Useful Bible Studies > 2 Kings Commentary > chapter 19
If Egypt’s army might attack, the king of Assyria did not dare to remain in the west of Judah with his army. However, he could not attack Jerusalem unless he first gained control over Lachish and Libnah. Jerusalem had such strong defences that it would take two or three years to gain control over it. If Assyria’s king did not first gain control over those cities in the west, Egypt’s army could attack his army too easily.
Assyria’s king needed to take his army back to a safer place. Still, he remained a proud man. He did not want Hezekiah to think that he (Hezekiah) had succeeded against Assyria’s army. So, the king of Assyria wrote a letter to frighten Hezekiah. He told Hezekiah that he and his army were only leaving Judah for a very short time. Soon, they would return to destroy Jerusalem.
In particular, Assyria’s king did not want Hezekiah to think that the true God had defeated Assyria. For that reason, the king of Assyria wrote especially bold words against God in this, his final message to Hezekiah.
Assyria’s king knew that Hezekiah was depending on God. So, he told Hezekiah that God speaks lies. God would say that he would not hand over Jerusalem to Assyria’s king. In the opinion of Assyria’s king, that would be a lie, because the real God is no different from any false god. That was what the king of Assyria insisted.
The kings who ruled Assyria before him, had defeated many nations with their false gods. They ruined those nations completely, and they destroyed the images of their false gods. They killed or put in prison the kings of those nations. So, in the opinion of Assyria’s king, Hezekiah should expect the same things to happen to him, his nation, and his God.
Next part: Hezekiah's prayer against Assyria's king (2 Kings 19:14-19)
Please use the links at the top of the page to find our other articles in this series. You can download all our articles if you go to the download page for our free 1000+ page course book.
© 2025, Keith Simons.