The Pulpit Commentary — 2 Kings — Section 341

in thdr hnnd is mine indignation. I will fills violent men with fury nncl rage. Sen- ecnd him ngainst an hypocriti<'e.l nation, nacherib's nnger wns priru1Lrily &gainst I-kze• 11nd ngainst the people of my wrath will I kiah, but when once he was convinced th&t give !Jim a charge, to take the spoil, e.nd to Hezekiah really trusted in Jehovah (ver. ie.ke the prPy, nnd to tree.d them down like 10), his fury would turn nge.inst God him- the mire of ibc streets" (Ise.. x. 5, 6). But self (comp. Ps. ii. 1-3, where the Lord's tho henthcn kings whom God made his in- anointed is primarily Do.vid). f\riiments to chnsten einful nations imagined Ver. 28.-:Because thy re.ge against me, that they conquered e.nd destroyed and aud thy tumult-rather, thy arrogancy (see le.id waste by their own strength (see Isa. the Revised Version); ptud is rather the quiet x. 7-14). security of extreme pride and self-confidence Ver. 26.-Therefore their inhabitant, were than" tumult"-is oome up into mine ears- of &mall power; literally, were short of ha11d i.e. has &ttraoted my notice-therefore I will -unable, i.e., to make an effectual resistance. pat mv hook in thy nose, and my bridle in thy When God has decreed e. change in the dis- lips. The imagery is most striking. C&ptive tribution of power among the nations, his kings were notuully so treated by the As• providence works doubly, It infuses con- syrians themselves. A hook or split-ring fidence and strength into the aggressive was thrust through the ce.rLilage of the nose, people, e.nd spreads dismay and terror among or the fleshy part of the under lip, with a those who are attacked. Unaccountable rope or thong attached to it, and in this panics seize them-ihey seem pare.lyzed; guise they were led into the monarch's instead of making every possible preparation presence, to receive their final sentence at for resistance, they fold their bands and do hie hands. In the sculptures of Sargon at nothing. They a.re like fascinated birds Khorsabad we see three prisoners brought before the stealthy advance of lhe serpent. before him in this fashion, one of whom he They were dismayed and oonfollllded. His. feems to be about to kill with B spear torioa.lly, the prophet declares, this was the (' Ancient Monarchies,' vol. i. p. 867). In cause of the general collapse of th_e nations another sculpture set np by a Babylonian whom the Assyrians attacked. God put a king, his vizier brings before him two cap- ,.raven fenr into their Lce.rls. They were as tives similarly treo.ted, but with the ring, the grass of the field, and as the green herb, apparently, passed through the cartilage of :,,s the gr2.5s on the house-tops. The " grass their noses (ibid., vol. iii. p. 436). Manasseh of the fie!<!" is one of the most frequent seems to he.ve received the same treatment similes for weakness. " All flesh is grass" at the he.nds of the "captains" (2 Chron. (ls!L. xl. 6) ; " They shall soon be cut down xx.x.iii. 11) who brought him a prisoner to like the. !!ffl.SS" (Ps. mvii. 2); " The Es1Lrbaddon at Babylon. Other e.llueions grass witheretL, the flower fadeth" (Isa. xl. to the practice in Scripture will be found 8); "I nm withered like grass" (Ps. cii. in Isa. :ux. 28 ; Ezek. xxix. 4; uxviii. 4. 11 ). In the hot sun of an Eastern sky The threat in the present passage wns, of nothing faded more quickly. But thi.Ji weak- course, not intended to be understood lite- ness WRB intensified in the "grass of the rally, bnt only e.s a declaration that God house-tops." It "withered before it grew would bring down the pride of Sennacherib, up" (Ps. cxxix. 6). The depth of earth humilie.te him, and reduce him to a ete.te of was so slight, the exposure so great, the heat abject weakness and abasement. And I will so scorching, that it sank in death almost as turn thee baok by the way b:, whioh thou soon as it had sprung to life. Such bas camest (comp. ver. 88). The meaning is been ihe weakness of the nations given over clear. Sennacherib would not be allowed as a prey to the ABsyrians. And as corn to come near Jerusalem. He would hurry blasted before it be grown np. Corn blasted back by the low coast ronte (oh. xvili. 17), before it shools into a stalk is e.s frail as by which he had made his invasion. gra1:1s, or frailer. It dwindles and disappears Ver. 29.-A.nd this shall be a sign unto without even e.seerting itself. thee, Another sudden change in the e.dclrese. Ver. 27.-But I know thy abode, and thy The prophet turns from ~enn~heri~ to going out, and thy oomi.ng in. " Resting in Hezekiah, and proceeds to give him B sign, peace, going out, and coming in, cover all and otherwise speak to him encouragingly. the activity of a man" (Baur), or rather, Signs were at the time freely offered and cover his whole life, active and pae,;ive. given by God both to the faitbfu_~ antl the Jebov~h claims an absolute knowledge of unfaithful (see eh. xx. 4; Isa, vu. 11, 14). all tLat Sennacherib does or thinkB, both They generally consisted in the prediction of when he i.8 in action and when he is at rest. some near event, whose occurrence was to Nothing is hid from him (comp. Ps. cxxxix. serve as 11, pledge, or evidence, of the proLable 1-16). Humau JJride should stand a.bashed fulfilment of another prediction of an event before such absolute knowledge. And thy ,more clistant. Snch signs are not ncocesnrily n.ga against me. Opposition to their will miraculous. Ye shall eat this :,ea.r such Ott. XIX. 1-37.] 'l'HE SECOND nooK OF 'l'HE Kerns. 389