Category Archives: Bible Study

Assyria, Our Forgotten Enemy – Kings

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This post is about the kings of Assyria, Judah, and Israel (northern kingdom). The rulers are how we label and set times (years) for the actions we see in the Bible. The Bible has many historical notes in it that sometimes we miss, but it is one of the non-Assyrian sources that talks about the conquest of the Assyrian kings. There are many preserved texts of clay tablets, stones, and wall reliefs that tell stories of this period. With that said, some of this material is not just from our Bible.

Aggressions, conquest, and Temple news is in our Bible and the writings of the Assyrian kings. We know there were documents that have been lost to history about Judah and Israel. Even with Assyria in control, the kings of smaller countries attacked and held campaigns against each other. We can see this with Pekah of Israel and Rezin of Damascus against Judah and King Ahaz. King Amaziah did this against Edom and stole their gods.

Taking conquered kingdoms gods was a practice that Assyria did regularly; they took Marduk of Babylon and held a trial and found him guilty. Tribute and captivity of the people to other lands are how they controlled the kingdoms they conquered. Gold, silver, and other valuables, like wool and sheep, are mentioned many times in the Bible. The Temple and palace treasuries were emptied many times.

My search terms were Assyria and Ninevah. I will give the Assyrian king then kings from Judah and Israel; some biblical kings do not have direct mention with Assyrian kings, but they were in the same time periods. This is just a brief look and not a comprehensive list of interactions. From my Background post many of the prophets were writing in this period and may mention Assyria or Ninevah but not a specific biblical king. Pronouncements of Assyrian judgment are found in many places in the Bible.

  • King Ahab fought Assyria at Qarqar in 853 BC Battle of Qarqar – Wikipedia  This is not found in the Bible.
  • Tiglath-Pileser/Pul 745-727 – Ahaz 2Kg 16, Menahem 2 Kings 15, Pekah
  • Shalmaneser 727-722 – Hezekiah, Hoshea 2 Kg 17
  • Sargon 722-705 – references in Obadiah 20 and Isaiah 20
  • Sennacherib 705-681 He built up Ninevah making it his administrative capital – Hezekiah and Manasseh. 2 Kings 19 and 2 Chronicles 32
  • Esarhaddon 681-669 – Mentioned in Ezra 4, Isaiah 37:38
  • Ashurbanipal 669-631 – King Josiah. Ashurbanipal and Pharaoh Necho were beaten by Babylon.

The Assyrian Conquests (853 bce–612 bce) | Encyclopedia.com

Sepharad – Encyclopedia of The Bible – Bible Gateway in Obadiah, refers to exiles from Judah

List of Assyrian kings – Wikipedia  look at the bottom

List of Assyrian Kings – Bible History

Kingdoms of the Arabs – Kedar / Kedarites

Assyria, Our Forgotten Enemy – A Little Background

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Spiritualizing the influence of Egypt and Babylon has been done many times, I really cannot remember a sermon about the evils of Assyria. From my background studies I will say they were not nice and taking populations captives or razing whole cities to the ground was common, Assyria did it to Babylon twice.

Assyria/Ninevah and the Books of the Bible that cover that time period.

This would be my order of reading for a timeline.

Kingdoms

There was history going on outside of Israel. Some of these major players are in the story of God’s People some are not. There were many other kingdoms that do not make it into Scripture, but they were there. This is just a list, their interactions and treaties were complex and changed through the years.

Assyria, Our Forgotten Enemy and Ahaz

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References for King Ahaz are: 2 Chronicles 28, 2 Kings 16, and Isaiah 7:1-12. Isaiah 14:28 is the year he died, and Isa 57:3 – 13 describe the actions of Ahaz. To get a good portrait of him you need to consider all of the references together, as each adds something special to the study.

Who He Was

Ahaz is the son of Jotham and the grandson of Uzziah, and the father of Hezekiah. He is also the king who made many bad choices. In a time of trouble, he turned to the gods of Damascus and then to Assyria for help. Because of the king of Assyria, he changed the temple and the worship of God.

The Enemies Ahaz Dealt With

  • Edom – 2 Chronicles 28:16-18 and 2 Kings 16:6 speak of troubles with Edom/Esau/Amalekites. (Boundaries changed over the years and so did population sizes.) They were joined by the Philistines and Aram/Samaria in reducing Judah because Ahaz did not choose the Lord. The Book of Amos has things to say about Edom in this time period. This unrest started in the womb and can still be seen in the Book of Esther, and in King Herod’s rule. See Hosea 11:12-12:6.
  • Assyria – This enemy had been around for a while, as King Ahab was the first Hebrew king to fight them, at Qarqar. They deported Israel, twice, and took part of Judah into captivity. The important note with Ahaz is he wanted help from Assyria. See Hosea 5:13.
  • Samaria – Pekah son of Remaliah (Israel) and Aram/Damascus – Rezin. Their conflicts is Ahaz’s story in 2 Chronicles 28 and 2 Kings 16. Isaiah 7 through 10 adds the final note to them and Assyria. Remaliah | The amazing name Remaliah: meaning and etymology
  • Ahaz – He had a battle with his history and chose the wrong side. I wonder when Isaiah 7:10 happened? Was it before he followed his non-David side and threw off all of the things of God?  

2 Kings 16:2 Ahaz was 25 when he started to rule for 16 years, that makes him 41 at his death.  2 Kings 18:2 Hezekiah was 25 when he started ruling. 41-25 = 16 years old when Ahaz fathered Hezekiah, he had been a father for 9 years when he became king. Customs, social norms, and political pressures may account for this, or he may have just been an out-of-control royal.  

A Contrast – Kings and Chronicles verses Isaiah. History verses God’s prospective. Isaiah, Hosea, and the minor prophets through Zephaniah covers the years of Assyria’s assault and the moral decline of Israel and Judah. In those Books during that time, judgment is pronounced but in all of that is also the Lord offering a better way and promises of His righteousness and redemption. An example is Isaiah 7 – 10, in these chapters is promises of the Messiah.

Ahaz let Assyria direct his spiritual life. It seems Abijah, Hezekiah’s mother, a daughter of Zion, was better and directed Hezekiah to the Lord.  

The Kingdom of Heaven/God – IS LIKE

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The IS LIKE post continues my study of Kingdom. IS LIKE is the phrase that will be my focus, most verses with this declaration occur in Matthew. The word like and relate terms are numerous in the Gospels, so I have included some links to allow you to go further. I will be honest, add your leaf and ink concordance, my Strong’s/Vines Concordance gave me some thoughts that were not in the electronic versions. But I do enjoy the resources I have found on-line.

ὅς | Free Online Greek Dictionary | billmounce.com

ὅμοιος | Free Online Greek Dictionary | billmounce.com

Strong’s Greek: 3666. ὁμοιόω (homoioó) — To make like, to liken, to compare

You find IS LIKE verses in Mark and Luke also, I may just reference them as many are repeats of the ones in Matthew. John did not have any that I could find, but he had a term that was great and I will talk about it. Some of this needs to be “repeats” so I will cover them now.

  • Matthew has the most references to kingdom. He uses “of heaven” the most, with just a few “of God” when the leaders were being addressed. I think this reflects his primary audience. I do not think that there is a difference in what he is talking about because the other writers use the same parables, they just use “Of God”. Look at the Lord’s Prayer.
  • Mark and Luke use “of God” when it is needed. Luke has many verses about the kingdom.
  • John does not have many verses with the word kingdom in them. That is probably because he was focused on the King and showing Him as the Son of God. He does use “my kingdom” when Jesus is talking to Pilate. See Chapter 3 and 18 for the times he brings kingdom into his Gospel.

In Matthew the first message about kingdom is “repent for it is near”, both John the Baptist and Jesus shared this word. Jesus added healing as a witness that He had come and was bring the kingdom.

Matthew 6 and Luke 11 have versions of The Lord’s Prayer; it is also known as The Our Father. The reason I bring this up is who the kingdom belongs to, and where it/He is located. Our Father is in Heaven and we are asking for His Kingdom to come. I found Psalm 9:7-11 as an Old Testament verse that lends itself to the Prayer’s terminology.

Parables, proverbs, and stories are very much a part of Hebrew literature, remember Proverbs and Judges 9. The thing I like about them are there is more than one level to them for us to ponder. Even the ones that Jesus explained to His disciples may have more in them. I like His explanations and don’t usually try to go deeper, most of the time I can barely absorb His teaching about them. But I have found that as you grow in the Lord, the more you may see. However, if your later insights cancel the simple ones, it may be time for more study.

These “IS LIKE” parables are very much like that. My Strong’s/Vines points out you may have to view or consider the whole and all the parts and characters to get the most out of them. I know I have added thoughts to many of them. Sometimes you need to really look at what the IS LIKE is talking about. An example is the humble or little child parables, looking at the circumstances for Jesus’ words are just as important as the little children.

Matthew 13 

  • 24 – a man who sowed good seed
  • 31 – mustard seed (See Luke 13:18+19)
  • 33 – yeast (See Luke 13:20)
  • 44 – treasure hidden in a field
  • 45 – merchant looking for fine pearls
  • 47 – net that was let down and caught all kinds of fish
  • 52 – owner of a house who brings out of his storeroom (teacher of the law)

Matthew 18

  • 4 – a humble child is the greatest in the kingdom
  • 23 – king who wanted to settle accounts with his servants

Matthew 20:1 – a landowner who is looking to hire labors to work in his field

Matthew 22:2 – king who prepared a wedding banquet for his son. This was taught on the Temple Mount before the leaders and the people.

Matthew 25:1 – will be like ten virgins with their lamps going to meet the bridegroom. This was on the Mount of Olives to the disciples. (Sadducees asked a question about marriage while He was on the Temple Mount) This further enforces the Palm Sunday ride into Jerusalem was a part of a marriage contract for paying the bride’s price.

  • 14 – man on a journey

AS I REFLECTED ON THE ABOVE PARABLES IN MATTHEW, I NOTICED HOW THAT LIST WOULD ALSO SERVICE AS AN OUTLINE FOR JESUS’ LIFE AND MINISTRY HERE ON EARTH.

Mark

  • 4:26 – 29 – a man scatters seeds on the ground
  • 10:15 – the little child receiving the kingdom

Luke

  • 13:18 – a mustard seed planted in the garden (See Matthew 13:31+32)
  • 13:20 – yeast (See Matthew 13:33)
  • 18:17 – a little child receiving the kingdom

John – 3:3 born again God, 3:5 born of water and the Spirit God, 18: 36 Jesus’ kingdom is not of this world (MY KINGDOM). He was talking to Pilate.

Bible 911 – 1 Kings

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1 Kings 9:11 (Now Hiram the king of Tyre had furnished Solomon with cedar trees and fir trees, and with gold, according to all his desire,) that then king Solomon gave Hiram twenty cities in the land of Galilee. KJV

Hiram – This man had good relations with David and was willing to continue them with his son. (Contrast this with King Saul, who did not seem to get along with many non-Hebrews.) He made a treaty with Solomon and the two had business dealing with each other (1Kings 5 and 10). As I read 1 Kings and 2 Chronicles, it is clear that the grand building projects of Solomon were accomplished because of Hiram. He supplied lumber, gold, Huram-Abi (1Kings 2:13), and other workers for the projects. Yes, he was paid for these, but Solomon certainly used non-Hebrews to build the temple. Solomon also used the aliens in Israel as workers (1Kings 2:17). (Contrast this with the building projects of Nehemiah.) It is important to know that Hiram also gave the God of Israel praise (2Chronicles 2:12). Was he a convert? Who really knows for sure.

Tyre – This kingdom was north of Israel. It was also a city and seaport that had great wealth. Just north of Tyre was Sidon, which was also a seaport city/kingdom. Further up the coast was the city of Byblos (Not Babylon.) At times they are identified separately, and then at times they seem to be one country. The good relations were not maintained and there are many prophecies about Tyre and Sidon, both good and bad.

Solomon – His riches get many peoples attention and they want to claim their share. Others believe they have wisdom that compares to his and push their thoughts onto everyone. In his life these brought him much attention and granted him favor and great privileges. He even wrote parts of the Hebrew Bible. All of these make him someone that is very hard to pin descriptions and characterizations on. Were the riches and attention the reason for his problems? I have tried to highlight his riches in 2 Chronicles 9:11.

He is the second-born son of David with Bathsheba, the first one died. Nehemiah 13:26 sums up Solomon’s life, he was loved by God who made him king, but his foreign women led him astray.

To be clear, Solomon “built” the Temple, but David had the desire, got the plans from God, bought the land, and supplied most of the building materials especially the metals, and he even retained some of the craftsmen. It was a team effort, but Solomon rode to fame with the Temple on what David had done.  

No expense was spared for either project, and Solomon made silver of little value because of all the gold he brought to Jerusalem and Israel. So, was gold and riches the problem? Gold can metaphorically represent many things, but the gold in the Temple and Jerusalem attracted problems. The Temple was stripped and refilled many times before Babylon took what was left and tore the building down. On a different note, which lasted longer, his gold or his writings of Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Song of Songs, and several Psalms?  

Samuel before he anointed Saul warned Israel about having a king. This leads to an awkward thought, if Solomon was so good why did the people want Rehoboam to “lighten the load” when Solomon died? (1 Kings 12:4)   

Cedar and fir trees – The trees of Lebanon were highly prized and sought after in the ancient world. It is one of the few places in the Levant that trees grew to those heights. In the Temple they were used in many places. The big one was they covered all of the stone inside the Temple, and then the wood was overlaid with gold. (Think the Ark of the Covenant.) 2 Chronicles 2:16 tells of those logs being made into rafts and floated to Joppa. That is very impressive, I had heard that Egypt also got wood from Tyre. Those trees are mentioned in Judges 9 and Isaiah 2:13.  

Gold – Most translations list the amounts of the gold received in talents. If your Bible has footnotes look what those numbers are in pounds and tons. There is a lot of gold associated with Solomon.  

Twenty – The number twenty appears connected to several things in this narrative.

  • Twenty years of building
  • The numbers of towns given as payment
  • Amount of food given to Hiram (20,000)

My studies on Solomon have produced a variety of thoughts/characterizations over the years. This study has clarified some and spawned others, not all of them are about Solomon.

  • Having a lot of money does not make everything you do right or pleasing in the sight of God.
  • Very wise individuals do make mistakes.
  • Solomon and his legacy are a picture of religion. I did not say relationship with God. He took what David started and built something that pleased God. As more money, knowledge, and prestige poured in he left God and went after worldly pursuits and lusts.