“Hezekiah received the letter,.. read it, and went up to the house of the Lord and spread it before [him]. [He] prayed before the Lord and said: ‘O Lord, God of Israel, enthroned above the cherubim, you are the God, you alone, of all the kingdoms of the earth; you have made the heavens and earth. Incline your ear, O Lord, and hear; open your eyes, and see; hear the words of Sennacherib, which he has sent to mock the living God… The kings of Assyria… have cast their gods into the fire, for they were not gods, but the work of men’s hands… 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.’
“Then Isaiah sent to Hezekiah, saying, ‘Thus says the Lord,.: Your prayer to me about Sennacherib king of Assyria I have heard. This is the word that the Lord has spoken concerning him:
‘She despises you, she scorns you—
the virgin daughter of Zion;
she wags her head behind you…
‘Whom have you mocked and reviled?
Against whom have you raised your voice
and lifted your eyes to the heights?
Against the Holy One of Israel!
By your messengers you have mocked the Lord,
and said, “With my many chariots
I have gone up the heights of the mountains,
to the far recesses of Lebanon;
I felled its tallest cedars,
its choicest cypresses;
I entered its farthest lodging place,
its most fruitful forest.
I dug wells
and drank foreign waters,
and I dried up with the sole of my foot
all the streams of Egypt.”
‘Have you not heard
that I determined it long ago?
I planned from days of old
what now I bring to pass,
that you should turn fortified cities
into heaps of ruins,
while their inhabitants, shorn of strength,
are dismayed and confounded,
and have become…
like grass on the housetops,
blighted before it is grown.
‘I know your sitting down
your going out and coming in,
your raging against me.
Because you have raged against me
and your complacency has come into my ears,
I will put my hook in your nose
and my bit in your mouth,
and I will turn you back on the way
by which you came.'” 2 Kings 19:14-16,18,20-28
King Hezekiah knew Assyria’s evil idolatry and great power. Offended for God’s sake by their king’s defiance and threats, he took them before the Almighty in humble, confident prayer. In timely answer, Isaiah reminded him that God would not be mocked, that king Sennacherib did nothing apart from His sovereign will. Hezekiah could trust that His ultimate and just determinations would stand. (2 Kings 19:5-7; Galatians 6:7)
It’s difficult for earnest Christians when God is mocked and maligned. We can believe that He reigns and will eventually triumph, yet still be unsettled by injustice, blatant pride, enemy pressures, and threatening opposition that demeans the Almighty. Taking concerns promptly and directly to the Lord elicits His confirming word as He delights to answer. Time in His presence reminds us He is omniscient, upright, and pledges justice on our behalf. (Isaiah 26:3; Daniel 9:16-23)
How does my view of God shape responses to the world? Am I troubled when He’s mocked? Do I quake at the world’s threats, or quiet myself in faith before my Sovereign? How will my restless soul find rest in Him?
Lord, keep me coming always to You in humble dependence and passion for Your glory.
As the rain and snow 