THE CONQUERER IS CONQUERED
In 705 B.C. a new king named Sennacherib, (his name meant “bramble of destruction”) son of Sargon, began to occupy the throne of Assyria. This new king was immediately faced with major problems. The kingdom that he had inherited from his father was already beginning to fall apart at the seams so Sennacherib’s first duty was to build a powerful army of over 200,000 troops that could be used to put down any rebellion or civil unrest.
His kingdom stretched across what is now most of Iran, Iraq, Syria, Jordan, northern Israel, and parts of Saudi Arabia. This area included the land of the Philistines, Phoenicians, Babylonians and the Palestinians. Every one of these nations was a hot spot of rebellion in his kingdom and Sennacherib was not about to allow them to go free without a fight.
His army was victorious first at Babylon as he destroyed and sacked the city, bringing that nation back under the control of his government. Then he turned westward and attacked the nations of Philistia, Phoenicia and others who were supported in their fight against Sennacherib by the Egyptians. When the smoke cleared from these great battles, Sennacherib’s army stood as victors and these nations were firmly under the powerful grip of Sennacherib once again.
Because of his great victories, Sennacherib felt invincible. He had consulted his god, Assur, and had been assured that he would be victorious.
(According to ancient historical records, Assur was the Assyrian god. Assyria had been so named because that area had come under the influence of Asshur, the second son of Shem who was the son of Noah.)
Assyria had established its national capitol at the city that bore the name of Asshur but the capitol was later moved to Nineveh, a city that had been built by Shem many generations before.
Shem had long since passed into the pages of history. He had died when he was 600 years old and had lived around the same time as Abraham. Over the centuries, nearly all of this land where Abraham had walked and where God had established his chosen nation had fallen back into idolatry.
God had put up with Israel’s idolatry until he could no longer allow them to go on and had allowed the northern kingdom of Israel to be taken captive. The 10 tribes of Israel that occupied this northern kingdom had ceased to exist and only their capitol city, Samaria, was left intact. God’s mercy had run out and His judgment was final. The Israelites who remained were forcibly mixed with other religious and ethnic groups and became the hated Samaritans of the New Testament.
Now only the Southern Kingdom of Judah remained as the last stronghold of Israel and the last hope of God’s chosen nation for survival.
As Sennacherib had defeated city after city of those nations who opposed him, he would slaughter and torture multitudes of their inhabitants. In many stone carvings that show his victories, he is depicted with mounds of heads of his victims surrounding him. He would impale many of those he conquered upon sharp poles and allow them to hang in the streets as examples to any who would rise against him. He would lead endless streams of captives into lifelong slavery under his harsh treatment.
After defeating all of his other enemies and then defeating the Egyptian army in the battle of Eltekeh in 701 B.C., Sennacherib then turned his attention toward Judea and prepared to take Jerusalem.
The prophet Isaiah had gone to King Hezekiah and given him God’s instructions to not get involved in the uprising against Sennacherib but Hezekiah would not listen. He made a treaty with Egypt against Assyria and when Egypt was defeated that left only Hezekiah and his small army to stop the onslaught of Sennacherib’s mighty army.
City after city fell into the hands of the Assyrians until finally they had only Jerusalem left to conquer. That’s when Hezekiah decided it was time to surrender, at least temporarily, to the rule of the Assyrian king.
Here, in the words of Sennacherib, according to the written records of Assyrian history, is the description of what happened next:
"Because Hezekiah, king of Judah, would not submit to my yoke, I came up against him, and by force of arms and by the might of my power I took forty-six of his strong fenced cities; and of the smaller towns which were scattered about, I took and plundered a countless number. From these places I took and carried off 200,156 persons, old and young, male and female, together with horses and mules, asses and camels, oxen and sheep, a countless multitude; and Hezekiah himself I shut up in Jerusalem, his capital city, like a bird in a cage, building towers round the city to hem him in, and raising banks of earth against the gates, so as to prevent escape...Then upon Hezekiah there fell the fear of the power of my arms, and he sent out to me the chiefs and the elders of Jerusalem with 30 talents of gold and 800 talents of silver, and divers treasures, a rich and immense booty...All these things were brought to me at Nineveh, the seat of my government."
This same instance of Jerusalem being under siege is described in 2 Kings 8:14 and the feelings of the people of Jerusalem can be seen in Isaiah 22:1-13, "The burden of the valley of vision. What aileth thee now, that thou art wholly gone up to the housetops? Thou that art full of stirs, a tumultuous city, […] all that are found in thee are bound together, which have fled from far. Therefore said I, Look away from me; I will weep bitterly, labor not to comfort me, because of the spoiling of the daughter of my people. For it is a day of trouble, and of treading down, and of perplexity by the Lord GOD of hosts in the valley of vision, breaking down the walls, and of crying to the mountains. […] And in that day did the Lord GOD of hosts call to weeping, and to mourning, and to baldness, and to girding with sackcloth: And behold joy and gladness, slaying oxen, and killing sheep, eating flesh, and drinking wine: let us eat and drink; for to morrow we shall die."
Even though Hezekiah surrendered, he could not remain under subjection to Sennacherib for long. Hezekiah refused to pay the tribute that Sennacherib commanded and so the Assyrian army once again marched on Jerusalem.
Judah was in danger of being completely annihilated like the ten northern tribes. Only the tribes of Judah and Benjamin remained of the once proud nation of Israel and they feared that this would be their end as well.
Sennacherib surrounded the city of Jerusalem with his mighty army. There was no chance for escape, no way out, it was either defeat the Assyrians or die and the Jews were vastly outgunned.
Sennacherib’s army of chariots, archers, elephants, siege engines, rams and infantry lay all around the city like a juggernaut. They were bent upon the destruction of Jerusalem once and for all.
What was Israel and Hezekiah to do now? Was this the end for them? Was this to be their last days as a nation? It would seem that there was no hope but read with me what happens next inside the city.
Hezekiah stood before the people of Jerusalem and said:
2Ch 32:7-8, 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: 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.
Sennacherib sent envoys to try to persuade Hezekiah to surrender, but in vain. He next sent a threatening letter, which Hezekiah carried into the temple and spread before the Lord.
Here is Sennacherib’s letter to Hezekiah found in 2 Kings 19:10-13.
"Thus shall ye speak to Hezekiah king of Judah, saying, Let not thy God in whom thou trustest deceive thee, saying, Jerusalem shall not be delivered into the hand of the king of Assyria. Behold, thou hast heard what the kings of Assyria have done to all lands, by destroying them utterly: and shalt thou be delivered? Have the gods of the nations delivered them which my fathers have destroyed; as Gozan, and Haran, and Rezeph, and the children of Eden which were in Thelasar? Where is the king of Hamath, and the king of Arpad, and the king of the city of Sepharvaim, of Hena, and Ivah?"
Hezekiah finally had learned his lesson of obedience to the Lord. His faith was not in his own power, or that of his military forces, or the defenses of the city of Jerusalem. His faith was in the God of Israel and so it was to God that he brought his prayer for deliverance.
Even though God was allowing Sennacherib to come against Israel because of Israel’s sin, there was a limit to what He would allow this idolatrous king to do to his people, and most of all to the name of the Lord. God would not stand by and allow Sennacherib to blaspheme and place his god above the God of Heaven so God sent and angel into the camp of the Assyrian army that night and the angel killed over 185,000 of Sennacherib’s soldiers at the command of the Lord of Hosts.
No power can stand in God’s presence. God was stronger than Sennacherib and God fought for Israel that day. Sennacherib gathered what was left of his shattered army and fled the field of battle with his tail tucked between his legs and ran for the shelter of the walls of Nineveh.
Sennacherib survived this disaster some twenty years, but he never again renewed his attempt against Jerusalem and he was murdered by two of his own sons.
Have you seen any lessons that can be related to situations in your own life in this story? Remember, all of those things that happened to Israel were written down and given for examples for us to learn from.
How many times have we found ourselves surrounded by the forces of Satan and it seems as though there is no way out!
We cannot depend upon the arm of the flesh to defend us or to give us the victory for the power of our enemy is too strong. Satan may be a defeated foe but he still is a powerful foe, too strong for any man to overcome in his own strength.
He will come against us because we have made a covenant with God to serve him and to be a part of the Lord’s army. By default that puts us at odds with the forces of hell and we are in a spiritual war whether we like it or not or whether we believe it or not.
Hezekiah could not stop Sennacherib from coming against Judah, not matter how much he tried to ignore him, no matter how much he tried to appease him, no matter how much he tried to not allow it to happen. Sennacherib’s decision was made of his own will and Hezekiah could not stop him from making that decision.
You can’t stop the devil from coming against you. You can’t wish him away. You can’t stick your head in the sand and confess that he’s not there. He is there, like it or not.
So what do you do when he comes against you?
What do you do when he sends his evil spirits to sit on your shoulder and say the same thing to you that Sennacherib’s envoys said to Hezekiah?
What will you answer when he sends his messengers to tell you that many others have had their faith in their god and failed anyway?
What will you answer when he tells you that all of your plans will come to nothing? What will you say when he comes and says that there is no way that you will escape his wrath for he has come to kill, steal and destroy and wipe away the hope of salvation that is within you?
What will you answer when he sends the destroyer of death to your doorstep and you know there is no escaping his attack this time?
I pray that your answer will be the same as Hezekiah’s answer! Take the messages of Satan and get on your face before the God of Heaven and cry out for mercy. Stand upon the promises of God and then let go and let God do his work.
God has promised never to leave or to forsake you in the face of your enemy! He has promised to stick closer than a friend.
I like the words of Hezekiah in his speech to the people of Jerusalem, “…there be more with us than with him: […] with us is the LORD our God to help us, and to fight our battles.
Greater is He that is in you than he that is in the world. No weapon formed against you shall prosper. God has promised you the victory if you will just put your faith in him!
Satan will attack your defenses. He will circle your camp and try to find every weak spot in your armor. He will send his fiery darts at your heart. You need that Breastplate of Righteousness and the Shield of Faith. He will attack your mind and attempt to add your head to his pile of trophies but put on the Helmet of Salvation for Satan’s sword cannot penetrate the Blood of Jesus Christ and God will give you the power of a sound mind. Satan will attack your everyday life and your walk with the Lord but if your feet are covered by the gospel and you are walking in sanctification and uprightly before the Lord, he won’t find a place to destroy you there either.
If God can send an angel to destroy the Assyrian army he will do the same for you.
Way back in the Book of Leviticus God promised Israel the victory in every battle if they would only stay true to him.
Leviticus 26:3, "If ye walk in my statutes, and keep my commandments, and do them; […] Leviticus 26:4-12, "Then I will give you rain in due season, and the land shall yield her increase, and the trees of the field shall yield their fruit. And your threshing shall reach unto the vintage, and the vintage shall reach unto the sowing time: and ye shall eat your bread to the full, and dwell in your land safely. And I will give peace in the land, and ye shall lie down, and none shall make you afraid: and I will rid evil beasts out of the land, neither shall the sword go through your land. And ye shall chase your enemies, and they shall fall before you by the sword. And five of you shall chase an hundred, and an hundred of you shall put ten thousand to flight: and your enemies shall fall before you by the sword. For I will have respect unto you, and make you fruitful, and multiply you, and establish my covenant with you. And ye shall eat old store, and bring forth the old because of the new. And I will set my tabernacle among you: and my soul shall not abhor you. And I will walk among you, and will be your God, and ye shall be my people."
Today we must have Hezekiah’s faith to combat the evils of our society and to combat the powers of hell that assail us. God wants us to use every means at our disposal to fight against the enemy of our souls. But He also wants us to realize that our survival is in His hands. If we place our trust in our own strength, we are lost. Only God can win the battle.
Satan may go about as a roaring lion, seeking those who will allow him to devour them through their idolatry and disobedience or their trust in their own strength and the arm of the flesh, but he is a conquered foe; conquered by the power of God and blood of the Lamb. He that is on the Lord’s side is already the victor in Christ.
When Satan comes against you will all the power of hell that he can bring to bear, remember that your God is the Lord of Hosts and with only the word of his mouth, Jesus Christ is able to utterly destroy all the power of Satan and those who would do his evil work for him.
God is on your side. You can’t lose. Your intended conqueror is conquered!
