IN THE THIRD year of Hoshea son of Elah king of Israel, Hezekiah son of Ahaz king of Judah began to reign. 2He was twenty-five years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem twenty-nine years. His mother’s name was Abijah daughter of Zechariah. 3He did what was right in the eyes of the LORD, just as his father David had done. 4He removed the high places, smashed the sacred stones and cut down the Asherah poles. He broke into pieces the bronze snake Moses had made, for up to that time the Israelites had been burning incense to it. (It was called Nehushtan.)
5Hezekiah trusted in the LORD, the God of Israel. There was no one like him among all the kings of Judah, either before him or after him. 6He held fast to the LORD and did not cease to follow him; he kept the commands the LORD had given Moses. 7And the LORD was with him; he was successful in whatever he undertook. He rebelled against the king of Assyria and did not serve him. 8From watchtower to fortified city, he defeated the Philistines, as far as Gaza and its territory.
9In King Hezekiah’s fourth year, which was the seventh year of Hoshea son of Elah king of Israel, Shalmaneser king of Assyria marched against Samaria and laid siege to it. 10At the end of three years the Assyrians took it. So Samaria was captured in Hezekiah’s sixth year, which was the ninth year of Hoshea king of Israel. 11The king of Assyria deported Israel to Assyria and settled them in Halah, in Gozan on the Habor River and in towns of the Medes. 12This happened because they had not obeyed the LORD their God, but had violated his covenant—all that Moses the servant of the LORD commanded. They neither listened to the commands nor carried them out.
13In the fourteenth year of King Hezekiah’s reign, Sennacherib king of Assyria attacked all the fortified cities of Judah and captured them. 14So Hezekiah king of Judah sent this message to the king of Assyria at Lachish: “I have done wrong. Withdraw from me, and I will pay whatever you demand of me.” The king of Assyria exacted from Hezekiah king of Judah three hundred talents of silver and thirty talents of gold. 15So Hezekiah gave him all the silver that was found in the temple of the LORD and in the treasuries of the royal palace.
16At this time Hezekiah king of Judah stripped off the gold with which he had covered the doors and doorposts of the temple of the LORD, and gave it to the king of Assyria.
17The king of Assyria sent his supreme commander, his chief officer and his field commander with a large army, from Lachish to King Hezekiah at Jerusalem. They came up to Jerusalem and stopped at the aqueduct of the Upper Pool, on the road to the Washerman’s Field. 18They called for the king; and Eliakim son of Hilkiah the palace administrator, Shebna the secretary, and Joah son of Asaph the recorder went out to them.
19The field commander said to them, “Tell Hezekiah:
“‘This is what the great king, the king of Assyria, says: On what are you basing this confidence of yours? 20You say you have strategy and military strength—but you speak only empty words. On whom are you depending, that you rebel against me? 21Look now, you are depending on Egypt, that splintered reed of a staff, which pierces a man’s hand and wounds him if he leans on it! Such is Pharaoh king of Egypt to all who depend on him. 22And if you say to me, “We are depending on the LORD our God”—isn’t he the one whose high places and altars Hezekiah removed, saying to Judah and Jerusalem, “You must worship before this altar in Jerusalem”?
23“‘Come now, make a bargain with my master, the king of Assyria: I will give you two thousand horses—if you can put riders on them! 24How can you repulse one officer of the least of my master’s officials, even though you are depending on Egypt for chariots and horsemen? 25Furthermore, have I come to attack and destroy this place without word from the LORD? The LORD himself told me to march against this country and destroy it.’”
26Then Eliakim son of Hilkiah, and Shebna and Joah said to the field commander, “Please speak to your servants in Aramaic, since we understand it. Don’t speak to us in Hebrew in the hearing of the people on the wall.”
27But the commander replied, “Was it only to your master and you that my master sent me to say these things, and not to the men sitting on the wall—who, like you, will have to eat their own filth and drink their own urine?”
28Then the commander stood and called out in Hebrew: “Hear the word of the great king, the king of Assyria! 29This is what the king says: Do not let Hezekiah deceive you. He cannot deliver you from my hand. 30Do not let Hezekiah persuade you to trust in the LORD when he says, ‘The LORD will surely deliver us; this city will not be given into the hand of the king of Assyria.’
31“Do not listen to Hezekiah. This is what the king of Assyria says: Make peace with me and come out to me. Then every one of you will eat from his own vine and fig tree and drink water from his own cistern, 32until I come and take you to a land like your own, a land of grain and new wine, a land of bread and vineyards, a land of olive trees and honey. Choose life and not death!
“Do not listen to Hezekiah, for he is misleading you when he says, ‘The LORD will deliver us.’ 33Has the god of any nation ever delivered his land from the hand of the king of Assyria? 34Where are the gods of Hamath and Arpad? Where are the gods of Sepharvaim, Hena and Ivvah? Have they rescued Samaria from my hand? 35Who of all the gods of these countries has been able to save his land from me? How then can the LORD deliver Jerusalem from my hand?”
36But the people remained silent and said nothing in reply, because the king had commanded, “Do not answer him.”
37Then Eliakim son of Hilkiah the palace administrator, Shebna the secretary and Joah son of Asaph the recorder went to Hezekiah, with their clothes torn, and told him what the field commander had said.
19:1When King Hezekiah heard this, he tore his clothes and put on sackcloth and went into the temple of the LORD. 2He sent Eliakim the palace administrator, Shebna the secretary and the leading priests, all wearing sackcloth, to the prophet Isaiah son of Amoz. 3They told him, “This is what Hezekiah says: This day is a day of distress and rebuke and disgrace, as when children come to the point of birth and there is no strength to deliver them. 4It may be that the LORD your God will hear all the words of the field commander, whom his master, the king of Assyria, has sent to ridicule the living God, and that he will rebuke him for the words the LORD your God has heard. Therefore pray for the remnant that still survives.”
5When King Hezekiah’s officials came to Isaiah, 6Isaiah said to them, “Tell your master, ‘This is what the LORD says: Do not be afraid of what you have heard—those words with which the underlings of the king of Assyria have blasphemed me. 7Listen! I am going to put such a spirit in him that when he hears a certain report, he will return to his own country, and there I will have him cut down with the sword.’”
8When the field commander heard that the king of Assyria had left Lachish, he withdrew and found the king fighting against Libnah.
9Now Sennacherib received a report that Tirhakah, the Cushite king of Egypt, was marching out to fight against him. So he again sent messengers to Hezekiah with this word: 10“Say to Hezekiah king of Judah: Do not let the god you depend on deceive you when he says, ‘Jerusalem will not be handed over to the king of Assyria.’ 11Surely you have heard what the kings of Assyria have done to all the countries, destroying them completely. And will you be delivered? 12Did the gods of the nations that were destroyed by my forefathers deliver them: the gods of Gozan, Haran, Rezeph and the people of Eden who were in Tel Assar? 13Where is the king of Hamath, the king of Arpad, the king of the city of Sepharvaim, or of Hena or Ivvah?”
14Hezekiah received the letter from the messengers and read it. Then he went up to the temple of the LORD and spread it out before the LORD. 15And Hezekiah prayed to the LORD: “O LORD, God of Israel, enthroned between the cherubim, you alone are God over all the kingdoms of the earth. You have made heaven and earth. 16Give ear, O LORD, and hear; open your eyes, O LORD, and see; listen to the words Sennacherib has sent to insult the living God.
17“It is true, O LORD, that the Assyrian kings have laid waste these nations and their lands. 18They have thrown their gods into the fire and destroyed them, for they were not gods but only wood and stone, fashioned by men’s hands. 19Now, O LORD our God, deliver us from his hand, so that all kingdoms on earth may know that you alone, O LORD, are God.”
20Then Isaiah son of Amoz sent a message to Hezekiah: “This is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: I have heard your prayer concerning Sennacherib king of Assyria. 21This is the word that the LORD has spoken against him:
“‘The Virgin Daughter of Zion
despises you and mocks you.
The Daughter of Jerusalem
tosses her head as you flee.
22Who is it you have insulted and blasphemed?
Against whom have you raised your voice
and lifted your eyes in pride?
Against the Holy One of Israel!
23By your messengers
you have heaped insults on the Lord.
And you have said,
“With my many chariots
I have ascended the heights of the mountains,
the utmost heights of Lebanon.
I have cut down its tallest cedars,
the choicest of its pines.
I have reached its remotest parts,
the finest of its forests.
24I have dug wells in foreign lands
and drunk the water there.
With the soles of my feet
I have dried up all the streams of Egypt.”
25“‘Have you not heard?
Long ago I ordained it.
In days of old I planned it;
now I have brought it to pass,
that you have turned fortified cities
into piles of stone.
26Their people, drained of power,
are dismayed and put to shame.
They are like plants in the field,
like tender green shoots,
like grass sprouting on the roof,
scorched before it grows up.
27“‘But I know where you stay
and when you come and go
and how you rage against me.
and your insolence has reached my ears,
I will put my hook in your nose
and my bit in your mouth,
and I will make you return
by the way you came.’
29“This will be the sign for you, O Hezekiah:
“This year you will eat what grows by itself,
and the second year what springs from that.
But in the third year sow and reap,
plant vineyards and eat their fruit.
30Once more a remnant of the house of Judah
will take root below and bear fruit above.
31For out of Jerusalem will come a remnant,
and out of Mount Zion a band of survivors.
The zeal of the LORD Almighty will accomplish this.
32“Therefore this is what the LORD says concerning the king of Assyria:
“He will not enter this city
or shoot an arrow here.
He will not come before it with shield
or build a siege ramp against it.
33By the way that he came he will return;
he will not enter this city,
declares the LORD.
34I will defend this city and save it,
for my sake and for the sake of David my servant.”
35That night the angel of the LORD went out and put to death a hundred and eighty-five thousand men in the Assyrian camp. When the people got up the next morning—there were all the dead bodies! 36So Sennacherib king of Assyria broke camp and withdrew. He returned to Nineveh and stayed there.
37One day, while he was worshiping in the temple of his god Nisroch, his sons Adrammelech and Sharezer cut him down with the sword, and they escaped to the land of Ararat. And Esarhaddon his son succeeded him as king.
20:1In those days Hezekiah became ill and was at the point of death. The prophet Isaiah son of Amoz went to him and said, “This is what the LORD says: Put your house in order, because you are going to die; you will not recover.”
2Hezekiah turned his face to the wall and prayed to the LORD, 3“Remember, O LORD, how I have walked before you faithfully and with wholehearted devotion and have done what is good in your eyes.” And Hezekiah wept bitterly.
4Before Isaiah had left the middle court, the word of the LORD came to him: 5“Go back and tell Hezekiah, the leader of my people, ‘This is what the LORD, the God of your father David, says: I have heard your prayer and seen your tears; I will heal you. On the third day from now you will go up to the temple of the LORD. 6I will add fifteen years to your life. And I will deliver you and this city from the hand of the king of Assyria. I will defend this city for my sake and for the sake of my servant David.’”
7Then Isaiah said, “Prepare a poultice of figs.” They did so and applied it to the boil, and he recovered.
8Hezekiah had asked Isaiah, “What will be the sign that the LORD will heal me and that I will go up to the temple of the LORD on the third day from now?”
9Isaiah answered, “This is the LORD’s sign to you that the LORD will do what he has promised: Shall the shadow go forward ten steps, or shall it go back ten steps?”
10“It is a simple matter for the shadow to go forward ten steps,” said Hezekiah. “Rather, have it go back ten steps.”
11Then the prophet Isaiah called upon the LORD, and the LORD made the shadow go back the ten steps it had gone down on the stairway of Ahaz.
12At that time Merodach-Baladan son of Baladan king of Babylon sent Hezekiah letters and a gift, because he had heard of Hezekiah’s illness. 13Hezekiah received the messengers and showed them all that was in his storehouses—the silver, the gold, the spices and the fine oil—his armory and everything found among his treasures. There was nothing in his palace or in all his kingdom that Hezekiah did not show them.
14Then Isaiah the prophet went to King Hezekiah and asked, “What did those men say, and where did they come from?”
“From a distant land,” Hezekiah replied. “They came from Babylon.”
15The prophet asked, “What did they see in your palace?”
“They saw everything in my palace,” Hezekiah said. “There is nothing among my treasures that I did not show them.”
16Then Isaiah said to Hezekiah, “Hear the word of the LORD: 17The time will surely come when everything in your palace, and all that your fathers have stored up until this day, will be carried off to Babylon. Nothing will be left, says the LORD. 18And some of your descendants, your own flesh and blood, that will be born to you, will be taken away, and they will become eunuchs in the palace of the king of Babylon.”
19“The word of the LORD you have spoken is good,” Hezekiah replied. For he thought, “Will there not be peace and security in my lifetime?”
20As for the other events of Hezekiah’s reign, all his achievements and how he made the pool and the tunnel by which he brought water into the city, are they not written in the book of the annals of the kings of Judah? 21Hezekiah rested with his fathers. And Manasseh his son succeeded him as king.
Original Meaning
THE END OF the northern kingdom of Israel came during the reign of Hezekiah when Sargon vanquished Samaria (18:9–12; cf. ch. 17). Shalmaneser dealt with a rebellious Hoshea by attacking Samaria; after Shalmaneser’s death, Sargon besieged Samaria and deported Israelites during a rapid campaign, which included virtually all the Levant.1
The Assyrian advance continues with the devastating attack of Sennacherib king of Assyria against Judah in the fourteenth year of Hezekiah’s reign (18:13–16). The importance of the Assyrian siege in Deuteronomistic History is evident in the length of the account (18:17–19:36). Little else is said of Hezekiah; the events associated with the siege demonstrate both his faithfulness and his failure. Jerusalem is delivered because of the faith of Hezekiah, but his faithlessness in allying with Merodach-Baladan of Babylon shows that the ultimate destiny of Judah will be the same as that of Israel (20:17–19). Though Hezekiah is more like David than any of other king before him, the failures leading to exile are present in his reign as well.
The Faithful King (18:1–12)
IN CONTRAST TO all the previous kings of Israel and Judah, Hezekiah is introduced as the faithful king, one who reformed Judean worship and moved Judah toward the ideal of the covenant. Hezekiah is not merely similar to David as Asa (1 Kings 15:11) or Jehoshaphat (22:43) were, but is the very model of the Davidic ideal (2 Kings 18:3, 5). His faithfulness results in the preservation of Jerusalem, a stark contrast to the captivity of Israel.
This point is made explicit by recounting again the fall of Israel, which takes place early in Hezekiah’s life, while he is coregent with his father, Ahaz.2 Hezekiah’s independent rule begins in 715 B.C., fourteen years before the siege against Jerusalem.3 He is rewarded for his faithfulness, not only in successfully resisting the Assyrian advances but also in securing his boundaries toward the Philistine territories (18:7–8). Hezekiah’s trust is particularly evident when he refuses to yield to the Assyrians, even when the fortified cities of Judah are destroyed and the Assyrian armies have encircled Jerusalem.
The religious reform of Hezekiah is not related to a rebellion against Assyria. During the Assyrian siege the Rabshakeh (NIV “field commander”) infers that the destruction of the high places, altars, and Asherah poles is evidence that Hezekiah has actually rebelled against his own God (18:22). This Assyrian leader feels that Hezekiah cannot encourage the people of Jerusalem to trust in their God when their own king has offended him by removing his images.
It is reasonable for the Assyrians to assume that the Israelite God was honored by these images; the Assyrian general makes a point about the removal of Israelite images, but not about the removal of Assyrian images.4 Hezekiah’s religious reform is political, possibly in anticipation of Assyrian attacks. Removal of the high places not only follows the demands of the covenant, but it centralizes the authority of Hezekiah in Jerusalem. Hezekiah initiates a significant buildup of economic resources and civil power.5 The relegation of Israel to Assyrian control during Hezekiah’s early years (cf. Isa. 8:21–9:1) necessitates preparations for further Assyrian advances.
The high places, pillars, and Asherah poles are familiar cult objects; the bronze serpent, referred to as “the bronze thing,” is mentioned only here. The name (neḥuštān) is a clever combination of the word snake (nāḥāš) and bronze (neḥōšet).6 When the Israelites had been afflicted with venomous snakes in the desert, healing was found by looking at a bronze snake Moses made and elevated on a bronze pole according to God’s instruction (Num. 21:4–9).
The image of a dead snake as an agent to bring life fits the logic of the Israelite sacrificial system; though no connection is suggested, the identification of the bronze snake with the desert serpent is entirely credible.7 Hezekiah rigorously adheres to the covenant requirement; his allegiance to God demonstrates God’s wisdom that will be the envy of the nations (18:6; cf. Deut. 4:4–8). His prosperity is not only prudent administration, but also divine blessing.
Devastation of Judah (18:13–16)
THE SUCCESS AND prosperity of Hezekiah come to an abrupt end with Assyria’s invasion of Judah. This short description of Judah’s devastation has its parallel in Sennacherib’s boast of the conquests of his third campaign: “As for Hezekiah the Judean, I besieged forty-six of his fortified walled cities and surrounding smaller towns, which were without number.… He himself, I locked up in Jerusalem, his royal city, like a bird in a cage.”8
A monumental wall relief from the palace of Sennacherib in Nineveh commemorates the battle over Lachish and the deportation of its inhabitants.9 This commemoration of that siege demonstrates its strategic importance in Assyria’s military advance. Sennacherib records a payment of thirty talents of gold (approximately one ton) and eight hundred talents of silver (approximately thirty tons). The exact correspondence to the amount of gold listed in 18:14 is striking; the greater quantity of silver may be explained by the inclusion of the precious metals stripped from the temple.10 The Assyrian annals are much more detailed, including a long list of booty items and the captivity of over two hundred thousand Judeans.
The discrepancy between this account and the following story of Jerusalem’s deliverance has led to the suggestion that there are two campaigns against Judah. The first campaign in 701 B.C. ends in Assyrian victory and an assertion of its hegemony over Judah. A second campaign after the capture of Babylon in 689 B.C. ends in an Assyrian retreat to Nineveh and the assassination of the Assyrian king a short time later. It is not surprising that the Assyrian records make no mention of such a campaign, since records of defeat are never retained. Yet Assyrian history shows that the conquest of Sennacherib is so devastating that there is no resistance to Assyrian domination in the west even after his assassination and the ascension of Esarhaddon.
The Assyrian records never claim to have taken Jerusalem. The best explanation for leaving Jerusalem unconquered is that Sennacherib abandons the campaign after his army is decimated in his third campaign (19:35). The main problem with postulating a second western campaign is the claim that the biblical account has conflated two different wars into one.11 But Judaean source material could hardly have confused two separate wars, nor is it likely two wars would have been conflated for the sake of simplification.
Deliverance of Jerusalem (18:17–19:37)
KINGS REPEATEDLY EMPHASIZES the use of various sources in writing the covenant history of Israel and Judah. This section seems to be a separate source from the previous description of the attack. The account of the devastation is usually described as archival, as shown by the date formula and its data on the treasury and temple. The name of Hezekiah has a distinct spelling in the archival account. According to the Assyrian sources, the tribute is sent after Sennacherib sets out for Nineveh; the plundering of the treasuries to send tribute is the end of the event.12 The narrative then reverts to events as they unfold during the attack. Most likely the two sources are simply joined in order to avoid conjectural reconstructions.
The narrative alludes to various locations in a sequence of events that are not fully explained. The biblical events are part of a larger Assyrian campaign into Philistia and Judah. Following the annals of Sennacherib, the cities of Timnah, Ekron, Azekah, and Gath first come under siege.13 Lachish, the largest city conquered, is then attacked; the dirge of Micah over the other towns of the Shephelah suggests the fate of other populations in the area (Mic. 1:8–16). It is probably at this point that Hezekiah sends messengers to offer a conditional surrender, allowing him to keep his throne (18:14).14 The offer is refused; Sennacherib instead sends his chief officials and a significant military force to Jerusalem (18:17). Lachish falls to the Assyrians, and its inhabitants are deported.
Sennacherib then proceeds to Libnah (19:8), where his officials meet him. He continues his conquest of Judean cities, but is diverted to Eltekeh to deal with an Egyptian force that has arrived there (v. 9). This turn of events has a mitigating effect on the Assyrian negotiations; another delegation is sent to Hezekiah, though the demands are not specified (vv. 10–13). Death in the Assyrian army forces Sennacherib to retreat to Nineveh (vv. 35–36). He reaches an agreement for withdrawal that requires Hezekiah to pay tribute, which is sent to Nineveh.
Jerusalem attracts a heavy military force under the direction of the top generals (18:17). The Tartan (NIV “supreme commander”) is the highest official after the king (cf. Isa. 20:1); the Rabsaris (NIV “chief officer”) is often dispatched on duties at the head of Assyrian forces; the Rabshakeh (NIV “field commander”) is the personal attendant of the king. The “aqueduct of the Upper Pool, on the road of the Washerman’s Field” (a place for washing garments) is also mentioned in Isaiah 7:3, but its location and the source of the water is not known. Eliakim, the royal steward in charge of the palace (cf. 1 Kings 4:6), is at the head of Hezekiah’s delegation (2 Kings 18:18); the “secretary” and the “recorder” are the other chief-ranking officers. In the ensuing speech, Hezekiah is always referred to by his personal name, while the Assyrian king is designated “the great king.”
The field commander is the spokesman for the Assyrians, quite possibly because of his fluency in languages (18:26–27). His attack centers on the question of trust (vv. 21–25). Reliance on Egypt is compared to a splintered reed (Egypt had many marshy waters) that will pierce the hand rather than serve as support. Trust in God is undermined, because presumably Hezekiah has insulted Yahweh by removing the high places. Thus, the only reasonable alternative is to enter an agreement with the Assyrians. The Assyrian even claims that his presence at Jerusalem indicates the Judahite God has abandoned his people and joined the Assyrian side.
The shouting to the people on the wall is designed to intimidate. Though the envoys of Sennacherib and the Jerusalem delegates know Aramaic well, the international language of the day, the field commander insists on speaking Judahite (18:28), the Hebrew dialect of the south. He threatens the people with the dire consequences of starvation, which is the typical result of siege warfare (v. 27; cf. 6:24–31).
As is typical of brutal conquerors, his promise is one of prosperity and independence (18:31–32). Sennacherib boasts of conquests of Aramean cities that have been captured much earlier (v. 34); Hamath and Samaria were captured by Sargon, Arpad by Tiglath-Pileser III (cf. 17:24). Hezekiah is duly humbled by this intimidation (19:3); it is a day of distress, rebuke, and contempt. The day is equivalent to a stillbirth, a proverb also quoted by Hosea (Hos. 13:13). Yet in spite of such threats, the prophet Isaiah assures Hezekiah that Sennacherib will soon hear news that will drive him back to his own land.
The message of Isaiah leads to a transition in the narrative. The report of the arrival of the Egyptians causes an Assyrian withdrawal (19:8–9a). There is a certain parallel in the sequence of events that follow (19:9b–34). Since Stade, it has often been proposed that there are two sources for the same series of events.15 “So he again sent” (19:9b) can also mean “so he returned,” since the Hebrew verb šûb can be adverbial (“again”) or can mean “return.” Gallagher has reviewed all the arguments and concludes that evidence of two sources for the same event is unconvincing.16 The narrative reads sensibly as a sequel; the Egyptians do not effect a withdrawal of the Assyrians, so Hezekiah must go to Isaiah a second time to receive words of assurance.
The repeated boasts of Assyrian conquests are impressive (19:12). Gozan was a provincial capital on the upper Habor River; Rezeph was capital of a large Assyrian province in upper Mesopotamia; the Arameans of Eden on the Euphrates were resettled in far eastern Zagros region of the Diyala River; Lair was in northeastern Babylonia (v. 13). In response to such taunts, Hezekiah prays; he is granted access to the temple, where he prays before the cherubim (v. 15), who represent the throne of the Creator of the universe.
Isaiah delivers an answer to Hezekiah’s prayer as a mocking song (19:21–28). The wagging of the head is a sign of scorn (19:21; cf. Ps. 22:7; 109:25). The sentiment of the song is typical of Isaiah; the divine plan has been determined from the beginning of the world (2 Kings 19:25; Isa. 40:21; 46:10). The Assyrian boasts of his conquests; the people are rendered powerless, dismayed, and confounded, and fortifications have been shattered. However, the Assyrians will not escape the destruction of war, which they have executed as part of God’s judgment (cf. Isa. 10:5–7). God knows their every action, their every pursuit (2 Kings 19:27).17 Assyrians led their prisoners by placing rings in their lips and attaching ropes to them; they themselves will be taken captive as wild animals with hooks.
The assurance that Sennacherib will be turned back to the way he came is given twice: in the conclusion to the taunt song (19:28c), and in the pledge that God will be the fortress for Jerusalem (19:33–34). Judah will feel the effects of the foreign presence; it will be two years before a normal agricultural cycle of sowing and harvest can resume (vv. 29–30). Intentional destruction of fields, such as cutting down vineyards, is well attested in Assyrian records.18
Though there will be a great deportation of peoples, those who survive will take root as a healthy plant, once again making the country prosperous (19:30). The second oracle makes it clear that there was no actual siege against Jerusalem as at Lachish and the other fortified cities of Judah (vv. 32–34). God protects Jerusalem for the sake of his own name and because of his promise to David (cf. 1 Kings 11:32). The continuation of the Davidic dynasty is confirmed.
A naturalistic explanation of the destruction of the Assyrian armies because of a plague misses the point of the narrative. Traditions arose to explain the miraculous deliverance (cf. Sir. 48:20–21; Josephus, Ant. 10.19–21). The account of Herodotus, the fifth-century Greek historian referred to by Josephus, has no relevance for the Bible. His version is that mice chewed up the quivers and bows, disarming the Assyrians. Mice were traditional carriers of plagues, suggesting that Herodotus retold the story in Greek terms.19 Most likely the Egyptian account that Herodotus relied on had its own origin as an echo of the story from Jerusalem.20 The Bible properly explains the phenomena as a divine deliverance—with no further explanation.
The Bible ignores the twenty years that elapse before the assassination of Sennacherib. The point is that divine judgment is meted out on the cruel Assyrian invader. Later Babylonians similarly view their destruction of Assyria as just retribution on Sennacherib. The circumstances of his murder are unknown, as is a god by the name of Nisroch (possibly a deliberate corruption). The Babylonian Chronicle confirms the assassination of Sennacherib.21 Adrammelech is a phonetic reproduction of the Assyrian Arad-Ninlil (pronounced Arda-milissu).
Deliverance from Illness (20:1–11)
HEZEKIAH’S ILLNESS RECEIVES a loose chronological link with the time of the Assyrian invasion. It takes place at almost the same time; the invasion takes place in the fourteenth year of Hezekiah (18:13), and he rules a total of twenty-nine years (18:2). He is given an extra fifteen years of life at the time of his illness (20:6).22 The message of Isaiah for Jerusalem is affirmative, but initially not so for its king. On receiving the news of his impending death, King Hezekiah turns to God. Isaiah returns with the message that Hezekiah will be delivered, as will Jerusalem, because of God’s reputation and the promise made to David (20:6; cf. 19:34).
The healing of Hezekiah from some type of skin disease is facilitated with a fig cake plaster. Jewish and classical sources show that dried figs were widely used for their medicinal qualities.23 The healing is followed by a request for a sign. Hezekiah seeks assurance that he will live to give praise to God, as expressed so eloquently in the song in Isaiah (Isa. 38:19–20). The prophetic sign is given as an evidence of the significance of the healing.
Josephus interprets a shadow moving ahead as signifying a life that has already passed; Hezekiah requests that it return ten degrees, signifying a return to life and health instead of approaching death (Ant. 10.28).24 Shadows naturally lengthen, just as people naturally grow old; Hezekiah is asking for a reversal of the normal progression. The steps appear to be a feature within the structure of the building that enable measurement of time.
Failure of Faith (20:12–21)
THE VISIT OF the Babylonian envoys has the same general chronological link to the time of the Assyrian siege. The sequence is arranged to show the threat to Jerusalem and the Davidic dynasty, the basic purpose of the Deuteronomistic History.25 The Assyrians are constantly at war with the Babylonians. Merodach-Baladan (“Marduk has given a son”) ruled twice in Babylon, first during the reign of Sargon until forced into the marshes of Lower Mesopotamia (720–709 B.C.), and again briefly after the reign of Sargon (704–703). No purpose for the visit is stated; it is probably an effort to maintain goodwill between common enemies of the Assyrians.
Hezekiah’s display of all his treasuries to the Babylonian envoys is the kind of confidence in foreign alliances that the prophet Isaiah so vehemently condemns (Isa 31:1). “Storehouse” (nekōt) is an Akkadian loanword, indicating a repository for booty; it may have had a particular architectural style used by Hezekiah. The Sargonid kings of Assyria also had vast armories for storing and training purposes, which may have been emulated by Hezekiah.
For this perfidy with the Babylonians, Hezekiah receives the ultimate judgment; his dynasty will end with his descendants going into exile. However during Hezekiah’s time, the city of Jerusalem is spared judgment. Hezekiah is famous for his defenses of the city, particularly in securing a water supply (20:20). This involved cutting a tunnel under the walls of the city to carry the waters of the Gihon spring to the Siloam Pool. An inscription at the entrance to the tunnel commemorates this feat of ancient engineering.26 The tunnel is over five hundred meters (over 1,600 feet) long, essentially an enlargement of natural dissolution channels. To save time as the Assyrians advance, it is cut by two groups of workmen working toward each other.
Hezekiah resigns himself to the declaration of judgment he receives (20:20); the word of Yahweh is appropriate. The statement of self-interest, that there will be peace during his days, is drawn into Kings from Isaiah’s account.27 The failure of peace is a motif in Isaiah (Isa. 48:22; 57:21). Hezekiah does not fall into the category of the wicked, but his faithlessness in the matter of the Babylonian embassy is one more example of why Judah goes into exile.
Bridging Contexts
YAHWEH AND SENNACHERIB. In later Jewish tradition Hezekiah becomes venerated as a man of faith and success. In Sirach he is remembered for his fortifications and water provision, his obedience like that of David, the sign he received, and his revelation of the future (Sir. 48:17–25). In the Talmud, Hezekiah is the messiah, and Sennacherib is like Gog and Magog (b. Sanh. 94a). Rabban Johanan ben Zakkai at his death asked that a throne be prepared for Hezekiah king of Judah, who is coming (b. Ber. 28b). The veneration of Hezekiah in later tradition is readily understood as a development from the Deuteronomistic Historians, who portray Hezekiah as a man of faith, both in the narrative (2 Kings 18:5–6) and in the speeches of the field commander (18:17–25, 28–35). Hezekiah is a model of covenant fidelity.
It is notable that Kings gives so little attention to the cultic reforms of Hezekiah, insofar as the measure of covenant fidelity is worship in Jerusalem. The key achievement of his reign as remembered in the prophetic sources is the deliverance of Jerusalem. This is particularly relevant to the central concern of the Deuteronomistic Historians, whose intent is to provide a theological explanation for the Exile. Hezekiah is the supreme example of how exile is averted by faithfulness. The theology of trusting in God is presented in the words of the principal characters. The real protagonists in the story are Sennacherib and Yahweh, though they never actually appear on the scene. They act through their respective representatives, Isaiah and the field commander (Rabshakeh). Their war of words reveals the real issue, as articulated by Fewell:
The Rabshakeh claims that Hezekiah’s words are empty (18:20), offensive to Yahweh (18:22), and deceptive (18:30, 32). The people’s words are imprudent (18:22), and Yahweh’s words are not simply misleading (19:10), but are out-and-out double-dealing (18:25)! Hezekiah and Yahweh classify the Assyrian’s words as mocking (hrp, 19:4, 16, 22, 23), blasphemous (gdp, 19:6, 22), and raging (rgz, 19:27, 28).28
The speech of the field commander is presented as a counter to that of the prophet Isaiah.29 The field commander takes his position by the aqueduct of the Upper Pool in the highway of the Washerman’s Field (18:17); this is the same location where Isaiah earlier encountered Ahaz (Isa. 7:5).
The words of the field commander are introduced like the oracles of a prophet (2 Kings 18:19, 29, 31; cf. 19:6). His claim that Egypt cannot be trusted is the virtual equivalent of the prophet (18:21, 24; Isa. 31:1). He promises to grant peace to the people so that everyone may “eat from their vine and fig tree and drink water from their own cistern” (2 Kings 18:31). This was the experience of the people in the days of Solomon (1 Kings 5:5) and was the hope held out for those vanquished (Mic. 4:4). In effect, Sennacherib offers a new covenant to supersede the one in force between Yahweh and Israel. This is the point of offering the Israelites a “blessing” (2 Kings 18:31).30 Sennacherib promises the benefits of the covenant with God if the people will only surrender to him.
Yahweh’s response through Isaiah is not so much a reply to Hezekiah as it is to Assyrian arrogance (19:21–31). The taunting oracle asks whom the Assyrian has scorned (v. 22); this is a direct response to the question about whom Hezekiah has trusted (18:22; 19:10). The Assyrian demands to know who has escaped from his power (18:33–35; 19:12–13). God rehearses his claim (19:23–24) and then declares his plans made long ago (vv. 25–28): The Assyrians themselves will be led away as captives. The promise of sowing and harvesting is particularly fitting to a besieged city (19:29–30). God makes plain that he is the One to offer terms of life and death (vv. 32–34); Sennacherib cannot usurp that role.
Hezekiah in Kings and Isaiah. In the book of Isaiah, the faith of Hezekiah is set in deliberate contrast to the perfidy of Ahaz. Both Ahaz and Hezekiah are threatened with the destruction of Jerusalem (cf. Isa. 7:1–2). Ahaz is given the assurance of the prophet, who meets him on the road by the pool; mere human forces, represented by the capital cities of Samaria and Damascus and their respective kings Pekah and Rezin, can be no threat to the Holy One of Israel (17:7–9a). Ahaz is offered a sign but refuses it (7:11–13). By contrast, when Hezekiah is confronted with the words of the field commander, he seeks out Isaiah with a word from Yahweh. When confronted with a threat to his life, he turns in prayer to Yahweh and receives a sign that will assure his recovery (38:1–8). In contrast to faithless Ahaz, Hezekiah is a model king, one who exemplifies trust and dependence on God on behalf of his people.
In Isaiah, the healing becomes an example for the restoration of Jerusalem. The sign is an immediate sequel to the promise of healing (Isa. 38:7–8) rather than a separate section assuring the king that he will yet worship at the temple (2 Kings 20:8–11). Following the promise of the sign, Isaiah introduces a psalm of Hezekiah celebrating his restoration to life and worship (Isa. 38:10–20). The text in Isaiah is subtly adjusted so the focus is no longer on the king but on the restoration of the city.31 In Isaiah there is no mention of healing in response to the prayer of Hezekiah; the prophet promises an addition of fifteen years to the life of Hezekiah and assures him that God will deliver him and Jerusalem from the power of the Assyrians.
The sign follows, as an assurance God will deliver the king and the city from the threat of Sennacherib. The poem serves as a message of hope for the city. As Ackroyd has shown, the psalm of Hezekiah concentrates on his experience as a restoration back to life, typical of metaphors used in Lamentations and Jeremiah for the experience of exile.32 The climax is reached with the individual joining the community in worship at the temple. The illness and death of Hezekiah become a kind of judgment and exile; the song points to the possibility of the restoration of the people of Zion.
The texts of Isaiah do not refer to Hezekiah personally going up to the house of Yahweh, as in 2 Kings 20:5, 8. Whereas in Kings attention focuses entirely on Hezekiah as an individual, in Isaiah he typifies the restoration of the community, and the royal line in particular, as continuing to worship in the Lord’s house. In this new context, reference to a single visit to the temple is inappropriate.33 The climax of the poetic account of Hezekiah’s restoration comes with the celebration that he and his children give praise to God throughout their lives in the house of Yahweh:
The living, the living—they praise you,
as I am doing today;
fathers tell their children
about your faithfulness.
The LORD will save me,
and we will sing with stringed instruments
all the days of our lives,
in the temple of the LORD. (Isa. 38:19–20)
In Isaiah, the Hezekiah story provides a transition to a message of hope and restoration (Isa. 40–55). The Hezekiah story ends as it does in Kings, with the prophecy that the descendants of Hezekiah will go to captivity in Babylon. A bridge to the message of hope antecedes the Hezekiah story (esp. Isa. 35), with the themes of divine judgment on the nations and the return of the redeemed to Zion. Numerous literary motifs of the second half of Isaiah are introduced. The narrative of Hezekiah, adopted and adapted from the book of Kings, becomes a demonstration of God’s defeat of the nations and hope for the return to Zion and worship at the temple.34
The faithfulness of Hezekiah does not receive the same emphasis in Isaiah as it does in 2 Kings, since Isaiah lacks the introduction 2 Kings 18:1–12; the threat to Judah is minimized, because Isaiah does not include the report on the Assyrian devastation of all the fortified cities (vv. 13–16). The healing of Hezekiah becomes less central, as Isaiah does not have two distinct sections concerning the healing (20:1–7) and the sign for the healing (vv. 8–11). Instead, the prayer and the sign emphasize restoration to life; the restoration of the king also holds promise for the community of faith. The loss of the nation can be sustained as long as there is the promise of continued worship of God at the temple, which symbolizes God’s presence in the world.
Hezekiah in Chronicles. In Chronicles Hezekiah becomes the ideal king. Though the textual similarity is more limited, the dependence of the Chronicler on 2 Kings is obvious. The introduction (2 Chron. 29:1–2) and conclusion (32:33–34) have been adopted from his source. The three main events of Kings are treated in the same order: the siege of Sennacherib (32:1–21), Hezekiah’s illness (vv. 24–26), and the visit of the Babylonian envoys (v. 31).
The account of Hezekiah is among the longest in Chronicles (2 Chron. 29–31), describing at length his restoration of the temple, Passover celebration, appointment of temple personnel, and provisions for the temple. The Passover includes an invitation to the people of Israel, who have already been exiled by the Assyrians; they respond in great numbers (30:10–13), even though they are not consecrated (30:18–20). The prayer of Hezekiah heals the people, according to the formula given by Solomon (7:14). This extensive development of Hezekiah’s reign gives a different significance to the material that has been carefully followed from the Kings source.
After all the magnificent reform Hezekiah has undertaken, the attack of Sennacherib comes as an assault against the city of God. The Chronicler does not concern himself with multiple appearances of emissaries before the city. Sennacherib’s efforts at intimidation are combined into a single event; the letters occur between the threats of the field commander and shouting to the people on the wall (32:15–18). Hezekiah has thoroughly prepared for the attack, and the city of Jerusalem is invincible under divine protection.
The Chronicler portrays Hezekiah as a second Solomon.35 The days of Solomon are described as days of blessing; the hope of Israel is to return to such a time. During the time of Ahaz, Israel comes to be in a state of virtual exile. South and north have become apostate. Hezekiah’s renewal provides for restoration and unification, a time that can be compared with Solomon’s. The king begins to restore the temple as soon as he begins to reign (2 Chron. 29:3). Solomon built a house dedicated for the burning of sweet spices, continual showbread, and regular offerings. Hezekiah refers to these items in his confession (29:7) and makes provision for their restoration (v. 18). He appoints the priests and the Levites (31:2) and makes provision for the restoration of the sacrifices (31:3).
At the time of the celebration of the Passover under Hezekiah there is “great joy in Jerusalem, for since the days of Solomon son of David king of Israel there had been nothing like this in Jerusalem” (30:26). One distinctive of Hezekiah’s celebration, similar to the dedication of the temple under Solomon, is its duration; it lasts an extra seven days (30:23; cf. 7:8–9).
A second indication of renewal in Chronicles is Hezekiah’s success in inviting the northern remnant to participate in the feast; as in the days of Solomon, all Israel is united in worship at the temple. The Passover is observed with all the people (30:5), including the resident aliens from Israel (30:25). The reunion of Israel in the celebration of worship at the temple reverses the times of unfaithfulness in the days of Ahaz. Repentance and restoration bring about the ideal of the kingdom of God, as it was known in the days of Solomon.
The Chronicler portrays Hezekiah according to his central theological concerns. A king who has acted faithfully will know God’s blessing through victory in war (32:1), building programs, wealth, fame among the Gentiles, healing in times of illness, and the regard of his people at death.36 The Chronicler is much concerned about exile and restoration. Hezekiah is a model for avoiding exile and enjoying restoration. He shows the path to recovery after foreign domination under Ahaz. His faithfulness avoids exile for Judah in his days (32:26).
In both Kings and Isaiah the visit of the Babylonians becomes the portent of exile; in Chronicles this is depicted differently. In the earlier accounts the visitors from Babylon come in response to the miraculous recovery from illness; in Chronicles they come in response to the well-known Babylonian interest in astrology, inquiring about the reversal of the shadow (2 Chron. 32:31). The suggestion of political intrigue found in Kings is absent, and Hezekiah’s display of wealth is regarded positively (32:27–29). The visit of the envoys is seen as a test from God (v. 31), which is necessary after Hezekiah’s prior deviation and repentance. The account of Hezekiah in Chronicles concludes on a positive note. The Chronicler becomes the first to treat Hezekiah, along with David and Solomon, as a messianic figure. In his faithfulness he embodies the hopes of Israel for the restoration of a united people enjoying peace, victory, and prosperity.
Hezekiah and Babylonians. In the final analysis, the Deuteronomistic History is about the Exile. Babylon as a place of exile appears for the first time at the conclusion of the Hezekiah story. This appearance demonstrates the blindness of the king to historical reality. The Babylonians’ “seeing” the complete stock of the treasuries of temple and palace point toward a threatening future (2 Kings 20:13).
The most probable reason for the visit of Merodach-Baladan and his emissaries is to seek cooperation against the Assyrians. With an alliance in the west, Merodach-Baladan can engage the Assyrians on two fronts at the time of the ascension of Sennacherib. Hezekiah fails to appreciate his own vulnerability to Babylonian power. The Babylonian inspection of the Judean resources, even in the interests of an alliance, is an initial stage in taking possession of them. This event apparently takes place just before the fifteen years are added to his life, and possibly before the Assyrian attack, which occurs in his fourteenth year. The exposure of all military and economic resources to those from “a foreign land” (2 Kings 20:14–15) is an ominous portent of the future (Deut. 29:22–23). Inspection of the Promised Land by foreigners is a sign of judgment like that of Sodom and Gomorrah.
Hezekiah’s response to the prophetic word of judgment appears to be that of resignation and cynicism: “The word of the LORD you have spoken is good.… Will there not be peace and security in my lifetime?” Though many attempts have been made to explain the severity of the judgment against Hezekiah, the narrative gives no indication that the threat of exile is a direct consequence of his actions. The judgment that will shortly occur is not by accident, nor is it evoked directly by the misdeeds of the king. Events are unfolding according to the divine plan: “The word of God is fulfilled in history; it has not failed.”37
The final words about “peace and security” in the lifetime of Hezekiah are derived from Isaiah. They are not found in the earliest texts of Kings, and they are a characteristic marker in Isaiah (Isa. 48:22; 57:21).38 In Isaiah, they are particularly appropriate following the theology of the poem of Hezekiah, which points to the possibility of life and hope in spite of judgment. The response of Hezekiah is to be regarded as acceptance of the divine will and, with the final phrase, emphasizes the divine grace extended during the lifetime of the faithful king.39
Whatever the failure of Hezekiah in his willingness to entertain the Babylonians, his loyalty and faithfulness are not without an enduring benefit. Prophetic words of judgment can be regarded as salvific for the lifetime of the king, as is the case with Micah the prophet in the days of Hezekiah (Jer. 26:16–19). Hezekiah is credited with the appropriate response to the words of Micah, with the result that judgment is delayed. The positive assessment given to Hezekiah in the days of Jeremiah seems to be present in Kings as well.
Contemporary Significance
FAITHFULNESS. Faithfulness is primary in any relationship and is the most fundamental requirement in a relationship with God. A covenant is the highest commitment of faithfulness; for Hezekiah, the covenant is both collective and personal. He represents the people who have entered into a divine covenant and leads them to faithfully observe it. This is possible only because of his own faithfulness, seen in both his response to the Assyrian threat and his illness.
Christians in the same way are called to faithfulness, both collectively and individually. In writing to the Corinthians, Paul exhorts the believers to be faithful to Christ, because all things are theirs in Christ (1 Cor. 3:21–23). He uses the metaphor of a steward to describe the calling of Christians to represent God in his world. All things belong to Christ, and by extension to his followers. When Paul refers to “stewards of the mysteries of God” (4:1, NASB), he means that Christians fulfill the work of God’s kingdom in this world until such time as it is consummated in the second coming of Christ. As stewards responsible for the work of the kingdom in this world, faithfulness is the one fundamental requirement (v. 2).
Such stewardship is much more than just giving money or being prudent with material possessions. It means to use every moment of time as a gift from God in a way that honors God. In this respect Christians must not become unduly introspective; Paul himself notes that he does not spend time on self-examination (1 Cor. 4:3–5). He knows of nothing that will compromise his faithfulness, but that judgment belongs to the Lord. When the Lord comes, he will make manifest our intentions more clearly than we can know them now.
Hezekiah is a model of the exhortation the apostle leaves Christians. The motives of Hezekiah can be questioned in the way he dealt with the Assyrians, in his prayer during the time of his illness, and particularly in his culpability in exposing his wealth and military capabilities to the Babylonian emissaries. In all of these matters Hezekiah is simply presented as a king in pursuit of faithfulness, doing the best he can within his own circumstances.
In the case of the Assyrian siege, Hezekiah brings his case to God through the mediation of the prophet Isaiah in quiet confidence: “It may be that the LORD your God will hear all the words of the field commander, whom his master, the king of Assyria, has sent to ridicule the living God, and that he will rebuke him for the words the LORD your God has heard. Therefore pray for the remnant that still survives” (2 Kings 19:4). In the announcement of his impending death, Hezekiah seeks solitude and leaves his request for healing unspoken; in prayer he recalls his loyalty, dedication, and integrity before God (20:2–3). With the announcement of inevitable exile, Hezekiah accepts the fate of his people as God’s will fulfilled, with gratitude for his grace extended in the present (v. 19). Hezekiah is not flawless, but he always pursues faithfulness.
A faithful life inspires faithfulness in others. Hezekiah inspires faithfulness in his time, with the result that Jerusalem is spared and a time of peace comes. Faithfulness, however, is not abandonment to commitment; it requires careful thought concerning the optimum way to serve the kingdom with the resources available and the challenges of the circumstances.
Sometimes faithfulness requires the ultimate commitment of dying for the truth. Antipas, from the church of Pergamum, was a faithful witness (martys) to the point of death (Rev. 2:13). Polycarp, the second-century bishop of Smyrna, when called on to revile Christ, replied: “Eighty and six years have I served Him and He hath done me no wrong. How can I revile my Lord and Savior?” (Mart. Pol. 9.3). Unfortunately, in the course of Christian history, martyrdom has been desired as a way of demonstrating the ultimate commitment. Willingness to die can be a failure to be willing to live for the purpose to which God has called us. Life is a gift to be used as a steward, unless it is simply impossible to do so.
Since the time of the martyrs, who were the seed of the church, many have suffered and given their lives in faithfulness to the gospel. Voice of the Martyrs, the worldwide organization begun by Richard Wurmbrand, daily gathers scores of reports of Christians being faithful under circumstance of severe persecution and death.40 The writer to the Hebrews exhorts Christians to be faithful in time of suffering (Heb. 10:32–39). They suffered public humiliation and identified with those who so suffered; they suffered the plundering of their possessions. Endurance of suffering for the sake of the kingdom is the mark of faithfulness, which will bring a great reward.
Faithfulness and holy war. Zeal for a cause is not to be regarded as the faithfulness demanded of God’s children. Our zeal may not be God’s cause or God’s way. An interview with a suicide bomber reveals something of zeal for a goal, where the end justifies the means, but which has nothing to do with being faithful to more important values. Marwan Abu Ubeida (a generic Iraqi name) prepared for months to climb into a bomb-laden vehicle or to strap on an explosives-filled vest.41 He spent much time rehearsing his last prayer: “May Allah bless my mission with a high rate of casualties among the Americans. May he purify my soul so I am fit to see him, and may I see my mujahedin brothers who are already with him.”
At age twenty, Marwan was a battle-hardened insurgent, a jihadi foot soldier. His oversize hands were heavily calloused from use of his favorite weapon, the Russian-made PKC machine gun. His journey to become a suicide bomber began when American soldiers fired on a crowd of demonstrators at a school, killing twelve and wounding many more. Marwan was part of the protest, but escaped unharmed. A few days later he and friends collected arms from a military site abandoned by the Iraqi army and attacked a building occupied by U.S. soldiers. Marwan was part of a long list of volunteers; when he was finally accepted, it was the happiest day of his life. He could hardly wait for the time of his opportunity; he was ready to die.
Patience and discipline are certainly critical to the mission of a suicide bomber. Waiting is the hardest part; volunteers need to undergo a program to discipline the mind and cleanse the soul. The training is done by field commanders and clerics sympathetic to the insurgency. The training is mainly psychological and spiritual. Marwan spent his time reading the Koran, the history of the jihad, and the great martyrs who had gone on before. Suicide bombers immerse themselves in spiritual contemplation and prayer, seeking to free their minds of negative thoughts toward their fellow humans, except for Americans and their infidel Iraqi supporters. They share their final hours with fellow suicide bombers, with expectations that they will meet again in heaven.
Marwan was certain that he was on a pure path. “Yes,” he said, “I am a terrorist. Write that down; I admit I am a terrorist. The Koran says it is the duty of Muslims to bring terror to the enemy, so being a terrorist makes me a good Muslim.” Marwan quoted lines from the surah (section of the Koran) known as Al-Anfal (The Spoils of War): “Against them make ready your strength to the utmost of your power, including steeds of war, to strike terror into the enemy.” Marwan’s only regret was that innocent fellow Iraqis might be killed. If some did die, when they got to heaven, Allah would ask them to forgive him. Marwan would not be a hero; unlike Palestinian martyrs, his identity would not be known. That did not matter to him; the only person who matters is Allah, and the only question he asks is how many infidels were killed.
Jihad (struggle or battle) is a religious duty imposed on Muslims to wage war in the spread of Islam. Jihad can be fulfilled through the heart, the tongue, the hand, and the sword. “Jihad of the heart” consists of spiritual battle against evil in one’s own life; “jihad of tongue and hand” is largely accomplished by supporting what is right and correcting what is wrong. “Jihad of the sword” is physical warfare against unbelievers and enemies of the Islamic faith. This is often translated as “holy war,” the same phrase scholars use for divine warfare in the Bible. But we must maintain a sharp distinction between the two. Divine warfare in the Bible occurs when God fights on behalf of his people. Jihad in Islam is when people go to war on behalf of God. This inspires the mind of a suicide bomber like Marwan, making him believe he is on a pure path to an exalted eternal state.
The distinction between “holy war” in Christianity and Islam has not been well maintained. The ideal of biblical “holy war” is exemplified in the Hezekiah story; Hezekiah, helpless before his enemies, turns to Isaiah for direction and turns in prayer to the Holy One seated in his royal throne above the cherubim (2 Kings 19:15). “Holy war” takes place when 185,000 Assyrian soldiers die in the camp in one night (v. 35) and Sennacherib returns in defeat to his own country, where he is killed by his own sons (vv. 36–37). This is the occasion of Hezekiah being faithful and trusting God, so inadvertently and elegantly expressed in the words of the field commander.
Such “holy war” is most easily enacted when there is no alternative. Hezekiah has already stripped the royal treasury, and the land has been plundered (18:14–16). Egypt has already proved to be of no help. His is fully a war of defense. Divine warfare is not always defensive, and human participation can be a part of divine warfare, as the stories in Joshua attest. Warfare has often been carried on in the name of God, not unlike the jihad of the sword.
Among the most infamous of wars for God are the Crusades. It is ironic that the Crusades should have begun with a council that both officially sanctioned war and promulgated peace. The Council of Clermont convoked by Urban II in 1095 included a canon that granted a plenary indulgence (the remission of all penance for sin) to those who undertook to aid Christians in the East. This peace movement was designed to protect those in distress, such as those Christians who lived in the oppression of Muslim lands.
Precisely what the pope said when he addressed a large crowd of representatives will never be known, since surviving accounts were written years later.42 He apparently stressed the plight of Eastern Christians, the molestation of the Christian pilgrims, and the desecration of the holy places. He urged those of his hearers guilty of disturbing the peace to turn their energies toward a holy cause. Cries of Deus volt (“God wills it”) were heard everywhere; it was also decided that those who agreed to go should wear a cross. A large popular element joined the warrior knights. The result was less than the desired end of undertaking a pilgrimage with the most exalted of motives and an acceptance of suffering.
Faithfulness and prayer. A contrast to the Crusades is the legacy of Pope John Paul II. His legacy for the church is likely to be mixed, but his influence as a spiritual leader has been demonstrated in the enormous response to his death, especially by the young. Irish novelist Colm Toibin describes the effect of John Paul’s dramatic gesture of holding his head in his hands for twenty minutes before a crowd of one million pilgrims in Poland. What he did ceased to be a public gesture, but became instead intensely private. “He was offering the young who had come here in the infant years of Eastern European democracy not a lesson in doctrine of faith or morals but some mysterious example of what a spiritual life might look like.”43
Prayer was a fundamental aspect of the way Karol Wojtyla lived and the way he died. Any attempt to evaluate the enormous response to his death has to consider his prayer life. National Geographic photographer Jim Stanfield spoke of being alone with John Paul in the Garden of Our Lady at Castel Gandolfo, the pope’s summer residence. The Holy Father went to a kneeler and started to pray; then they walked for about a mile. Stanfield says, “That was probably the most significant and the most rewarding experience of my life, bar none.”44 Faithfulness in prayer is one of the most challenging disciplines of the Christian life.
A second concern characteristic of John Paul II was his pastoral concern for young people. Journalist Vittorio Messori writes of John Paul’s discovery of the essential importance of youth as a young priest in Poland.45 Youth is a time given by providence to each person and given as a task: to answer the fundamental questions concerning not only the meaning and purpose of life, but also the concrete project or direction life will take. Youth is the period of the personalization of human life. It is also the period of communion; a human being has a vocation to love. Young people know that they have to live for and with others; they know that their life has meaning when it becomes a free gift to one’s neighbor.
Faithfulness and endurance of pain. Another area of faithfulness is the endurance of pain. In the case of Hezekiah, prayer was rewarded with an extension of health, but loss of strength is the inevitable experience of human life in this world. John Paul was a model in his public persona, but also in the suffering he endured. Death and pain in the body are two of our greatest fears as human beings. John Paul II lived and died publicly. He believed he was being led by the Holy Spirit; he believed there were no coincidences in life. His natural talents and habits enabled him to make what can be called a good death. More people followed the death of John Paul than any other major news media event. The reaction to his death was occasioned in large measure by the way he triumphed over sickness and death.
Faithfulness and disappointment. A most difficult circumstance for faithfulness is disappointment and failure to reach a goal. This was the case for Hezekiah in the message he received concerning the future of his people. Irrespective of his life of reform and dedication to the true worship of God, the end for his people would be the judgment of exile. Hezekiah determined to pursue peace in his time. It did not change his commitment or his faithfulness.
The disappointment of failure was also expressed in the prayer of Moses. On the very edge of the Promised Land, Moses asked that he be allowed to just step over the river to at least symbolically represent the achievement of his life desire (Deut. 3:23–29). This was not just his own failure; Moses suffered because of the rebellion of others, and he died with them. His only fulfillment was to observe the land from the peaks of Mount Pisgah. Joshua was delegated to go on to fulfill the mission.
This is remembered in Psalm 90, a psalm designated as a “prayer of Moses.” The psalm reflects on life in the presence of a God who is eternal (vv. 1–6), holy (vv. 7–12), and merciful (vv. 13–17). His eternal nature is a reminder of the relative duration of required faithfulness; the length of time in life is not nearly as significant as faithfulness. The struggle in life is because we belong to the world of the common, a world of suffering, a world separated from the holiness of God. The prayer of Moses is that we may experience both joy and fulfillment because of God’s mercy. Joy is that experience of peace that is equal to the troubles of the day (vv. 14–15); fulfillment is to know that God has taken our work and made it part of his kingdom (vv. 16–17).
Moses is not remembered for his disappointment in not crossing the Jordan; it is seldom recalled that he spent the majority of his life in the desert and the early part of it in alienation from his people. Moses is remembered as the leader of Israel, the mediator of the covenant relationship. Hezekiah is not remembered for being the first to receive the announcement of exile. Rather, he is remembered for his faithfulness, for being a king who symbolized hope in time of death, for being a king who was a type of messianic significance.
There are times when faithfulness in the Christian life seems as futile as Moses in the desert or Hezekiah sparing Jerusalem. There may be long and agonizing illness, years of constant caregiving. There may be years of labor, where work seems nothing more than drudgery in order to make a living. Faithfulness in this world is not always rational. Often its value can only be recognized in looking back at how God has used it. Faithfulness is the one thing God requires of stewards. The consequences of failure to be faithful are certain. The end of the book of Kings is one testimony of the results of unfaithfulness.