Reading for January 18th

 Read 2 Kings 19.20-37. In verse 21: She is the virgin daughter Zion, a reference to Jerusalem. Toss(ing) her head was a way of showing contempt. The idea is that the city of Jerusalem disdains the Assyrian king Sennacherib. In verses 22-24: Sennacherib is caricatured as arrogant and boastful to the point that he reviled the Lord. The speaker is vv.23-23 is Sennacherib. See Isa 10.12-19; 14.24-27. In verses 25-28: Now the Lord speaks. The message in these verses is that it is the Lord who determined Sennacherib's victories and who will now bring him down because of his pride.  In verses 29-31: This oracle is considered more realistic and thus more original than the surrounding material. The sign is describes is a three-year period before agriculture returns to its normal cycle and the Assyrians threat is fully removed (v. 29). The city of Jerusalem from which the countryside will be repopulated after the Assyrian devastation (vv. 30-31). In verses 32-33: These verses reflect the doctrine of the inviolability of Jerusalem, that is, the belief that the Lord would never allow the city of Jerusalem to be captured. The idea may have arisen as a result of the city's survival in 701. It was later countered by t he prophet Jeremiah (Jer 7). In verse 35: This verse describes a plague that devastated Sennacherib's and forced him to return home in shame to Nineveh. The historical veracity of the even cannot be confirmed or denied. In  verses 36-37: Sennacherib's assassination did not take place until 20years later in 681 BCE. Ararat (v. 37) is modern day Armenia north of Assyria. Comments or Questions..