 4:4). Assyria could only offer it for a short time before deporting the people.
- 2 Kings 18:31-32 (BSB)“Do not listen to Hezekiah, for this is what the king of Assyria says: Make peace with me and come out to me. Then every one of you will eat from his own vine and his own fig tree and drink water from his own cistern, until I come and take you away to a land like your own—a land of grain and new wine, a land of bread and vineyards, a land of olive trees and honey—so that you may live and not die. But do not listen to Hezekiah, for he misleads you when he says, ‘The LORD will deliver us.’”The Rabshakeh’s offer to those who surrender: food at home for now, then deportation.
- 1 Kings 4:25 (BSB)“Throughout the days of Solomon, Judah and Israel dwelt securely from Dan to Beersheba, each man under his own vine and his own fig tree.”Each family dwelling securely under its own vine and fig tree described Israel’s peace under Solomon.
- Micah 4:4 (BSB)“And each man will sit under his own vine and under his own fig tree, with no one to frighten him. For the mouth of the LORD of Hosts has spoken.”The LORD Himself promises a day when His people will sit under their vines with no one to frighten them.
Theological
What terms did the Rabshakeh offer the people in exchange for surrender (2 Kings 18:31-32)?
Answer: Peace at home for a time, then removal to a new land
The Rabshakeh offered terms: surrender, and each would enjoy his own vines, fig trees, and cistern until the Assyrian king came to deport them to another fertile country of grain, wine, olives, and honey (18:31-32). The offer dressed deportation, the fate just recounted for Samaria (18:11), in the language of covenant blessing. The vine-and-fig-tree image describes the security of Solomon’s reign (1 Kings 4:25) and the peace the LORD Himself promises (Micah 4:4). The Assyrian counterfeit offered temporary comfort followed by removal from the land.
- 2 Kings 18:31-32 (BSB)“Do not listen to Hezekiah, for this is what the king of Assyria says: Make peace with me and come out to me. Then every one of you will eat from his own vine and his own fig tree and drink water from his own cistern, until I come and take you away to a land like your own—a land of grain and new wine, a land of bread and vineyards, a land of olive trees and honey—so that you may live and not die. But do not listen to Hezekiah, for he misleads you when he says, ‘The LORD will deliver us.’”The Rabshakeh’s offer to those who surrender: food at home for now, then deportation.
- 1 Kings 4:25 (BSB)“Throughout the days of Solomon, Judah and Israel dwelt securely from Dan to Beersheba, each man under his own vine and his own fig tree.”Each family dwelling securely under its own vine and fig tree described Israel’s peace under Solomon.
- Micah 4:4 (BSB)“And each man will sit under his own vine and under his own fig tree, with no one to frighten him. For the mouth of the LORD of Hosts has spoken.”The LORD Himself promises a day when His people will sit under their vines with no one to frighten them.
General
Why did Hezekiah break into pieces the bronze snake from the days of Moses (2 Kings 18:4)?
Answer: The Israelites had been burning incense to it
In the wilderness, when venomous snakes were biting the Israelites, the LORD told Moses to make a snake and mount it high on a pole, and anyone bitten who looked at it survived (Numbers 21:8-9). Centuries later the Israelites were still keeping it and were burning incense to it, treating it as an object of worship, so Hezekiah smashed it (18:4). The healing had always come from the LORD, not from the bronze. Something God had once used for good had become an idol, and Hezekiah would not let it stand. Jesus later pointed to Moses lifting up the snake as a picture of Himself: He would be lifted up so that all who believe in Him would have eternal life (John 3:14-15). Believers are still warned to keep away from idols (1 John 5:21).
- 2 Kings 18:4 (BSB)“He removed the high places, shattered the sacred pillars, and cut down the Asherah poles. He also demolished the bronze snake called Nehushtan that Moses had made, for up to that time the Israelites had burned incense to it.”Hezekiah breaks up the bronze snake from Moses’ day because the people were offering incense to it.
- Numbers 21:8-9 (BSB)“Then the LORD said to Moses, “Make a fiery serpent and mount it on a pole. When anyone who is bitten looks at it, he will live.” So Moses made a bronze snake and mounted it on a pole. If anyone who was bitten looked at the bronze snake, he would live.”Moses made the bronze snake at the LORD’s command, and those bitten who looked at it lived.
- John 3:14-15 (BSB)“Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the wilderness, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, that everyone who believes in Him may have eternal life.”Jesus refers to Moses lifting up the snake as a picture of His own being lifted up for those who believe.
- 1 John 5:21 (BSB)“Little children, keep yourselves from idols.”John closes his letter by charging believers to keep away from idols.
Theological
What reason does 2 Kings 18:4 give for Hezekiah’s destruction of Moses’ bronze snake?
Answer: The Israelites had been burning incense to it
The bronze snake was made by Moses at the LORD’s command, and those bitten in the wilderness who looked to it lived (Numbers 21:8-9). By Hezekiah’s day the Israelites were offering incense to it, so he broke it in pieces (18:4). An object God had appointed as a means of deliverance had become an idol, and its history did not protect it from removal; the life had always come from the LORD, not the bronze. Jesus takes up the episode as a type of His own lifting up, through which everyone who believes has eternal life (John 3:14-15). The closing charge of 1 John 5:21 states the abiding principle that nothing may take God’s place.
- 2 Kings 18:4 (BSB)“He removed the high places, shattered the sacred pillars, and cut down the Asherah poles. He also demolished the bronze snake called Nehushtan that Moses had made, for up to that time the Israelites had burned incense to it.”Hezekiah breaks up the bronze snake from Moses’ day because the people were offering incense to it.
- Numbers 21:8-9 (BSB)“Then the LORD said to Moses, “Make a fiery serpent and mount it on a pole. When anyone who is bitten looks at it, he will live.” So Moses made a bronze snake and mounted it on a pole. If anyone who was bitten looked at the bronze snake, he would live.”Moses made the bronze snake at the LORD’s command, and those bitten who looked at it lived.
- John 3:14-15 (BSB)“Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the wilderness, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, that everyone who believes in Him may have eternal life.”Jesus refers to Moses lifting up the snake as a picture of His own being lifted up for those who believe.
- 1 John 5:21 (BSB)“Little children, keep yourselves from idols.”John closes his letter by charging believers to keep away from idols.
General
What does the narrator point to as evidence that Hezekiah pleased the LORD as his ancestor David had (2 Kings 18:3-4)?
Answer: He tore down the hilltop shrines and the Asherah poles
Hezekiah, the son of Ahaz, took the throne of Judah and pleased the LORD, following the example of his forefather David (18:3). The narrator shows what this meant: Hezekiah abolished the high places, which were hilltop shrines used for worship outside the place God had chosen, smashed the sacred pillars (standing stones used in pagan worship), and felled the Asherah poles, wooden poles honoring a Canaanite goddess (18:4). This set him apart. Earlier kings who loved the LORD, such as Asa, had left the high places standing (1 Kings 15:14), and even under Azariah, who also did right, the people kept sacrificing there (2 Kings 15:4). Hezekiah carried out what the Law had commanded long before (Deuteronomy 12:2-3).
- 2 Kings 18:3-4 (BSB)“And he did what was right in the eyes of the LORD, just as his father David had done. He removed the high places, shattered the sacred pillars, and cut down the Asherah poles. He also demolished the bronze snake called Nehushtan that Moses had made, for up to that time the Israelites had burned incense to it.”The narrator’s verdict on Hezekiah and the reforms that show it.
- 1 Kings 15:14 (BSB)“The high places were not removed, but Asa’s heart was fully devoted to the LORD all his days.”Even Asa, a king devoted to the LORD, left the high places standing.
- 2 Kings 15:4 (BSB)“Nevertheless, the high places were not taken away; the people continued sacrificing and burning incense there.”Even under Azariah, who did right, the high places remained and the people kept sacrificing there.
- Deuteronomy 12:2-3 (BSB)“Destroy completely all the places where the nations you are dispossessing have served their gods—atop the high mountains, on the hills, and under every green tree. Tear down their altars, smash their sacred pillars, burn up their Asherah poles, cut down the idols of their gods, and wipe out their names from every place.”The Law commanded Israel to destroy such places of worship and their pillars and poles.
Theological
What reforms does 2 Kings 18:3-4 give as evidence of Hezekiah’s Davidic faithfulness?
Answer: He tore down the hilltop shrines and the Asherah poles
Hezekiah is given the highest evaluation in the book’s formula: he did right in the LORD’s eyes as David his father had (18:3). The evidence is cultic reform: he abolished the high places, broke the standing stones, and felled the Asherah poles (18:4). That marks a decisive break with the pattern of earlier approved kings of Judah, whose evaluations carry the qualification that the high places remained (1 Kings 15:14; 2 Kings 15:4). Hezekiah carries out the command in Deuteronomy to destroy the places and objects of Canaanite worship (Deuteronomy 12:2-3).
- 2 Kings 18:3-4 (BSB)“And he did what was right in the eyes of the LORD, just as his father David had done. He removed the high places, shattered the sacred pillars, and cut down the Asherah poles. He also demolished the bronze snake called Nehushtan that Moses had made, for up to that time the Israelites had burned incense to it.”The narrator’s verdict on Hezekiah and the reforms that show it.
- 1 Kings 15:14 (BSB)“The high places were not removed, but Asa’s heart was fully devoted to the LORD all his days.”Even Asa, a king devoted to the LORD, left the high places standing.
- 2 Kings 15:4 (BSB)“Nevertheless, the high places were not taken away; the people continued sacrificing and burning incense there.”Even under Azariah, who did right, the high places remained and the people kept sacrificing there.
- Deuteronomy 12:2-3 (BSB)“Destroy completely all the places where the nations you are dispossessing have served their gods—atop the high mountains, on the hills, and under every green tree. Tear down their altars, smash their sacred pillars, burn up their Asherah poles, cut down the idols of their gods, and wipe out their names from every place.”The Law commanded Israel to destroy such places of worship and their pillars and poles.
General
When Sennacherib took Judah’s walled towns, what did Hezekiah do (2 Kings 18:14-16)?
Answer: He admitted wrong and paid with silver and temple gold
In Hezekiah’s fourteenth year, the Assyrian king Sennacherib seized Judah’s walled towns (18:13). Hezekiah had earlier thrown off Assyrian rule (18:7). Now he sent word to Sennacherib at Lachish, admitting he had done wrong, asking him to pull back, and offering to pay whatever was demanded. He handed over the silver from the LORD’s house and the palace treasuries, and even stripped the gold from the temple doors and doorposts (18:14-16). Yet the payment did not end the threat: the Assyrian king still sent his officials with a large force to Jerusalem (18:17). In the next chapter Hezekiah takes the crisis into the LORD’s house (2 Kings 19:1).
- 2 Kings 18:14-16 (BSB)“So Hezekiah king of Judah sent word to the king of Assyria at Lachish, saying, “I have done wrong; withdraw from me, and I will pay whatever you demand from me.” And the king of Assyria exacted from Hezekiah king of Judah three hundred talents of silver and thirty talents of gold. Hezekiah gave him all the silver that was found in the house of the LORD and in the treasuries of the royal palace. At that time Hezekiah stripped the gold with which he had plated the doors and doorposts of the temple of the LORD, and he gave it to the king of Assyria.”Hezekiah asks Sennacherib to withdraw and pays him from the temple and palace treasuries.
- 2 Kings 18:17 (BSB)“Nevertheless, the king of Assyria sent the Tartan, the Rabsaris, and the Rabshakeh, along with a great army, from Lachish to King Hezekiah at Jerusalem. They advanced up to Jerusalem and stationed themselves by the aqueduct of the upper pool, on the road to the Launderer’s Field.”Despite the payment, the Assyrian king sends his officials and an army to Jerusalem.
- 2 Kings 18:7 (BSB)“And the LORD was with Hezekiah, and he prospered wherever he went. He rebelled against the king of Assyria and refused to serve him.”Hezekiah had earlier rebelled against the king of Assyria and refused to serve him.
- 2 Kings 19:1 (BSB)“On hearing this report, King Hezekiah tore his clothes, put on sackcloth, and entered the house of the LORD.”After the Assyrian threats, Hezekiah goes into the house of the LORD.
Theological
How did Hezekiah respond when Sennacherib seized Judah’s walled towns (2 Kings 18:14-16)?
Answer: He admitted wrong and paid with silver and temple gold
After Sennacherib took Judah’s fortified cities (18:13), Hezekiah, who had rebelled against Assyrian overlordship (18:7), sent to Lachish confessing that he had done wrong, asked him to withdraw, and paid the assessed tribute from the silver of the temple and palace treasuries and the gold stripped from the temple doors and doorposts (18:14-16). The payment did not end the danger: Sennacherib sent his officials and army against Jerusalem anyway (18:17). The decisive turn comes in the next chapter, when Hezekiah brings the crisis before the LORD in His house (2 Kings 19:1).
- 2 Kings 18:14-16 (BSB)“So Hezekiah king of Judah sent word to the king of Assyria at Lachish, saying, “I have done wrong; withdraw from me, and I will pay whatever you demand from me.” And the king of Assyria exacted from Hezekiah king of Judah three hundred talents of silver and thirty talents of gold. Hezekiah gave him all the silver that was found in the house of the LORD and in the treasuries of the royal palace. At that time Hezekiah stripped the gold with which he had plated the doors and doorposts of the temple of the LORD, and he gave it to the king of Assyria.”Hezekiah asks Sennacherib to withdraw and pays him from the temple and palace treasuries.
- 2 Kings 18:17 (BSB)“Nevertheless, the king of Assyria sent the Tartan, the Rabsaris, and the Rabshakeh, along with a great army, from Lachish to King Hezekiah at Jerusalem. They advanced up to Jerusalem and stationed themselves by the aqueduct of the upper pool, on the road to the Launderer’s Field.”Despite the payment, the Assyrian king sends his officials and an army to Jerusalem.
- 2 Kings 18:7 (BSB)“And the LORD was with Hezekiah, and he prospered wherever he went. He rebelled against the king of Assyria and refused to serve him.”Hezekiah had earlier rebelled against the king of Assyria and refused to serve him.
- 2 Kings 19:1 (BSB)“On hearing this report, King Hezekiah tore his clothes, put on sackcloth, and entered the house of the LORD.”After the Assyrian threats, Hezekiah goes into the house of the LORD.
General
In what way does the narrator say Hezekiah stood apart from every other king of Judah (2 Kings 18:5)?
Answer: In how fully he relied on Israel’s God
The narrator gives Hezekiah a striking honor: among Judah’s kings, none before or after matched him in this one respect, that he relied wholly on Israel’s God (18:5). The story that follows tests that trust, as a great Assyrian army comes against Jerusalem. Scripture often praises this kind of reliance on God. Jeremiah calls the person who relies on the LORD blessed (Jeremiah 17:7), the psalmist contrasts reliance on chariots and horses with trust in the LORD’s name (Psalm 20:7), and Proverbs calls for trusting the LORD with the whole heart rather than leaning on one’s own understanding (Proverbs 3:5-6).
- 2 Kings 18:5 (BSB)“Hezekiah trusted in the LORD, the God of Israel. No king of Judah was like him, either before him or after him.”The narrator singles out Hezekiah’s trust in the LORD as unmatched among Judah’s kings.
- Jeremiah 17:7 (BSB)“But blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD, whose confidence is in Him.”The one whose confidence rests in the LORD is called blessed.
- Psalm 20:7 (BSB)“Some trust in chariots and others in horses, but we trust in the name of the LORD our God.”The psalm contrasts trust in military strength with trust in the LORD’s name.
- Proverbs 3:5-6 (BSB)“Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight.”Wholehearted trust in the LORD rather than one’s own understanding is the path He directs.
Theological
In what respect does 2 Kings 18:5 say Hezekiah was unmatched among the kings of Judah?
Answer: In how fully he relied on Israel’s God
The narrator’s superlative is specific: Hezekiah’s reliance on Israel’s God was such that none of Judah’s kings before or after him was like him (18:5). Trust is the theme on which the following Assyrian crisis turns, since the Rabshakeh’s speeches repeatedly attack the ground of Judah’s confidence. Hezekiah’s faith is the kind Scripture blesses (Jeremiah 17:7), the confidence in the LORD’s name rather than military power that Psalm 20:7 confesses, and the wholehearted reliance Proverbs 3:5-6 commends.
- 2 Kings 18:5 (BSB)“Hezekiah trusted in the LORD, the God of Israel. No king of Judah was like him, either before him or after him.”The narrator singles out Hezekiah’s trust in the LORD as unmatched among Judah’s kings.
- Jeremiah 17:7 (BSB)“But blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD, whose confidence is in Him.”The one whose confidence rests in the LORD is called blessed.
- Psalm 20:7 (BSB)“Some trust in chariots and others in horses, but we trust in the name of the LORD our God.”The psalm contrasts trust in military strength with trust in the LORD’s name.
- Proverbs 3:5-6 (BSB)“Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight.”Wholehearted trust in the LORD rather than one’s own understanding is the path He directs.
General
True or False: The Rabshakeh told the people not to let Hezekiah convince them that the LORD would rescue the city.
Answer: True
This is true. Calling out in Hebrew, the Rabshakeh told the people that Hezekiah was deceiving them and could not save them, and he warned them not to be persuaded to rely on the LORD when Hezekiah promised that the LORD would rescue them and the city would not fall to Assyria (18:29-30). The real target of his speech was the people’s trust in God, the very thing the narrator praised in Hezekiah (18:5). The rest of the story proves the Rabshakeh wrong. The LORD promised to defend Jerusalem and save it (2 Kings 19:32-34). Those who rely on the LORD are as firm as Mount Zion (Psalm 125:1), and He keeps in peace those whose minds rest on Him (Isaiah 26:3-4).
- 2 Kings 18:29-30 (BSB)“This is what the king says: Do not let Hezekiah deceive you; he cannot deliver you from my hand. Do not let Hezekiah persuade you to trust in the LORD when he says, ‘The LORD will surely deliver us; this city will not be given into the hand of the king of Assyria.’”The Rabshakeh tells the people that neither Hezekiah nor his confidence in the LORD can save them.
- 2 Kings 19:32-34 (BSB)“So this is what the LORD says about the king of Assyria: ‘He will not enter this city or shoot an arrow into it. He will not come before it with a shield or build up a siege ramp against it. He will go back the way he came, and he will not enter this city, declares the LORD. I will defend this city and save it for My own sake and for the sake of My servant David.’””The LORD promises that He Himself will defend and save Jerusalem.
- Psalm 125:1 (BSB)“A song of ascents. Those who trust in the LORD are like Mount Zion. It cannot be moved; it abides forever.”Those who trust in the LORD are pictured as immovable, like Mount Zion.
- Isaiah 26:3-4 (BSB)“You will keep in perfect peace the steadfast of mind, because he trusts in You. Trust in the LORD forever, because GOD the LORD is the Rock eternal.”The LORD keeps in peace the one who trusts in Him, for He is the eternal Rock.
Theological
True or False: The Rabshakeh urged the people not to let Hezekiah persuade them to rely on the LORD for the city’s deliverance.
Answer: True
This is true. Addressing the people directly, the Rabshakeh charged that Hezekiah was deceiving them and could not deliver them, and specifically warned them against Hezekiah’s summons to rely on the LORD, who he said would deliver the city from the Assyrian king (18:29-30). The assault is aimed at the very trust for which Hezekiah is commended (18:5), and the narrative vindicates that trust when the LORD pledges to defend and save the city (2 Kings 19:32-34). Psalm 125:1 and Isaiah 26:3-4 express the same confidence that those who rest on the LORD are held secure by Him.
- 2 Kings 18:29-30 (BSB)“This is what the king says: Do not let Hezekiah deceive you; he cannot deliver you from my hand. Do not let Hezekiah persuade you to trust in the LORD when he says, ‘The LORD will surely deliver us; this city will not be given into the hand of the king of Assyria.’”The Rabshakeh tells the people that neither Hezekiah nor his confidence in the LORD can save them.
- 2 Kings 19:32-34 (BSB)“So this is what the LORD says about the king of Assyria: ‘He will not enter this city or shoot an arrow into it. He will not come before it with a shield or build up a siege ramp against it. He will go back the way he came, and he will not enter this city, declares the LORD. I will defend this city and save it for My own sake and for the sake of My servant David.’””The LORD promises that He Himself will defend and save Jerusalem.
- Psalm 125:1 (BSB)“A song of ascents. Those who trust in the LORD are like Mount Zion. It cannot be moved; it abides forever.”Those who trust in the LORD are pictured as immovable, like Mount Zion.
- Isaiah 26:3-4 (BSB)“You will keep in perfect peace the steadfast of mind, because he trusts in You. Trust in the LORD forever, because GOD the LORD is the Rock eternal.”The LORD keeps in peace the one who trusts in Him, for He is the eternal Rock.
General
What claim about the LORD did the Rabshakeh make to shake Jerusalem’s confidence (2 Kings 18:25)?
Answer: That the LORD Himself had told him to destroy the land
The Rabshakeh claimed that he had not come against Jerusalem without the LORD’s backing; the LORD Himself, he said, had told him to attack and ruin the land (18:25). The next chapter shows how the LORD answered. The LORD did rule over Assyria’s conquests: He says that He had planned long before the crushing of walled cities that Assyria carried out (19:25), and Isaiah calls Assyria the instrument of His anger, even though Assyria acted from its own proud desire to destroy (Isaiah 10:5-7). But the LORD called the Assyrian officials’ words blasphemy, speaking against Him (19:6), and declared that the Assyrian king would not enter Jerusalem, because He would defend it (19:32-34). God’s rule over history never made Assyria’s arrogance right, and it did not make the Rabshakeh His spokesman.
- 2 Kings 18:25 (BSB)“So now, was it apart from the LORD that I have come up against this place to destroy it? The LORD Himself said to me, ‘Go up against this land and destroy it.’””The Rabshakeh claims divine authorization for the attack on Jerusalem.
- 2 Kings 19:6 (BSB)“who replied, “Tell your master that this is what the LORD says: ‘Do not be afraid of the words you have heard, with which the servants of the king of Assyria have blasphemed Me.”The LORD calls the words of the Assyrian king’s servants blasphemy against Him.
- 2 Kings 19:25 (BSB)“Have you not heard? Long ago I ordained it; in days of old I planned it. Now I have brought it to pass, that you should crush fortified cities into piles of rubble.”The LORD tells the Assyrian king that He had planned long ago the conquests Assyria carried out.
- 2 Kings 19:32-34 (BSB)“So this is what the LORD says about the king of Assyria: ‘He will not enter this city or shoot an arrow into it. He will not come before it with a shield or build up a siege ramp against it. He will go back the way he came, and he will not enter this city, declares the LORD. I will defend this city and save it for My own sake and for the sake of My servant David.’””The LORD declares that the Assyrian king will not enter Jerusalem, for He will defend it.
- Isaiah 10:5-7 (BSB)“Woe to Assyria, the rod of My anger; the staff in their hands is My wrath. I will send him against a godless nation; I will dispatch him against a people destined for My rage, to take spoils and seize plunder, and to trample them down like clay in the streets. But this is not his intention; this is not his plan. For it is in his heart to destroy and cut off many nations.”The LORD used Assyria as His rod, but Assyria’s own purpose was proud destruction.
Theological
What claim of divine authorization did the Rabshakeh make (2 Kings 18:25)?
Answer: That the LORD Himself had told him to destroy the land
The Rabshakeh asserted that his campaign was not undertaken without the LORD, who had commanded him to go up and destroy the land (18:25). The claim was aimed at Judah’s trust. Scripture holds two truths together here. The LORD had in fact ordained long before the conquests Assyria carried out (19:25) and wielded Assyria as the rod of His anger, while Assyria pursued its own proud design of destruction and was fully accountable for it (Isaiah 10:5-7). Yet the LORD calls the officials’ speech blasphemy (19:6) and declares that the king will not enter Jerusalem, for He will defend it for His own sake and David’s (19:32-34). Divine sovereignty over Assyria did not make its envoy a spokesman for God, nor did it hand Jerusalem over to him.
- 2 Kings 18:25 (BSB)“So now, was it apart from the LORD that I have come up against this place to destroy it? The LORD Himself said to me, ‘Go up against this land and destroy it.’””The Rabshakeh claims divine authorization for the attack on Jerusalem.
- 2 Kings 19:6 (BSB)“who replied, “Tell your master that this is what the LORD says: ‘Do not be afraid of the words you have heard, with which the servants of the king of Assyria have blasphemed Me.”The LORD calls the words of the Assyrian king’s servants blasphemy against Him.
- 2 Kings 19:25 (BSB)“Have you not heard? Long ago I ordained it; in days of old I planned it. Now I have brought it to pass, that you should crush fortified cities into piles of rubble.”The LORD tells the Assyrian king that He had planned long ago the conquests Assyria carried out.
- 2 Kings 19:32-34 (BSB)“So this is what the LORD says about the king of Assyria: ‘He will not enter this city or shoot an arrow into it. He will not come before it with a shield or build up a siege ramp against it. He will go back the way he came, and he will not enter this city, declares the LORD. I will defend this city and save it for My own sake and for the sake of My servant David.’””The LORD declares that the Assyrian king will not enter Jerusalem, for He will defend it.
- Isaiah 10:5-7 (BSB)“Woe to Assyria, the rod of My anger; the staff in their hands is My wrath. I will send him against a godless nation; I will dispatch him against a people destined for My rage, to take spoils and seize plunder, and to trample them down like clay in the streets. But this is not his intention; this is not his plan. For it is in his heart to destroy and cut off many nations.”The LORD used Assyria as His rod, but Assyria’s own purpose was proud destruction.
General
What did the Rabshakeh claim Judah was relying on, and how did he describe it (2 Kings 18:20-21)?
Answer: Egypt, a cracked reed that wounds whoever leans on it
The Rabshakeh, a high Assyrian official, stood outside Jerusalem and questioned what Hezekiah’s confidence rested on (18:19-20). He claimed Judah was relying on Egypt and called Egypt a splintered reed that stabs the hand of whoever puts weight on it (18:21). On that point he echoed what the LORD’s own prophets said: Isaiah warned against going to Egypt for horses and chariots instead of seeking the LORD (Isaiah 31:1), and the LORD said Pharaoh’s protection would bring shame (Isaiah 30:1-3). But the Rabshakeh’s conclusion was wrong. The answer to a false refuge was not to surrender to Assyria but to trust the LORD (Psalm 20:7), and the narrator has already said Hezekiah’s trust was in the LORD (18:5).
- 2 Kings 18:19-21 (BSB)“The Rabshakeh said to them, “Tell Hezekiah that this is what the great king, the king of Assyria, says: What is the basis of this confidence of yours? You claim to have a strategy and strength for war, but these are empty words. In whom are you now trusting, that you have rebelled against me? Look now, you are trusting in Egypt, that splintered reed of a staff that will pierce the hand of anyone who leans on it. Such is Pharaoh king of Egypt to all who trust in him.”The Rabshakeh mocks Hezekiah’s confidence and describes Egypt as a dangerous support.
- Isaiah 31:1 (BSB)“Woe to those who go down to Egypt for help, who rely on horses, who trust in their abundance of chariots and in their multitude of horsemen. They do not look to the Holy One of Israel; they do not seek the LORD.”Isaiah warns against looking to Egypt’s horses and chariots instead of the LORD.
- Isaiah 30:1-3 (BSB)““Woe to the rebellious children,” declares the LORD, “to those who carry out a plan that is not Mine, who form an alliance, but against My will, heaping up sin upon sin. They set out to go down to Egypt without asking My advice, to seek shelter under Pharaoh’s protection and take refuge in Egypt’s shade. But Pharaoh’s protection will become your shame, and the refuge of Egypt’s shade your disgrace.”The LORD Himself warns that seeking Pharaoh’s protection ends in shame.
- Psalm 20:7 (BSB)“Some trust in chariots and others in horses, but we trust in the name of the LORD our God.”The true alternative to trust in horses and chariots is trust in the LORD.
Theological
What reliance did the Rabshakeh attribute to Hezekiah, and with what image (2 Kings 18:20-21)?
Answer: Egypt, a cracked reed that wounds whoever leans on it
The Rabshakeh opened by challenging the basis of Hezekiah’s confidence (18:19-20) and alleged that Judah was relying on Egypt, which he pictured as a splintered reed that pierces the hand of whoever leans on it (18:21). His assessment of Egypt coincides with the prophetic warnings against reliance on Egypt’s horses and chariots (Isaiah 31:1) and against seeking Pharaoh’s protection (Isaiah 30:1-3). But his inference is false: the alternative to a broken reed is not submission to Assyria but confidence in the LORD’s name (Psalm 20:7), which is exactly where the narrator has located Hezekiah’s confidence (18:5).
- 2 Kings 18:19-21 (BSB)“The Rabshakeh said to them, “Tell Hezekiah that this is what the great king, the king of Assyria, says: What is the basis of this confidence of yours? You claim to have a strategy and strength for war, but these are empty words. In whom are you now trusting, that you have rebelled against me? Look now, you are trusting in Egypt, that splintered reed of a staff that will pierce the hand of anyone who leans on it. Such is Pharaoh king of Egypt to all who trust in him.”The Rabshakeh mocks Hezekiah’s confidence and describes Egypt as a dangerous support.
- Isaiah 31:1 (BSB)“Woe to those who go down to Egypt for help, who rely on horses, who trust in their abundance of chariots and in their multitude of horsemen. They do not look to the Holy One of Israel; they do not seek the LORD.”Isaiah warns against looking to Egypt’s horses and chariots instead of the LORD.
- Isaiah 30:1-3 (BSB)““Woe to the rebellious children,” declares the LORD, “to those who carry out a plan that is not Mine, who form an alliance, but against My will, heaping up sin upon sin. They set out to go down to Egypt without asking My advice, to seek shelter under Pharaoh’s protection and take refuge in Egypt’s shade. But Pharaoh’s protection will become your shame, and the refuge of Egypt’s shade your disgrace.”The LORD Himself warns that seeking Pharaoh’s protection ends in shame.
- Psalm 20:7 (BSB)“Some trust in chariots and others in horses, but we trust in the name of the LORD our God.”The true alternative to trust in horses and chariots is trust in the LORD.
General
What argument did the Rabshakeh make from Hezekiah’s removal of the hilltop shrines and altars (2 Kings 18:22)?
Answer: That Hezekiah had offended the very God he trusted
The Rabshakeh argued that Judah could not count on the LORD, because Hezekiah had torn down the LORD’s own shrines and altars and told the people to worship only at the altar in Jerusalem (18:22). In his view, Hezekiah had insulted the very God he was trusting. But the narrator has already told us the opposite: removing the high places was part of what made Hezekiah right in the LORD’s eyes (18:3-4). God’s law had told Israel to seek the one place He would choose for His Name (Deuteronomy 12:5) and to bring offerings only there (Deuteronomy 12:13-14). What the Rabshakeh treated as an insult to the LORD was in fact obedience to Him.
- 2 Kings 18:22 (BSB)“But if you say to me, ‘We trust in the LORD our God,’ is He not the One whose high places and altars Hezekiah has removed, saying to Judah and Jerusalem: ‘You must worship before this altar in Jerusalem’?”The Rabshakeh turns Hezekiah’s removal of the high places into an argument against trusting the LORD.
- 2 Kings 18:4 (BSB)“He removed the high places, shattered the sacred pillars, and cut down the Asherah poles. He also demolished the bronze snake called Nehushtan that Moses had made, for up to that time the Israelites had burned incense to it.”The narrator presents the same removal of the high places as part of Hezekiah’s faithfulness.
- Deuteronomy 12:5 (BSB)“Instead, you must seek the place the LORD your God will choose from among all your tribes to establish as a dwelling for His Name, and there you must go.”The Law directed Israel to seek the one place the LORD would choose for His Name.
- Deuteronomy 12:13-14 (BSB)“Be careful not to offer your burnt offerings in just any place you see; you must offer them only in the place the LORD will choose in one of your tribal territories, and there you shall do all that I command you.”Offerings were to be brought only to the place the LORD would choose.
Theological
What did the Rabshakeh argue from Hezekiah’s removal of the hilltop shrines and altars (2 Kings 18:22)?
Answer: That Hezekiah had offended the very God he trusted
The Rabshakeh contended that Hezekiah had forfeited the LORD’s help by removing His shrines and altars and centralizing worship at the Jerusalem altar (18:22). The narrator, however, has already counted the removal of the high places as evidence of Hezekiah’s faithfulness (18:3-4), in keeping with Deuteronomy’s requirement to seek out the place of the LORD’s choosing for His Name (Deuteronomy 12:5) and to offer sacrifices there alone (Deuteronomy 12:13-14). What the Assyrian presented as sacrilege was obedience.
- 2 Kings 18:22 (BSB)“But if you say to me, ‘We trust in the LORD our God,’ is He not the One whose high places and altars Hezekiah has removed, saying to Judah and Jerusalem: ‘You must worship before this altar in Jerusalem’?”The Rabshakeh turns Hezekiah’s removal of the high places into an argument against trusting the LORD.
- 2 Kings 18:4 (BSB)“He removed the high places, shattered the sacred pillars, and cut down the Asherah poles. He also demolished the bronze snake called Nehushtan that Moses had made, for up to that time the Israelites had burned incense to it.”The narrator presents the same removal of the high places as part of Hezekiah’s faithfulness.
- Deuteronomy 12:5 (BSB)“Instead, you must seek the place the LORD your God will choose from among all your tribes to establish as a dwelling for His Name, and there you must go.”The Law directed Israel to seek the one place the LORD would choose for His Name.
- Deuteronomy 12:13-14 (BSB)“Be careful not to offer your burnt offerings in just any place you see; you must offer them only in the place the LORD will choose in one of your tribal territories, and there you shall do all that I command you.”Offerings were to be brought only to the place the LORD would choose.
General
Why did Eliakim, Shebnah, and Joah ask the Rabshakeh to speak in Aramaic (2 Kings 18:26)?
Answer: So the crowd listening from the wall would not follow
Eliakim, who managed the palace, and the other two officials asked the Rabshakeh to speak in Aramaic, a language they themselves understood, rather than in Hebrew, because the crowd on the wall could hear (18:26). They wanted to keep his threats from frightening the city. He refused, saying his message was meant for the men on the wall as much as for their leaders, and he shouted to them in Hebrew (18:27-28). He wanted the ordinary people to hear his threats for themselves (18:27). The LORD’s answer, when it came, began by telling Hezekiah not to fear (2 Kings 19:6), the same comfort God gives His people elsewhere because He is with them (Isaiah 41:10).
- 2 Kings 18:26 (BSB)“Then Eliakim son of Hilkiah, along with Shebnah and Joah, said to the Rabshakeh, “Please speak to your servants in Aramaic, since we understand it. Do not speak with us in Hebrew in the hearing of the people on the wall.””Hezekiah’s officials ask the Rabshakeh to use Aramaic rather than the language of Judah.
- 2 Kings 18:28 (BSB)“Then the Rabshakeh stood and called out loudly in Hebrew: “Hear the word of the great king, the king of Assyria!”The Rabshakeh instead raises his voice and addresses the people in their own language.
- 2 Kings 19:6 (BSB)“who replied, “Tell your master that this is what the LORD says: ‘Do not be afraid of the words you have heard, with which the servants of the king of Assyria have blasphemed Me.”The LORD’s answer begins by telling Hezekiah not to fear the words he had heard.
- Isaiah 41:10 (BSB)“Do not fear, for I am with you; do not be afraid, for I am your God. I will strengthen you; I will surely help you; I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.”The LORD’s people are told not to fear, because He is with them and will help them.
Theological
What was the purpose of the officials’ request that the Rabshakeh use Aramaic (2 Kings 18:26)?
Answer: So the crowd listening from the wall would not follow
Eliakim, Shebnah, and Joah asked the Rabshakeh to speak Aramaic, which they understood, rather than the language of Judah, since the crowd on the wall was listening (18:26). He refused, insisting that his message was for the men on the wall too, and then deliberately addressed them in their own tongue (18:27-28). His words were aimed past the officials at the ordinary listeners on the wall. The LORD’s reply through Isaiah opens with a command not to fear the words heard (2 Kings 19:6), consistent with His repeated assurance to His people that His presence removes the ground of fear (Isaiah 41:10).
- 2 Kings 18:26 (BSB)“Then Eliakim son of Hilkiah, along with Shebnah and Joah, said to the Rabshakeh, “Please speak to your servants in Aramaic, since we understand it. Do not speak with us in Hebrew in the hearing of the people on the wall.””Hezekiah’s officials ask the Rabshakeh to use Aramaic rather than the language of Judah.
- 2 Kings 18:28 (BSB)“Then the Rabshakeh stood and called out loudly in Hebrew: “Hear the word of the great king, the king of Assyria!”The Rabshakeh instead raises his voice and addresses the people in their own language.
- 2 Kings 19:6 (BSB)“who replied, “Tell your master that this is what the LORD says: ‘Do not be afraid of the words you have heard, with which the servants of the king of Assyria have blasphemed Me.”The LORD’s answer begins by telling Hezekiah not to fear the words he had heard.
- Isaiah 41:10 (BSB)“Do not fear, for I am with you; do not be afraid, for I am your God. I will strengthen you; I will surely help you; I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.”The LORD’s people are told not to fear, because He is with them and will help them.
General
True or False: In retelling Samaria’s fall during Hezekiah’s reign, the narrator again says it happened because Israel would not heed the LORD and broke His covenant.
Answer: True
This is true. In the middle of Hezekiah’s story the narrator recalls the Assyrian siege and capture of Samaria (18:9-10) and repeats the reason for Israel’s exile. The northern kingdom refused to obey their God, broke His covenant, and ignored everything Moses had commanded (18:11-12). The reminder comes just before Assyria turns against Judah. The same refusal to listen had been traced in the previous chapter to unbelief (2 Kings 17:14), and Moses had warned that disobedience would bring the covenant curses (Deuteronomy 28:15). Placed beside Hezekiah’s trust, the contrast is clear: Judah’s safety would not rest on strength but on the LORD.
- 2 Kings 18:11-12 (BSB)“The king of Assyria exiled the Israelites to Assyria and settled them in Halah, in Gozan by the Habor River, and in the cities of the Medes. This happened because they did not listen to the voice of the LORD their God, but violated His covenant—all that Moses the servant of the LORD had commanded—and would neither listen nor obey.”The fall of Samaria is retold within Hezekiah’s reign, with its cause restated.
- 2 Kings 17:14 (BSB)“But they would not listen, and they stiffened their necks like their fathers, who did not believe the LORD their God.”The previous chapter traces the same refusal to listen back to unbelief.
- Deuteronomy 28:15 (BSB)“If, however, you do not obey the LORD your God by carefully following all His commandments and statutes I am giving you today, all these curses will come upon you and overtake you:”Moses warned that failure to obey the LORD’s commands would bring the covenant curses.
Theological
True or False: When Samaria’s fall is retold in Hezekiah’s reign, the narrator again attributes it to Israel’s refusal to heed the LORD and their violation of His covenant.
Answer: True
This is true. The fall of Samaria is synchronized with Hezekiah’s reign (18:9-10), and the narrator restates its cause: Israel refused to obey their God, broke His covenant and everything Moses had laid down, and would neither heed nor obey (18:11-12). Placed immediately before Sennacherib’s invasion, the summary sets Israel’s covenant unfaithfulness against Hezekiah’s trust (18:5-6). It echoes 2 Kings 17:14 and the covenant sanctions of Deuteronomy 28:15.
- 2 Kings 18:11-12 (BSB)“The king of Assyria exiled the Israelites to Assyria and settled them in Halah, in Gozan by the Habor River, and in the cities of the Medes. This happened because they did not listen to the voice of the LORD their God, but violated His covenant—all that Moses the servant of the LORD had commanded—and would neither listen nor obey.”The fall of Samaria is retold within Hezekiah’s reign, with its cause restated.
- 2 Kings 17:14 (BSB)“But they would not listen, and they stiffened their necks like their fathers, who did not believe the LORD their God.”The previous chapter traces the same refusal to listen back to unbelief.
- Deuteronomy 28:15 (BSB)“If, however, you do not obey the LORD your God by carefully following all His commandments and statutes I am giving you today, all these curses will come upon you and overtake you:”Moses warned that failure to obey the LORD’s commands would bring the covenant curses.
General
How did the crowd on the wall respond to the Rabshakeh’s speech (2 Kings 18:36)?
Answer: They kept silent, as Hezekiah had ordered them
The people stayed silent and answered him nothing, because Hezekiah had commanded them not to reply (18:36). Eliakim, Shebna, and Joah then went to the king with torn garments, a sign of deep grief and distress, and reported everything the Rabshakeh had said (18:37). The answer to the Assyrian taunts would not come from the wall. Hezekiah soon sent word to Isaiah, hoping the LORD would hear the Rabshakeh’s words and rebuke him (2 Kings 19:4). In the next verse Hezekiah himself tears his clothes, puts on sackcloth, and goes into the LORD’s temple (2 Kings 19:1).
- 2 Kings 18:36-37 (BSB)“But the people remained silent and did not answer a word, for Hezekiah had commanded, “Do not answer him.” Then Hilkiah’s son Eliakim the palace administrator, Shebna the scribe, and Asaph’s son Joah the recorder came to Hezekiah with their clothes torn, and they relayed to him the words of the Rabshakeh.”The people stay silent at Hezekiah’s command, and his officials return to him in grief.
- 2 Kings 19:1 (BSB)“On hearing this report, King Hezekiah tore his clothes, put on sackcloth, and entered the house of the LORD.”Hearing the report, Hezekiah tears his clothes, puts on sackcloth, and goes to the LORD’s house.
- 2 Kings 19:4 (BSB)“Perhaps the LORD your God will hear all the words of the Rabshakeh, whom his master the king of Assyria has sent to defy the living God, and He will rebuke him for the words that the LORD your God has heard. Therefore lift up a prayer for the remnant that still survives.””Hezekiah hopes the LORD will hear the Rabshakeh’s words and rebuke him.
Theological
What was the response of the crowd on the wall to the Rabshakeh (2 Kings 18:36)?
Answer: They kept silent, as Hezekiah had ordered them
In obedience to Hezekiah’s command, the people kept silent and returned no answer (18:36). The three officials returned to Hezekiah in torn garments, the customary sign of grief, and reported the Rabshakeh’s words (18:37). The chapter ends without a human rebuttal; the reply will come from the LORD after Hezekiah tears his own clothes, puts on sackcloth, and goes into the temple (2 Kings 19:1) and sends to Isaiah in the hope that the LORD will hear and rebuke the Rabshakeh’s words against the living God (2 Kings 19:4).
- 2 Kings 18:36-37 (BSB)“But the people remained silent and did not answer a word, for Hezekiah had commanded, “Do not answer him.” Then Hilkiah’s son Eliakim the palace administrator, Shebna the scribe, and Asaph’s son Joah the recorder came to Hezekiah with their clothes torn, and they relayed to him the words of the Rabshakeh.”The people stay silent at Hezekiah’s command, and his officials return to him in grief.
- 2 Kings 19:1 (BSB)“On hearing this report, King Hezekiah tore his clothes, put on sackcloth, and entered the house of the LORD.”Hearing the report, Hezekiah tears his clothes, puts on sackcloth, and goes to the LORD’s house.
- 2 Kings 19:4 (BSB)“Perhaps the LORD your God will hear all the words of the Rabshakeh, whom his master the king of Assyria has sent to defy the living God, and He will rebuke him for the words that the LORD your God has heard. Therefore lift up a prayer for the remnant that still survives.””Hezekiah hopes the LORD will hear the Rabshakeh’s words and rebuke him.
General
What was the basic error in the Rabshakeh’s argument that the LORD could not save Jerusalem (2 Kings 18:33-35)?
Answer: He treated the LORD as just one more idol like theirs
The Rabshakeh pointed to nation after nation whose gods had not saved them from Assyria, including Samaria, and asked how the LORD could possibly rescue Jerusalem (18:33-35). His mistake was placing the LORD on the same level as those idols. Hezekiah later put it plainly in prayer: the Assyrian kings had indeed destroyed those nations’ gods, because they were no real gods, merely objects that people had carved (2 Kings 19:17-19). The LORD answered that the Assyrians had mocked Israel’s Holy One (2 Kings 19:22). The psalmist draws the same contrast between the God who reigns in heaven and idols made by human hands (Psalm 115:3-4). In the end the angel of the LORD struck the Assyrian camp and Sennacherib went home (19:35-36).
- 2 Kings 18:33-35 (BSB)“Has the god of any nation ever delivered his land from the hand of the king of Assyria? Where are the gods of Hamath and Arpad? Where are the gods of Sepharvaim, Hena, and Ivvah? Have they delivered Samaria from my hand? Who among all the gods of these lands has delivered his land from my hand? How then can the LORD deliver Jerusalem from my hand?””The Rabshakeh lists the gods of conquered lands and concludes that the LORD cannot save Jerusalem either.
- 2 Kings 19:17-19 (BSB)“Truly, O LORD, the kings of Assyria have laid waste these nations and their lands. They have cast their gods into the fire and destroyed them, for they were not gods, but only wood and stone—the work of human hands. And now, O LORD our God, please save us from his hand, so that all the kingdoms of the earth may know that You alone, O LORD, are God.””Hezekiah answers that those gods were only human-made wood and stone, and prays that all may know the LORD alone is God.
- 2 Kings 19:22 (BSB)“Whom have you taunted and blasphemed? Against whom have you raised your voice and lifted your eyes in pride? Against the Holy One of Israel!”The LORD says the Assyrian taunts were raised against the Holy One of Israel.
- Psalm 115:3-4 (BSB)“Our God is in heaven; He does as He pleases. Their idols are silver and gold, made by the hands of men.”The psalm contrasts the God who rules from heaven with idols made by human hands.
Theological
What was the fundamental flaw in the Rabshakeh’s appeal to the gods of conquered nations (2 Kings 18:33-35)?
Answer: He treated the LORD as just one more idol like theirs
The Rabshakeh’s climactic argument was an induction from history: no god of Hamath, Arpad, Sepharvaim, or even Samaria had delivered its land from Assyria, so the LORD would not be able to rescue Jerusalem either (18:33-35). The premise treats the LORD as one deity among many. Hezekiah’s prayer exposes the error: those gods were destroyed because they were no gods at all, only objects people had shaped, and he asks the LORD to save so that all kingdoms may know He alone is God (2 Kings 19:17-19). The LORD identifies the taunts as directed against Israel’s Holy One (2 Kings 19:22), and Psalm 115:3-4 draws the same line between the sovereign God in heaven and manufactured idols. The deliverance of 19:35-36 is the LORD’s answer.
- 2 Kings 18:33-35 (BSB)“Has the god of any nation ever delivered his land from the hand of the king of Assyria? Where are the gods of Hamath and Arpad? Where are the gods of Sepharvaim, Hena, and Ivvah? Have they delivered Samaria from my hand? Who among all the gods of these lands has delivered his land from my hand? How then can the LORD deliver Jerusalem from my hand?””The Rabshakeh lists the gods of conquered lands and concludes that the LORD cannot save Jerusalem either.
- 2 Kings 19:17-19 (BSB)“Truly, O LORD, the kings of Assyria have laid waste these nations and their lands. They have cast their gods into the fire and destroyed them, for they were not gods, but only wood and stone—the work of human hands. And now, O LORD our God, please save us from his hand, so that all the kingdoms of the earth may know that You alone, O LORD, are God.””Hezekiah answers that those gods were only human-made wood and stone, and prays that all may know the LORD alone is God.
- 2 Kings 19:22 (BSB)“Whom have you taunted and blasphemed? Against whom have you raised your voice and lifted your eyes in pride? Against the Holy One of Israel!”The LORD says the Assyrian taunts were raised against the Holy One of Israel.
- Psalm 115:3-4 (BSB)“Our God is in heaven; He does as He pleases. Their idols are silver and gold, made by the hands of men.”The psalm contrasts the God who rules from heaven with idols made by human hands.
General
What does the narrator say accompanied Hezekiah’s faithfulness to the LORD (2 Kings 18:6-7)?
Answer: God stood by him, and he succeeded in all he did
Hezekiah clung to the LORD, never ceasing to follow Him; he obeyed the commands given through Moses (18:6). The narrator then adds that God was present with him and he had success in everything he undertook. He threw off the rule of the Assyrian king and defeated the Philistines (18:7-8). His obedience grew out of his trust in God (18:5), and God’s presence was the source of his success. This matches what the LORD told Joshua (Joshua 1:7-8) and what Moses taught about keeping the covenant (Deuteronomy 29:9), and it fits the picture of the person who delights in God’s law in Psalm 1:1-3. Obedience here is the fruit of faith, and blessing comes from the LORD’s presence, not from human strength.
- 2 Kings 18:6-7 (BSB)“He remained faithful to the LORD and did not turn from following Him; he kept the commandments that the LORD had given Moses. And the LORD was with Hezekiah, and he prospered wherever he went. He rebelled against the king of Assyria and refused to serve him.”Hezekiah’s faithfulness and God’s presence with him.
- Joshua 1:7-8 (BSB)“Above all, be strong and very courageous. Be careful to observe all the law that My servant Moses commanded you. Do not turn from it to the right or to the left, so that you may prosper wherever you go. This Book of the Law must not depart from your mouth; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. For then you will prosper and succeed in all you do.”The LORD told Joshua that careful obedience to the law of Moses would bring success.
- Deuteronomy 29:9 (BSB)“So keep and follow the words of this covenant, that you may prosper in all you do.”Moses linked keeping the covenant with prospering in all one does.
- Psalm 1:1-3 (BSB)“Blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked, or set foot on the path of sinners, or sit in the seat of mockers. But his delight is in the Law of the LORD, and on His law he meditates day and night. He is like a tree planted by streams of water, yielding its fruit in season, whose leaf does not wither, and who prospers in all he does.”The one who delights in the LORD’s law is pictured as a fruitful tree that prospers.
Theological
According to 2 Kings 18:6-7, what accompanied Hezekiah’s fidelity to the LORD?
Answer: God stood by him, and he succeeded in all he did
Hezekiah clung to the LORD without turning aside and kept the commandments given through Moses (18:6), and God was present with him, so that he had success in all his undertakings, including throwing off Assyrian vassalage and defeating the Philistines (18:7-8). The pattern is the covenant blessing promised to Joshua (Joshua 1:7-8) and through Moses (Deuteronomy 29:9), and pictured in the righteous person of Psalm 1:1-3. Hezekiah’s obedience is the fruit of the trust just described (18:5), and his success is ascribed to the LORD’s presence with him.
- 2 Kings 18:6-7 (BSB)“He remained faithful to the LORD and did not turn from following Him; he kept the commandments that the LORD had given Moses. And the LORD was with Hezekiah, and he prospered wherever he went. He rebelled against the king of Assyria and refused to serve him.”Hezekiah’s faithfulness and God’s presence with him.
- Joshua 1:7-8 (BSB)“Above all, be strong and very courageous. Be careful to observe all the law that My servant Moses commanded you. Do not turn from it to the right or to the left, so that you may prosper wherever you go. This Book of the Law must not depart from your mouth; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. For then you will prosper and succeed in all you do.”The LORD told Joshua that careful obedience to the law of Moses would bring success.
- Deuteronomy 29:9 (BSB)“So keep and follow the words of this covenant, that you may prosper in all you do.”Moses linked keeping the covenant with prospering in all one does.
- Psalm 1:1-3 (BSB)“Blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked, or set foot on the path of sinners, or sit in the seat of mockers. But his delight is in the Law of the LORD, and on His law he meditates day and night. He is like a tree planted by streams of water, yielding its fruit in season, whose leaf does not wither, and who prospers in all he does.”The one who delights in the LORD’s law is pictured as a fruitful tree that prospers.