When the armies of Assyria were invading Judah and it seemed as if nothing could save Jerusalem, Hezekiah rallied the forces of his realm to resist the oppressors and to trust in the power of Jehovah to deliver: “Be strong and courageous; do not be afraid nor dismayed before the king of Assyria, nor before all the multitude that is with him. ... With him is an arm of flesh; but with us is the Lord our God, to help us and to fight our battles.” 2 Chronicles 32:7, 8.2TC 177.2

The boastful Assyrian, whom God used for a time to punish the nations, was not always to prevail. See Isaiah 10:5, 24-27. In a prophetic message given “in the year that King Ahaz died,” Isaiah had declared: “The Lord of hosts has sworn, ... ‘I will break the Assyrian in My land, and on My mountains tread him underfoot. ... For the Lord of hosts has purposed, and who will annul it?’” Isaiah 14:28, 24-27.2TC 177.3

In the earlier years of his reign, Hezekiah had continued to pay tribute to Assyria, in harmony with the agreement Ahaz had made. Meanwhile the king had done everything possible for the defense of his kingdom. He had made sure of a plentiful supply of water within Jerusalem. “He also made weapons and shields in abundance. Then he set military captains over the people.” 2 Chronicles 32:5, 6. He had left nothing undone in preparation for a siege.2TC 178.1

When Hezekiah came to the throne of Judah, the Assyrians had already carried captive a large number from the northern kingdom; and while he was strengthening the defenses of Jerusalem, the Assyrians captured Samaria and scattered the ten tribes among the Assyrian provinces. Jerusalem was less than fifty miles away, and the rich spoils in the temple would tempt the enemy to return.2TC 178.2

The king of Judah determined to resist. Having accomplished all that human planning and energy could do, he told his forces to be of good courage. With unwavering faith the king declared, “With us is the Lord our God, to help us and to fight our battles.” 2 Chronicles 32:8.2TC 178.3

Faith Inspires Faith

Nothing more quickly inspires faith than the exercise of faith. Confident that the prophecy against the Assyrians would be fulfilled, the king put his trust fully on God. “And the people were strengthened by the words of Hezekiah king of Judah.” 2 Chronicles 32:8. What did it matter if the armies of Assyria, fresh from conquering the greatest nations, and triumphant over Samaria, would now turn against Judah? What did it matter if they would boast, “As I have done to Samaria and her idols, shall I not do also to Jerusalem and her idols?” Isaiah 10:11. Judah had nothing to fear, for their trust was in Jehovah.2TC 178.4

The long-expected crisis finally came. The forces of Assyria appeared in Judea. Confident of victory, the leaders divided their forces. One army was to meet the Egyptian army to the south, while the other was to surround Jerusalem.2TC 178.5

Judah’s only hope now was in God. All possible help from Egypt had been cut off, and no other nations were near to lend a friendly hand.2TC 179.1

The Assyrian officers haughtily demanded the surrender of the city. They accompanied this demand with blasphemous insults against the God of the Hebrews. Because of the weakness and apostasy of Israel and Judah, the name of God was no longer feared among the nations, but had become a subject for continual scorn. See Isaiah 52:5.2TC 179.2

“Say now to Hezekiah,” said the Rabshakeh, one of Sennacherib’s chief officers, “Thus says the great king, the king of Assyria: ‘What confidence is this in which you trust? You speak of having plans and power for the war; but they are mere words. And in whom do you trust, that you rebel against me?’” 2 Kings 18:19, 20.2TC 179.3

The officers were outside the city but within the hearing of the sentries on the wall. As the Assyrian king’s representatives loudly urged their proposals on the chief men of Judah, these men requested them to speak in the Syrian rather than the Jewish language, in order that those on the wall might not follow the proceedings of the conference. The Rabshakeh, rejecting this suggestion, lifted his voice still higher in the Jewish language:2TC 179.4

“Hear the words of the great king, the king of Assyria! Thus says the king: ‘Do not let Hezekiah deceive you, for he will not be able to deliver you; nor let Hezekiah make you trust in the Lord, saying, “The Lord will surely deliver us; this city shall not be given into the hand of the king of Assyria.” ... Beware lest Hezekiah persuade you, saying, “The Lord will deliver us.” Has any one of the gods of the nations delivered its land from the hand of the king of Assyria? ... Have they delivered Samaria from my hand? Who among all the gods of these lands have delivered their countries from my hand, that the Lord should deliver Jerusalem from my hand?’” Isaiah 36:13-20.2TC 179.5

Judah’s Leaders Pray With Contrition

The Jewish representatives returned to Hezekiah “with their clothes torn, and told him the words of the Rabshakeh.” Verse 22. The king “tore his clothes, covered him-self with sackcloth, and went into the house of the Lord.” 2 Kings 19:1.2TC 180.1

Hezekiah dispatched a messenger to Isaiah: “This day is a day of trouble, and rebuke, and blasphemy. ... It may be the Lord your God will hear all the words of the Rabshakeh, whom his master the king of Assyria has sent to reproach the living God, and will rebuke the words which the Lord your God has heard. Therefore lift up your prayer for the remnant that is left.” Verses 3, 4.2TC 180.2

“Now because of this King Hezekiah and the prophet Isaiah, the son of Amoz, prayed and cried out to heaven.” 2 Chronicles 32:20.2TC 180.3

God answered His servants. Isaiah was given the message for Hezekiah: “Thus says the Lord: ‘Do not be afraid of the words which you have heard, with which the servants of the king of Assyria have blasphemed Me. Surely I will send a spirit upon him, and he shall hear a rumor and shall return to his own land; and I will cause him to fall by the sword in his own land.’” 2 Kings 19:6, 7.2TC 180.4

The Taunts of the Enemy

The Assyrian representatives communicated at once with their king who was with his army guarding the approach from Egypt. Sennacherib wrote “letters to revile the Lord God of Israel, and to speak against Him, saying, ‘As the gods of the nations of other lands have not delivered their people from my hand, so the God of Hezekiah shall not deliver His people from my hand.’” 2 Chronicles 32:17.2TC 180.5

The boastful threat brought with it the message: “Do not let your God in whom you trust deceive you, saying, ‘Jerusalem shall not be given into the hand of the king of Assyria.’” 2 Kings 19:10.2TC 180.6

When the king of Judah received the taunting letter, he took it into the temple and “spread it before the Lord” and prayed with strong faith for help from heaven, that the nations of earth might know that the God of the Hebrews still lived and reigned. Verse 14. The honor of Jehovah was at stake; He alone could bring deliverance.2TC 180.7

“O Lord God of Israel,” Hezekiah pleaded, “hear the words of Sennacherib, which he has sent to reproach the living God. Truly, Lord, the kings of Assyria have laid waste the nations and their lands, and have cast their gods into the fire; for they were not gods. ... Now therefore, O Lord our God, I pray, save us from his hand, that all the nations of the earth may know that You are the Lord God, You alone.” Verses 15-19.2TC 181.1

Give ear, O Shepherd of Israel, ...
And come and save us!
Restore us, O God;
Cause Your face to shine,
And we shall be saved! Psalm 80:1-32TC 181.2

The Lord Responds to Judah’s Pleadings

Hezekiah’s pleadings for Judah and for the honor of their Supreme Ruler were in harmony with the mind of God. Solomon had prayed for the Lord to maintain “the cause of His people Israel, ... that all the peoples of the earth may know that the Lord is God; there is no other.” 1 Kings 8:59, 60. Especially was the Lord to show favor when, in times of war or oppression by an army, the leaders of Israel would enter the house of prayer and plead for deliverance. See verses 33, 34.2TC 181.3

Isaiah sent to Hezekiah saying, “Thus says the Lord God of Israel: ‘Because you have prayed to Me against Sennacherib the king of Assyria, I have heard.’ This is the word which the Lord has spoken concerning him: ...2TC 181.4

“Whom have you reproached and blasphemed? Against whom have you raised your voice, and lifted up your eyes on high? Against the Holy One of Israel. By your messengers you have reproached the Lord.” “I know your dwelling place, your going out and your coming in, and your rage against Me. Because your rage against Me and your tumult have come up to My ears, therefore I will put My hook in your nose, and My bridle in your lips, and I will turn you back by the way which you came.” 2 Kings 19:20-23, 27, 28.2TC 181.5

The army of occupation had laid Judah waste, but God had promised to provide miraculously for the people. To Hezekiah came the message about the king of Assyria: “‘He shall not come into this city, nor shoot an arrow there, nor come before it with shield, nor build a siege mound against it. By the way that he came, by the same shall he return; and he shall not come into this city,’ says the Lord. ‘For I will defend this city, to save it for My own sake and for My servant David’s sake.’” Verses 32-34.2TC 182.1

Deliverance Comes

That very night deliverance came. “The angel of the Lord went out, and killed in the camp of the Assyrians one hundred and eighty-five thousand.” Verse 35. “Every mighty man of valor, leader, and captain in the camp of the king of Assyria” was killed. 2 Chronicles 32:21.2TC 182.2

News of this terrible judgment on the army that had gone to take Jerusalem soon reached Sennacherib, who was still guarding the approach to Judea from Egypt. Stricken with fear, the Assyrian king left quickly and “returned shamefaced to his own land.” Verse 21. But he did not have long to reign. In harmony with the prophecy concerning his sudden end, he was assassinated by those of his own home. “Then Esarhaddon his son reigned in his place.” Isaiah 37:38.2TC 182.3

The God of the Hebrews had prevailed. His honor was vindicated in the eyes of the surrounding nations. In Jerusalem the people were filled with holy joy. Their pleas for deliverance had mingled with confession of sin and with many tears. They had trusted wholly in the power of God to save, and He had not failed them. The temple courts resounded with songs of solemn praise.2TC 182.4

The stouthearted were plundered;
They have sunk into their sleep; And none of the mighty men have found the use of their hands.
At Your rebuke, O God of Jacob,
Both the chariot and horse were cast into a dead sleep.
You, Yourself, are to be feared;
And who may stand in Your presence
When once You are angry? ...
Make vows to the Lord your God, and pay them;
Let all who are around Him bring presents to Him who ought to be feared.
He shall cut off the spirit of princes;
He is awesome to the kings of the earth. Psalm 76:5-122TC 182.5

Lessons From the Proud Assyrian Empire

Inspiration has compared Assyria at the height of her prosperity to a noble tree in the garden of God, towering above the surrounding trees: “In its shadow all great nations made their home.” “All the trees of Eden envied it.” Ezekiel 31:6, 9.2TC 183.1

But the rulers of Assyria, instead of using their blessings for the benefit of the people, became the scourge of many lands. Merciless, with no thought of God or their fellowmen, they pursued the policy of causing all nations to acknowledge the supremacy of Nineveh’s gods, whom they exalted above the Most High. God had sent Jonah to them with a message of warning, and for a time they humbled themselves before the Lord of hosts and sought forgiveness. But soon they turned again to idol worship and to the conquest of the world.2TC 183.2

The prophet Nahum, in listing the sins of the evildoers in Nineveh, exclaimed:2TC 183.3

Woe to the bloody city!
It is all full of lies and robbery.
Its victim never departs.
Horsemen charge with bright sword and glittering spear.
There is a multitude of slain,
A great number of bodies,
Countless corpses—
They stumble over the corpses—
“Behold, I am against you,” says the Lord of hosts. Nahum 3:1, 3, 52TC 183.4

With unerring accuracy the Infinite One still keeps account with the nations. While He offers His mercy with calls to repentance, this account remains open. But when the figures reach a certain sum that God has fixed, the ministry of His wrath begins. The account is closed.2TC 184.1

“The Lord is slow to anger and great in power, and will not at all acquit the wicked.” “Who can stand before His indignation? And who can endure the fierceness of His anger?” Nahum 1:3, 6.2TC 184.2

This is how Nineveh became a desolation, “where the lion walked, the lioness and lion’s cub, and no one made them afraid.” Nahum 2:11.2TC 184.3

Zephaniah prophesied of Nineveh: “The herds shall lie down in her midst, every beast of the nation. Both the pelican and the bittern shall lodge on the capitals of her pillars; their voice shall sing in the windows; desolation shall be at the threshold; for He will lay bare the cedar work.” Zephaniah 2:14.2TC 184.4

The pride of Assyria and its fall serve as an object lesson to the end of time. “The Lord is good, a stronghold in the day of trouble; and He knows those who trust in Him. But with an overwhelming flood He will make an utter end” of all who try to exalt themselves above the Most High. Nahum 1:7, 8.2TC 184.5

This is true not only of the nations that arrayed themselves against God in ancient times, but also of nations today who fail to fulfill the divine purpose. In the day of final awards, when the righteous Judge of all the earth shall “sift the nations” (Isaiah 30:28), heaven’s arches will ring with the triumphant songs of the redeemed. “You shall have a song,” the prophet declares, “as in the night when a holy festival is kept, and gladness of heart as when one goes with a flute, to come into the mountain of the Lord, to the Mighty One of Israel. ... Through the voice of the Lord Assyria will be beaten down, as He strikes with the rod.” Verses 29-31.2TC 184.6

Visitors from Babylon See the Wrong Things

Isaiah’s “Good News” for All the Nations