Don’t listen to
Hezekiah! For this is what the king of Assyria says, “Send me a token of
your submission and surrender to me. Then each of you may eat from his
own vine and fig tree and drink water from his own cistern.” – 2 Kings
18:31 (NET)
Hezekiah is the king
of the nation of Judah (the two tribe southern kingdom after the division of
the Israel into north and south following the death of King Solomon). At
this point in the Scriptural narrative, Assyria has already conquered the
northern kingdom, and has now set its sights upon furthering its conquest and
bringing the southern nation of Judah into submission as well. In fact,
it is reported that “King Sennacherib of Assyria marched up against all the
fortified cities of Judah and captured them”(18:13b). Quite
understandably, this action provoked alarm on behalf of Hezekiah and the people
of Judah, causing Hezekiah to respond to the emissary of the King of Assyria by
saying “I have violated our treaty. If you leave, I will do whatever you
demand” (18:14b). Upon this statement, a duty was laid upon Judah. This duty would be a regular payment of some
form, as an indication of subservience
Subsequently, in
customary fashion in these matters and in order to cement Hezekiah’s loyal
service, Sennacherib sent a messenger to Hezekiah. The purpose of the
messenger was to inform Hezekiah, through his subordinates, that he was
powerless to stand up to the might of Assyria.
Accordingly, continued subjection should be considered to be the best
course of action for Hezekiah and his people. In addition, Sennacherib’s
messenger communicates information that could very well have had the effect of
conjuring up thoughts of the promised covenant curses of Leviticus and
Deuteronomy and the judgment of God upon His people if they failed to live up
to their relatively simple covenant responsibilities, when he says, “The Lord
told me, ‘March up against this land and destroy it’.” (18:25b)
The messenger goes
on, resorting to intimidation tactics and invoking the name of Israel’s God as
the One Who has not only sent Assyria, but Who will not in any way be able to
stem the tide of destruction if the people choose to rebel. At this
point, the messenger of Sennacherib says, “this is what the king of Assyria
says, ‘Send me a token of your submission and surrender to me. Then each
of you may eat from his own vine and fig tree and drink water from his own cistern’.”
(18:31) It is the words that follow this that should give one pause, and
in so doing, offer a mental transport from this scene of ancient Israel into
the very present life of faith as lived by Resurrection power, which is somehow
delivered through the agency of the Spirit of the Creator God.
The Creator God makes
a claim upon His divine image-bearers and their lives, trumping the claim of
all other kings and principalities and powers as He, through His messengers
(apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastor/teachers, and His Word) speaks to them
and says, “Send me a token of your submission and surrender to Me.” To
what are they submitting and surrendering? They submit and surrender, by
the act of faith (manifested as confessing allegiance to Jesus and His ways in
both word and deed) to the message that Jesus of Nazareth is the Messiah---the
crucified and resurrected Lord of all (the Gospel). What is the token of
that submission and surrender? Naturally, the token is love, which is
both concrete and abstract. However, two
very real, tangible, and visible tokens of such are baptism and the
communion.
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