II Kings 18:1 "Now it came to pass in the third year of Hoshea son of Elah king of Israel, that Hezekiah the son of Ahaz king of Judah began to reign."

This verse dates back to a time just prior to the scattering of the ten tribes of the house of Israel. "Hezekiah" in the Hebrew means, "the might of Ya (God)". We will see in this chapter that Hezekiah is just the opposite that his father Ahaz, for Ahaz tore down everything that was of God in the Temple, and replaced it with the altar of Damascus.

II Kings 18:2 "Twenty and five years old was he when he began to reign; and he reigned twenty and nine years in Jerusalem. His mother's name also was Abi [in the Hebrew should read "Abijah"], the daughter of Zachariah."

"Abijah" in the Hebrew tongue means "Standing for Jah [God]". This Zachariah is not the prophet and author of the book in the Minor Prophets. Abijah taught her son well to be a great king.

II Kings 18:3 "And he did that which was right in the sight of the Lord, according to all that David his father did."

Under Hezekiah, it was clean-up time, for Hezekiah cleaned out all those high places, the altars to strange gods and all forms of idolatry. What a relief from the wickedness of his fathers that went before him.

II Kings 18:4 "He removed the high places, and brake the images, and cut down the groves, and brake in pieces the brasen serpent that Moses had made: for unto those days the children of Israel did burn incense to it: and he called it Nehushtan."

That image of the brasen serpent that Moses had made while the Israelites were in the wilderness, was a relic that they had hung on to and bowed down before. Hezekiah broke it into pieces so that it could be not used in the future. The children of Israel actually came to that serpent and burned incense to that old snake on the stick. Hezekiah called that old serpent, translated "nother but a piece of Brass" [Nehushtan]. Hezekiah told the people that the image or idol is nothing but the substance that it is made of, it can do nothing for you so get rid of it. So we can see exactly what Hezekiah thought of placing anything higher than the Almighty God. The serpent on the stick was a good thing when Moses used it, for it drew the Israelites attention back to God. However, later on that image of the serpent became an object of worship and replaced God as the One to be worshipped.

Hezekiah was the most righteous king of all the prior kings, and he was the son of Ahaz, the most wicked of all the kings. Ahaz never saw an idol that he did not love to bow down to. Remember how the last chapter ended, Israel went down to Egypt for their protection and the Assyrians wiped out not only Israel but Egypt also. So God told Hezekiah that if you follow Me, I am going to take care of your enemies for you. God promised Hezekiah that if you do it My way, then I will bless you.

II Kings 18:5 "He trusted in 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."

Hezekiah was a good man, honest and right before God. God could trust Hezekiah for his mind was tuned to the ways of the Father. Hezekiah trusted God that He would keep His Word in all matters.

Do you? Sure we like to say, "I love and trust God", but when the chips are down, do you actually trust God to see you through? Do you try to force God to conform to your ways, or are you willing to trust and conform your ways to God's ways? When God told Hezekiah, "you follow My ways, and I will take care of your enemies," Hezekiah believed God. Christianity is not just a religion, but it is a reality, it is our way of life. You can trust in the Father, and it is called faith. That is the way that Christians are to walk, by faith. Know that where your ability end, that is where God's ability begins.

II Kings 18:6 "For he clave to the Lord, and departed not from following Him, but kept His commandments, which the Lord commanded Moses."

Hezekiah stuck to the commandments, all of them, and trusted in God to lead him and his people.

II Kings 18:7 "And the Lord was with him; and he prospered whithersoever he went forth: and he rebelled against the king of Assyria, and served him not."

Of course Hezekiah followed good judgment, because he stayed within the laws and commandments of God. Hezekiah understood God's Word and followed those ways and teachings. The first thing Hezekiah did was study the writings of the Moses and the prophets, and then he knew What God expected of him. Then God blessed him and caused those things that he did to prosper.

In Ahaz's day, his father have become a servant to the king of Assyria, and gave him much tribute, however Hezekiah would not step into the role of servant to anyone but God. Ahaz thought he could buy his freedom form this wicked king, to keep him from coming against Judah and Jerusalem. When Hezekiah came to the throne, God was with him and he told the king of Assyria that those ways of his father were over. No more taxes from Jerusalem. Of course the king of Assyria would take this response as an insult, and send his forces against Jerusalem, so that Hezekiah would not set an example to the rest of the nations to stop paying taxes to him.

II Kings 18:8 "He smote the Philistines, even unto Gaza, and the borders thereof, from the tower of the watchmen to the fenced city."

Hezekiah removed the influences of the Philistines completely, for only the True God had a place in Judah.

II Kings 18:9 "And it came to pass in the fourth year of king Hezekiah, which was the seventh year of Hoshea son of Elah king of Israel, that Shalmaneser king of Assyria came up against Samaria, and besieged it."

The events of this siege is what we studied and covered in the seventeenth chapter. After three years of besieging the city, it fell and the entire nation of the house of Israel was removed from off their land and taken to places in Persia [Iran], and northern Iraq of today. [See the map on page 170]. The scattering of the tribes took place over several years, and they were removed by groups, or tribal clans. These groups of people would never be known by Israel against, but by names such as Cimmerons, Gauls, Saxons, Brits, Scythians, Celts and so on, but they would all be know as "Caucasians" even to this day. The Assyrian inscriptions would detail these groups and state the numbers in each group and where they were removed to.

II Kings 18:10 "And at the end of three years they took it: even in the sixth year of Hezekiah, that is the ninth year of Hoshea king of Israel, Samaria was taking."

Keep in mind the events of what is happening, and that these are types of things that shall happen again in the latter days. Remember that Satan is called "the Assyrian" of the latter days, and the three year period should call to memory the last three year period of the time of Satan's tribulation here on earth. Those detail are given us in the book of Revelation, from chapter nine to nineteen. We know from Revelation 9:5, 10 that the three and a half year period has been greatly shortened "for the elects sake". So the sixth year of Hezekiah, would be the ninth or last year of Hoshea, king of Israel, and the nation of Israel ended and was split up into many little tribal groups from then on.

We know from history that Shalmaneser started the siege and died before it was completed. His son, Sargon succeed him and completed the siege and carried out the scattering of the house of Israel. So the Assyrians are going to try to bring down Judah in the same manner that they brought down Israel, with a three year siege. In the inscriptions of Sargon, he brags that in one trip he took twenty seven thousand two hundred and forty, removed to Media. Of course when he would remove and empty a town, he would move in other peoples to fill those vacant towns.

This was sort of like the Indian nations being removed from off their lands and into reservation of the 1800 in America.

II Kings 18:11 "And the king of Assyria did carry away Israel unto Assyria, and put them in Halah and in Habor by the river of Gozan, and in the cities of the Medes:"

Go to the map on page 186, and the locations are given there. The medes were a people that worshipped only one God, and it makes the student of God's Word wonder as to who that one God was. When you locate this location on the map, notice the location of the Caucasus mountains to the north, for the mountain passes will be their escape routes out of the land of the medes. This then is when and where the migrations started to take place. This is the Word of God that we are talking about here, not fairy-tales. God removed Israel off the land and moved them into lands of milk and honey, and blessed us greatly to do the world of our Heavenly Father, and bless the rest of the nations of the world. The map given on page 170 allows us to see the migrations of the individual tribal units.

It was not accident that this all took place for in the latter days, in the generation of the fig tree, these tribes would be the superpowers of the world, feeding the world, and controlling the gates of our enemies.

II Kings 18:12 "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 them."

This is the reason that God caused Israel to be scattered, "Because they obeyed not the voice of the Lord their God." They broke the covenant of God, and worshipped the gods of the nations around them. If you want your life to end up just as house of Israel, then turn your back on God and his commandments and laws.

II Kings 18:13 "Now in the fourteenth year of king Hezekiah did Sennacherib king of Assyria come up against all the fenced cities of Judah, and took them."

This was eight years after the scattering of the house of Israel by the Assyrian general Sargon that king Sennacherib gave the order to come against the cities of Judah. Judah sat back and watched as the Assyrians hauled their brothers away, for everything was going well with Judah. To that time Judah was buying its freedom annually, with mule trains of gold and silver flowing off to Assyria, and Lachish it's capital. Now that Israel is taken care of and all the relocations are over with, the army is free to attack another nation. It looks bad form Hezekiah and Judah, however remember what God told Hezekiah? You follow My ways, and I will take care of your enemies for you.

The thing that Sennacherib really wanted was Egypt, and these nations of Israel and Judah were just stepping stones to get out of the way on his march to Egypt. Hezekiah is now under great pressure, and we will see how his faith in God holds up.

II Kings 18:14 "And Hezekiah king of Judah sent to the king of Assyria to Lachish, saying, "I have offended; return from me: that which thou puttest on me will I bear," And the king of Assyria appointed unto Hezekiah king of Judah three hundred talents of silver and thirty talents of gold."

So what is Hezekiah doing wrong here? Hezekiah always tried to do that which was right in the sight of the Lord, even to his enemies. There was an agreement that was made by his father, king Ahaz to pay all this silver and gold, in exchange for their freedom. To keep the two nations from going to war. However here Hezekiah told the king of Assyria to "go bark up a tree", he was not going to buy freedom any more because God would give him victory in all matters. Then when the king of Assyria got the message, he started his troops in the direction of Jerusalem, taking many of the cities along the way, so Hezekiah is having second thoughts as to what he had done. He is now on his knees offering the talents of silver and gold, that he was to have sent over the past few years.

It was like missing a few payments at the bank, and the banker is coming to throw you out of your house. Then after you are served with the papers, you try to scrape up all the back payment money, along with interest, penalties, and the kitchen sink to please the banker enough to leave you alone, and go back to the way that things were. However the banker has taken a closer look at your house and he desires it for himself. Do you see the situation that Hezekiah is in? The Assyrian wants Jerusalem for himself.

Friend, there is no reason for any cause that you owe Satan anything, for Satan is the type of this Assyrian as stated here. You owe Satan nothing. It doesn't matter what league of agreement your ancestors made with Satan, you are not bound by them when you are in the Lord. Never apologize to Satan for anything that you have done, for he is the one that caused the fall in the first place. Friend, we don't take anything off anybody, when it comes to the ways of Satan and his realm. There is no bargaining thugs or murderers, or with Satan and his people under any cause. Satan gives no bargains, for all of his deals lead you into the pit with him.

II Kings 18:15 "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."

The point here is that Hezekiah did not go to God, but he went to king Sennacherib to buy his protection, just like his father Ahaz. Hezekiah is on a guilt trip to keep the bargains that his father made with this devil king. Hezekiah took his eyes of the Lord and trusting him for a moment, and fell to the same temptations of his father. Hezekiah is giving away all of God's treasures for the sake of his freedom. Friend, if you are a pastor, you had better look out how and what you do with the Lord's treasures, the tithe, and the house of God.

II Kings 18:16 "At that time did Hezekiah cut off the gold from the doors of the temple of the Lord, and from the pillars which Hezekiah king of Judah had overlaid, and gave it to the king of Assyria."

Remember that God had blessed Hezekiah greatly, and he had plated the temple doors, pillars and all the rest of the house of God with pure gold. Now Hezekiah is taking it all off the temple doors and pillars, and putting it in baskets to be hauled off to the king of Assyria. This man of God came into God's house and ripped off the whole place, so when is he going to come to his senses?

Do you think that this is going to change Sennacherib mind, and keep him from going after Jerusalem? Of course not, it only gave him the urge to go for more. The Assyrian saw the state of mind that his enemy was in, and it meant sure victory. Victory? No way, for the king of Assyrian is on his way to Egypt, and he is not making any detours.

II Kings 18:17 "And the king of Assyria sent Tartan and Rabsaris and Rab-shakeh from Lachish to king Hezekiah with a great host against 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."

This is what Sennacherib thought of the gold from God's house, for there was no thanks but only contempt. This conduit of the upper pool is where the water came into the city of Jerusalem. The names of these three men that came from the king of Assyria is not their names but their titles. The title of "Tartan" is the Commander and chief of the army. "Rabsaris" is a title chief of the heads, and "Rab-shakeh" was the political officer, chief of the captains. King Sennacherib sent the top commanders of his army and political realm to work out a deal with Hezekiah and the people of Judah. Silver and gold just did not work this time with the Syrians, nor will it work with Satan, for he will own all in the world at his coming, and the only thing that he wants are the souls of all men and women to worship him.

II Kings 18:18 "And when they had called to the king, there came out to them Eliakim the son of Hilkiah, which was over the household, and Shebna the scribe, and Joah the son of Asaph the recorder."

So Hezekiah is going to send out the top leaders of Jerusalem to meet with these Assyrians. Along with these leaders is little Shebna, the Kenite scribe, which is going to try to deal with these Assyrians. Hezekiah sent his lawyer, the court reporter, and the Kenite scribe to tell the Assyrians how it shall be.

II Kings 18:19 "And Rab-shakeh said unto them, "Speak ye now to Hezekiah, `Thus saith the great king, the king of Assyria, `What confidence is this wherein thou trustest?"

Rab-shakeh was the political chief, and he wanted to speak directly with Hezekiah to make the terms of surrender known to him. The question came up again, when Rab-shakeh saw this legal team coming out of the gate, he thought, do you expect me to trust you again, after what you have said and done?

II Kings 18:20 "Thou sayest, (but they are but vain words) I have counsel and strength for the war. Now on whom dost thou trust, that thou rebellest against me?"

This Assyrian is reminding Hezekiah that he told the king to "go bark up a tree", that you have taken some greater counsel for your strength in war when you stopped paying the taxes. I'm sure that Hezekiah had much more to say than that, and the king of Assyria took Hezekiah at his word.

II Kings 18:21 "Now, behold, thou trustest upon the staff of this bruised reed, even upon Egypt, on which if a man lean, it will go into his hand, and pierce it: so is Pharaoh king of Egypt unto all that trust on him."

Hezekiah's forefathers did lean of the Pharaoh of Egypt, and this Assyrian is reminding Hezekiah that it did them no good, nor will it do him any good. Not once did any Pharaoh keep any of his agreement all the way back to the time of Moses, and this Assyrian chief is remind Hezekiah of that fact. The Assyrian is telling the truth when he said, your leaning on Pharaoh is like leaning of a reed, for all that would happen is that your hand would be run through by that reed. A reed is a sharp thorn that is like a knife that can jab you.

II Kings 18:22 "But if ye say unto me, `We trust in the Lord our God:' is not that He, Whose high places and whose altars Hezekiah hath taken away, and hath said to Judah and Jerusalem, `Ye shall worship before this altar in Jerusalem?' "

Now this is where the Assyrian turned the gun on himself and shot his cause, for he is reminding Hezekiah that his strength was completely with God. He is reminding him that it was at the altar of God where he would get his strength, and that all the heathen gods and high places were taken away. Rab-shakeh this political chief is reminding Hezekiah just where to go to get that strength, to the altar of God in the house of God.

Friend, when you turn to God after messing up along the way, that is the time to repent and come back to God and His Ways. Hezekiah messed up when he apologized to the Assyrian his enemy, and you just don't do that. That makes God mad.

II Kings 18:23 "Now therefore, I pray thee, give pledges to my Lord the king of Assyria, and I will deliver thee two thousand horses, if thou be able on thy part to set riders upon them."

This is not to say that there were not two thousand men left in Jerusalem, for there were thousands more than that. But this was a challenge, and the horsemen were cavalrymen and the cavalry was the strength of Egypt. The Assyrian is saying this to insult Hezekiah, for he was saying; I could even give you two thousand of my best horses and it would not save you, because you don't even have men that could handle my horses.

II Kings 18:24 "How then wilt thou turn away the face of one captain of the least of my master's servants, and put thy trust on Egypt for chariots and for horsemen?"

He is saying all this to force Hezekiah to surrender without a fight and the loss of life of his men. Sure it does look bad for Judah at this moment, and it requires that something be done on Hezekiah's part.

II Kings 18:25 "Am I now come up without the Lord against this place to destroy it? The Lord said to me, `Go up against this land, and destroy it.' "

He is now saying that, "Do you think that I came up here without your Lord permission to destroy you?" In Isaiah 10:12 it states; "Wherefore it shall come to pass, that when the Lord hath performed His whole work upon mount Zion and on Jerusalem, I will punish the fruit of the stout heart of the king of Assyria, and the glory of his high looks."

It states that God will use this enemy the Assyrians, and then because of their "stout heart and high looks" God would in turn destroy Assyria, and that is exactly what will happen. Isaiah had been prophesying for many years by this time, warning that Assyria would be coming, and the people just did not believe him. This Assyrian chief knew those threats and was not throwing them back in the face of Hezekiah.

II Kings 18:26 "Then said Eliakim the son of Hilkiah, and Shebna, and Hoah, unto Rab-shakeh, "Speak, I pray thee 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."

The legal team that came out of Jerusalem did not want the conversation to be heard by the soldiers on the wall, for it could destroy their moral. Isaiah the prophet of God said that Assyria would destroy them, and here they are standing before them in person ready to do the job. This is why this little kenite scribe wanted their discussion to be spoken in the Syrian tongue.

II Kings 18:27 "But Rab-shakeh said unto them, "Hath my master sent me to thy master, and to thee, to speak these words? Hath he not sent me to the men which sit on the wall, that they may eat their own dung, and drink their own piss with you?"

Rab-shakeh is reminding them that the he came to warn the men on the wall that a great siege would follow if they would not give up their arms, surrender. That is exactly what the Assyrians were prepared to bring on Jerusalem if they refuse to surrender.

II Kings 18:28 "Then Rab-shakeh 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:"

Rab-shakeh turned from the legal team and spoke directly to the men on the wall so that they could hear all the warnings that he was giving to their king.

II Kings 18:29 "Thus saith the king, `Let not Hezekiah deceive you: for he shall not be able to deliver you out of his hand:"

Hezekiah again is the king of Judah. He is telling the troops on the wall, there is no way that Hezekiah can deliver you out of the hand of the Assyrian.

II Kings 18:30 "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.' "

Rabshakeh is trying to shake up the troops on the wall by telling them that even their God will not be able to deliver them from the hand of the Assyrians. From the wall these troops of Judah can look out and see the vast numbers of troops that the Assyrians have brought with them for the siege. Rab-shakeh is blaspheming against God. He is saying that God can not deliver them, and this statement would unite true believers.

II Kings 18:31 "Hearken not to Hezekiah:' for thus saith the king of Assyria, `Make an agreement with me by a present, and come out to me, and then eat ye every man of his own vine, and every one of his fig tree, and drink ye every one the waters of his cistern:"

The king of Assyria already had all the silver and gold, and now he is asking that they bring themselves out of the city and give themselves over as a gift to the king of Assyria. If you do that, I will allow you to return to your farms, and eat of the fruit that you grow yourselves. Sure there is a cistern involved in this offer, for the Assyrian does offer a pit, and that pit is destruction. Remember that this is a type of Satan, and you just cannot trust any promise that is made by him. This is a type of the false messiah, and Sennacherib simply cannot be counted on to keep any of his words.

There is much more in this verse with respect to types than what appears on the surface, for we are in the generation of the fig tree, and what spiritual waters are you drinking from to quench your thirst. This man could have been sincere with what he was saying, but he could not be trusted to follow through with the promises he made. Remember that it was the policy of the Assyrians to remover the people from off their lands, to other location that they were strangers of. The removal to other lands kept the enemy nations from having a base to rebuild their armies, to come against them in the future. That is exactly how Satan works when he comes at the time of the end, for he will do everything in power to upset you from your ways, and have the foundation base of the Word of God. Satan will put you to where you will learn to trust and rely on him.

When Satan comes, he will call himself by what ever causes it takes for you to worship him. He will promise you peace and prosperity, and any other thing that you desire and have a weakness for. All for the sake of getting you to commit your soul and trust to him.

II Kings 18:32 "Until I come and take you away to the land like your own land, a land of corn and wine, a land of bread and vineyards, a land of oil olive and of honey, that ye may live, and not die: and hearken not unto Hezekiah, when he persuadeth you, saying, `The Lord will deliver us.' "

Did you get that? "I come and take you away to the land like your won land." That is exactly what they did to the house of Israel and to every other nation that the Assyrians had conquered. That is the basis of the fly-away theory, for Satan will come to fly them away to another promise land, only the place where they will be taken is right into Satan's bed. Remember what Jesus warned us about in Matthew 24:19; "And woe unto them that are with child, and to them that give suck in those days." This is a spiritual warning to those Christians that think they can brake ranks, and go flying of with Satan, instead of waiting in the field for the true Messiah. How good does the rapture theory sound when you know what the result of the flight to Satan's bed will be.

This Rab-shakeh was telling them that they would end up just like their brother Israel, hauled off to a desert land in northern Iraq. The promise was to provide them with peace and prosperity, corn and wine, bread and vineyards, olive oil and honey, and all the rest that goes with peace and prosperity. These men of Judah had eight years to see what these Assyrians did to their brothers to the north, and that is exactly what they were going to do to them. This is the choice that they are making to Hezekiah and to Jerusalem. This is a strong statement against God, and God will not allow it to go unanswered.

II Kings 18:33 "Hath any of the gods of the nations delivered at all his hand out of the hand of the king of Assyria?"

He is reminding the men of Judah that of all of the nations that Assyria has conquered, none of their gods have been about to save them from our hands. Do you think that your God is any different than their gods? Of course the answer about those other gods is no, for their gods and idols are nothing. However they will see their true power of Judah's God very shortly.

II Kings 18:34 "Where are the gods of Hamath, and of Arpad? where are the gods of Sepharvaim, Hena, and Ivah? have they delivered Samaria out of mine hand?"

All these nations and even Samaria were no match for Assyria and its army.

II Kings 18:35 "Who are they among all the gods of the countries, that have delivered their country out of mine hand, that the Lord should deliver Jerusalem out of mine hand? ` "

This Syrian has just made a major mistake, for he was putting himself over the God of Hezekiah, stating that even their God was no match for Assyria. He even uses the sacred name of God when he blasphemes against the Lord. He is cursing the creator of all things here.

II Kings 18:36 "But the people held their peace, and answered him not a word: for the king's commandment was, saying, "Answer him not."

The people of God had discipline in their ranks, and held their peace as the Assyrian was going on in his cursing and blasphemy. Friend, we are to discipline ourselves in the Word of God, even as Hezekiah was pressured into doing what he did, to hold our peace, and answer him not. Remember that this is a type of the Antichrist, Satan, when he comes to earth making the same claims and promises, to remove you from off the land and send you to his places of peace and prosperity within his system. Those places are deserts and full of all sorts of wickedness. Get into God's Word and get wise concerning those thing of prophecy told of our generation of the end times. Learn to pay attention to those things that are happening today, and learn to apply it to God's Word. As long as the discipline holds on the wall, the enemy will never have a foothold into the ranks of God's people.

II Kings 18:37 "Then came Eliakim the son of Hilkiah, which was over the household, and Shebna the scribe, and Joah the son of Asaph the recorder, to Hezekiah with their clothes rent, and told him the words of Rab-shakeh."

These three that were sent out to meet with Rab-shakeh came back into the city completely devastated. Did they have any trust in God for the victory? Absolutely not! They came to Hezekiah and told him of the words that Rab-shakeh had said outside the wall. The actions of Hezekiah are given in the next chapter.

II Kings 19:1 "And it came to pass, when Hezekiah heard it, that he rent his clothes, and covered himself with sackcloth, and went into the house of the Lord."

Hezekiah was the first king, in a long list of king that does right in the eyes of the Lord. When he comes off of his guilt trip, for failing to follow through with the paying of the taxes to Assyria and telling the king of Assyria to get lost, He turns humbly to the Father for help. Jerusalem was a city built strong and was a hard place for an enemy to take. It took three years to humble the city the first time, and two years for Nebuchadnessar to take it, some two hundred years after this time. Hezekiah did the right thing when he went to the house of God to seek help for the Father.

II Kings 19:2 "And he sent Eliakim, which was over the household, and Shebna the scribe, and the elders of the priests, covered with sackcloth, to Isaiah the prophet the son of Amoz."

This is the same Isaiah that wrote the book of Isaiah, and is spoken of in Isaiah 1:1; "The vision of Isaiah the son of Amoz, which he saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem in the days of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, king of Judah."

Hezekiah has not only gone to the Temple, but he sent his advisors to Isaiah to receive direction as to what he should do.

II Kings 19:3 "And they said unto him, "Thus saith Hezekiah, `Thus saith Hezekiah, `This day is a day of trouble, and of rebuke, and blasphemy: for the children are come to the birth, and there is not strength to being forth."

This is what these men said to Isaiah. Hezekiah is telling Isaiah that we were on our way upward, and God blessed us, but we cannot get our strength. Judah need strength badly for the Assyrians were camped right outside the walls of the city.

II Kings 19:4 "It may be the Lord thy God will hear all the words of Rab-shakeh, 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.' "

Remember that Rab-shakeh told Hezekiah that it was God that sent him and his army to Jerusalem to take it. Rab-shakeh was the political officer over the army of the Assyrians, and the message was given in II Kings 18:28-32. This is a beautiful prayer by Hezekiah to the Lord, humbling himself before God.

II Kings 19:5 "So the servants of king Hezekiah came to Isaiah."

II Kings 19:6 "And Isaiah said unto them, "Thus shall ye say to your master, `Thus saith the Lord, `Be not afraid of the words which thou hast heard, with which the servants of the king of Assyria have blasphemed Me."

This is what Isaiah told the messengers to tell king Hezekiah. God is telling Hezekiah through Isaiah that He has heard every word of blasphemy that was spoken by the Assyrians. Don't be afraid of those words. Friend, God will not stand for blasphemy of His name.

II Kings 19:7 "Behold, I will send a blast upon him, and he shall hear a rumour, and shall return to his own land; and I will cause him to fall by the sword in his own land.' "

This is God speaking, and He is promising Hezekiah that He will send a blast on the Assyrians that will cause him to return back home. Not only is Rab-shakeh and the army going to return home, and they will die when they return home. Do you see what a difference it makes when God is with you; for when God is for you, who can be against you. We will see that the events will come to pass exactly as God said they would. This is why when the problems come and you have done all that you can do, that is the time to turn them over to the Lord. Go to him, he knows your problems better than you do.

II Kings 19:8 "So Rab-shakeh returned, and found the king of Assyria warring against Libnah: for he had heard that he was departed from Lachish."

Rab-shakeh heard the rumors from back home, and he packed his army and headed back home. There was war between Libnah and Assyria, and king Sennacherib left Lachish in a hurry for Nineveh. Remember God said that He would send a rumor, and it came.

II Kings 19:9 "And when he heard say of Tirhakah king of Ethiopia, "Behold, he is come out to fight against thee:" he sent messengers again unto Hezekiah, saying,"

This rumor stated that Tirhakah, the king of Ethiopia, or upper Egypt was bringing his army to fight for Jerusalem. Tirhakah had fine horsemen and chariots and they would stand against any army. This was the rumor that was heard, and Rab-shakeh did not want to be pinned between the Egyptian army and the the walls of Jerusalem. It was time to head home. He knew that for the siege to be successful, it would have taken another three years, and he could not sustain that kind of war while laying siege to Jerusalem.

Remember God had promised that the rumor would come to these Assyrians out side the wall, and the rumor came immediately. Hezekiah had trusted God completely and God fulfilled His promise to him.

II Kings 19:10 "Thus shall ye speak to Hezekiah king of Judah, saying, `Let not thy God in Whom thou trustest deceive thee, saying, `Jerusalem shall not be delivered into the hand of the king of Assyria.' "

This is old Rab-shakeh sending a message to Hezekiah, after he had heard the rumor of the coming troops from Ethiopia, telling him not to trust in God, for God would not save him. Rab-shakeh wanted Jerusalem to surrender before those troops arrived so he would not have to face them, and hold the siege. Would Hezekiah loose faith in God and do as the Assyrians said? Of course not.

Remember that this is a type of what we shall see in our generation, the generation of the parable of the fig tree, as written in Matthew 24 and Mark 13. This Assyrian is a type of the Assyrian of the end times, who is Satan in his role as the Antichrist of the book of Revelation. Satan is coming to say the same things that this Assyrian is saying, to try to deceive you. God is telling you exactly what to expect, and he expects you to see right through his lies. Satan will promise you what ever he thinks it will take for you to worship him.

II Kings 19:11 "Behold, thou hast heard what the kings of Assyria have done to all lands, by destroying them utterly: and shalt thou be delivered?"

Rab-shakeh is reminding Hezekiah of all the other nations that Assyria has conquered, and he is asking, do you think that you can escape out of our hands. Keep in mind that this is a bluff, for Rab-shakeh knows that he and the army use return to protect the home land, and he want to see if he can talk Hezekiah into giving up without a siege or a fight. He has heard the rumors that the Ethiopians are coming, and he doesn't want to be anywhere near when they arrive.

II Kings 19:12 "Have the gods of the nations delivered them which my fathers have destroyed; as Gozan, and Haran, and Rezeph, and the children of Eden which were in Thelasar?"

Rab-shakeh gives even a longer list than he did back in the prior chapter of those nations that Assyria had captured.

II Kings 19:13 "Where is the king of Hamath, and the king of Arpad, and the king of the city of Sepharvaim, of Hena, and Ivah?' "

Naturally they had already been taken captive, and their people removed from off their lands to another foreign location. Many of these people were removed from their lands into the lands of the house of Israel. Though all these nations had fallen, here is the city of Jerusalem high on the hilltop, fully protected by God and the walls. The little tribe of Judah standing on the walls.

II Kings 19:14 "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."

Hezekiah took the letter and read it, and went directly to the Temple to see what the Lord had to say about it. Do you understand how to please God? When you have a problem, don't try to buy your way out, but take it to the Lord, using common sense in all that you do. Our Father can make those problems disappear, and turn out to your favor.

Stop and think of those big problems of the past, and think of what happened to them when you brought them to the Lord. Each part of the problem just melted away to where that iceberg just disappeared. That is the way that our Father operates, and He will protect you, one of His children. He loves you and desires to take care of you when you ask Him to.

II Kings 19:15 "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"

This is the way that Moses laid out on the ark of the covenant, where the throne was between the cherubims, being the seat of God. Hezekiah is giving God His full title.

II Kings 19:16 "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."

Hezekiah is telling God, Sennacherib has blasphemed you, Father.

II Kings 19:17 "Of a truth, Lord, the kings of Assyria have destroyed the nations and their lands,"

Hezekiah agrees in this prayer that the Assyrians have destroyed all the nations that were mentioned.

II Kings 19:18 "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."

Maybe that was why God allowed the Assyrians to be so strong in the first place, for they did go throughout the world at that time cleaning out all the forms of Idolatry, and destroying the evil works of those nations.

II Kings 19:19 "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."

If you want to learn how to talk to the Father, this is how. The reason for all of our prayers should be, "That all the kingdoms and people of the earth may know that Thou art the Lord God, even Thou only." Our purpose should be to glorify God in all that we do. Hezekiah knew that it was all in God's hands.

II Kings 19:20 "then Isaiah the son of Amoz sent to Hezekiah, saying, "Thus saith the Lord God of Israel, `That which thou hast prayed to Me against Sennacherib king of Assyria I have heard.' "

II Kings 19:21 "This is the word that the Lord hath spoken concerning him; `The virgin the daughter of Zion hath despised thee, and laughed thee to scorn; The daugher of Jerusalem hath shaken her head at thee."

Isaiah is reminding Hezekiah, through this message of God, that the Assyrian had despised the and laughed at you to scorn. Remember what Paul said to us concerning Satan, the Antichrist in II Corinthians 11:1; "Would to God ye could bear with me a little in my folly: and indeed bare with me." He said, some of you may think that this is foolish, but this is very serious.

II Corinthians 11:2 "For I am jealous over you with godly jealousy: for I have espoused you to one husband, that I may present you as a chaste virgin to Christ."

II Corinthians 11:3 "But I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtilty, so your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ."

Paul did not want us to be deceived by Satan, the serpent, as Eve was when she was "beguiled". "Beguiled" in the Greek test is "Exapatao", "to be wholly seduced, to conceive." Paul was saying that he wants to present you as a "chased virgin" to the Lord Jesus Christ at the second advent.

So do you understand what is said here in II Kings when it says, "the virgin daughter of Zion has despised thee?" This is the type of the Antichrist, only "the virgin", spiritually speaking, are those that do know the true Christ, and the events that shall come to pass. We are in that generation of the fig tree, and we had better know those things that are foretold in our time. This is why God specifies that the "virgin daughter mocks you", The others will not be mocking him for they have no idea who Satan is, for they think Satan is Christ.

This is a warning to be alert of the enemy and stand against him when he mocks you and your relationship to God. When the Assyrian makes his threats, tell him that "My virgin daughter is laughing her head off at you." That is what you tell him. For when you know the outcome of the events, why would you spend one second worrying over the outcome. God has already promised the victory.

II Kings 19:22 "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."

Of course the one that the Assyrian has blasphemed and reproached was our Heavenly Father. Though it is addressing Sennacherib, it is also in reference in type to Satan the Assyrian in the latter day. Satan will also blaspheme those virgins of Christ, and in the word "reproached", #2778 in Strong's Hebrew dictionary we read; "Charaph, a prime root, to pull off, to expose, to betroth (as if a surrender) to defame." Satan will do what every he thinks it takes to keep you from being that betrothed virgin of Christ, and cause you to surrender to himself. Just as Sennacherib the Assyrian has done to king Hezekiah, to get him to surrender to his army. Satan will set himself on high and present himself to be God, the most powerful.

II Kings 19:23 "By the messengers thou hast reproached the Lord, and hast said, `With the multitude of my chariots I am come up to the height of the mountains, 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."

"Carmel" in the Hebrew means "paradise". In Isaiah 14, Isaiah is saying the same thing as here, for the "cedars of Lebanon" were tall and beautiful, and have been the symbol for the people of the house of Israel. When God compares people to trees, His people are likened to "the cedars of Lebanon", while Satan to "teashur", just an old box cedar river tree fit only to be burned.

Those messengers that Sennacherib sent insulted both God and Jerusalem, God's favorite place on earth. God did not like that one bit.

II Kings 19:24 "I have digged and drunk strange waters, And with the sole of my feet have I dried up all the rivers of besieged places.' "

God is mocking the king of Assyria with his own words.

II Kings 19:25 "Hast thou not heard long ago how I have done it, And of ancient times that I have formed it: Now have I brought it to pass, That thou shouldest be to lay waste fenced cities into ruinous heaps."

This is exactly what had happened, and this tells us that our Father is in control of everything that happens. This is why we can trust Him.

II Kings 19:26 "Therefore their inhabitants were of small power, They were dismayed and confounded; they were as the grass of the field, And as the green herb, as the grass on the house tops, and as corn blasted before it be grown up."

God is telling the Assyrian that those little towns that you have been destroying, they were nothing in comparison to what I am.

II Kings 19:27 "But I know thy abode, And thy going out, and thy coming in, And thy rage against Me."

God is telling them that he know exactly where your houses are, and everything you do, and all the blasphemes against Me. This is why when Satan makes a move against you, God is aware of it. However even then, you must ask God for the protection from Satan's attacks, just as Hezekiah has done here. When Satan attacks you, that is the time to turn to God for help and not to some man. God knows the devil and the enemies weak points and He is about bring you the victory. He is a God of vengeance and He knows how to avenge His own.

II Kings 19:28 "Because thy rage against Me and thy tumult is come up into Mine ears, Therefore I will put My hook in thy nose, And My bridle in thy lips, And I will turn thee back by the way by which thou camest.' "

God is telling the Assyrians that you are not going to run over Jerusalem, but He will put his hooks in you, and turn you back in the direction that you came. Ezekiel spoke of the same thing concerning the attack on God's people in the end times.

Ezekiel 38:3 "And say, `Thus saith the Lord God; `Behold, I am against the, O Gog, the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal."

This is talking about the final battle when Russia, the chief prince of Meshech [Rosh], comes against the Christian nations with all its allies. This happens right before the return of Jesus Christ at the seventh trumpet.

Ezekiel 38:4 "And I will turn thee back, and put hooks into thy jaws, and I will bring thee forth, and all thine army, horses and horsemen, and all of them clothed with all sorts of armour, even a great company with bucklers and shields, all of the handling swords:"

Ezekiel was using the same words from God describing what shall happen at the end of this earth age, as Isaiah is using to describe how He shall turn Assyria away from Jerusalem. God will do this for His people when they ask for the protection. Do you know what to do when that time comes? So now God is going to turn His words away from Sennacherib and the Assyrians, and back to Hezekiah and the people of Judah.

II Kings 19:29 "And this shall be a sign unto thee, Ye shall eat this year such things as grow of themselves, and 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."

This is a promise by God that those three years that the Assyrians have told them they were going to bring famine by a siege; God is promising that they will be fruitful and prosperous years. So because Hezekiah has gone to God for help instead of going to Egypt, He is going to bless them and protect them immediately.

II Kings 19:30 "And the remnant that is escaped of the house of Judah shall yet again take root downward, and bear fruit upward."

The rural people that had taken refuge in the city of Jerusalem, could go back home and be safe in their homes and farms. Their lands would bear fruit in safety from all enemies. God can bless you when you please Him, or He can curse you when you turn your back on Him and His ways.

II Kings 19:31 "For out of Jerusalem shall go forth a remnant, and they that escape out of mount Zion: the zeal of the Lord of hosts shall do this."

It is God that shall do this for His Own sake.

II Kings 19:32 "Therefore thus saith the Lord concerning the king of Assyria, `He shall not come into this city, nor shoot an arrow there, nor come before it with shield, nor cast a bank against it."

When you have that assurance from a prophet of God, you can rest in peace through the night. No matter what threats the wicked leaders of this world say, there will not be a nuclear holocaust. God's Word does not say that there will be, and there will not be. Satan doesn't want to destroy this world, but he wants to the the king of the souls living in the world. Satan doesn't want it any more than you do, for he wants you prosperous, and thanking him for what you have. However there will be the battles of Hammon-gog and Armageddon to make the end of this earth age of the flesh.

II Kings 19:33 "By the way that he came, by the same shall he return, and shall not come into this city,' saith the Lord."

II Kings 19:34 " `For I will defend this city, to save it, for Mine own sake, and for My servant David's sake.' "

David was promised that through his seed would come the Messiah. It is for the sake of the coming Messiah that God would defend Jerusalem. The Messiah is where our salvation comes from, through repentance in Jesus name.

II Kings 19:35 "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 four score and five thousand: and when they arose early in the morning, behold, they were all dead corpses."

This is the death angel of our Heavenly Father that went out and slay one hundred and eighty five thousand Assyrians that night. This is the same angel that come over Egypt the night Before Moses and the Israelites were to leave Egypt. God was in control, and He did exactly what He said He would do.

II Kings 19:36 "So Sennacherib king of Assyria departed, and went and returned, and dwelt at Nineveh."

Nineveh was the famous city that Jonah preached two generations prior, that repented and God saved them to be His tool at this time.

II Kings 19:37 "And it came to pass, as he was worshipping in the house of Nisroch his god, that Adram-melech and Sharezer his sons smote him with the sword: and they escaped into the land of Armenia. And Esarhaddon his son reigned in his stead."

Sennacherib's own sons plotted and killed him, and fled into the land of Armenia. Armenia in the Hebrew is Arat. Friend, these people kept their own history as to what happened in their day, and recorded it on stone. Of course it is slanted to favor their view of what took place. There are eleven lines of their writing that relates to these same two sons killing their father and fleeing out of the land.

When Sennacherib was slain by one of his two sons, his other son Esarhaddon assumed the throne of his father. King Esarhaddon's first goal was to rebuild ancient Babylon, which his father had destroyed. This he did, and by 688 B.C Esarhaddon's empire had grown to include Egypt and Ethopia.

When Esarhaddon's son [Ashur-etil-ilani] followed to Sennacherib's throne of Assyria in about 626 B.C., He appointed his general Nebopolassar as viceroy to Northern Babylon. While in Babylon Nebopolassar built a strong army, and fourteen years later overthrew the Assyrian empire. This conflict was recorded in Zephaniah 2:12-15. It would be Nebopolazzar's grandson Nebuchadnezzar that would become the world leader, and ultimately bring Judah into captivity for those seventy years.