Category: King Sennacherib of Assyria

If Not For the LORD On Our Side #10

Thursday, November 21, 2024

“If it had not been the LORD who was on our side, when men rose up against us: Then they had swallowed us up quick, when their wrath was kindled against us:…” (Psalm 124:2,3 KJV).

Where is true victory for Israel?

Once, believing King Jehoshaphat of Judah foolishly aligned himself in battle with unbelieving King Ahab of Israel. Jehoshaphat found himself under attack from the Syrian troops! “And it came to pass, when the captains of the chariots saw Jehoshaphat, that they said, It is the king of Israel. Therefore they compassed about him to fight: but Jehoshaphat cried out, and the LORD helped him; and God moved them to depart from him” (2 Chronicles 18:31).

After King Hezekiah of Judah noticed how King Sennacherib of Assyria threatened to conquer Jerusalem, Hezekiah encouraged his troops: “Be strong and courageous, be not afraid nor dismayed for the king of Assyria, nor for all the multitude that is with him: for there be more with us than with him: With him is an arm of 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” (2 Chronicles 32:7,8).

“[Hezekiah prayed about Sennacherib] Now therefore, O 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…. [The LORD’S answer through Isaiah the Prophet] For I will defend this city, to save it, for mine own sake, and for my servant David’s sake. [The outcome of the historical narrative follows.] And it came to pass that night, that the angel of the LORD went out, and smote in the camp of the Assyrians an hundred fourscore [80] and five thousand: and when they arose early in the morning, behold, they were all dead corpses. So Sennacherib king of Assyria departed, and went and returned, and dwelt at Nineveh” (2 Kings 19:19,34-36; cf. 2 Chronicles 32:20,21; cf. Isaiah 37:32-37). “[The LORD again talking to Hezekiah through Isaiah] And I will deliver thee and this city out of the hand of the king of Assyria: and I will defend this city” (Isaiah 38:6).

Let us condense our comments thus far….

The Assyrian #4

Thursday, May 18, 2023

“For through the voice of the LORD shall the Assyrian be beaten down, which smote with a rod” (Isaiah 30:31 KJV).

Who is this “Assyrian?”

Remembering the Pharaoh who kept Israel in bondage and tried his hardest to annihilate the Jewish people (the “Assyrian” in Isaiah 52:4), recalling Sennacherib the King of Assyria who wanted to defeat Jerusalem but failed (2 Kings 19:34-37; 2 Chronicles 32:21,22; Isaiah 37:35-38), we reach the third Assyrian of Isaiah’s colossal Book—the “Assyrian” of today’s Scripture (the Antichrist).

This Assyrian, like ancient Pharaoh, purposes to do whatever is necessary to “cut them off from being a nation; that the name of Israel may be no more in remembrance” (Psalm 83:4). Like Sennacherib, this Assyrian will come against Jerusalem in battle. Re-read Isaiah 30:27-33, Christ’s fiery Second Coming, yet future from us. The LORD’S voice roars from Heaven as He descends through Earth’s atmosphere. A violent storm accompanies Him—fire, hailstones, fierce winds. As Pharoah and Sennacherib were destroyed, so the LORD will kill the Antichrist.

“For I will gather all nations against Jerusalem to battle; and the city shall be taken, and the houses rifled [looted], and the women ravished [assaulted]; and half of the city shall go forth into captivity, and the residue of the people shall not be cut off from the city. Then shall the LORD [Jesus Christ] go forth, and fight against those nations, as when he fought in the day of battle. And his feet shall stand in that day upon the mount of Olives….” (Zechariah 14:2-4a).

“And to you who are troubled rest with us, when the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with his mighty angels, In flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ: Who shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of his power;…” (2 Thessalonians 1:7-9). “And then shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming:…” (2 Thessalonians 2:8; cf. today’s Scripture).

Christ Jesus returns to free Israel from Satan and sin, ready to rule the Heaven and the Earth from David’s throne forever (see a glimpse in Zechariah 14:9)!

The Assyrian #3

Wednesday, May 17, 2023

“For through the voice of the LORD shall the Assyrian be beaten down, which smote with a rod” (Isaiah 30:31 KJV).

Who is this “Assyrian?”

Another “Assyrian” about which Isaiah the Prophet wrote is King Sennacherib: “Now it came to pass in the fourteenth year of king Hezekiah, that Sennacherib king of Assyria came up against all the defenced cities of Judah, and took them” (Isaiah 36:1). This was approximately 702 B.C., some 20 years after Assyria had already captured Israel’s 10 northern tribes (2 Kings chapter 17). Now, in King Hezekiah’s day, another King of Assyria has come into power, and he seeks to conquer Jerusalem (southern tribes). “And when Hezekiah saw that Sennacherib was come, and that he was purposed to fight against Jerusalem,…” (2 Chronicles 32:1).

Hezekiah advises his people: “Be strong and courageous, be not afraid nor dismayed for the king of Assyria, nor for all the multitude that is with him: for there be more with us than with him: With him is an arm of 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” (2 Chronicles 32:7,8).

Additionally, Hezekiah prays to the LORD to intervene and save Jerusalem from otherwise certain doom (2 Kings 19:15-19; Isaiah 37:15-20). “And for this cause Hezekiah the king, and the prophet Isaiah the son of Amoz, prayed and cried to heaven. And the LORD sent an angel, which cut off all the mighty men of valour, and the leaders and captains in the camp of the king of Assyria. So he returned with shame of face to his own land. And when he was come into the house of his god, they that came forth of his own bowels slew him there with the sword. Thus the LORD saved Hezekiah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem from the hand of Sennacherib the king of Assyria, and from the hand of all other, and guided them on every side” (2 Chronicles 32:20-22; cf. 2 Kings 19:32-36; Isaiah 37:33-38).

When Assyrian King Sennacherib and his troops encircled Jerusalem, the LORD defended and spared the city for David’s sake. In today’s Scripture, yet future from us, JEHOVAH God will again deliver Jerusalem from an “Assyrian….”

LORD, Hear!

Wednesday, March 13, 2019

“And Hezekiah prayed before the LORD, and said, O LORD God of Israel, which dwellest between the cherubims, thou art the God, even thou alone, of all the kingdoms of the earth; thou hast made heaven and earth. LORD, bow down thine ear, and hear: open, LORD, thine eyes, and see: and hear the words of Sennacherib, which hath sent him to reproach the living God” (2 Kings 19:15-16 KJV)

Will God pay attention to King Hezekiah’s prayer?

Back in chapter 18, verse 13, Sennacherib King of Assyria attacked and captured all the fenced cities of Judah. King Hezekiah, ruler of Judah (in Jerusalem), gave Sennacherib all the silver in the Jerusalem Temple, the treasures of the king’s house, and gold from the Temple (verses 14-16). However, Sennacherib sent officials to taunt Hezekiah and the people of Jerusalem, claiming he would attack the city anyway (verses 17-37).

In chapter 19, Hezekiah prayed to the LORD, even instructing representatives to go to the Prophet Isaiah for to learn the Word of the LORD (verses 1-7). A written message from the Assyrians reached Hezekiah (verses 8-13), teasing and intimidating the Jews even more. In today’s Scripture, Hezekiah has heard this latest news and is praying in the Temple (verse 14).

His prayer continues: “[17] Of a truth, LORD, the kings of Assyria have destroyed the nations and their lands, [18] 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 have destroyed them. [19] Now therefore, O 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.”

The LORD replies to Hezekiah’s petition by sending Isaiah the Prophet (verses 20-34): He will defend Jerusalem for His sake and for His servant David’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 an hundred fourscore and five thousand [185,000!]: and when they arose early in the morning, behold, they were all dead corpses.” Indeed, 700 B.C., God delivered Jerusalem here—a small glimpse of her deliverance from Gentile armies yet to come!

The Living God #4

Friday, March 4, 2016

“For who is there of all flesh, that hath heard the voice of the living God speaking out of the midst of the fire, as we have, and lived?” (Deuteronomy 5:26 KJV).

Exactly why is the God of the Bible called “the living God?”

The fifth and sixth occurrences of the term “the living God” are 2 Kings chapter 19, verses 4 and 16. About 710 B.C., Assyrian King Sennacherib attempts to invade and destroy Judah and Jerusalem. Judaean King Hezekiah, seeking the LORD’S counsel, sends men to speak with the Prophet Isaiah.

These men tell Isaiah in verse 4: “It may be the LORD thy God will hear all the words of Rabshakeh, whom the king of Assyria his master hath sent to reproach the living God; and will reprove the words which the LORD thy God hath heard: wherefore lift up thy prayer for the remnant that are left.” And, Hezekiah prays in verse 16: “LORD, bow down thine ear, and hear: open, LORD, thine eyes, and see: and hear the words of Sennacherib, which hath sent him to reproach the living God.” This is similar to when young David, anticipating military victory, spoke of “the living God” on Israel’s side (1 Samuel 17:26,36).

When the Psalmist saw God as his Deliverer, he wrote Psalm 42:2: “My soul thirsteth for God, for the living God: when shall I come and appear before God?” This closely resembles Psalm 84:2: “My soul longeth, yea, even fainteth for the courts of the LORD: my heart and my flesh crieth out for the living God.”

Isaiah, commenting on the events of 2 Kings, used the term twice more. Isaiah 37:4: “It may be the LORD thy God will hear the words of Rabshakeh, whom the king of Assyria his master hath sent to reproach the living God, and will reprove the words which the LORD thy God hath heard: wherefore lift up thy prayer for the remnant that is left.” Verse 17: “Incline thine ear, O LORD, and hear; open thine eyes, O LORD, and see: and hear all the words of Sennacherib, which hath sent to reproach the living God.”

The Bible’s definition of “the living God” is becoming more pronounced.