{"id":64291,"date":"2019-10-13T16:38:49","date_gmt":"2019-10-13T13:38:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/?p=64291"},"modified":"2023-05-07T08:27:37","modified_gmt":"2023-05-07T05:27:37","slug":"points-to-ponder-2-kings-18","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/points-to-ponder-2-kings-18\/","title":{"rendered":"Points to Ponder – 2 Kings 18"},"content":{"rendered":"
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  1. As the snake turns<\/em>. 189 chapters ago (Numbers 21), the copper snake (nachash hanechoshet) took part in a great national recovery. But it seems that after it fulfilled his purpose, the snake stuck around. Since then, \u201cthe Israelites had been offering sacrifices to it\u201d so he \u201cbroke it into pieces\u2026\u201d (verse 4).\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n
  2. Getting rid of the shrines\/high places – easier said than done!<\/em> Destroying tempels and altars to idols is one thing. But destroying temples and altars to God (those outside Jerusalem) is something else entirely. The difficulty is expressed by none other than Ravshakeh in his speech to the people: \u201cAnd if you tell me that you are relying on the LORD your God, He is the very one whose shrines and altars Hezekiah did away with, telling Judah and Jerusalem, \u2018You must worship only at this altar in Jerusalem.\u2019\u201d (22).<\/span><\/li>\n
  3. A land flowing with milk and honey<\/em>. Don\u2019t get confused: Ravshakeh invites his listeners to leave Canaan and come to Assyria, to enjoy the plentiful bounty: \u201cuntil I come and take you away to a land like your own, a land of grain [fields] and vineyards, of bread and wine, of olive oil and honey, so that you may live and not die. Don\u2019t listen to Hezekiah\u2026\u201d (verse 32). Sounds tempting!<\/span><\/li>\n
  4. Spoken word(s).<\/em> Hezekiah\u2019s officers ask that Ravshakeh speak in \u201cEnglish so the children won\u2019t understand,\u201d actually, Aramaic, so that the people won\u2019t understand. Apparently he had pretty good Hebrew (Judean). But he knew exactly what he was doing, and went over the heads of the officers straight to the people with his message. <\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n","image":{"ID":86314,"id":86314,"title":"Points to ponder","filename":"Points-to-ponder.jpg","filesize":0,"url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Points-to-ponder.jpg","link":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/points-to-ponder-psalm-84\/points-to-ponder\/","alt":"","author":"7","description":"","caption":"","name":"points-to-ponder","status":"inherit","uploaded_to":86166,"date":"2021-01-09 20:56:58","modified":"2023-12-28 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