2 Nephi 20:12

[pam]

Reference Search: 2 Nephi 20:12

12 Wherefore it shall come to pass that when the Lord hath performed his whole work upon Mount Zion and upon Jerusalem, I will punish the fruit of the stout heart of the king of Assyria, and the glory of his high looks.

Quotes for Discussion

I will punish the stout heart

The Assyrians will attack Mount Zion, the hill upon which Solomon built his temple (1 Kings 8:1). (This attack occurred in 701 B.C., under the Assyrian king Sennacherib). Yet the Lord will punish the king of Assyria for this “stout heart” and “high looks” (arrogance, pride, and boasting). This prophecy was fulfilled when a desolating sickness was sent into the Assyrian camps, causing many deaths, and the king was later slain by his own sons (2 Kings 19:32-37; Isaiah 37:33-38).

Hoyt W. Brewster, Jr., Isaiah Plain and Simple [salt Lake City: Deseret Book Co., 1995], 100

He describes Assyria as coming from the North; oppressive and ruthless; a law unto itself; militaristic and bent on world domination; imposing a yoke of servitude on other nations; encroaching on the world by degrees, swallowing up territories; and setting all the surrounding peoples in fear of it. When the world is ripe in iniquity, Assyria suddenly bursts forth like a flood. With its alliance of nations, it sweeps over the entire earth, conquering, destroying by fire and by the sword, leaving havoc and disaster in its wake—capturing the whole world. Only Zion/Jerusalem, a safe place for the Lord’s righteous, does Assyria not conquer. Assyria invades even Egypt, the other great superpower; Assyria penetrates Egypt and ravages her land.

After a few years of war and oppression, Assyria lays siege to Zion/Jerusalem, where a remnant of Israel takes refuge. Then occurs Assyria’s demise. Because of his covenant with Israel, and because the righteous of his people remain faithful through much trial and tribulation, the Lord utterly destroys the Assyrian army. The 185,000 men who perished overnight in the days of King Hezekiah…serve as the historical type of a latter-day Armageddon….The first [kind of divine protection], based on the Sinai covenant, requires that all the Lord’s army consist of righteous men. Joshua’s army, at the conquest of Canaan, forms its historical type. The second kind of divine protection rests on the Davidic covenant....This requires the exemplary righteousness of the Davidic king. He merits the Lord’s protection by proxy on behalf of those loyal to the king. King Hezekiah and the people who fled to Jerusalem from the Assyrians serve as its historical type.

Avraham Gileadi, The Book of Isaiah: A New Translation with Interpretive Keys from the Book of Mormon [salt Lake City: Deseret Book Co., 1988], 72-73