Readings for today: Isaiah 36-37, 2 Kings 18:9-37, 19, 2 Chronicles 32:1-23, Psalms 76
“Where is your confidence?” What a great question from our reading today! Where is your confidence? Is it in your strength? Your wisdom? Your wealth? Your influence? Is it in your allies? Those who may come to your aid in time of need? Is it in human plans and human schemes? Where is your confidence? This was the challenge put before the people of Judah by the messenger from Sennacharib. In the face of overwhelming odds. An army that dwarfed their own. A military machine that had swept through nation after nation. An unstoppable force that now lay encamped on their doorstep. Where was their confidence?
This was Hezekiah’s greatest test and he passed with flying colors. He forbid his people to respond. He didn’t argue or try to defend himself or try to buy his way out of danger. He simply took the words of the pagan king and laid them before the Lord. “Hezekiah took the letter from the messengers and read it. Then Hezekiah went up to the Lord’s temple and spread it out before the Lord. Hezekiah prayed before the Lord: “O Lord who commands armies, O God of Israel, who is enthroned on the cherubim! You alone are God over all the kingdoms of the earth. You made the sky and the earth. Pay attention, Lord, and hear! Open your eyes, Lord, and observe! Listen to this entire message Sennacherib sent and how he taunts the living God! It is true, Lord, that the kings of Assyria have destroyed all the nations and their lands. They have burned the gods of the nations, for they are not really gods, but only the product of human hands manufactured from wood and stone. That is why the Assyrians could destroy them. Now, O Lord our God, rescue us from his power, so all the kingdoms of the earth may know that you alone are the Lord.” (Isaiah 37:14-20 NET) Note what Hezekiah does not do. He doesn’t ask God to preserve his kingship. He doesn’t ask God to preserve his life. He doesn’t ask God to protect His Temple or even the city of Jerusalem. Hezekiah understands this battle is not about him. It’s not even about his people or his nation. It’s about God. It’s about God’s glory and God’s honor. So he calls on God to glorify Himself by delivering His people. He calls on God to defend His honor by humbling Sennacharib. He proclaims His faith in God as the one who commands legions and rules the nations of the earth. It’s a powerful prayer and one God answers miraculously.
Where is your confidence? When the principalities and powers of this world seem to be closing in on you, where do you turn? When things aren’t going your way and you feel hurt or betrayed by those you once thought were friends, where do you go? When the pressure is on and your situation is intense and you feel overwhelmed, who do you trust? The Lord or yourself? How do you pray? Do you pray with a desire to see God honored and glorified or are you just looking to get out of the situation you find yourself in? Let me challenge you to take Hezekiah’s prayer to heart and use it as a model the next time you feel anxious or afraid.
Readings for tomorrow: No readings on Sunday