"O Lord our God, I pray, save us … that all the kingdoms of the earth may know that You are the Lord God.” (v.19)
Here in chapter 19 we pick up the story in which we were left hanging from our previous reading. The unresolved question from chapter 18 was, “In whom will you trust?” Now trouble lay ahead for King Hezekiah of Judah. He had just received a menacing letter from Assyria's King Sennacherib who had conquered many cities, and Jerusalem was next on his list. In his letter, Sennacherib mocked the God of Israel, threatened to destroy the holy city, and bragged that none could stop him.
We now get our answer as to what king Hezekiah would do. He went immediately up to the temple and spread the letter before the Lord and prayed. In his prayer he acknowledged God as the One who created all things (v.15), he told Him that Sennacherib had reproached the living God (v.16), and finally, he pleaded with God to deliver Judah so that all the nations of the world would know that He alone is God (v.19). In answer to Hezekiah’s prayer, God sent the angel of the Lord who struck down 185,000 of the enemy, and Sennacherib withdrew (vv.20-36).
Wow! What an example of faith. Hezekiah resting in the One who made heaven and earth to work out this problem for him. Waiting on the LORD and not jumping in all emotional and on his own. So, when you find yourself in a situation where you need God’s help, lay it out before Him in prayer. He has promised His comfort and help (Hebrews 4:16). Then be patient, as God’s dawn of deliverance often comes when the hour of trial is darkest.
The Truth: “The Lord is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer; My God, my strength, in whom I will trust; My shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.” (Psalm 18:2)
