Tag: Sennacherib

Micah 1: False Idols
Micah 1: False Idols

Sunday, November 23, 2025

Golden Calf
Commentary will fill in any questions we have about the cities and places named in today’s Noontime. Even without the detail of who is who and where is where and what is what, we know the message: Put aside all false idols and return to God.

It is likely that Micah’s prophesy saved a nation for a time. “Micah is remembered in Jeremiah 26:18 as having uttered words of doom against Zion and Jerusalem that prompted Hezekiah to repent.” (Mays, 660) And it is likely that Micah’s prophesy can save us as well. All of these names in the opening chapter might be removed and the names of our own cities and nations inserted. What would we do if we heard these pronouncements about our hometown, our favorite shopping locations, the places in which our loved ones reside?

Sennacherib sweeps into the Israelite homeland to take forty-some cities, including Jerusalem. He also takes many captives. This could have been avoided if the people had turned back to God instead of becoming addicted their unhealthy ways. Micah does not treat lightly God’s message he has been asked to deliver. He is unambiguous and exact. When we study scripture closely, we know that there is always a clear, appropriate and certain consequence for sins of omission and commission. About this there is no doubt. And so we pray . . .

Merciful and forgiving God, you send your prophets to us to warn us, to urge us, to exhort us to change. Yet we are convinced somehow that we can barter when the time comes, that we can out-maneuver you, that we can hide our secrets from you, that our false idols will keep us safe and warm and whole. Help us to see that you are wholeness and truth and so you know nothing but truth; and if we wish to live in you we must become accustomed to casting away all idols and dark secrets. Help us to understand that you are safety and mercy and so you know nothing but mercy; and if we wish to live in you we must become accustomed to casting away all thought of envy and revenge. Help us to believe that you are comfort and love and so you are nothing but love; and if we wish to live in you we must become accustomed to acting in love and compassion always. We ask this through Jesus Christ your son who witnesses is your presence among us, together with the Holy Spirit who is your comfort dwelling in us. Amen.

A re-post from October 29, 2011.

Image from: http://leftcoastvoices.wordpress.com/2011/07/12/3944/

Mays, James L., ed. HARPERCOLLINS BIBLE COMMENTARY. New York, New York: HarperCollins Publishers, 1988. 660. Print.

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November 23, 2025

efusal to turn to God has definite consequence, God is truth and mercy and love, Jeremiah 26:18, Sennacherib
Isaiah 36: Strategy
Isaiah 36: Strategy

Thursday, July 3, 2025

Sennacherib and his troops play a central role in today’s reading; these several sites may have something you will want to know:

http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/ancient/701sennach.html

http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/534613/Sennacherib

Sennacherib
Isaiah 36 is the introductory chapter of an appendix inserted into Isaiah’s prophecy (and it parallels the account we can also find in 2 Kings 18). When we read these verses carefully, we discover that this is more than an historical account. It is also the story of fear and trust, loss and gain, rebellion against the Lord or obedience to him. It is the story of failing and successful strategies.

In today’s Noontime, taunts are delivered to those inside the besieged city and if we read beyond this chapter – or if we recall the telling of this story from Kings – we will see that God never abandons the faithful. We will also see that God has ways of resolving conflict that are far more creative, and far more meaningful, than any solutions we might devise. Our only task – our only successful strategy – is to trust and follow God.

On what do you base this confidence of yours? Do you think mere words substitute for might and strategy in war?

The commander ridicules his opponents for thinking that words alone will frighten his troops; he mocks them for their belief in an unseen God. But he has also miscalculated. Placing his confidence in military supremacy and acumen, he teases those guarding the city walls. Perhaps the true reason for his jeering is that he knows that none of his gods can be stirred to help him. He has conquered whole regions through the strength of his warriors, but perhaps he fears that he cannot conquer these people who believe in the authority of Yahweh and who have been saved so many times by this Living God. He has heard about the God who saves the Israelites, but he has not personally experienced Yahweh’s awesome power. Perhaps he cannot fathom a God who serves his people in such a faithful way. He will soon have a lesson in obedience and trust.

On what do we base this confidence of ours? Do we think mere words substitute for might and strategy in living?

As followers of Christ we know that words alone do not make us disciples; we must act in Christ and not rely on personal strength or a store of information. James reminds us that we are to be doers of the word and not sayers only (James 1:22). Thus, the strategies of the Christian fold into one plan: Love one another as Christ has shown us – do not judge, do not seek revenge, pray for all. Even our enemies.

The ultimate end of the Israelite story is one all of us know and it teaches us the lesson that reliance on God when in danger is important but that ultimately we cannot succumb to corrupt and easy living. We must be persistent in maintaining an honest relationship with God. We must adhere to this new Law of Love rather than multiple empty rules that foster rote worship rather than genuine communion.

On what do we base this confidence of ours? Do we think mere words substitute for might and strategy in living?

We base our confidence on God. We substitute nothing for an authentic relationship with God and we publicly display this relationship daily in the way we treat others. The only strategy we employ is to hone true to God’s plan like a homing bird headed for home.

Image from: https://bible.fandom.com/wiki/Sennacherib
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July 3, 2025

2 Kings 18, Hezekiah, James 1:22, obedience, Sennacherib, trust
Zephaniah 3:18-20: Seek Restoration
Zephaniah 3:18-20: Seek Restoration

Nubian Museum: Shebitku’s Statue

Monday, October 28, 2024

The prophet Zephaniah wrote sometime between the years of 635 to 630 B.C.E. His is a brief prophecy and its message is succinct: there is a day if universal judgment which will arrive surely, and this judgment will be followed by restoration. Earlier in this chapter he refers to the town of Cush saying that beyond the rivers of this town the scattered peoples will bring offerings. Cush was located south of the upper cataracts of the Nile in the area referred to as Nubia. It was a land of great wealth with commerce routes which brought to the Mediterranean materials such as gold and silver, cosmetics, balsam, incense, myrrh, ostrich eggs, and other wild animal products. Jeremiah also refers to this place as a source of topaz. Further, these people were from to time a powerful political force: the Nubian pharaoh Shebitku defeats the Assyrian Sennacherib in Israel in 701 B.C.E. – an astounding account recorded in 2 Kings. (Zondervan 1519.) Their power, however, seems to have collapsed after 671 B.C.E.

What does all of this signify? The restoration this prophet foretells is universal. It will be bestowed on even those who have been scattered as far off as Cush – even those who have been held captive by her alluring power and cosmopolitan life.

Sing, O Daughter Zion; shout aloud, O Israel! Be glad and rejoice with all your heart, O Daughter of Jerusalem! . . . I will give you honor and praise among all the people of the earth when I restore your fortunes before your eyes.

Images from: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Shebitku%E2%80%99s_statue_%28Nubian_Museum%29.jpg and https://ancientpatriarchs.wordpress.com/2015/11/18/who-was-cush/

ARCHAEOLOGICAL STUDY BIBLE (NIV). Grand Rapids, Michigan: Zondervan, 2005. 1519. Print. For more about Cush, click on the map image, or visit: https://ancientpatriarchs.wordpress.com/2015/11/18/who-was-cush/

A Favorite from November 23, 2007.
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October 28, 2024

Cush, judgment, restoration, Sennacherib, Shebitku
Isaiah 10: Social Injustice
Isaiah 10: Social Injustice

Thursday, February 1, 2024

As we conclude our look at God’s inverted kingdom, we consider a Favorite from June 10, 2009, and we reflect on how Jesus might deal with the social injustice we find in our societies.

Isaiah 10 is book-ended by words that we hear so often during the Advent season: The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light . . . But a shoot shall sprout from the stump of Jesse, and from this root a bud shall blossom. These words remind us that someone is coming great enough to take all of us in . . . and indeed, this one is already among us. Today’s Noontime reminds us of what pulls us away from God and it draws clear imagery with Assyria and Sennacherib as vehicles not only of pain and loss, but ultimate transformation if we but follow the Light, the Christ. The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light . . . But a shoot shall sprout from the stump of Jesse, and from this root a bud shall blossom.

Isaiah tells us clearly that when we trust the Lord we need not tremble before overwhelming odds. If we move out of the darkness to stand in the light and obey the voice within, we have nothing to fear. Do not fear the Assyrian, though he strikes you with a rod, and raises his staff against you.

Isaiah reminds us that though we are small, we are also mighty when we place our fear where it is best handled, in God’s capable hands. The tall of stature are felled, and the lofty ones brought low; the forest thickets are felled with the ax.

Isaiah repeats a theme often heard with the prophets: those who can remain faithful through the holocaust will be standing when all others have blown away like chaff in the wind. The remnant of Israel, the survivors of the house of Jacob, will no more lean upon him who struck them; but they will lean upon the Lord . . . a remnant will return . . . only a remnant will return.

Allowing injustice to happen without speaking or witnessing is the broad path taken by many; but it is not the marrow path taken by the remnant. As Jesus tells us in Matthew (7:3) and Luke (13:24), most of us will succumb to a system that allows injustice for many the sake of the comfort of a few. This remnant that remains in God will have to bend before the force of the storm, but all of this bending will be worthwhile. This is the message that Isaiah brings to us: The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light . . . But a shoot shall sprout from the stump of Jesse, and from this root a bud shall blossom.

Image from: http://www.kars4kids.org/blog/3-ways-you-teach-your-child-social-injustice/
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February 1, 2024

Assyria, inversion, light in the darkness, love one another, Luke 13:24, Matthew 7:3, Sennacherib
Isaiah 10: Social Injustice
Isaiah 10: Social Injustice

Friday, June 9, 2023

Isaiah 10 is book-ended by words that we hear so often during the Advent season: The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light . . . But a shoot shall sprout from the stump of Jesse, and from this root a bud shall blossom. These words remind us that someone is coming great enough to take all of us in and indeed, this one is already among us. Today’s Noontime reminds us of what pulls us away from God and it draws clear imagery with Assyria and Sennacherib as vehicles not only of pain and loss, but ultimate transformation if we but follow the Light, the Christ. The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light . . . But a shoot shall sprout from the stump of Jesse, and from this root a bud shall blossom.

Isaiah tells us clearly that when we trust the Lord we need not tremble before overwhelming odds. If we move out of the darkness to stand in the light and obey the voice within, we have nothing to fear. Do not fear the Assyrian, though he strikes you with a rod, and raises his staff against you.

Isaiah reminds us that though we are small, we are also mighty when we place our fear where it is best handled, in God’s capable hands. The tall of stature are felled, and the lofty ones brought low; the forest thickets are felled with the axe.

Isaiah repeats a theme often heard with the prophets: those who can remain faithful through the holocaust will be standing when all others have blown away like chaff in the wind. The remnant of Israel, the survivors of the house of Jacob, will no more lean upon him who struck them; but they will lean upon the Lord . . . a remnant will return . . . only a remnant will return.

Allowing injustice to happen without speaking or witnessing is the broad path taken by many; but it is not the marrow path taken by the remnant. As Jesus tells us in Matthew 7:3 and Luke 13:24, most of us will succumb to a system that allows injustice for many the sake of the comfort of a few. This remnant that remains in God will have to bend before the force of the storm, but all of this bending will be worthwhile. This is the message that Isaiah brings to us: The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light . . . But a shoot shall sprout from the stump of Jesse, and from this root a bud shall blossom.

Image from: http://fromemptyhands.blogspot.com/2012/12/shoot.html

A Favorite from June 10, 2009.
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June 9, 2023

Assyria, chaff, Christ as light, darkness versus light, fidelity, Luke 13:24, Matthew 7:3, remnant, Sennacherib, transformation
Isaiah 22: Euphoria
Isaiah 22: Euphoria

Louvre Museum: Sennacherib relief

Sunday, August 21, 2022

A Favorite from July 4, 2009.

For the third day in a row we find ourselves in Isaiah’s prophecy and today we conclude the oracles against the pagan nations. Interestingly, Isaiah includes Jerusalem in this litany.

Commentary tells us that here Isaiah warns against false hope – against relying on self rather than God. Around the year 700 B.C.E. Sennacherib and the Assyrian invasion forces have been turned back from the city. The people have mounted various defenses against the enemy and now they react with euphoria to the good turn of events. Yet rather than rejoice in God’s loving providence that rescues and heals them for eternity, they celebrate their own skill which will not, in the end, save them from their own corruption and decadence. They believe that their own planning, proficiency and leadership have saved them this day. The leader Shebna is revealed for who he is: one who thinks of his own legacy and comfort at the expense of those he leads. Eliakim is named as a loyal servant of God, a peg in a sure spot upon whom the glory of his family hangs. Yet even this peg fixed in a sure spot shall give way, break off and fall, and the weight that hung on it shall be done away with; for the Lord has spoken.

Even the sure peg in the sure spot will give way, break off and fall . . .

When we survive disaster and come out the other side of a calamity intact and even renewed, we are to be joy-filled, we are to celebrate. But today the prophet Isaiah cautions us to place our joy properly in God who saves rather than in ourselves. We must never forget who it is who forms order out of chaos. We must always be mindful that everything God creates is good, that God will convert harm to transformation, and that he rescues us because he loves us . . . not because he expects something from us.

We are creatures already set free, already liberated from the shackles we imagine. When we find ourselves in bad times or with bad people, we seek intercession from God. When we find ourselves in happy circumstances with wonderful people, we thank God who loves us beyond measure. We return even our euphoria to the one who transforms.

Images from: https://bible.fandom.com/wiki/Sennacherib and http://archive.boston.com/news/local/articles/2008/02/01/wrecked_schooner_drifts_ashore_and_into_mystery/
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August 21, 2022

Assyria, Eliakim, freedom, joy, rely on God, rescue, Sennacherib, Shebna, sure peg in sure spot, transformation
2 Chronicles: Joy in Return
Saturday, October 30, 2021

2 Chronicles

Joy in Return

We move forward in our journey as we visit with scripture looking for stories about joy that will amaze us in a number of ways. To explore other stories in which joy surprises us, click on the word Joy in the categories cloud in the blog’s right hand sidebar and choose a reflection, or enter the word Joy in the blog search bar. You may also want to visit the Joy for the Journey blog at www.joyforthee.blogspot.com to see how joy surprises you there. Today our stories are from 2 Chronicles.

Hezekiah is a name long connected with the people’s return to the covenant promises. Scholars tell us that he repairs and cleanses the Temple erected by Solomon to house the Ark; he destroys the bronze serpent reported to have been created by Moses for miraculous healing because it had become an object of idol worship; and he invites the people to a new celebration of a special Passover in which the faithful renewed their promises to God.

Once his house is in order, Hezekiah leads the people in campaigns to push back the Philistines and Assyrians. He pleads with God for a longer life in order to complete his work of the people’s return and God grants this request (2 Chronicles 32). He directs the building of a tunnel to bring water into Jerusalem so that they might survive the Assyrian siege that blockades the city. And he is rewarded when God sends an angel of death to wipe out hundreds of thousands of Sennacherib’s enemy troops in an astounding miracle.

It is no wonder that we read today: There was great joy in Jerusalem, because there was nothing like this in Jerusalem since the days of Solomon the son of David, king of Israel. (2 Chronicles 30:26) It is no wonder that there is great joy in this homecoming. It is no wonder that there is great joy in this return to promises made, forgotten, and finally remembered.

Might we also find joy in our own returning to celebrate the many small and big miracles in our lives? Might we also find joy in recognizing the amazing, loving presence of the Living God?

To see pictures taken inside Hezekiah’s Tunnel, click on the tunnel image above or go to: http://www.livingbylysa.com/2012/05/hezekiahs-tunnel.html

For a video tour of Hezekiah’s Tunnel, visit: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=boC7lOV-1PU

For more information on the miracle against Sennacherib, go to: http://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/112337/jewish/The-End-of-Sennacherib.htm

For more about anxiety and joy, click on the image above or visit: http://riselikeair.wordpress.com/2014/01/09/anxiety-joy-a-journey/
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October 30, 2021

Hezekiah, joy, miracles, Sennacherib