The Pulpit Commentary — 2 Kings — Section 331

cit.i!'s of Judah. His own annn.ls mention forty-six strona cities, and lesser cities without number. He claims t-0 have taken also 200,150 pris~ners. This was a fearful ~low to t~e _prosrerity and resources of the kingdom. (2) At this stage, moreover, Sennac~enb invested _Jerusalem. The text speaks only of Hezekiah paying tribute, and entreating Semrnchmb to depnrt from him; but it is morally ccrt.ain that at this time Jerusalem endured n se,·ere siege, 1111d was saved only by the submission referred to, (a) In 2 Cbron. xxxii. 1-8 we have an account of Hezekiah's vigorous preparations !or the siefe, (b) fannacherib, in his own annals,describes the siege. (c) The prophecy 11:1 Isa. xxn., whtcli belongs to this period, depicts the state of Jerusalem during the swge, and a fearfnl picture of demoralization it is. The theory that this prophecy refers to an earlier siege under Sargon seems to us to have little probability. 'Jhe haudof God was thus lying heavily on the people. Only hy leading men to feel their own weakness does God tra:n them to rely upon bis help. ,vhen Hezekiah's trust in man was shattered, and he was led to look to God alone, Sennacherib s campaign came to an ignominious end. II. HEZEKIAH's SUllMISSION. 1. The failure of the arm of fleah. Hezekiah had been seeking alliances ,nth Egypt and Ethiopia, but no help reached him in his hour of extremity. Isaiah had warned him of this (Isa. xxx.). The a.et of seeking such an alliance implied a distrust of God. Astute politicians no doubt thought an alliance with Egypt a much more tangible affair than an alliance with the invisible Jehovah. So long, however, as Hezekiah looked in this quarter for aid he was doomed to disap- pointment. Neither tbe King of Egypt nor strongly fortified walls availed to save him, He bad to learn the lesson : "In returning and rest shall ye bCJ saved; in quietness and in confidence shall be your strength" (Isa. xxx. 15). 2. The humiliating tribute, Despairing of help from his ally, and faltering in his faith in God, Hezekiah made an unworthy submission. It may be gathered from Isa. xxii. that affairs in the city had reached an awful height of wickedness. Pestilence was sweeping off t.he people in crowds; and Hezekiah may have felt that he could stand it no longer. 'l'he King of .Assyria. accepted his suhmissi,m, and appointed him three hundred talents of silver and thirty talents of gold as tribute. To obtain this large sum be had not only to empty ouce more the often-ransacked treasuries of the temple and the king's house, but had to cut off the gold from the very doors and pillars of the temple. It was himself who had overlaid these pillars wit.b the precious metal, but now they had to be stripped of their adornment, and all given to the rapacious Assyrian. 'fruly it was "a day of trouble, and of treading down, and of perplexity " (Isa. xxii. 5). What humiliation~ men are willing to endure rather than submit themselves heartily to the sway of the living God! After all, "willing" is not the word, for they would fain escape these humilia- tions, but find they cannot. Yet they do not return. 3. His submission no advantage. Sennacherib withdrew to Lacbish, and Hezekiah was left to hope that by this great sacrifice he hn.J got rid of him. He was soon to be undeceived. What happened we do uot know; possibly some rnmours reached the King of Assyria of the march of Tirha- k.ab alluded to in eh. xix. 9, and he may have suspected further treachery on the part of Hezekiah. In any case, a new host was despatched against Jerusalem, and fresh demands were made for surrender (ver. 17). Hezekiah's distress must have been unspeakable. He had paid his tribute, and was no better than before. Waters of a full cup were wrung out to him (Ps. lxxiii. 10). It is thus evermore till men tum from the he,p of man to the help of God..-J. 0. Vers. 11-37.-Rabshakeh's boastings. From Lachish Sennacherib sent an army to Jerusalem, and with it some of his highest officers, the Tartan, Ilabsaris, and Rab- shakeh. '!'akin"' their stand by "the conduit of the upper pool," where they could be heard from the -:alls, they called for the king to come to them, Hezekiah did not come, but sent three envoys, Eliakim, Shebna, and Joah, to whom Rabshakeh, the orator of the party, addressed himself. His speech is a very skilful one from his own point of view, and falls into two part.a. It is pervaded by the utmost arrogancy and contempt of the God of the Jews. I. His ADDBEBII TO THE ENVOYS. The question Rabshakeh had been sent by hie master to ask of Hezekiah was-"What confidence is this wherein thou trustest?" Be proceeds w demolish one by one Hezekiah'ij supposed confid~nces, and to show how CB, xvm. 1-37.) THE SECOND BOOK OF THE KINGS. 87t