Why should the kings of Assyria come, and find much water? 2 Chronicles 32:4 Stopping the fountains Arthur Ritchie. Nothing was more thought of in ancient times in order to add to the greatness of a city than an abundant water supply. It was one of the greatest glories of old Rome that it had never-failing aqueducts, and the same thing was true of Jerusalem in still earlier times. In all the hard sieges the city endured there never was any failure of the water supply. The Jews had chiefly to thank Hezekiah for this. He was both most brave and wise — this old-time Judean king. He turned his attention first of all to the water supply of the country north of Jerusalem, by the route along which the invading hosts must come. There was the upper watercourse of Gihon, not far from the holy city. The springs were abundant there and their fresh waters united to form a brook which ran strongly down the valley. Hezekiah's engineers saw what was to be done, at once to cripple the enemy and greatly to benefit the Jews. The springs should be drawn from their natural outlet to pour their waters into a capacious subterranean aqueduct built strongly and leading the current into vast reservoirs in Jerusalem cut in the rock far below the foundations of the temple, between the walls of Jerusalem proper and the city of David. So it is said by the inspired chronicler that Hezekiah stopped the fountains, that is, he covered them up after diverting the water, so that the Assyrians might not find them, and he brought the stream by aqueduct straight down to the west side of the city of David. For why should the kings of Assyria come and find much water? I. We are justified in thinking OF OURSELVES IN OUR CHARACTER AS THE SERVANTS OF GOD IN THE CHRISTIAN LIFE, AS TYPIFIED BY THE PEOPLE OF GOD IN OLDEN TIME, THE JEWS; AND THE KING OF ASSYRIA FOR US IS THE EVIL ONE HIMSELF WITH ALL HIS HATEFUL HOSTS. He has ever desired to avail himself of the springs of our human life, to sustain and aid him in his assaults upon our souls. The springs of human life are many and various. 1. There are our intellectual faculties, the mind with all its marvellous power of imagination and memory, the intelligence which reasons out things, and by sheer force of resistless logic discerns the true from the false. 2. There is the will, that strange forceful energy which drives our powers and faculties in this way or in that, compelling them to work its bidding, a will so often, alas! set against the Divine will and purpose which called us into being. 3. There are our affections, the emotional side of our nature, working sometimes quite independently of reason, persuading us to this or that course of action because the present inclination outweighs every other consideration. II. THESE SPRINGS OF OUR HUMAN LIFE ARE FULL OF VIGOUR AND SEND FORTH A FULL STREAM OF EFFECTIVE ENERGY. It is no wonder that the enemy of souls desires to appropriate them to his own purpose. 1. He would use the mind to set reason against faith, to be wise in its own conceits, to refuse to accept anything that is not made plain to it. 2. He would use our wills to perform his own purposes against the Most High. He says to us, "You are free agents, to do as you please. You shall not surely die if you eat of the forbidden fruit." 3. Once more there is the emotional side of our nature, our affections. We feel that these have relation especially to the pleasures of life, the happiness of love and of sell-indulgence in natural desires of many sorts. The devil would use these for his own purposes, as of old the kings of Assyria would eagerly have used the springs of Gihon. Cunningly does he urge it on the human soul, "Why has God given you passions and natural desires of all sorts if you are not meant to gratify them?" III. Now that wise king Hezekiah in the olden time, when he perceived that the abundant springs of Gihon were likely to help his enemy to the grievous discomfiture of the people of God, SET TO WORK AT ONCE TO COVER THE SPRINGS, HAVING DIVERTED THE CHANNEL THAT THE WATER MIGHT FLOW BY SUBTERRANEAN CONDUITS INTO THE HOLY CITY. The first great thought he had was to hinder the Assyrian from availing himself of those precious springs. And that may well read to us a lesson of the exceeding profitableness of covering our minds and wills and affections from the evil one. 1. Our intellectual powers should be covered that the enemy of souls may not use them to our discomfiture. 2. The will is likewise one of those springs of life which Satan especially seeks to find and to avail himself of. We cover it from him by subjecting ourselves to a higher will through the principle of obedience. 3. Then there are those choice springs of life which we call the affections. We must set restraint upon our natural desires in all sorts of ways, by remembering that our nature has been perverted by original sin; its lusts and appetites are in rebellion against their lawful master the will, and they are sure to lead us into mischief unless strongly repressed by loyalty to the teachings of God. IV. Hezekiah was not content to stop the fountains of Gihon that his enemy might not find abundant water in that dry and dusty country; with a master stroke of policy he built a great subterranean conduit, AND CARRIED ALL THE FRESH SWEET WATER FROM ITS SOURCE IN THE VALLEY TO ENORMOUS ROCK-HEWN RESERVOIRS WHICH HE CONSTRUCTED IN JERUSALEM. One who did not know what the king had done might come to that place where once the waters of Gihon had flowed so freely, and lament the dry wady and filled-up wells. And so the world often looks upon the lives of earnest Christians, thinking how much they are losing through their scruples; the intellectual powers restrained within the dull limits of orthodoxy, the will subjected to what seems like a servile obedience to old-time traditions, the affections not allowed any strong vigorous license to brighten the sadness of this present world. It is only those who do not comprehend the real truth who can talk so however. 1. The mental powers which here would not be prostituted to taking interest in those subjects of human research which blasphemed God's truth, and ridiculed the faith of the ages; subjects which under the specious disguise of realism delved unblushingly into vice and shameful immoralities, and declared it was the part of true wisdom to know the evil as well as the good — these shall find splendid exercise and joyous development ever more and more in the eternal truths of the universe, in the mysteries of the Divine Being, in the secrets of Divine love which are inexhaustible, and which overflow with supremest delights. 2. The will which here refused to assert its independence of the known laws of the Creator, shall in the holy city find full range for all its craving after freedom. 3. The affections which here resisted the drawings of sensuality and of worldliness, being willing to surrender the loves of this present world for the love of God, shall in the city which is on high find the rapture of heart joy, the bliss of satisfied affection surging back upon the soul from the very being of God Himself. ( Arthur Ritchie. ) With him is an arm of flesh; but with us is the Lord our God. 2 Chronicles 32:7, 8 Hezekiah and the Assyrians Monday Club Sermons. The story of Hezekiah and his preservation is one of the most vivid and thrilling. Rightly interpreted, it echoes the words of our text to all time. The king of Assyria is a representative character. The powers of this world are joined against the children of God, and they are variously commanded. Some Sennacherib rises from hour to hour and threatens, often with formidable front and fell purpose. But God's people may always say, "There be more with us than with him," etc. ( Monday Club Sermons. ) We look too much to men Oliver Cromwell was but a gentleman farmer, but the exigency of his time was such that he took up arms on behalf of his country. He was a man of prayer, and went to the battlefield from the prayer meeting. After one great victory, he writes to Parliament, "God brought them into our hands God is not enough owned. We look too much to men and to visible helps. This hinders our success." The arm of flesh T. B. Baker. I. THE CHARACTER OF OUR ENEMIES DESCRIBED BY AN ARM OF FLESH. II. THE SOURCE, OF OUR SUPPORT, AND CAUSE OF VICTORY. "But with us is the Lord our God, to help us, and to fight our battles." This denotes — 1. Possession. 2. Presence. 3. Support. 4. Victory. 5. The Father is with us. 6. The Son is with us. 7. And the Holy Ghost is with us. III. THE RESULT OF GOD'S MANIFESTED PRESENCE. "And the people rested themselves upon the words of Hezekiah, king of Judah." ( T. B. Baker. ) Conditions of victory J. M. Sherwood. I. At the NEGATIVE SIDE. 1. Numbers are no surety. Gideon's army had to be reduced before it could conquer the Amalekites. 2. Worldly wisdom, policy, shrewdness, enterprise, will not ensure success. 3. Unlimited creature resources of every kind are insufficient. 4. The most seemingly favourable outward circumstances, as to time, place, auspices, expectations, combinations, oftentimes but deceive into carnal security and insure the worst kind of defeat. II. At the POSITIVE SIDE — the assured, unfailing conditions of victory in the sense of Righteousness and Godliness. 1. We must have God on our side. There must be no doubt on this point. 2. We must be careful to be on God's side. 3. This brings out the point which the Apostle John emphasises so strongly ( 1 John 5:4, 5 ). ( J. M. Sherwood. ) And the people rested themselves upon the words of Hezekiah, king of Judah Words to rest on I. THE KIND OF MAN WHOSE WORDS ARE LIKELY TO BE RESTED ON. He must be — 1. A great man. 2. A good man. 3. A courageous man. 4. A hearty man. 5. In such a case God will add His sanction by granting success and he will be a prosperous man. 6. A man who has respect for God's word. II. In the second place let us TURN THE OTHER WAY AND LOOK AT THE KIND OF PEOPLE WHO REST ON SUCH A MAN'S WORD. 1. Children do so with their parents. 2. Illiterate people who cannot read. 3. Unconverted persons who have no spiritual discernment. 4. Persons who naturally run in a groove. Having attended at such a place of worship, and having been brought up in the midst of a certain set of godly people, they scarcely deviate one jot from the teaching that they have received. Almost by the necessity of their nature they rest on what they hear. 5. Persons who profess always to do their own thinking. If you will trace them home, they are in nine cases out of ten the veriest slaves that ever lived. They are the bondservants of some heretic or other who has put it into their heads that in following him they become free men. III. THE KIND OF WORDS YOU MAY REST ON. You may safely rest on — 1. Words which urge you to faith in God. 2. Words which are the words of God Himself. 3. Words which are sealed by the Lord Jesus. 4. Words which have been blessed to other men. 5. Words which breathe a sense of rest into the soul. ( C. H. Spurgeon . ) Prayed and cried to heaven. 2 Chronicles 32:20 True prayer Alex. Maclaren, D.D. True prayer is not pestering the Throne with passionate entreaties that a certain method of deliverance which seems best to us, should be forthwith effected; but is a calm utterance of need, and a patient, submissive expectance of fitting help, of which we dare not define the manner or the time. They are wisest, most trustful and reverent, who do not seek to impose their notions or wills on the clearer wisdom and deeper love to which they betake themselves, but are satisfied with leaving all to His arbitrament. True prayer is the bending of our own wills to the Divine, not the urging of ours on it. When Hezekiah received the insolent letter from the invader, he took it and "spread it before the Lord," asking God to read it, leaving all else to Him to determine: as if he had said, "Behold, Lord, this boastful page. I bring it to Thee, and now it is Thine affair more than mine." The burden which we roll on God lies lightly on our own shoulders; and if we do roll it thither, we need not trouble ourselves with the question of how He will deal with it. ( Alex. Maclaren, D.D. ) "Fire upwards" Miss Trotter. A story of the wars of the first Napoleon has often come back to me. He was trying in a winter campaign to cut off the march of the enemy across a frozen lake. The gunners were told to fire on the ice and break it, but the cannon balls glanced harmlessly along the surface. With one of the sudden flashes of genius he gave the word, "Fire upwards!" and the balls crashed down full weight, shattering the whole sheet into fragments, and the day was won. You can fire upwards in this battle even if you are shut out from fighting it face to face. You can do your share within the four walls of your room. ( Miss Trotter. ) In those days Hezekiah was sick to the death. 2 Chronicles 32:24, 25 Hezekiah's sickness and recovery James Wolfendale. I. THE GREAT CONTRASTS IN THE EVENTS OF LIFE. II. THE SUDDENNESS WITH WHICH THESE EVENTS HAPPEN. III. THE DISTRESS WITH WHICH THEY ARE OFTEN ATTENDED. IV. THE WONDERFUL DELIVERANCE WHICH GOD CAN GRANT. ( James Wolfendale. ) But Hezekiah rendered not again according to the benefit done unto him A ruler's sin H. Blunt. I. AN UNDOUBTED TRUTH; THAT SINS OF THE RULERS AND THE PEOPLE RULED, ARE SO INTIMATELY CONNECTED, THAT ONE INVARIABLY INVOLVES THE OTHER ( Zechariah 10:3 ). II. THE INTELLIGIBLE MOTIVE. God gives us in the present order of things a large share in one another's punishments, that He may make us take a deeper interest in one another's duties. All are deeply interested in all. The government of every Christian country is intimately connected with the transgressions of the people; and the governed are closely involved in the sins of the government; so that each has an important duty to perform to the other. The government, apart from all political considerations, to curb and repress the immoralities and the wickedness of the people; and the people, firmly though mildly, to warn and caution and speak plainly to the government, lest by partaking silently and voluntarily of other men's sins, they become partakers in other men's pains. ( H. Blunt. ) Hezekiah deserted J. C. Gray. I. THE PERSON HERE SPOKEN OF. 1. His personal character. 2. His peculiar necessities. II. THE DISPENSATION HERE DESCRIBED. 1. The suspension of grace. 2. The withdrawment of comfort. III. THE PURPOSE OF THAT DISPENSATION. 1. To discover sin, with a view to its cure. 2. To conduct to greater happiness and honour. IV. THE ISSUE OF THE TRIAL — he sinned. 1. Wherein was the sin? He neglected an opportunity of proclaiming the true God, and indulged in a vain self-seeking. 2. How small in comparison with the sins of others — of ourselves. 3. How soon repented of. 4. How severely visited. ( J. C. Gray. ) Ingratitude to God an heinous but general iniquity S. Davies, M.A. Among the many vices that are at once universally decried and universally practised in the world, there is none more base or more common than ingratitude; ingratitude is the sin of individuals, of families, of Churches, of kingdoms. None of us can flatter ourselves that we are in little or no danger of this sin when even so good and great a man as Hezekiah did not escape the infection. In order to make you the more sensible of your ingratitude towards your Divine Benefactor, I shall — I. GIVE A BRIEF VIEW OF HIS MERCIES TOWARDS YOU. II. EXPOSE THE AGGRAVATED BASENESS OF INGRATITUDE UNDER THE RECEPTION OF SO MANY MERCIES. ( S. Davies, M.A. ) A rendering for mercies I. THAT THOSE THAT HAVE RECEIVED MERCIES MUST BE CAREFUL TO GIVE IN ANSWERABLE RETURNS OR RENDER ACCORDING TO WHAT THEY HAVE RECEIVED. 1. There must be a rendering. There is a reflection upon God from all His works. Hell-fire casts back the reflection of the lustre of His justice and the power of His wrath. The world is round, and the motion of all things circular; they begin in God, and end in God ( Romans 11:36 ).(1) We must be effected with the mercies.(2) Solemnly praise God for them.(3) Renew the remembrance of them ( Psalm 111:4 ).(4) Improve them to some good use. We must improve them to — (a) Greater trust in God. (b) Greater love to Him ( Psalm 116:1, 2 ). (c) Fearing Him more, lest we should offend so good a God ( Hosea 3:5 ). (d) More complete obedience. 2. This rendering must be proportionate.(1) Real mercies require real acknowledgments.(2) The acknowledgment must answer the proportion of the mercy. (a) If the acknowledgment be in word, it must be taken notice of in a more than ordinary manner ( Psalm 150:2 ). (b) If in deed, some notable thing must be done for God ( Esther 6:3 ; 2 Samuel 7:2 ). 3. This reproves —(1) Those that instead of rendering according, render the quite contrary; who the more God hath blessed them, grow unthankful, proud, sensual, dead formal in prayer, less in communion with God, more licentious in their actions. They are like tops never well but when they are scourged; abuse their mercies to the contempt of God, as the Israelites took the earrings of gold and silver, which were the spoils of the Egyptians, and made a golden calf of them. As the sea turneth all the sweet dews and influences of heaven into salt water, so they turn all their mercies into occasions of sin.(2) Those that do not render ought at all. There was a law in ( Ezekiel 46:9 ). He that went in at one gate was not to go out at the same gate, but an opposite; some say, lest he should turn his back upon the mercy-seat.(3) Those that render something but not suitable. (a) We must be first reconciled to God before we can do anything acceptable. (b) Awaken the heart to the work. (c) Search out the works of God ( Psalm 111:2 ). (d) Consider what the world gaineth by every discovery of God. (e) Desire God to give you the heart to render ( Psalm 51:15 ). (f) Reason and argue from your experiences to your duty ( Ezra 9:13 ). II. THAT IT IS A SIGN WE ARE UNTHANKFUL UNDER MERCIES WHEN THE HEART IS LIFTED UP UPON THE ENJOYMENT OF THEM. 1. Because God can never be rightly praised or exalted while the heart is proud ( Isaiah 2:17 ). God is exalted in the creature's self-abasement. 2. A proud heart cannot be rightly conversant about blessings. It doth not give them their — (1) Due rise, as David ( 2 Samuel 7:18 ). (2) Due value ( Psalm 78:20 ; Esther 5:13 ; Malachi 1:2 ). (3) Due ends. 3. How shall we know when the heart is lifted up? It is mainly shown —(1) In security. Men live as if they were above changes. God is neglected, or but coldly owned, as if we now had no more need of Him ( Lamentations 1:9 ).(2) In insolency. This is manifested — (a) By contention. When we are delivered, then we revive old quarrels; as timber warpeth in the sunshine. (b) By insultation over enemies. (c) By oppression and violence. 4. Use. (1) Take heed of secret thoughts of merit ( Deuteronomy 9:4 ). (2) Take heed of ascribing to your wisdom, power, and conduct (Hebrews 1:16; Deuteronomy 8:14, 17 ). 3. Take heed of the pride of self-dependence.Conclusion: 1. A special recognition and recalling of sins is not unseasonable ( Ezekiel 36:30, 31 ). 2. Meditate upon the changes of providence ( Psalm 39:5 ). Belisarius, a famous general to-day, and within a little while forced to beg for a halfpenny. Things and persons are as the spokes of a wheel, sometimes in the dirt and sometimes out. ( S. Manton, D.D. ) Notwithstanding, Hezekiah humbled himself for the pride of his heart. 2 Chronicles 32:26 Hezekiah's sin and humiliation Skeletons of Sermon. I. SHOW THE NATURE AND GROUNDS OF HEZEKIAH'S HUMILIATION. His sin does not seem great in human estimation; but it was exceeding sinful in God's sight. 1. He sought his own glory. He wished to show what a great man he was, in order that his alliance might be courted and his power feared. 2. He sought his own glory in preference to God's honour. He had now a happy opportunity of magnifying the God of Israel. He might have (1) recounted God's past dealings with His people; (2) commended Jehovah as an answerer of prayer. 3. He sought his own glory before the good of his friends. He should have recompensed the great kindness of the ambassadors by instructing them in the knowledge of the God of Israel. II. ENQUIRE WHETHER WE ALSO HAVE NOT SIMILAR GROUNDS FOR HUMILIATION. 1. Pride is deeply rooted in the heart of fallen man. We are vain (1) of any natural endowments of body or mind. (2) Of any acquired distinctions. (3) Even the gifts of grace become occasions of pride. 2. We indulge this disposition to the neglect of God's honour and of the eternal welfare of those around us. (1) We have many opportunities of speaking for God. (2) But how rarely is our intercourse with each other made subservient to His glory. III. INFERENCES. 1. What dreadful evils arise from small beginnings. Hezekiah at first probably intended only to show civility to his friends. 2. How great is the efficacy of fervent prayer and intercession. God deferred the evil threatened till the next generation. ( Skeletons of Sermon. ) God left him to try him, that he might know all that was in his heart. 2 Chronicles 32:31 Hezekiah's fall considered and applied E. Cooper. I. HEZEKIAH'S SIN. 1. Its nature.(1) All sin originates in the heart. Hezekiah's sin did not, like that of David, break forth into gross and external violations of the Divine law, but it betrayed itself in the indulgence of secret pride, in the gratification of a vainglorious spirit, in an idolatrous exaltation of the creature above the Creator. His heart was lifted up.(2) The particular nature of his sin will be more clearly discerned, if we advert to the occasion of his fall ( 2 Kings 20:13 ). (a) He was actuated by a wrong spirit. (b) His action had a wrong tendency.It was calculated to erase every serious impression which a recital of the wonder done in the land might have made on these heathen strangers. It was also calculated to confirm them in the conviction that the kings of Judah, notwithstanding their superior pretensions to the knowledge and favour of the true God, in reality neither possessed nor avowed any better source of protection and prosperity than the kings of other nations enjoyed. 2. Its aggravations.(1) His whole life had been an uninterrupted succession of great distinguished mercies.(2) He had lately experienced a most remarkable proof of the Divine interposition in his favour. II. THE PARTICULAR VIEW OF THIS TRANSACTION EXHIBITED IN THE TEXT. 1. It unfolds the cause of Hezekiah's fall. "God left him." What a striking illustration is thus incidentally presented to us of man's depravity and weakness. No sooner was the barrier removed than the stream rushed with impetuosity into the channel of sin. To guard us against presumption the Scriptures present to us the examples of some of the most eminent servants of God, not all falling whenever they were left to themselves, but falling in those very points where we should conceive them to have been most firmly established; Abraham, Moses, etc. What need for us to pray, "Take not Thy Holy Spirit from us." 2. It discloses to us the secret reasons of the Divine conduct in thus permitting him for a season to be overcome. God left him "to try him," that Hezekiah himself might know all that was in his heart.(1) Nothing but a deep sense of our natural depravity can effectually destroy our vain self-confidence, and can excite us to a diligent use of those means which are essential to our growth in grace, and to our perseverance in well-doing. We shall (a) Regard our heart with a holy jealousy. (b) Studiously examine the secret motives of our conduct. (c) Sedulously avoid those places and practices which are most likely to prove a snare to us. (d) Be instant in prayer for a supply of the grace that is in Christ. (e) Fear to resist and grieve the Holy Spirit of God.(2) In exact proportion to our views of the depravity of our heart will be the degree of our self-condemnation and humiliation before God. Hence, how highly should we value self-knowledge, and how anxiously should we labour to acquire it. Address — 1. Those who studiously close their eyes and shut their ears against every discovery of the sin which dwelleth in them. 2. Those who having in vain endeavoured to stifle their convictions of sin, are filled with consternation and terror at the extent of their depravity. ( E. Cooper. ) Hezekiah's trespass with the ambassadors from Babylon R. Bickersteth, M.A. 1. Nations professing God's holy name must beware of sinful compromises with those by whom His truth is corrupted. The chief fault for which judgment befel Hezekiah was listening to the proposal to become the ally of a heathen prince. 2. It is an imperative duty which rests upon Christians to do somewhat for the spiritual welfare of foreigners who visit them. 3. The necessity for recognising every moment our need of Divine help. ( R. Bickersteth, M.A. ) Hezekiah's sin Newman Hall, LL.B. A fragment of the history of the Assyrian writer Berosus tells us that at this time Babylon had shaken off for a season the supremacy of Assyria, and, under Berodach Baladan, was strengthening herself as a rival sovereignty. The fame of the discomfiture of Sennacherib before Jerusalem had reached his ears, and it might well seem to him that an alliance with Hezekiah would be useful against a common danger. The recovery of Hezekiah and the miraculous sign furnished a suitable occasion for an embassy which was sent ostensibly to congratulate the king and "inquire of the wonder done in the land." There was no sin in Hezekiah showing the embassy what was costly, useful, beautiful, but in the vanity which gave these things chief prominence. I. HERE IS A LESSON FOR US AS A NATION. Let us also show strangers whatever we have of interest; but let us not keep in the background what should be chief of all, and let them go away thinking that what we most value is wealth, power, pleasure. It is the duty of the Christian pulpit at such a time to ask the people, "What have you shown? What is in your heart?" Has God the chief place? Is righteousness more to us than riches, and principle than policy? Are we more desirous to live in the fear of God than to keep in awe other nations? If we pompously display our treasures, may we not some day be ignominiously despoiled? If in any form we embrace Babylon, may not our nation some day be crushed by Babylon? Whatever our princes and statesmen may do, let the people, who, more and more, are the nation and responsible for its character and conduct, let the people cherish and make manifest the conviction that worth is more than wealth, and piety than power, and righteousness than rank, and purity than pleasure, and God than gold. "In the fear of the Lord is strong confidence"; "The throne is established by righteousness"; "Righteousness exalteth a nation"; "Seek, first, the Kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added unto you." II. THE LESSON IS APPLICABLE TO THE CHURCH as well as to the Nation. What is our idea of the chief excellence and stability of any Church? Is it the support of Law, the patronage of princes, a grand hierarchy, rich endowments? Is it noble buildings, imposing ritual, inspiring music? Is it learning and eloquence in the pulpit, with congregations numerous, or cultured, or wealthy? These features have their value more or less, and these can be shown, displayed, gloried in. But the chief treasures of the Church cannot thus be exhibited. Alas for the Church that prides itself chiefly in the outward and visible. Do we desire for our church such things chiefly and regard them most worth seeking, prizing, extolling? Or are we cultivating, praying for, and valuing far more — Penitence, Faith, Love, Zeal, Holiness, Usefulness? What is in our heart? III. WE MAY APPLY THE LESSON TO INDIVIDUALS. What do we ourselves regard as our chief treasure? This may be developed by circumstances. It has been said that after the massacre at Culloden certain flowers bloomed where blood had been copiously shed, unknown before. The seeds were dormant, till favourable conditions brought them forth. Hezekiah was a good man, but in his heart were latent weaknesses, which it was well for him to know before it was too late. Better that they should be revealed and cured than be hidden, unchecked, and with worse and more lasting fruits. Crises in the life of nations and individuals have developed unsuspected capacities, both for good and evil. For both in the case of David and Peter. For the commission of the worst of crimes in the case of Judas. If occasion occurred of displaying our most valued possession, what would we select? We may reasonably show what is showable — house, garden, books, pictures, children; if gratefully to the Giver, and not in vanity. But are these our chief treasures? If angels came to us from their far country, what would they see we prize most? Were some such unexpected visitor to enter our abode to interview us, would he find family religion — the gathered household at the domestic altar, private prayer, personal godliness? Is the maturity of Christian character sought more than the prosperity of business and the increase of wealth? Do we regard the favour of God more than the praise of men; communion with heaven more than intimacy with the great ones of the earth; a good conscience more than stores of silver and gold? Temptation may come to try what is in our heart. By some departure from strict integrity business may be promoted and wealth increased. If we yield it is evident that we regard money as more worth having than a good conscience. If some gratification is indulged at the cost of sobriety and virtue, we show that pleasure is more to us than purity. On what do our thoughts chiefly dwell? "As a man thinketh in his heart so is he." On what do we chiefly set our affections and direct our energies? "Where a man's treasure is there will his heart be also." Hezekiah's wealth went to the Babylon he courted. If we choose the world we perish with it. Jerusalem in ruins is an emblem of a soul without God. ( Newman Hall, LL.B. ) Danger of prosperity J. Spencer. The naturalists observe well, that the north wind is more healthful, though the south be more pleasant; the south with his warmth raiseth vapours, which breed putrefaction, and cause diseases; the north with his cold drieth those vapours up, purging the blood, and quickening the spirits. Thus adversity is unpleasant, but it keepeth us watchful against sin, and careful to do our duties; whereas prosperity doth flatteringly lull us asleep. It never goes worse with men spiritually than when they find themselves corporeally best at ease; Hezekiah was better upon his sick-bed than when he was showing off his treasures to the ambassadors of the King of Babylon. ( J. Spencer. ) The danger of being left to oneself D. L. Moody. One day I went out with my little girl. I said to her, "Emma, you had better let me take hold of your hand." She said, "No; I had rather keep my hands in my muff," and she walked off very proudly. Presently she came to some ice, and down she went, and was hurt a little. I said, "You had better let me hold on to your hand." She said, "No; but let me hold on to your finger." Presently she came to some more ice; she could not hold on to my finger, and down she went, and hurt herself still more. Then she said, "Papa, I wish you would hold on to my hand." So I took her wrist in my hand, and she couldn't fall. ( D. L. Moody. ) Now the rest of the acts of Hezekiah, and his goodness. 2 Chronicles 32:32, 33 Hezekiah's goodness J. Spencer Hill. I. THE GENUINE GOODNESS SHALL NOT WANT APPROPRIATE RECORD AND REMEMBRANCE. 1. God, the inspirer of goodness in the hearts of men, will not forget it. 2. The beneficiaries of goodness will not be unmindful of their benefactors. 3. Sympathetic imitators will mirror forth their goodness, from whom they have derived its idea and impulse. Christian philanthropists like John Howard and Elizabeth Fry are living over again in their practical admirers and copyists. II. THE SEASONS SELECTED BY GOD FOR SUCH RECOGNITION ARE OFTEN SOBER AND SORROWFUL. 1. Public calamity. Sennacherib's invasion. 2. Personal affliction. Hezekiah's sickness. 3. Death. Hezekiah's burial. "Blessed are the dead." ( J. Spencer Hill. ) Goodness of heart The wind is unseen, but it cools the brow of the fevered one, sweetens the summer atmosphere, and ripples the surface of the lake into silver spangles of beauty. So goodness of heart, though invisible to the material eye, makes it

Benson Commentary 2 Chronicles 32:1 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. 2 Chronicles 32:1 . After these things, and the establishment thereof — An emphatical preface, signifying, that notwithstanding all his zeal for God, God saw fit to exercise him with a sore trial. And God ordered it at this time, that he might have an opportunity of showing himself strong on the behalf of his returning people. It is possible we may be in the way of our duty, and yet meet with trouble and danger. God permits this, for the trial of our confidence in him, and the manifestation of his care over us. It was well ordered, however, by the Divine Providence, that this trouble did not come upon Hezekiah and his kingdom till the reformation was finished and established; for, if it had come sooner, it might, and probably would, have put a stop to that good work. Sennacherib, king of Assyria, came, and entered into Judah — He was now, as Nebuchadnezzar was afterward, the terror, and scourge, and great oppressor of that part of the world, who aimed to raise a boundless monarchy for himself, upon the ruins of all his neighbours. His predecessor, Shalmaneser, had lately made himself master of the kingdom of Israel, and carried the ten tribes captive; and Sennacherib thought, in like manner, to win Judah to himself. Thus pride and ambition put men upon grasping at universal dominion. 2 Chronicles 32:2 And when Hezekiah saw that Sennacherib was come, and that he was purposed to fight against Jerusalem, 2 Chronicles 32:3 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. 2 Chronicles 32:3-4 . To stop the waters of the fountains — To fill them up with earth and other things cast into them, that it might not be known there was any water there, and withal to draw the waters by secret passages and pipes to Jerusalem . And the brook that ran through the midst of the land — The brook Kidron, which being but small, except when much rain fell, they easily filled up the spring of it. Saying, Why should the kings of Assyria find much water — Which was scarce in that country, and the want of it might greatly distress the Assyrian army. 2 Chronicles 32:4 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? 2 Chronicles 32:5 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. 2 Chronicles 32:5 . He built up all the wall that was broken — Which Joash, king of Israel, had broken down, and which had not since been repaired. And raised it up to the towers — Either as high as the towers, or tops of the wall; or from the gate of Ephraim as far as the two towers, which were at the corner-gate, having been raised there for the defence of it. So that the wall, that had been broken down, was all rebuilt. See 2 Chronicles 25:23 . And repaired Millo — Of which see note on 1 Kings 9:15 . 2 Chronicles 32:6 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, 2 Chronicles 32:7 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: 2 Chronicles 32:8 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. 2 Chronicles 32:9 After this did Sennacherib king of Assyria send his servants to Jerusalem, (but he himself laid siege against Lachish, and all his power with him,) unto Hezekiah king of Judah, and unto all Judah that were at Jerusalem, saying, 2 Chronicles 32:9-10 . After this did Sennacherib send his servants to Jerusalem — Of this and the following verses, see notes on 2 Kings 18:17 , &c., and 2 Chronicles 19:10 , &c. Whereon do ye trust, that ye abide in the siege, &c. — Or rather, why do ye stay till Jerusalem is besieged; or, resolve to stand a siege? For the city was not yet besieged. 2 Chronicles 32:10 Thus saith Sennacherib king of Assyria, Whereon do ye trust, that ye abide in the siege in Jerusalem? 2 Chronicles 32:11 Doth not Hezekiah persuade you to give over yourselves to die by famine and by thirst, saying, The LORD our God shall deliver us out of the hand of the king of Assyria? 2 Chronicles 32:11-12 . To give over yourselves to die by famine, &c. — It appears by this he did not intend to storm the city, but to keep them pent up till they were starved. Hath not Hezekiah taken away his high places, &c. — He speaks thus through his ignorance of the divine law, which enjoined them to worship only at Jerusalem. 2 Chronicles 32:12 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? 2 Chronicles 32:13 Know ye not what I and my fathers have done unto all the people of other lands? were the gods of the nations of those lands any ways able to deliver their lands out of mine hand? 2 Chronicles 32:14 Who was there among all the gods of those nations that my fathers utterly destroyed, that could deliver his people out of mine hand, that your God should be able to deliver you out of mine hand? 2 Chronicles 32:15 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? 2 Chronicles 32:15 . How much less shall your God deliver you — Seeing I have destroyed so many nations, and some of them stronger than you, in spite of all their gods, it is not probable that your God should defend you? inasmuch as none of the others could defend their worshippers. 2 Chronicles 32:16 And his servants spake yet more against the LORD God, and against his servant Hezekiah. 2 Chronicles 32:17 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. 2 Chronicles 32:18 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. 2 Chronicles 32:18-19 . That they might take the city — By a surrender of it into their hands. They spake against the God of Jerusalem, as against the gods of the people — They set the God of Israel, the Creator of heaven and earth, upon the same footing with the idols of the heathen. 2 Chronicles 32:19 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. 2 Chronicles 32:20 And for this cause Hezekiah the king, and the prophet Isaiah the son of Amoz, prayed and cried to heaven. 2 Chronicles 32:21 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. 2 Chronicles 32:21 . The Lord sent an angel — The Jewish comment, termed the Targum, says, The Word of the Lord (the Eternal Word) sent Gabriel to do this execution, and that it was done with lightning, and in the passover night, the same night wherein the firstborn in Egypt were slain. Which cut off the mighty men, and the leaders and captains — With a vast number of common soldiers, 2 Kings 19:35 . They that came forth of his own bowels slew him — See 2 Kings 19:37 . And with him the Assyrian empire began to fall, and never recovered its former strength. For the next year after Sennacherib’s death, the Medes revolted, being encouraged to it, no doubt, by this great loss at Jerusalem. And by their example, several other nations fell off from the Assyrians and asserted their independence. 2 Chronicles 32:22 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. 2 Chronicles 32:22-23 . Thus the Lord saved Hezekiah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem — By this work of wonder he was glorified as the Protector and Saviour of his people; from the hand of Sennacherib, and of all others — For such a deliverance as this was an earnest of great mercy in store for them; and guided them on every side — That is, defended them from all their enemies; just as a shepherd doth his sheep, which he leads into places of safety. And many brought gifts unto the Lord — When they were convinced he had such wonderful power, having seen it exerted for the defence of his people, strangers were thereby induced to supplicate his favour, and those who had been enemies to him and his people, to deprecate his wrath; and both brought gifts to his temple, in token of their desire of the former, or fear of the latter. And presents to Hezekiah — In token of the esteem and honour in which they held him, and to obtain an interest in him. So that he was magnified in the sight of all nations — Or, of all those nations; namely, the nations which were not very remote from Canaan, and heard of these things. 2 Chronicles 32:23 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. 2 Chronicles 32:24 In those days Hezekiah was sick to the death, and prayed unto the LORD: and he spake unto him, and he gave him a sign. 2 Chronicles 32:25 But Hezekiah rendered not again according to the benefit done unto him; for his heart was lifted up: therefore there was wrath upon him, and upon Judah and Jerusalem. 2 Chronicles 32:25 . Hezekiah rendered not again according to the benefit done him — Was not humble, grateful, and devoted to God, as in reason and duty he ought to have been, considering God’s marvellous interpositions in his favour, and the great and extraordinary deliverances he had wrought out for him and his kingdom; but God’s favour to him became the food and fuel of his pride. For his heart was lifted up — On account of that prodigious victory over the Assyrians, his miraculous restoration from sickness, and the honour since done him by an embassy from the great king of Babylon. All which, probably, raised in him too great an opinion of himself, as if these things were done for his piety and virtues. And instead of walking humbly with God, and giving the glory of all to him, he took, in part at least, the honour to himself, and vainly showed his riches and precious treasures to the Babylonish ambassadors, 2 Kings 20:12 , &c. Therefore there was wrath upon him — For pride is a sin which God particularly hates, especially in his own people; and they that exalt themselves must expect to be abased, and put under humbling providences. Thus wrath came on David for his pride in numbering the people. And upon Judah and Jerusalem — Who were justly punished for Hezekiah’s sin, because they imitated him in it, as they confess in the next verse. 2 Chronicles 32:26 Notwithstanding Hezekiah humbled himself for the pride of his heart, both he and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, so that the wrath of the LORD came not upon them in the days of Hezekiah. 2 Chronicles 32:26 . Hezekiah humbled himself for the pride of his heart — For the sins of the heart, though they should never show themselves in any external way, either by word or deed, must be acknowledged to God and repented of, if we would find mercy; and self-humiliation is a necessary branch of repentance. Both he and the inhabitants of Jerusalem — Who humbled themselves with Hezekiah, either because they were conscious they had been guilty of the same sin, or, at least, feared they might share in the punishment. So that the wrath of the Lord came not upon them in the days of Hezekiah — In his days there were peace and truth; so much doth repentance avail to put by, or at least to put off, the tokens of God’s anger. 2 Chronicles 32:27 And Hezekiah had exceeding much riches and honour: and he made himself treasuries for silver, and for gold, and for precious stones, and for spices, and for shields, and for all manner of pleasant jewels; 2 Chronicles 32:28 Storehouses also for the increase of corn, and wine, and oil; and stalls for all manner of beasts, and cotes for flocks. 2 Chronicles 32:29 Moreover he provided him cities, and possessions of flocks and herds in abundance: for God had given him substance very much. 2 Chronicles 32:29 . He provided him cities — He repaired, fortified, and beautified them, for the honour and safety of his kingdom. And possessions of flocks and herds in abundance — The riches of those countries consisted chiefly in abundance of cattle. 2 Chronicles 32:30 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. 2 Chronicles 32:30 . Hezekiah stopped the upper watercourse of Gihon — A rivulet near Jerusalem, consisting of two streams, the upper, which was brought into one pool, called the upper pool, ( Isaiah 7:3 ,) and the lower, which was brought into another, called the lower pool, Isaiah 22:9 . The former he diverted, and brought by pipes into Jerusalem, which was a work of great art and labour. And brought it straight down to the city of David — Whereas before it fetched a compass, and therefore might have been beneficial to the Assyrian host. 2 Chronicles 32:31 Howbeit in the business of the ambassadors of the princes of Babylon, who sent unto him to inquire of the wonder that was done in the land, God left him, to try him, that he might know all that was in his heart. 2 Chronicles 32:31 . To inquire of the wonder done in the land — Either the destruction of the Assyrians, or the going back of the sun. These miracles were wrought to alarm and awaken a stupid, careless world, and to turn them from dumb and lame idols to the living God. God left him — To himself, and suffered Satan to try him, that he might know he had infirmities and sins as well as virtues. O, what need have great men, and good men, and useful men, to study their own follies and infirmities, and to beg earnestly of God, that he would hide pride from them! 2 Chronicles 32:32 Now the rest of the acts of Hezekiah, and his goodness, behold, they are written in the vision of Isaiah the prophet, the son of Amoz, and in the book of the kings of Judah and Israel. 2 Chronicles 32:33 And Hezekiah slept with his fathers, and they buried him in the chiefest of the sepulchres of the sons of David: and all Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem did him honour at his death. And Manasseh his son reigned in his stead. 2 Chronicles 32:33 . All Judah did him honour at his death — They buried him in the chiefest of the sepulchres, made as great burning for him as for Asa; or, which is a much greater honour, made great lamentation for him, as they afterward did for Josiah. Though it is to be feared that the generality of the people did not comply with those of their kings, who were pious, in their endeavours to reform the nation; yet they could not but praise those endeavours, and the memory of those kings was blessed among them. It is a debt we owe to those who have been eminently useful in their day, to do them honour at their death, when they are out of the reach of flattery, and we have seen the end of their conversation. Benson Commentary on the Old and New Testaments Text Courtesy of BibleSupport.com . Used by Permission.

Expositor's Bible Commentary 2 Chronicles 32:1 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. HEZEKIAH: THE RELIGIOUS VALUE OF MUSIC 2 Chronicles 29:1-36 ; 2 Chronicles 30:1-27 ; 2 Chronicles 31:1-21 ; 2 Chronicles 32:1-33 THE bent of the chronicler’s mind is well illustrated by the proportion of space assigned to ritual by him and by the book of Kings respectively. In the latter a few lines only are devoted to ritual, and the bulk of the space is given to the invasion of Sennacherib, the embassy from Babylon, etc. , while in Chronicles ritual occupies about three times as many verses as personal and public affairs. Hezekiah, though not blameless, was all but perfect in his loyalty to Jehovah. The chronicler reproduces the customary formula for a good king: "He did that which was right in the eyes of Jehovah, according to all that David his father had done"; but his cautious judgment rejects the somewhat rhetorical statement in Kings that "after him was none like him among all the kings of Judah, nor any that were before him." Hezekiah’s policy was made clear immediately after his accession. His zeal for reformation could tolerate no delay; the first month of the first year of his reign saw him actively engaged in the good work. It was no light task that lay before him. Not only were there altars in every corner of Jerusalem and idolatrous high places in every city of Judah, but the Temple services had ceased, the lamps were put out, the sacred vessels cut in pieces, the Temple had been polluted and then closed, and the priests and Levites were scattered. Sixteen years of licensed idolatry must have fostered all that was vile in the country, have put wicked men in authority, and created numerous vested interests connected by close ties with idolatry, notably the priests of all the altars and high places. On the other hand, the reign of Ahaz had been an unbroken series of disasters; the people had repeatedly endured the horrors of invasion. His government as time went on must have become more and more unpopular, for when he died he was not buried in the sepulchers of the kings. As idolatry was a prominent feature of his policy, there would be a reaction in favor of the worship of Jehovah, and there would not be wanting true believers to tell the people that their sufferings were a consequence of idolatry. To a large party in Judah Hezekiah’s reversal of his father’s religious policy would be as welcome as Elizabeth’s declaration against Rome was to most Englishmen. Hezekiah began by opening and repairing the doors of the Temple. Its closed doors had been a symbol of the national repudiation of Jehovah; to reopen them was necessarily the first step in the reconciliation of Judah to its God, but only the first step. The doors were open as a sign that Jehovah was invited to return to His people and again to manifest His presence in the Holy of holies, so that through those open doors Israel might have access to Him by means of the priests. But the Temple was as yet no fit place for the presence of Jehovah. With its lamps extinguished, its sacred vessels destroyed, its floors and walls thick with dust and full of all filthiness, it was rather a symbol of the apostasy of Judah. Accordingly Hezekiah sought the help of the Levites. It is true that he is first said to have collected together priests and Levites, but from that point onward the priests are almost entirely ignored. Hezekiah reminded the Levites of the misdoings of Ahaz and his adherents and the wrath which they had brought upon Judah and Jerusalem; he told them it was his purpose to conciliate Jehovah by making a covenant with Him; he appealed to them as the chosen ministers of Jehovah and His temple to co-operate heartily in this good work. The Levites responded to his appeal apparently rather in acts than words. No spokesman replies to the king’s speech, but with prompt obedience they set about their work forthwith; they arose, Kohathites, sons of Merari, Gershonites, sons of Elizaphan, Asaph, Heman, and Jeduthun-the chronicler has a Homeric fondness for catalogues of high-sounding names - the leaders of all these divisions are duly mentioned. Kohath, Gershon, and Merari are well known as the three great clans of the house of Levi; and here we find the three guilds of singers-Asaph, Heman, and Jeduthun-placed on a level with the older clans. Elizaphan was apparently a division of the clan Kohath, which, like the guilds of singers, had obtained an independent status. The result is to recognize seven divisions of the tribe. The chiefs of the Levites gathered their brethren together, and having performed the necessary rites of ceremonial cleansing for themselves, went in to cleanse the Temple; that is to say, the priests went into the holy place and the Holy of holies and brought out "all the uncleanness" into the court, and the Levites carried it away to the brook Kidron: but before the building itself could be reached eight days were spent in cleansing the courts, and then the priests went into the Temple itself and spent eight days in cleansing it, in the manner described above. Then they reported-to the king that the cleansing was finished, and especially that "all the vessels which King Ahaz cast away" had been recovered and reconsecrated with due ceremony. We were told in the previous chapter that Ahaz had cut to pieces the vessels of the Temple, but these may have been other vessels. Then Hezekiah celebrated a great dedication feast; seven bullocks, seven rams, seven lambs, and seven he-goats were offered as a sin-offering for the dynasty, for the Temple, for Judah, and (by special command of the king) for all Israel, i.e. , for the northern tribes as well as for Judah and Benjamin. Apparently this sin-offering was made in silence, but afterwards the king set the Levites and priests in their places with their musical instruments, and when the burnt-offering began the song of Jehovah began with the trumpets together with the instruments of David king of Israel. And all the congregation worshipped, and the singers sang, and the trumpeters sounded, and all this continued till the burnt-offering was finished. When the people had been formally reconciled to Jehovah by this representative national sacrifice, and thus purified from the uncleanness of idolatry and consecrated afresh to their God, they were permitted and invited to make individual sacrifices, thank-offerings and burnt-offerings. Each man might enjoy for himself the renewed privilege of access to Jehovah, and obtain the assurance of pardon for his sins, and offer thanksgiving for his own special blessings. And they brought offerings in abundance: seventy bullocks, a hundred rams, and two hundred lambs for a burnt-offering; and six hundred oxen and three thousand sheep for thank-offerings. Thus were the Temple services restored and re-inaugurated; and Hezekiah and the people rejoiced because they felt that this unpremeditated outburst of enthusiasm was due to the gracious influence of the Spirit of Jehovah. The chronicler’s narrative is somewhat marred by a touch of professional jealousy. According to the ordinary ritual, { Leviticus 1:6 } the offerer flayed the burnt-offerings; but for some special reason, perhaps because of the exceptional solemnity of the occasion, this duty now devolved upon the priests. But the burnt-offerings were abundant beyond all precedent; the priests were too few for the work, and the Levites were called in to help them, "for the Levites were more upright in heart to purify themselves than the priests." Apparently even in the second Temple brethren did not always dwell together in unity. Hezekiah had now provided for the regular services of the Temple, and had given the inhabitants of Jerusalem a full opportunity of returning to Jehovah; but the people of the provinces were chiefly acquainted with the Temple through the great annual festivals. These, too, had long been in abeyance; and special steps had to be taken to secure their future observance. In order to do this, it was necessary to recall the provincials to their allegiance to Jehovah. Under ordinary circumstances the great festival of the Passover would have been observed in the first month, but at the time appointed for the paschal feast the Temple was still unclean, and the priests and Levites were occupied in its purification, But Hezekiah could not endure that the first year of his reign should be marked by the omission of this great feast. He took counsel with the princes and public assembly-nothing is said about the priests-and they decided to hold the Passover in the second month instead of the first. We gather from casual allusions in 2 Chronicles 30:6-8 that the kingdom of Samaria had already come to an end; the people had been carried into captivity, and only a remnant were left. in the land. From this point the kings of Judah act as religious heads of the whole nation and territory of Israel. Hezekiah sent invitations to all Israel from Dan to Beersheba. He made special efforts to secure a favorable response from the northern tribes, sending letters to Ephraim and Manasseh, i.e. , to the ten tribes under their leadership. He reminded them that their brethren had gone into captivity because the northern tribes had deserted the Temple; and held out to them the hope that, if they worshipped at the Temple and served Jehovah, they should themselves escape further calamity, and their brethren and children who had gone into captivity should return to their own land. "So the posts passed from city to city through the country of Ephraim and Manasseh, even unto Zebulun." Either Zebulun is used in a broad sense for all the Galilean tribes, or the phrase "from Beersheba to Dan" is merely rhetorical, for to the north, between Zebulun and Dan, lay the territories of Asher and Naphtali. It is to be noticed that the tribes beyond Jordan are nowhere referred to; they had already fallen out of the history of Israel, and were scarcely remembered in the time of the chronicler. Hezekiah’s appeal to the surviving communities of the Northern Kingdom failed; they laughed his messengers to scorn, and mocked them; but individuals responded to his invitation in such numbers that they are spoken of as "a multitude of the people, even many of Ephraim and Manasseh, Issachar and Zebulun." There were also men of Asher among the northern pilgrims. {Cf. 2 Chronicles 30:11 ; 2 Chronicles 30:18 } The pious enthusiasm of Judah stood out in vivid contrast to the stubborn impenitence of the majority of the ten tribes. By the grace of God, Judah was of one heart to observe the feast appointed by Jehovah through the king and princes, so that there was gathered in Jerusalem a very great assembly of worshippers, surpassing even the great gatherings which the chronicler had witnessed at the annual feasts. But though the Temple had been cleansed, the Holy City was not yet free from the taint of idolatry. The character of the Passover demanded that not only the Temple, but the whole city, should be pure. The paschal lamb was eaten at home, and the doorposts of the house were sprinkled with its blood. But Ahaz had set up altars at every corner of the city; no devout Israelite could tolerate the symbols of idolatrous worship close to the house in which he celebrated the solemn rites Of the Passover. Accordingly before the Passover was killed these altars were removed. Then the great feast began; but after long years of idolatry neither the people nor the priests and Levites were sufficiently familiar with the rites of the festival to be able to perform them without some difficulty and confusion. As a rule each head of a household killed his own lamb; but many of the worshippers, especially those from the north, were not ceremonially clean: and this task devolved upon the Levites. The immense concourse of worshippers and the additional work thrown upon the Temple ministry must have made extraordinary demands on their zeal and energy. {Cf. 2 Chronicles 29:34 ; 2 Chronicles 30:3 } At first apparently they hesitated, and were inclined to abstain from discharging their usual duties. A passover in a month not appointed by Moses, but decided on by the civil authorities without consulting the priesthood, might seem a doubtful and dangerous innovation. Recollecting Azariah’s successful assertion of hierarchical prerogative against Uzziah, they might be inclined to attempt a similar resistance to Hezekiah. But the pious enthusiasm of the people clearly showed that the Spirit of Jehovah inspired their somewhat irregular zeal; so that the ecclesiastical officials were shamed out of their unsympathetic attitude, and came forward to take their full share and even more than their full share in this glorious rededication of Israel to Jehovah. But a further difficulty remained: uncleanness not only disqualified from killing the paschal lambs, but from taking any part in the Passover; and a multitude of the people were unclean. Yet it would have been ungracious and even dangerous to discourage their newborn zeal by excluding them from the festival; moreover, many of them were worshippers from among the ten tribes, who had come in response to a special invitation, which most of their fellow-country-men had rejected with scorn and contempt. If they had been sent back because they had failed to cleanse themselves according to a ritual of which they were ignorant, and of which Hezekiah might have known they would be ignorant, both the king and his guests would have incurred measureless ridicule from the impious northerners. Accordingly they were allowed to take part in the Passover despite their uncleanness. But this permission could only be granted with serious apprehensions as to its consequences. The Law threatened with death any one who attended the services of the sanctuary in a state of uncleanness. { Leviticus 15:31 } Possibly there were already signs of an outbreak of pestilence; at any rate, the dread of Divine punishment for sacrilegious presumption would distress the whole assembly and mar their enjoyment of Divine fellowship. Again it is no priest or prophet, but the king, the Messiah, who comes forward as the mediator between God and man. Hezekiah prayed for them, saying, "Jehovah, in His grace and mercy, pardon every one that setteth his heart to seek Elohim Jehovah, the God of his fathers, though he be not cleansed according to the ritual of the Temple. And Jehovah hearkened to Hezekiah, and healed the people," i.e. , either healed them from actual disease or relieved them from the fear of pestilence. And so the feast went on happily and prosperously, and was prolonged by acclamation for an additional seven days. During fourteen days king and princes, priests and Levites, Jews and Israelites, rejoiced before Jehovah; thousands of bullocks and sheep smoked upon the altar; and now the priests were not backward: great numbers purified themselves to serve the popular devotion. The priests and Levites sang and made melody to Jehovah, so that the Levites earned the king’s special commendation. The great festival ended with a solemn benediction: "The priests arose and blessed the people, and their voice was heard, and their prayer came to His holy habitation, even unto heaven." The priests, and through them the people, received the assurance that their solemn and prolonged worship had met with gracious acceptance. We have already more than once had occasion to consider the chronicler’s main theme: the importance of the Temple, its ritual, and its ministers. Incidentally and perhaps unconsciously, he here suggests another lesson, which is specially significant as coming from an ardent ritualist, namely the necessary limitations of uniformity in ritual. Hezekiah’s celebration of the Passover is full of irregularities: it is held in the wrong month; it is prolonged to twice the usual period; there are amongst the worshippers multitudes of unclean persons, whose presence at these services ought to have been visited with terrible punishment. All is condoned on the ground of emergency, and the ritual laws are set aside without consulting the ecclesiastical officials. Everything serves to emphasize the lesson we touched on in connection with David’s sacrifices at the threshing-floor of Ornan the Jebusite: ritual is made for man, and not man for ritual. Complete uniformity may be insisted on in ordinary times, but can be dispensed with in any pressing emergency; necessity knows no law, not even the Torah of the Pentateuch. Moreover, in such emergencies it is not necessary to wait for the initiative or even the sanction of ecclesiastical officials; the supreme authority in the Church in all its great crises resides in the whole body of believers. No one is entitled to speak with greater authority on the limitations of ritual than a strong advocate of the sanctity of ritual like the chronicler; and we may well note, as one of the most conspicuous marks of his inspiration, the sanctified common sense shown by his frank and sympathetic record of the irregularities of Hezekiah’s passover. Doubtless emergencies had arisen even in his own experience of the great feasts of the Temple that had taught him this lesson; and it says much for the healthy tone of the Temple community in his day that he does not attempt to reconcile the practice of Hezekiah with the law of Moses by any harmonistic quibbles. The work of purification and restoration, however, was still incomplete: the Temple had been cleansed from the pollutions of idolatry, the heathen altars had been removed from Jerusalem, but the high places remained in all the cities of Judah. When the Passover was at last finished, the assembled multitude, "all Israel that were present," set out, like the English or Scotch Puritans, on a great iconoclastic expedition. Throughout the length and breadth of the Land of Promise, throughout Judah and Benjamin, Ephraim and Manasseh, they brake in pieces the sacred pillars, and hewed down the Asherim, and brake down the high places and altars; then they went home. Meanwhile Hezekiah was engaged in reorganizing the priests and Levites and arranging for the payment and distribution of the sacred dues. The king set an example of liberality by making provision for the daily, weekly, monthly, and festival offerings. The people were not slow to imitate him; they brought first-fruits and tithes in such abundance that four months were spent in piling up heaps of offerings. "Thus did Hezekiah throughout all Judah; and he wrought that which was good, and right, and faithful before Jehovah his God; and in every work that he began in the service of the Temple, and in the Law, and in the commandments, to seek his God, he did it with all his heart, and brought it to a successful issue." Then follow an account of the deliverance from Sennacherib and of Hezekiah’s recovery from sickness, a reference to his undue pride in the matter of the embassy from Babylon, and a description of the prosperity of his reign, all for the most part abridged from the book of Kings. The prophet Isaiah, however, is almost ignored. A few of the more important modifications deserve some little attention. We are told that the Assyrian invasion was "after these things and this faithfulness," in order that we may not forget that the Divine deliverance was a recompense for Hezekiah’s loyalty to Jehovah. While the book of Kings tells us that Sennacherib took all the fenced cities of Judah, the chronicler feels that even this measure of misfortune would not have been allowed to befall a king who had just reconciled Israel to Jehovah, and merely says that Sennacherib purposed to break these cities up. The chronicler has preserved an account of the measures taken by Hezekiah for the defense of his capital: how he stopped up the fountains and water-courses outside the city, so that a besieging army might not find water, and repaired and strengthened the walls, and encouraged his people to trust in Jehovah. Probably the stopping of the water supply outside the walls was connected with an operation mentioned at the close of the narrative of Hezekiah’s reign: "Hezekiah also stopped the upper spring of the waters of Gihon, and brought them straight down on the west side of the city of David." { 2 Chronicles 32:30 } Moreover, the chronicler’s statements are based upon 2 Kings 20:20 , where it is said that "Hezekiah made the pool and the conduit and brought water to the city." The chronicler was of course intimately acquainted with the topography of Jerusalem in his own days, and uses his knowledge to interpret and expand the statement in the book of Kings. He was possibly guided in part by Isaiah 22:9 ; Isaiah 22:11 , where the "gathering together the waters of the lower pool" and the "making a reservoir between the two walls for the water of the old pool" are mentioned as precautions taken in view of a probable Assyrian siege. The recent investigations of the Palestine Exploration Fund have led to the discovery of aqueducts, and stoppages, and diversions of watercourses which are said to correspond to the operations mentioned by the chronicler. If this be the case, they show a very accurate knowledge on his part of the topography of Jerusalem in his own day, and also illustrate his care to utilize all existing evidence in order to obtain a clear and accurate interpretation of the statements of his authority. The reign of Hezekiah appears a suitable opportunity to introduce a few remarks on the importance which the chronicler attaches to the music of the Temple services. Though the music is not more prominent with him than with some earlier kings, yet in the case of David, Solomon, and Jehoshaphat other subjects presented themselves for special treatment; and Hezekiah’s reign being the last in which the music of the sanctuary is specially dwelt upon, we are able here to review the various references to this subject. For the most part the chronicler tells his story of the virtuous days of the good kings to a continual accompaniment of Temple music. We hear of the playing and singing when the Ark was brought to the house of Obed-edom; when it was taken into the city of David; at the dedication of the Temple; at the battle between Abijah and Jeroboam; at Asa’s reformation; in connection with the overthrow of the Ammonites, Moabites, and Meunim in the reign of Jehoshaphat; at the coronation of Joash; at Hezekiah’s feasts; and again, though less emphatically, at Josiah’s passover. No doubt the special prominence given to the subject indicates a professional interest on the part of the author. If, however, music occupies an undue proportion of his space, and he has abridged accounts of more important matters to make room for his favorite theme, yet there is no reason to suppose that his actual statements overrate the extent to which music was used in worship or the importance attached to it. The older narratives refer to the music in the case of David and Joash, and assign psalms and songs to David and Solomon. Moreover, Judaism is by no means alone in its fondness for music, but shares this characteristic with almost all religions. We have spoken of the chronicler so far chiefly as a professional musician, but it should be clearly understood that the term must be taken in its best sense. He was by no means so absorbed in the technique of his art as to forget its sacred significance; he was not less a worshipper himself because he was the minister or agent of the common worship. His accounts of the festivals show a hearty appreciation of the entire ritual; and his references to the music do not give us the technical circumstances of its production, but rather emphasize its general effect. The chronicler’s sense of the religious value of music is largely that of a devout worshipper, who is led to set forth for the benefit of others a truth which is the fruit of his own experience. This experience is not confined to trained musicians; indeed, a scientific knowledge of the art may sometimes interfere with its devotional influence. Criticism may take the place of worship; and the hearer, instead of yielding to the sacred suggestions of hymn or anthem, may be distracted by his esthetic judgment as to the merits of the composition and the skill shown by its rendering. In the same way critical appreciation of voice, elocution, literary style, and intellectual power does not always conduce to edification from a sermon. In the truest culture, however, sensitiveness to these secondary qualities has become habitual and automatic, and blends itself imperceptibly with the religious consciousness of spiritual influence. The latter is thus helped by excellence and only slightly hindered by minor defects in the natural means. But the very absence of any great scientific knowledge of music may leave the spirit open to the spell which sacred music is intended to exercise, so that all cheerful and guileless souls may be "moved with concord of sweet sounds," and sad and weary hearts find comfort in subdued strains that breathe sympathy of which words are incapable. Music, as a mode of utterance moving within the restraints of a regular order, naturally attaches itself to ritual. As the earliest literature is poetry, the earliest liturgy is musical. Melody is the simplest and most obvious means by which the utterances of a body of worshippers can be combined into a seemly act of worship. The mere repetition of the same words by a congregation in ordinary speech is apt to he wanting in impressiveness or even in decorum; the use of tune enables a congregation to unite in worship even when many of its members are strangers to each other. Again, music may be regarded as an expansion of language: not new dialect, but a collection of symbols that can express thought, and more especially emotion, for which mere speech has no vocabulary. This new form of language naturally becomes an auxiliary of religion. Words are clumsy instruments for the expression of the heart, and are least efficient when they undertake to set forth moral and spiritual ideas. Music can transcend mere speech in touching the soul to fine issues, suggesting visions of things ineffable and unseen. Browning makes Abt Vogler say of the most enduring and supreme hopes that God has granted to men, "Tis we musicians know"; but the message of music comes home with power to many who have no skill in its art. The Expositor's Bible Text Courtesy of BibleSupport.com . Used by Permission.