Extremes!

II Kings 19-21

Chapter 19 finally answers our question of what happens to the Nation of Judah as as Assyria has laid siege to them and is threatening to destroy them. Do they somehow mess things up? Does God keep his promises? What is going to happen?

Hezekiah tears his clothes (a sign of mourning) and begins praying. He also sends word to Isaiah the prophet to inquire what will happen. God sends word through Isaiah that He will deliver Judah from the hands of Assyria and that they will go home the same what they came.

Hezekiah then gets a letter from the Commander of the Assyrian army threatening to destroy Judah again. Isaiah has already sent word that Assyria will not win but the letter disturbs Hezekiah and he goes to the Temple, lays the letter out to God, and prays. His prayer is simple.

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LORD, bow down thine ear, and hear: open, LORD, thine eyes, and see: and hear the words of Sennacherib, which hath sent him to reproach the living God.

II Kings 19:16

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"God listen to and see what Sennacherib is saying about you"! Hezekiah's prayer if for God to defend his own honor. Hezekiah realized that he could not fight God's battles but God could! He just asked him to do it.

God again answered Hezekiah through Isaiah the prophet. I love the imagery of verse 28!

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Because thy rage against me and thy tumult is come up into mine ears, Therefore I will put my hook in thy nose, and my bridle in thy lips, And I will turn thee back by the way by which thou camest.

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"Because you have had so much to say about me (God), I am going to put a hook in your nose and a bridle in your mouth, and I will lead you like a horse out of my land, and back to your home, the same way you came here. I am not only sovereign over Judah, but over Assyria as well." Hezekiah humbly asked God to fight his own fight and he did!

Sennacherib had to return home because of other conflicts in his kingdom (he went home the same way he came). After he left, God sent an angel into the camp of Assyria and he killed 185,000 soldiers. After Sennacherib returned to Nineveh, he was assassinated by two of his sons. They fled into another country and a third son became king of Assyria. (NOTE: We have been introduced to Jonah and now Nineveh. Seeing how the Assyrians treat the people of God, it is easy to see why Jonah hated them.)

Chapter 20, we again read about God answering Hezekiah's prayers. This time, Hezekiah is sick. Isaiah goes to him and tells him that he will die. Isaiah leaves and Hezekiah rolls over in his bed and quietly prays. "God, I have faithfully served you. Please remember me." Then he cried. God heard his prayer and as Isaiah was walking through the courtyard of the kings house, God turned him around with a new message. Isaiah went back in and said, "God heard your prayer. You will be healed and live 15 more years." As a sign that God would hear his prayer, the shadow went backwards 10 degrees on the sun dial.

Hezekiah was not perfect and the Bible records his fatal error in judgment. A new kingdom is introduced and they send a "friendly" group of emissaries to congratulate the King of Judah on his recovery. The kingdom that represent is Babylon. King Hezekiah shows them his whole kingdom and all his treasures. After enjoying the hospitality of Hezekiah, they leave. Then Isaiah comes for another visit to Hezekiah. He asks Hezekiah who the men were and what he had shown them. Hezekiah tells him they were from Babylon and that he had showed them everything. Isaiah tells him, that because he showed them everything, in the future, Babylon will take everything from his descendants and will lead them way captive and make eunuchs out of them. Isaiah foretold the fall of Judah to Babylon.

In chapter 21, Hezekiah has died and his son Manasseh takes the throne. Just as the writer told us that there was no king as good as Hezekiah since David, it tells us that there was no king as evil as Manasseh. The writer goes as far as to say that he was more evil that the pagan kings that God had the children of Israel destroy when they entered the land. He set up pagan altars in the temple, rebuilt the high places and groves for idol worship, and offered human sacrifices to Baal. Not only was he evil, but he reigned for 55 years.

When he died, his son Amon took the throne. Like his father, Amon was evil but only reigned for 2 years. Then, he was assassinated. The people of Jerusalem executed his assassins and his son Josiah became king.

From one king to the next, we have seen the very best king since David and the very worst king ever in the land of Palestine. Hezekiah was a man of prayer and faith. He tried to completely destroy all pagan worship from the land. He was not perfect, but he tried his best to be. Then his son takes the throne and completely undoes all that he father accomplishes. The Bible literally calls him the worst. As evil as Ahab and Jezebel were, Manasseh was worse then them.

We can only control what we can control, which is not much. Hezekiah was responsible for his actions. He set a good example for his son. Yet, his son was evil. Manasseh had every opportunity to do right and serve God. He simply chose not to. All the preaching and Godly examples in the world will do no good to someone who rejects them.

If you are interested in doing a little homework, God did humble Manasseh (II Chronicles 33:11-20). However, this humbling would come at a great cost to him. Also, as we will see, his evil life passed on to his son.

We must know that our influence on people may not guarantee that they will serve God. This we see with Hezekiah and Manasseh. However, our influence can also have a major impact on someone's life. Manasseh raised a son to be just like him, in a bad way. Even when Manasseh changed his life, his son still followed the main influence that his father had on him. We must be aware of how we are leading people. We must also pray for those whom we influence.

Lord help me to be a Godly influence on those who see me!