Lessons from Hezekiah’s letter

What would you do if you received a letter from the enemy, threatening you and making you question your faith?

King Hezekiah had a problem – a big one. His fiercest enemy was not only attacking his borders, he was also attacking his faith in God!  

Hezekiah was a king who loved the Lord and obeyed His commands. In fact, he was described as a king who could not be compared with any king before or after him!

2 Kings 18: 5 “Hezekiah trusted in the Lord, the God of Israel. There was no one like him among all the kings of Judah, either before or after his time.” (NLT)

Meanwhile, Sennacherib, the king of Assyria, had decided to invade Jerusalem. The Assyrian king had an interesting tactic – his aim was to undermine Hezekiah’s faith in the Lord, lead him into a state of doubt, causing him to eventually surrender. Hezekiah didn’t fall for this. He stood firm, refusing to surrender to his enemy, and trusting fully in the Lord.

Things became a little tougher when Hezekiah got a letter listing all the kings and kingdoms that Assyria had trampled. You can imagine receiving a letter stating all the victories that your most bitter enemy has succeeded in, accompanied by a reminder that the Lord is powerless against this same enemy! What would you do?

Here’s how Hezekiah handled this situation.

Hezekiah presented his problem to the Lord

2 Kings 19: 14 “After Hezekiah received the letter from the messengers and read it, he went up to the Lord’s Temple and spread it out before the Lord.” (NLT)

When Hezekiah received the missive (as we used to call them back in the day), he did not go out and discuss its contents with his advisors, peers and the people. Instead, he placed the letter before the person to whom it mattered most – the Lord.

Why was this letter so important to the Lord? Because it challenged the Lord’s greatness, power, and faithfulness. In the letter, Sennacherib likened God to the gods of the other nations that he had conquered.

Sometimes we are faced with situations in which the Lord’s authority, power, and faithfulness are challenged. Do we always remember to present these situations to the Lord before anyone else? We should, because He who knows how to deal with challenges to His greatness better than we do!

Hezekiah acknowledged God’s greatness

2 Kings 19:15 “And Hezekiah prayed this prayer before the Lord: “O Lord, God of Israel, you are enthroned between the mighty cherubim! You alone are God of all the kingdoms of the earth. You alone created the heavens and the earth.” (NLT)

How confident Hezekiah sounded as he uttered these words! It’s like he could see God seated on His throne above the earth!

I like the way Hezekiah took a moment to remind himself of God’s greatness before he began to pour out his heart to the Lord. As a king, Hezekiah could easily have declared that his armies would fight the battle. In fact, he just needed to snap his fingers and a response to the letter would appear! But no – Hezekiah decided to submit to a higher power – God – by acknowledging His greatness.

Another great lesson here for you and I – how many times do we remember to focus on the Lord and His greatness before we start giving up? How often do we remember to throw ourselves at his feet, knowing that He is more powerful than anything and anyone in the universe? How ready are we to submit to His power? Food for thought…

Hezekiah tells the Lord exactly what is on his mind

The Lord listens to us. The Bible tells us that His ear is inclined towards our cry. Why, then, are we reluctant to tell Him what we are going through?

Hezekiah did not mince words. He told the Lord exactly how he was feeling, and the challenge that Jerusalem was facing. Hezekiah did not want to hand over the city, and he knew that if he called on the Lord, the Lord would show mercy to the people of Jerusalem.

2 Kings 19: 16-18 “Bend down, O Lord, and listen! Open your eyes, O Lord, and see! Listen to Sennacherib’s words of defiance against the living God. It is true, Lord, that the kings of Assyria have destroyed all these nations. And they have thrown the gods of these nations into the fire and burned them. But of course the Assyrians could destroy them! They were not gods at all—only idols of wood and stone shaped by human hands.” (NLT)

Note that Hezekiah gives the Lord all the facts. He states that yes, Assyria has destroyed many nations. He also adds, however, that the Assyrians were victorious because the nations they fought against had false gods. In short, Hezekiah is telling the Lord (in a roundabout way) that he knows that the Lord will deliver them because they serve the true God, not just any other god shaped by human hands.

Hezekiah asks the Lord to work things out for His glory

2 Kings 19: 19 “Now, O Lord our God, rescue us from his power; then all the kingdoms of the earth will know that you alone, O Lord, are God.” (NLT)

Hezekiah could have asked the Lord to save them so that they would enjoy peace and prosperity, and win the admiration of the nations around them. Instead, however, he asked God to rescue them so that the people of the surrounding nations would know that the Lord was indeed God.

I am still learning to make such prayers – prayers in which the ultimate goal is the glory of God. Think about it – when you are asking for a financial breakthrough, your primary aim is for your needs to be met, right? How many of us remember that what we ask for should glorify the Lord and bring more people to the knowledge of Him?

It’s not easy to understand that when the Lord is put in His rightful place, everything else around falls into place. We want to be on top, and in charge. We want the world to look at us and say wow, see how put together he or she is. Yes, we are Christians who are walking with the Lord, but deep inside we want to be recognized as good, humble, prosperous, etc. The Lord, however, requires that we acknowledge that He is Lord of all and over all, and acknowledge His Lordship over our lives. It is only when we do so that things around us work both for our good and for His glory.

Thankfully, the story had a happy ending. The Lord intervened on behalf of Jerusalem and none of the words written in the letter came to pass. Jerusalem remained untouched, and the enemy destroyed, all because Hezekiah was quick to acknowledge who was truly in charge of the nation of Judah, and because he was also confident enough to express his needs to the Lord.

 

 

Hi, everyone! Aren’t you glad that the Bible always has lessons for us, even from the simplest of stories? I am grateful for the lessons that I learnt this week from Hezekiah’s reaction to that letter! Please share this article with someone you know will enjoy reading it. Have a blessed week ahead!