And he sent Eliakim the palace administrator, Shebna the scribe, and the leading priests, all wearing sackcloth, to the prophet Isaiah son of Amoz He sentThis phrase indicates a deliberate action taken by King Hezekiah in response to the dire situation facing Jerusalem. The Hebrew root "שָׁלַח" (shalach) implies dispatching with authority and purpose. In times of crisis, leaders are called to act decisively, seeking divine guidance and intervention. Eliakim the palace administrator
Eliakim, whose name means "God will establish," held a significant position of authority as the palace administrator. His role was crucial in managing the affairs of the kingdom, especially during times of distress. Historically, palace administrators were trusted advisors, and Eliakim's involvement underscores the seriousness of the situation. Shebna the scribe
Shebna, serving as the scribe, was responsible for recording and communicating official matters. The Hebrew term "סוֹפֵר" (sopher) denotes a learned individual skilled in writing and documentation. His inclusion highlights the need for accurate communication and record-keeping during critical events. and the leading priests
The involvement of the leading priests signifies the spiritual dimension of the crisis. Priests were mediators between God and the people, and their presence indicates a collective appeal to divine authority. This reflects the biblical principle that spiritual leaders play a vital role in guiding the nation back to God. all wearing sackcloth
Sackcloth, a coarse material, was traditionally worn as a sign of mourning, repentance, and humility. The Hebrew word "שַׂק" (saq) conveys a deep sense of contrition and earnest supplication. This act of wearing sackcloth demonstrates a collective acknowledgment of sin and a plea for God's mercy. to the prophet Isaiah son of Amoz
Isaiah, a major prophet, served as God's spokesperson during this tumultuous period. His lineage, "son of Amoz," establishes his credibility and authority. Prophets were often sought for divine insight and guidance, and Isaiah's involvement underscores the importance of seeking God's word in times of national crisis. Persons / Places / Events 1. EliakimThe palace administrator, a high-ranking official in King Hezekiah's court, tasked with managing the affairs of the royal household. 2. ShebnaThe scribe, another important official, responsible for recording and managing documents and communications. 3. Leading PriestsReligious leaders who played a crucial role in spiritual matters and were involved in seeking divine guidance during crises. 4. Isaiah son of AmozA major prophet in Judah, known for his prophecies and counsel during the reign of King Hezekiah. 5. SackclothA coarse material worn as a sign of mourning, repentance, or distress, indicating the gravity of the situation faced by Judah. Teaching Points Seeking Godly CounselIn times of crisis, it is crucial to seek guidance from those who are spiritually mature and grounded in God's Word, as Hezekiah did by consulting Isaiah. The Role of HumilityWearing sackcloth symbolizes humility and repentance. In our lives, we must approach God with a humble heart, acknowledging our dependence on Him. The Power of PrayerHezekiah's actions remind us of the importance of turning to God in prayer during difficult times, trusting in His power and wisdom to deliver us. Community in CrisisThe involvement of multiple leaders and priests highlights the importance of community and collective action in seeking God's intervention. Faith in God's PromisesIsaiah's role as a prophet underscores the importance of holding onto God's promises and trusting in His faithfulness, even when circumstances seem dire. Bible Study Questions 1. What can we learn from Hezekiah's decision to send his officials to Isaiah in times of crisis, and how can we apply this in our own lives when facing challenges? 2. How does the act of wearing sackcloth in this passage relate to the concept of repentance in the New Testament, and what does it teach us about the posture of our hearts before God? 3. In what ways can we seek and recognize godly counsel in our lives today, and how can this passage guide us in identifying trustworthy spiritual advisors? 4. How does the collective response of Hezekiah's officials and priests demonstrate the importance of community in seeking God's guidance, and how can we foster such community in our own faith journeys? 5. Reflect on a time when you faced a difficult situation. How did you seek God's guidance, and what role did prayer and community play in your response? How does this passage encourage you to approach future challenges? Connections to Other Scriptures Isaiah 37This chapter parallels 2 Kings 19 and provides additional context and details about the events, including Isaiah's response to Hezekiah's plea. 2 Chronicles 32Offers another account of the Assyrian threat and Hezekiah's response, highlighting the importance of seeking God's guidance. Matthew 11:21Jesus references sackcloth and repentance, drawing a connection between outward signs of mourning and the need for genuine repentance. People Adrammelech, Amoz, Assyrians, David, Eliakim, Esarhaddon, Haran, Hezekiah, Isaiah, Rabshakeh, Sennacherib, Sharezer, Shebna, TirhakahPlaces Ararat, Arpad, Assyria, Cush, Egypt, Gozan, Hamath, Haran, Hena, Ivvah, Jerusalem, Lachish, Lebanon, Libnah, Mount Zion, Nineveh, Rezeph, Sepharvaim, Telassar, Tigris-Euphrates Region, ZionTopics Administrator, Amoz, Chief, Covered, Covering, Dressed, Elders, Eliakim, Eli'akim, Haircloth, Household, Isaiah, Leading, Palace, Priests, Prophet, Sackcloth, Scribe, Secretary, Senior, Shebna, Themselves, WearingDictionary of Bible Themes 2 Kings 19:2 5434 officer
5514 scribes
5519 secretary 2 Kings 19:1-2 6742 sackcloth and ashes Library 'He Uttered his Voice, the Earth Melted'
'Then Isaiah the son of Amos sent to Hezekiah, saying, Thus saith the Lord God of Israel, That which thou hast prayed to Me against Sennacherib king of Assyria I have heard. 21. This is the word that the Lord hath spoken concerning him; The virgin, the daughter of Zion, hath despised thee, and laughed thee to scorn; the daughter of Jerusalem hath shaken her head at thee. 22. Whom hast thou reproached and blasphemed? and against whom hast thou exalted thy voice, and lifted up thine eyes on high? even …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy ScriptureThe Invasion of the Assyrians
(Thirteenth Sunday after Trinity, Morning.) 2 Kings xix. 15-19. And Hezekiah prayed before the Lord, and said, O Lord God of Israel, which dwellest between the cherubims, thou art the Lord, even thou alone, of all the kingdoms of the earth; thou hast made heaven and earth. Lord, bow down thine ear, and hear: open, Lord, thine eyes, and see: and hear the words of Sennacherib, which hath sent him to reproach the living God. Of a truth, Lord, the kings of Assyria have destroyed the nations and their …
Charles Kingsley—Town and Country Sermons Whether Charity Requires that we Should Love Our Enemies?
Objection 1: It would seem that charity does not require us to love our enemies. For Augustine says (Enchiridion lxxiii) that "this great good," namely, the love of our enemies, is "not so universal in its application, as the object of our petition when we say: Forgive us our trespasses." Now no one is forgiven sin without he have charity, because, according to Prov. 10:12, "charity covereth all sins." Therefore charity does not require that we should love our enemies. Objection 2: Further, charity …
Saint Thomas Aquinas—Summa Theologica The Sinner Arraigned and Convicted.
1. Conviction of guilt necessary.--2. A charge of rebellion against God advanced.--3. Where it is shown--that all men are born under God's law.--4. That no man hath perfectly kept it.--5. An appeal to the reader's conscience on this head, that he hath not.--6. That to have broken it, is an evil inexpressibly great.--7. Illustrated by a more particular view of the aggravations of this guilt, arising--from knowledge.--8. From divine favors received.--9. From convictions of conscience overborne.--10. …
Philip Doddridge—The Rise and Progress of Religion in the Soul The Power of Assyria at Its Zenith; Esarhaddon and Assur-Bani-Pal
The Medes and Cimmerians: Lydia--The conquest of Egypt, of Arabia, and of Elam. As we have already seen, Sennacherib reigned for eight years after his triumph; eight years of tranquillity at home, and of peace with all his neighbours abroad. If we examine the contemporary monuments or the documents of a later period, and attempt to glean from them some details concerning the close of his career, we find that there is a complete absence of any record of national movement on the part of either Elam, …
G. Maspero—History Of Egypt, Chaldaea, Syria, Babylonia, and Assyria, V 8 The Golden Eagle is Cut to Pieces. Herod's Barbarity when He was Ready to Die. He Attempts to Kill Himself. He Commands Antipater to be Slain.
1. Now Herod's distemper became more and more severe to him, and this because these his disorders fell upon him in his old age, and when he was in a melancholy condition; for he was already seventy years of age, and had been brought by the calamities that happened to him about his children, whereby he had no pleasure in life, even when he was in health; the grief also that Antipater was still alive aggravated his disease, whom he resolved to put to death now not at random, but as soon as he should …
Flavius Josephus—The Wars of the Jews or History of the Destruction of Jerusalem A Discourse of the House and Forest of Lebanon
OF THE HOUSE OF THE FOREST OF LEBANON. ADVERTISEMENT BY THE EDITOR. That part of Palestine in which the celebrated mountains of Lebanon are situated, is the border country adjoining Syria, having Sidon for its seaport, and Land, nearly adjoining the city of Damascus, on the north. This metropolitan city of Syria, and capital of the kingdom of Damascus, was strongly fortified; and during the border conflicts it served as a cover to the Assyrian army. Bunyan, with great reason, supposes that, to keep …
John Bunyan—The Works of John Bunyan Volumes 1-3 It is Strange that These Delightful Promises Affect us Coldly...
It is strange that these delightful promises affect us coldly, or scarcely at all, so that the generality of men prefer to wander up and down, forsaking the fountain of living waters, and hewing out to themselves broken cisterns, rather than embrace the divine liberality voluntarily offered to them (Jer. 2:13). "The name of the Lord," says Solomon, "is a strong tower; the righteous runneth into it, and is safe." (Pr. 18:10) Joel, after predicting the fearful disaster which was at hand, subjoins the …
John Calvin—Of Prayer--A Perpetual Exercise of Faith Scriptural Types.
1. The material world is full of analogies adapted to the illustration of spiritual things. No teacher ever drew from this inexhaustible storehouse such a rich variety of examples as our Saviour. His disciples are the salt of the earth, the light of the world, and a city set on a hill. From the ravens which God feeds and the lilies which God clothes, he teaches the unreasonableness of worldly anxiety. The kingdom of heaven is like seed sown in different soils, like a field of wheat and tares …
E. P. Barrows—Companion to the Bible Letter xxviii (Circa A. D. 1130) to the Abbots Assembled at Soissons
To the Abbots Assembled at Soissons [45] Bernard urges the abbots zealously to perform the duty for which they had met. He recommends to them a great desire of spiritual progress, and begs them not to be delayed in their work if lukewarm and lax persons should perhaps murmur. To the Reverend Abbots met in the name of the Lord in Chapter at Soissons, brother Bernard, Abbot of Clairvaux, the servant of their Holiness, health and prayer that they may see, establish, and observe the things which are …
Saint Bernard of Clairvaux—Some Letters of Saint Bernard, Abbot of Clairvaux A Living Book
[Illustration: (drop cap T) Symbol of "Asshur", the principal Assyrian idol.] There is only one Book that never grows old. For thousands of years men have been writing books. Most books are forgotten soon after they are written; a few of the best and wisest are remembered for a time. But all at last grow old; new discoveries are made; new ideas arise; the old books are out of date; their usefulness is at an end. Students are the only people who still care to read them. The nations to which the …
Mildred Duff—The Bible in its Making The First Commandment
Thou shalt have no other gods before me.' Exod 20: 3. Why is the commandment in the second person singular, Thou? Why does not God say, You shall have no other gods? Because the commandment concerns every one, and God would have each one take it as spoken to him by name. Though we are forward to take privileges to ourselves, yet we are apt to shift off duties from ourselves to others; therefore the commandment is in the second person, Thou and Thou, that every one may know that it is spoken to him, …
Thomas Watson—The Ten Commandments The Prophet Amos.
GENERAL PRELIMINARY REMARKS. It will not be necessary to extend our preliminary remarks on the prophet Amos, since on the main point--viz., the circumstances under which he appeared as a prophet--the introduction to the prophecies of Hosea may be regarded as having been written for those of Amos also. For, according to the inscription, they belong to the same period at which Hosea's prophetic ministry began, viz., the latter part of the reign of Jeroboam II., and after Uzziah had ascended the …
Ernst Wilhelm Hengstenberg—Christology of the Old Testament Kings
The book[1] of Kings is strikingly unlike any modern historical narrative. Its comparative brevity, its curious perspective, and-with some brilliant exceptions--its relative monotony, are obvious to the most cursory perusal, and to understand these things is, in large measure, to understand the book. It covers a period of no less than four centuries. Beginning with the death of David and the accession of Solomon (1 Kings i., ii.) it traverses his reign with considerable fulness (1 Kings iii.-xi.), …
John Edgar McFadyen—Introduction to the Old Testament Links 2 Kings 19:2 NIV2 Kings 19:2 NLT2 Kings 19:2 ESV2 Kings 19:2 NASB2 Kings 19:2 KJV
2 Kings 19:2 Commentaries
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