Today’s Reading: 2 Kings 18

13 In the fourteenth year of King Hezekiah, King Sennacherib of Assyria came up against all the fortified cities of Judah and captured them.
2 Kings 18:13

Sennacherib invades Judah. 

We’re going forward in time from Ecclesiastes, whom tradition remembers as authored by King Solomon. It’s relevant because of policies begun by Solomon that lived on into the day of King Hezekiah’s reign, where we find ourselves today.

Judah was a small kid on the block, insignificant compared to its larger neighbors. A brief geography lesson. To the west, Judah bordered the Mediterranean Sea. To the east, Judah bordered a desert, what the Bible often calls “the wilderness.” To the south, Judah bordered the Egyptian Empire. And to the north, Judah bordered other small rival tribes. This is important because it mean that any trade with Egypt either had to cross the Mediterranean or go through Judah. Traders could not cross the desert and most preferred trading over land, as the sea could be wildly unpredictable.

Solomon recognized this reality and, during his reign and against what God commanded, he began to levy tariffs, taxes on trade through his borders. At the time, Egypt is weak and the rival tribes to the north are busy fighting each other, keeping themselves weak. It seems like a no-brainer: make money off the trade going through your lands, knowing that there’s little threat from any neighbor for doing so.

Between Solomon and Hezekiah’s reign, that changes. Kings of Assyria conquer and band together these rival northern tribes, creating the Assyrian Empire. They grow rich trading with Egypt, but those trade routes have to pass through Judah, and so Assyria (and Egypt) lose some of that wealth paying tariffs to Judah. By the reign of Sennacherib, kings of Assyria ask themselves why they’re paying this small nation taxes, when they could simply conquer Judah and then share a land border directly with Egypt. 

So, Sennacherib launches an invasion, one that will eventually lead to the downfall of both Israel and Judah. Not immediately, there’s still time to go, and Assyria itself will be conquered by the Babylonian Empire before Judah and Jerusalem finally fall in the year 587 B.C., but this is the beginning of the end. 

Had Solomon not levied tariffs, or had future kings followed God’s commandment by ending the tariffs, they may not have suffered this fate. Greed was a primary cause of their downfall, for they lacked the faith to say that God would provide for them without having to levy tariffs.

Think
What role does greed play in your life? 

Pray
Confess where you have discovered greed in prayer to God.

Do
At some point today, give generously. 

Think, Pray, Do. As we respond in faith to scripture, God moves in power through our minds, hearts, and bodies. We are the people of God. Thanks for reading today. Go in peace. Amen.

Think, Pray, Do devotionals by Ted Goshorn follow the suggested bible reading plan from his website and book, Prayer Changes Us. Find this Bible reading plan at tedgoshorn.org/biblereading. If you have found today’s devotion helpful, don’t forget to subscribe for daily emails at tedgoshorn.org and share with others that we may think, pray, and do faithfully.