For my weekly quiet time this week, I studied II Kings 19. King Sennacherib of Assyria is seeking to conquer Jerusalem, and Hezekiah prays to the LORD. In answer to Hezekiah’s prayer, God (through an angel) kills off the Assyrian army. Later, Sennacherib is assassinated by two of his sons, who flee to Ararat. Esarhaddon then succeeds Sennacherib as king of Assyria.
There are many historical issues in this chapter. V 9 is challenging, for it states that Tirhakah, the king of Cush, has attacked Sennacherib, leading the Assyrian king away from Jerusalem. (Sennacherib leaves many troops in the proximity of Jerusalem, however). The problem is that Tirkahah wasn’t king until 690 B.C.E., which is after the events of II Kings 19. Virtually all modern commentators, conservative and liberal, acknowledge this as a problem. Liberals tend to view v 9 as an example of anachronism. Conservatives have contended that v 9 calls Tirhakah a king because that’s what he later became, and the audience of II Kings 19 knew him as such.
Sennacherib’s account does not mention that Sennacherib actually took Jerusalem, which may be evidence that he did not do so, as the Bible says. Then there’s the interesting story in the History of Herodotus (Book II, 141), the fifth century B.C.E. Greek historian, who narrates that, when Sennacherib was trying to attack Egypt, mice came and ate up the military equipment of his army. According to Herodotus, that’s why there’s a statue of a king in the Temple of Hephaistos, holding up a mouse and urging people to fear the gods! In Greek legends, mice carried pestilence. Is Herodotus confirming the story of the Bible? Mordecai Cogan thinks not. For Cogan, Herodotus is botching things up by attributing to Sennacherib’s time an incident that occurred under his successor, Esarhaddon, as well as drawing from a mixed-up version of the biblical story.
Who killed Sennacherib? Cogan refers to evidence that the assassination was committed by Sennacherib’s son, Arad-ninlil. Could the names of the assassins in the biblical account be botched up? Moreover, according to Assyrian sources, there were brothers of Esarhaddon who challenged his accession, and Esarhaddon tries to get his hands on Assyrian refugees who fled to Ararat. Does this confirm the biblical story that two brothers of Esarhaddon attempted to take the throne and fled to Ararat?
Those are some of the historical issues. But what got my attention was how preachers said that II Kings 19 teaches us to look to God, not to therapists. Chuck Smith, for example, says that he feels helpless when people tell him about their problems, for he can’t do anything about them. God, however, can. There are many times when such is the case. But therapists can give us insights as to how to cope or deal with our problems. And yet, we may need divine intervention! As a person with bills, I identified with a sermon I heard, in which a preacher talked about spreading our bills out before God, as Hezekiah spread before God the taunting letter of Assyria. Personally, I need encouragement and advice so I can see productive ways that I can handle situations; but I also need God to help me out. Where my role ends, and God’s begins, can be pretty murky. But I feel that I have a role, and so does God.
Chuck Smith made another interesting point. In Isaiah 33:14, the sinners of Zion wonder how they can dwell in the midst of everlasting flames. According to Smith, they are saying this after God’s angel has slaughtered the Assyrian army. His reason for this interpretation may be that Isaiah 33 refers to God’s defeat of nations and salvation of Zion, which fits the story of God’s deliverance of Jerusalem from the hands of Sennacherib. Seeing God’s wrath on others scares the sinners of Zion. But the prophet tells them that they can survive the everlasting flames if they do righteousness and hate oppression, bribery, and bloodshed. I’m not big on fear religion, but I can see its place, especially since there are people in the world who like to hurt others.