The
Book of Second kings
Chapter 19
[1]
And it came to pass, when king Hezekiah heard it, that he rent his clothes, and
covered himself with sackcloth, and went into the house of the LORD.
[2] And he sent Eliakim, which was over the household, and Shebna the scribe,
and the elders of the priests, covered with sackcloth, to Isaiah the prophet
the son of Amoz.
[3] And they said unto him, Thus saith Hezekiah, This day is a day of trouble,
and of rebuke, and blasphemy: for the children are come to the birth, and there
is not strength to bring forth.
[4] It may be the LORD thy God will hear all the words of Rab-shakeh, whom the
king of Assyria his master hath sent to reproach the living God; and will
reprove the words which the LORD thy God hath heard: wherefore lift up thy
prayer for the remnant that are left.
1) Seek the LORD 1-4
We have noted Hezekiah’s Righteous Deeds, The
Reinstitution of the Passover, and
Hezekiah’s Resolve and Relationship with God. Lets study now Hezekiah’s
Response to a crisis
King Hezekiah received the report of
the Assyrians threat of attack seriously.
The Assyrians have surrounded the
city and cut off any outside contact
Hezekiah has prepared for war,
diverted the water thru an underground tunnel, he has done what he could
Now his leaders have come with the
grim news that Assyria has ordered his unconditional surrender
He rent his clothes in grief, for he
knew the situation was desperately grim
Yet, his grief did not spin him away
from the LORD BUT rather it drove him to the LORD
He went into the courts of the
LORD’s House to seek Gods HOLY face Ps
27:7-9
Then King Hezekiah sent messengers,
in sackcloth, to the man of GOD, Isaiah
His message was “children are come
to the birth and there is not strength to bring forth”
Thus expressing the sheer
devastation and great calamity of the situation
Hezekiah believed their only hope
was the LORD and he asked the man of GOD for prayer for the nation
I am glad folks are willing to seek
the Lord, share a burden with the man of God and pray!
The messengers who were sent to
Isaiah arrive and share the message (vs3)
[5] So the servants of king Hezekiah came to Isaiah.
[6] And Isaiah said unto them, Thus shall ye say to your master, Thus saith the
LORD, Be not afraid of the words which thou hast heard, with which the servants
of the king of Assyria have blasphemed me.
[7] Behold, I will send a blast upon him, and he shall hear a rumour, and shall
return to his own land; and I will cause him to fall by the sword in his own land.
2) Sure Words 6-7
Without hesitation, Isaiah says
“thus saith the LORD”
Thank the LORD for the man of God
who does not give his opinion BUT “thus saith the LORD”
The LORD’s message to Hezekiah was
“Be not afraid of the words which thou hast heard”
Always remember that words will not
hurt you.
The LORD said Hezekiah “Be not
fearful of the servants of Assyria which blasphemed me”
The word for servants suggests
“flunkies” as a definition. It was the Assyrian flunkies
God had heard the evil words of the
enemy and HE had seen their evil actions
2 Chr 16:9 For the eyes of the LORD run
to and fro throughout the whole
earth, to shew himself strong in the behalf of them whose heart is perfect
toward him.
God will deal with the Rabshakeh
“field commander” personally and will bring judgment upon him
[8] So Rab-shakeh returned, and found the king of Assyria warring against
Libnah: for he had heard that he was departed from Lachish.
[9] And when he heard say of Tirhakah king of Ethiopia, Behold, he is come out
to fight against thee: he sent messengers again unto Hezekiah, saying,
[10] Thus shall ye speak to Hezekiah king of Judah, saying, Let not thy God in
whom thou trustest deceive thee, saying, Jerusalem shall not be delivered into
the hand of the king of Assyria.
[11] Behold, thou hast heard what the kings of Assyria have done to all lands,
by destroying them utterly: and shalt thou be delivered?
[12] Have the gods of the nations delivered them which my fathers have
destroyed; as Gozan, and Haran, and Rezeph, and the children of Eden which were
in Thelasar?
[13] Where is the king of Hamath, and the king of Arpad, and the king of the
city of Sepharvaim, of Hena, and Ivah?
3) Severe Threat 8-13
The Rabshekah left Jerusalem
(evidently he had heard of Ethiopia advancing toward Assyria and had to leave)
Hezekiah saw this and thought “he’s
leaving to go home and die just like God said” Good riddance!!!
YET, even though the Rabshekah has
left, he still sends a threatening letter, by his messenger,s to Hezekiah
The letter asks “which god of any
nation has stopped me?” Thus blaspheming the LORD, in writing.
[14] And Hezekiah received the letter of the hand of the messengers, and read
it: and Hezekiah went up into the house of the LORD, and spread it before the
LORD.
[15] And Hezekiah prayed before the LORD, and said, O LORD God of Israel, which
dwellest between the cherubims, thou art the God, even thou alone, of all the
kingdoms of the earth: thou hast made heaven and earth.
[16] LORD, bow down thine ear, and hear: open, LORD, thine eyes, and see: and
hear the words of Sennacherib, which hath sent him to reproach the living God.
[17] Of a truth, LORD, the kings of Assyria have destroyed the nations and
their lands,
[18] And have cast their gods into the fire: for they were no gods, but the
work of men's hands, wood and stone: therefore they have destroyed them.
[19] Now therefore, O LORD our God, I beseech thee, save thou us out of his
hand, that all the kingdoms of the earth may know that thou art the LORD God,
even thou only.
4) Sincere Speech 14-19
Hezekiah took the threatening letter
to the House of God & spread the letter out before the LORD
1 Pet 5:7 Casting all your
care upon him; for he careth for you.
The King took his worry and laid it
out before God
This time he did not call for the
preacher, the deacons, a friend, or
relative BUT went himself to GOD
Hezekiah begins to pray and calls on
the LORD GOD of Israel
“The one who dwells” In other words, the Living God who
will punish sin and defend His people
“God & God alone” In other words, the One who is
sovereignly in control
“Who made heaven & earth” In other words, the all powerful creator God
God
is Omniscient All knowing Ps 147:5
IJn 3:20
God
is Omnipotent All powerful Jb 42:2,
Is 43:13 & Mt 19:26
God
is Omnipresent Always Present
Dt 4:39 Pr 15:3, Ps 139:7,8 Jer 23:24
“bow down thine ears and hear” “Open thine eyes and see” …… see what the enemy boasts of
In other words, God save us out of
the hands of the enemy that all may know you are God and God alone
Ps 115:1 Not unto us O LORD not unto
us, but unto thy name give glory
God does things for His GLORY and for our good (Rom 8:28)
[20] Then Isaiah the son of Amoz sent to Hezekiah, saying, Thus saith the LORD
God of Israel, That which thou hast prayed to me against Sennacherib king of
Assyria I have heard.
5) Sovereign Answer 20-34
A.
About Hezekiah
The
man of God, Isaiah sent to Hezekiah to say “the LORD heard your prayer”
God spoke to Isaiah to send word
that the LORD had heard Hezekiah’s prayers and would answer
[21] This is the word that the LORD hath spoken
concerning him; The virgin the daughter of Zion hath despised thee, and laughed
thee to scorn; the daughter of Jerusalem hath shaken her head at thee.
[22] Whom hast thou reproached and blasphemed? and against whom hast thou
exalted thy voice, and lifted up thine eyes on high? even against the Holy One
of Israel.
[23] By the messengers thou hast reproached the Lord, and
hast said, With the multitude of my chariots I am come up to the height of the
mountains, to the sides of Lebanon, and will cut down the tall cedar trees
thereof, and the choice fir trees thereof: and I will enter into the lodgings
of his borders, and into the forest of his Carmel.
[24] I have digged and drunk strange waters, and with the sole of my feet have
I dried up all the rivers of besieged places.
[25] Hast thou not heard long ago how I have done it, and of ancient times that
I have formed it? now have I brought it to pass, that thou shouldest be to lay
waste fenced cities into ruinous heaps.
[26] Therefore their inhabitants were of small power, they were dismayed and
confounded; they were as the grass of the field, and as the green herb, as the
grass on the housetops, and as corn blasted before it be grown up.
[27] But I know thy abode, and thy going out, and thy coming in, and thy rage
against me.
[28] Because thy rage against me and thy tumult is come up into mine ears,
therefore I will put my hook in thy nose, and my bridle in thy lips, and I will
turn thee back by the way by which thou camest.
21-He illustrates by calling Judah & Jerusalem the
virgin daughter who has rebuffed the unwelcome advances of Assyria
Assyria intends to invade, ravish, conquer, rape the land and since Jerusalem has turned to God He will protect them
God says to the Assyrians, “do you know whom you are
dealing with & whom you have spoken against?”
You
have spoken against the HOLY One of Israel.
23-
The Assyrians are lifted up in pride and self-confidence
They thought they had so many soldiers that when the walked thru a river they would cause the river to dry up
The Assyrians think they are successful by their own efforts and strength ….. what arrogance!
But the LORD is actually in charge. The Assyrians owed their success to the LORD, as He allowed them to prosper
27- God knows what the Assyrians have blasphemed and
boasted of
God says “I know where you
live, I know when you go out and when you return”
God
says “I will put MY hook in your nose, MY bridle in your lips and I will turn
you back”
This was Assyria’s way of cruelty. They put hooks in the noses of captives when marching them to relocation
[29] And this shall be a sign unto thee, Ye shall eat this year such things as
grow of themselves, and in the second year that which springeth of the same;
and in the third year sow ye, and reap, and plant vineyards, and eat the fruits
thereof.
[30] And the remnant that is escaped of the house of Judah shall yet again take
root downward, and bear fruit upward.
[31] For out of Jerusalem shall go forth a remnant, and they that escape out of
mount Zion: the zeal of the LORD of hosts shall do this.
[32] Therefore thus saith the LORD concerning the king of Assyria, He shall not
come into this city, nor shoot an arrow there, nor come before it with shield,
nor cast a bank against it.
[33] By the way that he came, by the same shall he return, and shall not come
into this city, saith the LORD.
[34] For I will defend this city, to save it, for mine own sake, and for my
servant David's sake.
C.
About Jerusalem and Judah
29-
The Promises of God. “I will give you a sign”
29-
Provision
This
year you will eat things that grow of themselves. They would reap what they did
not sow!
Next
year you will eat things that grow from the same
The
3rd year you will sow, plant and reap a great harvest
30-
Preservation
The
Assyrians may have tried to crush Jerusalem, BUT GOD has preserved the remnant
of them
The
people will put down roots in the Holy Land and GOD will bless them to bear
fruit
32-
Protection
The
city had been surrounded by a hostile army and trapped into a slow,
suffocating, sorrowful starvation
Yet,
under the shadow of this threat, Hezekiah prayed and received God’s answer.
Gods promise gave Jerusalem
assurance that Sennacherib & Assyria would fail to capture the city.
In fact, the Assyrians would
not even shoot an arrow or build a siege mound against Jerusalem
God
will defend the city, for HIS glory and for the promise God made to King David
(2S 7:10-17)
The
city of Jerusalem and Judah did deserve judgment as they were wicked
BUT for HIS GLORY, GOD
extended mercy & grace
We deserve judgment as we
are sinners BUT GOD extends mercy and grace for JESUS’ Sake
6) Speculative Assessment 20
What if Hezekiah hadn’t prayed?
Would there be no answer, would Jerusalem be conquered?
Hezekiah’s prayers did matter, they
did make a difference
How many blessings, how many
victories, how many souls, lie unclaimed right now because we haven’t prayed?
[35]
And it came to pass that night, that the angel of the LORD went out, and smote
in the camp of the Assyrians an hundred fourscore and five thousand: and when
they arose early in the morning, behold, they were all dead corpses.
[36] So Sennacherib king of Assyria departed, and went and returned, and dwelt
at Nineveh.
[37] And it came to pass, as he was worshipping in the house of Nisroch his
god, that Adrammelech and Sharezer his sons smote him with the sword: and they
escaped into the land of Armenia. And Esar-haddon his son reigned in his stead.
7) Salvation 35-37
That very night the angel of the
LORD went out and smote 185,000 of the Assyrians
Upon this great defeat, King
Sennacherib departed and dwelt at Nineveh
The wicked King Sennacherib has been spared, not in
mercy BUT in wrath.
He was reserved to a more dreadful and shameful
death.
His own 2 sons, killed him with the sword as he was
worshipping his false god
An old Jewish legend - and
nothing more than a legend - says that
Sennacherib was troubled at how God seemed to bless the Jews so much,
and tried to find out why. Someone told him it was because Abraham had loved God
so much that he was willing to sacrifice his son unto the Lord. Sennacherib thought he would be
even more favored and decided to kill two of his sons in sacrifice to his god
Nisroch thus becoming even more blessed than Abraham and his descendants. But
his two sons learned of the plan, and killed him before he could kill them.
At a revival I was conducting a young man
built a small replica of the cross standing on a pedestal. on the pedestal he
wrote on one side “lord” and on the other side “willing”. I am glad our lord
was willing and did not fight the father but submitted and gave his life a
ransom for a sinner like me.