2Ki 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.
2Ki 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.
2Ki 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.
2Ki 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.
2Ki 18:17 And the king of Assyria sent Tartan and Rabsaris and Rabshakeh 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.
2Ki 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.
Last week we were introduced to King Hezekiah who “did what was right in the eyes of the Lord as David his father had done” who had faith in the Lord, the God of Israel, “so that there was no one like him among all the kings of Judah who were before him.“
In this study we are looking at 2 Kings 18:13-18, which is focused on “Sennacherib king of Assyria” who came up against all the fenced cities of Judah and took them, putting Hezekiah in a position where he sought peace with Sennacherib by giving him gold and silver from the temple of God, which actions only emboldened Sennacherib to further want to overtake the nation of Judah in war. Hezekiah turned to the Lord for deliverance with a humble and contrite heart that sought and hoped in the Lord in times of trouble.
In this section of the study we will also look at how Hezekiah, who as a type of the elect comes to learn that you cannot make concessions with this world and expect that your trials will somehow be circumvented as a result of those actions.
Hezekiah’s lapse in good judgment regarding giving of the temple’s silver and gold to Sennacherib brought a curse on the nation of Judah and demonstrates for us that regardless of how zealous we are for the LORD, as Hezekiah was, we still make mistakes and fall seven times in this life (Pro 24:16). No matter who we are, we come short of the glory of God until God is glorified in us through the spirit He gives to those who can then obey Him (Rom 3:23, 2Co 3:18, Act 5:32). The obedience is accomplished by Christ, and the giving of the holy spirit from God is what makes it possible for us to fulfill His will (Php 2:12-13).
Rom 3:23 For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;
2Co 3:18 But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord.
Act 5:32 And we are his witnesses of these things; and so is also the Holy Ghost, whom God hath given to them that obey him [Rom 5:5].
Php 2:12 Wherefore, my beloved, as ye have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling.
Php 2:13 For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure.
God must help us remember that the greatest enemy we have is within ourselves, comprised of the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, the pride of life, everything that is found in the world that we are not to love, either in ourselves or in this perverse generation in which we live. We love our neighbor as ourselves, but we don’t love the world that is going to pass and is passing first within the body of Christ (1Co 10:11) which is being judged now (1Pe 4:17). We are in the world but not of it (Joh 17:15), and while we are in these earthen marred vessels, we are told to do good to all men, especially to them of the household of faith (1Jn 2:16, Php 2:15, Gal 6:10).
1Co 10:11 Now all these things happened unto them for ensamples: and they are written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the world [1Jn 2:16] are come.
1Jn 2:16 For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world.
Php 2:15 That ye may be blameless and harmless, the sons of God, without rebuke, in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation, among whom ye shine as lights in the world;
Gal 6:10 As we have therefore opportunity, let us do good unto all men, especially unto them who are of the household of faith.
Thanks be to God that all these things within us (1Jn 2:16) that make up the ‘wretched man that I am’ (Rom 7:24) can be subdued and overcome through Christ little and by little as we stay in the light as He is in the light and have fellowship with one another (1Jn 1:7, Heb 10:25). The effect of this relationship or communion (1Co 10:16) that we have is that, in time, our ways will please the LORD more and more as we go from glory to glory (2Co 3:18) and he will make those enemies to be at peace within us through the dominion we have over them (Rom 6:14, Pro 16:7, Rom 6:14).
Rom 6:14 For sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under the law, but under grace.
Christ had outward enemies His whole life (Mat 2:12) and especially at the end of His life (Luk 24:7), so the outward application of having your enemies be at peace with you of Proverb 16:7 is not contradicted by the statement ‘you shall be hated by all men’ (Mat 10:22); it’s just that if our ways please God, He will stay the hand of the enemy to His glory, softening our enemies’ hearts as he did Pharaoh so they are at peace with us, until such a time God allows that hatred of man to be manifested outwardly as was the case with Christ and His body. All events work according to the counsel of His own will, including the strength He gives us to endure the attacks of the adversary. Another example of peace that is no peace at all is the thousand-year reign that ends in worldwide rebellion against the camp of the saints (Act 4:27-28, Rev 20:8).
1Jn 1:7 But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin.
1Co 10:16 The cup of blessing which we bless, is it not the communion of the blood of Christ? The bread which we break, is it not the communion of the body of Christ?
Pro 16:7 When a man’s ways please the LORD, he maketh even his enemies to be at peace with him.
2Ki 18:13 now in the fourteenth year of king (strengthened by Jehovah)Hezekiah did (the destroyed thorn)Sennacherib king of (plain)Assyria come up against all the fenced cities of (praised)Judah, and took them. [PNBkjv]
2Ki 18:14 Then Hezekiah king of Judah sent a message to the king of Assyria at Lachish. Hezekiah said, “I have done wrong. Leave me {alone}. Then I will pay anything you want. [ERV]
God uses king Sennacherib to teach Hezekiah a deep lesson about how to make war against our enemies, of which Sennacherib is one, and as his name suggests, “the destroyed thorn” he typifies for God’s elect today is a thorn in our flesh who is going to be destroyed to the glory of God through Hezekiah, “strengthened by Jehovah.”
It is in Hezekiah’s fourteenth year of rule that this siege takes place against Judah which was used to bring Hezekiah to see that God is faithful to His elect of whom Hezekiah is a type. Fourteen is a number associated with the generations of Christ (Mat 1:17) as well as the passover (Lev 23:5). and this story typifies for the elect how we come to see that our strength is found in trusting in Christ who is our passover lamb (1Co 5:7). We are of the generation who have no confidence in the flesh, and our strength comes from being buried into Christ’s death (Num 29:13, 15, 17, 20, 23, 26, 29, 32). Hezekiah is a type of the elect who is going to learn this truth of God’s faithfulness in battle beginning in the fourteenth year of his reign.
At this point in the story, Hezekiah is in a weakened position and tries to appease his enemy by giving the king of Assyria “three hundred talents of silver and thirty talents of gold.” These actions of Hezekiah remind us that we are not to cast our pearls before swine and hope beyond hope that we can conquer our enemies within us by these physical means of silver and gold that point to a negative example of the process of judgment [300 silver – 30 talents of gold] that will be of no effect on the unbelieving Sennacherib. Hezekiah’s actions were like trying to pay off the school bully in hopes that his heart would change and he would just go away. Of course, the leopard cannot change his spots and king Sennacherib does not go away (Jer 13:23).
Jer 13:23 Can the Ethiopian change his skin, or the leopard his spots? then may ye also do good, that are accustomed to do evil.
So not only did Hezekiah waste that silver and gold, but then Sennacherib turns around and tramples on Hezekiah just like the proverb says our enemies will do when we trust in ourselves to figure out how to make war against the beast within us (Mat 7:6, Rev 13:4). Thankfully, and by the grace of God, after these events Hezekiah was brought to his senses and zealously turned to the Lord to overcome his enemies (Rom 8:28-29, 2Co 7:11).
Mat 7:6 give not that which is holy unto the dogs, neither cast ye your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under their feet, and turn again and rend you.
Rev 13:4 and they worshipped the dragon which gave power unto the beast: and they worshipped the beast, saying, who is like unto the beast? Who is able to make war with him?
2Co 7:11 For behold this selfsame thing, that ye sorrowed after a godly sort, what carefulness it wrought in you, yea, what clearing of yourselves, yea, what indignation, yea, what fear, yea, what vehement desire, yea, what zeal, yea, what revenge! In all things ye have approved yourselves to be clear in this matter.
2Ki 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.
2Ki 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.
This situation with Hezekiah is akin to our lack of fidelity with the word of God when we first come into the knowledge of the truth, and we are so ready to give “all the silver that was found in the house of the LORD, and in the treasures of the king’s house” thinking this will surely appease those who are against us. Eventually and little by little we become more wise and able to know how to walk “in the midst of wolves” being “wise as serpents, and harmless as doves” (Mat 10:16).
There is a parallel with Peter zealously cutting off the ear of the servant Malchus (Joh 18:10), and this story with Hezekiah who “cut off the gold from the doors of the temple of the LORD, and from the pillars which Hezekiah king of Judah had overlaid“, symbolizing how such actions take away access to (‘cutting off’) the door [Christ]. The pillar without the gold is like a pillar of salt that does not have the savour of Christ’s righteousness (gold). Hezekiah was flagrantly using the gold and silver to bribe his enemy instead of trusting that God would deliver him. This proverb comes to mind (Pro 23:23):
Pro 23:23 Buy the truth, and sell it not; also wisdom, and instruction, and understanding.
2Ki 18:17 and the king of (plain)Assyria sent (release the dragon)Tartan and (chief eunuch)Rabsaris and (chief cup bearer)Rabshakeh from (man’s walk)Lachish to king (strengthened by Jehovah)Hezekiah with a great host against (founded in peace)Jerusalem. And they went up and came to (founded in peace)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. [PNBkjv]
It is going to be in our most severe trials of life that God will reveal where we have been placing our hope, and this event of the king of Assyria sending “Tartan and Rabsaris and Rabshakeh from Lachish to king Hezekiah with a great host against Jerusalem” is typical of what God’s elect must go through (1Co 3:13-15, Heb 12:7).
1Co 3:13 Every man’s work shall be made manifest: for the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire; and the fire shall try every man’s work of what sort it is.
1Co 3:14 If any man’s work abide which he hath built thereupon, he shall receive a reward.Heb 12:7 If ye endure chastening, God dealeth with you as with sons; for what son is he whom the father chasteneth not?
God uses Satan as His sword (Psa 17:13) to accomplish His purpose, trying our faith, which is what the process of judgment produces in the lives of those who are granted to endure that judgment until the end, resulting in tried faith that is precious to God (1Pe 1:6-7, Php 4:13, Mat 24:11-14, Rev 2:10, Psa 116:15).
1Pe 1:6 Wherein ye greatly rejoice, though now for a season, if need be, ye are in heaviness through manifold temptations:
1Pe 1:7 That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honour and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ:Rev 2:10 Fear none of those things which thou shalt suffer: behold, the devil shall cast some of you into prison, that ye may be tried; and ye shall have tribulation ten days: be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crown of life.
Psa 116:15 Precious in the sight of the LORD is the death of his saints.
The three men who the king of Assyria sends up against Hezekiah represent that process of judgment [3] that is upon the body of Christ today (1Pe 4:17) [1-Tartan and 2-Rabsaris and 3-Rabshakeh] and the only way we can endure that judgment until the end is to be “kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation ready to be revealed in the last time (1Pe 1:5 1Co 10:11)”.
Tartan as we read earlier means “release the dragon” and is a type of the events that happen to “the whole world” who will be attacked by Satan by way of “three unclean spirits like frogs” (Rev 16:13) that will not overcome the elect who are “kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation ready to be revealed in “the last time” (1Pe 1:5).
1Pe 1:5 Who are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.
The ‘last time’ for us may be the season we draw our last breath or when we are changed in a moment and the twinkling of an eye in the first resurrection, Lord willing. Having “done all” by the faith of Christ, we will be able to withstand these attacks of the devil (Mat 24:24) prior to being changed into spirit beings in that blessed and holy first resurrection. Verse 15 of Revelation 16:1-15 and verse 13 of Ephesians 6:13 are saying the same thing to us regarding being made ready of the Lord as the bride of Christ (Rev 19:7-9).
Rev 16:15 Behold, I come as a thief. Blessed is he that watcheth, and keepeth his garments, lest he walk naked, and they see his shame.
Eph 6:13 Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, [“keepeth his garments“] that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, [“the last time“] and having done all, to stand.
Rev 19:7 Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honour to him: for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and his wife hath made herself ready.
Rev 19:8 And to her was granted that she should be arrayed in fine linen, [“keepeth his garments“] clean and white: for the fine linen is the righteousness of saints.
Rev 19:9 And he saith unto me, Write, Blessed are they which are called unto the marriage supper of the Lamb. And he saith unto me, These are the true sayings of God.
Rabsaris is the second man mentioned, and his name means “chief eunuch” meaning Satan comes up against the church with the chief rulers who have no spiritual seed or truth in them that can produce life [spiritual eunuchs] (Act 4:27-28).
Act 4:27 For of a truth against thy holy child Jesus, whom thou hast anointed, both Herod, and Pontius Pilate, with the Gentiles, and the people of Israel, were gathered together,
Act 4:28 For to do whatsoever thy hand and thy counsel determined before to be done [Eph 1:11, Rom 8:28].Eph 1:11 In whom also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestinated according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will:
Rom 8:28 And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.
The last man mentioned is Rabshakeh, which means “chief cupbearer” symbolizing Mystery Babylon who bears a cup that is full of abominations and filthiness of her fornication of Revelation 17:4:
Rev 17:4 And the woman was arrayed in purple and scarlet colour, and decked with gold and precious stones and pearls, having a golden cup in her hand full of abominations and filthiness of her fornication:
When these three men come up against Hezekiah, or against Jerusalem, we are told “they came and stood by the conduit of the upper pool, which is in the highway of the fuller’s field.“
This location is significant as it symbolizes the place where a narrow escape against the powers and principalities of this world will be granted to the body of Christ, seeing it is connected to the prophecy of the birth of Christ (Isa 7:3-14). Being as we are as He is in this world (1Jn 4:17), it is also a prophecy of the first resurrection (our birth), that blessed event given to the remnant who will be scarcely saved by His power.
Isa 7:3 Then said the LORD unto Isaiah, Go forth now to meet Ahaz, thou, and Shearjashub thy son, at the end of the conduit of the upper pool in the highway of the fuller’s field;
Isa 7:4 And say unto him, Take heed, and be quiet; fear not, neither be fainthearted for the two tails of these smoking firebrands, for the fierce anger of Rezin with Syria, and of the son of Remaliah.
Isa 7:5 Because Syria, Ephraim, and the son of Remaliah, have taken evil counsel against thee, saying,
Isa 7:6 Let us go up against Judah, and vex it, and let us make a breach therein for us, and set a king in the midst of it, even the son of Tabeal:
Isa 7:7 Thus saith the Lord GOD, It shall not stand, neither shall it come to pass.
Isa 7:8 For the head of Syria is Damascus, and the head of Damascus is Rezin; and within threescore and five years shall Ephraim be broken, that it be not a people.
Isa 7:9 And the head of Ephraim is Samaria, and the head of Samaria is Remaliah’s son. If ye will not believe, surely ye shall not be established.
Isa 7:10 Moreover the LORD spake again unto Ahaz, saying,
Isa 7:11 Ask thee a sign of the LORD thy God; ask it either in the depth, or in the height above.
Isa 7:12 But Ahaz said, I will not ask, neither will I tempt the LORD.
Isa 7:13 And he said, Hear ye now, O house of David; Is it a small thing for you to weary men, but will ye weary my God also?
Isa 7:14 Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.
The physical waters that flow into the beloved city are symbolic of how the man of perdition that sits upon the throne of God on our hearts is destroyed by the brightness of His coming from east to west with living waters (2Th 2:8, Mat 24:27), from Gihon to the west side of the city of David (1Co 10:13, Luk 12:32, 1Pe 4:18, Isa 7:3-15, 2Ch 32:30).
Easton’s Bible Dictionary: A water-course or channel (Job 38:25). The “conduit of the upper pool” (Isa 7:3) was formed by Hezekiah for the purpose of conveying the waters from the upper pool in the valley of Gihon to the west side of the city of David (2Ki 18:17; 2Ki 20:20; 2Ch 32:30).
Gihon, H1521 = bursting forth
one of the four rivers of the Garden of Eden
a spring near Jerusalem where the anointing and proclaiming of Solomon as king took placeStrong’s: From H1518; stream; Gichon a river of Paradise; also a valley (or pool) near Jerusalem: – Gihon.
Total KJV Occurrences: 6
Gihon, 6
Gen_2:13; 1Ki_1:33; 1Ki_1:38; 1Ki_1:45; 2Ch_32:30; 2Ch_33:14David H1732 = beloved
youngest son of Jesse and second king of IsraelStrong’s: From the same as H1730; loving; David the youngest son of Jesse: – David.
Total KJV Occurrences: 1074
This section of Kings we are studying encourages us to hope in what God has promised He will do in the body of Christ with those living waters He is giving us (Rom 5:5), showing us that we are more than conquerors through Christ, who is our hope of glory within (Col 1:27), and there is no weapon which has been formed that can overtake the elect (Isa 54:16-17), although the devil will be given to try to do so (Mat 24:24), as demonstrated in the type and shadow attacks that took place on Jerusalem in the days of king Hezekiah. This is all written to remind us that we will be more than conquerors through those many diverse temptations and much tribulation the Lord has promised us (Jas 1:2-5, Act 14:22).
Rom 5:5 And hope maketh not ashamed; because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us.
Col 1:27 To whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you, the hope of glory:
Jas 1:4 But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing [2Th 1:4].
2Ki 18:18 And when they had called to the king, there came out to them (god establishes)Eliakim the son of (Jehovah’s portion)Hilkiah, which was over the household, and (grown)Shebna the scribe, and (Jehovah is his brother)Joah the son of (collector)Asaph the recorder.
This last verse we’ll look at speaks to the witness God’s elect will give to this world. When these three men Tartan (release the dragon) and Rabsaris (chief eunuch) and Rabshakeh (chief cupbearer) come up against Jerusalem, they call for king Hezekiah, and three men are sent out to give a report on behalf of the king.
Those three men’s names represent something significant for us as well, in the positive use of the process of judgment:
When God judges us, “Eliakim–god establishes“, it is for the purpose of perfecting us on the third day and establishing and settling us so that, no matter what storms come our way, we will be able to stand (1Pe 5:10, Mat 7:25).
The second is “Shebna the scribe–grown” reminding us that it is through the process of judgment that we grow as God gives the increase or growth in our life (1Co 3:6).
The third one is “Joah–Jehovah is his brother“, that reminds us that Christ is our brother and high priest who watches over us through our entire life of judgment of which he is the author and finisher of (Php 1:6).
Next week, Lord willing, will look at the third part of the chapter (2Ki 18:19-37), which is focused on how Sennacherib used Rabshakeh, who was a field commander, to send messages to Hezekiah and his foot soldiers to undermine their confidence in what Hezekiah could do in war against Assyria with the God of Israel as his helper and hope.
The question “In what are you placing your hope” is revealed to God’s elect by reflecting on this story of a king who, through the tribulation of his life, was made strong in battle bringing him to eventually see that the battle is the Lord’s (1Sa 17:47). This story is yet another demonstration of how faithful our Lord is to see us through every trial in this life and every tribulation we must go through (1Co 10:13) in order to inherit the kingdom of God (Act 14:22).
1Sa 17:47 And all this assembly shall know that the LORD saveth not with sword and spear: for the battle is the LORD’S, and he will give you into our hands.
1Co 10:13 There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, [“we must go through“] that ye may be able to bear it.
Act 14:22 ConfirmingG1991 the souls of the disciples, and exhorting them to continue in the faith, and that we must through much tribulation enter into the kingdom of God.
–ConfirmingG1991 Episterizo
to establish besides, strengthen more
to render more firm, confirm
– Strong’s: From G1909 and G4741; to support further that is reestablish: – confirm strengthen.Total KJV Occurrences: 4
confirmed, 1
Act_15:32confirming, 2
Act_14:22; Act_15:41strengthening, 1
Act_18:23
"His Branch" 