Hezekiah of Judah begins his twenty-nine year reign at age twenty-five, doing right like David, removing high places, breaking pillars and Asherah poles, and smashing the bronze serpent Moses made (Nehushtan) because Israel had burned incense to it. He trusts the LORD as no Judean king before or after, holds fast to Him, and prospers. He rebels against Assyria and defeats the Philistines. In his fourteenth year, Sennacherib attacks Judah's fortified cities; Hezekiah pays three hundred talents of silver and thirty talents of gold, stripping the temple. Yet Sennacherib sends the Rabshakeh from Lachish with a great army to Jerusalem. The Rabshakeh taunts in Hebrew: Egypt is a broken reed, Hezekiah removed the LORD's high places, Assyria comes with the LORD's authorization, and no god has delivered any nation from Assyria. Hezekiah's officials beg him to speak Aramaic; he refuses, warning the people they will eat their own excrement and drink their urine under siege, mocking trust in the LORD.
Read 2 Kings Chapter 18 Summary
Original
Characters in This Chapter
Elisha
Elijah's successor who performed many miracles and ministered to Israel's kings
Hezekiah
Faithful king of Judah who trusted God against Assyria and was healed from illness
Josiah
Reforming king who rediscovered the Law and led Judah in renewal
Naaman
Syrian commander healed of leprosy by Elisha, demonstrating God's grace to Gentiles
Manasseh
Wicked king of Judah who led the nation into deep idolatry
Places in This Chapter
Position in Book
Elisha's MinistryChapters 1-8
Decline of Both KingdomsChapters 9-16
Fall of IsraelChapters 17
Judah AloneChapters 18-25
Hezekiah's faithfulness, Manasseh's wickedness, Josiah's reforms, fall of Jerusalem to Babylon.