Would you turn with me to 2nd
Kings chapter 18? Let's pray together. Our merciful
heavenly father, we are so thankful that your God and beside thee
is none else. We're so thankful for who you
are. We're so thankful for your son, our salvation. We're so thankful for your spirit
who gives us life. How we thank you for the forgiveness
of sins we have in Christ, how we thank you for justification,
how we thank you for your electing mercies. Lord, we ask that we
would be enabled by your grace to worship thy son. Forgive us
of our sins for his sake. Be with all your people wherever
they meet together. In Christ's name we pray, amen. Now the story before us is actually
very unique. It's recorded three different
times in the scripture. It's a very long story, it takes
about four pages, and I'm going to read all of that this morning.
But it's also recorded in 2 Chronicles, and Isaiah also gives us this
story. So let's begin reading in 2 Kings
chapter 18, beginning in verse 9. Now, remember who Hezekiah
is. Look in verse 5 of chapter 18. and 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." Now this is what kind of king
he was. Now let's begin reading in verse nine. And it came to pass in the fourth
year of King Hezekiah, this special king, which was the seventh year
of Hoshea, son of Elah, king of Israel. that Shalman Esar,
king of Assyria, came up against Samaria and besieged it. Now let me remind you, Samaria
is the capital of Israel. And this Assyrian king comes
and besieges this Samaria. And at the end of three years,
they took it. Even in the sixth year of Hezekiah,
that is the ninth year of Hosea, king of Israel, Samaria was taken. That's the capital of Israel.
And the king of Assyria did carry away Israel unto Assyria, and
put them in Hala and in Habor by the river of Gozan in the
city of the Medes, 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 they." So all of Israel is carried away into captivity at
this time. Verse 13. Now in the 14th year of King
Hezekiah, did Sennacherib, king of Assyria, come up against all
the fifth cities of Judah and took them. They'd already taken
Samaria, but now they're going after Judah. And Hezekiah, verse
14, and Hezekiah, king of Judah, sent to the king of Assyria to
Lachish saying, I've offended. Return for me that which thou
puttest on me will I bear. Tax me however you want. And
the king of Assyria pointed unto Hezekiah king of Judah three
hundred towns of silver and thirty towns of gold. This is what you're
going to have to pay to keep me from attacking you. Verse
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.
At that time did Hezekiah cut off the gold from the doors off
the temple of the Lord and from the pillars which Hezekiah king
of Judah had overlaid. and gave it to the king of Assyria.
He gave everything to the king of Assyria. He had a great fear
of this king. Verse 17. And the king of Assyria
sent Tartan and Rabsarus and Rabshakei from Lachish to king
Hezekiah with a great host against Jerusalem. Evidently the taxes
weren't enough and they send somebody else. They want to go
ahead and besiege 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. And when they had called to the
king, there came out to them Eliakim, the son of Hilkiah.
The king of Assyria sends three men and then Hezekiah sends three
men to speak to them. And when they called to the king,
there came out to them Elikim, the son of Hilkiah, which was
over the household and Shebna, the scribe, and Joah, the son
of Asaph, the recorder. And Rabshakeh said unto them,
Speak ye now to Hezekiah, thus saith the great king, the king
of Assyria. What confidence is this wherewith
thou trustest? Now, hold on. I want to read
a passage of scripture from 2 Chronicles chapter 32. This is what Hezekiah
had previously said to the inhabitants of Jerusalem. Be strong and courageous. Be not afraid nor dismayed for
the king of Assyria, nor for all the multitude that's with
him. For there be more with us than with him. For with him is
an arm of the flesh. But with us is the Lord our God
to help us and to fight our battles. And the people rested themselves
upon the words of Hezekiah, king of Judah. Now this is what he
said to them to give them confidence with these Assyrian armies coming
in the way they were coming. Now let's pick back up in verse
20 of second Kings 18. Thou sayest, but they're but
vain words. I have counsel and strength for
the war. Now on whom dost thou trust, that thou rebellest against
me? Think of the arrogance of this
man. Now, behold, thou trustest upon the staff of the bruised
reed, upon Egypt, on which if a man lean, it'll go into his
hand and pierce. So is Pharaoh, king of Egypt,
unto all that trust on him. Hezekiah wasn't trusting him,
but he thought he was. Verse 22, but if you say unto
me, we trust in the Lord our God. Is not that he whose high
places and whose altars Hezekiah has taken away? Why, this one
you trust, you've given up all his silver and gold to me. What
do you mean you trust him? Nobody believes this. You shall worship before the
altar in Jerusalem, verse 23. Now, therefore, I pray thee,
give pledges to my Lord, the king of Assyria. And I will deliver
thee 2,000 horses if thou be able on thy part to set riders
upon them. He's saying you all couldn't even put 2,000 riders
on horses if I provided them for you. How then will thou turn
away the face of one captain of the least of my master servants
and put thy trust on Egypt for chariots and for horsemen? And
now I'm come without the Lord, without Jehovah. against this
place to destroy it. The Lord said to me, go up against
the land and destroy it." Now, the Lord never said that to him.
He said he did, but the Lord never said that to him. How many
times do people say, the Lord said, the Lord said, or the Lord
led me to do this. Don't blame things on the Lord.
The Lord never told him this at all. Verse 26, then said Eliakim,
the son of Hilkiah, and Shedna and Joah unto Rabshach. Speak, I pray thee, and the 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." Now, these three people from a king of Assyria were speaking
in the Jewish language, in the Hebrew language. And they said,
don't use that kind of language because that's going to scare
our people. And he says, yeah, I am, verse 27. But Rabshakeh
said unto them, hath my master sent to thy master and to speak
these words? Hath he not sent me to the men
which sat on the wall, that they may eat their own dung and drink
their own piss with you? Now he's saying you're in such
a bad shape that this is all you're gonna have to eat after
we besiege this city. 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, thus saith the
king, Let not Hezekiah deceive you, for he should not be able
to deliver you out of his hand. 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. Hearken not to Hezekiah, for thus saith the king of Assyria,
make an agreement with me by present. Give me all your everything. and come out to me, and there
eat ye every man of his own vine, and every one of his own fig
tree, and drink ye every one the waters of his cistern. You'll
be better off just submitting to me, until I come and take
you away to a land like your own, a land of corn and wine,
a land of bread and vineyards, a land of oil, olive, and of
honey, that you may live and not die, and hearken not unto
Hezekiah, when he persuaded you, saying, the Lord will deliver
us. Don't believe that, and look at this arrogance. Have any of
the gods of the nations delivered at all his land out of the hand
of the king of Assyria? Where are the gods of Hamath
and of Arpit? Where are the gods of Sepharva,
Hina, and Iva? Have they delivered Samaria out
of thine hand? I mean, supposedly Jehovah's
protecting Samaria and Israel. Have they been delivered? Who
are they? among all the gods of the countries
that have delivered their country out of my hand, that the Lord
should deliver Jerusalem out of my hand. But the people held
their peace and answered him not a word. The king's commandment
was saying, answer him not. You remember, he said, there's
more with us because the Lord is fighting our battles. Don't
even answer him. He'd already given that. Then
came Eliakim. the son of Hilkiah, which was
over the house of Sheba, the scribe, and Joah, the son of
Asaph, the recorder, to Hezekiah with their clothes rent, and
told him the words of Rabshakeh, who was the messenger of the
king of Assyria. And it came to pass, when king
Hezekiah heard, he rent his clothes, covered himself with sackcloth,
and went into the house of the Lord. And he sent Eliakim, which
was over the household, unto Shebna, the scribe, with the
elders of the priests, covered with sackcloth, to Isaiah, the
prophet, the son of Amos. Now, Isaiah records this same
story in Isaiah 36 and 37, and they said unto him, God's prophet. Thus saith Hezekiah,
this day is a day of trouble, of rebuke and blasphemy. For the children are come to
birth and there's not strength to bring forth. We're in trouble,
he's saying. It may be. that the Lord thy
God will hear all these words of Rabshakeh, whom the Lord of
Assyria, his master, has sent to reproach the living God and
will reprove the words which the Lord thy God has heard. Wherefore,
lift up thy prayer for the remnant that are left." So the servants
of King Hezekiah came to Isaiah with that message. And Isaiah
said unto them, thus shall ye say to your master, thus saith
the Lord, be not afraid of the words, which thou has heard,
which the servants of the King of Syria have blaspheme me. Behold,
I'll send a blast upon him and he shall hear rumor and shall
return to his own land. And I will cause him to fall
by a sword in his own land. This is what is going to take
place. And it did indeed take place, but let's keep on reading
to see what led up to that. So Rabshakeh returned and found
the king of Assyria warring against Libna, for he'd heard that he
was departed from Lachish. And when he heard, say of Terokkos,
king of Ethiopians, behold, he has come out to fight against
thee. He sent messengers again to Hezekiah. This is after he's
left and tried to deal with these other battles, but he doesn't
want to forget Hezekiah. Thus shall you speak to Hezekiah,
king of Judah, saying, let not thy God in whom thou trust deceive
thee. saying Jerusalem shall not be
delivered into the hand of the king of Assyria. Behold, thou
has heard what the kings of Assyria have done to all lands by destroying
them utterly. And shall thou be delivered?
Have the gods of the nations delivered them, which my fathers
have destroyed as Gozan and Heron and Resma and the children of
Eden, who were at Thelepzar? Where is the king of Hamath and
the king of Arpod and the king of the city of Sirvahim of Hinnom
and Iva? And Hezekiah received the letter
of the hand of the messengers and read it. And Hezekiah went
up into the house of the Lord and spread it before the Lord.
May the Lord enable me and you to do the same thing. Whatever
it is, spread it before the Lord. He hears. He's the Lord. Verse 15. And Hezekiah prayed
before the Lord. and said, O Lord God of Israel,
which dwelleth between the cherubims, the mercy seat, the place of
propitiation, the place of blood atonement, the place of acceptance,
thou art the God, even thou alone of all the kingdoms of the earth,
thou hast made heaven and earth, you're the creator, Lord, bow
down mine ear and hear, open, Lord, thine eyes and see, and
hear the words of Sennacherib, which he hath sent him to reproach
the living God. Now the truth, Lord, the kings
of Assyria have destroyed the nations and their lands, and
have cast their gods into the fire, for they were no gods. but the work of men's hands,
wood and stone, therefore they've destroyed them. Now I want me
and you to remember this. The God of the Bible, the God
who reveals himself in this book, the God of election, The God
of redemption, the God of regeneration, God the Father, God the Son,
God the Holy Spirit, the God who is salvation is the only
God and any concept of a God that's contrary to this God is
a non-existent God. The God of free will, works,
religion is a non-existent God. And that's what he's saying,
you're the only God. It's true, the Assyrians have
dumped these gods into the fire, but they're man-made gods. What good can a man-made god
do? What power does he have? Absolutely
none. The God of the Bible, the great
I am that I am, is the only God. Now that's what he's, he's reminding
the Lord of this in this prayer. Now let's go on reading. Now therefore, verse 19, now
therefore, oh Lord, our God, I beseech thee, save thou us
out of his hand, that all the kingdoms of the earth may know
that thou art the Lord God, Even thou only." This is what we want
everybody to see, that you are the only Lord God. Verse 20, then Isaiah, the son
of Amos, sent to Hezekiah, saying, Thus saith the Lord God of Israel,
That which thou hast prayed to me against the Nechareb king
of Assyria, I have heard This is the word that the Lord has
spoken concerning him, the virgin, the daughter of Zion. This is
talking about all of God's elect. This is talking about the church.
I love the way the church is called the virgin. Paul said,
I've presented you as a chaste virgin to Christ. You look to
Christ only. You don't look outside of the
covenant. You look only in the covenant. That's true of all
of God's people. And look what he says. This is the word the
Lord has spoken concerning him, the virgin, the daughter of Zion
hath despised thee and laughed thee to scorn. The daughter of
Jerusalem has shaken her head at thee and treated you with
contempt. What can you do against the living
God? Do you think there's anything about you that scares us? God
is our God. You have nothing more than the
arm of the flesh. It says they shake their head. Kind of reminds
me of Elijah when he's making fun of the gods of Baal that
they worship. And he said, well, can't you
hear? You better cry louder. Maybe he's asleep. Maybe he's
on a trip. He's saying treat with contempt. Treat with contempt. Somebody says you ought not do
that. Well, he says to here, doesn't he? Treat with contempt. Look, verse 22, whom hast thou
reproached and blasphemed? And against whom hast thou exalted
thy voice and lifted up thine eyes on high, even against the
Holy One of Israel? But thy messengers, by thy messengers,
thou hast reproached the Lord. And hast said, with the multitude
of my chariots, I'm come up to the height of the mountains and
to the sides of Lebanon, and will cut down the tall cedar
trees thereof, and the choice fir trees thereof, and I will
enter into the lodgings of his borders and into the forest of
his carmel. I have digged and drunk strange waters and with
the sole of my feet have I dried up the rivers of besieged places.
Look at the arrogance of this man. Now look what the Lord says. Hast thou not heard long ago
how I have done it? You're nothing more than a puppet
on my string. And everything you're doing has
been my will being done. You think you're doing these
things? You're wrong. The only reason you besieged
these cities is I have purposed it before time began. Let's go
on reading. Hast thou not heard long ago
how I have done it, and of ancient times that I have formed it?
And now have I brought it to pass that thou shouldst be to
lay waste fenced cities and ruinous heaps? This is all my doing.
Therefore, their inhabitants were of small power. The reason
you won is because of me. They couldn't stand up before
you because this was my will and this was my purpose. They
were a small power. Don't you love the way the Lord's
in control of everything? I just love this. I mean, the Lord is
in absolute control of everything and every body and every event.
Therefore, their inhabitants were small power. They were dismayed
and confounded. They were as the grass at the
field, and as the green herb, as the grass on the housetops,
and as corn blasted before it, be grown up. But I know thy abode,
and thy going out, and thy coming in, and thy rage against me. We will not have this man reign
over us, was their cry. Cause thy rage against me and
thy tumult has come up into mine ears. Therefore, I'll put my
hook in thy nose and my bridle in thy lips, and I'll turn thee
back by the way which thou camest." Do you think you're going to
do all these things? Well, let me tell you exactly what you're going to
do. I'm going to put my hook in your nose and you're going to be led in
whatever direction I purpose. Verse 29. And this shall be a
sign unto you. You shall eat this year such
things as grow of themselves. In the second year that which
springeth of the same. And in the third year sow ye
and reap and plant vineyards and eat the fruits thereof. And
the remnant that's escaped of the house of Judah shall yet
again take root downward and bear fruit upward. They're going
to be rooted down on the foundation and by his grace, they're going
to bear fruit and there's nothing you can do about it. For out
of Jerusalem shall go forth a remnant and they shall escape out of
Mount Zion. The zeal of the Lord of hosts shall do this. Therefore,
thus sayeth the Lord concerning the king of Assyria, he's making
all these threats. He should not come into this
city. nor shoot an arrow there, nor come before it with shield,
nor cast a bank against it." He's not going to be able to
do anything. By the way that he came, by the same shall he
return, and he shall not come into this city, saith the Lord,
for I will defend this city to save it for my own sake and for
my servant David's sake, for Christ's sake. Verse 35, and it came to pass
that night. that the angel of the Lord went
out and smote in the camp of the Assyrians 185,000 people. Now, can you imagine how he felt
when he got up that morning and saw 185,000 corpses? And when they arose early in
the morning, behold, they were all dead corpses. So Sennacherib,
king of Assyria, departed. I think he thought, it's time
to get out of Dodge. It's time to get out of here. I'm in trouble.
He departed and went and returned and dwelt at Nineveh. That's
the capital of Assyria, the same Nineveh, Jonah, largest city
in the world. And it came to pass as he was
worshiping in the house of Nisroch, his god, small g, a non-existent
god, an idol, something that didn't exist, that his two boys,
Adrammelech and Sherezer, his sons, smote him with the sword,
just like God said would take place. You're gonna go back to
your own city and you're gonna be killed. And they escaped into
the land of Armenia, And Esarhaddon, his son, reigned in his stead. Who is the God that can deliver
you out of my hand? The king of Assyria said. He found out, didn't he? Isn't
that a glorious story? And all the details of that story
are given both in Chronicles and in Isaiah chapter 36 and
37. That gives us some idea of the
importance of this story.