Hezekiah and the Siege of Jerusalem

His son Hezekiah succeeded him, a man very unlike his father in character. At the beginning of his reign he urged the people and the priests to the worship of God, and he spoke to them at length. He showed them how often, after being punished by the Lord, they had found mercy, and how the ten tribes, carried off into captivity at last, as had lately happened, were now paying the penalty for their ungodliness. He added that it was their duty to take great care not to deserve the same sufferings. [a]

So, with everyone’s mind turned to religion, he appointed the Levites and all the priests to offer sacrifices according to the law, and he arranged for the Passover, which had long been neglected, to be celebrated. When the holy day drew near, he sent messengers throughout the whole land to proclaim the special day of assembly, so that any who had stayed behind in Samaria after the ten tribes were taken away might gather for the sacred observance. So, in a very large gathering, the sacred day was spent in public rejoicing, and after a long interval the proper religious rites were restored through Hezekiah.

He then managed military affairs with the same diligence he had given to divine things, and he defeated the Philistines in frequent battles. Then Sennacherib, king of the Assyrians, made war on him and entered his territory with a large army. The country was laid waste without any resistance, and Sennacherib laid siege to the city. For Hezekiah, being outnumbered, did not dare to meet him in battle, but kept himself safe inside the walls. The king of Assyria thundered at the gates, threatening destruction and demanding surrender. He cried out that Hezekiah trusted in God in vain, since it was rather he himself who had taken up arms at God’s appointment. The conqueror of all nations, he said, who had also overthrown Samaria, could not be escaped unless the king saved himself by a speedy surrender.

In this situation Hezekiah, trusting in God, consulted the prophet Isaiah. From his answer he learned that there would be no danger from the enemy and that God’s help would not fail him. And in fact, not long afterward, Tirhakah, king of Ethiopia, invaded the kingdom of the Assyrians.