Arrows in the Hand

"As arrows are in the hand of a mighty man; so are children of the youth." (Psalm 127:4)

 

This is the central verse in the 101 verses contained in a remarkable group of fifteen psalms called "The songs of degrees" (Psalms 120-134). The central verse in the central psalm of this group is the preceding verse: "Lo, children are an heritage of the LORD: and the fruit of the womb is his reward" (Psalm 127:3). The origin of these psalms and this peculiar superscript has always been uncertain. Four are said to be by David, one by Solomon; the other ten are anonymous.

 

A reasonable supposition, however, is that they were composed by King Hezekiah, after he had been miraculously healed of a lethal illness. "I will add unto thy days fifteen years," God had said, and gave Hezekiah a miraculous sign as confirmation, causing the shadow on the sun dial of Ahaz to go "backward ten degrees" (2 Kings 20:6, 10). In thanksgiving thereof, the king proclaimed, "Therefore we will sing my songs . . . all the days of our life in the house of the Lord" (Isaiah 38:20).

Sennacherib : The Man Who Built Nineveh

Sennacherib [Sĕnnăch'e rĭb]—the moon-god, sin (the moon-god) hath increased the brothers or destruction of the sword. A son of Sargon who succeeded to the throne after the murder of his father (2 Kings 18:13; 19:16, 20,36; 2 Chron. 32; Isa. 36:1; 37:17, 21, 37).

The Man Who Built Nineveh

This Assyrian king saw his boasted army destroyed in one night. He himself was slain by two of his sons in Nineveh in the Temple of Nisroch (2 Kings 19:37). Sennacherib’s great achievement in this area was the creation of Nineveh as a metropolis of the empire. It was he who built the wonderful palace of Konyungik and the great wall of Nineveh.

The Assyrian king’s invading hosts marching through Judah leaving destruction behind them were vividly described by Byron in The Destruction of Sennacherib:

Hezekiah : The Man Who Asked for Added Years

Hezekiah [Hĕze kī'ah] — jehovah is strength or a strong support is jehovah. Also given as Hizkiah, Hizkijah, Ezekias.1. Son and successor of Ahaz as king of Judah (2 Kings 16:20). He is referred to in well over one hundred references in 2 Kings, 1 and 2 Chronicles, Jeremiah, Hosea and Micah.

The Man Who Asked for Added Years

Hezekiah was one of the best kings who ever sat upon the throne of Judah, and is distinguished as the greatest in faith of all Judah’s kings (2 Kings 18:5). Sincere and devout, he was not a perfect man by any means, nor outstanding because of any brilliant gifts he possessed. This good king, however, is to be admired when one remembers his family background. Having such a wicked, apostate father as Ahaz, the wonder is that his son became the noble king he did. He had no pious training, but only a heritage of weakness in his moral fibre, for which God graciously made all fair allowance.