32:1 After these faithful deeds were accomplished, King Sennacherib of Assyria invaded Judah. He besieged the fortified cities, intending to seize them.
Assyria was one of the most brutal and evil nations in world history. They were basically a nation of extreme satanists. They had already defeated Israel and replanted her in Assyrian lands. Many of the Israelite refugees had escaped to Judah, meaning that all twelve nations were represented in Judah.
King Sennacherib had already attacked and defeated 35 cities of Judah. His next goal was to attack, plunder, enslave, and replant Jerusalem. He was attacking Jerusalem during the middle of Hezekiah’s major spiritual revival. Since Judah was on good terms with Jehovah at this time, then Jerusalem was under the divine protection of Jehovah.
32:2 When Hezekiah saw that Sennacherib had invaded and intended to attack Jerusalem, 32:3 he consulted with his advisers and military officers about stopping up the springs outside the city, and they supported him.
At this time, Assyria was so busy conquering Israel and the other surrounding nations that they did not have time to discipline Israel for refusing to pay her tribute. Assyria was getting ready to conquer Egypt, so they needed control of Judah to do so. Therefore, King Sennacherib was not interested in receiving late tribute from Judah. He wanted Judah as his military base for attacking Egypt.
In 2 Kings, Hezekiah asked the Lord for help. He also asked his military officers to stop up the springs of water outside the city.
32:4 A large number of people gathered together and stopped up all the springs and the stream that flowed through the district. They reasoned, “Why should the kings of Assyria come and find plenty of water?”
The Israelite military did not want the Assyrian army to have any easy water during their siege of Jerusalem.
32:5 Hezekiah energetically rebuilt every broken wall. He erected towers and an outer wall, and fortified the terrace of the City of David. He made many weapons and shields.
Archaeologists have excavated the remains of Hezekiah’s outer wall.
32:6 He appointed military officers over the army and assembled them in the square at the city gate. He encouraged them, saying, 32:7 “Be strong and brave! Don’t be afraid and don’t panic because of the king of Assyria and this huge army that is with him! We have with us one who is stronger than those who are with him.
Hezekiah believed that God would protect Jerusalem.
32:8 He has with him mere human strength, but the Lord our God is with us to help us and fight our battles!” The army was encouraged by the words of King Hezekiah of Judah.
Elijah and his servant were surrounded by an invisible angelic army. Hezekiah expected this type of divine protection.
32:9 Afterward King Sennacherib of Assyria, while attacking Lachish with all his military might, sent his messengers to Jerusalem. The message was for King Hezekiah of Judah and all the people of Judah who were in Jerusalem. It read:
King Sennacherib sent messengers to intimidate the citizens of Jerusalem.
32:10 “This is what King Sennacherib of Assyria says: ‘Why are you so confident that you remain in Jerusalem while it is under siege?
The Assyrians messengers spoke in Hebrew in order to scare the Jerusalem citizens into submission.
32:11 Hezekiah says, “The Lord our God will rescue us from the power of the king of Assyria.” But he is misleading you and you will die of hunger and thirst!
Hezekiah warned his people that Jehovah would assist them. All of the Israelites had to make a choice in believing Hezekiah or believing the Assyrian messengers. They had to place their faith in one or the other.
32:12 Hezekiah is the one who eliminated the Lord’s high places and altars and then told Judah and Jerusalem, “At one altar you must worship and offer sacrifices.”
The Mosaic Law only allowed the nation of Israel to worship and offer sacrifices in one place, which was the Jerusalem Temple. Many of the Israelites did not want to travel to Jerusalem every year, so they built up high places and worshiped in these locations. Some people worshiped Jehovah only in the high places. Some worshiped in syncretism, which was a mixture of worshiping Jehovah with other gods. Some worshiped demonic gods.
32:13 Are you not aware of what I and my predecessors have done to all the nations of the surrounding lands? Have the gods of the surrounding lands actually been able to rescue their lands from my power?
The Assyrian messenger made a mistake. He compared Jehovah to the other gods of other nations. There were no other gods of other nations. There were demons who masqueraded as these gods.
32:14 Who among all the gods of these nations whom my predecessors annihilated was able to rescue his people from my power?
The messenger made another mistake. He was claiming that Jehovah could not rescue Jerusalem from the Assyrian demonic gods.
32:15 Now don’t let Hezekiah deceive you or mislead you like this. Don’t believe him, for no god of any nation or kingdom has been able to rescue his people from my power or the power of my predecessors. So how can your gods rescue you from my power?’ ”
The messenger made his third mistake. He insulted Jehovah, who was the one true God.
32:16 Sennacherib’s servants further insulted the Lord God and his servant Hezekiah.
The Assyrians made a fourth mistake by insulting Jehovah and the Davidic king who carried the messianic seed.
32:17 He wrote letters mocking the Lord God of Israel and insulting him with these words: “The gods of the surrounding nations could not rescue their people from my power. Neither can Hezekiah’s god rescue his people from my power.”
The Assyrians made a fifth mistake by mocking Jehovah in writing. Many skeptics today mock the Lord Jesus Christ in song, literature, theatre, and science. God allows them to mock him temporarily, because he is patient and does not want them to perish. Those who refuse to acknowledge the Lord Jesus Christ will be judged at the Great White Throne Judgment. The skeptics will have no defense.
32:18 They called out loudly in the Judahite dialect to the people of Jerusalem who were on the wall, trying to scare and terrify them so they could seize the city.
The Assyrians mocked God in the Hebrew language.
32:19 They talked about the God of Jerusalem as if he were one of the man-made gods of the nations of the earth.
It is blasphemy to equate the Creator God of the earth with evil spirits who are disguising themselves as gods. It is foolish for puny men to equate Jehovah with idols made from the minds and hands of men who are totally depraved and evil.
32:20 King Hezekiah and the prophet Isaiah son of Amoz prayed about this and cried out to heaven.
King Hezekiah and Isaiah the prophet prayed to Jehovah about this desperate situation. Solomon had earlier prayed that if the future nation of Israel would pray and turn to God, then God would deliver them from their enemies.
32:21 The Lord sent a messenger and he wiped out all the soldiers, princes, and officers in the army of the king of Assyria. So Sennacherib returned home humiliated. When he entered the temple of his god, some of his own sons struck him down with the sword.
This one angel killed 185,000 Assyrian soldiers with only a quick thought. Assyria insulted Jehovah, and in one angelic thought, they were no longer a world power.
After Sennacherib’s returned to Nineveh, he was murdered by two of his sons in the temple of his god Nisroch. According to Assyrian historical records, this assassination occurred in 681 B.C., which was 20 years after the Jerusalem campaign.
32:22 The Lord delivered Hezekiah and the residents of Jerusalem from the power of King Sennacherib of Assyria and from all the other nations. He made them secure on every side.
Archaeologists have excavated the “Sennacherib Prism.” It contains the boast of King Sennacherib that he had conquered 46 cities of Judah. However, he only could claim that he had “besieged” Hezekiah like a “caged bird” in Jerusalem. Why did Sennacherib not conquer Jerusalem? The answer is that as angel destroyed his entire army.
32:23 Many were bringing presents to the Lord in Jerusalem and precious gifts to King Hezekiah of Judah. From that time on he was respected by all the nations.
Many of the nations brought gifts and presents to King Hezekiah, because he was the only nation who conquered the Assyrians.
32:24 In those days Hezekiah was stricken with a terminal illness. He prayed to the Lord, who answered him and gave him a sign confirming that he would be healed.
God told Hezekiah to put his house in order, because he would soon die. Hezekiah prayed to God and asked to live. God answered his prayer and promised him 15 more years of life. This meant that Hezekiah was immortal for the next 15 years. No one would be able to kill him.
32:25 But Hezekiah was ungrateful; he had a proud attitude, provoking God to be angry at him, as well as Judah and Jerusalem.
Absolute power corrupts absolutely. Eventually, all of the good kings of Judah turn bad, including Hezekiah. The reason for Hezekiah's pride may have been in the success of the spiritual revival itself. This revival brought great prosperity to Hezekiah.
Prosperity often leads man away from God. Solomon had this same problem with prosperity. Material wealth, fame, and power are difficult temptations for even the most wisest and godly of men to handle. This is why David was called “a man after God’s own heart.” David was able to stay humble and serve God through his entire life, despite the temptations that arose during his rise of power, wealth, and fame.
32:26 But then Hezekiah and the residents of Jerusalem humbled themselves and abandoned their pride, and the Lord was not angry with them for the rest of Hezekiah’s reign.
Hezekiah and his people humbled themselves, causing Jehovah to postpone His judgment.
32:27 Hezekiah was very wealthy and greatly respected. He made storehouses for his silver, gold, precious stones, spices, and all his other valuable possessions.
The Mosaic Law promised material wealth, health, and peace to those who were obedient.
32:28 He made storerooms for the harvest of grain, wine, and olive oil, and stalls for all his various kinds of livestock and his flocks.
National storehouses were made for the agricultural abundance in which Jehovah poured upon an obedient nation. Prosperity preachers like to use these verses to promote their false teaching of giving for profit. The modern church is called to suffer for Christ, not to gain material prosperity.
32:29 He built royal cities and owned a large number of sheep and cattle, for God gave him a huge amount of possessions.
Hezekiah was greatly blessed by his obedience to the Mosaic Law.
32:30 Hezekiah dammed up the source of the waters of the Upper Gihon and directed them down to the west side of the City of David. Hezekiah succeeded in all that he did.
In 1880, archaeologists excavated an inscription found near the mouth of the Siloam tunnel which described this biblical engineering feat. This water tunnel was destroyed by the Babylonians in 586 B.C. This may not have been the first water shaft, since David may have entered Jerusalem 300 years earlier through a different water shaft.
32:31 So when the envoys arrived from the Babylonian officials to visit him and inquire about the sign that occurred in the land, God left him alone to test him, in order to know his true motives.
Babylon was the up-and-coming nation of this time period. Hezekiah placed his nation in danger. Babylon would eventually dethrone the Assyrians and take Judah into captivity.
32:32 The rest of the events of Hezekiah’s reign, including his faithful deeds, are recorded in the vision of the prophet Isaiah son of Amoz, included in the Scroll of the Kings of Judah and Israel.
These books have been lost to civilization.
32:33 Hezekiah passed away and was buried on the ascent of the tombs of the descendants of David. All the people of Judah and the residents of Jerusalem buried him with great honor. His son Manasseh replaced him as king.
Hezekiah died with the honors of a royal funeral. He was loved and honored by the people as a good king, even though he had made some mistakes. Even the most godly of saints will make mistakes.