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world-empire. And, as will appear in the sequel, Hezekiah himself was to feel the power
of Assyria even before he came into actual conflict with it.
All this succession of evils, and those which were still to follow, were the consequences
of the disbelief and unbelief of Ahaz. As he had discarded the religion of Jehovah, so he
despised His Word. In the political circumstances of the country, the only alternative
before him was either to trust in the Lord for deliverance, or else to surrender to a foreign
power. Against the admonitions and warnings of the great prophet, who had assured him
of Divine help, Ahaz had chosen the second alternative. His resolve was not only sin: it
was folly. His short-sighted policy brought in another power whose domination could
never afterwards be permanently shaken off. Afterwards, when the kingdom of Israel
came to an end, the two rival world-empires, Assyria and Egypt, stood face to face, only
separated by little Judah - an object of ambition to both, a help to neither, yet whose
subjection was absolutely necessary to Assyria, not only in view of its further projects,
but even if previous conquests were to be preserved. And for an Assyrian monarch not to
be successful was, as this history has shown, to lose crown and life.
So matters stood when Hezekiah ascended the throne. Of all the political combinations
possible to him, he chose none. He returned to the point from which Ahaz had departed.
His policy was not to have any policy, but to trust in the living God, to obey His Word,
and to follow His guidance. His policy was his religion, and his religion was true policy.
The only occasion on which he was tempted to deviate from it was at a later time, and it
well-nigh proved fatal to him, as in the sequel it certainly did to his successors. Not that
Hezekiah neglected to avail himself of political combinations as they arose. Indeed, this
became the source of his danger. He may have argued that not to make use of the means
placed within his reach was fatalism, not faith. In this he erred. Yet he did not put his
trust in such alliances. He treated them rather as means for defensive, than as instruments
sought for offensive purposes. The only real help which he sought was that of the living
God.
Thus religion was the central principle of his reign and the secret of his success. The first
act of his government was to abolish every kind of idolatry, whether of foreign or
domestic origin. The "bamath," or "high places," were abolished; the matsebhoth, or
stone pillars and statues erected for the worship of Baal, were broken down; and the
Asherah, or wooden symbol of the lascivious worship of Astarte, was cut down. Nay,
even the brazen serpent, which had apparently been preserved since the time of
Moses, and had, no doubt in degenerate times, become almost an object of worship, was
now destroyed, having received the appellation which, when made an idol, it
deserved -Nechushtan, "brazen," a piece of brass (2 Kings 18:4).
- The word is here used collectively. Astarte, whose very name seems to suggest
defilement, was the same as Aphrodite, and Venus. Her worship was conjoined with that
of Baal; her emblem was a tree, with its branches, but without roots, planted upright in
(^)