A Journey Through The Old Testament - Elmer Towns

God answered the prayer of Isaiah by distracting Rabshakeh from his attack on Israel.
The Assyrian general heard a rumor that his own city was being attacked in his absence and
immediately took his troops to defend his city (v. 7). This removed a portion of the invading
army and the constant public claims that God was incapable of defending Jerusalem, but the
Assyrian army still threatened the security of Jerusalem. Sennacherib came through the Promised
Land, returning from victorious battles in Egypt. He sent a letter to Hezekiah assuring him the
city of Jerusalem would soon fall to the Assyrians (w. 8-13).
On receiving the letter, Hezekiah spread it out before the Lord and prayed. He reminded
the Lord of Judah’s consistent commitment to Him during his reign and asked God to defend His
people. God answered by first sending an encouraging message from Isaiah, assuring the king his
prayer had been heard and would be answered. Then, later that night, the angel of the Lord
passed through the Assyrian camp, killing 185, 000 soldiers by means of a plague. When
Sennacherib realized he had lost much of his army, he chose not to attack Jerusalem but rather to
return in shame to Nineveh (w. 1438).
God continued to prosper Hezekiah during his reign. He was viewed with admiration and respect by
other nations and received many gifts from other kings. Some of these gifts were given to him particularly;
others were given to the temple in Jerusalem. Among the civic improvements he made during his reign was
the building of an underground conduit to bring water into the city of Jerusalem. This tunnel and pool is still a
popular attraction among tourists in Jerusalem today.
MANASSEH
(2 Kings 21:1-18; 2 Chron. 33:120)
(697-642 B.C.)
Fifteen years after Hezekiah had recovered from what was supposed to have been a fatal
illness, the godly king of Judah did die and another assumed is throne. Manasseh, the heir to his
father’s throne, was only twelve years old when he became king of Judah. He had been born
during those years God had given Hezekiah an extension of his life. Among the kings of Judah,
Manasseh holds two distinctions. First, his fifty-five year reign was the longest of any of Judah’s
kings. Second, Manasseh was unquestionably the wickedest man to sit on the throne of David.
Manasseh did not share the deep personal trust in God that was so evident in the life and
reign of his father. Rather, he led Judah to follow after the false gods of other lands. Not only did
he restore the idol worship his father had destroyed, he introduced new gods and pagan religious
practices to the people. He raised up images and built altars in the temple, practiced several
forms of occult divination, and even offered his own son as a human sacrifice. “So Manasseh
seduced Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem to do more evil than the nations whom the Lord
had destroyed before the children of Israel” (2 Chron. 33:9).
God did not allow Manasseh to lead Israel into idolatry without warning him and the
people of the consequences of such a course of action. Repeatedly, the Lord sent “His servants
the prophets” with warnings to the wicked king and his nation, but they ignored the messages.
“Moreover Manasseh shed very much innocent blood, till he had filled Jerusalem from one end
to another, besides his sin with which he made Judah sin, in doing evil in the sight of the Lord”
(2 Kings 21:16).
Among the prophets Manasseh is thought to have killed during his reign was Isaiah.
Tradition claims Isaiah was accused of treason because his speeches were against Jerusalem and
the temple. The Mishnah describes it as martyrdom. According to a Jewish tradition, the men of
Manasseh found the prophet hiding in a hollow tree. The king then told his men to cut down the