Pul the king of Assyria came against the land; and Menahem gave Pul a thousand talents of silver, that his hand might be with him to establish the kingdom in his hand.
The army of Assyria came against Israel, and King Menahem kept his crown by paying for protection. Who was this Pul, what did a thousand talents of silver buy, and who paid for it?
Assyria steps onto the page here for the first time, and it does not arrive by accident.
Here Scripture mentions the Assyrian for the first time. He is the power God used to carry out judgment on the Kingdom of Israel… A huge tribute (almost two million dollars) held the Assyrian back.
Commentators differ over who this man was. One view identifies Pul with Tiglath-pileser, the king named later in the same chapter.
Painstaking research has proved beyond doubt that Pul and Tiglath-pileser II are the same person. The Assyrian monuments bear witness to this fact. The records of Tiglath-pileser say that he received tribute from "Minikhimmi Samirina" — that is, Menahem the Samaritan. Pul was clearly one name of the Assyrian ruler, and later he took the title of Tiglath-pileser II.
Another view keeps the two kings apart, and works from the way Scripture names them.
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If we keep simply to the letter of Scripture, we are led instead to see Pul, king of Assyria, as a separate person. This is what 1 Chronicles 5:26 tells us: "So the God of Israel stirred up the spirit of Pul king of Assyria, the spirit of Tiglath-pileser king of Assyria, and he took them into exile…" Verse 29 of our chapter credits the carrying away of the tribes beyond the Jordan to Tiglath-pileser. Verse 19 shows Pul coming against Israel, but an immense tribute of silver sways him into becoming the protector of the king of Israel.
The verse says what Menahem wanted for his money: a firmer grip on his own kingdom.
This showed how far Israel had departed from the living God, when their king gave money to a foreign king so that he might keep his kingdom.
The next verse shows where the silver came from.
Menahem faced the threat of an even stronger Assyrian king. He bought him off with a huge quantity of silver, meaning by this to strengthen his own hold on the kingdom too. Yet, just as with politicians today, the money did not come out of his own pocket. Scripture points out that he "exacted" the money from Israel, forcing every wealthy man in Israel to contribute. What a contrast to the One of whom the psalmist prophesied, "I will abundantly bless her provisions; I will satisfy her poor with bread" (Ps. 132:15).
The tribute worked for a time. Assyria turned back. But what did the whole policy of alliances achieve in the end?
In the end, what was the use of all the politics and the hunt for alliances and protection, turning now toward Assyria, then toward Egypt? Did they delay the decreed judgment for one moment? And it is the same in our own day, is it not? Nations try to get guarantees from one another. These will all blow away like chaff in the wind when "the Lamb who was slain" steps forward to take the book of God's counsels and ways toward the world and carry it out.
The policy of buying favour with gifts ended in shame.
Even one of Jeroboam's calves was carried to Assyria as a present for its king! What a shame for Israel! Their god given to the enemy of their race as a common present! That too was of the Lord.
No judgment fell on Menahem in his lifetime. Commentators draw a lesson from that.
Menahem did not die a violent death, so his son Pekahiah reigned in his place. God's government does not repay Menahem. His case, like many others in this history, teaches us that God's government on earth is not the measure of His righteousness. Nor is it His full repayment of the ways of men. This was the mistake of Job's friends, against whom Elihu rose up in anger.
- Bought. Menahem paid a foreign king a thousand talents of silver to secure his own throne. He bought protection instead of trusting God for it.
- Borrowed. The silver was not his; he squeezed it out of Israel's wealthy men, in sharp contrast to the King who satisfies His poor with bread.
- Blind. Turning to Assyria instead of to the Lord showed how far Israel had drifted from the living God.
- Brief. Assyria turned back. But no alliance delayed God's decreed judgment by a moment, and today's guarantees between nations will blow away like chaff.
- Beyond. Menahem died in his bed. God's government on earth is not the full measure of His righteousness or His final reckoning.
And Menahem exacted the money of Israel, of all those who were wealthy, of each man fifty shekels of silver, to give to the king of Assyria. And the king of Assyria turned back, and stayed not there in the land.
Menahem, king of Israel, handed the king of Assyria a thousand talents of silver to make him go away. This verse shows who paid that bill, and it raises a sharper question: why was a king of Israel bargaining with Assyria at all instead of with God?
The verb matters. Menahem did not pay the tribute himself. He took it from the rich men of Israel, fifty shekels each. One writer draws out what that method reveals about him:
The king of Assyria was stronger still. When he threatened Menahem, Menahem bought him off with a huge amount of silver. He meant this to strengthen his own hold on the kingdom too. Yet, just as with politicians today, the money did not come out of his own pocket. Scripture points out that he "exacted" the money from Israel. He forced every wealthy man in Israel to contribute. What a contrast to the One of whom the psalmist prophesied, "I will abundantly bless her provisions; I will satisfy her poor with bread" (Ps. 132:15).
Another writer notes what the wealthy were weighing up:
Menahem's bribe to the Assyrian king was money exacted from the people of Israel, especially from the wealthy. They would no doubt rather give this than have Assyria reduce the whole nation to poverty.
This is Assyria's first appearance in the story of Israel's kings. Commentators differ over who this king was. One holds to the plain wording of Scripture, and sees Pul and Tiglath-Pileser as two men:
If we keep simply to the letter of Scripture, we are led instead to see Pul, king of Assyria, as a distinct person. This is what 1 Chronicles 5:26 tells us: "And the God of Israel stirred up the spirit of Pul king of Assyria, and the spirit of Tiglath-Pileser king of Assyria."
Another reads the Assyrian records as settling the matter the other way:
The most painstaking research has proved, beyond the possibility of a doubt, that Pul is Tiglath-pileser II. The Assyrian monuments bear witness to this fact… The annals of Tiglath-pileser record that he received tribute from "Minikhimmi Samirina" — this is Menahem the Samaritan.
The Assyrian turned back. He did not stay away. The silver bought a pause, and the same power that accepted it returned to empty the land:
At this time Pul, the Assyrian king, came against the land. Menahem bribed him with a thousand talents of silver to keep him from attacking Israel. In these histories of the kings, this is the first we read of the king of Assyria. But not many years later Tiglath Pileser, king of Assyria, took some of Israel captive (2 Kings 15:29). A few years after that (ch. 17:5-6) the Assyrians took the rest of Israel captive.
Their deals could not delay the judgment already decreed. The lesson reaches past the ancient world:
In the end, what was the use of all the politics, the hunt for alliances and protection, turning now to Assyria, then to Egypt? Did they delay for one instant the judgment that had been decreed? And it is the same in our own day, is it not? Nations seek guarantees from one another. These will all blow away like chaff in the wind when "the Lamb that was slain" steps forward. He takes the book of God's counsels and ways toward the world, and He carries it out.
Israel was under God's chastening, and Menahem carried the trouble to Assyria. One writer names the deeper sin in that:
Chastening did not lead them to God, but to the Assyrian: could he heal or cure? It was bad enough to be treacherous to God. It was worse that they had to expose their godlessness and unbelief by turning to the stranger… It is a distress when the children of God behave badly among themselves. But it is an awful thing when there is no shame in seeking the resources of the world that hates them.
Menahem taxed his people and bribed a pagan king. Yet he died in peace, and his son took the throne after him. That absence of visible payback is itself instructive:
Menahem did not die a violent death, and his son Pekahiah reigned in his place. God does not bring His retributive government to bear on Menahem. His case, like many others in this history, teaches us that God's government on earth is not the measure of His righteousness. Nor is it His full recompense of the ways of men.
- Purchased. The peace of verse 20 was bought, not won — a thousand talents handed over to make the Assyrian turn back.
- Purchased by others. Menahem exacted it from Israel's wealthy men, fifty shekels each. The king kept the throne; the people paid the bill.
- Purchased from the wrong hand. God's chastening drove Israel to Assyria instead of to Him, and Assyria could not heal or cure them.
- Purchased time only. The silver delayed nothing God had decreed — the same Assyrian power later carried Israel away captive.
- Purchased silence, not acquittal. Menahem died in peace. God's government on earth is not the full measure of His righteousness.