Pray like Hezekiah
2 Kings 19 is one of my favorite chapters in Scripture. Sennacherib, king of Assyria, was threatening Hezekiah with invasion. Not only that, he was attacking the integrity of Hezekiah's God, the only true God, the Lord, God of Israel. Sennacherib compared Hezekiah's God to the gods of other countries he had attacked and destroyed and reminded Hezekiah that those gods had not saved anyone. He wrote to Hezekiah, "Do not let the god you depend on deceive you when he says, 'Jerusalem will not be handed over to the king of Assyria.'"
When Hezekiah received this letter he went immediately to the temple of the Lord. And this is what I like. He took that letter and spread it out before the Lord and prayed. He asked the Lord to hear, see and listen to the threat. He agreed with what Sennacherib said about destroying the other nations, and that their gods had not helped them. But he said, those gods were only wood and stone, fashioned by men's hands. He beseeched the Lord to deliver him so that all the kingdoms of the earth would know that "you alone, O Lord, are God." Verse 19.
The Lord sent a prophecy through Isaiah that Sennacherib would fall. He also said that the kingdoms that Sennacherib had defeated were because the Lord had ordained it, planned it and brought it to pass. Verse 25. The Lord said, "I know where you stay and when you come and go and how you rage against me." Verse 27. That night the angel of the Lord went out and put 185,000 of the Assyrian army to death so Sennacherib withdrew and returned to Nineveh. Shortly thereafter he was assassinated. Not only that, he was assassinated while he was worshiping his god!!!
Hezekiah knew the truth of Psalm 118:8. "It is better to take refuge in the Lord than to trust in man." Whenever we have problems our response should be like Hezekiah's. Run to the Lord, call upon him to see, listen and hear. Unpaid bills? Take them and spread them out before the Lord. Remind God that you are living according to his word and he promised that all our needs would be supplied. Relationship problems? Present them to the Lord. All wisdom comes from the Lord and he promised to direct our path. "We do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are -- yet was without sin. Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in our time of need. NIV. The King James version says that we can approach God's throne boldly.
Another thing I see in this account is that it is God who directs the affairs of men. In the times we are living in with political upheaval and economic stress I think we need to be reminded of this. God is in control and what is going on does not surprise him. "Nothing in all creation is hidden from God's sight." Hebrews 4:13. "There is no wisdom, no insight, no plan that can succeed against the Lord." Proverbs 21:30. "The king's heart is in the hand of the Lord; he directs it like a watercourse wherever he pleases." Proverbs 21:1. Political authorities might think they are deciding the course of things, but scripture says God is directing it. "The eyes of the Lord are everywhere, keeping watch on the wicked and the good." Proverbs 15:3. All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to Jesus. Matthew 28:18.
I don't pretend to understand everything God is doing or why he does what he does, or why he allows things to happen that seem contrary to what I feel they should be. But I am confident that God is still on his throne, that he has everything under control and that he knows what he is doing. I just know that God is mindful of me. He said that he would never leave me or forsake me. Hebrews 13:5. That is especially comforting on my worst days.
When it seems like everything is against you, pray like Hezekiah.
Tomorrows Bible Reading - 2 Kings 20, Ezekiel 10, Luke 6
God is good all the time,
1 comment:
It's crazy to me that He already knows how everything will work out for the good of those who love Him, yet, He's interested in the prayers, in the words, in the actions, in our response. Do we go to Him or do we take things in our hands? Do we give into the peer pressure or do we go wherever He is leading us?
Like Hezekiah we go to Him and in doing so we please Him. Good blog!
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