Throughout Israel’s history, the Old Testament records that through periods of faith and obedience the nation was blessed, however when they turned their backs on the Lord and followed pagan customs and idol worship they fell out of favor with God and were left at the mercy of foreign kings that sieged and pillaged their cities and people. Perhaps the events described in 2 Kings regarding the reign of Hezekiah, king of Judah, best illustrate the power of God, his trustworthiness and his willingness to answer the prayers of those who are faithful.
Hezekiah was devoted to God and was known for destroying the idols the people worshipped. 2 Kings 18:4 tells us, “He removed the high places, smashed the sacred stones, and cut down the Asherah poles. He broke into pieces the bronze snake Moses had made, for up to that time the Israelites had been burning incense to it.” Hezekiah repaired and reopened the temple and reinstituted temple worship at a time when the nation had all but forgotten the Lord.
His loyalty and trust in God were evident in the way he reinstated the celebration of the Passover and invited the members of the northern tribes of Israel to come to Jerusalem to the temple to worship with them. “He held fast to the Lord and did not cease to follow him; he kept the commands the Lord had given to Moses. And the Lord was with him; he was successful in whatever he undertook.” 2 Kings 18:6-7. He inspired the people to turn to the Lord at a time when the cities surrounding Jerusalem were being overtaken by the Assyrian armies.
“In the fourteenth year of King Hezekiah’s reign, Sennacherib king of Assyria attacked all the fortified cities of Judah and captured them.” 2 Kings 18:13. “The king of Assyria sent his supreme commander, his chief officer and his field commander with a large army, from Lachish to King Hezekiah at Jerusalem. They came up to Jerusalem and stopped at the aqueduct of the Upper Pool, on the road to the Washerman’s field. They called for the king; and Eliakim son of Hilkiah the palace administrator, Shebna the secretary, and Joah son of Asaph the recorder went out to them.” 2 Kings 18:17-18.
The Assyrian commander then proceeded to boast of his army’s conquests over the cities around Jerusalem and mocking the people for believing in and putting their faith in the Lord. He warned them not to be deceived by Hezekiah’s words to trust in the Lord because the gods of the other cities could not save them and the Lord would not save Jerusalem. Then he openly mocked God and blasphemed against him by reducing his stature to that of all the pagan gods that could not save the other cities.
“When King Hezekiah heard this, he tore his clothes and put on sackcloth and went into the temple of the Lord.” 2 Kings 19:1. He sent his assistants to speak with the prophet Isaiah and told him how the field commander of the army of the king of Assyria had ridiculed the living God and asked him to pray. Isaiah told them that God was about to cause the Assyrian army to leave and return home where the king “will be cut down with the sword.” (2 Kings 19:7).
The Assyrian king sent his messengers a second time with a letter to King Hezekiah reiterating their first message claiming that the gods of the other cities could not save them so what made them think that their god would be any different. Hezekiah took the letter up to the temple and spread it out before the Lord. “And Hezekiah prayed to the Lord: ‘O Lord, God of Israel, enthroned between the cherubim, you alone are God over all the kingdoms of the earth. You have made heaven and earth. Give ear, O Lord and hear; open your eyes, O Lord and see; listen to the words Sennacherib has sent to insult the living God.
It is true, O Lord, that the Assyrian kings have laid waste these nations and their lands. They have thrown their gods into the fire and destroyed them, for they were not gods but only wood and stone, fashioned by men’s hands. Now, O Lord our God, deliver us from his hand, so that all the kingdoms on earth may know that you alone, O Lord, are God.” 2 Kings 19:15-19.
Isaiah then prophesied that the Lord would indeed protect Jerusalem and he spoke against the king of Assyria. “The Virgin Daughter of Zion despises you and mocks you. The daughter of Jerusalem tosses her head as you flee. Who is it you have insulted and blasphemed? Against whom have you raised your voice and lifted your eyes in pride? Against the Holy One of Israel!
By your messengers you have heaped insults on the Lord. And you have said, ‘With my many chariots I have ascended the heights of the mountains, the utmost heights of Lebanon. I have cut down its tallest cedars, the choicest of its pines. I have reached the remotest parts, the finest of its forests. I have dug wells in foreign lands and drunk the water there. With the soles of my feet I have dried up all the streams of Egypt.
Have you not heard? Long ago I ordained it. In days of old I planned it; now I have brought it to pass, that you have turned fortified cities into piles of stone. Their people, drained of power, are dismayed and put to shame. They are like plants in the field, like tender green shoots, like grass sprouting on the roof, scorched before it grows up.
But I know where you stay and when you come and go and how you rage against me. Because you rage against me and your insolence has reached my ears, I will put my hook in your nose and my bit in your mouth, and I will make you return by the way you came.” 2 Kings 19:21-28.
Isaiah goes on to say, “Therefore this is what the Lord says concerning the king of Assyria:
He will not enter this city or shoot an arrow here. He will not come before it with shield or build a siege ramp against it. By the way he came he will return; he will not enter this city, declares the Lord. I will defend this city and save it, for my sake and for the sake of David my servant.
That night the angel of the Lord went out and put to death a hundred and eighty-five thousand men in the Assyrian camp. When the people got up the next morning – there were all the dead bodies! So Sennacherib king of Assyria broke camp and withdrew. He returned to Nineveh and stayed there.” 2 Kings 19:32-36. Furthermore, Sennacherib was later stabbed to death by his own sons in fulfilment of Isaiah’s words in 2 Kings 19:7.
When we put ourselves in King Hezekiah’s shoes we realize just how overwhelming the situation must have been. Surrounded by and taunted by a condescending military commander and his arrogant king, accompanied by an enormous army whose success on the battle field was reputed throughout the region, Hezekiah must have felt tremendous stress and pressure to preserve and protect those entrusted to his care. The lives of all of his subjects, his family and friends all depended upon his good judgement and discernment. Just imagine the weight that rested upon his shoulders and the thoughts that must have circled through his mind.
Yet when the outlook seemed bleak and formidable, he trusted in the Lord. He held fast to his belief that the living God was more powerful than the armies amassed before him. In the same way that David believed that God would deliver him from the hand of the giant Philistine Goliath, King Hezekiah placed all of his trust in his Creator. He never summoned his generals or political advisors to strategize and develop battle plans or negotiating tactics. He took the letter from the Assyrian king and laid it out before God, not with some faint hope that God would have mercy from afar and provide an escape from the impending doom, but with the full confidence that God was listening and possessed the power and willingness to destroy the army postured against him. Hezekiah was fully engaged with God as God was with him.
So often in our lives we perceive God as our last resort. After we have exhausted all of our human resources we turn to the Lord and plead for help only to be disappointed when he doesn’t reciprocate. There is nothing too big for God to handle and nothing that he hasn’t seen before in the history of humanity that is outside of his ability to conquer. He created the universe and all that is within it therefore it is counterintuitive that he would be unable to be the master of everything. The onus is on us to draw near to God daily and build a relationship in which we have respectable repute.
The apostle Paul tells us that we are to arm ourselves with the full armor of God, not only when we face adversity but in our daily lives. “Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore put on the full armor of God so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit which is the word of God. And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints.” Ephesians 6:10-18.
Paul isn’t just talking about retreating to God when we feel overwhelmed and defeated. He is speaking of a lifestyle in communion with the Lord daily so that in all things we place our trust in him just as King Hezekiah did. If God is for us who can stand against us? Glory be to God!
Isaac kei
Very wonderful book.and it is good.