THERE is so much in the Babylonian and Assyrian rooms of the British Museum that will remind us of the wonderful way in which God helped King Hezekiah in the hour of his greatest need and danger that it will well repay a second visit.
We remember how Sennacherib, the proud king of Assyria, laid siege to Jerusalem (Isa. 36:22And the king of Assyria sent Rabshakeh from Lachish to Jerusalem unto king Hezekiah with a great army. And he stood by the conduit of the upper pool in the highway of the fuller's field. (Isaiah 36:2); 2 Kings 19), but if we go back a few pages in the history of Palestine and its people, we shall, I think, better understand the great deliverance that God gave to Hezekiah.
About seven hundred years B.C. (it is not always easy to be quite sure of the exact date of events that happened so long ago) a king whose name was Sargon reigned in Assyria and Babylon. He was a bold warrior and a great conqueror. He subdued many of the neighboring nations, and forced their kings or princes to pay heavy tribute to him. He was clever but cruel, and the word of God says plainly, that "Whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap." (Gal. 6:77Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap. (Galatians 6:7).) He had shown mercy to no one, and his own death was very sad and sudden. It was whispered that as he walked in the streets of his own city he was murdered by one of the princes he had taken captive. We do not read much about Sargon in our Bibles, but we know that Ahaz king of Judah had paid tribute to the king of Assyria, and it is quite likely that during the early years of his reign, when he had not learned to trust fully in the living God, Hezekiah did the same; but the time came when, according to the promise of God, he was delivered from the yoke of Assyria.
“Sargon is dead!" How quickly the news passed from one to another; until in a short time every one knew, and was talking of the man they had all so greatly feared. Sennacherib, the new king, would, it was thought by many, have enough to do to put down rebellion and keep order in his own land, and might not be so keen in exacting tribute as Sargon had been; so very little was sent to him.
From the very first day of his reign Hezekiah knew that he had many enemies, that at any time the king of Assyria might bring a strong army and invade his land; so he lost no time in trying to defend himself and his land against invasion. The streets of Jerusalem must have been a busy scene as workmen carrying loads of stone and other building materials passed to and fro; for the king had given orders that all the walls and towers of the city were to be repaired and strengthened. But though Hezekiah was young, and could not have had much experience, God made him wise and thoughtful; he saw that it would be of very little real use to protect his people from enemies outside if they suffered from want of food within the city. So storehouses were built and filled with good corn and other foodstuffs. So far the work had been easy, but something much more difficult remained to be done. The people in a besieged city might have plenty of food and yet suffer terrible hardships, and even die of thirst. Water must be brought to the city. But how was it to be done?
There must be pools and wells of water within the city of Jerusalem. Of course there had been a water supply, but it would not be enough for a time of war, when large numbers of people would have taken refuge within its walls. The reservoir, too, was placed so that a besieging army could easily get control of it.
In 1880 some native lads were playing in the Pool of Siloam, or rather in a channel leading to it, which had been cut deep in the rock, when one of them slipped, and fell into the water; on getting up he noticed what looked like letters cut into the face of the rock. The boy was the son or pupil of a learned professor, and he lost no time in telling him of the discovery he had made; for though owing to its great age and the darkness of the tunnel, there was great difficulty in getting a copy of it, it is said to be the oldest Hebrew inscription in the world, and is believed to date back to the time of Hezekiah. The Hebrew is as pure as that in which the Bible was written, and tells how the great work of bringing a plentiful supply of water into Jerusalem was done.
A copy of this remarkable inscription is in the museum, but I can only give part of it. "Behold the tunnel. This is the story of the tunnel. While the tunnelers were lifting up the pick each one against his neighbor, and while there were yet three cubits to excavate, was heard the voice of one man calling to his neighbor... and after the excavators had struck pick on pick one against the other... the water flowed from the spring to the pool.”
When we learn from a very old book of Jewish history that to form the tunnel the solid rock had to be dug away inch by inch for a length of seventeen hundred feet, and also that it was so low and narrow that only a very few men working from each end could be employed at one time, we shall be able to form some idea, though perhaps only a very faint one, of the time and labor that must have been required to complete so great a work.
But Connie reminds me that our talk seems to have taken us quite away from the museum. We will return to it, for like most of the kings of olden time, Sennacherib had the story of his wars and victories written not in books but upon tablets or cylinders of clay; the writing was done with a style, or other sharp-pointed tool, while the clay was damp, and the tablet or cylinder afterward baked. Quite a number of these strange old-world books of history are now in the museum, and as fresh mounds are being dug into, frequent additions are still being made.
But our time has gone so quickly and we are only at the beginning of the story of the wonderful deliverance God gave to Hezekiah and his beloved city from the king of Assyria and his almost countless hosts of well-trained warriors, reminding us, as every record of the lovingkindness of the Lord should do, that "God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble." (Psa. 46:11<<To the chief Musician for the sons of Korah, A Song upon Alamoth.>> God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. (Psalm 46:1).) And though we may not be able to pay another visit to the Assyrian saloon in the museum, we shall, I hope, study our Bibles with a fresh interest as we begin to understand why God has, allowed these long-hidden records to be brought to light at a time when so many are daring to ask, "Is the Bible really true?”