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.
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Read 2 Kings Chapter 18 Summary
Characters in This Chapter
Elijah's successor who performed many miracles and ministered to Israel's kings
Faithful king of Judah who trusted God against Assyria and was healed from illness
Reforming king who rediscovered the Law and led Judah in renewal
Syrian commander healed of leprosy by Elisha, demonstrating God's grace to Gentiles
Wicked king of Judah who led the nation into deep idolatry
Son of Jacob, Ancestor of David and Christ
King of Israel
Prophet and Lawgiver
Levite Musician and Psalmist
Ruler of Egypt during the Exodus
Places in This Chapter
Gaza was one of the five major Philistine cities on the Mediterranean coast. Samson was taken here after his capture, where he pushed down the pillars of the temple of Dagon, killing himself and thousands of Philistines. Philip met the Ethiopian eunuch on the road to Gaza.
The Temple in Jerusalem was the permanent house of worship built by Solomon on Mount Moriah. Destroyed by Babylon, it was rebuilt by Zerubbabel and later greatly expanded by Herod. Jesus taught in the Temple courts, cleared it of merchants, and predicted its destruction, which occurred in 70 AD.
Egypt plays a significant role throughout the Bible, from the time of Abraham to the flight of the Holy Family. Joseph was sold into slavery there and rose to become second to Pharaoh, saving his family during famine. The Israelites were enslaved in Egypt for 400 years before God delivered them through Moses in the Exodus. Jesus' family fled to Egypt to escape King Herod, fulfilling the prophecy "Out of Egypt I called my son."
Position in Book
Hezekiah's faithfulness, Manasseh's wickedness, Josiah's reforms, fall of Jerusalem to Babylon.