Word of Encouragement (07/24/2024)
They [the envoys of King Hezekiah] said to him [Isaiah], “Thus says Hezekiah, This day is a day of distress, of rebuke, and of disgrace; children have come to the point of birth, and there is no strength to bring them forth. 4 It may be that the Lord your God heard all the words of the Rabshakeh, whom his master the king of Assyria has sent to mock the living God, and will rebuke the words that the Lord your God has heard; therefore lift up your prayer for the remnant that is left.” (2 Kings 19:3–4).
This is not Hezekiah’s prayer to God. He does offer up his prayer to God later, and we will reflect on it in the coming days. But this message, in which he asks Isaiah the prophet to pray on Judah’s behalf, shows what he desired from the Lord. In this sense, we can see it as a prayer of sorts.
Notice Hezekiah’s humility. He was king. As such, he was God’s anointed. Yet, he did not try to deal with the situation with his own wisdom and strength. He humbly requested Isaiah the prophet to petition God on behalf of his kingdom. This was not because he felt estranged from God and therefore felt awkward about praying to God. In the following passage, we have the words of Hezekiah’s heartfelt prayer to God. He had served God faithfully by initiating a lot of religious reforms in all earnestness. And he did not complain to God about the grave danger he and his kingdom faced.
Oh, how perilous was Judah’s situation! He said to Isaiah, “This day is a day of distress, of rebuke, and of disgrace; children have come to the point of birth, and there is no strength to bring them forth” (v. 3). But this was not the main point of his appeal. He went on to say, “It may be that the Lord your God heard all the words of the Rabshakeh, whom his master the king of Assyria has sent to mock the living God, and will rebuke the words that the Lord your God has heard” (v. 4). In the previous chapter, we have long, blasphemous speeches of Rabshakeh, a messenger of Sennacherib king of Assyria. He taunted the people of Israel that the LORD was no different from the gods and goddesses of other kingdoms, who could not save their peoples: “Has any of the gods of the nations ever delivered his land out of the hand of the king of Assyria? Where are the gods of Hamath and Arpad? Where are the gods of Sepharvaim, Hena, and Ivvah? Have they delivered Samaria out of my hand? Who among all the gods of the lands have delivered their lands out of my hand, that the Lord should deliver Jerusalem out” (18:33-35)?
In a way, this was the best Rabshakeh could have done for Hezekiah and Judah. With these words, he brought to the fore that this battle was not between Assyria and Judah: it was between Assyria and the LORD the God of Israel. So, Hezekiah did the only thing he needed to do: he appealed to the LORD to take heed of the blasphemous ranting of the enemy and demonstrate His sovereign lordship and almighty power by punishing these insolent blasphemers. And the LORD caused Rabshakeh to return to Assyria (19:8)
How wonderful it is that the Lord has bound the honor of His name with us! “I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse...” (Gen. 12:3). He who persecutes us persecutes our God (Acts 9:4). Let us not be fearful when the world opposes us. Let us go to the Lord and ask Him to vindicate the honor of His name by delivering us and making us remain strong in faith.