1 00:00:02,680 --> 00:00:06,600 Speaker 1: Life Audio. Good morning, friends and faithful listeners. Hopefully you 2 00:00:06,640 --> 00:00:09,240 Speaker 1: have a delicious hot cup of coffee with you, because 3 00:00:09,280 --> 00:00:12,719 Speaker 1: today we're going to be discussing Second Chronicles thirty two 4 00:00:12,880 --> 00:00:17,759 Speaker 1: and talking about the history of King Sannakrib of Assyria. 5 00:00:18,320 --> 00:00:21,560 Speaker 1: We're going to talk about this siege he tries to 6 00:00:21,600 --> 00:00:24,760 Speaker 1: do on Jerusalem that is not very successful, and we're 7 00:00:24,760 --> 00:00:26,920 Speaker 1: also going to talk about some of the artifacts that 8 00:00:26,960 --> 00:00:30,440 Speaker 1: were found regarding King SINACREB. So it's going to be 9 00:00:30,480 --> 00:00:33,760 Speaker 1: a really interesting and history filled episode, so stay tuned 10 00:00:40,440 --> 00:00:43,639 Speaker 1: and of course, faithful listeners. Before we begin today's episode, 11 00:00:44,320 --> 00:00:46,520 Speaker 1: I'm going to play for you guys a sponsored ad. 12 00:00:46,920 --> 00:00:48,720 Speaker 1: But while I do that, if you haven't gotten that 13 00:00:48,760 --> 00:00:51,559 Speaker 1: delicious cup of coffee yet, I encourage you guys to 14 00:00:51,600 --> 00:00:54,080 Speaker 1: brew it right now. Or for those of you who 15 00:00:54,160 --> 00:00:57,760 Speaker 1: are crazy tea drinkers and prefer tea for some reason 16 00:00:57,800 --> 00:00:59,800 Speaker 1: over coffee, you can go brew yourself a cup of 17 00:00:59,800 --> 00:01:04,440 Speaker 1: tea while the sad plays. And now let's get into 18 00:01:04,480 --> 00:01:08,280 Speaker 1: the episode. Let's go ahead and read Second Chronicles thirty two, 19 00:01:08,560 --> 00:01:12,120 Speaker 1: nine through twenty three. I will be reading all of 20 00:01:12,160 --> 00:01:15,120 Speaker 1: this as I usually do from the we B version, 21 00:01:15,440 --> 00:01:17,160 Speaker 1: so go ahead and grab your version of the Bible, 22 00:01:17,200 --> 00:01:19,720 Speaker 1: whatever you prefer, and let's go ahead and read Second 23 00:01:19,800 --> 00:01:25,640 Speaker 1: Chronicles thirty two nine through twenty three together. After this, 24 00:01:25,800 --> 00:01:29,360 Speaker 1: Senacrab king of Assyria, sent his servants to Jerusalem. Now 25 00:01:29,360 --> 00:01:32,280 Speaker 1: he was attacking Lakish, and all his forces were with him. 26 00:01:32,680 --> 00:01:35,319 Speaker 1: To Hezekiah, King of Judah, and to all Judah who 27 00:01:35,360 --> 00:01:38,960 Speaker 1: are at Jerusalem, saying, Senacreb king of Asiria, says, in 28 00:01:39,000 --> 00:01:42,040 Speaker 1: whom do you trust that you remain under siege in Jerusalem? 29 00:01:42,440 --> 00:01:45,000 Speaker 1: Doesn't Hezekiah persuade you to give you over to die 30 00:01:45,040 --> 00:01:48,160 Speaker 1: by famine and by thirst, saying yahweh our God will 31 00:01:48,160 --> 00:01:49,960 Speaker 1: deliver us out of the hand of the king of Assyria. 32 00:01:50,560 --> 00:01:53,320 Speaker 1: Hasn't the same Hezekiah taken away his high places and 33 00:01:53,320 --> 00:01:56,680 Speaker 1: his altars and commanded Judah and Jerusalem, saying, you shall 34 00:01:56,680 --> 00:01:59,560 Speaker 1: worship before one altar and shall burn incense on it. 35 00:02:00,200 --> 00:02:02,240 Speaker 1: Don't you know what I and my fathers have done 36 00:02:02,280 --> 00:02:04,520 Speaker 1: to all the people of the lands. Were the gods 37 00:02:04,520 --> 00:02:06,640 Speaker 1: of the nations of those lands in any way able 38 00:02:06,680 --> 00:02:09,560 Speaker 1: to deliver their land out of my hand? Who was 39 00:02:09,600 --> 00:02:11,920 Speaker 1: there among all the gods of those nations which my 40 00:02:12,000 --> 00:02:15,079 Speaker 1: father is utterly destroyed that could deliver his people out 41 00:02:15,120 --> 00:02:17,360 Speaker 1: of my hand, that your God should be able to 42 00:02:17,360 --> 00:02:20,000 Speaker 1: deliver you out of my hand. Now, therefore, don't let 43 00:02:20,040 --> 00:02:23,600 Speaker 1: Hezekiah deceive you, nor persuade you in this way. Don't 44 00:02:23,600 --> 00:02:26,760 Speaker 1: believe him. For no god of any nation or kingdom 45 00:02:26,840 --> 00:02:29,120 Speaker 1: was able to deliver his people out of my hand 46 00:02:29,520 --> 00:02:32,000 Speaker 1: and out of the hand of my fathers. How much 47 00:02:32,080 --> 00:02:34,600 Speaker 1: less will your God deliver you out of my hand. 48 00:02:35,520 --> 00:02:38,360 Speaker 1: His servants spoke yet more against Yahweh God and against 49 00:02:38,360 --> 00:02:42,400 Speaker 1: his servant Hezekiah. He also wrote letters insulting Yahweh, the 50 00:02:42,400 --> 00:02:45,200 Speaker 1: God of Israel, and speaking against him, saying, as the 51 00:02:45,240 --> 00:02:47,400 Speaker 1: gods of the nations of the lands, which have not 52 00:02:47,440 --> 00:02:49,800 Speaker 1: delivered their people out of my hand, so shall the 53 00:02:49,800 --> 00:02:52,640 Speaker 1: God of Hezekiah not deliver his people out of my hand. 54 00:02:53,440 --> 00:02:55,440 Speaker 1: They called out with a loud voice in the Jews 55 00:02:55,520 --> 00:02:58,160 Speaker 1: language to the people of Jerusalem who were on the wall, 56 00:02:58,400 --> 00:03:00,639 Speaker 1: to frighten them and to trouble them, that they might 57 00:03:00,680 --> 00:03:03,480 Speaker 1: take the city. They spoke of the God of Jerusalem, 58 00:03:03,560 --> 00:03:05,400 Speaker 1: as of the gods of the peoples of the earth, 59 00:03:05,639 --> 00:03:09,200 Speaker 1: which are the work of men's hands. Hezekiah the King 60 00:03:09,240 --> 00:03:12,239 Speaker 1: and Isaiah the Prophet, the son of Amos prayed because 61 00:03:12,240 --> 00:03:15,760 Speaker 1: of this and cried to heaven. Yahwai sent an angel 62 00:03:15,880 --> 00:03:17,959 Speaker 1: who cut off all the mighty men of Valor, the 63 00:03:18,080 --> 00:03:20,200 Speaker 1: leaders and the captains in the camp of the king 64 00:03:20,200 --> 00:03:23,400 Speaker 1: of Assyria. So he returned with shame a face to 65 00:03:23,480 --> 00:03:26,040 Speaker 1: his own land. When he had come into the house 66 00:03:26,080 --> 00:03:28,160 Speaker 1: of his God, those who came out of his own 67 00:03:28,200 --> 00:03:31,480 Speaker 1: body killed him there with the sword. Thus Yahway saved 68 00:03:31,520 --> 00:03:34,760 Speaker 1: Hezekiah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem from the hand of Sanacrib, 69 00:03:34,960 --> 00:03:37,280 Speaker 1: king of Assyria, and from the hand of all others, 70 00:03:37,520 --> 00:03:40,640 Speaker 1: and guided them on every side. Many brought gifts to 71 00:03:40,720 --> 00:03:44,280 Speaker 1: Yahweh to Jerusalem, and precious things to Hezekiah, King of Judah, 72 00:03:44,360 --> 00:03:46,200 Speaker 1: so that he was exalted in the sight of all 73 00:03:46,320 --> 00:03:51,400 Speaker 1: nations from then on. Now, at this point in time, Senacharib, 74 00:03:51,560 --> 00:03:54,000 Speaker 1: the king of Assyria, thinks that he's going to go 75 00:03:54,040 --> 00:03:57,960 Speaker 1: into Judah and take the entire land for himself, because 76 00:03:58,000 --> 00:04:00,720 Speaker 1: I believe it was his grandfather or his father that 77 00:04:00,800 --> 00:04:05,000 Speaker 1: was successful in taking Israel. So Israel was already at 78 00:04:05,000 --> 00:04:08,840 Speaker 1: this point in time completely captured by Assyria. So now 79 00:04:08,880 --> 00:04:11,640 Speaker 1: Assyria has gotten very big for its breeches, and they 80 00:04:11,640 --> 00:04:13,320 Speaker 1: think they're going to go into Judah and do the 81 00:04:13,320 --> 00:04:15,760 Speaker 1: exact same thing. And it actually looked like they were 82 00:04:15,800 --> 00:04:19,000 Speaker 1: going to be very successful, because it says in Tewod 83 00:04:19,120 --> 00:04:23,880 Speaker 1: King's eighteen that Sanakrib went into Judah and took all 84 00:04:23,960 --> 00:04:28,680 Speaker 1: the fortified cities. So Sanakrib truly believed that he was 85 00:04:28,720 --> 00:04:32,560 Speaker 1: going to have just a massive success across the board 86 00:04:33,000 --> 00:04:35,159 Speaker 1: when it came to Judah. It says in verse nine 87 00:04:35,160 --> 00:04:38,160 Speaker 1: of our passage for today. After this, Senakreb, the king 88 00:04:38,200 --> 00:04:41,680 Speaker 1: of Assyria, sent his servants to Jerusalem. For now he 89 00:04:41,800 --> 00:04:45,040 Speaker 1: was attacking Lakish and all his forces were with him. 90 00:04:45,279 --> 00:04:49,520 Speaker 1: So Lakeish was a Judite city that was about thirty 91 00:04:49,560 --> 00:04:54,120 Speaker 1: miles south of Jerusalem, and it was a pivotal fortified 92 00:04:54,160 --> 00:04:57,719 Speaker 1: city in Judah. So the fact that Senakrib had already 93 00:04:57,800 --> 00:05:01,800 Speaker 1: taken many of these fortified cities and was now attacking Lakeish, 94 00:05:01,880 --> 00:05:05,400 Speaker 1: getting closer and closer to Jerusalem, this was really bad 95 00:05:05,480 --> 00:05:09,960 Speaker 1: news for King Hezekiah, and he was, I'm sure terrified. 96 00:05:10,200 --> 00:05:14,240 Speaker 1: But as we discussed last week, Hezekiah was working on 97 00:05:14,720 --> 00:05:17,839 Speaker 1: defense rather than offense. So one of the things that 98 00:05:17,920 --> 00:05:20,839 Speaker 1: he did was he fortified the walls in Jerusalem. But 99 00:05:20,920 --> 00:05:24,680 Speaker 1: the reason Hezekiah was focusing more on Jerusalem rather than 100 00:05:24,720 --> 00:05:29,039 Speaker 1: these other cities, I would guess was because Jerusalem was 101 00:05:29,360 --> 00:05:33,560 Speaker 1: the last holdout and if Jerusalem fell the capital city 102 00:05:33,600 --> 00:05:37,080 Speaker 1: of Judah, that meant that Judah fell. And so now 103 00:05:37,120 --> 00:05:41,200 Speaker 1: that this siege on the Lakeish thirty miles south of 104 00:05:41,640 --> 00:05:45,400 Speaker 1: Jerusalem is going so well for Snakrib, he decides he's 105 00:05:45,400 --> 00:05:48,200 Speaker 1: going to send some of his captains and his servants 106 00:05:48,720 --> 00:05:52,440 Speaker 1: to go up north to Jerusalem and try to scare 107 00:05:52,480 --> 00:05:55,760 Speaker 1: them into just opening up their doors, so the Assyrians 108 00:05:55,800 --> 00:05:58,520 Speaker 1: can just like walk right in and take Jerusalem without 109 00:05:58,560 --> 00:06:00,599 Speaker 1: much of a fight. Because a sea could take a 110 00:06:00,640 --> 00:06:03,599 Speaker 1: really really long time. They could take years actually to 111 00:06:03,680 --> 00:06:07,720 Speaker 1: be super successful. And so if the Assyrians could effectively 112 00:06:07,839 --> 00:06:11,400 Speaker 1: scare the people of Jerusalem into opening their doors, that 113 00:06:11,440 --> 00:06:13,800 Speaker 1: would be a lot easier for the Assyrian king in 114 00:06:13,839 --> 00:06:16,400 Speaker 1: the long run. So that was the best case scenario. 115 00:06:17,000 --> 00:06:20,800 Speaker 1: So Sinacrab sends his servants up to Jerusalem and he 116 00:06:20,920 --> 00:06:24,280 Speaker 1: remains in Lakeish. And by the way, the siege in 117 00:06:24,400 --> 00:06:28,640 Speaker 1: Lakeish was successful. There is history of this. In fact, 118 00:06:28,839 --> 00:06:32,800 Speaker 1: the British Museum of History has a lot of artifacts 119 00:06:33,000 --> 00:06:36,200 Speaker 1: during the reign of King Sinacrib and one of the 120 00:06:36,320 --> 00:06:41,360 Speaker 1: artifacts that they have is actually a relief of sinacreb 121 00:06:41,440 --> 00:06:44,880 Speaker 1: like sitting on his throne as the siege of Lakeish 122 00:06:45,000 --> 00:06:49,120 Speaker 1: takes place, and it ended up being a successful siege, 123 00:06:49,160 --> 00:06:52,599 Speaker 1: by the way, but Sinagrab sends his general up north. 124 00:06:53,040 --> 00:06:55,880 Speaker 1: And here is what the general says in verse ten, 125 00:06:56,960 --> 00:06:59,839 Speaker 1: in whom do you trust that you remain under siege 126 00:07:00,040 --> 00:07:03,920 Speaker 1: in Jerusalem? Doesn't Hezekiah persuade you to give you over 127 00:07:04,000 --> 00:07:07,280 Speaker 1: to die by famine thirst saying yahweh our God will 128 00:07:07,320 --> 00:07:09,480 Speaker 1: deliver us out of the hands of the King of Assyria. 129 00:07:10,160 --> 00:07:12,680 Speaker 1: So we talked a little bit about this last week, 130 00:07:13,000 --> 00:07:18,760 Speaker 1: about this speech that this general made. And by the way, 131 00:07:17,720 --> 00:07:23,800 Speaker 1: the Assyrian word for general was Rabshaika, So in Second 132 00:07:23,880 --> 00:07:28,120 Speaker 1: King's eighteen that's what they call him is Rabshika. Rab 133 00:07:28,120 --> 00:07:30,480 Speaker 1: Shika was saying all this stuff in the name of 134 00:07:30,880 --> 00:07:34,040 Speaker 1: senager of the king of Assyria. He was asking Hezekiah, 135 00:07:34,120 --> 00:07:36,360 Speaker 1: who do you put your trust in that you remain 136 00:07:36,480 --> 00:07:38,800 Speaker 1: under siege in Jerusalem. And what's funny about that is 137 00:07:38,840 --> 00:07:42,360 Speaker 1: that Jerusalem was not under siege yet, So you can 138 00:07:42,400 --> 00:07:46,559 Speaker 1: see what the Rabshika is doing here. He's really trying 139 00:07:46,560 --> 00:07:50,640 Speaker 1: to scare the people of Jerusalem and engaging in basically 140 00:07:50,680 --> 00:07:54,480 Speaker 1: psychological warfare with them essentially. Now, there are other things 141 00:07:54,520 --> 00:07:57,240 Speaker 1: that he was doing that second chronicle thirty two does 142 00:07:57,280 --> 00:08:00,400 Speaker 1: not mention, like very threatening things that we talked about 143 00:08:00,440 --> 00:08:05,400 Speaker 1: last week in tewod King's chapter eighteen, specifically where he 144 00:08:05,520 --> 00:08:08,760 Speaker 1: went and stood in the pool of water, or rather 145 00:08:08,840 --> 00:08:11,040 Speaker 1: one of the pools of water where the city of 146 00:08:11,080 --> 00:08:13,720 Speaker 1: Jerusalem would get their water supply from. He went and 147 00:08:13,760 --> 00:08:16,840 Speaker 1: stood right in it, and that was to show that 148 00:08:17,520 --> 00:08:20,040 Speaker 1: he could cut it off at any time, and the 149 00:08:20,040 --> 00:08:22,960 Speaker 1: city of Jerusalem would no longer have water coming in 150 00:08:23,200 --> 00:08:27,960 Speaker 1: if he decided to close that conduit off. So there 151 00:08:27,960 --> 00:08:31,960 Speaker 1: were multiple things that this general or rab Shakeup was 152 00:08:32,040 --> 00:08:35,280 Speaker 1: doing to really try to scare the people, because jumping 153 00:08:35,320 --> 00:08:38,120 Speaker 1: down to verse eighteen, it says that they called out 154 00:08:38,120 --> 00:08:40,280 Speaker 1: with a loud voice in the Jews language to the 155 00:08:40,320 --> 00:08:43,120 Speaker 1: people of Jerusalem who were on the wall to frighten 156 00:08:43,160 --> 00:08:46,160 Speaker 1: them and to trouble them that they might take the city. 157 00:08:46,520 --> 00:08:49,000 Speaker 1: So the Rabshaika knew exactly what he was doing here 158 00:08:49,520 --> 00:08:54,160 Speaker 1: by both standing in the water and also by telling 159 00:08:54,240 --> 00:08:58,240 Speaker 1: the people of Jerusalem that they're already under siege, even 160 00:08:58,280 --> 00:09:00,920 Speaker 1: though they were not he was trying to make Assyria 161 00:09:01,440 --> 00:09:06,160 Speaker 1: look much bigger than mere little Judah, who was already 162 00:09:06,160 --> 00:09:09,320 Speaker 1: getting its cities taken away by the King of Assyria. 163 00:09:10,559 --> 00:09:12,960 Speaker 1: But going back to verse ten, the rab Shaika continues, 164 00:09:13,320 --> 00:09:15,080 Speaker 1: in whom do you trust that you remain under siege 165 00:09:15,120 --> 00:09:18,840 Speaker 1: in Jerusalem? Doesn't Hezekiah persuade you to give you over 166 00:09:18,920 --> 00:09:22,880 Speaker 1: to die by famine and by thirst, saying Yahweh, our 167 00:09:22,880 --> 00:09:24,559 Speaker 1: God will deliver us out of the hand of the 168 00:09:24,640 --> 00:09:27,240 Speaker 1: king of Assyria. So there you go. The rab Sheeika 169 00:09:27,280 --> 00:09:31,000 Speaker 1: is specifically saying, we are going to put Jerusalem under siege, 170 00:09:31,080 --> 00:09:34,400 Speaker 1: or rather, you're already under siege, and we're gonna cut 171 00:09:34,400 --> 00:09:37,320 Speaker 1: off all of your water supply and all of your food, 172 00:09:37,400 --> 00:09:41,160 Speaker 1: and you're going to thirst and starve to death very 173 00:09:41,280 --> 00:09:44,760 Speaker 1: very quickly. If you listen to Hezekiah and all the 174 00:09:44,760 --> 00:09:48,360 Speaker 1: things that he's saying to you, specifically that Yahweh is 175 00:09:48,400 --> 00:09:50,680 Speaker 1: going to deliver you out of this mess that you 176 00:09:50,720 --> 00:09:53,840 Speaker 1: found yourselves in, he says in verse twelve, hasn't the 177 00:09:53,880 --> 00:09:56,920 Speaker 1: same Hezekiah taken away his high places and his altars 178 00:09:56,960 --> 00:10:00,360 Speaker 1: and commanded Judah and Jerusalem, saying you shall work worship 179 00:10:00,400 --> 00:10:03,000 Speaker 1: before one altar, and you shall burn incense on it. 180 00:10:04,880 --> 00:10:07,440 Speaker 1: So this is a little piece of proof, interestingly enough, 181 00:10:07,880 --> 00:10:11,800 Speaker 1: that shows the validity of the Bible. You know, a 182 00:10:11,800 --> 00:10:14,360 Speaker 1: lot of people say that the Bible is made up 183 00:10:14,400 --> 00:10:17,640 Speaker 1: and there's no historical backing to it, and that all 184 00:10:17,679 --> 00:10:20,240 Speaker 1: of these are just fiction, they're just stories. But this 185 00:10:20,320 --> 00:10:23,800 Speaker 1: is one of those things where how would the author 186 00:10:23,920 --> 00:10:26,920 Speaker 1: have thought of this if it wasn't the truth? Because 187 00:10:27,360 --> 00:10:31,800 Speaker 1: the rab Sheika clearly believes that God wants all of 188 00:10:31,840 --> 00:10:36,000 Speaker 1: those altars in Jerusalem. Do you remember when Hezekiah had 189 00:10:36,040 --> 00:10:39,160 Speaker 1: gone in with his religious reform and actually removed all 190 00:10:39,160 --> 00:10:41,880 Speaker 1: the altars out of Jerusalem and out of Judah as 191 00:10:41,920 --> 00:10:45,000 Speaker 1: a whole. The Assyrians heard about all this, They probably 192 00:10:45,040 --> 00:10:47,680 Speaker 1: heard about the big passover that was taking place every year, 193 00:10:48,200 --> 00:10:54,360 Speaker 1: and they believed that Hezekiah was taking away valid altars 194 00:10:54,440 --> 00:10:57,680 Speaker 1: to Yahweh. And that would make sense coming from an 195 00:10:57,720 --> 00:11:00,760 Speaker 1: Assyrian point of view, because the Assyrians worshiped a whole 196 00:11:00,800 --> 00:11:06,800 Speaker 1: pantheon of gods. They didn't understand monotheism, they didn't understand 197 00:11:06,960 --> 00:11:09,560 Speaker 1: the laws of Yahweh. They didn't know that God didn't 198 00:11:09,600 --> 00:11:13,480 Speaker 1: want all of those altars in Judah. They assumed that 199 00:11:13,559 --> 00:11:18,400 Speaker 1: Hezekiah was taking Yahweh's altars away, or at least places 200 00:11:18,400 --> 00:11:21,520 Speaker 1: of worship where the people could go and worship Yahweh 201 00:11:21,559 --> 00:11:25,200 Speaker 1: and any other deity that they wanted to worship. The 202 00:11:25,240 --> 00:11:30,679 Speaker 1: Assyrians did not understand monotheism. They believed that any powerful 203 00:11:30,720 --> 00:11:34,800 Speaker 1: god would want more alters, more places of worship, not 204 00:11:35,000 --> 00:11:38,040 Speaker 1: just one altar and one place of worship. So this 205 00:11:38,040 --> 00:11:43,240 Speaker 1: little statement from the rab Sheika just really feels valid, 206 00:11:43,240 --> 00:11:44,760 Speaker 1: do you know what I mean? It doesn't feel like 207 00:11:44,840 --> 00:11:49,240 Speaker 1: a work of fiction. It feels like a true historical 208 00:11:49,960 --> 00:11:53,360 Speaker 1: viewpoint that an Assyrian would have. And there are tons 209 00:11:53,400 --> 00:11:56,560 Speaker 1: of things like this strewn throughout scripture that I think 210 00:11:56,640 --> 00:12:01,240 Speaker 1: really show the historical validity of the scripture rather than 211 00:12:01,559 --> 00:12:04,160 Speaker 1: them just being made up and works of fiction by 212 00:12:04,240 --> 00:12:09,480 Speaker 1: some unknown authors. But moving on in verse thirteen, don't 213 00:12:09,520 --> 00:12:11,960 Speaker 1: you know what I and my fathers have done to 214 00:12:12,040 --> 00:12:14,520 Speaker 1: all the peoples of the lands. Were the gods of 215 00:12:14,559 --> 00:12:17,160 Speaker 1: the nations of those lands in any way able to 216 00:12:17,240 --> 00:12:20,679 Speaker 1: deliver their land out of my hand? Who was there 217 00:12:20,679 --> 00:12:23,320 Speaker 1: among all the gods of those nations which my fathers 218 00:12:23,440 --> 00:12:26,720 Speaker 1: utterly destroyed, that could deliver his people out of my hand? 219 00:12:26,960 --> 00:12:28,959 Speaker 1: That your God should be able to deliver you out 220 00:12:28,960 --> 00:12:32,280 Speaker 1: of my hand. So basically what's being said there is 221 00:12:32,320 --> 00:12:36,400 Speaker 1: that the Assyrians are more powerful than any god that exists. 222 00:12:37,440 --> 00:12:41,520 Speaker 1: There is no god anywhere that exists that the Assyrians 223 00:12:41,640 --> 00:12:45,719 Speaker 1: could not defeat, and that includes Yahweh. None of their 224 00:12:45,760 --> 00:12:48,040 Speaker 1: gods have been able to help them. And actually, if 225 00:12:48,080 --> 00:12:51,200 Speaker 1: you turn to Second Kings eighteen and read this account, 226 00:12:51,640 --> 00:12:57,240 Speaker 1: the Assyrian general also mentions the gods of Samaria, which 227 00:12:57,280 --> 00:12:59,720 Speaker 1: is kind of funny because you know, Samario is obviously 228 00:12:59,720 --> 00:13:04,120 Speaker 1: part of Israel, and Israel was supposed to be monotheistic. 229 00:13:04,160 --> 00:13:08,040 Speaker 1: They were supposed to have the same god that Judah had, 230 00:13:08,080 --> 00:13:11,840 Speaker 1: which was Yahweh. But the Assyrians didn't even know this 231 00:13:12,040 --> 00:13:17,280 Speaker 1: because Israel was so corrupt with idolatry during the time 232 00:13:17,280 --> 00:13:20,320 Speaker 1: of the Assyrian takeover. So that's actually talked about also 233 00:13:20,400 --> 00:13:23,600 Speaker 1: in Isaiah thirty six. So here's what the rab Sheika 234 00:13:23,679 --> 00:13:26,760 Speaker 1: says in Isaiah thirty six nineteen. Where are the gods 235 00:13:26,800 --> 00:13:30,079 Speaker 1: of Hamoth and Arpad? Where are the gods of Safarvam? 236 00:13:30,559 --> 00:13:33,760 Speaker 1: Have they delivered Samaria from my hand? Who are they 237 00:13:33,760 --> 00:13:36,199 Speaker 1: among all the gods of these countries that have delivered 238 00:13:36,200 --> 00:13:38,959 Speaker 1: their country out of my hand, that Yahweh should deliver 239 00:13:39,080 --> 00:13:44,200 Speaker 1: Jerusalem out of my hand. Oh that's pretty sad, isn't it. That? 240 00:13:44,520 --> 00:13:47,640 Speaker 1: H Yeah, Samaria fell very hard, and that's just more 241 00:13:47,760 --> 00:13:53,640 Speaker 1: proof of how fallen Samaria and Israel had become that 242 00:13:53,880 --> 00:13:57,280 Speaker 1: the other nations of the world didn't even know who 243 00:13:57,320 --> 00:14:01,000 Speaker 1: the God of Samaria was. It clearly was not Yahweh 244 00:14:01,040 --> 00:14:05,040 Speaker 1: in their estimation. But going back to Second Chronicles thirty two, 245 00:14:05,679 --> 00:14:10,240 Speaker 1: verse fifteen, he says, now, therefore, don't let Hezekiah deceive you, 246 00:14:10,559 --> 00:14:14,000 Speaker 1: nor persuade you in this way. Don't believe him. For 247 00:14:14,120 --> 00:14:16,520 Speaker 1: no god of any nation or kingdom was able to 248 00:14:16,559 --> 00:14:18,840 Speaker 1: deliver his people out of my hand and out of 249 00:14:18,880 --> 00:14:21,840 Speaker 1: the hand of my father's. How much less will your 250 00:14:21,880 --> 00:14:25,040 Speaker 1: god deliver you out of my hand? But moving on 251 00:14:25,120 --> 00:14:27,360 Speaker 1: in this story, it says in verse sixteen that his 252 00:14:27,480 --> 00:14:30,680 Speaker 1: servants spoke yet more against Yahweh God and against his 253 00:14:30,800 --> 00:14:34,920 Speaker 1: servant Hezekiah. He also wrote letters insulting Yahweh, the God 254 00:14:34,960 --> 00:14:38,000 Speaker 1: of Israel, and speaking against him, saying, as the gods 255 00:14:38,000 --> 00:14:40,160 Speaker 1: of the nations of the lands which have not delivered 256 00:14:40,200 --> 00:14:42,240 Speaker 1: their people out of my hand, so shall the God 257 00:14:42,280 --> 00:14:45,440 Speaker 1: of Hezekiah not deliver his people out of my hand. 258 00:14:46,560 --> 00:14:50,040 Speaker 1: So that right there gives a synopsis of the extra 259 00:14:50,120 --> 00:14:53,160 Speaker 1: harassment that was going on. It wasn't just the Rabshika 260 00:14:53,280 --> 00:14:56,240 Speaker 1: coming to Jerusalem and yelling at the people on the 261 00:14:56,280 --> 00:14:59,160 Speaker 1: wall that they are going to die in a few 262 00:14:59,200 --> 00:15:01,080 Speaker 1: days if they don't just open up their doors to 263 00:15:01,120 --> 00:15:04,800 Speaker 1: the Assyrians. But there were letters coming in. There were 264 00:15:05,200 --> 00:15:08,960 Speaker 1: more insults coming against Yahweh, and you can read a 265 00:15:08,960 --> 00:15:12,040 Speaker 1: lot of that stuff in the Account of Second Kings 266 00:15:12,120 --> 00:15:15,680 Speaker 1: eighteen or also Isaiah thirty six. But one of the 267 00:15:15,680 --> 00:15:18,320 Speaker 1: things I found very interesting that Second Chronicles thirty two 268 00:15:18,440 --> 00:15:23,720 Speaker 1: doesn't mention is Isaiah thirty six, verse ten, where the 269 00:15:23,800 --> 00:15:27,760 Speaker 1: rab Sheika says, have I come up now without Yahweh 270 00:15:27,800 --> 00:15:30,600 Speaker 1: against this land to destroy it? Yahweh said to me 271 00:15:30,920 --> 00:15:34,840 Speaker 1: go up against this land and destroy it. So there's 272 00:15:34,840 --> 00:15:38,760 Speaker 1: some false prophecy happening here with this rab Sheika and 273 00:15:38,920 --> 00:15:43,080 Speaker 1: with Senagrev, the king of Assyria. They're saying, actually, God 274 00:15:43,160 --> 00:15:45,480 Speaker 1: told me that I should come and destroy this land. 275 00:15:46,480 --> 00:15:50,200 Speaker 1: Your God is so weak, he's so powerless that even 276 00:15:50,240 --> 00:15:52,880 Speaker 1: if he wanted to stop me, he couldn't. But also 277 00:15:53,000 --> 00:15:55,680 Speaker 1: he told me to come and destroy this land. So 278 00:15:55,720 --> 00:15:59,360 Speaker 1: there's definitely some conflicting things being said here. Which is 279 00:15:59,400 --> 00:16:01,640 Speaker 1: it God is not powerful enough or God told me 280 00:16:01,680 --> 00:16:05,280 Speaker 1: to do this, you know, So in order to scare 281 00:16:05,320 --> 00:16:08,640 Speaker 1: the people, the Assyrians are basically doing every single thing 282 00:16:08,680 --> 00:16:11,680 Speaker 1: they can to try to convince the people to just 283 00:16:11,800 --> 00:16:15,720 Speaker 1: open up their doors to the Assyrians and essentially wave 284 00:16:15,880 --> 00:16:19,120 Speaker 1: the white flag. But it's very clear that God does 285 00:16:19,120 --> 00:16:23,040 Speaker 1: not look kindly on this kind of stuff. He does 286 00:16:23,040 --> 00:16:26,080 Speaker 1: not look kindly on his name being used in vain, 287 00:16:26,880 --> 00:16:30,240 Speaker 1: nor does he look kindly on people downplaying his power. 288 00:16:30,280 --> 00:16:32,760 Speaker 1: Because he's the God of the universe, he is just 289 00:16:32,840 --> 00:16:35,920 Speaker 1: as much the God of the Assyrians as he is 290 00:16:36,000 --> 00:16:38,400 Speaker 1: the God of the Israelites. He's the God of the 291 00:16:38,600 --> 00:16:41,680 Speaker 1: entire world. So when he shows his power, he's not 292 00:16:41,840 --> 00:16:44,720 Speaker 1: just doing it for the Israelites. He's also doing it 293 00:16:45,040 --> 00:16:46,920 Speaker 1: for the Assyrians. And I think a lot of people 294 00:16:46,960 --> 00:16:51,440 Speaker 1: don't understand that about when God works. A lot of 295 00:16:51,440 --> 00:16:54,120 Speaker 1: people think that God only does things in the Old 296 00:16:54,120 --> 00:16:56,560 Speaker 1: Testament for the sake of his people. But God does 297 00:16:56,640 --> 00:17:00,440 Speaker 1: things because he wants to show the entire world world 298 00:17:00,600 --> 00:17:04,080 Speaker 1: that he truly is God. And right now we have 299 00:17:04,200 --> 00:17:09,679 Speaker 1: a very arrogant Assyrian king and general that believe that 300 00:17:09,720 --> 00:17:13,119 Speaker 1: they are more powerful than God ever could be, that 301 00:17:13,160 --> 00:17:16,480 Speaker 1: their gods maybe are more powerful than God ever could be. 302 00:17:17,040 --> 00:17:20,520 Speaker 1: So now God is going to show his power not 303 00:17:20,640 --> 00:17:23,440 Speaker 1: just to the Judaites who are calling out to him 304 00:17:23,560 --> 00:17:27,639 Speaker 1: to save them, but also to King Snakreb. He's going 305 00:17:27,680 --> 00:17:30,320 Speaker 1: to prove to Snacrib, I am more powerful than you, 306 00:17:30,840 --> 00:17:33,080 Speaker 1: and I am certainly more powerful than all these other 307 00:17:33,160 --> 00:17:37,040 Speaker 1: gods that you mentioned, being the same as me, I 308 00:17:37,080 --> 00:17:40,200 Speaker 1: am more powerful than all of it. So, going back 309 00:17:40,240 --> 00:17:43,359 Speaker 1: to verse twenty of our passage for today, here's what 310 00:17:43,400 --> 00:17:47,240 Speaker 1: God does to help Hezekiah. Hezekiah the King and Isaiah 311 00:17:47,320 --> 00:17:50,600 Speaker 1: the prophet, the son of Amos prayed because of this 312 00:17:50,800 --> 00:17:55,200 Speaker 1: and cried to heaven. So this is obviously Isaiah the prophet. 313 00:17:55,440 --> 00:17:58,440 Speaker 1: We just read his account of this in Isaiah thirty six, 314 00:17:59,400 --> 00:18:02,480 Speaker 1: and it says, Yahweh sent an angel in verse twenty one, 315 00:18:02,640 --> 00:18:05,199 Speaker 1: who cut off all the mighty men of valor, the 316 00:18:05,320 --> 00:18:07,760 Speaker 1: leaders and the captains in the camp of the king 317 00:18:07,760 --> 00:18:11,359 Speaker 1: of Assyria. So he returned with shame of face to 318 00:18:11,480 --> 00:18:17,560 Speaker 1: his own land. He was humbled. He was humbled drastically. 319 00:18:18,640 --> 00:18:21,800 Speaker 1: Apparently one hundred and eighty five thousand of his men 320 00:18:21,960 --> 00:18:25,840 Speaker 1: died overnight. That's what it says in Isaiah thirty seven, 321 00:18:25,920 --> 00:18:29,040 Speaker 1: verse thirty six. Then Yawey's angel went out and struck 322 00:18:29,040 --> 00:18:31,560 Speaker 1: one hundred and eighty five thousand men in the camp 323 00:18:31,600 --> 00:18:35,760 Speaker 1: of the Assyrians. When the men arose early in the morning, behold, 324 00:18:35,920 --> 00:18:40,560 Speaker 1: these were all dead bodies. So nobody knows exactly what happened. 325 00:18:40,600 --> 00:18:43,640 Speaker 1: There's always theories that pop up when God does something 326 00:18:43,680 --> 00:18:46,960 Speaker 1: miraculous like this, but it could just be that the 327 00:18:47,040 --> 00:18:50,199 Speaker 1: Angel of Death went in kind of like with the 328 00:18:50,240 --> 00:18:53,480 Speaker 1: plague in Egypt and truly just struck everybody dead. We 329 00:18:53,520 --> 00:18:56,560 Speaker 1: don't know exactly how God worked here, but whatever God did, 330 00:18:56,640 --> 00:18:59,399 Speaker 1: it was miraculous to the point that Sanakreb had to 331 00:18:59,440 --> 00:19:02,680 Speaker 1: just go home, and he went home with a much 332 00:19:02,800 --> 00:19:07,000 Speaker 1: reduced army because of what God had done here. But 333 00:19:07,080 --> 00:19:09,880 Speaker 1: he didn't get the hint because there's something called the 334 00:19:09,880 --> 00:19:13,080 Speaker 1: prism that was found and this is also in the 335 00:19:13,080 --> 00:19:15,959 Speaker 1: British Museum of History, and I have it pulled up 336 00:19:16,000 --> 00:19:18,800 Speaker 1: right here to look at it, and it's basically this 337 00:19:19,080 --> 00:19:24,480 Speaker 1: prism looking pillar thing that they call the Taylor Prism 338 00:19:24,880 --> 00:19:28,920 Speaker 1: or the senacreb Prism, and what it is is a 339 00:19:29,040 --> 00:19:33,120 Speaker 1: history that Sanakreb had a scribe right down of all 340 00:19:33,160 --> 00:19:39,080 Speaker 1: of the conquests that he had, specifically with Jerusalem. But 341 00:19:39,119 --> 00:19:42,439 Speaker 1: what's embarrassing about it is it does not mention the 342 00:19:42,520 --> 00:19:44,840 Speaker 1: fact that one hundred and eighty five thousand of his 343 00:19:44,920 --> 00:19:47,639 Speaker 1: men died. It doesn't mention any of that. All it 344 00:19:47,720 --> 00:19:51,919 Speaker 1: mentions is that he demanded payment from Hezekiah, and Hezekiah 345 00:19:52,000 --> 00:19:54,520 Speaker 1: gave it to him, and he was successful in this 346 00:19:54,680 --> 00:19:56,680 Speaker 1: and that and all this other stuff. But it does 347 00:19:56,720 --> 00:20:01,840 Speaker 1: not mention that Jerusalem was never taken and that he 348 00:20:01,960 --> 00:20:05,400 Speaker 1: had to return home in shame. And this little piece 349 00:20:05,440 --> 00:20:09,320 Speaker 1: of history is found in the British Museum of History 350 00:20:09,359 --> 00:20:11,440 Speaker 1: and you can look up a picture of it if 351 00:20:11,440 --> 00:20:14,679 Speaker 1: you're interested. Again, it's called the Taylor of Prism or 352 00:20:14,760 --> 00:20:18,760 Speaker 1: the Senakreb Prism. But yeah, so Senagreb never learned from 353 00:20:18,840 --> 00:20:22,679 Speaker 1: his mistakes. He was just as arrogant as he always was, 354 00:20:23,119 --> 00:20:27,400 Speaker 1: even though he had a massive defeat in Judah, and 355 00:20:27,520 --> 00:20:31,800 Speaker 1: he never learned because he kept on worshiping his own gods. 356 00:20:32,640 --> 00:20:36,960 Speaker 1: So here's what it says in verse twenty one, when 357 00:20:37,040 --> 00:20:39,360 Speaker 1: he came into the house of his God, those who 358 00:20:39,400 --> 00:20:42,119 Speaker 1: came out of his own body killed him there with 359 00:20:42,440 --> 00:20:46,800 Speaker 1: the sword. Thus Yahweh saved Hezekiah and the inhabitants of 360 00:20:46,840 --> 00:20:49,840 Speaker 1: Jerusalem from the hand of Sanakreb, the king of Assyria, 361 00:20:50,119 --> 00:20:52,920 Speaker 1: and from the hand of all others, and guided them 362 00:20:52,960 --> 00:20:57,000 Speaker 1: on every side. Many brought gifts to Yahweh to Jerusalem 363 00:20:57,240 --> 00:21:00,159 Speaker 1: and precious things to Hezekiah, the King of Judah, so 364 00:21:00,200 --> 00:21:02,680 Speaker 1: that he was exalted in the sight of all nations 365 00:21:02,840 --> 00:21:06,840 Speaker 1: from then on. So that is the very sad end 366 00:21:07,119 --> 00:21:10,960 Speaker 1: of King Snacrib. Basically, he went home in shame, but 367 00:21:11,080 --> 00:21:14,480 Speaker 1: not shameful enough because he never turned to Yahweh. He 368 00:21:14,560 --> 00:21:18,760 Speaker 1: was embarrassed, but he was never truly humbled. He went 369 00:21:18,800 --> 00:21:22,639 Speaker 1: into a temple of one of his own gods, and 370 00:21:22,720 --> 00:21:26,720 Speaker 1: his sons killed him there in that temple and then 371 00:21:26,800 --> 00:21:29,600 Speaker 1: ran away to a foreign land after they killed him. 372 00:21:29,600 --> 00:21:32,920 Speaker 1: And we have no clue why his sons killed him. Again, 373 00:21:32,960 --> 00:21:35,880 Speaker 1: there's a whole bunch of theories on this, but there's 374 00:21:35,920 --> 00:21:39,840 Speaker 1: no defining evidence as to what the dynamic was in 375 00:21:39,920 --> 00:21:44,520 Speaker 1: Snacrib's home for his sons to actually kill him. But yeah, 376 00:21:44,640 --> 00:21:48,800 Speaker 1: that is the sad end of King Sanacarb. And by 377 00:21:48,840 --> 00:21:52,320 Speaker 1: the way, this did happen several years after he returned 378 00:21:52,359 --> 00:21:54,959 Speaker 1: to Ninevah This was not like an immediate thing, but 379 00:21:55,040 --> 00:21:57,840 Speaker 1: still God showed his judgment to Snacrib for all the 380 00:21:57,840 --> 00:22:00,520 Speaker 1: things that he had done to the people of Judah. 381 00:22:00,920 --> 00:22:06,359 Speaker 1: And meanwhile, Hezekiah is becoming more and more famous because 382 00:22:06,359 --> 00:22:09,320 Speaker 1: of what Yahweh is doing in Judah. It says the 383 00:22:09,359 --> 00:22:14,159 Speaker 1: people started offering all these sacrifices and these gifts to 384 00:22:14,359 --> 00:22:17,359 Speaker 1: Yahweh because they were so ecstatic over what they had 385 00:22:17,400 --> 00:22:20,760 Speaker 1: seen God do in their country. And it says they 386 00:22:20,800 --> 00:22:23,800 Speaker 1: also gave gifts to Hezekiah, the king of Judah, and 387 00:22:23,840 --> 00:22:26,000 Speaker 1: he was exalted in the sight of all nations from 388 00:22:26,000 --> 00:22:29,240 Speaker 1: then on. So basically, Hezekiah became a king that you 389 00:22:29,359 --> 00:22:33,639 Speaker 1: don't mess with because no matter how arrogant Senanakreb, the 390 00:22:33,680 --> 00:22:37,280 Speaker 1: king of Assyria, was, words still got out to the 391 00:22:37,320 --> 00:22:41,560 Speaker 1: other nations that the Assyrians had to go home after 392 00:22:41,600 --> 00:22:46,560 Speaker 1: they were besieging Jerusalem. Even if the other nations didn't 393 00:22:46,560 --> 00:22:50,040 Speaker 1: know what happened, they still knew that the Assyrians were 394 00:22:50,119 --> 00:22:54,000 Speaker 1: defeated because Assyria was home and Judah was still standing. 395 00:22:55,920 --> 00:22:59,160 Speaker 1: All right, faithful listeners, hopefully you enjoyed it today's episode. 396 00:22:59,400 --> 00:23:03,879 Speaker 1: But before we got oh, here's a quick ad break. Okay, 397 00:23:03,880 --> 00:23:06,520 Speaker 1: faithful listeners. So on Wednesday, we're going to finish up 398 00:23:06,560 --> 00:23:11,200 Speaker 1: this chapter. We're gonna be talking about Hezekiah almost dying 399 00:23:11,720 --> 00:23:15,400 Speaker 1: and what he does while he's dying, how God responds, 400 00:23:15,480 --> 00:23:19,000 Speaker 1: and then what Hezekiah does after God responds, which is 401 00:23:19,040 --> 00:23:21,720 Speaker 1: shocker is not a very good thing, because unfortunately, the 402 00:23:21,800 --> 00:23:26,440 Speaker 1: kings in Judah's history have a tendency to start out 403 00:23:26,520 --> 00:23:30,560 Speaker 1: very good and end very poorly, unfortunately, and that's kind 404 00:23:30,560 --> 00:23:33,520 Speaker 1: of what Hezekiah does. Not to the same extent as 405 00:23:33,520 --> 00:23:35,760 Speaker 1: some of the other kings, but he's on the same 406 00:23:35,840 --> 00:23:39,480 Speaker 1: path for sure. So we'll get into that subject on Wednesday. 407 00:23:39,520 --> 00:23:41,120 Speaker 1: So I hope to see all of you guys then 408 00:23:41,520 --> 00:23:44,040 Speaker 1: six am or whenever you choose to wake up and 409 00:23:44,119 --> 00:23:46,960 Speaker 1: listen now, faithful listeners. Tomorrow we will be in the 410 00:23:46,960 --> 00:23:51,719 Speaker 1: Book of Hebrews, because on Tuesdays and Thursdays I go 411 00:23:51,840 --> 00:23:53,880 Speaker 1: through the New Testament with you guys, and right now 412 00:23:53,920 --> 00:23:56,600 Speaker 1: we are studying the Book of Hebrews together, and it 413 00:23:56,680 --> 00:24:00,520 Speaker 1: is such a fantastic book of the Bible. I love 414 00:24:00,560 --> 00:24:02,680 Speaker 1: the Book of Hebrews, and I hope that you guys 415 00:24:02,720 --> 00:24:04,880 Speaker 1: have been really enjoying it as well. You know, every 416 00:24:04,920 --> 00:24:08,520 Speaker 1: single time I research it to present it to you guys. 417 00:24:08,520 --> 00:24:11,240 Speaker 1: I learn something new and I'm so excited to share 418 00:24:11,280 --> 00:24:14,320 Speaker 1: that new information with you guys as well. So hopefully 419 00:24:14,359 --> 00:24:17,520 Speaker 1: I'll see all you faithful listeners tomorrow as well. But 420 00:24:17,600 --> 00:24:20,760 Speaker 1: until tomorrow, I hope you guys have a wonderful, wonderful 421 00:24:20,920 --> 00:24:30,320 Speaker 1: rest of your day, happy listening, and God bless. I 422 00:24:30,400 --> 00:24:31,960 Speaker 1: just want to take a second to thank the team 423 00:24:31,960 --> 00:24:34,040 Speaker 1: at Life Audio for their partnership with me on the 424 00:24:34,040 --> 00:24:37,000 Speaker 1: Bible Explain podcast. In fact, if you go to lifeudio 425 00:24:37,000 --> 00:24:40,080 Speaker 1: dot com you'll find dozens of other faith centered podcasts 426 00:24:40,080 --> 00:24:43,920 Speaker 1: in their network. They've got shows about prayer, Bible study, parenting, 427 00:24:44,160 --> 00:24:44,560 Speaker 1: and more.