Sennacherib: The Assyrian King Who Defied God
The annals of ancient history are replete with tales of powerful kings and vast empires, but few narratives illustrate the sovereignty of God over earthly rulers as vividly as the account of Sennacherib, king of Assyria. Reigning from 705 to 681 BC, Sennacherib was a formidable monarch, inheriting and expanding one of the most dominant and brutal empires the world had ever known. His campaigns spread terror and destruction across the Near East, yet his ultimate confrontation with the small kingdom of Judah and its God stands as a testament to divine power and the folly of human pride. Sennacherib's story is not merely one of military might but of a king who dared to defy the Living God, and in doing so, met his divinely ordained end.
The Roaring Lion of Assyria: Historical Context
The Assyrian Empire, with its capital at Nineveh, was a truly fearsome entity. Known for its highly organized military, advanced siege warfare, and ruthless policies of conquest, deportation, and terror, Assyria sought to dominate all nations. Sennacherib, a king in this tradition, continued the empire's aggressive expansion. His reign saw significant military achievements, including the suppression of revolts in Babylon and the subjugation of various city-states. It was against this backdrop of overwhelming Assyrian power that the kingdom of Judah, under the pious King Hezekiah, found itself in a precarious position.
Hezekiah, unlike many of his predecessors, was a king who "did that which was right in the sight of the LORD, according to all that David his father did." (2 Kings 18:3). He undertook significant religious reforms, cleansing the temple, destroying idolatrous altars, and restoring the worship of the one true God. Crucially, Hezekiah also rebelled against the king of Assyria, refusing to pay the tribute that had been imposed on his father, Ahaz. This act of defiance, born of trust in the Lord, inevitably drew the wrath of the Assyrian lion.
The Invasion of Judah and Jerusalem's Peril
In the fourteenth year of King Hezekiah's reign, Sennacherib launched a massive campaign against Judah. The biblical accounts in 2 Kings 18, 2 Chronicles 32, and Isaiah 36 vividly describe the unfolding crisis. Sennacherib systematically captured the fortified cities of Judah, laying waste to the land. His own historical records, the "Sennacherib Prism," boast of capturing forty-six strong, walled cities and countless smaller settlements. Hezekiah, initially overwhelmed, sent a desperate message to Sennacherib at Lachish, offering tribute in an attempt to avert Jerusalem's destruction:
And Hezekiah king of Judah sent to the king of Assyria to Lachish, saying, I have offended; return from me: that which thou puttest on me will I bear. And the king of Assyria appointed unto Hezekiah king of Judah three hundred talents of silver and thirty talents of gold.
Hezekiah stripped the gold from the temple doors and pillars to meet this exorbitant demand. However, Sennacherib's ambition was not satisfied. Despite receiving the tribute, he sent a large army, led by his chief officers—Tartan, Rabshakeh, and Rabsaris—to besiege Jerusalem. The stage was set for the ultimate confrontation.
Sennacherib's Blasphemy: Defying the Living God
The true heart of Sennacherib's defiance against God is found in the words and actions of his envoy, Rabshakeh, and in Sennacherib's own subsequent letter to Hezekiah. Standing outside the walls of Jerusalem, Rabshakeh delivered a speech designed to demoralize the people and undermine their trust in Hezekiah and, more importantly, in the Lord God of Israel. He mocked Hezekiah's reliance on Egypt, a "bruised reed," and then turned his vitriol directly against God:
Neither let Hezekiah make you trust in the LORD, saying, The LORD will surely deliver us, and this city shall not be delivered into the hand of the king of Assyria.
Rabshakeh went further, comparing the God of Israel to the gods of the nations Assyria had already conquered. He listed the cities whose deities had proven powerless against the Assyrian might:
Where are the gods of Hamath, and of Arpad? where are the gods of Sepharvaim, Hena, and Ivah? have they delivered Samaria out of my hand? Who are they among all the gods of the countries, that have delivered their country out of my hand, that the LORD should deliver Jerusalem out of my hand?
This was not merely political rhetoric; it was a profound act of spiritual blasphemy. Sennacherib, through his representative, elevated himself and his empire above the one true God, placing Him on par with the impotent idols of the conquered peoples. He viewed the God of Israel as just another regional deity, subject to the same fate as all other gods. This direct challenge to God's unique sovereignty and omnipotence was the ultimate defiance.
Sennacherib reinforced this blasphemy in a letter sent to Hezekiah after Rabshakeh's return to Lachish. The letter reiterated the same arrogant claim:
Let not thy God in whom thou trustest deceive thee, saying, Jerusalem shall not be delivered into the hand of the king of Assyria. Behold, thou hast heard what the kings of Assyria have done to all lands, by destroying them utterly: and shalt thou be delivered? Have the gods of the nations delivered them which my fathers have destroyed, as Gozan, and Haran, and Rezeph, and the children of Eden which were in Telassar?
Sennacherib's pride and hubris led him to openly mock and challenge the Creator of the heavens and the earth, the God who had delivered Israel time and again. This defiance sealed his fate.
Hezekiah's Humility and God's Mighty Deliverance
In stark contrast to Sennacherib's arrogance, Hezekiah responded with profound humility and faith. Upon hearing Rabshakeh's words and receiving Sennacherib's blasphemous letter, Hezekiah tore his clothes, covered himself with sackcloth, and went into the house of the Lord. He then sent messengers to the prophet Isaiah, seeking divine counsel:
For this day is a day of trouble, and of rebuke, and of blasphemy: for the children are come to the birth, and there is not strength to bring forth. It may be the LORD thy God will hear all the words of Rabshakeh, whom the king of Assyria his master hath sent to reproach the living God; and will reprove the words which the LORD thy God hath heard: wherefore lift up thy prayer for the remnant that are left.
Hezekiah then took the letter and spread it before the Lord in the temple, offering a fervent prayer that recognized God's universal sovereignty and pleaded for His intervention, not for Judah's sake alone, but for God's glory:
O LORD God of Israel, which dwellest between the cherubims, thou art the God, even thou alone, of all the kingdoms of the earth; thou hast made heaven and earth. Incline thine ear, O LORD, and hear; open thine eyes, O LORD, 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 lands, And have cast their gods into the fire: for they were no gods, but the work of men's hands, wood and stone: therefore they have destroyed them. Now therefore, O LORD our God, I beseech thee, save thou us out of his hand, that all the kingdoms of the earth may know that thou art the LORD God, even thou only.
God heard Hezekiah's prayer. Through Isaiah, the Lord sent a message of assurance, promising to defend Jerusalem and asserting His complete control over Sennacherib's movements:
Thus saith the LORD concerning the king of Assyria, He shall not come into this city, nor shoot an arrow there, nor come before it with shield, nor cast a bank against it. By the way that he came, by the same shall he return, and shall not come into this city, saith the LORD. For I will defend this city, to save it, for mine own sake, and for my servant David's sake.
That very night, God acted decisively. The biblical account is breathtaking in its simplicity and power:
And it came to pass that night, that the angel of the LORD went out, and smote in the camp of the Assyrians an hundred fourscore and five thousand: and when they arose early in the morning, behold, they were all dead corpses.
In a single night, 185,000 Assyrian soldiers were slain by the Angel of the Lord. This miraculous intervention shattered Sennacherib's campaign and demonstrated God's absolute power. Jerusalem was delivered, not by military might or human strategy, but by divine intervention.
Sennacherib's Ignominious End
Humiliated and defeated, Sennacherib was forced to retreat from Judah and return to his capital, Nineveh. He did not enter Jerusalem, nor did he shoot an arrow there, precisely as Isaiah had prophesied. His boasts were silenced, and his empire was shown to be utterly powerless against the will of the Almighty God. But God's judgment upon Sennacherib was not yet complete.
Years later, while worshipping in the house of his god Nisroch, Sennacherib met his end at the hands of his own sons, Adrammelech and Sharezer. They assassinated him, and then fled to the land of Armenia. His son Esarhaddon reigned in his stead.
So Sennacherib king of Assyria departed, and went and returned, and dwelt at Nineveh. And it came to pass, as he was worshipping in the house of Nisroch his god, that Adrammelech and Sharezer his sons smote him with the sword: and they escaped into the land of Armenia: and Esarhaddon his son reigned in his stead.
This ignominious death, at the hands of his own flesh and blood, in the temple of his false god, was the final fulfillment of God's prophecy. The king who had mocked the living God was struck down while appealing to a powerless idol, a stark demonstration of the vanity of false worship and the certainty of divine retribution.
Enduring Lessons from Sennacherib's Fall
The story of Sennacherib is more than a historical account; it is a profound theological lesson, offering timeless truths for all generations:
- God's Absolute Sovereignty: Sennacherib, the mighty king of Assyria, was merely an instrument in God's hand, used to chastise His people. Yet, when Sennacherib's pride led him to defy the Lord, God demonstrated that no earthly power can stand against Him. He rules over "all the kingdoms of the earth."
- The Folly of Pride and Blasphemy: Sennacherib's downfall was precipitated by his arrogant boasts and direct blasphemy against the Living God. Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall (Proverbs 16:18). To mock the Creator is to invite His righteous judgment.
- The Power of Humble Prayer: Hezekiah's response to an overwhelming threat was not military strategy but fervent, humble prayer. He appealed to God's character and glory, and God responded with miraculous deliverance. This narrative powerfully illustrates the efficacy of prayer in the face of impossible circumstances.
- God's Unwavering Faithfulness to His People: Despite Judah's past failings, God protected Jerusalem for His own sake and for the sake of His covenant with David. He is a faithful God who defends those who trust in Him, even when they are outnumbered and outmatched.
- The Uniqueness of the God of Israel: Unlike the dead, impotent gods of the nations, the God of Israel is the Living God, who acts in history, hears prayer, and demonstrates His power. Sennacherib learned this lesson too late, as his "god" could not protect him from his own sons.
- The Certainty of God's Word: Every detail of Isaiah's prophecy concerning Sennacherib's fate—his retreat, his failure to enter Jerusalem, and his eventual death by the sword—was fulfilled precisely. This underscores the unwavering truth and reliability of God's word.
Sennacherib's story serves as a perpetual reminder that while earthly kings may rage and empires may rise and fall, the Lord God Almighty remains on His throne, sovereign over all. Those who defy Him will ultimately face His righteous judgment, while those who humble themselves and trust in Him will find Him to be their mighty Deliverer.