CHAPTER XVIII

FROM HEZEKIAH TO THE CAPTIVITY

THE reign of Hezekiah was one of the most thrilling periods in the history of Judah. He ascended the throne six years before the fall of Samaria, when the future of his country seemed very uncertain. He was a man of high character, with a religious outlook on life. He removed the tokens of idolatry from the land, and did all he could to guide Judah aright; he even sent messengers to the remnant in the North and endeavoured to bring them back to the worship of Yahweh. For a time he reigned quietly, then trouble broke out. Sennacherib, the son of Sargon, had succeeded to the throne of Assyria. Hezekiah refused to pay tribute, and the Assyrians invaded the land. Hezekiah felt that he could do nothing and submitted, using the treasures of the temple to satisfy the demands of Sennacherib. For a time there was a respite, then the threat was renewed. Feverish preparations were made for the defence of the capital. The waters which had been allowed to run down the valley were diverted through a tunnel which Hezekiah caused to be cut through the rocky hill of Ophel to a point within the city walls. Many houses in Jerusalem were pulled down to provide material for the repair of the walls of the city. Then the officers of Sennacherib came to Jerusalem. When they approached the city they tried to frighten the people who thronged the wall by boasting of the power of their master, before whom no king and no god had been able to stand what, therefore, could Hezekiah and Yahweh do?

Saved from the Assyrians

News of what was happening came to the king. Hezekiah rent his clothes, went into the Temple and sent to the prophet Isaiah. The prophet gave him an assurance that the king of Assyria would depart from Jerusalem without doing any damage. So it was for when Sennacherib heard that the king of Egypt was advancing, he marched southward to meet him. He sent a letter to Hezekiah threatening what he would do to Jerusalem. Hezekiah laid the letter before the Lord in the Temple, and prayed, “O Lord our God, save Thou us, I beseech Thee, out of his hand, that all the kingdoms of the earth may know that Thou art the Lord God, even Thou only.” Isaiah brought the answer. “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 set a mount against it. ... for I will defend this city to save it, for Mine own sake, and for My servant David’s sake.” And so He did, for “the angel of the Lord went forth, and smote in the camp of the Assyrians an hundred and eighty-five thousand”-probably by some terrible plague. Sennacherib returned in shame to his own land where two of his sons murdered him.

In his prophecies Isaiah used the circumstances of the times to enforce a greater lesson. The Assyrians, he said, were the rod of God to chastise the nation for unfaithfulness. The work they had done had been God’s work. Yet when that work was finished Yahweh would punish the king of Assyria. He would lop the bow with terror and throw down the men of high stature.” Then he passed to the lone view. “And there shall come forth a shoot out of the stock of Jesse, and a branch out of his roots shall bear fruit; and the Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him, the Spirit of wisdom and under­standing, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the Lord . . . and he shall not judge after the sight of his eyes, neither reprove after the hearing of his ears, but with righteousness shall he judge the poor ... for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea,” for the time should come when “the Lord of hosts shall reign in Mount Zion and before His ancients gloriously.”

In the same reign Micah spoke words of doom and hope. “Therefore shall Zion for your sake be plowed as a field, and Jerusalem shall become heaps, and the mountain of the house as the high places of a forest. But in the latter days it shall come to pass, that the mountain of the Lord’s house shall be established in the top of the mountains, and it shall be exalted above the hills, and peoples shall flow unto it. And many nations shall go and say, Come ye, and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord . . . and He will teach us of His ways, and we will walk in His paths; for out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem. . . . And they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruninghooks, nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more.” Thus Micah joined Isaiah in looking for the coming of Immanuel.

Hezekiah’s sickness

Half way through his reign Hezekiah was taken with a grievous illness. It troubled him greatly for he had no son to succeed him. It looked as if the great promise that had been made to David must fail for lack of an heir. Hezekiah wept sore and prayed for a prolongation of his life. In response to his prayer Isaiah came with a message from God, promis­ing him another fifteen years of life. As a sign that the promise would be fulfilled the shadow on the dial of Ahaz moved backward. Hezekiah recovered, and gave expression to his praise in a song, in the course of which he said,

The grave cannot praise Thee, death cannot cele­brate Thee;
They that go down into the pit cannot hope for
Thy truth. The living, the living, he shall praise Thee, as I do this day;
The father to the children shall make known Thy truth.

Three years afterwards an heir to the throne was born.

The wonder that had occurred caused a petty king of Babylon, Merodach-baladan, to send an embassy to Hezekiah. He was a deadly enemy of the Assyrians, and wanted to know the strength of Judah as a possible ally in his designs against them.

Hezekiah welcomed the messengers and showed them all the riches and power of his country. It was a niece of natural pride, but it was a great mistake. Judah had no community with any Gentile kingdoms; it was the kingdom of God, Gentile kingdoms were parts of the kingdoms of men. The prophet Isaiah visited the king with the message, “Behold, the days come, that all that is in thine house . . . shall be carried to Babylon, . . . and of thy sons which shall issue from thee, which thou shalt beget, shall they take away, and they shall be eunuchs in the palace of the king of Babylon.” Vainglory is never any good, and the people of God have nothing to do with diplomacy. These are the lessons to be derived from this incident in the life of Hezekiah.

Prophecy was coming more and more to the fore in the land. Isaiah and Micah were contemporaries of Hezekiah, and both were essentially prophets of the Messiah. The former in a telling prediction spoke of a time when God would “destroy in this mountain the face of the covering that is cast over all peoples, and the veil that is spread over all nations.” Visualising this time he continued “He hath swallowed up death for ever; and the Lord God will wipe away tears from off all faces; and the reproach of His people shall He take away from off all the earth.” Though death was a stern reality (Old Testament writers knew nothing of the theory of the immortality of the soul, they knew that death was a state of utter unconsciousness) Isaiah looked beyond the grave, and said, “Thy dead shall live;
my dead bodies shall arise. Awake and sing, ye that dwell in the dust . . . the earth shall cast forth the dead.” In a later chapter he said, “Behold a king shall reign in righteousness, and princes shall rule in judgment,” when, “Judgment shall dwell in the wilderness, and righteousness shall abide in the fruitful field. And the work of righteousness shall be peace; and the effect of righteousness, quietness and confidence for ever.”

Micah was encouraging the nation with similar hopes; he spoke of the Messiah who was to be born in Bethlehem, and who should “stand and feed, (or rule), in the strength of the Lord, in the majesty of the name of the Lord his God; and they shall abide; for now shall he be great unto the ends of the earth.” He finished his prophecies with a reminder of the old promises, “Thou wilt perform the truth to Jacob, and the mercy to Abraham, which Thou hast sworn unto our fathers from the days of old.”

When Hezekiah died, after a reign of twenty-nine years, he was succeeded by his son Manasseh, who was only twelve years old. His mother’s name was Hephzibah, a name which Isaiah applied to the land of Israel in the great future he foretold for it as Immanuel’s land. Hephzibah means “My delight is in her.”

Wickedness in Judah

Manasseh fell into the hands of evil counsellors, and the good influences of Hezekiah’s reign were forgotten. Idolatry was re-established, including the worship of Baal, and the inhuman practice of passing children through the fire of sacrifice. The worshippers of Yahweh were persecuted, and innocent blood was freely shed. In after years the reign of Manasseh was regarded as one of the principal causes for the down-fall of the state. The prophets protested in vain; their voices were silenced by death, and the kingdom came to the brink of ruin. Then the Assyrians invaded the land and carried Manasseh to Babylon. (Esarhaddon the Assyrian king was particularly partial to Babylon as a place of residence and built a palace there). Manasseh repented, and called upon the God of his father. Yahweh heard him, and reinstated him in his kingdom.

Restored to his own land Manasseh did what he could to counteract the evils of the past. He re-established the temple services, and repaired the walls of Jerusalem. But though he had changed, the people had not, they continued to worship in shrines of heathen origin. Things were going from bad to worse, when, after a reign of fifty-five years (the longest in the history of the people) Manasseh died leaving his son Amon to succeed him.

Amon only reigned two years during which he reintroduced the worse features of the earlier portion of his father’s reign. He died as the result of a palace conspiracy, and “the people of the land” put the conspirators to death and made his son Josiah king.

Josiah’s reform

Josiah was then only eight years old, and he reigned for thirty-one years. From a moral and religious point of view his reign was one of the best in the history of Judah. At the age of sixteen he commenced a work of reformation. The pagan emblems were removed from Jerusalem, and pagan altars were defiled by burning bones upon them. In his reforming zeal he also sent to the remnant of the Israelites who still lived in the north. Ten years afterwards, he put in hand the great task of cleansing and restoring the temple in Jerusalem. In the course of this work the high priest found a copy of the book of the law which had been given through Moses. He told the king’s scribe, and he in turn carried the news to the king. The king sent for this ancient relic of the past, and it was read before him. The reading caused a severe shock to Josiah. He recognised that for a long time Judah had not kept the law and that the curses of the law were hanging over them. In deep anxiety he sent his counsellors to Huldah, a prophetess, saying, “ Go ye, inquire of the Lord for me, and for the people, concerning the words of the book that is found; for great is the wrath of the Lord that is kindled against us, because our fathers have not hearkened unto the words of this book.” The discovery, and the reformation, had come too late, and Huldah answered, “Thus saith the Lord, the God of Israel, Tell ye the man that sent you unto me, Behold, I will bring evil upon this place, and upon the inhabitants thereof, even all the words of the book which the king of Judah hath read. . . . My wrath shall be kindled against this place, and shall not be quenched.” A personal message was sent to Josiah. He was not to see the evil that was to come upon the people and the land; but should be removed before the final evils came.

The knowledge that any reform was too late to prevent the evils foretold did not turn Josiah from inaugurating a reform in the religious and moral affairs of the nation. Princes, priests, prophets, and people were gathered together to hear the law read from the ancient book. Then they entered into a covenant with God, and broke down all the emblems of idolatry in the land. Everything that was combustible was burned; and the houses that had been used for idolatrous purposes were broken down. The Valley of Hinnom (Gehenna) which had been the place of Baal worship was defiled and became the place where the refuse of the city was destroyed. A similar process was carried out in the cities of Samaria; indeed, the whole land was cleared of everything connected with idol worship. Then a great passover was held in accordance with the instructions given in the book of the law. It is recorded of Josiah that “there was no king before him that turned to the Lord with all his heart, and with all his soul, and with all his might.”

Jeremiah prophesies

In his reforming zeal Josiah must have been influenced by a young prophet of Anathoth, a village about three miles from Jerusalem. Jeremiah com­menced his mission about five years before the great reformation. He was very young; for he speaks of himself as only a child. It was no easy task that was before him, but he was encouraged to endure.

Josiah met his death in warfare. War had broken out between Assyria, and the Babylonians and Medes. In the conflict that ensued strange altera­tions of policy took place, and Egypt, which had suffered severely from Assyrian invasions, marched to the help of Assyria. Josiah joined in the conflict challenging the march of Pharaoh Necho who tried to dissuade him from doing so, but in vain. Probably Josiah thought the king of Egypt desired to estab­lish a new Empire in Syria. He met the Egyptians at Megiddo where he was killed. It was an evil day for Judah, it definitely marked the beginning of the end. Jeremiah especially lamented his death and wrote a lamentation over him; not the book in the Bible called The Lamentations, which was written about a quarter of a century afterwards.

Another prophet beside Jeremiah ministered in the days of Josiah, for Zephaniah, a descendant of Hezekiah, also appeared in his reign. He announced an impending day of judgment, in which the whole land should be devoured by the fire of Jehovah’s wrath. But like the other prophets he did not speak only of the immediate future; he saw beyond the troubles to a time of final restoration, when a changed and reformed Israel should inhabit the Promised Land, and should feed and lie down and none should make them afraid. Looking forward to that time he said, “Sing, O daughter of Zion; shout O Israel; be glad and rejoice with all thy heart, O daughter of Jerusalem . . . . The king of Israel, even the Lord, is in the midst of thee, thou shalt not fear evil any more.” At that time Israel will be made “a name and a praise among all the peoples of the earth.” Zephaniah foretold some­thing more of great import. He said, “Then will I (the Lord, Yahweh) turn to the peoples a pure language, that they may all call upon the name of the Lord, to serve Him with one consent.” The Messianic hope was ever deepening as the days grew darker, a universal religion was to take the place of the divided religious loyalties of the past and present.

On the death of Josiah the people of the land made Jehoahaz, a younger son of Josiah, king. probably Eliakim, his elder brother, had Egyptian sympathies, and was passed over on that account. Jehoahaz had only reigned three months, when Necho deposed him, and imposed a fine of a hundred talents of silver and a talent of gold on the country; He set up Eliakim, the elder brother as king, chang­ing his name to Jehoiakim. Jehoahaz was taken to Egypt where he died.

Captives taken to Babylon

Jehoiakim had a troubled reign of eleven years. The country was impoverished, but he had no con­sideration for the troubles of the people. He built for himself a palace with spacious chambers, ceiled with cedar, and adorned with bright colours. It was all done by forced labour, and Jeremiah de­nounced the king for his injustice and oppression, and announced the coming of the king of Babylon. Nebuchadnezzar was not likely to overlook the little kingdom of Judah, ruled over by a king who was a nominee of Egypt, and when Egypt had been defeated at the battle of Carchemish, he threatened Judah. Jehoiakim was compelled to accept him as his suzerain and pay tribute. It was at this time that a number of the princes of the royal house including Daniel, were carried into captivity and became eunuchs in the palace of the king of Babylon as Isaiah had foretold. For three years Jehoiakim paid tribute; then he withheld it. A time of confusion ensued; Chaldeans, Syrians, Moabites and others invaded the land, and signs of the impending dissolution became marked. In vain Jeremiah appealed to king, princes, and people, to reform; they turned a deaf ear. In the midst of the troubles’ Jehoiakim died, and his young son, Jehoiachin, became king of the unhappy country. Nebuchadnezzar would not recognise a king who had been set up without his consent, and sent an army against Jerusalem. It was useless for the Jews to oppose the Babylonians and Jehoiachin, with his mother, servants, princes, and officers, went out to them. They and the treasures that remained in the Temple were carried to Babylon, together with considerable numbers of smiths, craftsmen, and soldiers. The country was denuded of its most capable inhabit­ants, and was nothing but an appanage of the King of Babylon.

Mattaniah, an uncle of Jehoiachin, was made king by Nebuchadnezzar, who changed his name to Zedekiah. He had a troubled reign. There were two parties in the country, one that looked to Egypt for help and another which counselled submission to Babylon. Among the latter was Jeremiah; who pointed forward to a long distant future for the restoration of the people of the land, though he also spoke of a more immediate restoration after a period of seventy years. But his words were not regarded; false prophets prevailed, and Zedekiah rebelled against the king of Babylon.

The end of the Kingdom

Away in Babylon, another prophet Ezekiel, realised the position and as Nebuchadnezzar’s troops marched he raised his warning voice. Addressing Zedekiah he said “And thou, O deadly wounded wicked one, the prince of Israel, whose day is come in the time of the iniquity of the end; Thus saith the Lord God; Remove the mitre and take off the crown, this shall be no more the same; exalt that which is low and abase that which is high. I will over­turn overturn, overturn it; this shall also be no more until he come whose right it is, and I will give it him.” Thus Ezekiel gave expression to the old hope of Shiloh whom Jacob had said should come, connecting it with the promise made to David that one should occupy his throne for ever, and Isaiah’s prophecy of a rod out of the stem of Jesse, (the father of David) who should also be the son of a virgin, Immanuel, and should reign upon David’s throne for evermore.

In Jerusalem, Jeremiah spoke of similar things. He too, took the long view, and said, “Behold the days come, saith the Lord, that I will raise unto David a righteous Branch, and he shall reign as king and deal wisely, and shall execute judgment and justice in the land. In his days Judah shall be saved, and Israel shall dwell safely, and this is his name whereby he shall be called, The Lord is our Righteousness.” So sure was the future, that Jeremiah said “Thus saith the Lord, If ye can break My covenant of the day, and My covenant of the night” (the everlasting covenant made with Noah) “that there should not be day and night in their season, then may My covenant be broken with David, My servant.” The promise of a son to David was shown to have a deep significance, not only was he to be the Son of God, but his name was to be Immanuel, God with us, and Yahweh is our Righteousness. As the darkness increased the light of the prophecy grew brighter.

Nothing could stay the progress of the Babylonians though Jerusalem held out for two years before Zedekiah attempted to escape. It was useless; he was caught and brought before the king of Babylon, who showed a fiendish cruelty towards a captive king who had put up a brave fight against over­whelming odds. The sons of Zedekiah were put to death in his presence, and then his eyes were put out, and he was taken to Babylon. It was a horrible and vindictive piece of cruelty which shows the littleness of mind that may characterise a great conqueror. The temple was despoiled of all its treasures and the land was bereft of all its inhabit­ants except the very poorest.

Over that feeble remnant Gedaliah was made governor. Jeremiah, who was given permission to stay or to go as he preferred, elected to stay. A few months afterwards a member of the royal family, Ishmael, came to the land and murdered Gedeliah. The treacherous action brought a complete end to the little state. No king could let such an action pass unpunished, but the remnant did not wait for anything further; they fled to Egypt, taking Jeremiah with them. Thus the kingdom came to an end.

The dark days of the closing years of the kingdom were illuminated by the words of the prophets who spake the words of Yahweh. Among them was Habakkuk who, looking to the distant future, added his words to those of the earlier prophets, and spoke of a time when “the earth shall be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea.” It was a long view; it has not yet been realised, but it will be remembered that Moses said something very like it, and said that it would come to pass as truly as the Lord (Yahweh) lived.