The threat against Judah was very real. Just twenty years earlier the Assyrians had destroyed the northern kingdom of Israel and deported its people. So when King Hezekiah’s appealed for God to intervene and protect “his holy city, Jerusalem” he was desperate. How relieved he must have been when the Prophet Isaiah brought the message: “Thus says the LORD concerning the king of Assyria: ‘He shall not reach this city, nor shoot an arrow at it…'” Interestingly we have Sennacherib’s own report of this invasion. In his account he achieved his objective since the kingdom of Judah agreed to pay tribute so he could return and build his new palace. Whether we view these events through a sacred or secular lens God is in charge.
JUNE232020
By Church Staff
