THE RIVERS
Part 8
GIHON
INTRODUCTION
Good advice coming to you freely. Back away from this article if you have not read the previous articles about the second river mentioned in Scripture called the river Gihon! Do not continue in this article without any background knowledge of the meaning of the name Gihon, or why did God the Holy Spirit deliberately interrupt His narrative about the first man that He created BEFORE He placed Adam in the garden of Eden? What is so important about verses 10 – 14 in Chapter 2 of the book of Genesis? Notice the verses that God separated and divided from the story of the creation of Adam.
And the LORD God planted a garden eastward in Eden; and there he put the man whom he had formed. (Genesis 2:8)
And out of the ground made the LORD God to grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight, and good for food; the tree of life also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of knowledge of good and evil. (Genesis 2:9)
And a river went out of Eden to water the garden; and from thence it was parted, and became into four heads. (Genesis 2:10)
The name of the first is Pison: that is it which compasseth the whole land of Havilah, where there is gold; (Genesis 2:11)
And the gold of that land is good: there is bdellium and the onyx stone. (Genesis 2:12)
And the name of the second river is Gihon: the same is it that compasseth the whole land of Ethiopia. (Genesis 2:13)
And the name of the third river is Hiddekel: that is it which goeth toward the east of Assyria. And the fourth river is Euphrates. (Genesis 2:14)
And the LORD God took the man, and put him into the garden of Eden to dress it and to keep it. (Genesis 2:15)
And the LORD God took the man, and put him into the garden of Eden to dress it and to keep it. (Genesis 2:15)
Can you explain WHY God set this separation right in the middle of His creation account of the history of mankind? These five verses describe and disclose what is about to happen to tribes, nations and people NOT YET born. These five verses reveal the complete HISTORY of mankind YET to happen. Through these five verses (by the way, the number five symbolizes God’s GRACE) we see God’s foreknowledge. Even BEFORE GOD set Adam’s feet on terra firma his Creator set HIS determinate foreknowledge before us. Even BEFORE Adam set his eyes on the beauty of the garden of Eden, God sets our eyes on the HORROR of what is about to come upon mankind through man’s own doings.
If you have read the previous articles, then you would remember what Gihon means. Gihon has a dual meaning, ‘the breaking forth,’ ‘the breach‘ and/or ‘a fountain,’ and through the six mentions of Gihon in Scripture there are three kings of Israel connected or associated with Gihon. Solomon in 1st Kings Chapter 1:33, 38 and verse 45. Hezekiah in 2nd Chronicles 32:30, and Manasseh in 2nd Chronicles 33:14.
1. And the name of the second river [is] Gihon: the same [is] it that compasseth the whole land of Ethiopia. (Genesis 2:13)
2. The king also said unto them, Take with you the servants of your lord, and cause Solomon my son to ride upon mine own mule, and bring him down to Gihon: (1st Kings 1:33)
3. So Zadok the priest, and Nathan the prophet, and Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, and the Cherethites, and the Pelethites, went down, and caused Solomon to ride upon king David’s mule, and brought him to Gihon. (1st Kings 1:38)
4. And Zadok the priest and Nathan the prophet have anointed him king in Gihon: and they are come up from thence rejoicing, so that the city rang again. This [is] the noise that ye have heard. (1st Kings 1:45)
5. This same Hezekiah also stopped the upper watercourse of Gihon, and brought it straight down to the west side of the city of David. And Hezekiah prospered in all his works. (2nd Chronicles 32:30)
6. Now after this he built a wall without the city of David, on the west side of Gihon, in the valley, even to the entering in at the fish gate, and compassed about Ophel, and raised it up a very great height, and put captains of war in all the fenced cities of Judah. (2nd Chronicles 33:14)
There are many levels of spiritual understanding in Gihon as there are many levels in a skyscraper. After the first mention of Gihon in And the name of the second river [is] Gihon: the same [is] it that compasseth the whole land of Ethiopia, everything about Gihon after Genesis 2:13 centers around the kingship of Israel and the failure of the dynastic rule of the descendants of David. To the haters of all things Jewish, Israel is set by GOD to be more than just another nation. Through the first book of the Bible, Genesis, the seed of Israel, the development of Israel, the trials of a nation, the failures of a nation and the growth of a nation is presented through Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. The Lord Jesus Christ in Matthew 22:32 is documented saying that God said, I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob? God is not the God of the dead, but of the living. As God introduces Himself to His creation in Genesis 1:1-3, so He also introduced His people Israel as a nation set apart to serve Him.
● For thou [art] an holy people unto the LORD thy God, and the LORD hath chosen thee to be a peculiar people unto himself, above all the nations that [are] upon the earth. (Deuteronomy 14:2)
● For thou art an holy people unto the LORD thy God: the LORD thy God hath chosen thee to be a special people unto himself, above all people that are upon the face of the earth. (Deuteronomy 7:6)
The LORD did not set his love upon you, nor choose you, because ye were more in number than any people; for ye were the fewest of all people: (Deuteronomy 7:7)
But because the LORD loved you, and because he would keep the oath which he had sworn unto your fathers, hath the LORD brought you out with a mighty hand, and redeemed you out of the house of bondmen, from the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt. (Deuteronomy 7:8)
You may hate Israel, you may reject the God of Israel, and you may deny the Bible that proclaims the God of Israel, BUT hatred, denial and rejection of truth does not remove TRUTH, it only reveals that you are not capable of accepting TRUTH.
Through our five study verses in Genesis 2:10 – 14 God selects three Israelite kings (Solomon, Hezekiah and Manasseh) to manifest His foreknowledge, His knowledge, His fountain of grace and mercy through the lives of these three kings of Israel. In Solomon we have the breach between God and His people. In Hezekiah we have the fountain of grace, restoration and renewal of service. In Manasseh we have great sin, ruin, repentance and GREAT JUDGMENT. Each king represents the dual nature of the river Gihon in breaking away from God and God’s grace. Through each of the three kings we have sin and grace; ruin and restoration; repentance and judgment. The history of the kings of Israel reveals MANY terrible and evil kings and a FEW good obedient and righteous kings. The point is not the many nor the few, the point is that God set the nation of ISRAEL as the central NATION above ALL nations then, and of those to come. So, to those who cry for the total annihilation of Israel . . . it ain’t goin’ta happen! (Read Revelation Chapter 12) To those who have so much hatred for Israel within that they can barely stand erect . . . KNOW THIS . . . understand this . . . God’s earthly program is centered around the nation of Israel. Since God’s Christ, that holy thing, that holy child and the Holy One came from the tribe of Judah, it is quite fitting that Israel would be called His peculiar people.
● And the LORD hath avouched thee this day to be his peculiar people, as he hath promised thee, and that thou shouldest keep all his commandments; (Deuteronomy 26:18)
And to make thee high above all nations which he hath made, in praise, and in name, and in honour; and that thou mayest be an holy people unto the LORD thy God, as he hath spoken. (Deuteronomy 26:19)
● You only have I known of all the families of the earth: therefore I will punish you for all your iniquities. (Amos 3:2)
● Tribulation and anguish, upon every soul of man that doeth evil, of the Jew first, and also of the Gentile; (Romans 2:9)
But glory, honour, and peace, to every man that worketh good, to the Jew first, and also to the Gentile: (Romans 2:10)
For there is no respect of persons with God. (Romans 2:11)
Responsibility follows blessings, and following responsibility is much trial, and with much trial comes honor and peace, but never forget that God who gives much also expects to receive obedience and reverence. God is greatly to be feared in the assembly of the saints, and to be had in reverence of all [them that are] about him. (Psalm 89:7) Notice in the following verse of Revelation 5:5 we have DOUBLE GRACE, And one of the elders saith unto me, Weep not: behold, the Lion of the tribe of Juda, the Root of David, hath prevailed to open the book, and to loose the seven seals thereof. Then in Revelation 22:16 we have the DOUBLE WITNESS (22) of the GODHEAD (1) to the man (6). I Jesus have sent mine angel to testify unto you these things in the churches. I am the root and the offspring of David, and the bright and morning star. Now . . . back to why God the Holy Spirit writes about Gihon as the breach and as the fountain of God’s grace through the three kings of Israel.
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HEZEKIAH
The Second King of Israel Connected to Gihon
Notice that it is in the FIFTH mention of Gihon that Hezekiah is placed into the narrative of Gihon. (5. This same Hezekiah also stopped the upper watercourse of Gihon, and brought it straight down to the west side of the city of David. And Hezekiah prospered in all his works. 2nd Chronicles 32:30.) Since the number five is the number of grace, this suggests that God’s grace played a major part in the life of this king.
Hezekiah’s name means ‘Strength of Jehovah,’ and/or ‘Jehovah is my Strength.’ He was named well by his godly mother and thus, he began well. CLICK HERE for Hezekiah’s background. Hezekiah’s link to Gihon discloses a king attempting to remedy the breach between God and his people. As Gihon has a dual meaning, ‘the breaking forth,’ and/or ‘a fountain,’ we also see a double meaning in the name of Hezekiah. The second river named Gihon discloses other dual concepts, such as, the SEEN and the UNSEEN, the spiritual and the natural, two seeds: natural and spiritual; evil versus good.
The sons of God comprehend this dual meaning of Hezekiah, it is one thing to KNOW that Jehovah is the LORD of ALL strength (‘Strength of Jehovah’), and it is another thing to appropriate, through FAITH, the strength of God in weakness of spirit and flesh, ‘Jehovah is my Strength.’ Do you see the difference? It is one thing to declare that God is ALL power and ALL strength, and it is another thing to LIVE and to DIE the death of sleep IN His power of resurrection and in the might of His eternal power through faith. One meaning is to exist in the knowledge of God’s strength and power, and the other meaning is through FAITH to spiritually absorb God’s strength and power through the new birth IN Christ Jesus, our Redeemer and Savior.
● The LORD [is] my strength and song, and he is become my salvation: he [is] my God, and I will prepare him an habitation; my father’s God, and I will exalt him. (Exodus 15:2)
● Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might. (Ephesians 6:10)
● That he would grant you, according to the riches of his glory, to be strengthened with might by his Spirit in the inner man; (Ephesians 3:16)
Hezekiah began well, He removed the high places, and brake the images, and cut down the groves, and brake in pieces the brasen serpent that Moses had made: for unto those days the children of Israel did burn incense to it: and he called it Nehushtan. (2 Kings 18:4) He ruled well, faced numerous military challenges, and after many years when Israel did not keep the Passover, Hezekiah brought this remembrance back to the people of Judah and also to the people of Samaria (Israel). He also strengthened the priesthood, the Levites, and those who serviced the Temple of God. He attempted to reunite Judah and Samaria/Israel. He wrote letters to the tribes of Ephraim and Manasseh inviting those who lived the furthest north from Jerusalem and to those who lived on the border of Judah, thus, Hezekiah attempted to reunite the fractured nations of Israel/Samaria and Judah in a mission of peace, a true peacemaker.
● And Hezekiah sent to all Israel and Judah, and wrote letters also to Ephraim and Manasseh, that they should come to the house of the LORD at Jerusalem, to keep the passover unto the LORD God of Israel. (2nd Chronicles 30:1)
For the king had taken counsel, and his princes, and all the congregation in Jerusalem, to keep the passover in the second month. (2nd Chronicles 30:2)
● So they established a decree to make proclamation throughout all Israel, from Beersheba even to Dan, that they should come to keep the passover unto the LORD God of Israel at Jerusalem: for they had not done [it] of a long [time in such sort] as it was written. (2nd Chronicles 30:5)
As with all men, Hezekiah also stumbled and made bad decisions that would dearly cost him and would tragically cost his nation. Let us consider a documented event in 2nd Kings, Chapter 18, begin with verse 9. The numbers 18 and 9, of course sets the theme of conflict and judgment.
● Now it came to pass in the third year of Hoshea son of Elah king of Israel, that Hezekiah the son of Ahaz king of Judah began to reign. (2nd Kings 18:1)
Twenty and five years old was he when he began to reign; and he reigned twenty and nine years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name also was Abi, the daughter of Zachariah. (2nd Kings 18:2)
And he did that which was right in the sight of the LORD, according to all that David his father did. (2nd Kings 18:3)
He removed the high places, and brake the images, and cut down the groves, and brake in pieces the brasen serpent that Moses had made: for unto those days the children of Israel did burn incense to it: and he called it Nehushtan. (2nd Kings 18:4)
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. (2nd Kings 18:5)
For he clave to the LORD, and departed not from following him, but kept his commandments, which the LORD commanded Moses. (2nd Kings 18:6)
And the LORD was with him; and he prospered whithersoever he went forth: and he rebelled against the king of Assyria, and served him not. (2nd Kings 18:7)
He smote the Philistines, even unto Gaza, and the borders thereof, from the tower of the watchmen to the fenced city. (2nd Kings 18:8)
And it came to pass in the fourth year of king Hezekiah, which was the seventh year of Hoshea son of Elah king of Israel, that Shalmaneser king of Assyria came up against Samaria, and besieged it. (2nd Kings 18:9)
And at the end of three years they took it: even in the sixth year of Hezekiah, that is the ninth year of Hoshea king of Israel, Samaria was taken. (2nd Kings 18:10)
And the king of Assyria did carry away Israel unto Assyria, and put them in Halah and in Habor by the river of Gozan, and in the cities of the Medes: (2nd Kings 18:11)
➤ ● Now in the fourteenth year of king Hezekiah did Sennacherib king of Assyria come up against all the fenced cities of Judah, and took them. (2nd Kings 18:13)
And Hezekiah king of Judah sent to the king of Assyria to Lachish, saying, I have offended; return from me: that which thou puttest on me will I bear. And the king of Assyria appointed unto Hezekiah king of Judah three hundred talents of silver and thirty talents of gold. (2nd Kings 18:14)
Notice the tribute was 300 talents of silver and 30 talents of gold. That wasn’t just any number pulled out of the air by the king of Assyria, Sennacherib. CLICK HERE for thirty pieces of silver. Silver is connected to redemption and as the number thirty is also connected to redemption, BUT Sennacherib didn’t require thirty pieces of SILVER (redemption), he required thirty talents of gold. What is the difference between talent and a piece? There were both forms of measurement. A piece of silver was a small unit of currency, while a talent of silver was a larger ceremonial and official measurement of the value of currency. Two different forms of evaluation: a piece (a smaller system of measuring value) used by a common man, while a talent (a larger system of measuring value) was used by those of government authority.
BUT it was GOLD that he desired. Why the difference? Gold represents the Righteousness and Purity of God. Sennacherib’s tribute order of thirty talents of gold symbolized that Hezekiah and the nation of Judah (the two tribes) accepted and acknowledged that in Sennacherib was the essence of Godhood; therefore, through the tribute of GOLD the king of Judah conceded that the king of Assyria was measured as being above ALL. As THE BEAST of Revelation Chapter 13, and as the man of sin claim to be GOD, so Sennacherib the king of Assyria, as a predecessor of THE BEAST, thought that he was the most important element in the eyes of man.
Through the tribute order of three hundred talents of silver, Hezekiah and the nation of Judah conceded that they were SLAVES and SUBJECTS of the king of Assyria. It is not the form of measurement in the word talents, nor is it in the spiritual meaning of silver, but it is in the number of three hundred that Scripture discloses a spiritual concept. Why not four hundred or two hundred and six? Why the number three hundred alone and not three hundred and twelve? How is the number three hundred spiritually formed? First, the number three (God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit) the GODHEAD, then the number ten twice (10 – 10) which is the witness or testimony of God’s Perfect and Divine Order.
The first mention of the number three hundred sets the meaning against which every mention of three hundred in Scripture is built on or centered around . . . here is another example of The Law of First Mention. (Even in 2nd Samuel 21:16 the number three hundred is attached to Ishbibenob, a brother of Goliath, whose spear weighed three hundred [shekels] of brass in weight. Brass speaks of God’s righteous dealings with man in his lost state in JUDGMENT, thus through the brass of judgment in the number three hundred the Spirit of God discloses that God’s judgment is founded on God’s Perfect and Divine Order.) Whenever you come across this number of three hundred in Scripture it will always be linked to God’s Perfect and Divine Order either in righteous holiness or in righteous judgment. And Ishbibenob, which [was] of the sons of the giant, the weight of whose spear [weighed] three hundred [shekels] of brass in weight, he being girded with a new [sword], thought to have slain David.) Consequently, through the spiritual number of three hundred the first mention of three hundred the Holy Spirit of God presents the Eternal Power of the Godhead and God’s Perfect Divine Order in BOTH righteous holiness AND in righteous JUDGMENT. And this [is the fashion] which thou shalt make it [of]: The length of the ark [shall be] three hundred cubits, the breadth of it fifty cubits, and the height of it thirty cubits. (Genesis 6:15)
The first mention of three hundred in Genesis 6:15 is GLUED to the numerical structure of the building of the ark of Noah. The ark was both God’s righteous DELIVERANCE of Noah and his family, and God’s righteous JUDGMENT of a totally corrupt world. Even the address of 6:15, God doubles down in His Perfect and Divine Order: six (6), the number of unrepentant man; the GODHEAD in the number one (1) reveals His grace and mercy in the number five (5). (I mean, you can’t make this stuff up!) God slaps the reader in the face with the address location, and then in the numerical words of three hundred. I’m on a roll . . . in this 6th Chapter, the ark is first mentioned. Now, let’s not stop there. In five (the number of grace) verses (Genesis 6:14, 15, 16, 18 and 19) the word ark is recorded SEVEN times. The number SEVEN represents not only God’s PERFECTION, but God’s COMPLETE PERFECTION. No one and nothing can top God’s COMPLETE ABSOLUTE PERFECTION.
Back to And Hezekiah king of Judah sent to the king of Assyria to Lachish, saying, I have offended; return from me: that which thou puttest on me will I bear. And the king of Assyria appointed unto Hezekiah king of Judah Judah three hundred talents of silver and thirty talents of gold. (2nd Kings 18:14) The study of Scripture requires that the student should be like a dog, once you get a bone to chew on it is very difficult to drop the bone.
Standing alone the number three hundred is mentioned twenty-two (22) times in Scripture. Twice in the New Testament and twenty times in the Old Testament. Details, trivia, unimportant facts to be disregarded and forgotten, that is how many read Scripture: except for ONE important fact, Scripture does not contain trivia. What is that ONE important fact? . . . the Holy Spirit of God is the AUTHOR of Scripture. God the Father (THE ETERNAL SELF EXISTENT ONE), AND the Spirit of Christ THE LIVING WORD, the word of prophecy, the word of truth, the word of wisdom, the word of promise, the word of faith, the word of knowledge, the word of life, and the word of reconciliation AND the Holy Spirit of God (The UNSEEN POWER OF THE GODHEAD) through the determinate counsel of God DESIGNED, WROTE and MAINTAINS Scripture. That fact alone should instill in students of Scripture that EVERY word has a designed purpose, a specific place and is part of a predetermined divine plan. The Bible student should not only have dog-like characteristics but should also be a particular type of dog: a blood hound, a faithful tracker.
We are tracking the numerical phrase three hundred. We began with three hundred talents of silver in 2nd Kings 18:14. Then we sniffed out the beginning of the phrase three hundred which led us to Genesis 6:15 and to the ARK. Then, this bone led us to another trail. In the fourth book of the Bible, the book of Numbers in Chapter 10, the Holy Spirit of God discloses how Israel’s immense number of people journeyed in the wilderness with precision and controlled formation. Each tribe had a designated place, and each person in this nation knew their place. No one moved outside of their designated position, for all actions whether in movement, in battle formation or while resting was done properly and in order. I cannot imagine how even a small United States village or even a tiny town could move today together as a united unit without someone deciding to act on their own feelings and emotions and their perceived rights to be different. As an artist, I encourage individualism, however, individualism outside of God’s will is chaos and rebellion. When Israel prepared for their journey notice that it was the ARK OF THE COVENANT of the LORD that ALWAYS went before them. The ARK led the way. The ARK chose the way. The ARK decided the way. Notice what Moses called the ARK. Numbers Chapter 10 (ten being the number of God’s perfect order) discloses that the commandment of God demands obedience, organized precision . . . even in Israel’s journey God required ORDER.
And they departed from the mount of the LORD three days’ journey: and the ark of the covenant of the LORD went before them in the three days’ journey, to search out a resting place for them. (Numbers 10:33)
And the cloud of the LORD was upon them by day, when they went out of the camp. (Numbers 10:34)
And it came to pass, when the ark set forward, that Moses said, Rise up, LORD, and let thine enemies be scattered; and let them that hate thee flee before thee. (Numbers 10:35)
And when it rested, he said, Return, O LORD, unto the many thousands of Israel. (Numbers 10:36)
Moses addressed the ARK as LORD. Rise up, LORD, and Return, O LORD. The UNSEEN God in all HIS spiritual and sovereign attributes was SEEN through the physical presence of the ARK as the Testimony of God, and the UNSEEN GOD was SEEN in the physical presence of the bodily Jesus Christ since Jesus Christ was the LIVING WORD and the LIVING Testimony of the GODHEAD. AND NOW in heaven, this ARK of His Testament is revealed to ALL who have eyes to see, And the temple of God was opened in heaven, and there was seen in his temple the ark of his testament: and there were lightnings, and voices, and thunderings, and an earthquake, and great hail. (Revelation 11:19)
In the Tabernacle of the wilderness, God’s presence was SEEN in the fire by night and in the cloud by day. For the cloud of the LORD [was] upon the tabernacle by day, and fire was on it by night, in the sight of all the house of Israel, throughout all their journeys. (Exodus 40:38)
The Holy Spirit of God ties this all together in Psalm 132:8, Arise, O LORD, into thy rest; thou, and the ark of thy strength. God’s great righteous and holy plan was that sinful man would find rest and refuge in the ARK of His strength, the Lord Jesus Christ. God provided The ARK, and God provided the Strength of His Deliverer. Thus, forgiven and born again man would finally find rest in God’s ETERNAL REST. The ARK of God’s strength is Christ. Christ is the supernatural spiritual container of the strength and power of God. In other words, IN CHRIST is the strength and power of the Godhead . . . and in more words . . . For in him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily. (Colossians 2:9) The complete bodily essence of the GODHEAD IS IN Christ Jesus.
We have traveled along through the wilderness of words, phrases and numbers and our spiritual trail began with, And Hezekiah king of Judah sent to the king of Assyria to Lachish, saying, I have offended; return from me: that which thou puttest on me will I bear. And the king of Assyria appointed unto Hezekiah king of Judah three hundred talents of silver and thirty talents of gold. (2nd Kings 18:14) Sennacherib did not request a free will tribute it was APPOINTED, it was fixed, it was set.
SIDE NOTE: SENNACHERIB, king of Assyria. The next Assyrian king after Tiglathpileser and Shalmaneser who threatened the stability of the nation of Judah was Sennacherib.
Here is a basic outline of the kings of Assyria in Scripture: the kingdom of Tiglathpileser king of Assyria – (745 B.C. – 727 B.C.); the kingdom of Shalmaneser king of Assyria – (727 B.C. – 722 B.C.); the kingdom of Sennacherib king of Assyria – (722 B.C. – 705 B.C.), and the kingdom of Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon – (604 B.C. – 562 B.C.) Babylon is the same as Assyria.
I REFUSE to accept or to use the ‘new time frame’ of CE and BCE. The time frame that began with Christ is B.C. which means Before Christ. This division of time is hated so much that the enemies of God devised a ‘new time frame’ into Common Era (CE) instead of AD (Anno Domini which means in the year of our Lord) and Before the Common Era (BCE) or BC. Redefining time is important to Satan, as we all are aware of Satan’s move to redefine male and female, so he also desires to redefine time to REMOVE CHRIST from time.
The name of Sennacherib should be well known, but just in case you may not be familiar with this name let’s just add a bit of history to your knowledge. Besides the time period of 722 B.C. – 705 B.C, the few verses below discloses the destruction of Sennacherib’s military and the assassination of this once mighty Assyrian potentate.
Therefore thus saith the LORD concerning the king of Assyria, He shall not come into this city, nor shoot an arrow there, nor come before it with shields, nor cast a bank against it. (Isaiah 37:33)
By the way that he came, by the same shall he return, and shall not come into this city, saith the LORD. (Isaiah 37:34)
For I will defend this city to save it for mine own sake, and for my servant David’s sake. (Isaiah 37:35)
Then the angel of the LORD went forth, and smote in the camp of the Assyrians a hundred and fourscore and five thousand: and when they arose early in the morning, behold, they were all dead corpses. (Isaiah 37:36)
So Sennacherib king of Assyria departed, and went and returned, and dwelt at Nineveh. (Isaiah 37:37)
And it came to pass, as he was worshipping in the house of Nisroch his god, that Adrammelech and Sharezer his sons smote him with the sword; and they escaped into the land of Armenia: and Esarhaddon his son reigned in his stead. (Isaiah 37:38) ◆ End of Side Note: SENNACHERIB, king of Assyria.
Sennacherib means ‘the thorn laid waste.‘ Sennacherib was ‘the thorn.’ But if ye will not drive out the inhabitants of the land from before you; then it shall come to pass, that those which ye let remain of them [shall be] pricks in your eyes, and thorns in your sides, and shall vex you in the land wherein ye dwell. (Judges 2:3) Upon the land of my people shall come up thorns [and] briers; yea, upon all the houses of joy [in] the joyous city: (Isaiah 32:13) CLICK HERE for more about Sennacherib and CLICK HERE.
Sennacherib’s name has a dual meaning: this thorn laid waste, and the thorn itself laid waste. Nineveh became his capital city and the Assyrian Empire extended from Babylon, to Iraq, to the Mediterranean and into Asia Minor. The history of Mesopotamia can still be seen through the evidence of its architecture that this mighty powerful man of renown built throughout the entire region of Mesopotamia. As all potentates, he considered himself invincible. Consider what kind of man this was as even his sons conspired against him. Evil consumes evil. Iniquity breeds iniquity.
It has become a common and approved act when women assassinate their children while in their womb, and it is now becoming an accepted act when women assassinate their born children regardless of the child’s age. Mankind’s’ hatred and diabolic atrocities seek ways to advance their evil . . . evil without the consequences of evil, evil without the perception of evil, evil redefined, evil renamed, and evil is now celebrated as a human right. Many women consider it their feminine right and their motherly duty to MURDER their children for THEIR convenience, for THEIR emotional stability, for THEIR gain, for THEIR . . . THEIR . . . THEIR . . . notice, that these types of woman are ALL about THEIR SELF. Evil is now much more than a human right, evil has become centered in SELF. Those who support and encourage this madness of the female civil rights of selfhood above the rights of others will not only murder their own children but they desire to murder YOUR children as well. Since Eve, women have been played by Lucifer/Satan to become his weapon that would bring in his kingdom of madness. CLICK HERE for more about the kingdom of madness and CLICK HERE.
What began with Cain (the first-born child of Adam and Eve), continued in Nimrod, and through Nimrod the fiendish nature of the Assyrian Empire will finally end in the man of sin called The Beast of Revelation Chapter 13. Scripture defines evil through the number 13, and this leads us to Sennacherib. The name of Sennacherib is documented 13 times in Scripture. Ahhhh . . . trivia . . . coincidental facts . . . meaningless details . . .
In case you skipped over Isaiah 37:33 – 38, because I KNOW that many readers like to skip over Scripture, the Spirit of God recorded Sennacherib’s ruin a second time in 2nd Kings Chapter 19-32-37.
Therefore thus saith the LORD concerning the king of Assyria, He shall not come into this city, nor shoot an arrow there, nor come before it with shield, nor cast a bank against it. (2nd Kings 19:32)
By the way that he came, by the same shall he return, and shall not come into this city, saith the LORD. (2nd Kings 19:33)
For I will defend this city, to save it, for mine own sake, and for my servant David’s sake. (2nd Kings 19:34)
And it came to pass that night, that the angel of the LORD went out, and smote in the camp of the Assyrians an hundred fourscore and five thousand: and when they arose early in the morning, behold, they were all dead corpses. (2nd Kings 19:35)
So Sennacherib king of Assyria departed, and went and returned, and dwelt at Nineveh. (2nd Kings 19:36)
And it came to pass, as he was worshipping in the house of Nisroch his god, that Adrammelech and Sharezer his sons smote him with the sword: and they escaped into the land of Armenia. And Esarhaddon his son reigned in his stead. (2nd Kings 19:37)
God the Holy Spirit not only has a godly sense of humor, but He discloses His righteous vengeance through written repetition. In 2nd Chronicles Chapter 32 the Holy Spirit of God documents this same event for the THIRD time. Three times the righteous sword of God documents the LORD’s supernatural victory over this king of Assyria.
And the LORD sent an angel, which cut off all the mighty men of valour, and the leaders and captains in the camp of the king of Assyria. So he returned with shame of face to his own land. And when he was come into the house of his god, they that came forth of his own bowels slew him there with the sword. (2nd Chronicles 32:21)
Thus the LORD saved Hezekiah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem from the hand of Sennacherib the king of Assyria, and from the hand of all other, and guided them on every side. (2nd Chronicles 32:22)
And many brought gifts unto the LORD to Jerusalem, and presents to Hezekiah king of Judah: so that he was magnified in the sight of all nations from thenceforth. (2nd Chronicles 32:23)
I cannot continue on in this article without Lord Byron’s “The Destruction of Sennacherib” which is a classic example of biblical storytelling through poetry. The following notable poem is about the total and complete destruction of Sennacherib’s military fallen on the field of the faithful by the very hand of God Himself for the LORD sent an angel . . . the angel of the LORD went out . . . Then the angel of the LORD went forth.
~
The Destruction of Sennacherib
by Lord Byron
The Assyrian came down like the wolf on the fold,
And his cohorts were gleaming in purple and gold;
And the sheen of their spears was like stars on the sea,
When the blue wave rolls nightly on deep Galilee.
Like the leaves of the forest when Summer is green,
That host with their banners at sunset were seen:
Like the leaves of the forest when Autumn hath blown,
That host on the morrow lay withered and strown.
For the Angel of Death spread his wings on the blast,
And breathed in the face of the foe as he passed;
And the eyes of the sleepers waxed deadly and chill,
And their hearts but once heaved, and for ever grew still!
And there lay the steed with his nostril all wide,
But through it there rolled not the breath of his pride;
And the foam of his gasping lay white on the turf,
And cold as the spray of the rock-beating surf.
And there lay the rider distorted and pale,
With the dew on his brow, and the rust on his mail:
And the tents were all silent, the banners alone,
The lances unlifted, the trumpet unblown.
And the widows of Ashur are loud in their wail,
And the idols are broke in the temple of Baal;
And the might of the Gentile, unsmote by the sword,
Hath melted like snow in the glance of the Lord!
◆
THE GREAT ROBBERY
The Doors and The Pillars
The Entrance and the Strength
And Hezekiah gave him all the silver that was found in the house of the LORD, and in the treasures of the king’s house. (2nd Kings 18:15)
At that time did Hezekiah cut off the gold from the doors of the temple of the LORD, and from the pillars which Hezekiah king of Judah had overlaid, and gave it to the king of Assyria. (2nd Kings 18:16)
From the very beginning of Hezekiah’s reign, he faced numerous threats of invasion from many nations: Egypt, Ethiopia, Syria and the Assyrians. During the age of Hezekiah’s father (Ahaz) the king of Assyria, Tiglathpileser, played a major role as both an ally and as an enemy. Citizens of the United States should be able to comprehend how politics acts on money, and how war acts on money, and how propaganda news agencies are controlled by money, so when reading about the nation of Israel and the nation of Judah, it comes as no surprise that money dictates enemies and allies. One day your ally becomes your enemy and on the following day your enemy becomes an ally.
During the fourth and sixth year of Hezekiah’s reign he was caught between appeasing, placating or ignoring enemies. When Sennacherib came onto the scene, the Assyrian disclosed a different playing field. Mankind has followed a fallacy that somehow honor and rules of war are involved with war . . . it is NOT! War is neither honorable nor does it operate by rules. There are no rules in any conflict! Sennacherib acted only on one rule: overcome ALL by ALL means. This king of Assyria represents the last king of Assyria, yet to come, as THE BEAST in Revelation Chapter 13.
As Sennacherib’s military force camped waiting for the command to attack Judah from the south, there was an ongoing diplomatic negotiation between Sennacherib and Hezekiah. Diplomacy is a dance played out between two different dancers, an art form binding truthful lies with false truths. The terms simply was that Hezekiah would pay Sennacherib a set amount of tribute money; in return, Sennacherib would cancel his invasion of Judah. Simple? Straightforward? Hezekiah’s capitulation to the threats of this king of Assyria has many spiritual and secular tentacles that reach into our contemporary age. Through this unfolding event that was about to take place on Judah’s field God revealed HIS POWER, and His foreknowledge and His prophetic plan. Let us look at what was about to happen from God’s side and from man’s side.
Most world leaders in our age of The Celebration of Insanity can see evil, but they refuse to acknowledge evil for they themselves are evil. It is not history that repeats itself, it is SIN that repeats itself. As the former Prime Minister of England, A. Neville Chamberlain (1937 – 1940) set the policy of peace by appeasement regarding the aggressive delusion of Adolph Hitler (please notice the numbers within the name of Adolph (6) Hitler (6), his name consists of a double six (6-6) could it be that this man was simply a precursor of another madman to be associated with the triune number or the triple six (6 – 6 – 6) . . . just sayin’). Chamberlain stated, ‘I believe it is peace for our time.’ He was dreadfully wrong. Appeasement is capitulation, and millions ALL over the world died because of this peace policy. To add to the error of appeasement was the failure to remain vigilant and prepared militarily. England after WWI ‘settled on their lees.’ The interwar period between WWI and WW2 was a little more than 20 years, 9 months, and 21 days. That was tragic because when war came England and the world were not prepared: 20 years, 9 months and 21 days and NO NATION WAS PREPARED. An entire generation of young men from ALL over the world perished because those who held power to act against Hitler’s policy of racial Nazism Aryan purity and world domination in their hands could not, would not, stand against evil at the very beginning of its rise against weaker nations. Sometimes those who vehemently decry war actually promote war.
SIDE NOTE: ABRAM THE WARRIOR. Abram a herdsman, a righteous man, a man of peace, was also a mighty warrior. He had three hundred and eighteen TRAINED servants always ready to defend their home in the camp of Abram. These 318 TRAINED servants were defensively and offensively accomplished military men constantly on duty. They were not part-time fighters, but highly skilled in the art of battle because when they were called to act they traveled by night a long distance, and as one united force they divided themselves into squads and field armies and by night they fought, killed and pursued the military of four kings of the east and were victorious.
And when Abram heard that his brother was taken captive, he armed his trained servants, born in his own house, three hundred and eighteen, and pursued them unto Dan. (Genesis 14:14)
And he divided himself against them, he and his servants, by night, and smote them, and pursued them unto Hobah, which is on the left hand of Damascus. (Genesis 14:15)
And he brought back all the goods, and also brought again his brother Lot, and his goods, and the women also, and the people. (Genesis 14:16)
These men of battle from the camp of Abram constantly trained for war in all types of conditions. We quickly read over Genesis 14:14-16 not seeing that in these verses the battle plan (although it was a physical battle) provides a guide for our spiritual battle. First, the person of faith has to be armed with spiritual tools (the sword of the word of God and with God’s armor, Ephesians Chapter 6) and trained with truth and righteousness and born in his own house. Abram’s trained servants were born in his own house. They had to have a deep seated close blood like affiliation with their master Abram, as sons to a father. Thus, we, spiritual children of God and born by the Spirit of God from the house of God and from the loins of Christ are BORN AGAIN.
Mini Side Note of a Side Note: he armed his trained servants, born in his own house. The leaders of the United States have also failed in this regard. Those who are chosen, selected or even balloted to serve this nation should first of all BE BORN IN the United States. Senators, representatives and those with leadership positions should have the same close affiliation that Abram’s warriors had with Abram. Serving two masters is an impossibility: birthright and birth allegiance and national inheritance demands assimilation. How can anyone serve a nation when they do not understand that nation, when they do not care for that nation or even respect that nation? Those born abroad and instilled with hatred for America should never be ACCEPTED in any leadership role IN America. ♦ End of Mini Side Note of a Side Note.
Abram was not a pacifist, his policy for peace was that IN STRENGTH there is peace. His men were prepared and primed to take on the military of four eastern kingdoms.
And when Abram heard that his brother was taken captive, he armed his trained servants, born in his own house, three hundred and eighteen, and pursued them unto Dan. (Genesis 14:14)
And he divided himself against them, he and his servants, by night, and smote them, and pursued them unto Hobah, which is on the left hand of Damascus. (Genesis 14:15) ◆ End of Side Note: ABRAM THE WARRIOR.
Back to 2nd Kings 18:13 – 16 . . . .
Now in the fourteenth year of king Hezekiah did Sennacherib king of Assyria come up against all the fenced cities of Judah, and took them. (2nd Kings 18:13)
And Hezekiah king of Judah sent to the king of Assyria to Lachish, saying, I have offended; return from me: that which thou puttest on me will I bear. And the king of Assyria appointed unto Hezekiah king of Judah three hundred talents of silver and thirty talents of gold. (2nd Kings 18:14)
And Hezekiah gave him all the silver that was found in the house of the LORD, and in the treasures of the king’s house. (2nd Kings 18:15)
At that time did Hezekiah cut off the gold from the doors of the temple of the LORD, and from the pillars which Hezekiah king of Judah had overlaid, and gave it to the king of Assyria. (2nd Kings 18:16)
Much happened after Hezekiah prepared to give Sennacherib the tribute money. However, we will tarry here with the silver and the gold. Notice where Hezekiah acquired the tribute money from: all the silver that was found in the house of the LORD, and in the treasures of the king’s house. Although silver was taken from the treasures of king Hezekiah, ALL the silver found in the house of the LORD was set to be given to Sennacherib. GOD WAS ROBBED! Then the gold was cut off from the doors, and from the pillars of the Temple. GOD WAS ROBBED! When the unclean bird fleeces the clean bird it is ALWAYS GOD who is robbed. Think along the lines of those who extort and swindle church goers and use the money for their new planes and their lavish multimillion dollar homes, and their ‘evangelical TV ministries,’ and their gospel world tours . . . GOD IS ALWAYS ROBBED! But the fault does not only fall on the unclean bird. Those who give irresponsibly also ROB GOD! Both the unclean bird and the clean bird are equally guilty of ROBBING GOD.
The GOLD from doors and the pillars of the Temple were cut and stripped. Symbolically this represented the cutting and stripping of God’s righteousness from His house. Now man entered into God’s house by some other means then the righteousness of God. The pillars that strengthened God’s house and gave stability to its structure ALSO ceased, and NOW something was substituted in place of GOLD. This spiritual lesson within 2nd Kings 18:15 and 16 is meant for all the children of God, AND for the faithful in all ages. Whenever GOD IS ROBBED, the first thing that is stolen is the WAY TO GOD, the gold of the doors is cut off. God’s righteousness no longer provides a way into the presence of God, but man presents another means to salvation . . . another Jesus, another DOOR.
● For if he that cometh preacheth another Jesus, whom we have not preached, or [if] ye receive another spirit, which ye have not received, or another gospel, which ye have not accepted, ye might well bear with [him]. (2nd Corinthians 11:4)
● I marvel that ye are so soon removed from him that called you into the grace of Christ unto another gospel: (Galatians 1:6)
● I am the door: by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture. (John 10:9)
● Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me. (John 14:6)
Christ proclaimed that HE was the DOOR! The Door to what? Christ is the ONLY DOOR to salvation, to eternal life, to truth, to God, to rest, and to the supernatural spiritual realm of everlasting life and everlasting communion with the Creator God.
Whenever GOD IS ROBBED, the next thing that is stolen is the gold from the pillars of the house of God. The main construction that anchors and supports the entire structure are the PILLARS. When the GOLD from the pillars of God’s righteousness is stolen and removed from the house of God then the house weakens and can no longer maintain its strength. When the Deity and Righteousness of Christ is cut and stripped from the bodily Person of the Son of God who is the fullness of the GODHEAD BODILY, then the house of God can no longer stand. When Christ said in John 8:58, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Before Abraham was, I am. He clearly stated that HE WAS GOD. CLICK HERE.
Then the Jews took up stones again to stone him. (John 10:31)
Jesus answered them, Many good works have I shewed you from my Father; for which of those works do ye stone me? (John 10:32)
The Jews answered him, saying, For a good work we stone thee not; but for blasphemy; and because that thou, being a man, makest thyself God. (John 10:33)
The PILLARS that give the kingdom of God, the things of God, the ways of God, the house of God, the gospel of God, the realm of God, the government of God, and the throne of God its strength and its power is the glorious Person of the Son of God, the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords, the Lord Jesus Christ. In the Song of Songs, the song of His LOVES, 5:15 we read, His legs [are as] pillars of marble, set upon sockets of fine gold: his countenance [is] as Lebanon, excellent as the cedars. Notice the numerical address (5:15). Grace before, grace after, grace around, and grace surrounds our great God. In that spiritual number it reinforces the message that His legs [are as] pillars of marble and all righteousness is planted around, centered on, and foundationally set on the righteousness of God. The UNSEEN realm and the SEEN worlds ALL were created and sustained by the Holy and Righteous Power of the Lord Jesus Christ. The spiritual stability of God’s righteous and holy plan from His heavenly realm to the realm of the natural world is placed on Christ. He is the fullness of stability, within Christ is the structural strength that transfer’s the Godhead’s power and glory to the earth. His legs are as pillars of marble (strength and beauty) and his feet are as pillars of fire for as He walks in the path of righteousness He brings JUDGMENT with Him.
The last mention of pillars is found in Revelation 10:1, but this time it is not His legs [are as] pillars of marble, but his feet as pillars of fire. This mighty angel was Christ clothed with a cloud of heaven’s mysteries, with the symbol of God’s grace in the deliverance and salvation from the judgment of God upon the head that once bore the crown of thorns of the curse of God’s judgment. As the sun is the gravitational center of our solar system, so too the SON is the center of ALL things. And I saw another mighty angel come down from heaven, clothed with a cloud: and a rainbow [was] upon his head, and his face [was] as it were the sun, and his feet as pillars of fire: (Revelation 10:1)
As the appearance of the bow that is in the cloud in the day of rain, so was the appearance of the brightness round about. This was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the LORD. And when I saw it, I fell upon my face, and I heard a voice of one that spake. (Ezekiel 1:28)
Back to 2 Kings 18:16, At that time did Hezekiah cut off the gold from the doors of the temple of the LORD, and from the pillars which Hezekiah king of Judah had overlaid, and gave it to the king of Assyria. With the cutting off of the gold from the doors of the Temple of the LORD and from the pillars, GOD WAS ROBBED. In this action king Hezekiah robbed God of what belonged to God alone. The spiritual lesson in this is that the clean bird should never feed the unclean bird with the things of God. The New Testament also confirms this spiritual lesson in Matthew 7:6, Give not that which is holy unto the dogs, neither cast ye your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under their feet, and turn again and rend you. When we examine Hezekiah and Sennacherib’s negotiations this spiritual lesson becomes a reality. The good part of this robbery is that the gold and silver from the doors and the pillars were never transferred to the king of Assyria. Prophetically, the coming future king of Assyria, the man of sin known as The Beast, the devil’s advocate, will never take claim to the things of God.
◆
The AGENDA of the ENEMIES OF GOD
-ALL GODS ARE THE SAME-
-ALL ALTARS ARE THE SAME-
– ALL WORSHIP IS THE SAME-
And Isaiah said unto them, Thus shall ye say to your master, Thus saith the LORD, Be not afraid of the words which thou hast heard, with which the servants of the king of Assyria have blasphemed me. (2nd Kings 19:6)
Whom hast thou reproached and blasphemed? and against whom hast thou exalted [thy] voice, and lifted up thine eyes on high? [even] against the Holy [One] of Israel. (2nd Kings 19:22)
Satan’s agenda has always been to destroy ALL that God created, formed and built. This agenda no longer remains a secret, but it is open to all who still can see, hear and understand. Sadly, mankind cannot deal with truth. Man fears truth. Man cannot accept that he is in need of GOD. Thus, and therefore and consequently . . . the truth that Lucifer/Satan has an agenda to capture and remove truth from mankind has become beyond mankind’s understanding. This has led man to where we are today, that ALL Gods are the same, that ALL altars are the same, and that ALL worship is the same.
That agenda was what Rabshekah, the lead envoy of king Sennacherib, was promoting, except for one thing. It was Sennacherib who was to be worshiped, and it was Sennacherib who was the God to be honored, and it was Sennacherib’s altars that was to be held as the only and primary source to the God of Sennacherib. God fittingly ended the life of king Sennacherib as he was worshiping at the altar of his false god.
The following section of 2nd Kings Chapter 19 is historical. Again, note the number 19, God’s proper order (10) in JUDGMENT (9). After Sennacherib’s massive military defeat on the field in Judah, with his military dismantled and destroyed by The Angel of His Presence, Sennacherib returned to Nineveh as a powerless defeated potentate.
In verse 7, of 2nd Kings, Chapter 19, Behold, I will send a blast upon him, and he shall hear a rumour, and shall return to his own land; and I will cause him to fall by the sword in his own land. (2nd Kings 19:7) the voice of God (the number 7) prophesied of Sennacherib’s future movements, that God would send a blast upon him (the end of his military power).
(And it came to pass that night, that the angel of the LORD went out, and smote in the camp of the Assyrians an hundred fourscore and five thousand: (185,000) and when they arose early in the morning, behold, they were all dead corpses. 2nd Kings 19:35. Why do I insist on repeating this destruction? To get into the face of Satan with words that adds pain to his being. I can’t rebuke him, but the words from the Spirit of God can more than rebuke, His words can drive the stake of the memory of past judgments deep into Satan’s black barren hole of soullessness. Lucifer/Satan has a past of judgments and failures. It is good to remember this and to remind him of his failures and judgments to come. Sometimes we forget Satan’s past judgments when currently we experience his political victories, and his religious gains.)
Back to and he shall hear a rumour, as today there are rumors of war every moment of the day; some false, some true, but all rumors are based on man’s dual nature: his fear of war and his desire for war. As it is today, so was it then, so with a depleted military and rumors of war, Sennacherib departed, and went and returned, and dwelt at Nineveh.
● So Sennacherib king of Assyria departed, and went and returned, and dwelt at Nineveh. (2nd Kings 19:36)
And it came to pass, as he was worshipping in the house of Nisroch his god, that Adrammelech and Sharezer his sons smote him with the sword: and they escaped into the land of Armenia. And Esarhaddon his son reigned in his stead. (2nd Kings 19:37)
● And the LORD sent an angel, which cut off all the mighty men of valour, and the leaders and captains in the camp of the king of Assyria. So he returned with shame of face to his own land. And when he was come into the house of his god, they that came forth of his own bowels slew him there with the sword. (2nd Chronicles 32:21)
—–♦—–
THE TRUE and ONLY GREAT KING VICTORIOUS
Historically and Prophetically
Rabshakeh was the head envoy for Sennacherib. Notice how he thinks and what he believes. He describes his master as the great king. Let us stop at this point and consider the depth of the insult to God that Rabshekah spoke. The phrase the great king is documented five times in the Old Testament and one time in the New Testament for a total of six times; however, also notice this phrase the great king, the king of Assyria. Four times this phrase the great king, the king of Assyria is recorded in Scripture. The words the great king is NEVER associated with any nation other than Assyria.
The Spirit of God builds prophecy into history and history into prophecy. The world (the number four) will proclaim no other king than the king of Assyria which is also the king of Babylon which prophetically is The Beast of Revelation Chapter 13. (Therefore thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel; Behold, I will punish the king of Babylon and his land, as I have punished the king of Assyria. Jeremiah 50:18) Assyria and Babylon are one area, Assyria was of the north and Babylon was of the south. Mesopotamia is not a country, it is a region, a territory and vast area between two rivers: Tigris and the Euphrates. Through the course of time, borders expanded, and names overflowed, and empires dissolved and were born again, in our current age the countries of Mesopotamia are Syria, Turkey, Kuwait, Iraq and Iran.
Scripture strongly places the beginning of Assyria from Genesis 10:8 -11 from Cush to Nimrod to the beginning of his kingdom BABEL, in the land of Shinar (Babylon) to the land of Asshur (Assyria).
And Cush begat Nimrod: he began to be a mighty one in the earth. (Genesis 10:8)
He was a mighty hunter before the LORD: wherefore it is said, Even as Nimrod the mighty hunter before the LORD. (Genesis 10:9)
And the beginning of his kingdom was Babel, and Erech, and Accad, and Calneh, in the land of Shinar. (Genesis 10:10)
Out of that land went forth Asshur, and builded Nineveh, and the city Rehoboth, and Calah, (Genesis 10:11)
Babylon and Assyria . . . two names, two empires, two time frames but ONE kingdom and throne. Don’t confuse the two, they may be two but they are of one power source as Satan is of Lucifer and Lucifer is of Satan. Each is from a different time frame, but they both have the same agenda. Assyria is only referenced in the Old Testament but it is Babylon that carries into the New Testament. So, and therefore, stay focused on our study section why Rabshakeh described his master as the great king. The following four verses ties the great king to the king of Assyria. There is a reason why this phrase is documented FOUR times in Scripture in the Old Testament. The world then (four, the number of the world) was completely under the control of one king, and one power house (Assyria). The king of Assyria was the precursor of The Beast to come.
1. And Rabshakeh said unto them, Speak ye now to Hezekiah, Thus saith the great king, the king of Assyria, What confidence [is] this wherein thou trustest? (2nd Kings 18:19)
2. Then Rabshakeh stood and cried with a loud voice in the Jews’ language, and spake, saying, Hear the word of the great king, the king of Assyria: (2nd Kings 18:28)
3. And Rabshakeh said unto them, Say ye now to Hezekiah, Thus saith the great king, the king of Assyria, What confidence [is] this wherein thou trustest? (Isaiah 36:4)
4. Then Rabshakeh stood, and cried with a loud voice in the Jews’ language, and said, Hear ye the words of the great king, the king of Assyria. (Isaiah 36:13)
However, since God will not be insulted nor over topped by a mere man thinking that he is the great king, we have TWO references where the LORD GOD is called the great King. Once in the Old Testament in Psalms 48:2, Beautiful for situation, the joy of the whole earth, [is] mount Zion, [on] the sides of the north, the city of the great King, and once in the New Testament when Christ proclaims in Matthew 5:35 that the Lord God is the great King. Nor by the earth; for it is his footstool: neither by Jerusalem; for it is the city of the great King. Rabshakeh also challenges the object of Hezekiah’s faith. What confidence is this wherein thou trustest? When the faithful, the children of God, face unbelievers, haters of God; the attack is to discredit the reality of God, to bring into question the object of your trust, to question the validity of your confidence, and to raise doubt and questions in your heart and mind about your GREAT King.
● And Rabshakeh said unto them, Speak ye now to Hezekiah, Thus saith the great king, the king of Assyria, What confidence is this wherein thou trustest? (2nd Kings 18:19)
● But if ye say unto me, We trust in the LORD our God: is not that he, whose high places and whose altars Hezekiah hath taken away, and hath said to Judah and Jerusalem, Ye shall worship before this altar in Jerusalem? (2nd Kings 18:22)
● He removed the high places, and brake the images, and cut down the groves, and brake in pieces the brasen serpent that Moses had made: for unto those days the children of Israel did burn incense to it: and he called it Nehushtan. (2nd Kings 18:4)
Now when all this was finished, all Israel that were present went out to the cities of Judah, and brake the images in pieces, and cut down the groves, and threw down the high places and the altars out of all Judah and Benjamin, in Ephraim also and Manasseh, until they had utterly destroyed them all. Then all the children of Israel returned, every man to his possession, into their own cities. (2nd Chronicles 31:1)
Hath not the same Hezekiah taken away his high places and his altars, and commanded Judah and Jerusalem, saying, Ye shall worship before one altar, and burn incense upon it? (2nd Chronicles 32:12)
Now therefore let not Hezekiah deceive you, nor persuade you on this manner, neither yet believe him: for no god of any nation or kingdom was able to deliver his people out of mine hand, and out of the hand of my fathers: how much less shall your God deliver you out of mine hand? (2nd Chronicles 32:15)
And his servants spake yet more against the LORD God, and against his servant Hezekiah. (2nd Chronicles 32:16)
He wrote also letters to rail on the LORD God of Israel, and to speak against him, saying, As the gods of the nations of other lands have not delivered their people out of mine hand, so shall not the God of Hezekiah deliver his people out of mine hand. (2nd Chronicles 32:17)
Then they cried with a loud voice in the Jews’ speech unto the people of Jerusalem that were on the wall, to affright them, and to trouble them; that they might take the city. (2nd Chronicles 32:18)
And they spake against the God of Jerusalem, as against the gods of the people of the earth, which were the work of the hands of man. (2nd Chronicles 32:19)
Rabshakeh’s agenda was to destroy the people’s confidence in king Hezekiah, to confuse the minds and hearts of the people of Israel by treating historical facts as lies and to affirm lies as historical facts . . . you know, that is what current “news” agencies promote hourly. Hath not the same Hezekiah taken away his high places and his altars, and commanded Judah and Jerusalem, saying, Ye shall worship before one altar, and burn incense upon it? (2nd Chronicles 32:12) The high places and the altars that were destroyed were places and altars of FALSE WORSHIP, UNACCEPTED WORSHIP. Hezekiah destroyed the places and altars that was AGAINST the LORD GOD. This same agenda of Rabshakeh succeeded in the Age of the Church through the deeds and doctrines of the Nicolaitans. God set His WORSHIP CENTER in the Tabernacle in the wilderness as His earthly residence. When Israel became a nation under an approved earthly king, king Solomon, God took up His residence in The Temple at Jerusalem. It was there IN Jerusalem, IN the Temple that God revealed His presence. Now when Solomon had made an end of praying, the fire came down from heaven, and consumed the burnt offering and the sacrifices; and the glory of the LORD filled the house. (2nd Chronicles 7:1) Approximately 250 years spanned the reign between king Solomon and king Hezekiah. When Hezekiah began his reign, the enemies of God had successfully infiltrated into the social and spiritual life of Israel.
The first thing that the enemy does is to remove the availability of access to GOD by the PEOPLE. KEEP THE PEOPLE AWAY FROM GOD, create a separation, redefine PRIESTHOOD, bring in another form of worshipers: ‘laypeople.’ Institute a ‘clergy’ (professional priests) and ‘a laity’ (people NOT approved nor accepted or sanctioned with the same rights and privileges of the clergy). Of course, those who define ‘the laity’ are ‘the professional priests.’ This spiritual robbery was accomplished in the Age of the Church under the deeds and doctrines of the Nicolaitans. Keep in mind that we are writing about TWO different forms of PRIESTHOOD. The Age of Temple Worship came during the Age of the Old Testament. The New Testament is JUST THAT . . . THE NEW Testament. God’s plan for Israel was laid out in the OLD Testament and God’s plan for His Church is laid out in the NEW Testament. Both are centered and focused on the PERSON of God. The first testament presents GODHEAD to man in the very three verses of the FIRST BOOK OF THE BIBLE.
The GODHEAD is presented to mankind in the very beginning of the Old Testament in Genesis Chapter 1: first God the Father is revealed in In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. (Genesis 1:1) Secondly, the Spirit of God is revealed in Genesis 1:2, And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters. Thirdly and finally, God the Son, as the Light of the world, the Lord Jesus Christ is presented in Genesis 1:3 and 4, And God said, Let there be light: and there was light. And God saw the light, that it was good: and God divided the light from the darkness.
● Then spake Jesus again unto them, saying, I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life. (John 8:12)
● As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world. (John 9:5)
● I am come a light into the world, that whosoever believeth on me should not abide in darkness. (John 12:46 )
The second testament presents GOD in the PERSON of Jesus Christ to man in the LAST BOOK OF THE BIBLE, known as The Revelation of Jesus Christ. The very first verse in the Book of the Revelation presents the Person of Jesus Christ, and the last verse encircles the Bible with the name of Jesus Christ as our Lord Jesus Christ.
The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave unto him, to shew unto his servants things which must shortly come to pass; and he sent and signified it by his angel unto his servant John: (Revelation 1:1)
The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen. (Revelation 22:21)
I know, I know, this is the Bible for Babies version. But sometimes, it is necessary to not only return to the basics, but it becomes necessary to remind babies, bumpkins and Bible buffs that there are many different themes in different time frames and for different administrations. And there are differences of administrations, but the same Lord. (1st Corinthians 12:5) Error is promoted when we disregard the sundry times and diverse manners and operations of the GODHEAD in time past and in these last days. God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets, (Hebrews 1:1) Hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds; (Hebrews 1:2) (I suggest that you CLICK HERE to learn more about the difference between worship in the Old Testament and worship in the New Testament.
Being a child of God, a child of FAITH, is not for the shallow. The walk of FAITH is neither for the faithless nor for cowards since FAITH and STRENGTH come from our Savior the Lord Jesus Christ whose Spirit dwells within ALL His children. As king Hezekiah faced a battle against a mighty and powerful potentate in Sennacherib, the king of Assyria, the children of Israel then and the children of FAITH now also face a mirror image battle against a mighty and powerful potentate in Lucifer/Satan and his earthly kings of religion, politics, technology and wealth. We, now, today are called to battle against principalities, battle against powers, battle against rulers and to battle against spiritual wickedness in high places. For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. (Ephesians 6:12) Our battle, however, is NOT to be of a physical nature but of a spiritual nature. How did king Hezekiah battle?
Let us continue on in 2nd Kings 18-17 – 37. This event took place between the three envoys from Assyria and three envoys from king Hezekiah at Lachish. What was supposed to happen there was the transfer of the tribute money or the pledge money of three hundred talents of silver and thirty talents of gold.
Now therefore, I pray thee, give pledges to my lord the king of Assyria, and I will deliver thee two thousand horses, if thou be able on thy part to set riders upon them. (2nd Kings 18:23)
How then wilt thou turn away the face of one captain of the least of my master’s servants, and put thy trust on Egypt for chariots and for horsemen? (2nd Kings 18:24)
Am I now come up without the LORD against this place to destroy it? The LORD said to me, Go up against this land, and destroy it. (2nd Kings 18:25)
Then said Eliakim the son of Hilkiah, and Shebna, and Joah, unto Rabshakeh, Speak, I pray thee, to thy servants in the Syrian language; for we understand it: and talk not with us in the Jews’ language in the ears of the people that are on the wall. (2nd Kings 18:26)
But Rabshakeh said unto them, Hath my master sent me to thy master, and to thee, to speak these words? hath he not sent me to the men which sit on the wall, that they may eat their own dung, and drink their own piss with you? (2nd Kings 18:27)
Then Rabshakeh stood and cried with a loud voice in the Jews’ language, and spake, saying, Hear the word of the great king, the king of Assyria: (2nd Kings 18:28)
Thus saith the king, Let not Hezekiah deceive you: for he shall not be able to deliver you out of his hand: (2nd Kings 18:29)
Neither let Hezekiah make you trust in the LORD, saying, The LORD will surely deliver us, and this city shall not be delivered into the hand of the king of Assyria. (2nd Kings 18:30)
Hearken not to Hezekiah: for thus saith the king of Assyria, Make an agreement with me by a present, and come out to me, and then eat ye every man of his own vine, and every one of his fig tree, and drink ye every one the waters of his cistern: (2nd Kings 18:31)
Until I come and take you away to a land like your own land, a land of corn and wine, a land of bread and vineyards, a land of oil olive and of honey, that ye may live, and not die: and hearken not unto Hezekiah, when he persuadeth you, saying, The LORD will deliver us. (2nd Kings 18:32)
Hath any of the gods of the nations delivered at all his land out of the hand of the king of Assyria? (2nd Kings 18:33)
Where are the gods of Hamath, and of Arpad? where are the gods of Sepharvaim, Hena, and Ivah? have they delivered Samaria out of mine hand? (2nd Kings 18:34)
Who are they among all the gods of the countries, that have delivered their country out of mine hand, that the LORD should deliver Jerusalem out of mine hand? (2nd Kings 18:35)
But the people held their peace, and answered him not a word: for the king’s commandment was, saying, Answer him not. (2nd Kings 18:36)
Then came Eliakim the son of Hilkiah, which was over the household, and Shebna the scribe, and Joah the son of Asaph the recorder, to Hezekiah with their clothes rent, and told him the words of Rabshakeh. (2nd Kings 18:37)
Scripture reveals that Hezekiah NEVER paid tribute to Sennacherib. There was much talk, and even the meeting between the envoys of Sennacherib and the ambassadors of Hezekiah, but we never read of the transfer of tribute money . . . Make an agreement with me by a present. All that gold and all that silver was never transferred from Hezekiah’s envoy’s to Sennacherib’s envoys. How did king Hezekiah battle?
After these things, and the establishment thereof, Sennacherib king of Assyria came, and entered into Judah, and encamped against the fenced cities, and thought to win them for himself. (2nd Chronicles 32:1)
And when Hezekiah saw that Sennacherib was come, and that he was purposed to fight against Jerusalem, (2nd Chronicles 32:2)
He took counsel with his princes and his mighty men to stop the waters of the fountains which were without the city: and they did help him (2nd Chronicles 32:3).
So there was gathered much people together, who stopped all the fountains, and the brook that ran through the midst of the land, saying, Why should the kings of Assyria come, and find much water? (2nd Chronicles 32:4)
Also he strengthened himself, and built up all the wall that was broken, and raised it up to the towers, and another wall without, and repaired Millo in the city of David, and made darts and shields in abundance. (2nd Chronicles 32:5)
And he set captains of war over the people, and gathered them together to him in the street of the gate of the city, and spake comfortably to them, saying, (2nd Chronicles 32:6)
Be strong and courageous, be not afraid nor dismayed for the king of Assyria, nor for all the multitude that is with him: for there be more with us than with him: (2nd Chronicles 32:7)
With him is an arm of flesh; but with us is the LORD our God to help us, and to fight our battles. And the people rested themselves upon the words of Hezekiah king of Judah. (2nd Chronicles 32:8)
This war policy of stopping the waters of the fountains is based on a scorched earth strategy. Why should the kings of Assyria come, and find much water? Never allow the enemy to use what sustains life, or in other words, never allow the enemy to gain strength by using the source of your strength. The first thing that king Hezekiah did even BEFORE the battle was to gather like minded princes and his mighty men together to stop the waters of the fountains which were without the city. Physically they stopped the waters of the fountains that were outside of the city. Stop the enemy from having access to water. Water is a life necessity for both man and beast. Keep the enemy from what sustains them. He took counsel with his princes and his mighty men to stop the waters of the fountains which were without the city: and they did help him. (2nd Chronicles 32:3) So there was gathered much people together, who stopped all the fountains, and the brook that ran through the midst of the land, saying, Why should the kings of Assyria come, and find much water? (2nd Chronicles 32:4)
How does this physical action translate to spiritual issues against the enemies of God in their battle against the righteous? What sustains the righteous cannot sustain the unrighteous. What gives life to the faithful cannot give life to the unfaithful. So, therefore, what is the righteous and the faithful to do? A great part of the spiritual battle is discernment. Discernment is a spiritual gift of insight produced by the knowledge of the holy and from the understanding of Scripture.
● Is there iniquity in my tongue? cannot my taste discern perverse things? (Job 6:30)
● And they shall teach my people [the difference] between the holy and profane, and cause them to discern between the unclean and the clean. (Ezekiel 44:23)
● Then shall ye return, and discern between the righteous and the wicked, between him that serveth God and him that serveth him not. (Malachi 3:18)
The first thing that must be stopped in any spiritual battle is to STOP the enemy from gaining ground by STOPPING the enemy from his source of strength. How is this accomplished? The enemy gets his strength from seizing what gives the believer and the faithful spiritual strength. The enemy seizes the Living Word of God (Christ) and removes the truth of Christ from the people in teaching, preaching another Christ, another means to salvation, another redeemer, another form of power in that the Lord Jesus Christ is NOT God, and that the Lord Jesus Christ was never born of a virgin, or that the Lord Jesus never rose in resurrection power. The enemy seizes the Written word of God and removes it from the pews, replaces it with socially accepted opinion writings. Any person who claims to be a ‘Christian’ and attempts to remove CHRIST from Christianity, or to change CHRIST cannot possibly be a Christian. I write of lying politicians. The most devious enemy of Christianity is the one who claims to be of Christ and for Christ any by Christ. Heresy is more easily accepted when promoted by a person of religious authority. Any person who claims that there is a NEWER and BETTER and TRUER and SIMPLER and EASIER to read and to understand book other than the King James Bible AND then informs you that you will become, by reading this newer, better, truer, simpler and easier translation (which is NOT a translation but it is an opinion piece) a more spiritual person is a LIAR and a deceiver. Why do you think that the Spirit of God compared the battle weapon of a sword to the word of God, the Bible, Scripture?
● And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God: (Ephesians 6:17)
● For the word of God [is] quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and [is] a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. (Hebrews 4:12)
Do you think that all the translations just happened by accident, or that all the translations were written by men, committees, and organizations because they really wanted readers to become more spiritual? Did you question when the King James Bible was removed from the pews and another bible took its place? Do you question why it is that the King James Bible is attacked more than any other Bible? Do you question when your preacher, or ‘spiritual’ leader makes comments that brings doubt to the word of God? Is it not strange when the Bible is called inerrant and then it is followed with ‘this word doesn’t really mean,’ or ‘this word should be.’ It is either totally inerrant or its not. Where are your minds? Where are your discerning minds? The enemy of God is IN the tent. The enemy of Christ is IN the land. Your enemy already drank up the clean waters in the land and has left the land with polluted, corrupt and dirty streams. The enemy MUST not be allowed to seize strength from the SOURCE of the strength of the Christian whether it is from the LIVING water or the WRITTEN WATER. With each new translation, or with each new corrupt and dirty stream, comes less spiritual understanding.
Then king Hezekiah strengthened himself, and built up all the wall that was broken, and raised it up to the towers, and another wall without. Also he strengthened himself, and built up all the wall that was broken, and raised it up to the towers, and another wall without, and repaired Millo in the city of David, and made darts and shields in abundance. (2nd Chronicles 32:5)
The enemies of the faithful must not gain more spiritual territories. After the source of our strength is removed from the clutches of our enemies, then we MUST STRENGTH ourselves. How is this accomplished? We must build up THE WALL that was broke. Every person of faith has a WALL that when broken will allow the enemy to usurp strength from our inner spiritual being. Do you have a broken wall? Is it worry and anxiety, is it fear, is it the beginning of doubt, is it hidden sins of the mind, is it pride or vanity, is it dreams of gain, or is it physical trials of pain and sickness? Build up that broken wall through prayer asking God to strength your inner person. Your damaged and broken wall must first be strengthened and raised it up to the towers. With our inner broken wall strengthened we then must look upward to our High Tower: GOD. Our GOD is not only our High Tower but from His breasts flows the milk of His love feeding our yearning souls with the sincere milk of the word of God.
● The LORD [is] my rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer; my God, my strength, in whom I will trust; my buckler, and the horn of my salvation, [and] my high tower. (Psalm 18:2)
● My goodness, and my fortress; my high tower, and my deliverer; my shield, and [he] in whom I trust; who subdueth my people under me. (Psalm 144:2)
● The name of the LORD [is] a strong tower: the righteous runneth into it, and is safe. (Proverbs 18:10)
● I [am] a wall, and my breasts like towers: then was I in his eyes as one that found favour. (Song 8:10)
Our spiritual battle against the enemies of God requires another wall without. Isn’t one wall of defense enough against many attacks? Know your enemy. Do not aid the enemy of God. One wall is never enough. The enemies of God continuously train to breach spiritual walls. The world is an enemy . . . WALL NUMBER 1. The flesh is an enemy . . . WALL NUMBER 2. The devil is an enemy. WALL NUMBER 3. Each enemy can gain access into our spiritual being. It is not only the flesh, but the soul is also a target of great value. King Hezekiah also made darts and shields in abundance. Those of faith must be strong both offensively and defensively. There is a time to verbally fight and there is a time to be silent. There are many different ministrations of the spiritual battle. That wall without . . . another wall without . . . is the WALL of glory and strength surrounding the glory and strength of the wall within. Christ is our WALL without, the WALL of glory and power that surrounds every child of God.
● My beloved is like a roe or a young hart: behold, he standeth behind our wall, he looketh forth at the windows, shewing himself through the lattice. (Song of Songs 2:9)
● For I, saith the LORD, will be unto her a wall of fire round about, and will be the glory in the midst of her. (Zechariah 2:5)
● In that day shall this song be sung in the land of Judah; We have a strong city; salvation will God appoint for walls and bulwarks. (Isaiah 26:1)
Long BEFORE king Hezekiah removed the source of water and built walls and made darts and shields in abundance in preparation for the war against Sennacherib what did he do? Let us follow the story as documented in 2nd Chronicles 29.
Hezekiah began to reign when he was five and twenty years old, and he reigned nine and twenty years in Jerusalem. And his mother’s name was Abijah, the daughter of Zechariah. (2nd Chronicles 29:1)
And he did that which was right in the sight of the LORD, according to all that David his father had done. (2nd Chronicles 29:2)
He in the first year of his reign, in the first month, opened the doors of the house of the LORD, and repaired them. (2nd Chronicles 29:3)
And he brought in the priests and the Levites, and gathered them together into the east street, (2nd Chronicles 29:4)
And said unto them, Hear me, ye Levites, sanctify now yourselves, and sanctify the house of the LORD God of your fathers, and carry forth the filthiness out of the holy place. (2nd Chronicles 29:5)
One cannot help but LOVE how the Holy Spirit of God writes with a pen with a dual nib. (For those who do not know what a nib is, it is the point of a quill pen.) Why a dual nib? There is NO such thing as a dual or double nib, but the Spirit of God writes using both the SEEN and the UNSEEN nib. Why did the Spirit of God want the reader to know the exact location of where king Hezekiah gathered the priests and the Levites? He gathered them together into the east street. If you have been reading these articles then you should know that EVERY word, EVERY number, and EVERY location have a specific purpose. Why did king Hezekiah gather them INTO the east street and not the west street or Main Street?
The Law of First Mention comes into play with the word east. And the LORD God planted a garden eastward in Eden; and there he put the man whom he had formed. (Genesis 2:8) God placed man close to Himself. Then in Genesis 3:24 we are informed that Cherubims were placed at the east of the garden of Eden AND also a flaming sword which turned every way to keep the way of the tree of life. At the east of the garden of Eden was a GATE, an entrance into the garden which led to the tree of life. So he drove out the man; and he placed at the east of the garden of Eden Cherubims, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to keep the way of the tree of life.
The Cherubims and the flaming sword kept man away from the way to the tree of life. The question isn’t ‘What was the tree of life?’ The question is, ‘Who is the tree of life.’ Since Adam brought sin and death into the world, Adam and all of his descendants were no longer able to have full access to eternal life, and since Christ is the resurrection, He ONLY has the power of LIFE.
● These words spake Jesus, and lifted up his eyes to heaven, and said, Father, the hour is come; glorify thy Son, that thy Son also may glorify thee: (John 17:1)
As thou hast given him power over all flesh, that he should give eternal life to as many as thou hast given him. (John 17:2)
And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent. (John 17:3)
● Blessed are they that do his commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the city. (Revelation 22:14)
Christ is the Door, He is the Way, He is the Gate, and He is the Tree of Life. The street in Jerusalem called The East Street led straight to the Temple GATE. Every word in Scripture has a specific and precise purpose. Therefore, king Hezekiah brought the PRIESTS and the LEVITES into the east street so that they faced eastward to the GATE, to the entrance to the Temple, and to the access of God’s way to eternal life THROUGH His tree of life: the Lord Jesus Christ.
● Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me. (John 14:6)
● Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live: (John 11:25)
And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die. Believest thou this? (John 11:26)
Later in time when the enemies of God had camped on the border of Judah, king Hezekiah gathered the captains of war and the people together in the street of the gate of the city, the east street, at the East Gate of the city to encourage them in the battle that was preparing to run over them.
And he set captains of war over the people, and gathered them together to him in the street of the gate of the city, and spake comfortably to them, saying, (2nd Chronicles 32:6)
Be strong and courageous, be not afraid nor dismayed for the king of Assyria, nor for all the multitude that is with him: for there be more with us than with him: (2nd Chronicles 32:7)
With him is an arm of flesh; but with us is the LORD our God to help us, and to fight our battles. And the people rested themselves upon the words of Hezekiah king of Judah. (2nd Chronicles 32:8)
Here we are reading about a battle that happened approximately in 701 B.C. Our study is documented in three areas in Scripture: 2 Kings 18–19, 2 Chronicles 32, and Isaiah 36–37, and because it is documented THREE times that should impress you about how God the Holy Spirit desires that you understand that Sennacherib, Hezekiah and the battle at the siege of Jerusalem was NO SMALL HAPPENING! Some will get caught up in the time frame, the age, the millenniums past, BUT what is the crux of the battle between Sennacherib and Hezekiah. The core of this battle is NOT about Sennacherib and Hezekiah it is about GOD and the king of Assyria. Yes, it is played out on our planet, and it involved men, and horses and chariots and spears and blood and tears, BUT this was a battle first fought out in another realm, the heavenly realm. Yes, this earthly battle was to seize Jerusalem and to make that city the city of the king of Assyria. This battle spiritually symbolized ALL battles of the past, ALL battles of the future that were deliberately formed to bring GOD down, and to push Lucifer/Satan up into the seat of king over the earth, and king on the throne in Jerusalem. This GREAT battle during the era of 701 B.C. physically happened and it was SUPERNATURALLY victorious. It is the perfect time for the people of the earth today to remember since we are in a similar position as those in the age of Hezekiah. Although this is history of Israel/Judah, this history also connects to the Gentile. Here is another example of the Spirit’s pen with a dual nib. We, Christians and the unrepentant earth dweller, are totally surrounded by Satan. Most Christians realize the terrible situation that surrounds us although most all unrepentant earth dwellers can neither see nor understand the dreadful state that we are engulfed with from religious, political and powers of wealth and technology. The king of Assyria comes in many colorful flavors where each citizen of the earth can eat from any dirty trough, trench or channel that is desired because nothing is sinful, nothing is denied, nothing is bad and nothing is wrong to believe or to act upon where murder is praised, and treachery and corruption are commended.
Although our current study is based on Sennacherib, he is NOT the only Assyrian king who represents the last Assyrian king to be known as The Beast, the man of sin. Again, the battle is spiritual, it is God’s battle played out on the field of mankind simply because Lucifer/Satan wants mankind to be destroyed. You may ask, Why doesn’t God stop man’s destruction now? For those who ask that question, I ask, Where is your free will to stop mankind’s destruction? Could it be that it is because man has a will outside of the will of God that man does not want to place his ‘free will’ under the will of God. Man WANTS to be led by evil men. Man WANTS to place their ‘free will’ under the will of evil and depraved leaders. The last voting or ballot counting experience of Nov. 3, 2026 in the U.S.A. should reveal that mankind craves depraved liars as leaders, and ruthless reprobates as rulers. The END is not yet, but very soon there will be a GREAT spiritual divide. But for now, let us gain courage in victory, for GOD was victorious over Sennacherib, the king of Assyria. We should learn to battle as Hezekiah battled. Chapter 19 reveals five voices: The Holy Spirit of God – the Author, Hezekiah, the prophet Isaiah, Sennacherib, and the voice of the Lord God of Israel, the Creator of heaven and earth, and the living God. (I have color coded the following: the purple are the words of the Holy Spirit of God, the Author, the blue is the voice of Hezekiah, the green is the voice of Isaiah, the black is the voice of the king of Assyria and the red is the voice of the LORD God.)
And Hezekiah received the letter of the hand of the messengers, and read it: and Hezekiah went up into the house of the LORD, and spread it before the LORD. (2nd Kings 19:14)
And Hezekiah prayed before the LORD, and said, O LORD God of Israel, which dwellest between the cherubims, thou art the God, even thou alone, of all the kingdoms of the earth; thou hast made heaven and earth. (2nd Kings 19:15)
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. (2nd Kings 19:16)
Of a truth, LORD, the kings of Assyria have destroyed the nations and their lands, (2nd Kings 19:17)
And have cast their gods into the fire: for they were no gods, but the work of men’s hands, wood and stone: therefore they have destroyed them. (2nd Kings 19:18)
Now therefore, O LORD our God, I beseech thee, save thou us out of his hand, that all the kingdoms of the earth may know that thou art the LORD God, even thou only. (2nd Kings 19:19)
➤ Then Isaiah the son of Amoz sent to Hezekiah, saying, Thus saith the LORD God of Israel, That which thou hast prayed to me against Sennacherib king of Assyria I have heard. (2nd Kings 19:20)
➤ This is the word that the LORD hath spoken concerning him; The virgin the daughter of Zion hath despised thee, and laughed thee to scorn; the daughter of Jerusalem hath shaken her head at thee. (2nd Kings 19:21)
Whom hast thou reproached and blasphemed? and against whom hast thou exalted thy voice, and lifted up thine eyes on high? even against the Holy One of Israel. (2nd Kings 19:22)
By thy messengers thou hast reproached the Lord, and hast said, With the multitude of my chariots I am come up to the height of the mountains, to the sides of Lebanon, and will cut down the tall cedar trees thereof, and the choice fir trees thereof: and I will enter into the lodgings of his borders, and into the forest of his Carmel. (2nd Kings 19:23)
I have digged and drunk strange waters, and with the sole of my feet have I dried up all the rivers of besieged places. (2nd Kings 19:24)
➤ Hast thou not heard long ago how I have done it, and of ancient times that I have formed it? now have I brought it to pass, that thou shouldest be to lay waste fenced cities into ruinous heaps. (2nd Kings 19:25)
Therefore their inhabitants were of small power, they were dismayed and confounded; they were as the grass of the field, and as the green herb, as the grass on the housetops, and as corn blasted before it be grown up. (2nd Kings 19:26)
But I know thy abode, and thy going out, and thy coming in, and thy rage against me. (2nd Kings 19:27)
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. (2nd Kings 19:28)
And this shall be a sign unto thee, Ye shall eat this year such things as grow of themselves, and in the second year that which springeth of the same; and in the third year sow ye, and reap, and plant vineyards, and eat the fruits thereof. (2nd Kings 19:29)
And the remnant that is escaped of the house of Judah shall yet again take root downward, and bear fruit upward. (2nd Kings 19:30)
For out of Jerusalem shall go forth a remnant, and they that escape out of mount Zion: the zeal of the LORD of hosts shall do this. (2nd Kings 19:31)
Therefore thus saith the LORD concerning the king of Assyria, He shall not come into this city, nor shoot an arrow there, nor come before it with shield, nor cast a bank against it. (2nd Kings 19:32)
By the way that he came, by the same shall he return, and shall not come into this city, saith the LORD. (2nd Kings 19:33)
For I will defend this city, to save it, for mine own sake, and for my servant David’s sake. (2nd Kings 19:34)
And it came to pass that night, that the angel of the LORD went out, and smote in the camp of the Assyrians an hundred fourscore and five thousand: and when they arose early in the morning, behold, they were all dead corpses. (2nd Kings 19:35)
Within the vastness of God’s GREAT unknowable existence how could any person, or any earthly potentate possibly think and believe that their own existence can compare in greatness and in power to the ONE and ONLY Creator God. As Lucifer believed his own lies, so also Sennacherib believed the same great lie of Lucifer. When Lucifer was thrust out of God’s mountain of fire, he became ENRAGED. CLICK HERE for more about the rage of Lucifer.
Rage is uncontrollable anger that produces senseless violence of madness. Many times, I have written that man should understand the depth of the madness of Satan. Since he lives in madness, he has passed the same madness on to the peoples of the world. CLICK HERE for more.
Our GREAT GOD is very familiar with the RAGE of man, and the birth of RAGE and the growth of RAGE. In spite of Sennacherib’s uncontrollable RAGE against the GOD of ISRAEL, who was the GREAT KING of Israel, Sennacherib was only a little man, a powerless force of nothingness, he controlled nothing. God was completely in control of Sennacherib’s movements. But I know thy abode, and thy going out, and thy coming in, and thy rage against me. (2nd Kings 19:27) 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. (2nd Kings 19:28)
This section titled THE TRUE and ONLY GREAT KING VICTORIOUS Historically and Prophetically will end with the ONE and ONLY great King, the King of Kings and Lord of Lords, the Lamb, the Faithful and the True with many crowns of KINGSHIP who is the Lord Jesus Christ.
There is yet much more to learn about king Hezekiah and the river Gihon, and only if God wills shall we continue on. May this study richly bless you in the things UNSEEN and SEEN in the things of the holy.
© Copyright 2026, Mary Haigh
Posted on November 13, 2026 @ 4:11 PM (EST)
This article may be used, but not for gain. Freely ye have received, freely give.
All Scripture references are from the King James Bible. (KJV)