A Tale of Two Cities

II Kings 17-18

Chapter 17 tells us of the end of Israel (the northern kingdom). Hoshea, the final king of Israel, was wicked, but not as wicked as all the other kings before him (v.2). Yet, his slight change from the degree of depravity of his predecessors was not enough to save Israel. In the ninth year of his reign, Samaria fell to Assyria.

The rest of the chapter is a description of why God allowed Samaria to be carried away into captivity. Also, we learn that the king of Assyria removed the Jews and replaced them with a mixed group of people from other conquered lands. When the new inhabitants arrived, they were attacked by lions. They wrote to Shalmaneser, king of Assyria, and said that they did not know how to worship the "God" of the land and he was mad at them. So, Shalmaneser sent a priest to teach the people how to "fear God" (v. 28). The people feared God but also worshiped their pagan gods from their home countries. This is contrasted with the Jews of Israel who served pagan gods and did not fear God, who had delivered them out of Egypt and given them the land.

Chapter 18 switches back over to Jerusalem. We are told about King Hezekiah and if we were told nothing else, verse 5 would be enough!

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He trusted in the LORD God of Israel; so that after him was none like him among all the kings of Judah, nor any that were before him. (II Kings 18:5)

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Verse three tells us that he was like David his forefather. Can you imagine someone giving you an accolade like this? The writer says that he ruled like the greatest king ever in Israel, and that no other king before or after him was better than him. Wow!

God was with Hezekiah and her prospered so much that he was able to quit serving the Assyrians and he defeated the Philistians. The king of Assyria did not like this and sent his army to Jerusalem after they had defeated Israel. In fear, Hezekiah paid all the tribute he could afford to King Sennacherib to stop the attack. Sennacherib gladly took the gold but did not stop his siege. Hezekiah decided to send ambassadors to discuss peace.

The ambassadors were commanded to speak in the Assyrian language so that the people did not understand what was being said. Hezekiah hoped to keep the people from being afraid by what the ambassadors from Assyria might say. And indeed, they said a lot!

The ambassador from Assyria asked who the King of Judah was depending on to protect him from Assyria. Was he depending on Egypt, that little reed of grass? Was he depending on the God of his land? What other god of any land had been able to defend its people against Assyrian? He answered the question for the ambassadors from Jerusalem, "no god". All of this he said in Hebrew so as to put fear in the hearts of the people. The ambassadors for Hezekiah returned to the king and told him all the words of the Assyrian ambassadors.

This is where the chapter ends. It feels like a "To Be Continued" at the end of a TV show. Just like we are wondering, "What will happen next?", so were they. Isn't that how life is? We find ourselves in the middle of a terrible situation and we will worry ourselves to death about "What will happen next?"

The tale of two cities is found in the response of their kings. Israel was evil because their kings served pagan gods. Because of this, they fell to Assyria as judgment from God. While we have not yet read what will happen to Judah, we can infer some things because of God's promises and because Hezekiah was a Godly king. Let's look at God's promises and the facts for just a moment.

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Deuteronomy 28:7

The LORD shall cause thine enemies that rise up against thee to be smitten before thy face: they shall come out against thee one way, and flee before thee seven ways.

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This promise was given to Israel just before Moses died. It was given to the people of Israel as they were preparing to enter into the promised land and claim it as their home. It would not be long before Joshua would lead the people across the Jordan River and they would defeat the city of Jericho and begin their campaign to claim the land God had promised them. Moses is retelling them the law and God's promises to them. Deuteronomy 28:7 was conditional, Moses started by saying, "And it shall come to pass, if thou shalt hearken diligently unto the voice of the LORD thy God, to observe and to do all his commandments which I command thee this day..." (Deuteronomy 28:1).

That is exactly what Hezekiah had been doing! He had hearkened "diligently unto the voice of the LORD" and had done his best to "observe and to do all his commandments" which Moses had commanded. So, unless Hezekiah completely abandons God, God will keep his promise. Let me say that again, "God will keep his promise"! I am not saying this as a spoiler for the end of this story but as a fact. God is faithful and will keep his end of a covenant if we keep ours.

We wonder and worry about what will happen next so often in our lives. The question we need to ask ourselves is "Are we hearkening diligently unto the voice of the LORD our God, to observe and do all his commandments"? In other words, are we living in obedience to him, or are we trying to do things our way? Israel tried to do things their own way and it led to their destruction. We have not yet read the conclusion of Judah's story.

Notice that both Israel and Judah were attacked by the Assyrian army. God's promise in Deuteronomy 28 was not that his people would never face adversity. His promise was that, if they were faithful to him, they would overcome that adversity. The same is true for us today. We doubt God because we face adversity in our lives, but God did not promise us that we would never face adversity. He promised us victory if we are obedient. Frankly, the more adversity we face, and if we stay faithful to God, the more victories we have. In the adversity we see the presence of God and we learn to trust him more.

Father, help us stay faithful to you!