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Texts -- 2 Chronicles 32:1-21 (NET)

Context
Sennacherib Invades Judah
32:1 After these faithful deeds were accomplished , King Sennacherib of Assyria invaded Judah . He besieged the fortified cities , intending to seize them. 32:2 When Hezekiah saw that Sennacherib had invaded and intended to attack Jerusalem , 32:3 he consulted with his advisers and military officers about stopping up the springs outside the city , and they supported him. 32:4 A large number of people gathered together and stopped up all the springs and the stream that flowed through the district . They reasoned , “Why should the kings of Assyria come and find plenty of water ?” 32:5 Hezekiah energetically rebuilt every broken wall . He erected towers and an outer wall , and fortified the terrace of the City of David . He made many weapons and shields . 32:6 He appointed military officers over the army and assembled them in the square at the city gate . He encouraged them, saying , 32:7 “Be strong and brave ! Don’t be afraid and don’t panic because of the king of Assyria and this huge army that is with him! We have with us one who is stronger than those who are with him. 32:8 He has with him mere human strength , but the Lord our God is with us to help us and fight our battles !” The army was encouraged by the words of King Hezekiah of Judah . 32:9 Afterward King Sennacherib of Assyria , while attacking Lachish with all his military might, sent his messengers to Jerusalem . The message was for King Hezekiah of Judah and all the people of Judah who were in Jerusalem . It read: 32:10 “This is what King Sennacherib of Assyria says : ‘Why are you so confident that you remain in Jerusalem while it is under siege ? 32:11 Hezekiah says, “The Lord our God will rescue us from the power of the king of Assyria .” But he is misleading you and you will die of hunger and thirst ! 32:12 Hezekiah is the one who eliminated the Lord’s high places and altars and then told Judah and Jerusalem , “At one altar you must worship and offer sacrifices .” 32:13 Are you not aware of what I and my predecessors have done to all the nations of the surrounding lands ? Have the gods of the surrounding lands actually been able to rescue their lands from my power ? 32:14 Who among all the gods of these nations whom my predecessors annihilated was able to rescue his people from my power ? 32:15 Now don’t let Hezekiah deceive you or mislead you like this . Don’t believe him, for no god of any nation or kingdom has been able to rescue his people from my power or the power of my predecessors . So how can your gods rescue you from my power ?’” 32:16 Sennacherib’s servants further insulted the Lord God and his servant Hezekiah . 32:17 He wrote letters mocking the Lord God of Israel and insulting him with these words : “The gods of the surrounding nations could not rescue their people from my power . Neither can Hezekiah’s god rescue his people from my power .” 32:18 They called out loudly in the Judahite dialect to the people of Jerusalem who were on the wall , trying to scare and terrify them so they could seize the city . 32:19 They talked about the God of Jerusalem as if he were one of the man-made gods of the nations of the earth . 32:20 King Hezekiah and the prophet Isaiah son of Amoz prayed about this and cried out to heaven . 32:21 The Lord sent a messenger and he wiped out all the soldiers , princes , and officers in the army of the king of Assyria . So Sennacherib returned home humiliated . When he entered the temple of his god , some of his own sons sons struck him down with the sword .

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Expository Notes on the Bible (Constable)

  • The Book of Samuel covers the period of Israel's history bracketed by Samuel's conception and the end of David's reign. David turned the kingdom over to Solomon in 971 B.C.3David reigned for 40 and one-half years (2 Sam. 2:11...
  • Chronicles covers a broader period of history than any other Old Testament book. It begins with Adam and ends with Anani who lived eight generations after King Jehoiachin (1 Chron. 3:24). If we allow 25 years for each generat...
  • Even though 1 and 2 Chronicles give one continuous story the emphasis in 2 Chronicles is different from that in 1 Chronicles. In 1 Chronicles the emphasis is the importance of the temple in national life. However in 2 Chronic...
  • (Continued from notes on 1 Chronicles)III. The reign of Solomon chs. 1-9A. Solomon's wisdom and prosperity ch. 1B. The building of the temple 2:1-5:11. Preparations for building the temple ch. 22. The temple proper 3:1-93. Th...
  • In a few details this account differs from the one in 2 Kings 18-20 and Isaiah 36-37. It was after Hezekiah's acts of faithfulness that God tested his trust (v. 1). Many of Judah's other good kings had followed God faithfully...
  • The texts of the individual psalms do not usually indicate who wrote them.1However some of the titles of the individual psalms do contain information about the writers.2This is the only really reliable information we have as ...
  • Chapters 36-39 conclude the section of the book dealing with the issue of trust by giving historical proof that Yahweh will protect those who trust in Him. In these chapters, King Hezekiah represents the people of Judah.344Th...
  • 36:1 The fourteenth year of Hezekiah was 701 B.C.350On an Assyrian record, Sennacherib claimed to have taken 46 cities of Judah during this campaign (cf. 2 Chron. 32:1).351"He went from the north along the coast defeating (am...
  • 4:12 The overthrow of Jerusalem had surprised the leaders and people of other nations. Invaders had forced their way into it in the past (cf. 1 Kings 14:25-28; 2 Kings 14:13-14; 2 Chron. 21:16-17), but the citizens had rebuil...
  • Emphasis now shifts from Assyria to Judah.1:12 Yahweh declared that even though the Assyrians were powerful and numerous, He would cut them off and they would pass off the stage of history. This must have been hard for many I...
  • 9:20 These three severe judgments (fire, smoke, and brimstone, vv. 17-18) will not move the remaining unbelievers as a whole to repent (cf. Exod. 7:13, 23; 8:15, 19, 32; 9:7, 12, 35; 10:20; 11:10)."In all cases in the apocaly...

Expositions Of Holy Scripture (Maclaren)

  • After these things, and the establishment thereof, Sennacherib, king of Assyria, came.'--2 Chron. 32:1.The Revised Version gives a much more accurate and significant rendering of a part of these words. It reads: After these t...
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