2 Kings 18:7

_AND THE LORD WAS WITH HIM; AND HE PROSPERED WHITHERSOEVER HE WENT FORTH: AND HE REBELLED AGAINST THE KING OF ASSYRIA, AND SERVED HIM NOT._ The Lord was with him; and he prospered wheresoever he went forth. Since the inglorious reign of Ahaz, Judah had continued to groan under the Assyrian yoke, when, consequent upon the religious reformation Hezekiah inaugurated, the physical as well as the moral energies of the people were roused, and in particular the agricultural prosperity of the country returned (see the notes at 2 Chronicles 30:12; 31:511), which was only interrupted for a brief space in the 14th year of his reign. His subjects enjoyed undisturbed, the fruit of the vine only excepted (Isaiah 5:11), the abundant produce of the country ...

1-8 Hezekiah was a true son of David. Some others did that which was right, but not like David. Let us not suppose that when times and men are bad, they must needs grow worse and worse; that does not follow: after many bad kings, God raised one up like David himself. The brazen serpent had been carefully preserved, as a memorial of God's goodness to their fathers in the wilderness; but it was idle and wicked to burn incense to it. All helps to devotion, not warranted by the word of God, interrupt the exercise of faith; they always lead to superstition and other dangerous evils. Human nature perverts every thing of this kind. True faith needs not such aids; the word of God, daily thought upon and prayed over, is all the outward help we need....

THE LORD WAS WITH HIM - This had been said of no king since David (marginal reference). The phrase is very emphatic. The general prosperity of Hezekiah is set forth at some length by the author of Chronicles 2 Chronicles 32:23, 2 Chronicles 32:27. His great influence among the nations bordering on the northern kingdom, was the cause of the first expedition of Sennacherib against him, the Ekronites having expelled an Assyrian viceroy from their city, and delivered him to Hezekiah for safe keeping: an expedition which did not very long precede that of 2 Kings 18:13, which fell toward the close of Hezekiah’s long reign....

EXPOSITION 18-25 THE HISTORY OF THE KINGDOM OF JUDAH AFTER THE FALL OF SAMARIA. 2 KINGS 18:1 THE ACCESSION OF HEZEKIAH. HIS SUCCESSES. HIS WAR WITH SENNACHERIB. 2 KINGS 18:1 THE EARLY YEARS Or HEZEKIAH. From his narrative of the destruction of the kingdom of Samaria, the writer

AND THE LORD WAS WITH HIM,.... The Word of the Lord was for his help, as the Targum: AND HE PROSPERED WHITHERSOEVER HE WENT FORTH; that is, to war: AND HE REBELLED AGAINST THE KING OF ASSYRIA: which is explained in the next clause: AND SERVED HIM NOT; he refused to be his servant, as his father Ahaz had been, 2 Kings 16:7, to which he was not obliged by any agreement of his; and, if it was in his power, might lawfully shake off his yoke, which is all that is meant by rebelling against him; he refused to be tributary to him....

IV. THE REIGN OF HEZEKIAH, MANASSEH AND AMON 1. Hezekiah and Sennacherib's Invasion CHAPTER 18 _ 1. Hezekiah, King of Judah (2 Kings 18:1; 2 Kings 2 Chron. 29-32)_ 2. The Revival (2 Kings 18:4) 3. Victory over the Philistines (2 Kings 18:8) 4. Israel's captivity (2 Kings 18:9) 5. Sennacherib's invasion (2 Kings 18:13) 6. Sennacherib's messengers and message ...

2 KINGS 18-20. THE REIGN OF HEZEKIAH. These three Chapter s give an account of the reign of the best king of Judah, and a parallel but somewhat less full account is found in Isaiah 36-39. There is another account in 2 Chronicles 29 f. The annalistic tablets, etc., of the Assyrian kings give us more information about Hezekiah than about any other king. They confirm the good impression given in the Bible; but the chronology, if we follow them, has to be completely modified. To understand the history contained in 2 Kings 18-20 the following facts and dates should be borne in mind: (_a_) Samaria fell in the reign of Sargon, in 722 B.C. (_b_) Merodachbaladan (2 Kings 20:12) established himself as king in Babylon (721), and held his own against Sargon till 710. (_c_) Sargon's army overran Judah about 711 ...

and _he prospered whithersoever he went forth_ By placing the last four words at the beginning of the sentence, the R.V. again gets rid of the italic _and_. _he rebelled against the king of Assyria_ Ahaz had purchased Assyrian help against Rezin and Pekah [2 Kings 16:7-9] and had become the vassal of Tiglath-pileser. No doubt the terms between the two nations were meant to continue in the reigns of the successors of Ahaz and Tiglath-pileser. The revolt of Hezekiah seems to have been made regardless of these terms. For when Sennacherib comes to attack him, he feels he must admit (verse 14) that he has offended, -I have offended, return from me, that which thou puttest on me will I bear"....

I. GENERAL INTRODUCTION TO THE REIGN OF HEZEKIAH 18:1-12 TRANSLATION (1) And it came to pass in the third year of Hoshea the son of Elah king of Israel, that Hezekiah the son of Ahaz king of Judah began to reign. (2) He was twenty-five years old when he began to reign, and he reigned twenty-nine years in Jerusalem. And the name of his mother was Abi the daughter of Zechariah. (3) And he did that which was right in the eyes of the LORD according to all which David his father had done. (4) He removed the high places, and broke in pieces the pillars, and cut down the Asherah, and smashed the bronze serpent which Moses had made; for unto those days the children of Israel were burning incense to it; and they called it Nehushtan. (5) In the LORD God of Israel did he trust, and after him there was none like him among all the kings of Israel, nor among those who were before him. (6) For he clun...

18:7 prospered (c-7) Or 'he dealt wisely.' see 1 Samuel 18:5 ....