Word of Encouragement (07/30/2024)
And Hezekiah prayed before the Lord and said: “O Lord, the God of Israel, enthroned above the cherubim, you are the God, you alone, of all the kingdoms of the earth; you have made heaven and earth. 16 Incline your ear, O Lord, and hear; open your eyes, O Lord, and see; and hear the words of Sennacherib, which he has sent to mock the living God. 17 Truly, O Lord, the kings of Assyria have laid waste the nations and their lands 18 and have cast their gods into the fire, for they were not gods, but the work of men’s hands, wood and stone. Therefore they were destroyed. 19 So now, O Lord our God, save us, please, from his hand, that all the kingdoms of the earth may know that you, O Lord, are God alone.” (2 Kings 19:15–19)
After addressing God as the sovereign Lord and Creator of the world, Hezekiah proceeds to offer his petitions. The first set of petitions is: “Incline your ear, O Lord, and hear; open your eyes, O Lord, and see; and hear the words of Sennacherib, which he has sent to mock the living God” (v. 16). In these words, we can sense the urgency with which he prays. He has already addressed God as the one and only true God. He knows that His God is not deaf or blind. Yet, He pleads God to hear and see.
We can understand this, can’t we? We may have the right theology, but as we look around, we get confounded and distressed by a big discrepancy between our theology and our circumstances. Isn’t that what the whole controversy about theodicy—that is, how can we vindicate God’s justice and goodness when we see so much evil in the world? That was the problem Habakkuk wrestled with: “O Lord, how long shall I cry for help, and you will not hear? Or cry to you ‘Violence!’ and you will not save? Why do you make me see iniquity, and why do you idly look at wrong? Destruction and violence are before me; strife and contention arise. So the law is paralyzed, and justice never goes forth. For the wicked surround the righteous; so justice goes forth perverted’ (Hab. 1:2-4). You may be discouraged because the good work you want to do for the Lord keeps getting derailed. Doesn’t He want you to seek His kingdom and righteousness? You have been praying for a long time for the salvation of your children, but they seem to be getting farther and farther away from God. Doesn’t He want us to pray for their salvation?
Hezekiah knows that YHWH is not like the other gods, which are merely “the work of men’s hands (v. 18). Why, then, are things the way they are? He can understand why he and his people may be going through the present affliction at the hands of the pagans. They and their forefathers have been unfaithful to God in so many ways. But he doesn’t understand why these uncircumcised pagans blaspheme His name. That is why he is pleading with God to give attention to what they are saying against God’s honor. He knows that God is jealous for the honor of His name. And he is deeply enraged by the insolence of the Assyrians. Deeply grieved by his helplessness to do anything about it, he asks the Lord to act to restore His honor.
Do you feel what Hezekiah felt—a glaring gap between what you believed to be God’s will and your situation? Are you deeply grieved by it? Why don’t you take it to the Lord and ask Him either to correct your understanding if it is wrong or to vindicate the honor of His name by correcting the situation?