Invasion of the Brutal Assyrian Empire

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Category: Group Study

Thread: Significant Battles and their Impact on God’s Plan

Post Topic: Invasion of the Brutal Assyrian Empire

Post in Thread: #5 (divided into 3 parts)

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Scripture: 2 Kings 16-19

³²“Therefore this is what the Lord says concerning the king of Assyria:
“‘He will not enter this city
    or shoot an arrow here.
He will not come before it with shield
    or build a siege ramp against it.
³³By the way that he came he will return;
    he will not enter this city,
declares the Lord.
³⁴I will defend this city and save it,
    for my sake and for the sake of David my servant.’”
2 Kings 19:32-34

Note – This story is divided into smaller sections in order to keep with the Burning Bush Blog’s pledge to produce less-demanding studies. But there is no right or wrong pace. Use in whatever manner works for you and your group. Also, if you are time-constrained, feel free to pick and choose discussion questions.

Part 1 – Unholy Alliances

Scripture: 2 Kings 16:1-9; Isaiah 7:1-14

Key Verses:

¹⁰Again the Lord spoke to Ahaz, ¹¹“Ask the Lord your God for a sign, whether in the deepest depths or in the highest heights.”

¹²But Ahaz said, “I will not ask; I will not put the Lord to the test.”

¹³Then Isaiah said, “Hear now, you house of David! Is it not enough to try the patience of humans? Will you try the patience of my God also? ¹⁴Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel.”
Isaiah 7:10-14

Observations

Context

North vs South

Israel and Judah had only been united for a short time under David and Solomon before they split. Even though all descendants of Jacob, the 10 northern tribes and 2 southern tribes feuded since the time of David and Saul. (see visual history PDF).
Now they each had their own line of kings.
God had promised that the Messiah would come from the line of David, and therefore had hedge of protection around his descendants in Judah.

Assyrian Threat

The Assyrian empire had become the dominant threat in this part of the world, and expected heavy tributes to avoid military retribution, including brutal executions, slavery, and conscription into the Assyrian armed forces.

Alliances

Pekah, the 2^nd to last king of Israel formed an alliance with the Syrian king Rezin (also known as Aram).
- Together they marched on Judah, and won victories in places like Elath.
- They closed in on Jerusalem and laid siege to it.
- Some scholars believe Pekah and Rezin wanted Judah to join an alliance against the Assyrians.
Ahaz, the king of Judah, was holed up in Jerusalem. In desperation, he reached out to the Assyrian king Tiglath-Pileser, for assistance.

Prophecies

The prophet Isaiah lived during this time. We read his reaction to these events in Isaiah 7:1-25.
Verse 6 unveils the true intent of the northern tribes – they want to tear apart Judah and install their own puppet king.
The Lord told Isaiah to inform Ahaz that he would not allow this to happen. That Israel and Aram would become smoldering stubs of firewood.
- God even told Ahaz: “Ask the Lord your God for a sign.” But Ahaz refused.
- God provided a sign anyway — the famous prophecy of Isaiah in verse 14 — that a virgin will conceive a son and name him Immanuel.

Discussion

Everything seemed to be closing in around Ahaz. Enemies were sensing weakness – Even the Philistines were attacking at the edges. If you were in Ahaz’s position, what would you have done?
It’s unusual for God to offer to provide a sign. Why do think Ahaz refused the offer?

Interpretation

Setting

The southern kingdom of Judah, including Jerusalem.

Genre/Author

Historical Narrative. I and II Kings record the monarchical succession of the leaders of Israel and Judah, seeking to provide a detailed factual description of events. The writer is a historian, a theologian, and a storyteller.

Takeaways

Ahaz was absolutely despicable. He’d even sacrificed his own son to the pagan gods. Yet, God had plans to preserve the royal line of David.
Pekah, the king of Israel, also did evil in the eyes of the Lord. He plotted to destroy Judah and install his own king.
How must it have pained God to see his chosen people warring with each other?
How much more must it have pained God to see both Israel and Judah with evil kings who worshipped pagan gods and refused to listen to his prophets?
Ahaz declined God’s gift of a sign – so God decided to provide a sign to ALL of HUMANITY — the prophecy of a virgin conceiving a son, who would become our savior.

Discussion

The Hebrew word Isaiah used in Isaiah 7:14 can be translated as either a young woman or as a virgin. Furthermore, in Isaiah 8:1-4, is Isaiah fulfilling his own prophecy by bearing a son with his wife, presumably a young woman? If so, what does that do to the prophecy of Jesus being born of a virgin?

Stumped? Check out this resource for more information: Did you miss something in the Isaiah 7:14 prophecy?
Another hint – many prophecies in the Old Testament are double-prophecies, having both a short-term and long-term implication.

Correlation

Matthew 1:22-23 – Matthew states that the virgin birth of Jesus fulfills Isaiah’s prophecy. God With Us conveys special significance when you consider that it was a virgin birth of God’s son.

Application

Generic Applications

God had to be disgusted with Ahaz. Yet he still gave him a chance to listen to Isaiah and to refrain from aligning with the Assyrians. God even wanted to give Ahaz a comforting sign. Ahaz refused, and made the alliance anyway. God still allowed this alliance with Assyria to work, as we’ll see in Part II. Sometimes God allows our disobedience to appear to succeed in the short term. But it always has long term consequences. In the case of Ahaz, the consequences are 2-fold:

His biblical legacy is that of an evil king who rebelled against the Lord.
His earthly kingdom was little more than a vassal state of Assyria. He had to pay them enormous tributes. He was forced to tear down the holy altars to God and replace them with Assyrian gods and worship practices all over Jerusalem and Judea.

Group Discussion

Is it maddening or comforting to know that God kept giving Ahaz chances to turn it around? Is it madding or comforting that God protected Ahaz from Pekah’s attacks?

Personalize It

In spite of his history of obscene rebellion to God, Ahaz was given a chance to listen to Isaiah and follow in God’s will. But he rejected God’s offer to ask for a sign. Sometimes we want our own way soooo bad. We don’t want to listen to God. We avoid reading Scripture for fear we might be convicted to let go of our way.

Group Discussion

Is anyone willing to share a time in their life when they were an Ahaz, and refused to listen to God’s voice because of their own stubborn desires?
Sometimes, because of our own stubborn will, we don’t want to hear God’s voice. After all, if we don’t hear his voice, we don’t have to obey it. And this only makes us drift more. What are some things that happen when we don’t want to listen?
- We stop reading Scripture
- Our prayer life suffers
- We tune out the pastor on Sundays
- What else?

Part 2 – The Fall of Israel

Scripture: 2 Kings 17:1-41

¹⁴But they would not listen and were as stiff-necked as their ancestors, who did not trust in the Lord their God. ¹⁵They rejected his decrees and the covenant he had made with their ancestors and the statutes he had warned them to keep. They followed worthless idols and themselves became worthless. They imitated the nations around them although the Lord had ordered them, “Do not do as they do.”
2 Kings 17:14-15

Observations

Context

In Part I, we discussed how Ahaz of Judah had called upon Assyria to defend him from the invasions of King Pekah of Israel.
Assyria had taken Judah’s payment and invaded Syria and Israel.
This invasion had been successful, and Assyria had been demanding heavy tribute from Israel ever since.

Events

Pekah was overthrown by Hoshea who took over as king of Israel. Hoshea also did evil in the sight of the Lord.
Tired of Assyria’s iron fist, Hoshea sent envoys to Egypt for protection.
The new king of Assyria, Shalmaneser, invaded the entire land. He laid siege to Israel for three years.
- Hoshea was captured and thrown in prison.
- In Hoshea’s 9^th year, the destruction was complete. The king of Assyria deported the Israelites to Assyria, and moved many of his own people into the land.
Verses 7-23 make it clear that the Lord had engineered this to happen to Israel because of their wickedness and rebellion.
The land of Samaria was resettled by the Assyrians. The king of Assyria brought in people from all over to settle in the Samaritan towns.

Discussion

What do you know about the Assyrian Empire’s rule? How difficult was life for a vassal state of Assyria? Why not just pay the tributes?
In 2 Kings 17:21-22, the author recalls the original split of the kingdom after the death of Solomon – when Jeroboam led the 10 northern tribes away. Does it surprise you that there were only three kings over a united kingdom before it split? (Saul, David, and Solomon)
Can you fathom how so many kings in Israel and Judah’s history lived in rebellion to God? What were the primary drivers in these kings that made them lead their people away from God?

Interpretation

Setting/Background

Samaria was under siege for at least three years. The king mentioned is Shalmaneser, but we know he was replaced in 722 by Sargon. It is likely Shalmaneser reigned during most of the siege, but the destruction of Israel was completed by Sargon.

Genre/Author

Takeaways – Israel’s Failure

Some awful depictions of the Israelites:
- As stiff-necked as their ancestors.
- Rejected God’s decrees, his covenant made with his ancestors, the statutes he’d warned them to keep.
- Followed worthless idols, and they themselves became worthless. OUCH!
- Imitated nations around them, although the Lord had warned “Do not do as they do.”
- Sacrificed sons and daughters in the fire.
- Practiced divination and sought omens.
In verse 19 it says that Judah followed the ungodly practices introduced by Israel.
- Our failures don’t just impact ourselves.
- Our failures can also lead others astray.
God didn’t pick Israel because they were better than the other nations. But he did select them to be set apart.
- God didn’t choose believers because they are better than everyone else.
- All who belong to God are to be set apart.

Takeaways – Israel’s Doom

They were exiled to the corners of the Assyrian empire.
Assyrians moved into Samaria to fill the void.
The people intermarried, creating the race of people known as the Samaritans.
- Ever hear the story of the good Samaritan? He would have been a half-breed.
- In Jesus’s day, we read about the hate and disdain the Jews and Samaritans had for each other. It dates back to these days.

Discussion

Read 2 Kings 17:7-8:

What does this say about why Israel fell? (Look deeper than just the fact that they sinned)
What lessons can we take away from this about our own nation?

Correlation

Leviticus 20:26 (ESV) – God speaking to the Israelites through Moses : You shall be holy to me, for I the Lord am holy and have separated you from the peoples, that you should be mine. Unfortunately, they turned out to be anything but holy; anything but separated from the practices of other nations. Their failures had consequences.

I Peter 2:9 – Writing to Jewish Christians scattered throughout the world, the apostle Peter uses language that they would understand, calling them a royal priesthood, a chosen race, a holy nation. But all Christians can know that God wants us to live set apart as God’s light in a dark world.

Romans 12:2 – We are instructed to not be conformed to the things of this world, but to have a renewed, discerning mind.

Discussion

What does Peter’s term “a royal priesthood” mean to you?

Application

Generic Applications

God calls us to be set apart. To be holy. Just as he called Israel and Judah to be set apart from the nations around them.

Group Discussion

What are some things we can do to be set apart from the world?
Conversely, what are some unholy influences that the world has on us today?
How important is it to go to church on Sundays? How often is it okay to skip for activities like:
- Fishing with friends
- Attending a sporting event
- Sleeping in
- Work

Personalize it

To ponder to ourselves: As I inspect my own life, are there habits of mine that draw me away from holiness? Do I have an overwhelming desire to fit in that drives me to participate in activities I shouldn’t?

Group Discussion

How can we be set apart from the world without coming across as self-righteous and judgmental? Should we even worry about how we come across?

Part 3 – Hezekiah’s Faith and Salvation

Scripture: 2 Kings 18-19

⁵Hezekiah trusted in the Lord, the God of Israel. There was no one like him among all the kings of Judah, either before him or after him. ⁶He held fast to the Lord and did not stop following him; he kept the commands the Lord had given Moses. ⁷And the Lord was with him; he was successful in whatever he undertook. He rebelled against the king of Assyria and did not serve him.
2 Kings 18:5-7

³⁵That night the angel of the Lord went out and put to death a hundred and eighty-five thousand in the Assyrian camp. When the people got up the next morning—there were all the dead bodies! ³⁶So Sennacherib king of Assyria broke camp and withdrew. He returned to Nineveh and stayed there.
2 Kings 19:35-36

Observations

Context

In part I we read about Hezekiah’s father, Ahaz, and how he did evil in the sight of God. Furthermore, we understand that Hezekiah lived during the reign of Hoshea of Israel, whom we studied in part II. It was in the middle of Hezekiah’s reign that Hoshea’s kingdom fell (722BC) and Assyria took the northern tribes into captivity, dispersing them forever, and intermarrying to create the Samaritans.

It was under this constant threat from Assyria that defined Judah’s existence under Hezekiah’s reign.

BELOW: View from inside Hezekiah’s tunnel, which he built to divert water inside Jerusalem’s walls, anticipating a protracted Assyrian siege. Picture taken with a flash. Cold water still flows through the tunnel today into the Pool of Siloam.

Assyrian Incursion (v9-16)

In Hezekiah’s 4^th year, King Shalmaneser of Assyria laid siege to Samaria in Israel.
In three years, the Assyrians took the city and deported the remaining remnants of Israel, scattering them.
In Hezekiah’s fourteenth year, a new Assyrian king, Sennacherib, began attacking further south, marching into cities with Judah’s territory.
While the siege of the stronghold of Lachish was underway, Hezekiah offered to pay tribute to end these incursions. He paid a massive sum of silver in gold, even stripping what he could find off the temple of the LORD.

Sennacherib attacks Judah – courtesy www.biblemapper.com

Sennacherib’s Threats

In spite of the tribute, Sennacherib sent his envoy to threaten Jerusalem.
- Somehow, all this gold and silver was not enough.
- We are left to speculate why (which we’ll do in Interpretation)
In chapter 18, the commander mocks Hezekiah’s meager fighting force.
- He calls out in Hebrew, trying to turn the people on the wall against Hezekiah.
- He claims Hezekiah is misleading them when he claims that the Lord will deliver them.
  - “Has any god ever delivered a nation from Assyria?” he calls in Hebrew, so everyone in the city will understand.
  - Then he listed out the nations who’d been conquered; whose gods had failed them.
  - He offered the people a chance at life, if they will just make peace and come out and be taken to a foreign land.
In 2 Kings 19:9-13, Sennacherib sends another set of threats via a messenger, echoing the claims of the commander from chapter.

Response

Prayer – Hezekiah immediately goes to God in prayer.
- He glorifies God, declaring God enthroned over all kingdoms.
- He asks God to listen to the words Sennacherib said in ridicule of the living God.
- He begs for deliverance.
The prophet Isaiah prophecies the fall of Sennacherib.
- He describes the insolence of the enemy.
- He declares that Sennacherib will return the way he came.
- He says that Sennacherib will not enter the city of Jerusalem or shoot a single arrow there.
- God will defend the city and save it, for the sake of David his servant.

God fights the battle for Hezekiah

That night the angel of the LORD went out and smote 185,000 enemy soldiers. Dead bodies were everywhere. Imagine the smell!

Verse 36 says: So Sennacherib king of Assyria broke camp and withdrew. He returned to Nineveh and stayed there. Yeah, I’ll bet he stayed there!

Discussion

Does everyone know what a siege ramp was? Describe how the Assyrians used it to defeat the neighboring stronghold of Lachish.

Assyrian inscriptions document in detail the 3-year siege of Lachish and their massive victory. Yet the annals of Sennacherib contain no record of a battle against Jerusalem. In what ways does this provide confirmation of the events recorded in 2 Kings 18-19?

Imagine the defenders of Jerusalem waking up one morning. Rumors are that something big has happened. Then reports from the scouts trickle in. The Assyrians are simply gone, except for a big pile of dead bodies. Another scout confirms that they’re marching northward. How do you think Hezekiah and the people celebrated?

Interpretation

Setting

Lachish to Jerusalem – the land of Judah.

Genre/Author

Takeaways

Don’t mock God. It came back to haunt Sennacherib.
Sometimes, we need to let God fight our battles for us.
- While reading the two accounts of the Assyrians mocking Hezekiah’s defenses, we become aware of how superior the Assyrian forces were.
- Sennacherib didn’t speak untruth about the nations he’d conquered.
  - Israel had already fallen.
  - Major strongholds in Judah were starting to fall, such as Lachish.

Assyrian reliefs celebrating Lachish Victory

Hezekiah had done a great job preparing Jerusalem for an extended siege, but without divine intervention, it too eventually would have fallen.
In the end, Hezekiah’s amazing water tunnel and other preparations didn’t matter. All he had to do was trust God.

Speculation on the Tribute

The most confusing part of this passage is about Hezekiah paying tribute, but then still being threatened. Why did Hezekiah offer this? And why wasn’t it enough?

Recall the accounts from Hezekiah’s father’s agreement with Assyria. Ahaz had paid a massive tribute, but he also allowed deportations and installed Assyrian gods throughout the land.
Hezekiah was willing to pay the tribute, but not to defy God.
This compromise was not enough for Sennacherib. Recall what the Assyrians did to the defeated Israelites.
- They took them into bondage and scattered them to the winds.
- They eliminated a spirit of nationalism with their subjects.
- They assimilated them into Assyrian culture.
- Money alone was not enough.

Hezekiah’s Actions Under Duress

Intense prayer for deliverance.
Listening to the prophet Isaiah, unlike his father.

Discussion

How did Hezekiah pray? Read 2 Kings 19:14-19 and list the things Hezekiah prayed. What can we learn from this prayer?

Correlation

Philippians 1:12-14; Philippians 1:18-21

Paul is writing a letter to the church of Philippi while he is imprisoned and in chains. He faces his adversity in a different way than Hezekiah – he rejoices. He rejoices that his imprisonment gives him a stronger platform to spread the gospel, with this stirring proclamation: For me to live is Christ and to die is gain.

He was writing to believers in a very pagan, Roman city. He encourages them to remain steadfast, not turning from their beliefs inside this culture.

Discussion

In the face of adversity, which approach do you prefer – Paul’s rejoicing or Hezekiah’s mourning and crying out to God? Perhaps it depends on the situation…

Application

Generic Applications

Hezekiah stood up against the culture around him, defying his own father’s pagan traditions, and defying the mighty Assyrians. He saw what happened in the north to Israel, and knew the Assyrians would not tolerate his rebellion, yet he remained steadfast.

It seemed that it was not enough. The Assyrians began systematically defeating the fortified cities of Judah. And Jerusalem was square in their sights once Lachish fell.

In the face of this adversity, Hezekiah was distraught. He tore his clothes and begged God for deliverance. He tried to take one step into his own hands, and paid a heavy tribute to Sennacherib. But when Sennacherib made it clear that he wanted more – complete subservience to the Assyrian culture and gods – Hezekiah drew the line and remained faithful.

The result? Heavy losses in the kingdom of Judah, but God spared Jerusalem and the line of David. As we read in our key verses, Hezekiah was lauded forever as the most faithful king in the history of Israel and Judah.

Group Discussion

What challenges does our culture present to our ability to stay pure in our faith?
When adversity comes, do we compromise to save ourselves, or do we stand up for what we believe in?
Do we have a guarantee that God will fight and win our battles for us, like he did for Hezekiah?

Personalize it

In what ways is the enemy challenging my comfort and safety?
There was no one like him among all the kings of Judah, either before him or after him. How do I want to be remembered?

Group Discussion

How can we follow Hezekiah’s example when life crumbles around us? What are tangible things we can do?

Historical Significance

The northern tribes of Israel were essentially wiped out by the Assyrians. Many were taken captive and dispersed to distant lands, never to return. Those who remained behind intermarried with Assyrian transplants, creating the Samaritan race.

God’s deliverance of Hezekiah spared Jerusalem this same fate. Judah flourished under Hezekiah. The royal line of David lived on. God thwarted Satan’s plan to destroy the Messianic lineage of Jesus. Eventually, Judah again turned away from God. About 100 years later, the Babylonian empire destroyed Jerusalem and took captives. Unlike the Israelites, however, the Judahites retained their identity in Babylon. A remnant returned to the Promised Land a few generations later, where they rebuilt the temple.

The Jews and Samaritans were always at odds. In Jesus’s time, Jews from Galilee would take the long way around when travelling from Galilee to Jerusalem just to avoid Samaria. The Samaritans created their own version of Judaism, based only on the five books of Moses. Their holy mountain was Mt. Gerizim. It was in this setting that Jesus met the Samaritan woman at the well to kick off his ministry.

Bible study methodology adapted from Searching the Scriptures with permission from Tyndale House:

Swindoll, Charles, Searching the Scriptures. Tyndale House Publishers, 2016.