2 Kings 19:29

_AND THIS SHALL BE A SIGN UNTO THEE, YE SHALL EAT THIS YEAR SUCH THINGS AS GROW OF THEMSELVES, AND IN THE SECOND YEAR THAT WHICH SPRINGETH OF THE SAME; AND IN THE THIRD YEAR SOW YE, AND REAP, AND PLANT VINEYARDS, AND EAT THE FRUITS THEREOF._ This shall be a sign unto thee, Ye shall eat this year such things as grow of themselves ... The "sign" which Isaiah goes on to promise, in terms apparently made obscure in order to excite consideration, seems best explained to mean, that the Assyrian devastations of the open country of the Jews had prevented the regular cropping of the land, and consequently the regular harvest for the current year; and as the enemy was still in occupation of the country, there was no possibility of plowing and sowing, in preparation for the next year either; but the season after that, the prophet confidently asserts that they would be able to sow and reap, and pla...

20-34 All Sennacherib's motions were under the Divine cognizance. God himself undertakes to defend the city; and that person, that place, cannot but be safe, which he undertakes to protect. The invasion of the Assyrians probably had prevented the land from being sown that year. The next is supposed to have been the sabbatical year, but the Lord engaged that the produce of the land should be sufficient for their support during those two years. As the performance of this promise was to be after the destruction of Sennacherib's army, it was a sign to Hezekiah's faith, assuring him of that present deliverance, as an earnest of the Lord's future care of the kingdom of Judah. This the Lord would perform, not for their righteousness, but his own glory. May our hearts be as good ground, that his word may strike root therein, and bring forth fruit in our lives....

Verse 29. _THIS_ SHALL _BE A SIGN UNTO THEE_] To Hezekiah; for to him this part of the address is made. _YE SHALL EAT THIS YEAR_] Sennacherib had ravaged the country, and _seed-time_ was now over, yet God shows them that he would so bless the land, that what should _grow of itself that year_, would be quite sufficient to supply the inhabitants and prevent all _famine_; and though the _second year_ was the _sabbatical rest_ or _jubilee for_ _the land_, in which it was unlawful to plough or sow; yet even then the land, by an especial blessing of God, should bring forth a sufficiency for its inhabitants; and in the _third year_ they should sow and plant, c. and have abundance, c. Now this was to be a _sign_ to Hezekiah, that his deliverance had not been effected by _natural_ or _casual_ means for as without a _miracle_ the ravaged and uncultivated land could not yie

The prophet now once more addresses Hezekiah, and gives him a “sign,” or token, whereby he and his may be assured that Sennacherib is indeed bridled, and will not trouble Judaea anymore. It was a sign of the continued freedom of the land from attack during the whole of the remainder of Sennacherib’s reign - a space of 17 years....

EXPOSITION 2 KINGS 19:1 SECOND EXPEDITION OF SENNACHERIB AGAINST HEZEKIAH (_continued_)._ _The chapter falls into four portions: (1) The sequel to the embassy of Rabshakeh (2 Kings 19:1); (2) the insulting letter of Sennacherib (2 Kings 19:9); (3) Hezekiah's prayer, and God's answer to it by the mouth of Isaiah (verses 15-34); and (4) the destruction of Sennacherib's host, his hurried flight, and his murder at Nineveh by his sons (verses 35-37). The narrative runs parallel w

2 Kings 19:1...

2. HEZEKIAH AND ISAIAH AND THE DELIVERANCE CHAPTER 19 _ 1. Hezekiah's message to Isaiah (2 Kings 19:1)_ 2. Isaiah's answer. (2 Kings 19:6) 3. Sennacherib's message to Hezekiah (2 Kings 19:8; 2 Chronicles 32:17) 4. Hezekiah's Prayer (2 Kings 19:14; 2 Chronicles 32:20) 5. Jehovah's answer through Isaiah (2 Kin

2 KINGS 19:2. UNTO ISAIAH: from the Book of Isaiah we learn that the prophet had steadily opposed Hezekiah's intrigues against Assyria. SHELNA: Isaiah 22:15 *. 2 Kings 19:9. Ethiopia was the country S. of Egypt. At a time later than this (681 B.C. ?), Tirhakah seems to have established his government in Egypt. There is, therefore, a chronological difficulty in the mention of him here (p. 72). He is, however, not called king of Egypt, and he may have been acting as an ally of the princes of the Nile valley. 2 Kings 19:10. Sennacherib's letter to Hezekiah, showing how hopeless it was for a king of Juda

EAT THIS YEAR, &C. See the reference to Jehovah's sign in Hezekiah's "Songs of the degrees" (Psalms 126:5; Psalms 126:6; Psalms 128:2). See App-67....

_And this_shall be _a_[R.V. THE] _sign unto thee_ The next portion of the oracle is addressed to Hezekiah. On the giving of a sign to mark the certainty of a prophecy, cf. Isaiah 7:11-14. _Ye shall eat_this _year such things as grow of themselves_ R.V. THAT WHICH GROWETH OF ITSELF. The meaning of the sign appears to be this. Sennacherib was to be driven away from Jerusalem, yet though the land had been overrun by the enemy, and the people of Jerusalem had been shut up within the walls, they should find enough produce from what had been shed on the ground in the previous harvest time to serve them for the first year. In the next year they should be supplied in the same way, so that they could rest from the labours of the field, and both they and their lands enjoy a sabbatical year. Then in the third year they should commence undisturbedly their agri