Today's Scripture Reading (March 27, 2023): Isaiah 17
Sargon II was the King of
Assyria from 722-705 B.C.E. Sargon was a brutal King toward his enemies, but no
atrocities were recorded against his own people. Sargon was a warrior king, but
he was also a father. But maybe even more importantly, he was a grieving
father. Sargon had many sons, but his oldest son died during childhood. And
evidence of Sargon's grief at the loss of his son could be seen in the name
that he chose to give his next son, Sennacherib. The meaning of Sennacherib is "Sin
(the moon god) has replaced the brothers." It is evidence that Sargon saw
Sennacherib as a replacement for his lost son.
Functionally, since his older
brother had died before his birth, Sennacherib was raised as the heir apparent
of Assyria. He was an able military commander and led the armies of Assyria to
victory during his father's reign, Sargon. And Sennacherib was given the king's
power in his father's absence. Whether these circumstances arose while he was
on the battlefield or back in the Assyrian capital while his father was away, if
Sargon wasn't present, then what Sennacherib said was the law.
Sargon died in 705 B.C.E.,
and Sennacherib became the King of Assyria. But Sennacherib was shaken by the
demise of his father, and as a result of Dad's death, he made a few significant
moves. First, Sennacherib sought to distance himself from his father because his
father's defeat in battle was viewed as evidence of Sargon's sin. Second, he
moved the capital of the Assyrian Empire from Sargon's new capital city,
Dur-Sharrukin, to Nineveh. Third, he rebuilt a temple dedicated to the god
Nergal, a god associated with death, disaster, and war.
But Sennacherib also
continued his campaign against the countries in the Levant, including Judah. Israel
had already fallen in 721 B.C.E. to Sennacherib's father, Sargon. Sennacherib's
continued Levant campaign was largely successful, but his campaign in Judah, and
specifically against Jerusalem, was not a success. And while the Bible seems to
indicate that Sennacherib was present at Jerusalem, that does not seem certain.
The Bible says that the
Assyrian campaign against Jerusalem ended in failure.
That night the angel of the Lord went out and put to death a hundred and
eighty-five thousand in the Assyrian camp. When the people got up the next
morning—there were all the dead bodies! So Sennacherib king of Assyria broke camp
and withdrew. He returned to Nineveh and stayed there (2 Kings
19:35-36).
It was an eerie fulfillment of
the prophecy of Isaiah that a sudden terror would befall the enemies of Israel,
and by morning, those that threatened the city would be gone.
Tomorrow's Scripture Reading:
Isaiah 18
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