II Chronicles 32
From the Journals of Hezekiah
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He sent his supreme commander, his chief officer, and his field commander with a large army to deliver the message. Did he really have to send that many people?
I sent my officers out to meet with them.
The field commander from Assyria delivered this message:
"Tell Hezekiah this is what the great king of Assyria said: 'What makes you think you can be so confident? You say you have strategy and military strength, but your words mean nothing. Who are you depending on to give you the power to rebel against me? Look. You are depending on Egypt to save you.
"And if you say to me, 'We are depending on the Lord our God'--isn't he the one whose altars you removed? Didn't you say to Judah and Jerusalem, "You must worship before this altar in Jerusalem"?
"When you say, 'The Lord our God will save us from the hand of the king of Assyria,' you are misleading your people. You want them to die of hunger and thirst.
"Don't you know what my fathers and I have done to all the peoples of other lands? Did the god of those nations deliver them from my hand? Were any of the gods from other lands able to save their country from me?
"Listen to my advice, people of Jerusalem. Don't let Hezekiah deceive you and mislead you like this. Don't believe him because no god of any nation or kingdom has been able to deliver you from my hand! I'll give you a chance. Make a bargain with my master, the king of Assyria. I'll give you two thousand horses, that is, if you can put riders on them. Hah.
"How can you turn me down by depending on Egypt for chariots and horsemen? You know I have come to attack and destroy this land without any word from your God. The Lord himself told me to march against this country and destroy it." This ended his message.
My officials were quite concerned. The Assyrian messengers shouted their words loud enough for our soldiers on the walls to hear. The words sounded right, even though they were wrong. We didn't know how many of our soldiers would surrender to that bully Sennacherib.
My officials, Eliakim and Shebna and my field commander, Joah said to the Assyrian officials, "Please speak to your men in Aramaic since we understand it. Don't speak in Hebrew in the hearing of the people on the wall."
Do you think they spoke quieter? Come back next time to see what happened.
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1. Who was the bully?
2. Who did the bully pick on?
3. This bully lied. He said ___________ could not help them because no other god had helped any other land.
4. Why did Eliakim, Shebna, and Joah ask the Assyrians to speak in Aramaic instead of Hebrew?
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